Oh, What Do We [missionaries] Do in the Winter Time, When All the World Is . . . covered with freezing cold snow, and windy, windy, windy? WE HAVE FUN!

We decorate the site with beautiful lights.

We drove into Casper in a blizzard to teach some fourth graders 

how to square dance as part of their "Pioneer Christmas" celebration.

We then visited the Interpretive Trail Center where Elder Whitlock and his fellow train club 

had many of their trains on display for the month of December.

Several days later we drove back into Casper to serve Christmas Dinner 

at the Salvation Army for the homeless and needy.  

We helped them decorate the hall and then served up another delicious meal 
for people who truly needed it.

What a wonderful opportunity it was to give them a little help and enjoy visiting with them!

One night we decided to brave the elements and have a hot dog roast . . . in the blacksmith shop!

To prepare for Christmas, our Gathering Room Christmas Tree

 was decorated with handcarts and pioneers . . . 

. . . and then we made sure our own apartment was decorated,

and that the stockings were hung by the chimney with care!

On Christmas Eve we had a delicious dinner with all the missionaries

plus the Seelys and the Lusks and their darling children!

Having them with us helped us remember Christmas through the eyes of a child.

Elder Moench read the Nativity Story out of Luke 2 and Matthew 2,

and we sang carols about each event throughout the story.

Then it was time for presents and fun!

Wyatt, Tap and Sammy got Legos to play with, and Sage loved her little Christmas pioneer doll!

Christmas Morning we all slept in a little and talked to our children and grandchildren on the phone.

And then . . . we decided to have an adventure!

We bundled up in the warmest clothing we had, piled into 3 rovers, and headed down the front trail.

Along the way we got stuck in snowdrifts  -  at least 6 times!

We finally reached Martin's Cove and spent some time reflecting how closely it resembled 

what the pioneers would have experienced during their stay there

in November of 1856 when about 50 people died.

It was actually a beautiful day, and having the sun shine on our faces helped it not so seem so cold.

We even brought along our littlest Christmas Tree for our picture!


There is quiet and serene beauty to Martin's Cove when it is covered with snow.

On the way back to the Homestead we stopped along the frozen Sweetwater River.

First, Elder Bushman decided to be daring, and he ventured out across the ice to the first large rock.

He returned safely, so Sister Martin and I decided to do the same thing!

We had a unique, yet wonderful Christmas,

and we hope all of you did too!

MERRY CHRISTMAS from Mormon Handcart Historic Sites!

Even though we are all missing our own families at this time of year, 
we love serving the Lord along with 82,000 missionaries - 
the largest missionary force ever in the history of the world!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS to each of you from all of us!

Our own little "flock" of 14 grandchildren looked like this four years ago . . . 

. . . and they recreated that pose - plus four more for this year!

So, just know that Elder and Sister Moench . . .

. . . love each one of you, and wish you a very . . .

Christmas at the Homestead!

We celebrated "Christmas at the Homestead" this year with local ranchers, neighbors, and "Friends of the Cove."  Thanks to the efforts of all the missionaries to create beautiful decorations, fun door prizes, and a delicious meal, we had a wonderful evening!

An activity like this takes lots of preparation . . .

. . . unique table decorations, straight from the masters in the woodshop. . .

 . . . and lots of fun door prizes, many of them made by hand by our talented missionaries.  
There was actually a tie for the "Guess the number of M&Ms" game.

The handcarts were moved outside to form a welcoming pathway,

and the barn became transformed into a Christmas wonderland!

 We were entertained by Trinity's lovely singing and had a group Christmas Carol sing-along too.
Then we watched a wonderful DVD of the birth of Christ.

It was fun to spend the evening with so many friends and neighbors.

Some came all the way from Casper and even from Lander to join us.

 It was just a nice evening spent with friends and "family!"

 These two girls were especially excited because they won the quilts!

Winter in Wyoming is taking a toll on the missionaries!

The past two weeks have been extremely cold, snowy, and windy.  We have fluctuated from - 27 degrees to +15 degrees and the wind blows ALL the time - day and night.  Our snowstorms haven't been all that bad, but the wind has blown the snow into drifts of 2' along our walkways.  The good thing is that if we just wait a few hours, the wind then blows it away again.

But . . . something is happening to the missionaries!

They're beginning to dress strangely . . .

 . . . and act strangely, too.

I'd start to worry a little, but the sisters seem to be just fine.

The Sixth Crossing Missionaries put together a Christmas Advent activity 

with presents to open and things to do each day.

It has been SO fun to see what is in each of the packages!

Perhaps it all started when Elder Bushman won the Chili Cook-Off at Alcova last week.

There must have been some secret ingredient in it that is causing all this unusual behavior.

What do you think?

Christmas Lights at Martin's Cove!

Every year we have a Christmas Party here at Martin's Cove for the missionaries, ranchers from the surrounding ranches in the Sweetwater Valley, and many "Friends of the Cove."  Light go up, trees get decorated, and then it snows, transforming it all into a winter wonderland.  The pictures on the left were taken in daylight, and you can see them at night on the right - even while the winds blow the snow all around.

This Thanksgiving we have MUCH to be grateful for!!

Being away from home on a mission has given us the unique opportunity of serving others on holidays when we have usually been with our family.  This is the first Thanksgiving we have ever spent away from all our children and grandchildren.  

This year, as has been done in previous years here at Martin's Cove, we missionaries went into Casper and helped serve Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless and downtrodden at the Hope Center run by the Salvation Army.  What a blessing that was!  It gave us a chance to show love and compassion to many whose lives are full of physical, mental, and emotional challenges for a variety of reasons.  Not only were we able to serve them a tasty and nutritious meal, we could also sit and visit with them and just listen to them for awhile.  It was an honor and a privilege to be there.

 Here's the serving crew just before they opened the doors.

We had the special little task of slicing the butter into serving size patties, and . . .

. . . we also got to be in charge of the drinks.  

Amazingly, the most popular choice by far was orange juice!

Then today we celebrated our own Thanksgiving at the Homestead with about 30 people including our 6 missionary couples and about 18 others - local ranchers and friends of Jeff and Trinity Seely, one of the ranchers here at Martin's Cove.  What a delight it was to get to know them and share an amazing meal.  They brought along 9 children, and their chatter and laughter was something we missionaries all enjoyed because it reminded us of our families.

Even though we are away from those most dear to us, we feel greatly blessed, and we are thankful to a loving Heavenly Father who watches over us and our families while we are gone.  We love Him and are honored to be able to serve Him at this time and in this unique way.

Jeff sliced up a delicious turkey Trinity baked.

Here are both of our master chefs at work.

The sisters got really creative with the food.  

Look at this work of art:  a turkey made from fruit!

And here's another one made of vegetables!

Wyatt Seely wasn't shy - he was first in line!

Thank you to many years of previous missionaries for all the lovely table decorations.

We had to bring in two extra tables to hold all the food.

Poor Boss - the ranch dog! 

Everyone he loved was on the other side of the open window eating a delicious meal. 

He could see it and smell it, but couldn't have any.

The Seely boys sat with the Martins and Hutchinsons

The Bushmans got to sit at the "teen table."

Jeff Seely, the Thomases, the Cherrys, and the Moenches sat together.  

Right after taking this picture I sat down to eat and spilled my entire glass of water right on Sister Cherry's lap!  

Well . . . somebody had to spill something!

Trinity Seely, the Gates family and the Barcus family

This lovely and tasty cherry pie was made by Elder Cherry!  

Look how cute he decorated the crust!

After dinner the men retired to their couches for football and naps, 

and the sisters played a mean game of Mexican Train dominoes.