Hi Everybody,
Today
is one of the few quiet Sundays we've had since we got here even though
it included 2 meeting blocks and 2 more meetings and picking up someone
for Church that lives about 20 minutes away. We probably should be
doing something constructive tonight but we're old and we need a rest
before the busy-ness that is what we do in this assignment starts up
again tomorrow. Let's see what can we say about the next 16 weeks until
school ends and things slow down a bit for our summer institutes and
more extensive YSA activities?? "Whistle while you work?" "When we're
helping we're happy?" "Put your shoulder to the wheel?" Etc. etc.etc.
It's all true, you know.....that missionary work is work. It says that
somewhere in Preach My Gospel. It's a good thing we like what we're
doing! The students are and have been coming back to school after the
long Christmas/semester break, and the ones that are really happy to be
back are the ones graduating this spring and are off to their new jobs
and new lives, and dare we tell them that the "vacation" doesn't start
after graduation!? They'll learn soon enough. These are such good,
hardworking young people both single and married, with and without
kids. Their hearts are in the right places and they serve the Church
and their families and each other and try and keep the commandments the
best they can. They tend to beat themselves up for not doing more and
it brings back memories of our graduate school days in Iowa. We
wouldn't change those times and the things we learned there for all the
moola in the world!
Speaking of change, we
really don't like transfers! Next week we loose "our favorite elders"
and they didn't tell us to say that! Who is going to come and make us
laugh and eat our food and give us encouragement when they don't even
know they're doing it? Elder Thompson is going to Albany ( a city where
Grandpa Lyon served in 1940-something) and Elder Chou is going to
Oneida where we don't know where that is. We may run into them again
during the mission but you never know. Elder Thompson has plans after
the mission to go to UVU so he has a standing invitation to come for
lunch whenever he wants to....we may even give him the garage code!
Elder Chou will finish and go back to Tiawan and we most likely won't
ever see him again. He's been here for 7 months which is a long time in
one spot. And our wonderful Temple Square missionary, Sister Lopez,
will have 5 more months in Salt Lake and then she'll go back to Mexico.
We'll hope one of you future missionary grandkids will go to Veracruz
on a mission. And seriously, we'll reiterate if you're ever on Temple
Square in the next 5 months look for a beautiful Hispanic Sister
Missionary and give her a huge hug for us. We're glad Sister Anaya is
staying and we hope her visa to Portugal never comes through! Just
kidding! And now this makes us think of all the other missionaries
we've had here in the Ithaca area who have been transferred and we love
them all! They've influenced our lives for so much good!
This
past week was spent in tying up loose ends at the house, ie cleaning
the fridge and freezer and pantry to prepare it for the quantities of
food that will again be filling it up, getting our attendance and rolls
caught up and other paperwork done, printing and preparing things for
Institute, planning more menus and finding recipes to fix for anywhere
from 15 to 50 (and never knowing how many will be there until they
come.). Then there was another trip to the airport, another dinner with
all the missionaries (and one night the Sisters came and cooked for
us!), another visit to the Vietnam hero where the Elders were able to
give he and his wife the Sacrament for the first time in many, many
months (and he's said I need to keep being Elder-ette Jolley)......and
attending another Cornell basketball game in support of our YSA who's on
the team. Someone has to do that job!! That's been fun to do that.
We've finally got over missing our own family's games, concerts,
performances and programs. Not true!! But at least we don't wail about
missing anymore! And we've been back to Institute in Owego for the
last two weeks where another of our favorite missionaries is being
transferred from. Dang transfers!!
One
of the interesting activities of this week was the Cornell United
Religious Works beginning semester retreat for the better part of a
day. First thing is that there were about 15 of us and it was held in a
house on campus called Chesterton House which is a housing unit for 15
male students whose "house-parent" I'm sure made them clean before we
came. It's a huge, beautiful built-in-the-1800's home that sits high on
the edge of campus with a spectacular view of Cayuga Lake from banks of
windows in the rooms we met in. And the sun was shining in those
windows nearly the whole day which was amazing. Did you know they also
have a "sun forecast" on the daily weather report that says how much sun
we can expect here for the next week....that's how much the sun doesn't
shine! Back to the retreat; we sat on the sofa in front of the window
and stayed awake with the sun shining in on us and spent several hours
talking about all the things that concern us as "chaplains" of our
various faith groups on campus. Mostly all these good people have Phd's
in religion from somewhere important and are so articulate and well
spoken. We listen a lot but we also give our opinions as well. They
love their students just like we do and have great concern for their
faith (or lack of it) and a great desire to help them figure out their
priorities so that they can include spirituality as a vital component of
their Cornell experience. To be honest, it seems as if the University
prides itself on secularism and the value of spending absolutely all
ones life on intellectual activities or experiences that lead to getting
the best job and earning the most money and succeeding wildly in
anything and everything worldly. That's a pretty common opinion with
all the religious leaders on campus and all our students are suffering
trying to make it all work. Our young people who have served missions
or had other service opportunities and learned the value of sacrifice
for a value and belief system are finding they can't do what they have
to do without Heavenly Father's help whether it be through attending
Church and other Church activities or scripture study or prayer or
service or anything else they/we do in trying to be like Jesus which is
our greatest desire and hope for our lives. Those were a few big, long,
probably not understandable sentences....sorry! Anyway, the retreat
was valuable and the food was great!
It's
now dark outside and is raining on top of our snow....but not the
freezing rain that other parts of the state have. And dark means it's
time to go sit on the sofa and watch a Church video or something and
fall asleep until it's time to go to bed. Keep writing to us! Now that
the Christmas cards have all come and gone, our inbox and our mailbox
is lonely! We love you all and hope for a wonderful week for you and
that you keep all your New Year's Resolutions. Hah!! We broke most of
ours the very next day. Keep being the absolutely amazing and best
family that you are....especially since we brag about you all the time.
Allow yourselves a little leeway to mess up now and again too and
remember "His hand is stretched out still!" Trying is the most
important. What do we need to do? Focus on trying! Focus on the steps
by steps. Count our blessings!!!!!!!!!!!
XOXOXOXO Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, Elder and Elder-ette Jolley
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