My Flag

Monday morning I walked for the first time in a few days.  I miss my morning walks but sometimes I just can't get to it.  I have started listening to BYU Devotional talks as I walk.  I look forward to listening to the talks more than the walk although both are beneficial.

Monday late morning I drove out on Long Island to take some medication to a missionary.

Hosta plants around the church.

Big mushrooms

My lunch companions Elders James, Rogers,  Cahan, and Adams

Some mighty big burgers!!

I enjoyed lunch with four elders and then since I was in an area I hadn't visited before, Port Jefferson on the North Shore of Long Island, I took a little tour.  It was short but I did see some beautiful scenery and "quaint" villages.  I took a few pictures but not as many as I now wish I had. You will have to read this Wiki article as it has pictures and interesting information about this area.

Looking out into the bay

Statue commemorating the ship building industry in the area

Tuesday morning our ward had a 4th of July breakfast.  The Primary was invited to perform. Originally I had planned for them to sing one song, My Flag, My Flag.  They got so caught up in the spirit of the day that they begged to say the pledge of alligance and then to sing the Star Spangled Banner.

Primary performers

The missionaries decorated the hall and organized the event. Sister Persinger and Grimsman and
Elders Atoa and Johnson decorating themselves after they cleaned up.

In Primary last week after we practiced My Flag, the children asked to sing the anthem so I told them the story of Francis Scott Key and why he penned the words to the anthem.  I can just picture Key standing on the ship at the break of dawn after listening to the cannons roar through the night and seeing Old Glory flying over the fort. The Story Behind the Star Spangled Banner

I have stood in the Smithsonian and through tears, I have seen The Star Spangled Banner. The flag is behind a wall or curtain.  At given times, the lights are dimmed and the wall or curtain is raised so that the flag can be viewed. (It is protected from bright light so that it will be preserved.) It evoked such emotion within.  I love our country and the freedoms we enjoy and celebrate.  How blessed are we!!

Some additional "trivia" about the flag.

Tuesday evening I enjoyed dinner at the mission home with President and Sister Reynolds.  They invited all of the senior couples to their home for dinner.  It was a fun evening visiting and laughing and getting better acquainted with one another.

Adams, Reynolds, Elder Hopkins, Williams, Conger

Ho, Openshaw, Shapiro

Wednesday, Sister Reynolds came to my apartment and we worked together for a few hours.  The nurse replacing me in the mission won't arrive until the end of September so Sister Reynolds will be assuming the nursing care of the missionaries in the interim. 

We then went to lunch with the assistants to the president.  Elder Pothier is going home this transfer.  He was the first missionary I met when I walked into the church/mission office upon my arrival to the mission in September 2015.  It has been a great experience working with him over these last years.

Sister Reynolds, Elders Weisler and Pothier. The window behind the elders makes the lighting bad.
One would think that after all of the pics I've taken I would have had sense to ask the waiter
to take it from a different direction.

Thursday was a get caught up day.  I did some grocery shopping and follow-up on missionaries so that I could begin to have the information I would need to get my reports ready to submit on Friday. 

Friday I woke to a torrential rain.  It rained all morning but cleared in the afternoon just in time to go into Manhattan with a missionary to an appointment.  That evening I presented a first aid class to the young women in our ward preparing to go to girl's camp.  I should say young woman.  (We only have one active young woman in our ward.) 

Saturday I did laundry, got a haircut and went to lunch with some sisters.  Eating out is becoming a "habit."

One of the talks I listened to this week as I walked referred to another talk about gratitude given by President Monson in 2010.  I have a few favorite thoughts from President Monson's talk I would like to share:

"My brothers and sisters, do we remember to give thanks for the blessings we receive? Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God's love.

Gratitude is a divine principle.

Regardless of our circumstances, each of us has much for which to be grateful if we will but pause and contemplate our blessings.

This is a wonderful time to be on earth. While there is much that is wrong in the world today, there are many things that are right and good. There are marriages that make it, parents who love their children and sacrifice for them, friends who care about us and help us, teachers who teach. Our lives are blessed in countless ways.

We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude."

You can read (or listen to) this talk in its entirety here.

I am truly grateful for the opportunity that I have to serve this mission.  As it draws to a close, I am grateful that I have time left to serve.  I am grateful that I will be with my family and friends soon.  That sound like a dichotomy and I guess it is.  However, I recognize the blessings I have and that everything I have is a gift from my Heavenly Father:  my Savior and His atoning sacrifice, the guidance and gift of the Holy Ghost, my eternal spouse, my eternal family, the restoration of the church, the plan of happiness, my home, my country, my life, my health, the opportunities that come to me daily to serve.  The list is endless.

I love you my family and friends.