ATTITUDE of GRATITUDE

ATTITUDE of GRATITUDE

We are so grateful this Easter morn, for our Savior Jesus Christ and for his resurrection.

"This morn renews for us that day
When Jesus cast the bonds away,
Took living breath
And conquered death.

Thus we in gratitude recall
And give our love and  pledge our all,
Shed grateful tear
And conquer fear."
Words to the Hymn "That Easter Morn" by Marion D. Hanks

Believing the words of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians,"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory",we know that death isn't the end but another beginning.  We are grateful for that knowledge.

We are grateful for the opportunity to be a representative of Jesus Christ as we serve our mission.  His life was a life of service and we want to serve wherever and whenever we are needed.

 We are so grateful for all of our family and friends who encouraged us and have supported us in our decision to serve a mission.  We promise we will do our best.

We are so grateful for the safety we have had in our travels thus far.  We have been doing a lot of sightseeing and enjoying every minute.  We have a book titled, "1,000 places to see before you die."  Every state we enter, we read about a place we should see.  We did drive out of our way to go to a town called Saratoga in Wyoming. It wasn't really too spectacular, but it got Durg off the freeway and onto some back roads.  We drove through Medicine Bow National Forest and we loved it.  There aren't many forests in Wyoming.  It didn't surprise me that we got off the beaten path and took some back roads. Durg quoted J. Golden Kimball, "I don't stay on the straight and narrow, but I cross it every once in a while."  So typical of Durg.

We really aren't making too much progress. It took us a day and a half to drive through Wyoming.  We stayed in Rawlins, Wyoming and decided to drive 120 miles round trip to see Martin's Cove.  It was worth it.  To see, hear and feel the heartache experienced by those in the Martin Handcart Company as they travelled to Salt Lake City was life changing for me.  Once again, I am beginning to understand the sacrifices made by others so that I could have the gospel and church in my life.  One man, Heber Robert McBride kept a journal of his experience in the Martin Handcart Company and the difficulties all experienced on this journey.  A video has been made about those experiences.  Heber Robert McBride is the great grandfather of Judy McBride Collis and Deveaux McBride Grubbs, two sisters we have know for a long time.  It made the video so much more touching, knowing what their great grandfather went through so that Judy and Deveaux could have the gospel.

We lived through a nightmare on Thursday night.  We had dinner in Cheyenne, Wyoming and then drove to stay in Sidney, Nebraska.  Finally, we were in another state.  Upon arriving at our motel, which we reserved earlier in the day, I discovered that I had left my purse in Cheyenne, Wyoming, only 90 miles away.  We tried to call the restaurant to see if anyone had found a purse, but the line was busy for 1 1/2 hours. We tried calling the police and the headquarters of the restaurant chain, but no one could help.  We decided to drive back to Cheyenne, praying every minute, and check for ourselves.  We arrived just as they were locking up the restaurant.  YES,  it was there.  Our prayer had been answered.  We had witnessed a miracle.  There are still honest people in his world and Heavenly Father loves us!  The best part of it, besides getting my purse back, was that Durg did not lose his temper.  He decided that as missionary companions, if we started off with bad feelings, it wouldn't be good for our mission.  I was grateful for that.  He did say that I couldn't take my purse into restaurants.  He would pay for everything.  Works for me!

That little 180 mile excursion could be one of the reasons we aren't making much progress.  We still have 4 states to travel through and 4 days left to travel.  We probably will be staying on the straight and narrow.

We leave you at Grand Island, Nebraska.  We love you and appreciate you.  Durg and Kathy