Week 77
Great-nephew Sam received his mission call to the Washington, Tacoma Mission this week--he enters the MTC on July 5.  Yippee for another missionary in the family!

Hate to repeat myself, but weather headlines this week, too.  We got about 6 inches of rain yesterday, and the average for the whole month of April is 3.4 inches!  Other parts of the state were hit even worse and the governor declared a state of emergency for Oklahoma.  The massive thunder storm (think booming thunder reverberating in the sky) started about 2 am and storms recurred throughout the day.  Fortunately we didn't get the tornadoes that have hit in states around us.  This picture is of Meridian Pond--the water in the foreground is about a 4-foot deep, miles-long culvert (generally dry) completely full.  The pond in the background shows a fire hydrant that normally marks the shoreline--it's a bit wet! And it's been raining most of this afternoon and evening as well.

On a dryer note, we had a fun talent show for FHE Monday.  Quite an array of talents shared.

Talent on the bottom left is sitting in our office with the basket of candy the next day

Two weeks ago a reporter for the OSU student newspaper came to Soup Tuesday, then interviewed the missionaries afterward for a story in the paper.  We were all surprised by how positive the story was, but even more surprised that the cover picture on the paper was the Book of Mormon!

Here are our missionaries after Sunday dinner:

Sisters Atkinson and Smith; Elders Davis and Rounds

I just can't believe what wonderful missionaries we have.  Their parents should be proud!  Sister Atkinson and Elder Davis had their Greenie Graduation last week, so they are fully trained (takes 2 transfers, or 12 weeks, and "passing off" two lessons to the President or his assistants).

We both spoke in Sacrament Meeting today, and it was bittersweet knowing we'll be leaving these great YSAs so soon.

Jeanne is the Support Specialist at the institute.  She is fun, energetic, and creative, and we've really enjoyed working with her.

We have ward prayer every Sunday night--starts with a spiritual message followed by a prayer that includes whatever people have requested be mentioned.  Attendance is generally around 15-20.

Bishop and Sister Hillock before ward prayer

Last week I finished compiling all of the soup and bread recipes that I've made into a nifty little book. Most of the soups are sized for 10, 20, and 40 servings.  I hope it will be helpful to the next couple, because not everyone is accustomed to cooking and shopping for larger than family-sized quantities.  I'll be happy to e-mail it to anyone who would like copy.

And speaking of Soup Tuesday, a few weeks ago as we were cleaning up after the meal, I said, "I wonder how many of these we've done."  Well, we counted, and that made me wonder how many of lots of things we've done.  We're entering the last week of our mission, and as of this coming Thursday, here is our accounting.

Our Mission by the Numbers:

48     Soup Tuesdays

13     Tuesday Twiddles (complete with Tuesday Twiddle Treat)

8        Convert baptisms attended

3        Sacrament Meeting talks given (3 each)

12      Seminary/Institute in-service meetings or Evening With a General Authority CES broadcasts

75     Ward Council Meetings

75     Ward Family Home Evenings

75     Ward Prayers

12     Taking a car-load of YSAs to ward temple trips (baptisms or endowment)--always followed by a stop at Braum's, 5 Guys, or Smashburger

100    Hours volunteering at Elite Repeat

26      Hours volunteering at The Wondertorium

152    90-minute classes (we each prepared and taught 45 minutes in each class)

11     Courses taught:

Old Testament, Parts I (finished the semester when we first got here) and II

Book of Mormon, Parts I and II

Doctrine and Covenants, Parts I and II

Pearl of Great Price

Teachings of the Living Prophets (taught twice)

Missionary Preparation

Church History from 1900

Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel

Those are most of the countable things--the things that can't be itemized are much more important to us.  We love the YSAs we've worked with so very much.  We love the things we learned about ourselves, each other, and the gospel.  We love the privilege of serving the Lord in this wonderful part of the country.  We are going home changed and improved because of our experience here.

I'll end the Kerr Chronicles with my testimony that Jesus Christ is indeed our Savior and Redeemer, that He lives and loves us.  What a marvelous blessing to live in this, the dispensation of the fullness of times--we have challenges and opportunities never before known on the earth.  The only way to have real happiness is to align our lives with Heavenly Father's will and develop the Christ-like characteristics that will allow us to live with Them eternally.