Sunday, January 17, 2016
Special Edition

I Love To See The Temple

Saan Käydä Temppeliin

We attended a North America SouthEast Area Conference today.  Broadcast via satellite broadcast to many church buildings throughout the southeast.  We attended in the Redwine Building in Peachtree City, Georgia.  (We are still here serving our mission as the Area Medical Advisor/Assistant to the AMA)

Conducting the meeting was Elder. L. Whitney Clayton, of the Presidency of the Seventy.  He was the first speaker.  He was followed by Linda S. Reeves, 2^nd counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency.  She was followed by Elder Ronald A. Rasband, newly called to the Quorum of the 12 Apostles.  He was followed by the concluding speaker Elder Robert D. Hales. 

While all of the speakers were very good, I was most impressed with the comments Elder Rasband had for us to ponder.  That was the meaning of the Temple in our lives and making it more of a part of our lives.  We live in tumultuous times, in these latter days.  We can find refuge by ‘standing in Holy Places’.  What are these Holy Places Elder Rasband asked us.  They are our Temples, Our Churches and Our Homes.  While he talked about each of these Holy Places, he spoke quite a bit about the Holy Temple.  As he was speaking, my mind was wondering the how important the Temple is to me and to us as an Eternal Companionship and an Eternal Family.

I reflected on some very specific incidences that have occurred for me as I thought about this. 

First, and foremost, our wedding in the Logan Temple on December 27, 1968.  Obviously a very important day for both Wayne and myself.  That goes without saying.

Fast forward to November 1972….the dedication of the Washington D.C. Temple.  We never thought we would live to see the day when we would have a temple so close to us here on the east coast!  We were witnessing a miracle for us easterners!  First temple east of the Mississippi River.

Fast forward to October 1993.  We were called and set apart as Washington D.C. Temple Ordinance workers.  We were thrilled and so excited.  Even though Wayne had not retired, he could spend his ‘day off’ working in the temple.  While we still have 2 children at home (Becky and Andy), they were old enough that I could work one shift a week to start with.

Fast forward to October 1995.  We have received a letter from the Temple President, President Bradley, asking us to please come to the temple on a Sunday afternoon so that we could meet with Elder L. Tom Perry, a member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles.  It was with great anticipation that we awaited that special day.  We found ourselves, along with about 4 other couples who had been asked to come, very excited to be able to meet one-on-one with an Apostle of the Lord.  We were the last couple to meet with Elder Perry.  I sat on the ‘bridge’ of the temple while Wayne was interviewed by Elder Perry and President Bradley.  I was finally asked to join Elder Perry and President Bradley and Wayne in the President’s office so that I could have an ‘interview’ of sorts with all of them present.  I guess we must have passed the ‘test’ because Wayne had been extended the opportunity to be a Sealer in the Washington D.C. Temple by an Apostle of the Lord.  Elder Perry and President Bradley laid their hands of Wayne’s head and bestowed that privilege to him.  What a very humbling experience that was…..and still is.  After we finished with that, President Bradley asked if Elder Perry and Wayne could give him a blessing (he was dealing with some physical problems).  That was also a very humbling experience to witness something so special as that.

NOW, I want to point out some significant dates and events which involve the temple.  (At least significant and important to me!)

1)            March 3, 1995……While serving in the temple on this Tuesday morning, we received word that President Howard W. Hunter, our Prophet, passed away.  He had only served as the Prophet for about 6 months.  In his short term as Prophet, he stressed the importance of attending the temple.  How special it was to be in the temple when we received that word.  The temple seemed to have more patrons than normal that day.  I am sure President Hunter was very pleased with that!

2)            September 11, 2001….Who could ever forget that horrific day in our world history!  Such horrible news.  We were in the temple working that day as well!  It was also on a Tuesday!  I remember getting on the elevator in the temple when some patrons were talking about the attack in New York and that attacks were expected in Washington D.C. as well.  I remember talking with President Scholz, Temple President, as asking if the temple was going to have to close?  He said, ‘I don’t think so.  I am waiting to hear from Salt Lake City on that.’  I was actually serving part of the morning as a ‘greeter’ on the bridge….greeting patrons who were coming into the temple.  I remember so many of them saying that they were on their way to work in D.C. and were turned away from highways because of the attacks.  The roads were closing and D.C. was being evacuated!  We were wondering how we would get home that day after our shift finished about 1 p.m.  Several of the women who came in apologized because of the fact that they were wearing pants instead of their usual dress or skirt that they would wear to the temple.  I reassured them it was just fine.  They were not to worry.  We were grateful they were able to come to the temple and feel the peace that only the temple can bring.  As we headed home that day, the traffic was indeed horrible.  Everyone was trying to evacuate D.C.

3)            October 2 – 24, 2002…..The Washington D.C. Sniper incidence.  This dragged on for 3 weeks.  No one knew at the time just how many people were involved as the actual snipers but at least 12 people were shot and killed as they would go about their day doing just normal routine things……like filling up their gas tank at the local neighborhood gas station, getting groceries and putting them in their car, talking walks in their neighborhoods, etc.  Everyone was afraid to go outside at all because we never knew where or when the ‘D.C. Snipers’ would attack again!  Toward the end of this rampage, on a Friday morning, again while serving in the temple, we could hear helicopters flying in the area of the temple.  We wondered what might have been happening outside with the sniper events.  We later discovered that another shooting had occurred not far from the temple and another victim had been shot and killed.  Interestingly, we thought we ‘might’ be safe up in Brunswick where we lived.  It turned out that the 2 snipers were caught at a rest stop just a few miles from our home on Highway 70 between Frederick and Myersville, Maryland! 

4)            June 2009 – May 2011……quite the opportunity for us.  We had been asked to serve a Temple Mission in the Helsinki Finland Temple.  We were very excited about that opportunity to serve in such a wonderful country.  Wayne had actually served there as a young missionary from 1962-1965 (2 ½ years).  And now he was getting to go back again and serve.  I learned to LOVE the people and country and the temple in Helsinki!!  How very grateful we were for that opportunity!

And, by the way!  While we were serving the Finland Temple, we had the great privilege of having the Area Presidency and other special guest attend the Helsinki Temple!!!  We were thrilled when we were asked to Follow and Officiate the session they would be on.  The witness couple was Elder and Sister Rasband.  Also in attendance and sitting on the front row was Elder L. Tom Perry!  Very special indeed for us.  

5)            August 23, 2011…..we had returned from our mission to the Finland Helsinki Temple.  Once we returned from our mission, Wayne was reactivated as a sealer in the Washington D.C. Temple.  Good friends of ours in the church, Steve and Leslie McGowan in our home ward, had their daughter being sealed in the Washington D.C. Temple.  They asked Wayne if he would perform that sealing.  He was happy to do that.  The ceremony had finished and the bride and groom had just gone outside for the usual foto-taking!  I was standing on the ‘bridge’ talking with President and Sister Colton, previous Temple President and Matron.  All of a sudden we felt the bridge swaying and I saw something very large come crashing down from the top of the temple to the ground just outside the bridge.  It turned out that it was part of one of the spires that broke off the of the towers on top of the temple and crashed to the ground.  Several of the spires broke off.  When it was determined that it had been an earthquake, President Earl C. Tingey, current Temple President, had the security gates lowered so as for no one else to come in the temple until the damage could be determined.  In spite of the extensive damage done to the temple, we were able to keep it open and operating.  Damages would be repaired over the next several years.

These are just a few of the highlights of things that have happened over the past 20+ years of our being workers in the Washington D.C. Temple.  Our life continues and we hope that means our temple experiences will also continue.  Stay tuned!

We LOVE the temple and all that that entails and means to us.  We feel so blessed to have a temple so close to us as we continue living here on the east coast!!  Not only at our home in Maryland but the temples which are close to us here in the North America SouthEast as we continue to serve our Medical Mission:  Kentucky Louisville Temple, Tennessee Nashville Temple, North Carolina Raleigh Temple, South Carolina Columbia Temple and Georgia Atlanta Temple.

Sunday, January 10, 2016

 Can I just say right up front that IT HAS BEEN QUITE THE WEEK!!!  When we get to the end of the week and I start looking back, I am amazed at all that we have been able to get accomplished in a week!  I don't think we are letting any grass grow under our feet....after all, we have NO time to waste since we are reaching the end of this, our 3rd, mission.  We still have a LOT more to get done!

Last Sunday after church, we headed out for the Tennessee Knoxville Mission.  We had a 9:30 a.m. meeting at the mission home.  We try to be dedicated but NOT at 4 a.m. unless we have to!!

 The purpose of our 9:30 a.m. meeting was to have Elder/Dr. do some 'hands on training' with the brand new Mission Medical Advisor for the Tennessee Knoxville Mission!  We have mission nurses in all of the other 8 missions we cover but this one was just lucky enough to get a retired physician to take that 'nurse' position!!!  Elder/Dr. Christensen will be serving an AMA Mission but the area he has been asked to cover will not be available for a couple more years.  He and his wife did not want to sit at home 'waiting' for that time.  SO, here they are.  They will be great!

 Elder/Dr. Christensen and Elder/Dr. Allgaier....great men!!

When we left the mission home in Knoxville, we were headed to the Kentucky Louisville Mission.  However, we got a phone call from the Mission President in the Tennessee Nashville Mission.  He had a missionary who had one of those 'dumb' accidents on their 'super P-Day'....better known to the rest of the world as New Years Day.  Well, his District were riding Glide Trikes down a hill.  This Elder 'froze' when he saw a tree coming at him and he closed his eyes!!  I guess he thought if he didn't see the tree, the tree wouldn't see him!!  NOT so.  He ended up in the ER with several lacerations AND broken bones around his eye!!!  (Elder/Dr. Allgaier can give you the technical terms....I just know what happened!)  It just so happened (better known as a tender mercy!) that our travel route from the Knoxville Mission Home to our hotel in Indiana that night took us exactly 2 miles off our highway to the elders apartment.  Any surprise??  Absolutely not!!!  What a wonderful tender mercy.  And with us making a house call on this elder, Elder/Dr. Allgaier was able to see firsthand what had happened and changed the course of treatment for this elder.  This was on Monday.  He had facial surgery on Thursday....and the surgeon just 'happened' to be a returned missionary!!!  There are NO COINCIDENCES in the Lord's work!

  

As we left the elders apartment (out in the middle of absolutely no-where-Tennessee) we got to drive past our beautiful Nashville....we have grown to love this skyline!!

And here we are.....in the Kentucky Louisville Mission.....which actually includes a part of Indiana.  Go figure.

It is fun to see the reactions of the missionaries when they notice my apple watch.  There are always lots of 'ooohhhhh' and 'aaahhhh' and they want to know how it works.  I always say.....'Do you want to do a selfie with it?'.  And of course they want to do that!!

And the Elders like doing selfies with my apple watch too!!!

 And we do all of this 'fun' while Elder/Dr. Allgaier works hard.  Bless his heart!

Having finished our zone conference in Indiana, we drove on over toward Lexington, KY for the next 2 zone conferences.  It was getting dark as we approached our beautiful Louisville!

We have grown to love the Louisville skyline as well!!!

And the really cool bridges that go over the Ohio River.  And especially at night when they have them lit up!!

I don't know that I have seen any other gym floor in a church building with the name of the area engraved in the floor.  I love seeing this every time we come here.

President and Sister Brough are absolutely wonderful to work with.  We love them and are grateful we get to work so closely with them.

As we were driving back and forth between cities this past week, we were going through a little town.  And in that little town there was a TRAIN.  And the train was moving, which meant the 'gate' was down.  And that meant all of us cars had to sit and wait for that train.  AND right next to that stopping and waiting for the train for a GET YOUR FRESH DONUTS RIGHT HERE little place.  And that little place had a drive-thru.  And WHY NOT!!!  And they were really good.  Would love to come back here sometime if we could only remember where this was.

One of the perks of being Diamond Members at Hampton Inn is that we can 'choose' a snack when we check in if we want to.  We typically choose the extra points instead.  However, this check-in stopped us as we saw this new snack we had not seen before.  We opted for the snack!!  Good choice.

When Zone Conferences ended Friday afternoon, Elder/Dr. Allgaier and I decided to 'stay put' in Kentucky rather than driving a 7-hour trip back to our apartment in Peachtree City, GA.  That is just too waring on us old folks.  SO, we chose to stay in Corbin, KY....just 1 1/2 hours south of Lexington.  We have been to Corbin before and liked it.  Not a lot here but that is what we like.  Easy.  Relaxing.  AND we can get cell service!

Couldn't resist this sign....in a little downtown shop.  The shop owner let us take a foto.  I think Elder/Dr. Allgaier is going to add this to his power point presentation.  As he should.

On Saturday we decided to head out and explore a bit.  There were a couple of places we wanted to see.....all while being on call, of course!  We headed to the CUMBERLAND FALLS.  And we found some great rocks along the way.  Dad loves his rocks!!

And here are the CUMBERLAND FALLS......and a little selfie with the falls in the background.  They were very cool to see....even in cold weather.

In the afternoon we decided we wanted to visit the ORIGINAL COLONEL SANDERS KFC and have lunch there.  And we did.  We have been here before but had not eaten here.  Cool place.

This is definitely Colonel Sanders city.  He even has his own park downtown!

On Sunday we decided to attend the Corbin Ward.  There are 2 sets of missionaries in this ward.  AND, true to form, they asked about my Apple Watch.  SO...you know what that meant....a selfie to demonstrate how that part of the watch works.

We found the Corbin Ward to be a very unique building.  Not like the typical LDS church building that we see.  We very much enjoyed our time in church today.  There was a great spirit.

And, that, dear family, concludes yet another week.  We will be here in Kentucky again this week but back to PTC by the end of the day on Friday.  Stay tuned.....and like I said earlier, our time is beginning to wind down.  We realize we are visiting some of our missions for the last time!  That is very sad to us.  We are definitely going to miss this mission very much.....I think I have said that before about our other 2 missions!!  Guess we will have to go on another mission again....someday!  :-)  Love y'all....have a GREAT week!

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Well, we find ourselves here in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission hunkered down in our hotel room.  Not unusual for us.  We have a meeting at 9 a.m. Monday morning at the mission home with the Mission President's wife and the new mission 'nurse'.  Elder/Dr. Allgaier will doing his usual training as the new folks come on board!  SO....the week in review....

We started the week off with having our oil changed.  That seems to happen more frequently than we can keep track of because of all of the traveling.  We felt like we were in Beaver, Utah though because we ended up with a brand new set of tires!!!  YUP.....all 4!  We can't complain though because we go more milage out of them than we should have.  We work EVERYWHERE we go....even in car dealer waiting rooms.

 Monday evening we were able to pick B.P. and Daphne up at the Atlanta Airport and get them to their hotel.....after having some dinner!  They came down to visit us.

We headed down to Savannah, GA with them for 2 days.  They have neither one been to Savannah and wanted to visit there.  We have been there a few times and were the 'tour guides' for them. Behind us here is the Savannah River.

We took a horse and buggy ride around downtown historical part of Savannah.  We LOVED it.  It was definitely worth the ride and time and money.  And then we went back downtown on our own....a walking tour!  That was a bonus.  

At nighttime we ended up on River Street where we had dinner...love the beautiful view of the Savannah River at night with the reflections.

We decided to go on down to TYBEE ISLAND and tour the lighthouse and beach.  Again, they had never been here and we knew they also needed to see this as well.  What a beautiful area.

We got up early Thursday morning, New Years Eve day, and drove them back to the Atlanta Airport.....a 3 1/2 hour drive from Savannah.  We were ready for a little nap when we got back to our apartment.  Lucy was sure glad to have us back home.....she plopped down right on my computer to rest and make sure I was not able to do any work!

At some point we got a FaceTime call from Becky and Kevin (Kevin and Lauren and their family were visiting with Becky and David and their family in Arizona).  I can't remember what in the world was so funny but whatever it was made me have the giggles!!!  I was afraid I would wake our neighbors upstairs up!  We love modern technology and how we can stay connected with our children and grandchildren.

We bought a Savannah puzzle while in.....well, Savannah!  While I crocheted on New Years Day, Elder/Dr. Allgaier was able to put the puzzle together.  It was a great diversion for him.....he works too hard sometimes and needs that diversion!

On Saturday afternoon we met our really good friends, President and Sister Cottle.  We surely love them and they truly have become eternal friends.  They drove up from Macon and we drove over from Peachtree City and met them in the middle at a mall so w could have lunch together.  THE BAT.....well, we have started this little 'tradition' that we learned about from President Brough, Kentucky Louisville Mission.  The Louisville Slugger Bat Factory is in that mission.  We have been on their tour several times.  We always go by and buy more mini bats whenever we are in Kentucky.   The missionaries in the Kentucky Louisville Mission buy these bats and have their companions, investigators, members, whoever they want to sign their bat for them.  They have a great remembrance of their mission when they go home.   I bought this full-size bat for Elder/Dr. Allgaier so he could have people sign it....as a remembrance of his mission.  We, of course, had to have President and Sister Cottle sign it for him.

President Cottle used to play ball when he was younger.  He was trying out his swing to see how the bat 'fit' on him!!!  I see a bat in his future!

And, here we are on Sunday.....another week gone, another year gone....and we are beginning to realized we are running 'short' on the time we have left on our mission.  We need to make every day count!  We are in Tennessee today....tomorrow afternoon we are headed to the Great Kentucky Louisville Mission.....

See y'all in Kentucky next weekend!!  Love you....Have a GREAT week!!  :-)

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Monday was our day to travel from Cherokee, N.C. back to PTC.  We have grown to LOVE the beautiful Great Smokey Mountains and love being there every chance we get!!  Even with all of the clouds, it was beautiful driving through.

On Tuesday, I had an eye appointment to get my 'regular' shot in the eye!!  (I get them about every 6 - 8 weeks).  I was able to sit in the waiting room and finish this baby afghan!  That felt good to get it done.  I even gave a 'few lessons' to some ladies who asked how I did that!!  :-)

AND.....then it was SHOT TIME!!!  I guess I am getting used to these now.....after all it has now been 3 1/2 years of regular shots!

On Wednesday Elder/Dr. Allgaier and I attended a Georgia Atlanta Mission 1/2 Mission Zone Conference.  We love going to those.....because we love the spirit and get to see a lot of missionaries!  Here is Elder Dimanche signing Elder/Dr. Allgaier's bat (a tradition we picked up from the Kentucky Louisville Mission...where the Little Slugger Bat Factory is......you know about that because you have heard it from us many times!).  BTW....Elder Dimanche is now an AP!!!  We are so proud of him.  He will be great.

 It has been POURING rain all week.  And, look who came inside after having biked over from their apartment.  They were soaked from head to toe, clean through.  Bless their hearts!  If they catch a cold, they at least know where to find us!  Sisters Hunter and Barrett....and they were just called as brand new Sister Trainer Leaders.

Oh how sweet!!  We got a package from Finland.  And look what one of the things in the package was.....a handmade Finnish Flag....made by a little old man up in Lapland Finland.  We are so excited to have that here with us in Georgia.

And, speaking of Finland, this foto is a throwback to our trip to Lapland Finland in winter 2009.  We LOVED visiting there....complete with a visit with Joulupukki!!

 Yup, for those who know Rodney, he came over for a visit to see us, with Bella, of course.  Rodney used to be our neighbor until he moved away about a month ago.  We had him sign our bat too!

On Christmas Eve we were invited to a Progressive Dinner with 3 families in the ward.....The Allen's, The Haycocks (Bishop) and The Hinds.  We ended up at the Bishop's home.  After fix-your-own ice cream sundae's, it was time for the kids to portray the Christmas Nativity story.  It was so cute.

On Christmas Day I happened to look out our apartment window and noticed ALL 3 of the puddy-cats were basking in the SUNSHINE, which we have not seen for a while.  It was so cute.

Dad and I took a chance and went out to dinner on Saturday afternoon to celebrate our 47th Wedding Anniversary a day early.  We LOVE going to O'Charley's and our favorite is the cedar planked salmon.  And we topped it off by sharing a piece of delicious chocolate cream pie!!

 On Sunday, we helped the Elders teach a Primary class.  Not sure who had more fun coloring......the kids in class or Elder/Dr. Allgaier.

And, Elder Norland and I got a little coloring in as well.....

I got a little doily made to send to Finland as a thank you gift to Anu!!  Anu has been my 'personal shopper' for the past couple of years.  She owns a 'Made in Finland Only' on-line store.  Well, as of December 31st of this year, she will be closing her store.  I will surely miss her.  Just my way of saying 'KIITOS PALJON' for all she has helped me with!!

And, last, but certainly not least for this week......Dad and I celebrated our 47th Wedding Anniversary today.  WOW....not sure how that snuck by us so fast.  It is amazing, as we look back, at all that we have accomplished in those 47 years.  I am sure there are things that we don't remember but you kids may remember!  It has been a WONDERFUL LIFE.  And we look forward to many more years.  We are grateful for eternal families.

I remember an anniversary dinner that we were out celebrating on.....December 27th, 1974.  We were at the Bavarian Inn in Charlestown, W.VA.  It is one of our favorite restaurants.  I didn't feel too great while we were eating but we still had a great time.  Well, low and behold, I realized the very next day why I didn't feel so well......WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY.....KEVIN EARL ALLGAIER, born on December 28, 1974!!  Total worth not feeling well.  We were so ready to have Kevin join our family!!!  And we will celebrate that special day tomorrow!!!  :-)