Happy Sunday Night!

Hello Everybody,

We need to not wait to write these emails until 10:00 at night because that's about the time brain freeze sets in!  That's about the only thing that's freezing here....definitely not the weather as we appear to have had September weather in August and are now having July and August weather in September.  It's hot, humid, and dry and our air conditioner is getting a good workout day and night.  Aren't you glad to know that your tithing money is probably keeping us cool?!

Our busy days and nights are coming to a close and we don't know how to feel about that.  It's a mixed bag,  but we do know that the things we've done have changed our lives.  Now if we can just let what we've learned continue to bless our lives, all will be good.  It was good to begin the week with a great FHE with the YSA (gottta love those acronymns).  We sat in front of a bonfire and cooked marshmallows and talked and did you know that if somebody forgets the guitar you can get a phone app where you actually "strum" the face of your I phone and it plays guitar music?  We can't keep up with technology!  The stars at night were big and bright deep in the heart of upstate New York!  CURW (Cornell United Religious Work) is back in full force.  In the interest of being eccumenically (?) correct,  they shelved the idea of a prayer to begin the meeting in favor of a "devotional."  Oh well..  Baby steps.  It just seems strange that as a religious body we can't agree to pray for fear of offending someone.  Oh well again.  Actually the first devotional this week  was from a chaplain who sang one of the hymns of his faith tradition and he's not a singer but it was so sincere and it was beautiful.  Institutes this week were good......there's such enthusiasm for being there and discussing Gospel principles.  Part of our lesson this week was talking about the 4 Firsthand Accounts of the First Vision and how they support and sustain each other in strengthening faith and testimony.  Friday Forum went well but quite a bit more labor intensive and by Friday night we didn't want to see one more chocolate chip or sliced olive or scone or shred of lettuce (Navajo Tacos).  But we had 50 people there including 6 nonmembers!!  And guess what....there is only one more Friday Forum to go!  The week was finished off with an awesome YSA opening social at the lake house of our High Council advisor.  Oh it was fun and we took about a million photographs.  The big draw (besides the food of course which I only had to bring part of), was jumping off the peaked roof of the boat house and landing in the water without breaking a body part (crazy kids!), and being pulled behind the boat on the New York version of Big Bertha which we think we've talked about before.  There was a boatload of kids there and then some and they all had a great time swimming and jumping and boating and floating and we stayed there much longer than we had planned.

But the highlight of the week was the baptism of Yugii and Monomi (I spelled it wrong).  Yugii is married to Angela who was baptized exactly one year ago to the day and who is such a strong, faithful member.  In Yugii's case, the Gospel and a true understanding of The Plan of Salvation totally and completely changes lives.  Sometime we'll tell you the full story which is much too long to give here.  Oh and Monomi is Yugii's cousin and she's 10 years old I think and is from China and speaks zero English.  This was something that was unique to this teaching experience with the Elders.  She speaks no English and they speak no Chinese so they would teach Yugii in English and he in turn would teach her in Chinese.  Yugii gained his testimony by teaching Monomi!  Dad baptized them both and there's not a better way to finish off the mission!  We think you all will get the chance to meet them as Angela is living in SLC and Yugii will be going there as soon as he finishes here at Cornell.  And the wonderful Chinese grandparents were here for it all and it's beautiful how love can be exchanged without even speaking the same language.

Bedtime!!  We love you!!!  We look forward to coming home and will be leaving here September 19th.  We'll go up to Sharon, Vermont to see the Prophet Joseph's birthplace and go to Church there.  Then we'll head over to Maine for a couple of days and back through the Adirondacks which we've never been to.....then head home across the northern route into Montana and then down for a couple of days in Salmon and a couple of days in Firth arriving home on October 2nd.  Is it ok to pray that our car will last as long as we do!!!

Again we love you and Good Night, sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite.  Did you know that New York has bedbugs and according to the mission office all the missionaries  have to eat 4 big containers of Greek yogurt and then you put vasaline around the tops of the empty containers and put your bed rollers in the containers and the bed bugs can't get from the floor to your bed because of the configuration of the tops of the yogurt containers and the vaseline.  Oh my goodness is it time to go to bed!!

XOXOXO  Dad and Mom and Grandpa and Grandma and E and S Jolley

P.S  We needed somebody here last night to take a picture of us huddled around our cell phone watching the last few seconds of the BYU-Nebraska game. Sweet! 

P.S.S  Almost forgot!  Best news ever!  This week the Missionary department approved and called a senior couple to replace us.....only thing is that they won't be here until December 1st.  We've facebook stalked them and just by looking at their picture with them and all their grandkids we know they will be wonderful!!  Their lives will be blessed as ours have been and we're happy for them.  We're praying for the powers-that-be to be able to find someone for the interim until the new couple gets here.  Good Night again!!