Winter Weather in Wyoming

Many have asked if we are surviving the winter up here in Wyoming, and if we are staying warm.  
Well, here’s what we’ve been dealing with for the past few weeks:

In December we had 4 days in a row where the temperature went down to
 -27^o, then -27^o again, then -24^o, and finally -19^o .  Now that’s really cold!!

Then, at the beginning of January we had winds of at least 51 mph – luckily not on the same day as the freezing temperatures.

The next morning we looked out at the windsock we have for the Life Flight area,

 and it was GONE! 

 
The mechanism that holds it in place had broken and the whole thing blew away.  We found it caught in the sagebrush and ran after it before it took off for Nebraska!  Our amazing elders found all the metal parts in the snow, welded them back together, and the windsock is now back where it belongs.

   

When the elders went out to check on Missionary Village 

they found that the snow had drifted up to the tops of the windows.

The Williams have a nice snowbank in front of their trailer.  We sure hope it melts before they return!

Just look how high the snowdrifts are compared to Elder Cherry (6' 2")
 and Elder Bushman (slightly shorter.)

A week ago Elder Moench spent the entire day on the road grader clearing 
a 3' snowdrift off of the mile-long road from the highway into the Homestead area.  
He finished in the afternoon, and 5 visitors were able to get through and come to the Visitors' Center.
  
Before that the mailman, the UPS deliverer, and the FedEx deliverer 
had to turn around and come another day.

We'll be glad to see the end of the "snows" and the "blows!"

A Most Unique Birthday!

Well, now I'm older than ever, and I got to celebrate my birthday in the mission field - something that's certainly never happened before.  All our missionaries are trying to eat healthier, so instead of making any kind of birthday cake, they stuck a candle into an orange for me - a much better choice!  It was great to talk to all my children!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, Everyone!

Every holiday spent on a mission is very unique, 

and celebrating the New Year of 2014 was no exception at Martin's Cove.

We started off by celebrating the birthday of Elder Bushman on December 30.  

There were actually 4 birthdays in December, so Elder Martin, Sister Thomas, and Sister Cherry celebrated too.

After a Texas hamburger dinner we moved to the Gathering Room where the elders showed their skills with a jigsaw puzzle of the United States.  They were so proud of themselves! 

The following day was New Year's Eve, and after programming the office answering machine to receive the onslaught of phone calls from trek leaders wanting to schedule their groups for 2015, we closed up and had a Progressive Dinner, tromping through the 2' snowdrifts to each couple's apartment.  

We had shrimp and egg rolls at the Bushmans
and then salad at the Moenches . . . along with a few New Year's noise makers.

 The Hutchinsons served delicious rolls with a variety of jellies, jams, and honey,
and the Martins cooked the veggies.

 The Thomases fixed roast pork as the main dish, and dessert was pineapple upside down cake made by the Cherries.
Everything was absolutely delicious and lots of fun!

We are happy, healthy, and hopeful as we look forward to 2014.  We love being missionaries and are anticipating another wonderful year full of trekkers, visitors, and new and returning missionaries.

Happy 2014, everyone!