August 1, 1982

Dearest Roy, Bob, Claire & Michael, Rick, Jean, Ricky & Barbara Jean and Ron, Ann, Susanna, Jessie and Russell,

We heard from each one of you this week and we appreciate your letter and phone calls so much - it really helps with our stability!!!! I'm thrilled to have that cute picture of the Weinert family because I'm going to try to put together a "collage" of family pictures for Daddy's office here. We appreciate the funeral program for little Jimmy Braithwaite - that must have been a really sad thing - we have sent them a card. Claire, we love your letters and we're proud of Bob too for writing so often. I guess you really have to be on a mission to appreciate how much your family really means to you and how much you depend on them. Roy - we were so thrilled to hear from you - your roommates are different from the ones you used to have - I don't even know their names and I guess they didn't give you the messages we left with them. I guess you are in San Antonio by now and we hope you will enjoy it even though I know it's going to be really hot - we're excited about your visit the first of September - that will be a good time for us.

This has been a week to remember - I don't believe I sat down any day until it was time to go to bed. We had a new lady missionary come in - she was Phoenix's Jr. Miss at one time and had a big belt buckle to advertise it. She became ill right after she got here so we moved her into the mission home - she loved it here - would have her meals whenever she got hungry and would sleep or rest the rest of the time - Daddy finally had her go home after four hectic days of being up most of the nights with her. Another missionary also became ill and had to go home (an elder). In the meantime we had nine new missionaries come in and we had twenty-four for brunch and dinner plus other orientation meetings for two days. Then we had four Elders who finished their missions and came into the Mission Home for a farewell dinner and to spend the night - I changed ten beds twice. That wasn't enough excitement for a week so the Elders - planned a "pig roast". They kept talking about putting on a big "Luau" and inviting all the investigators and new members and having a poster demonstration in the Mission Home. Finally Daddy asked them if they had ever roasted a pig and of course, none of them had. So - he suggested they get a small pig and have a "trial run". Tuesday they came into the kitchen and told me they wanted to show me something - you're right. I went out to the shed in the back and there was a live pig - I about died!!!! They dug a huge pit out in the backyard and in the process of digging it one of the elders hit another elder in the arm with a shovel and he had to have six stitches to sew it up. Friday night Daddy gave them permission to sleep outside on the lawn so they could put the pig in the pit at 2 a.m. - they had started the fire early that afternoon. They had a ball and of course Johnny was right with them. We had a trial "Luau" last night and it was wonderful - they put an apple in the pig's mouth and big bing cherries in his eye sockets - when they took the eyeballs out the Elders all dared another Elder to eat one of them and finally they offered him $5 if he would and you're right - he did!!!! We had all the Billings Missionaries come for the Luau so we had twenty here - we made two big freezers of ice cream, a big watermelon fruit bowl, rice, sweet & sour sauce, hot rolls and vegetables and dip. THEY LOVED IT!!!!

This morning Daddy and I left about 7:30 to go visit the Indian Reservations and I tell you the couples who are the missionaries on these reservations are doing a labor of love. We visited four of them today - they all live in trailers right next to the chapels and they take care of the buildings and proselyte and try to get the Lamanites interested in coming to church. The Lamanites are very lazy and don't take care of anything - they remind us so much of the black people in Arkansas. Two of the couples had been on buffalo hunts this past week and had buffalo steaks for us but we had already eaten dinner with one of the other couples - They said they came home with 650lbs. of buffalo meat - that really sounds like too much but they said they were really huge. We're going to try to get permission to have someone get us a buffalo for the Mission Home - we could surely use it and I'll bet the Elders would love it.

This next week we are going to Glascow - way up north and visit other places in between. You wouldn't believe the wide open spaces here - you drive for miles and miles without any towns or signs of life - Johnny went with one of the Elders to Great Falls and he was driven and got a speeding ticket - it cost him $5 and doesn't go on his record. I'm out of space we love you all so very much PLEASE BE CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO - let us know if we can help you in any way.
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