The cold of winter is getting old. We only occasionally get above freezing the last three weeks. Right now it is 4 degrees with the wind chill of -14. We did not get the huge snow storms that have hit Boston but every 2 or 3 days it snows from 1-5 inches. Last Sunday we were not able to attend the Lancaster ward near Buffalo where we are assigned to attend while on our mission.
(It takes us 1 1/2 hours to travel to the Lancaster ward each way.) The weather in Palmyra was snowing, blowing and extremely cold. President Brighton told all the temple missionaries not to leave Palmyra because it would be too cold and dangerous. We all thought we would attend the Palmyra ward, but church was cancelled throughout the Palmyra and Rochester stakes. It des not take being outside very long before the cold can give you frostbite.
Elder McGarry in front of the Palmyra temple last week. It was cold outside but is warm inside both by the furnace and by the Spirit of the Lord that resides there.
Icicles on the front of the Palmyra Inn. It is so cold that they can't melt and just keep growing.
We get the parking lot of the Inn plowed out by the Lakeview company. They show up about 3:30 a.m. with their backhoe and pickup with a blade on front. We have our room on the second floor overlooking the parking lot. It is so much fun being woke up at that time in the morning.
Elder McGarry helps with the dishes. It is fun to be together working to keep our little space clean.
This is our huge, HaHa!!! kitchen. It measure exactly 5 feet from wall to wall. We have a tiny, tiny sink, a microwave, and a two burner stovetop. We have 16 inches of prep space between the stove and sink. We have a small convection oven I put on the stove to bake with. The cupboards above the stove are so high I have a small stool that I stand on to reach things. Preparing meals is like going camping. We still eat in our place most of the time though and are grateful that we are able to cook in our room.
We bought a little island at Walmart that sits across from the kitchen. It has helped so much to give us more prep space and storage for food.
We were able to go with some of the temple missionaries to the George Eastman House. It was a fun home evening planned by the Dave Neeley's. The house was amazing.
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For Valentines day we went shopping at Walmart on Friday, where Elder McGarry bought me this beautiful bouquet of flowers and I treated him to lunch at the Macedon Family restaurant.
After serving at the temple all day Saturday all the temple missionaries went to President Brighton's basement for a Valentine party hosted by the Jon Neeleys. It was such fun. We had a delicious potluck dinner and then played the "old newlywed game" where the Neeley's had questions that we answered to see which couple knew the most about each other. There was a six-way tie at the end of the game and so it was decided that we choose a number between 1 - 100. Elder McGarry chose 22 and that was the exact number so we won the prize. It is the plaque next to the flowers.
For our anniversary yesterday, we braved the cold and went to a restaurant to have dinner. Just think, we have been married 22 years. Time certainly goes by fast.
We are really enjoying serving the Lord in His Holy House in Palmyra. The best part of our mission is feeling so close to Him each time we enter the temple. We both have a firm testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. This gospel gives us all we need to return to Him someday if we make good choices and live His commandments.
Love to all!!
