September 1-6, 2015

This is an old story but the same one of how the time just flies by and the end is getting here much too fast.  I had a day where I wondered if we had made any difference in this branch at all but then I stopped and thought of some of the things we have accomplished.  I did a 72 hour kit thing for Relief Society, an awesome Christmas party, we are doing a primary program and we have done lots of temple work.  Elder Fullmer has helped two families prepare for the winter both years by helping them cut and stack lots of wood.  Sister Skeen said we might not have gotten any of her wayward children back into activity but we have certainly helped her family on the other side of the veil. 

Wednesday the 25^th we took Sister Hardman and Sister Skeen and went to the temple where we were able to do the work for Leroy’s brother, Sister Skeen’s sister as well as the sealing for John Milton Cunningham and his wives and children.  He was married to Laura and they had a daughter and then she died, he married Annie and both her and their baby died and then he married Lucy who was Annie’s sister and had several children and we were able to get them all sealed except for one son who we will try and do before we go home.  It was such a beautiful experience and Eva Mae was in tears and said she could feel them in the room as the work was done.  I love doing sealings.  It is just like adding links to a chain.  I really want to get all the sealings done that I can before we leave as it is hard for those in the branch to schedule the extra time to do sealings.  I am afraid when we are not here doing the scheduling the monthly temple trips might fall by the wayside.

Then the best part of last week was the temple trip we made with the Wilson’s and Sister Piatt.  We were able to get 5 endowments done and then sealed Sister Skeen’s great great grandparents and then sealed 6 of their children to them.  There are still two children we have to prove their information before adding them to the family.  It was such a beautiful experience having Evan and I as parents and then having Tim, Cheryl and Fran as three of the children along with 3 other people all kneeling around the alter and connecting this family for eternity.    We also sealed Cheryl’s brother and sister to their parents which she has wanted to do for several months.  We have now sealed Sister Skeen’s great and great great grandparents and all their children and next week will finish the endowments and be able to seal her grandparents and their children.  She wants me to try and find her family on the other side.  These have all been on her father’s side but not much has been done on her mother’s side.  A cousin of hers has tried to find connections but with no success.  They were always told that her grandfather was part Indian but they don’t know for sure.  It will be something for me to do when we get home.

This week we have another temple trip planned with one of the sisters who is 87 and has only been able to attend the temple once in the time we have been here.  She is taking care of her invalid non-member husband and isn’t able to get away often but she called and ask if we could take her one more time.  As it means getting more of the sealings done we are more than happy to.  I also have two times set up with sisters to help them with family history as they try and learn more of the programs so they feel comfortable continuing on their own.  Along with planned visiting and home teaching visits and district meeting the week will be gone again.  Also on Saturday we have a meeting with a member of each of the general women’s auxiliaries and the sisters from all six stakes in our mission and as acting primary president I get to go.  It all makes for another busy week.

Other than the temple trips I have been spending lots of time working on the primary program.  We found out yesterday that two of the young people who were going to help are not going to be able to be there that Sunday so we are going to have to give the kids more parts and perhaps do more of them ourselves.  Our newest convert who is just 16 and lives about 20 miles out of town told us yesterday that her mother doesn’t think she needs to come to church every Sunday and even though we offered to pick her up for the next few weeks her mother said she didn’t need to come that often.  She was going to do a part for us in the program just to help out and she was excited to be a part of it.  It is so hard to see her and feel of her enthusiasm for the gospel and her not be able to be a full part of it.  Hopefully when she gets her driver’s license her mother will let her come on her own.  Her family is also giving her a lot of anti-stuff but she just keeps reading conference talks to keep her spirits up.

That’s all the news from here for now.  We haven’t been to see anything else as I just want to visit old cemeteries and Elder Fullmer would rather stay home than do that.  There really aren’t many more things in our general area to go see so unless we go further afield we won’t be doing much more sightseeing. 

We love you all.  We love the gospel of Jesus Christ and the difference it makes in people’s lives.

Love

Elder and Sister Fullmer

August 17, 2015

This past week was again a very busy week.  Is there any other kind in life?  On Monday we went out to the Lincoln Boyhood home State Park which is only about 30 miles from where we live.  It was very interesting to read of some of the things he did there as a boy growing into a man from age 7-21.  We learned about the milk sickness which killed his mother (from cows eating a toxic snakeroot plant).  His mother is buried in the cemetery there as well as a number of others.  There is a path of twelve stones beginning at the home site and going to the cemetery which were taken from various places where Lincoln lived or worked.  They are from such places as his birthplace, his wife’s home, the White House, Gettysburg, the store he owned, the Anderson Cottage where he wrote the Emancipation Proclamation and The Peterson House where he died.  It was especially interesting to learn how little formal education he had but what he learned from reading and applying himself. 

 It was a very enjoyable day in spite of the heat, humidity and the gnats.  We were certainly glad to get into the Memorial Building and look at all the displays there.  We saw the chapel in the memorial building where two sets of our friends were originally married.   I of course took lots of pictures.

The real highlight of the past couple of weeks was our mission conference with Elder and Sister Zwick.  It started even before the conference when we were able to have 3 of our favorite Elders with us.  Because of the early start time for the meeting and the travel distance some of the Elders came to Tell City to stay overnight.  It meant that we had Elders Stewart, Riphenburg and Gould with us which makes for some fun time.  I fixed dinner for the 6 Elders, our regulars George and Sydney and then later Elder Riphenburg and his companion slept on our couches.  I felt as if I had grandsons back with me.

There is no real way to tell of the spirit we felt at the conference.  Both Elder and Sister Zwick spoke with so much spirit and love.  I wrote several pages in my journal of the talks they gave and my impressions but just want to share one or two of their stories.  It makes for a long email but worth it I hope.

 

Sister Zwick based her talk on Alma 5:26 “If ye have experienced a change of heart…can ye feel so now?”  She told of their son Scotty (named after Elder Richard G Scott who was Elder Zwick’s mission president) who was born mentally and physically handicapped who cannot read or write but who loves people and is always happy.  When his younger brother Spencer was called to serve in the Bangkok Thailand Mission he said to Scotty that he was serving for both of them.  He would send Scotty pictures of his investigators and ask him to pray for them.  Scotty had a whole wall of pictures.  When it was nearly time for Spencer to return home from his mission, Elder & Sister Zwick had an assignment in Europe and contacted the mission president to see if it would be okay for them to pick Spencer up from his mission on their way home.  The mission President called them and said that he gave permission only if they would bring Scotty on their way to their assignment and let him be Spencer’s mission companion for the week and then pick them both up when their assignment was done.  Scotty was set apart as a missionary and they left him with his brother.  Spencer gave him a Book of Mormon and told him that they would find someone who spoke English for him to give the book to.  On the train one day Spencer heard a couple speaking English and went and talked to them.  He found they were from New York and had come back home to visit with family.  He went back and told Scotty to go and give them the Book of Mormon.  Scotty went and sat by them and said “  I can’t read but my family has read this Book to me and I know it is true and that it will change your lives if you will read and pray about it.”  They took the book and said they would read it.  Spencer and Scotty had other experiences in that week that changed many people’s lives.  Some months after they returned home they got a letter from the couple from New York telling them that they had just been baptized.  They were so touched by the spirit they felt when Scotty told them of the Book of Mormon and his testimony of it that they looked up the missionaries and were now members of the church.  In all from that week Scotty spent in Thailand five people came into the gospel.  She talked about how Scotty has always had that “change of Heart” which we should all feel and continue to work to have.

Elder Zwick told of an experience he had back in 1995.  He was on several committees working with the Utah Highway Patrol.  One of the officers had told him that he had heard that in Manti there was a group building up a militia and were going to take over the temple.  Just a short time later President Packer called him into his office and asked him what he knew about Manti and when he told him of the rumors he had heard President Packer told him that the gospel would never be overthrown by anti-literature or guns.  Nothing ever happened in Manti but it all just went away.  The Lord is in control.

He also told us that the father of the sister missionary who was killed in Atlanta Georgia in May had just gone to Georgia to baptize five people his daughter was teaching at the time of her death including a couple she had just found.  He stressed that we are not alone in this work but we have those associates “from another realm cheering us on.  The work is supernal and that is why family history and temple work are going on.  This work is not about us”.    

That part of his talk really helped me to not ever feel guilty when I am helping members of our branch do family history even though I could and sometimes do spend way too much time at it.  It was such a spiritual high.

We once again will be going to transfer meeting tomorrow.  We haven’t missed one in 18 months.  There has always been someone from our district who we could take to the meeting.  We love the spirit and enthusiasm as we see some going home and the new missionaries coming.

We love you all and encourage each of you to be good member missionaries.  Most baptisms come from member referrals so we each need to step up and do our part.

Love

Elder and Sister Fullmer

Augt 17-24, 2015

This past week was another week of travel.  We went to Jasper to pick up the Elders, Louisville for transfer meeting and back to Jasper on Tuesday a 300 mile round trip.  We got a new Elder who comes from a family of 20 children, 11 adopted from all over the world.  He seems like a very nice young man. 

 

Wednesday we went to Ft Knox and met up with the Liscombs and Chertkows who are two of the Senior couples left in the mission and we did some sightseeing.  Liscombs are serving a military mission there.  They took us to the Red Cross building they work in twice a week which is basically a large second hand store.  I got a couple of pictures and a game and book all for $1.  We then went to the George Patton museum which was very interesting.  Patton had a big role in World War II and he also had many statements about morals, leadership and integrity.  After that we went to a Mexican place for lunch, to the Lincoln home and school and then in pouring rain just drove around to see some of the places they have been.  The company was the best part of it all—talking about the experiences we have each had about our different missions.  It was another long day but we wished we had started doing it when we all first got here.  The friendship we have would have helped each of us in our missions. 

 

Thursday Evan took the Elders to Owensboro to exchange while I worked on Primary and then that evening we had dinner with the Osborn’s.  I asked Brother Osborn about the primary boys singing our last Sunday and he asked if we would do a whole primary program.  It will be quite a challenge as we have so few kids but we can do it.

 

Friday was district meeting so back to Owensboro and Saturday was a temple trip.  Only Mike V and the two of us went but we were able to get 10 baptisms (temple did), 30 men’s initiatory and 4 women’s initiatory and 1 female endowment done.  I really want to get those other initiatory done before we leave so no one else has to try and plan to get them done.  Mike took us to Cheddars for lunch where I had a delicious steak and shrimp and they had ribs and shrimp.  He said he had wanted to take us out to eat and this was his chance.  After we got home I just worked on Primary as the Elders said Sydney was going to a party so I didn’t figure she would come to church.  I also did my talk for the baptism tomorrow.

 

We had Alyssa T’s baptism after church and it was so beautiful.  She hugged me and said she was happier than she had ever been.  I know it is going to be hard on her not having any other young women in the branch and with Osborn’s moving so we are losing our Young Women’s leader, I hope she can stay strong.  Her mom and her grandma Jane were both there.  This might be what her mom needs to come back into activity and Alyssa has a whole bunch of family who are less active.

 

The very best part of this past week was that we got the word that we are going to be great grandparents for the first time.  I already knew that I was a “great” grandma but this is just more joy to spread in the family.  Our granddaughter Erika and her oh so special husband put a cute video on Facebook announcing they are expecting.  I am excited to know they aren’t moving to Colorado as first planned but are staying in Rexburg so we will be able to see that baby often.

 

As I am the queen of list makers I sat down and made an ever growing list of things I want and need to do before we leave in just 7 short weeks.  Along with the continued visits we will make are a number of things that will keep me very busy which makes the time fly even faster.  As I try to schedule things I find there aren’t going to be enough hours in a day but I always did work well under pressure.

We so love the people here and want to continue to help in any way we can.  We both know of the truthfulness of this gospel and the importance of actively participating.  Having a testimony does us no good if we don’t attend church, pay tithing, serve and especially attend the temple.  The greatest blessings are there for us as we fully engage in the gospel.

 

We love you all.

Elder and Sister Fullmer

A couple of pictures from last weeks trip to the Lincoln Memorial.  Elder Fullmer at the Lincoln Memorial Building.  This building has five panels representing the different stages of Lincolns life.  The plant is the milkweed plant which was the cause of Lincoln's mother's death.  The next one is of Evan in from of the Patton museum and the last is of a very distant picture of Ft Knox where all the gold is and no one can go into..  

 

August 5, 2015

One of the fun things I did last week was go see the performance the city put on of Mary Poppins.  Evan didn’t want to go so took the Elders on splits and I went with a couple of sisters from the branch.  It was so much fun and the scenery was just as good as any professional production.  This community has done some kind of play nearly every year since 1989 as part of their annual Schweitzer Fest which is a big celebration of the settling of their city.  I also met some very fun people.  Everyone here is so open and friendly.

 

We had talked to Tim and Cheryl Wilson about going back to Mammoth Caves and taking one of the better tours.  They agreed it was a good time so they picked us up about 7:30 Monday morning.  We also took Kaden their 6 year old grandson with us.  We got there thinking they were on Eastern Time and we would make the 11:30 tour but it was sold out so we were trying for the 12 one but it sold out before we got to the front of the line but we heard a person ask about the 10:30 tour and there were still spots.  We learned they were Central time and we had just enough time to get to the tour.  We were glad because we didn’t want to wait clear until 1:15 for the next tour.

 

The tour was amazing.  We were more than 300 feet underground and went up and down 440 stepsand had to go through Fat Man’s Misery which was very narrow and low.  We actually had to duck down to get through some of the places and even turn around at one point to get down the stairs.  I was really glad we went down first because my knees hurt more going down than coming up stairs.  At the end we climbed up 155 stairs in a square tower of steps.  The guide was very good in explaining what had gone on in the caves in the past 200 years with the mining of the saltpeter for gun powder during the war of 1812, the tuberculosis buildings and some of the finding of new caves. We learned that many mummified bodies had been found in the caves in the past and Cheryl can remember as a little girl that one of them was on display.  It wasn’t until 1979 that this was discontinued.  We learned about the eyeless fish and the myriad creatures that live in the caves.  In one room it was very warm after the 55 degrees we had been in.  It was due to the high water level of the river which runs through part of the cave.  There have actually been times when some parts of the cave have been flooded because of the rain.  When the guide turned out all the lights we truly saw what total darkness is.  You couldn’t see your hand even right in front of your face. It really brought to life the story in the Book of Mormon when the Savior is crucified and the blackness covers the land.  I can’t imagine what the tours used to be like when only a kerosene lamp was used.  It was a wonderful tour but we came out pretty worn out.  Two hours of climbing put some strain on our old out of shape bodies.  The tour was only 2 miles of the over 400 miles of caves that have been found and opened.  I wish we had the time and money to take every tour but there is no time.

We stopped in Cave City for some lunch and then went to Mike’s Rock shop so Tim could find his directions.  I took Kaden and we went into the rock shop to look around and found some cute rock animals and I bought him a little wolf.  He is such a sweet little boy.  He kept taking Evan’s iPad and he played games for a little while but mostly loved playing the primary songs.  He comes from a very less active family and only comes to church when his grandparents can get permission to bring him. 

 

Our time for sightseeing is all too quickly coming to an end as we have only about 10 more Mondays so we plan on trying to go somewhere every Monday which bums the Elders because it means they have to do their own laundry and fix their own breakfast on Monday.  I think we have spoiled them a little bit.  We plan on going to visit the boyhood home of Abraham Lincoln next week which won’t be nearly as long or hard as it is only about an hour from us. 

 

We have continued to search for lost members of the branch.  It seems as though the time just seems right when we find a new family we have been searching for.  It is hard to think we are just finding some as the time is growing shorter but we will do all we can to help them come back while we are here.  We just found another couple on Sunday who was so welcoming.  There are two brothers who live next door to each other with their families.  They live about 30 miles out which makes it harder to get to them regularly.  Their parents are active in one of the wards but they both married Catholic girls and have had nothing to do with the church for a number of years.  We will just continue to try and fellowship them so they have a positive feeling towards the members here.

 

We are both so grateful for the time we have had to get to know these people.  This branch is so amazing.  We only had 27 people to church on Sunday but testimony meeting still didn't have any pauses.  The people here really know how to testify of the truthfulness of the gospel and the Savior.  We have been here for 17 Fast Sundays and it never ceases to amaze me.  We have been so blessed to be a part of this branch.

We love you all and hope you are taking every opportunity to share the gospel.

Love 

Elder & Sister Fullmer

 

Below are a picture of the temple trip I took with the Sisters,  The cave pictures are Us on the stairs coming out of the cave, Fat mans misery where you have to turn to get, through and Evan goofing off and little Kaden at the rock shop with crazy windows. The last two of us on the steps of the Indianapolis Temple and just a picture of the temple.

July 27, 2015

This has been a very busy week with lots of travel and some unexpected service.  On Tuesday I was helping a sister work on her family history as she is going on a long vacation and plans to visit 8 temples and wanted family names to do.  When we took a break we happened to check Facebook and saw that Leroy and Eva Mae had been flooded badly from last night’s rain so we quickly had lunch, changed clothes and went over.  There wasn’t much we could do at first because they were waiting for the insurance lady but after she came we helped load the furniture they were trying to save. We took boxes of stuff that had to be moved that hadn’t gotten wet upstairs  It had all happened so quickly on Monday night.  They had to get the EMT’s to come and get Leroy and move him upstairs while they tried to get the water stopped.  It wasn’t just rain water but backed up sewer water from the faulty water system in Cannelton.  The Cannelton Mayor says it isn’t the cities fault and they won’t help them with any of the costs.  They have ended up having to tear out walls 12 inches up as well as the lower cabinets and her island in her kitchen.   It turns out that Leroy’s motorized wheelchair was ruined from the water so he isn’t able to go anywhere at this time.  These are the best sweetest people in the world and seem to  have one trial after another.

We left at 7 with Tim, Cheryl and Sydney to go to Carmel Indiana for the temple open house.  It takes nearly 4 hours to get there and with the time difference it was noon before we were there.  I had the wrong address for the temple and we stopped and ask at a station and got the right directions.  As we got to the temple there were people standing outside the gates handing out anti propaganda and we took their one handout not even thinking.  We had a wonderful tour of the temple.  Sydney just kept saying that she wanted to be there.  When they said the first endowment room was for instruction she said “if it is just for instruction can I please go to that part.”  She didn’t want to leave the celestial room at all.  It is such a beautiful temple with gorgeous woodwork and paintings.  We took lots of pictures after the tour and then left for home.  She was reading the anti-literature and getting very indignant about what they were saying and why they couldn’t just leave us alone.  For some reason the GPS started taking us north instead of south so we took off on a road but it turned out to be a good thing because we found a great little gyro place to eat.  We visited with the owner and gave him our card and told him about the temple open house.  It took us even longer to get home because of the stop and go traffic so we didn’t get home until 5:30.  We were both pretty worn out and knowing we had another travel day on Saturday just relaxed and worked on lessons when we got home.  It was a good day and just what Sydney needed.

We left at 9 for Louisville and with the time difference got there just about 11:30 so had some time to visit with the other senior couples.  It was good to spend time just visiting and comparing branches and the work we do.  It made me really glad we are in Tell city when I hear about Monticello only having 6 people to church some Sundays and Beatyville sometimes only has 15.  We at least average about 35.  Also those two towns are so far out and on such winding roads that it takes them 45 minutes to go 19 miles to get groceries.  We had a very nice salad lunch with ham and shrimp as well and just visited and each couple told of experiences and some about themselves.  It was good to meet the Carbine’s who are taking the Moulton’s place in the office. 

We then left for the temple where the seven couples made up the session except for one other sister.  We did all branch names which made it nice for the branch to get that much work done.  Most of it was on the Cunningham line.  I did Martha Anna Spicer’s work.  She was only married for a year when she passed away in 1893 probably in childbirth as they had a baby die in 1893 as well.  When I got to the veil the spirit was so strong and such a feeling of joy.  I know she, John Milton and their daughter were all there and thankful that this work is being done.  I can hardly wait to seal her to him and then seal Ada to them. 

We were able to find another less active and to meet up with a family we had found once before who now seem interested in learning more.  The husband was very active at one point but has let life get in the way.  We have a return appointment on Sunday.  The first time we were there I told the lady I would bring her a loaf of bread and she hasn’t forgotten that. 

The work goes on and the time continues to fly.  Every time I think of leaving these people I get a little emotional.  We have made such good friends who really do feel like family.  Our Stake President told us last Sunday that we could solve that by just moving here for good.  I would miss my grandkids and kids way too much.

We are both just so thankful for the opportunity we have had to have this experience.  Nothing can compare to it.

We love you all

Elder and Sister Fullmer

Amy—congratulations on that new grandbaby.  He is adorable. 

Robert & Connie—were you by any chance in Indianapolis on Friday.  We passed a semi with a load of pigs and wondered.  It made us think of you anyway.

July 20, 2015

July 20, 2015

The highlight of this past week for me was the temple trip that I took with some of the sisters from the branch.  We have been working very hard to get names ready for the temple and last
Wednesday 8 of the sisters and I went to the temple.  We were able to do 121 baptisms( 37 family names), 40 initiatory, 6 endowments and a number of sealings.  The best part of the day was that one sister did her sisters work, one did her grandmother’s work, I did a man from our branch’s mother’s work, one sister did her aunt and the other two sisters did aunts of another sister.  Our newest converts did baptisms for their grandmother’s and great grandmother’s so it was a wonderful productive day.  We are hoping to do more research so that we can have another such day before we leave to come home.  Most of the sisters have really caught the vision of family history and we are working hard to make sure they are comfortable with the family search program so they will continue after we are gone.  Evan took the Elders to appointments and then had coordination meeting with our branch mission leader while I was gone.  One of the blessings and opportunities of being Senior Missionaries is that we are able to help just where we are needed and don’t need to be together at all times.

We attended another Baptist funeral this past week.  It is such an interesting experience that makes me even more thankful for knowing what I know about the life after this one and the comfort it brings. 

This week is so scheduled that the time is going to fly.  We are going to go to Indianapolis to the temple open house this Friday and are hoping to take Sydney and her mother and possibly one other lady.  Along with Zone Conference, a Senior Missionary temple day, visiting teaching, some of our regular appointments and helping a sister do some family history before she leaves for her extended trip in which she hopes to visit 8 temples, it is going to be a very busy week.

We just had Family Home Evening at our house and with 13 people in our little living room it made for quite a crowd and we laughed so hard at some points that we were afraid the lady next door might call the police on us.  We certainly do have a good time when we are together.

The water has started to go down in the Ohio a little so the threat of flooded roads has abated somewhat but as I type I listen to the thunder and watch the lightening.  The thunder here seems to roll on forever.  I do love the rain but we are feeling a little water logged.  It also makes for very humid days and it is hard to be out in the heat for too long without feeling as if another shower is needed.

The gospel is true so what else matters.  We know it, we love it and we are trying to show by our example what joy it brings.

Love

Elder and Sister Fullmer

July 13, 2015

July 13, 2015

Dear one and all.

Not much different has been going on this past couple of weeks.  We have had so much rain that we thought for a while that we should build an ark.  The days it hasn’t rained have been so hot and humid that we wish it would. 

We had to buy a car as our air conditioning went out of the old one and it was going to cost so much to fix it that we decided to look for something new.  We found something that will meet our needs and has many fewer miles than the 298,000 miles that the other one has.  We still plan on bringing the old car home as we won’t need the ac while driving home in October or for several months when we first get home. 

We got a new Elder this past week on transfer day.  It was another of those really long days as we first took our Elder Stewart to Jasper where he will serve in a trio for another 3 weeks until his one companion goes home and then two weeks later his other companion goes home and he will probably get a greenie to train.  We got 16 new Elders this transfer and get 14 more next transfer so a good number of missionaries are training.  We then went to Louisville to pick up Elder Jessen who is from Orem Utah and has been out for 6 months.  He was awfully quiet for the first few days but is now opening up.

We have a sisters temple day planned for this week where 9 of the sisters from the branch are going.  Some will be doing baptisms, some initiatory and then hopefully the time will work out that we can do a session.  We have done a lot of family history and the excitement is high especially with our two newest converts.  This will be the first time they have been to the temple and they are both doing family names.

We found a lady we have been trying to contact since we got here and had a very nice visit with her.  She joined as a young lady but has since gone to the Catholic Church because her husband will go there and she wants some kind of church in her life.  When she lived in a different town she said the missionaries were always at her house.  We will be able to see her more now as she has lost her job and isn’t really looking very hard for another one.  She showed us her father’s Book of Mormon and the very old pamphlets he had from when he joined the church many years ago. 

As I was reading in Ether this morning it really struck me as to how much our world is sounding like what was going on during that time with all the contention that is happening.  We each need to stand up and speak out for what is true and right.  We have the fullness of the Gospel and know what joy it brings us and we need to share with everyone we meet.  Never be afraid to bear testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel.  We both know it is true and are so thankful for that knowledge and the peace it brings.

We love you all

Elder and Sister Fullmer

June 29, 2015

We had interviews with our mission president this past week and he said that we have an office couple coming in but no one else in the foreseeable future.  While he was doing interviews the AP’s gave the training.  It was a really good training on the “7 deadly fallacies of the GKLM”  (Great Kentucky Louisville Mission) and then squashed each one.     Fallacy #1.  Humility is tearing yourself down and emphasizing every flaw.  Rather it is recognizing our weaknesses and our strengths and being grateful for them.  They talked about the difference between confidence and pride.  Fallacy #2  We are here to have “fun”.  We need to remember our purpose.    Fallacy  #3  Being bold but not offensive.  No sissies in the scriptures.  Getting rid of the fluff and making boldness =prayer +study+skills.  Fallacy #4  We don’t need to study PMG chap. 3.  We did a quiz and it showed me the areas I need to focus more on studying.  “the devil is the master of complexity but God is the master of simplicity.”   They told of Brother Huntsinger whose mother was a new member who set up a meeting with the Elders and ask him to please come.  He said he would but only wanted answers to his questions from the Bible.  They answered his questions with the Bible and then backed them all up with the Book of Mormon and he knew it was true.   Fallacy #5 The Lord’s work will get done no matter what I do.”  I know we each can touch someone because of who we are or how we relate to them.  It may be someone that no one else has been able to reach.   Fallacy #6  Losing yourself in the work means becoming a robot or holier than thou or “bro”.  The consecrated missionary is exactly obedient but humble.  We still need to keep our personalities and be us but be obedient in all things.  Fallacy #7 We cannot baptize.  Hermana Magale told us about getting to dance in Japan.  The singer for the group was named Jermain and he had served his mission in Japan 10 years before.  His goal had been to baptize a family but he only baptized. Ding.  Going home from his mission to Australia he had a taxi driver who was really helpful but he didn’t have enough money to pay him but gave him a Japanese Book of Mormon which the driver accepted just because he was helpful.  At their dance performance Jermain suddenly stopped singing because he saw Ding.  When he talked to him he found that Ding had just recently returned from his mission to Australia.  He told of a family that was getting ready for baptism and he was helping them move and noticed a Japanese Book of Mormon on the shelf.  He picked it up and the man told him he couldn’t even read it.  Ding saw that it was signed by Jermain.  So Jermain taught and baptized Ding, shared a Book of Mormon and 10 years later Ding taught the family of the man who received the Book of Mormon.  We never know what the Lord’s time frame is.   It was such a good training in which they taught with spiritual experiences, humor, role playing, videoing with the iPads  and challenges.

Last night we drove to Louisville to the monthly fireside for new members and investigators.  It was such a boost for Sydney to hear of others struggles but to feel of their testimonies.  She truly bore a strong testimony of the Savior and the help the gospel has been to her.  She had so many people stop her afterwards to tell her how she had touched them.  Even with her struggles and the baby steps she is taking it was a good experience for her.  She also had a friend with her who seemed to enjoy it all.  That is one thing we all need to remember with a new member.  They are sometimes coming from a totally different world and are making huge changes in their lives and we need to love and help them and not be critical if they don’t immediately understand and change everything. 

Other than that day the rest of the week has been pretty normal.  We did have our usual monthly temple trip which is always a good break.  We talked to a young woman here on a school trip whose parents just got their mission call to Alabama.  SENIOR COUPLES ARE SO NEEDED.  If you know anyone who could serve please encourage them to do so.  I looked at the opportunities for senior missionaries on the church site and there are so many senior couples needed in so many places.  We have been so blessed in being able to serve here.  It will be interesting to see where the Lord takes us next.  

We hope you are all taking opportunities to share your testimonies and love of the gospel.  That is what hastening the work is all about.

Love

Elder and sister Fullmer

June 3-22, 2015

It is hard to believe that it has been 3 weeks since my last email.  Time just flies so fast and the days now seem so ordinary that it is hard to write.  We still visit the less actives each month as well as doing lots of home and visiting teaching.  

We really enjoyed watching nature unfold in our front yard the past 3 weeks.  We noticed a killdeer that had a nest in our front yard which is just gravel.  She would sit on her four eggs faithfully or stand beside them to shade them.  It was so hard to even see her until we knew exactly where to look she blended in so well with the gravel.  If we would notice that she wasn’t on her nest we would try and sneak out to see her eggs but she or the male were never far away and would start screeching and scolding us and try to lead us away.  We studied up on this bird and learned that when the eggs hatch they don’t need to be fed like robins do or take time to develop because they incubate for two weeks longer than other birds and just come out and immediately start running and following their mother.  Unfortunately for me the eggs all hatched while I was in Utah and I missed their first exploration outside their eggs.  Evan took pictures and told me about it and it was fun to see them when I got home.  They have long skinny legs and just run so fast.  They were around for a few days but we can’t find them now and with the storms we have been having we don’t have any idea where they could be.  It really was fascinating.

 

I had a wonderful but way too short time in Utah with my girls.  We of course stayed up way too late, ate too much and talked and laughed a lot. One day I went to see my dentist and had a crown put on a broken tooth.  It meant I also went to our house and had forgotten what a whirlwind we had left in.  It could use some major tidying but will still be there when we get home.  It was a rejuvenating 5 days even if it did wear me out to get back on those late flights.

 

We have had a great experience this past week.  We took the Elders to visit some families about 20 miles away but no one was home so we stopped in to see a less active we catch occasionally.  She was home and also asked her 15 year old daughter to come in and read with us.  The daughter Alyssa has since read in the Book of Mormon and wants to know more.  We had committed her to reading the introduction to the Book of Mormon before our return and she has since been texting the elders asking them lots of questions about what she has been reading.   She is way past where we thought she would be.   She is reading but doesn’t understand.  It will be hard if she is the one prepared for the gospel because she is only 15 and lives so far out of town and doesn’t have a driver’s license but maybe this is what it will take to get her mother to come back.  They did cancel our Sunday meeting because of father’s day but we are scheduled for tomorrow.  We believe in miracles.

 

We have had some magnificent thunder and lightning storms the last few days.  At 3:30 this morning the lightning seemed to strike right outside our bedroom window.  We have had major tornado warnings but thankfully they have all passed us by.  We seem to always be in another part of our area when the tornadoes are spotted in town.  We saw pictures of a funnel cloud on our street but of course we were miles away.  I guess all the prayers for the safety of the missionaries are really being fulfilled in our behalf. 

 

I was feeling a little down one day wondering if we have really made any difference in this branch and was talking to the mother of the 4 young boys and she said we had made a huge difference for them because they had been able to go to the temple every month because we have been willing to tend their boys which they haven't been able to do for a long time.  Not having any young women in our branch has limited them as to who they even knew to use for a babysitter.  Others reassured me that the family history work we have been able to do has been a blessing for the branch so I guess we have been helping in some ways.  Elder Fullmer did take a member who was less active for years to the temple a couple of weeks ago and did baptisms for the dead.  He is trying to get ready for the temple in another few months so there has been some progress.

 

President Hardman called us in yesterday and asked me to unofficially be the Primary President.  Many Sundays in the past year I have been filling in as the president had cancer and her daughter who is her caretaker were so often gone.  Now they have moved to Utah so there really is no one else.  Sydney is willing to do whatever I explain to her needs to be done but is still so new.  We are working well together sharing responsibilities.  We are thankful for being able to download the primary songs as our pianist only knows some of the songs and our boys really do love to sing.  Sydney is learning right along with the boys and the primary lessons are just what she needs.  It truly helps me as I prepare a lesson for a range of ages from 4 up to 20.  She just soaks it all up like a sponge.  I never thought I would spend as much time on a primary lesson as I used to spend on a Gospel Doctrine lesson.

 

We visited with a man who had his name taken off the records of the church probably 35 years ago.  His wife is less active but we really enjoy their company.  Elder Fullmer just ask him if he had ever thought about coming back to the church and he said that was the first time anyone had ever ask him.  We spent the next 3 hours talking and discussing his questions.  He said that science isn't answering his questions and he always thought religion wasn't.  Sometimes it just takes being bold and asking.   The gospel is true so what else matters.  Don't be afraid to ask someone what they know and if they would like to know more.   Remember D&C 123:12 "who are kept from the truth because they know not where to find it."

 

Love Elder and Sister Fullmer

Mom and Dad

Imagine how hard it would have been to see this momma bird standing on our porch looking into the gravel.  You couldn't see the baby birds until I cropped the picture and inlarged them.

 

June 3, 2015

June 3, 2015

The days are flying so fast I have had a hard time finding a minute to write.  We have kept very busy helping our friends pack up their house for the move, visiting and home teaching, appointments with the Elders, doing laundry on the fly as we run in and out, loading the dishwasher whenever we get a spare moment and generally eating whatever is quick and easy(usually fattening).  Also two days of the flu, an ice cream social, a branch temple trip and plenty of primary planning.

One of the highlights of the last two weeks was our meeting for the I-pad training.  We went to Louisville for the ipad conference.  We thought we wouldn’t be a part of the meeting but just take the Elders.  On Monday I had read President Brough’s email and he said that Elder Zwick and Brother Hemingway were coming and to not try and get pictures taken with Elder Zwick as they would be on a time schedule.  I knew cousin Mike Hemingway worked for the mission department so was pretty sure it would be him.  When they all walked into the meeting sure enough it was Mike.  We get to go through and shake hands with the visiting authority and anyone else with him as well as President and Sister Brough.  When I got to Mike I shook hands and then said “Is that all I get”.  When he realized it was me he gave me a big hug and told Elder Zwick I was his cousin.  It was fun to see him and when he got up to talk he told of how surprised he was to see his cousin Trudy-or Sister Fullmer and how our Grandma Laws was probably getting a big kick out of it.  I was able to visit with him during the break.  I told him of my desires to serve some kind of family search mission and he told me to just get in touch with him when we get home and he would help us talk to all the right people and decide what we want to do next. I wanted to get a picture but didn’t have time then.  At the end of the meeting President Brough asked that we all stay seated because they needed to get them all to the airport.  I was afraid I wouldn’t get a picture but Mike came back and had us come out in the hall where he had Evan take a picture of the two of us, then President Brough took a picture of the three of us and then Mike had Elder Zwick get in the picture.

That was the fun part of the conference but the best part was the spiritual experience of being there.  The whole conference was about the use of the new I-pads and the trust that is being put into these young people to use them correctly.  Mike read a quote from President Benson from 1974 saying the inventions coming that would help spread the gospel were beyond what we could imagine.  Mike asked what we have now that we didn’t have in 1974 –besides all of them.  These young people have grown up with so many things we never dreamed of and it is just a part of their lives.  Who ever thought we would have so much information in something as small as a cell phone.   Mike emphasized how these are for the spreading of the gospel and not just a social outlet.   

Elder Zwick talked a little bit about his mission.  His mission president was Richard G. Scott and at one point Elder Zwick went and helped build the first tiny chapel in Argentina where there is now a temple.  His father had a construction company and he had worked there and knew about building.  One of the quotes that he gave which I especially liked was “I can’t do perfect but I can do faithful or perfect obedience.”

I wish I had been able to record all of the meeting as it was so powerful.  There is no way to share the spirit that was there.

We had decided to see about extending our mission for a couple of months as we want to go to Georgia to see our son John and his wife Audie before we come home.  John said we didn’t really want to come to Georgia the end of August so we talked to our Mission President about extending.  There are no senior couples coming to our mission in the near future and we are already down from 13 couples to 6 with the office couple leaving in August and another couple in September.  We got a call from President Brough on Memorial Day and our extension was approved in Salt Lake so we are staying until October.  He said “ So your release date will be February 24 of 2016”.  We laughed and said no just until October.  Our release date would be the 24^th but I asked if we could leave the 22nd so we could make it to Georgia to see John and Audie on the weekend instead of having to waste a week as the 24^th is a Saturday.  He said as seniors we can leave anytime we want.  So we get to stay with the people we have grown to love for an extra two months.

For our p-day this week our friends the Wilson’s took us Mammoth Caves.  It is only 63 miles there but because of the winding roads it takes nearly two hours to get there.  When we got there we would have had to wait for an hour and a half for the historic tour so just took the small tour which turned out to be a real disappointment.  We just went down through the two main caverns, listened to the guide talk about his ancestors who didn’t come from Africa but from England as servants to a rich man, had him tell us that he couldn’t turn the lights off because another tour was coming through and then just turned them off for a brief moment and the we were done and went back to the beginning.  It was very disappointing not to actually see anything but two big open caves which were impressive in their size but nothing to brag about.  We wandered through the displays and learned some of the history.  There are 440 miles of caves which have been discovered since 1837 and they just keep finding more.  It would be nice to go back and spend more time on one of the other tours.  After leaving the park and driving back a few miles for lunch we got turned around and the phones had no signal so we just drove until we found ourselves back at the caves.  It was open enough there that we got signal and found the way to go.  It took us a totally different route which included a ferry ride across the Green River.  It was only about 5 or 6 car lengths across but still a new thing I had never done.

On Tuesday we spent 6 hours helping our friends pack up the truck for their move.  I would feel worse about them moving except for the fact that they are moving to Utah so we will have the opportunity to visit them there.  They are actually bringing the computer cabinet that was given to us by some other friends (when we moved them the second time) so we will have it when we get home.

Today we left really early to make it to the temple again with our friends the Wilson’s.  They wanted to go earlier than we usually go on our monthly trips so we could get some extra work done for her family.  After leaving the temple we were planning on going to New Albany to see mansion row but decided on the spur of the moment to go to Joe’s Crab Shack for lunch.  We looked at the prices when we got there and sort of wished we hadn’t but ended up with some really nice meals.  It is right on the Ohio River and was a nice once in a lifetime experience.  We then went to a New Albany and found the mansion row and after a wait went through the tour of the Culbertson Mansion.  They are completely restoring the mansion and it is beautiful as mansions were in the early 1800’s.  They have one room that shows just how the restoration is happening.  They take all the paint off until they find the original ceiling, put a new ceiling up and paint it just as it was originally.  The main floor is done and part of the rooms on the second floor but the third floor is pretty much as it was for so many years.  It was a fun thing to see even though it meant lots of stairs.

I am looking forward to my trip home next week.  I get to come and spend 5 days with my daughters(and any sons I can) while Elder Fullmer continues the work here with the Elders and the service he does for so many.  When we planned the trip it seemed so far in the future and now it is almost here.  The weeks seem to only be about 4 days long.

We know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and the way to happiness.  We are so grateful for the knowledge we have of our Savior’s atonement and the joy it brings as we apply it in our lives.  Take time to feast on the words of the Book of Mormon and then share it with everyone you meet.

Have a great week.  We love you all.

Elder and Sister Fullmer

Mom and Dad

I will try and send pictures tomorrow. 

May 18, 2015

Our family search meeting last week was very successful.  Evan went and set up the computer and got it working with the church system so I could show it on the screen.  The meeting went really well and I was pleasantly surprised to have Tom S and Carol V come as they are two of our less actives. We had visited Tom last week and told him about it but didn’t expect to see him.   Evan stayed to make sure things worked right which I was very grateful for.  He sat next to Tom and helped him try and get things set up. 

I told everyone about the connection I had found with John Solomon Fullmer and Noah Thomas Guymon that I mentioned in last weeds email and also of the reply our granddaughter Samantha had sent about what she had learned of Noah Thomas Guymon.  She enjoys family history almost as much as I do I think.   She is actually the family history consultant in her ward.  Here is what she said.

 “That's pretty cool, as soon as I read Noah Thomas Guymon I knew I had researched him, but I never knew that. I have found out however, my mom and dad are related at the 4th/5th generation (I think...). Louisa Rowley, Noah Thomas Guymon's wife, is the daughter of William and Ann Jewell Rowley. Wellllll on Grandma Joy's side is Samuel Rowley, Louisa's younger brother. Therefore on both sides of my family William and Ann Jewell are my great great great great grandparents. I had always known about Ann Jewell being on my Grandma Joy's side because of her amazing pioneer story, what I didn't know until I went through the "find your pioneer ancestors" thing on Family Search that she was also on your side. I thought that was pretty cool when I figured that out”

The members seem more comfortable with the program now which was the goal.

We each spent last Wednesday going our separate ways.  Evan went and worked with some members cutting wood and then stopped and did some weed eating at another member while I went with some of the sisters and did the Memorial Day thing-cleaning headstones and placing flowers.  Because I think cemeteries are fascinating I had a really enjoyable day.  I wish the headstones could tell the stories of the people buried there.  I would love to hear of their joys and sorrows, their dreams and hopes.  Silly I know.

The rest of the week has been pretty normal.  We did more service, helped with family history, prepared lessons and made visits.  Sometimes we look back and ask what we really did during the week but we manage to keep plenty busy.

We are both so grateful for the opportunity to serve these people in this branch.  Evan said that yesterday Bro. Hinkle who is moving and having a hard time with it asked Brother Skeen to give him a blessing.  Brother Skeen is the one paralyzed from the neck down and it is very hard to understand him but Evan said the spirit was so strong you could really feel it.  Our testimonies have grown so much watching these amazing people face their trials but carry on with such grace.

We love you all and pray that each of you will seek opportunities to serve those around you.  We testify that this gospel is true and the only way to true happiness.

Love to all

Elder and Sister Fullmer

 

May 12, 2015

Hello to all from beautiful Indiana

The weather has now turned to the hot humid days with a teaser day with cool breezes thrown in.  I love the sunshine but the heat just wears us out.  I can’t imagine what it is like where our daughter Kellie is living in Africa where it is 110 degrees.  They had the opportunity to go to Germany for a week and when I talked to their five year old and asked her what she liked most about the trip she said the hotel room with the air conditioning.  It puts it into perspective when we go from our air conditioned house to our air conditioned car to someone else’s air conditioned home.  We are so blessed.

I spent a lot of the last week working on Family Search.  I am teaching a class tonight and wanted to know all about the new changes so was going through each tab to learn what it did.  I knew there would be a lot of information on John Solomon Fullmer because of his prominent role in the church so I went to his person page.  I looked in the memories that have been put online and went through the pictures, documents and histories.  I noticed the name of Noah Thomas Guymon on one of the histories and I knew that name was from my family history.  I read the history and learned that Noah Thomas Guymon who is my great great grandfather and John Solomon Fullmer who is Evan’s great great grandfather were mission companions in England back in the early 1850’s.  We have been married for almost 45 years and never knew we had this connection.  It shows that even when you think all of your genealogy has been done there are still wonderful things you can learn about your family.

I have also been spending lots of time working on Primary trying to help our new presidency member.  We spent some time working up a sharing time with the help of some wonderful things our daughter Kimberly sent.  We only had the 3 Osborn boys to primary so it was a little different than planned but it worked well.  We taught them the abcd’s of repentance or admit, be sorry, confess and change and don’t do it again.  They wanted to come up with a word for each letter of the alphabet to do with repentance so we did.  It meant we didn’t have time for singing time or a lesson but it was them really thinking about repentance.  They came up with some good ideas of words to associate with each letter.   This wouldn’t have been possible in a larger Primary so I guess there are a few tiny perks in having such a small group.  Our little 4 year old had a hard time and ended up under his chair but was quiet doing it.  We have a challenge of keeping him interested unless we are really active.  Sydney(our new member) certainly has no hesitations when working with the kids.  She is a natural teacher and loves sharing her testimony so much. 

While I have been doing all this Evan has spent more time with the Elders or doing service with some of the members.  We both keep busy but sometimes not together.  I went and helped a family pack to get ready for their move while he was cutting wood which he so enjoys.  That is the wonderful thing about an MLS mission.  There are so many different aspects of what we can do to help.  Everything is in some way helping the members of our branch or the investigators we are working with.   This is also the way each of us should be helping in the hastening of the work.  We can do service, fulfill our callings, do family history and attend the temple.  Sometimes a service project which can involve a non-member or less active is just the thing for them to feel needed which we all need.  Family search is a great tool.  We have had several of our less actives say they are coming tonight to learn about family search which we hope happens.  They have expressed an interest in learning more about their families and as I have started looking into their lines I have found that lots of temple work has been done by members of their family somewhere.

We love you all and encourage each of you to share your testimony not only by your actions but don’t be afraid to speak up and tell people.  We know that the gospel is true and we are grateful for the opportunity to have a more active part in sharing it in our everyday life.

Love

Elder and Sister Fullmer

 

Yesterday for our preparation day we took the Elders and drove to Santa Claus.  They both wanted to go see what was there so Elder Fullmer graciously took us even though he would have rather done something else with his day.  We did manage to get him out of the car for one picture with Santa.  The other pictures are Elder Stewart and Elder Gould.

Also we saw this creature out in the woods and after taking his picture from a distance, managed to get a picture with him. We do see amazing things in this country.

 

May 4, 20015

It doesn’t seem as though there is much to write about this week.  The time is flying by and we are making lots of visits, meeting new people, doing service for many people, teaching lessons and enjoying being with the Elders but it is all things I have written about before.  We have had some unique opportunities to serve the family we moved the 40 miles away as they haven’t been to their new ward yet to meet anyone who would be closer to them who could help them out. 

The highlight of last week was really our visit with Gary and Wanda Yearsley.  They are from our hometown and finished serving a mission in California in February.  They had been in Texas visiting their daughters and were on their way to Indianapolis to visit with another daughter so we were on their way.  It was such a good evening with them sharing mission experiences both positive and funny.  They served as the office couple with Gary being in charge of apartments and cars-a job Elder Fullmer prays he never gets.  Wanda served in the office paying all the bills and keeping the mission running.  I am truly glad that we got an MLS mission and not an office mission.  They had way more stress than we do and also never had time to take a nap when they needed it which we sometimes find we need to do.  There are so many ways to help with the Hastening of the Work.

Our newest convert Sydney got her first calling this past week and was sustained as 2^nd counselor in the Primary on Sunday.   When she was asked to stand and be sustained she put her hands on her hips and just beamed.  She is so excited to have a calling and it made me think about how I react when I get a calling.  I hope I can always be as excited to serve as she is.  When Janine and Shay H(Primary President and 1^st counselor) leave in less than a month she will be the only member of the primary presidency so has a lot to learn in the next little bit of time.  The Sister who was called to be president turned down the calling so it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.  I will spend as much time as possible helping Sydney learn the ropes so she will be prepared.  She certainly isn’t afraid to speak out in primary and tell the boys how blessed they are to have this while they are young.  She is already learning the primary songs and loving it.  She also got called to be the chorister in Sacrament Meeting which means teaching her how to lead music but she is enthused about that as well.

Today we had the fun of going on a 2 hour hike with the Elders, Sydney and another young man George, from the branch.  We went to the Hemlock Cliffs and got to enjoy the beautiful rocks and valleys.  We did more climbing than we probably should have and tonight I am really feeling it but it was fun while it lasted.  I will probably be so stiff tomorrow I won’t be able to move but it was worth it.  The hike was actually only just a little more than a mile but with all the extra climbing we did it made for lots more.  No boring days with this bunch around.

Much love to everyone.  Remember we each need to do our part in the Hastening of the work.  Be a member missionary by word and deed.  Let your light shine.

Love

Elder and Sister Fullmer

1st picture Looking down the trail to the first stop on our hike.  #2  Sister Fullmer having climbed up to the rocks--I think I can  #3Elder Fullmer at a point in the stairs going back up the mountain.  #4More stairs leading back up the trail.  #5  Layered rock formation.

 

April 20, 2015

Dear one and all

We thought spring had come to Indiana but that just means rain, rain and more rain.  We were helping a couple move two weeks ago.  They moved about 35 miles away so we made a number of trips there as it was just a matter of loading their truck and taking a load.  One load we were about half way there in a town called Rockport when sirens were going off for a tornado warning.  The elders got a call from Elder Moulton from the office saying there were tornado warning’s in Tell City so to get somewhere safe and to let us know.  Because we were together we heard it all.  The rain started to just pelt down and the wind was really bad.  I though Laura would pull under the station awning and try and keep her furniture dry but she just headed out for Hatfield.  The wind and rain were really bad for about 10 minutes and then cleared off.   When we got back to Tell City we learned that a tornado had struck about 15 miles up the road in a different direction from where we were taking out a number of trees  and picking up a shed and moving it without damaging the car or truck that were sitting inside of it.  I must admit that I would like to see a small tornado just for the experience if it didn’t do any damage but just went through.  Of course because we are in Indiana where the forests are so dense it would be hard for a tornado to set down without taking out a lot of trees.  We helped that family move two different days then drove them home on Sunday because their truck broke down after church and then made two more trips on Monday to help them out.  We were both pretty tired after that week and are finding that some days we just really need to have some time to rest.

Last week we again spend part of two days helping another couple move.  Luckily they only moved about 6 blocks and they had already moved a lot of stuff so we just helped with some of the furniture.  They took us to lunch both days so that was a nice way of them saying thanks. 

With transfer meeting last week we at it made for another long trip and very early morning.  We left at about 5 a.m. to be in Evansville by 6.  We went there because Elder Riphenburg was transferred to Henderson and where it was an in zone transfer we just took him over there and met his new companion Elder Staley.  We then took Elder Weyland and Elder Stewart to Louisville for transfer meeting which was 100 miles in the opposite direction.  It poured rain the whole time they were switching out luggage and then all the way to Louisville.  We got there by 9:30 Kentucky time so they had some time to visit with their friends.  Our new Elder is Elder Gould.  He has only been a member for 2 years and has been on his mission for 6 months.  He is the only member of his family other than his step-mom and he has a step brother who actually served in this mission.  We really like him already.

We had FHE at our house again tonight because the family who were supposed to hold it this time is once again behind water covered roads.  We had a really good turnout to FHE because Alex Gerard who served here when we first got here and his family were in town and everyone wanted to see him.  I spent a good part of the day fixing food for a large crowd and it was all appreciated.  I was glad it was still cool so that I could make soups which are easy for a large group.  We had such a good time talking and laughing. 

When we went to the temple on Saturday I had Family Ordinance Requests for seven different people to get temple cards printed.  Some of them aren’t even active but are interested in getting work done for their family members.  It has been such a good experience to help people do their work.  I just begin to feel that I understand all of Family Search and then they make some changes and I have to learn some new things.  I have called the Family Search missionaries several times but now know how to do things and can teach the sisters when we have our next class.  They all got excited about 5 years ago when a senior couple was helping them but didn’t learn the program well enough to continue on their own so I really want them all to feel comfortable using Family Search before we come home so they will continue after we are gone.

We love you all and promise you that as you help the missionary work in your area you will be blessed.  Every Senior Couple we have talked to (and we feel the same way) say they are going to be better member missionaries when they get home now that they see how important members are to the missionary work.  The full time missionaries can’t do it all alone nor should they have to.  We each need to do our part.  Hastening the work takes all of us. 

Love

Elder and Sister Fullmer