Completed First Month -- Week 5

Following a relaxing Sunday, we looked forward to our P-day on Monday.  We spent most of the day running around Casper.  Paul got a haircut and Annie got her bangs trimmed.  We then met two missionary couples, the Schow’s and Harris’s at Applebee’s for lunch.  Whenever we go to town, we always gas up, because we don’t know when we’ll be able to do it again.  We got back to missionary village just in time to grab a bite and go to FHE.

At Rock Creek Hollow

Tuesday brought about a real treat.  Following our usual morning correlation meeting, we were told to go to Rock Creek Hollow where we would be trained on hosting groups and individuals who might visit this site, another sacred and special (hallowed) area.  At the base of Rocky Ridge is Rock Creek Hollow where pioneers were buried. Handcart pioneers gave their lives struggling to get over Rocky Ridge in freezing temperatures and deep snow.  At least 13 are buried at the bottom of this ridge including Sister Smart’s 3^rd great grandfather, William James.  Following our training we drove into Lander; saw a river go into the ground; and had hamburgers before heading for home.

Grave Site: Rock Creek Hollow

Grave Marker, Rock Creek Hollow
William James

River Sinks into Ground, Lander

Large Hqmburger in Lander

Happy Missionaries at Rock Creek Hollow

The next day was Wednesday and Sister Smart led her next to the last school group around the Martin’s Cove site.  Elder Smart was busy painting and later in the day, Sister Smart joined him in painting outside the office, visitors center, sheds, and trash buffaloes (small sheds to hide the garbage cans).  Our district leader also took us to rattlesnake pass, the place where the wagons and handcarts came into this area.  While there we also visited a grave for a young man who died in 1847 coming through by the name of Fulkener.  One last thing that caught our attention was the worn area on the side of the trail where you could actually see the tracks left by those pioneers that came through here.

Rattlesnake Pass; Wagon/Handcart Tracks

Rattlesnake Catcher; Elder Schow

Thursday Sister Smart took her last group of 4^th Graders around the site.   While she was doing this, Elder Smart and some of the other men were completing the building of a dyke around the outside of the site.  We’ve seen quite a bit of rain around here.  That, along with a swelling Sweetwater River have caused us to flood a little.  Elder Smart was sent to a six hour first aid class and sometime in the early afternoon many of the Sisters, including Sister Smart were sent home – too much rain.

Sister Smart with School Group

The next day started off with the two of us being trained as “outfitters”.  This means that we greet groups of trekkers, get them parked, assign them to handcarts, get their pa’s briefed on safety while the ma’s are helping load the handcarts, and anything else that is needed to get them on the trail.  This coming week we will begin to get hit heavy with arriving groups.  The group we were expecting on Friday didn’t show up, so we did all our preparations for nothing.  It still rained some more on Friday, so the two of us spent time cleaning the chapel.  Good thing we were there. An old friend from Tooele showed up  -- Phillip Roach.  He and Elder Smart had a good reunion.  Friday we had a "night of a thousand pies".  It was actually a missionary get-together.  There were more pies than you could shake a stick at.

Chapel Cleaning

Our Pie, Thanks to Sams Club

Roach Family

By the way, Friday was our one month anniversary of being on our mission.

We started out Saturday doing more painting of benches.  In the afternoon we touched up the chapel and then came home a little early.  We cut our grass and then spent time putting finishing touches on our lessons that we were to teach on Sunday.

The Lloyds

Sunday started off by us attending Church.  We were a little excited to meet the Lloyd’s from our home ward in Draper.  Sure enough; they were there waiting for us.  We attended all three meetings with them and thet even got to hear us give our Priesthood and Relief Society lessons.  Following our meetings they attended our pot luck lunch and then we had to rush to our Visitors’ Center assignment.  They soon came along and we had a good experience with them in the center.  Our final experience with them was to take them to the trail going to Martin’s Cove.  We let them off and they walked to the cove.

It’s been a great week and we’ve enjoyed serving.  However we’ve missed some family events.  Today we missed the Deacon ordination of Bryton.  Sorry Bryton.  We love you and know that you will be blessed.  Our oldest grandchild, Harlie, will graduate from high school and seminary.  Again we can only be there in spirit. 

Bryton

Harlie

Please know that we love you all.  We have been promised that you will be blessed with even greater blessings due to our service.  We pray that you will come to recognize those blessings in your lives.

Love to you all,

Sister & Elder Smart, Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa

Site of Pony Express Station

Loving Our Mission - Week 4

Buck's

We started out the week, as usual, with prep day on Monday.  Our prep day will change to Saturday beginning in June.  We set out for Rawlins after our morning correlation meeting.  We hit Walmart, City Market, O’Reilly Auto and wanted to do the prison museum, but it closed early.  Our lunch was at Buck’s Restaurant as it was highly recommended by other missionaries.  It was good food. Hamburger, barbecue pork sandwich, homemade potato fries and sweet potato fries …filling, delicious and full of calories.

Mr. Sand Man

Tuesday, Sister Smart welcomed and showed 4^th graders around the historic sight.  Elder Smart was assigned to fill sandbags.  Sister Smart joined him in filling more sandbags, for the afternoon.  We both found we had muscles we did not know existed and they were sore.  [Have we said that this is a working mission?]

Wednesday was more sandbags for us and a couple of other couples. It was only ½ day of filling them and we drove the rover to transport the bags part of the time. Much lighter day than the sand bagging on Tuesday.  In the afternoon we were trained to be “outfitting leaders”.  This means we will greet trek groups when they drive in, help them park in the correct places, get them organized with their handcarts, share the stories of Fort Seminoe, take them to the Trek Center where we will show them a short video about the handcart pioneers and then tell them other stories that are heart touching.  We will then send them on their way to Martins Cove.  Elder Smart may help them cross the river.  Our first day doing this will be next week.  We think it might be fun and interesting.

Thursday we woke up to 5 inches of snow on our porch.  We were both assigned to work with the 4^th grade school groups.  They were coming from Casper and our office secretary called the school at about 9:00 a.m. to see if they were still coming  because it was still snowing.  We were told “yes”.  We waited for them and they did not show. We called them again at about 10:45 am and they said that they decided to cancel, but for some reason they failed to notify us.  We changed out of our pioneer clothes and put on our work crew clothing.  It was still snowing and the snow was very wet.  We all had our eyes on the rising Sweet water River behind us.  The parking area was beginning to flood.  Puddles appeared all over the lawns.   In the afternoon we had our missionary interview with President Pace and his wife.  It was a get to know you interview.  Guess we passed since we’re still here.  The snow was still coming down and so we went home to our trailer.  It was cold because the electricity had been off all day.  That means all water is also off since the well pumps are run by electricity.  They got the electricity back on, about 5:00 p.m. It was still snowing when we went to bed.

Friday we had the late shift at the Visitor’s Center.  We both were really excited to sleep in one day.  I am sure someone up there was looking down laughing at us as we got a call from Elder Scussel, Thursday night asking Elder Smart to be his companion to ride with him to Sixth Crossing to do some training for the missionaries there.  He had to be on his way by 7:30 a.m.  The Sixth Crossing Visitors’ Center is nearly an hour away.  No sleeping in!  Sister Smart stayed home and got some laundry and cleaning done.  Elder Smart got home just in time for us to go to the visitor’s center for our shift.   We both love working there.  Elder Smart it getting a reputation for his great ability to share and teach at the visitor’s center.  He knows the story and the history and has a deep testimony of all of it and he shares this with those that come to the center.  Friday he was able to give two people copies of the Book of Mormon and received one referral from a member couple.  He is on fire!

Would You Like to Know More?

Saturday it was our honor to do RRA (rah rah) again.  If you have forgotten that means Rest Room Attendants. It may have been a good assignment because all male missionaries that did not have another assignment were put to work in the mud, building barricades and putting sand bags in place.  We are flooding in some areas.  Is RRA better than flood prevention? J

Elder Smart Driving Our RRA (rah rah) Vehicle

This week we had a Canadian Youth trek group come.  They arrived Friday morning. Their campsite was covered with water.  We opened our barn and trek center and sewing center for their sleeping bags.  Having so many using the bathrooms in the sewing center caused the sewer lines to back up.  Stinky mess!  By Saturday everyone was fixing toilets, moving sandbags, transporting sand, and digging things out all day.  I think we had the best deal doing the bathroom cleanings.  The youth trek group helped fill sandbags.  It was a day to remember.

This is our parking lot and gas the vehicle spot

Everyone Pitched in ...
Sister Pace (President's Wife) in the Back.

Dennis Hullinger

Elder Smart had an old neighborhood friend from Tooele stop by, Dennis Hullinger.  Sister Smart remembered teaching some of his kids.  Aaron Smart spent a summer at BSA Camp Steiner with one of his sons.  You all know how much Elder Smart likes to reminisce with old friends.

As you can see it is never a dull moment here.  Believe it or not, we love it!!  There is such a good feeling here and so many good people.  We feel the Lord’s spirit with us lots.  We know that he will be blessing our families.  This gives us comfort.

Love, Dad and Mom, Paul and Annie, Elder and Sister Smart

PS  We told people we would post our phone number on this blog.  Most of you have it already, but here it is in case you need it.  307-377-1548

Elder Smart and Sister Smart (foot) Watching a
 DVD Movie on Our Laptop

Eating Lunch in the Barn

Flooded Sweet Water River 

3rd Week - Special Place - Special Day

Happy Mothers' Day to All the Mothers Who Mean so Much to All of Us

Us & Pres and Sis Pace

The weeks seem to absolutely fly bye on this mission.  Can’t believe that another one has come and gone.

Let’s start again with last Monday, mostly a stay at home day and do cleaning.  The most exciting part of the day was Family Home Evening.  Our district was in charge.  We had to provide refreshments and to plan an activity.  Our activity was to write something about ourselves on a piece of paper and put it in a hat.  When it was drawn out everyone got to guess who it was?  Sister Smart wrote I coached boys’ soccer for four years.  She stumped the whole group and won a small candy bar.

Nearly all the rest of the week was taken up hosting school groups or with work assignments.  When school groups come, Sister Smart takes them from station to station and tells them about six of the eight stations. She shows them and teaches them about the Sun Ranch Museum, the wash house, the bunk house, the visitors’ center, the memorials and landmarks and has them pull handcarts around the Prairie Park.  The Elders (like Elder Smart) tell stories and show them around at the blacksmith shop and Fort Seminoe.  This week Elder Smart worked the Ft. Seminoe.

Roadside cleanup

Where's the spare

 As to our work assignments, they are plentiful and almost like being at home.  We have cut lawns, ran weed eaters, cleaned out closets, put in sprinklers, changed light bulbs, washed vehicles (not our own), staked new trees and put fencing around them.  One day we even got dressed in our work clothes and safety vests and picked up garbage next to the highway.  Cars kept honking at us as they drove by.  We wondered if they thought we were from a nearby prison.

On Wednesday of this week we spent most of the day being trained by our mission president and his wife.  They even fed us breakfast. 

Probably our most enjoyable and uplifting assignments/opportunities were the visitors’ center, our visit to Martin’s Cove and our Friday evening fireside.  This week we served at the visitors’ center on Saturday from 8 am to 2 pm.  It is so uplifting to tell the story of this place, the handcart pioneers, the Church's acquiring the Sun Ranch, the restoration of the gospel which was the catalyst for those that emigrated, their emigration and their experiences of crossing the plains, the story of their rescuers.  We would like to suggest that each of our families do a google search for Francis Webster and read what he said about his experience with the Martin Handcart Company. 

Oh, by the way, did we mention that Sister Smart gave a copy of the Book of Mormon to a nonmember today?

Martin's Cove Description

Martin’s Cove is probably one of the most sacred and hallowed spots of ground on this earth.  It was here that about 900 people gathered in this three sided cove trying to find some protection from the horrendous weather.  Just getting there cost them the lives of around 100.  In the 5 days that they were at the cove around 50 more of them died.

Martin's Cove

Pres Lorimer

We went to the other visitors’ center on Friday evening at Sixth Crossing.  We had to go with another couple because part of the crossing is flooded and it was suggested that our car might not make it.  It was worth it though.  We were fed and then attended a super fireside where a former stake president from the Riverton Wyoming Stake talked about his love for the area and his efforts to assist the Church in acquiring this special historical site. He was the Stake President that was responsible for the second rescue and saw to it that all the handcart pioneers had their temple work done. Needless to say, the fireside was well worth attending.  President Scott Lorimer pretty well kept us spell bound.

Flooded Sixth Crossing

While our mission isn’t easy, it is such a blessing to us, and we hope that you might feel, in some even small way, that it is a blessing to you.

We love you all,

Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Sister and Elder Smart 

Devil's Gate

Devil's Gate

Friend that Lives Under Our Home

  

2nd Week -- Learning, Doing, and Feeling the Spirit

This has been a full week with lots of learning  experiences.  We started off the week with our P day. We went in to Casper again to get some needed supplies. 

Trail Marker

Bessemer Bend

We visited Bessemer Bend on the way back. Bessemer Bend is where the Martin Company were stopped to rest because of the horrific storm, their lack of energy due to small food rations, and their lack of hope due to 56 deaths in their group that took place in the last few days..  While camping there they were found by the express riders from the Grant rescue party on October 28th [By the way, this Grant is the same one that Grantsville is named after.] The rescuers informed them that there were wagons with supplies waiting for them at Devils Gate,  ( We see Devils Gate every day from the mission visitors site).  This gave them hope and they gathered to start out in the morning.  The 3 rescuers moved forward to find the Hodgetts and Hunt wagon trains and then returned to the rescue wagons and told them to start moving forward.

Independence Rock

Story of Independence Rock

We also visited Independence Rock about 30 miles west of Bessemer Bend.  Independence Rock was a landmark  for the pioneers indicating that if they made it there by Independence Day they should be able to make over the mountains before the winter snows hit.  It was about November 2nd when the Martin Company passed by here.

Tuesday was fun.  It was the first day all week that we got to sleep in a little.  We worked  the late shift at the Visitors  Center.  We did not need to start until 1:00.  We did go at noon to have a tour of some of the trail sites on a rover (little golf like cart).    Visitor’s center was slow.  The traffic does not usually get busy until Memorial Day.  We still enjoyed ourselves.

Sprinkler System Expert

Wednesday was a work day for us.   In the morning, Elder Smart worked with Elder Tobler (Dentist from Las Vegas) to design and put in a sprinkling system to cover the flower bed next to the barn. Sister Smart was asked to go visiting teaching with an office helper (Sister Roundy) to some in-actives living at Independence Rock and at Muddy Gap.  In the afternoon we did what is affectionately called RRA (rahrah)(rest room assistant).  We cleaned the bathrooms and emptied garbage, even on the trails.

4th Graders Visiting the Blacksmith Shop

In Costume Ready to Teach the 4th Graders

Blacksmith

Making Prairie Diamonds

Thursday we got to help with the 4^th graders that came from Casper on a field trip to learn about the pioneer groups  that traveled through this location.  That was not only the Mormon pioneers but also the Oregon trail, California trail and the Pony Express Riders that traveled through here.  Sister Smart went with one of the 8 groups to teach and share at each station.  Elder Smart was assigned to the Blacksmith shop station.   He taught and shared with each of the 8 groups as they came to his station.  Actually we both shadowed another missionary to learn rather than do it ourselves.  Next week we will be on our own for the school groups.

Friday was trek training for leaders of Wards, Stakes and family groups that will be doing trek this summer.  We joined them in the training.  This included taking the trek to Martin’s Cove.

Annie's Trek  (She is behind the second group... see red arrow)

We have been concerned about Elder Smart’s knees being able to handle the hikes.  We decided to try it.   It was a 7 mile hike with frequent rest stops.  Shortly after walking about 1 1/2 miles his knees were turning to rubber.  The missionary in charge of taking care of these type of problems, radioed base and he waited with Elder Smart until the Trek was out of site and then a rover came to get him. He ate lunch back at the barn and then made himself available to work.  He should have been more careful because he was very sore and tired after the Trek.  He worked with Elder Ward moving big logs and boards for benches.  He was extremely worn out just like Sister Smart who walked and walked and walked.   Neat experience!  We all gathered at the Barn for supper.  Met people from Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and Nebraska, that were here to prepare to bring their youth or families to Trek. Of coarse, Elder Smart is in his realm meeting new people and finding connections.

Sixth Crossing Visitors Center

The Trek training continued at Sixth Crossing on Saturday morning.  The church has a vistors' center there and it honors mostly the Willie Company.  We got up early to travel 50 miles to be there in time for  breakfast served at the trek center.  We listened to instructions for the Youth leaders  and family representatives that were planning on coming back with the trekkers.  Sister Smart really  enjoyed learning and seeing places that pertained to the Willie Company.   Sixth Crossing is where the Grant rescue party found the Willie Company.  A few miles down the road is Rocky Ridge and Rock Hollow.  We were unable to go there because of snow on the roads.  We will definitely have to return there in a few weeks . Rock Hollow is where a group grave of 13 people who pushed so hard coming over Rocky Ridge were frozen and starving, died and were buried in a community grave.  Sister Smart’s 3^rd Great Grandfather (William James, 1810-1856) is one of these people and his name is the first one listed on the memorial at Rock Creek Hollow.

We ventured into Riverton, Wyoming after the meetings were finished and did a little shopping and sight seeing. 

Sunday was good.  Church is so very uplifting with an entire branch of missionaries.  Elder Smart even bore his testimony. We always have a pot luck dinner following our Sunday meetings.  We also generally have district meetings following dinner. When we got home from all that our electricity went out for almost 7 hours.  Most of Missionary Village was without electricity.  The biggest problem is that the pump for our water is run by electricity.  No electricity. No Water.  It was quite an ordeal for Rocky Mountain Electric to get the electricity going.  We watched them replace a huge transformer and fuses.  We were entertained by two big trucks and cherry picker ladder lifts work on replacement and repair until 10:00 last night.  That is why the blog did not make out to everyone yesterday.

Emyli Stagg Baptism

It was a warm week but this morning it is cold and rainy.

Congratulations to Emyli who as baptized this week.  We are so proud of you Emy!

Love all of you,



Grandma and Grandpa, Mom and Dad, Paul and Annie, Elder and Sister Smart

Missionaries at Missionary Village walking and singing Sunday to entertain ourselves with no electricity.

Our neighbor is always visiting with his many friends in our backyard