Christmas with the Winston Missionaries

We were excited to have the missionaries come to our home for Christmas dinner. Their youth and enthusiasm brought an excitement that we appreciated. We enjoyed a ham dinner with all the trimmings. We also gave each of them a Santa stocking with several small gifts. They seemed to enjoy the time they spent with us. Sisters Wood,Hokanson and Elders Borden and Finlinson left with light hearts and full tummies!

Bitter Sweet

We said goodbye to Elder Watson today. He is being transferred to the Springfield area. We watched him transform from an inexperienced, scared new missionary a couple of months ago to a capable, knowledgeable, confident yet humble missionary. It has been a pleasure to serve in the same ward with Elder Watson and his companion. We enjoy our association with these great young people. They enrich our lives.

Back to the Work!

After taking a month off to recuperate from cervical spine surgery Elder Zollinger is healing well. He is making great progress in his recovery. We are happy to get back to our missionary assignments.

Side Lined

Our missionary work has been interrupted for a necessary surgery. Elder Zollinger had a cervical fusion on October 23rd. He is doing well but will need to wear a collar for stability for a month or so. We appreciate the many prayers offered on his behalf. We hope to get back to missionary work soon. So grateful for doctors and nurses who do their jobs well. God is good.

Excellent Elders

These young Elders became very dear to us. Elder Thurgood (on the right), was our District Leader. He was a great example to us as well as his companion Elder Watson. We enjoyed working with both of them. It was fun for us to take them to lunch on Saturdays after our correlation meetings. We will miss Elder Thurgood as he transfers to Klammath Falls. What fine young men we have the pleasure of working with and learning from.

Our First Zone Conference

We drove to Grants Pass bright and early on. Tuesday morning for our first zone conference. We didn't know what to expect, but enjoyed it immensely. We were taught by President and Sister Russel as well as the zone leaders. We were so impressed at the quality of these young elders and sisters. We came away spiritually fed, lifted, and encouraged. It was a great day!

Home made Bread

As missionaries we have discovered that it never hurts to bring a loaf of fresh, home made bread with us when visiting less active members. Who wouldn't want that? We were told at the MTC that bread, or cookies always help warm people up. It's true! We've tried it and it works. We need to start buying giant bags of flour at Costco. I have a feeling we're going to be using a lot of it!