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

It's a beautiful Sunday afternoon and we just came home from Round Up where we went to attend their church service - that's a really small town about 50 miles from Billings and we have driven past their church several times on our way other places so we decided that since we didn't have an assignment for today we would attend their service. It was really nice and a beautiful sprit among their members.

Jeannie and Rick - thank you so much for those darling pictures - NOW WE KNOW WHAT MARY ANN LOOKS LIKE - I think she looks a lot like Barji!!! Your whole family looks so good and we could just imagine how much fun you had in Disneyland - thank you so much for your phone call last night too - we talked too long!!! We'll think of Ricky tomorrow as you are celebrating his birthday (Rick was putting in their sprinkler system yesterday so they are going to celebrate Ricky's birthday tomorrow instead and they're taking some of his friends to MacDonald's - what a neat way to have a birthday party - I'm all for the mess somewhere else!)

Bob and Claire - thank you so much for your newsy letter Bob! We really felt for you having to mow your huge lawn in the Memphis heat - do you remember when you used to earn your spending money in Little Rock by mowing lawns? How could you forget!!! It was hard for me to even watch someone now lawns in that heat. We're so happy you, like your hospital and your new home and everything - will Claire have her baby in that same hospital? We're really excited about that. Jeannie said she works with the young man who graduated with you in Ark. who is now doing his residency in McKay Dee - that's neat!!!

Annie and Ron - we understand your family reunion in Idaho was changed until this weekends so you have been in Jerome. We know you have had a good time. Jeannie also told us you have been doing a lot of canning and that's wonderful - I'll bet you have made some "cherry conserve" - we loved that when we were with you several summers ago. A Brother and Sister Lear who live in Round Up have a son who lives in Jerome - I told them about Russell and Beverly. Jeannie also said you look great Annie so you must be feeling good.

Roy - Jeannie also told us she had talked to you and everything was going good - she said she had talked to Bob too. Now you know why we talked so long last night. I'm so glad you all keep in touch with each other and I hope you always will - it gives us such a good feeling when we talk to one of you and find that you have news of other members of our family. You can't imagine how far away we feel and our family is our greatest blessing and there is absolutely nothing we won't do to keep us all unified.

Johnny is "loving" his car - washes it every few minutes and it just sparkles - he also has the other car all shined up and will put an ad in the paper this week to sell it. He is such a good kid - one day last week while Daddy and I were gone he went out and weeded the rows of corn assigned to the Mission Home. He has spent most of last week washing cars in parking lots in the hot sun - he takes a big truck with a water tank on it and goes to the lots. I noticed a lot of money on his chest of drawers and when I asked him about it he said it was his tithing money - he gave the Bishop $70 this morning. I don't think he is going to work very much longer - Jimmy is coning and they are going to see some of Montana and then go to Utah and he will get back to Billings in time to practice for Football. Claire - he wore the long sleeved blue "polo" shirt to church today - that is the nicest shirt I have ever ironed - it took me at least thirty minutes but he loves it!!

Daddy and I left last Monday to go to Great Falls - we had a zone conference there on Tuesday, then went to Missoula where we had one on Wednesday, left there and drove to Butte and we had our seventh and last one there on Thursday. We really love being with our missionaries and they add so much to our lives but sitting from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. is a little bit challenging and I am always happy when they are over. I worry so much about leaving Johnny the way we have to and we're really proud of the way he is behaving. We got home late Thursday night and he got up to go to work at 5 Friday morning and then played for a dance that night so we didn't really get to visit with him until Saturday. Our weather has been so nice the last couple days but I guess it really was hot while we were gone - 1060. We have some of the finest young men in our mission that are in the world but we also have some "real kooks". They come on missions to please their parents or girl friends and it makes it so hard - I'm sure they get a lot of good from it but the mission surface.

Brenda had a call from Sally (her daughter who lives in Little Rock) and she told her of the sad news about Susan Bohn Barnes. Susan and her little boy who is probably about three years old were in a car with a young girl who had just received her driver's license and she lost control somehow and ran into a parked big truck - Susan's little boy was killed and I guess Susan is in real bad shape with both legs broken among other things. They were on their way to meet Perry Bohn and his family for a little reunion - I believe it happened somewhere in Tennessee. The whole Bohn family came over to our home in Little Rock the night before we left and sang some songs for us - they have been dong this for years at Christmas time - we took pictures of them and they were in our camera when we got to Billings so we have them her and it's so sad to look at Susan and her little boy because she was really happy for the first time for so many years - she had divorced and had really had a struggle. Cissy Beyers called here one morning while we were gone and waked Johnny up - I'm sure she called to tell us about it. I worry about a lot of things but my biggest worry is automobile accidents!!!

We heard on the news last night about another little girl missing in Utah - that is such a bizarre thing to keep happening there. I'm sure I don't have to tell you all to watch your children - it is such a shame you have to be on the alert every single minute but you do. I can remember when you were all growing up and that was the farthest thing from my mind.

We received a new missionary for our mission on Friday - he has been in Mississippi for 15 months but was having some problems so they sent him to us. He is really a nice young man and has lived in Farmington for the last two years and before that was in California - he is Elder Jones. He didn't know many people in Farmington.

I think you remember that Elder Rector came to Billings and we had him to the Mission Home for breakfast. Well - Elder Dunn found out about it and I guess was upset - Daddy got a letter that in effect said we shouldn't have General Authorities unless they were assigned to us by the First Presidency. Sometimes I think there are too many rules but I guess they have a purpose - I would have thought Elder Rector would have known the rules.

Do you all remember Bobby Mayers - our neighbor in Phoenix??? We received a wedding announcement from him last week - his bride is from California and they were having a very elaborate wedding - there were three cards inside the announcement inviting us to different things. It was one of the very few wedding announcement inviting we have received from non-members of the church that had a picture - I would never have recognized him - they were in ski cloth and I understand from Aino's letters that he is really into sports - golf, skiing, etc.

This Mission President's Seminar is going to be in Denver again this year - we are really surprised they would have it twice but we're happy about it. We are going to see if we can get permission to drive - we'll have a zone conference in Casper on that Saturday then go through Laramie and Fort Collins on our way to Denver - that would be fun for us!!! That will be the last of August.

We received the nicest letter from Bill Smith the other day - he was a man I taught school with in Little Rock and he came into the church and is really a leader in the North Little Rock Ward - anyway he ended his letter by saying, "The church is true" - I thought that was kinda' neat and it reminded me of Bob's letters from Colombia which always ended that way and they always gave us such a lift. So I will end this letter that way - the church is true and even though I complain in most of my letters I want you each to know we are so thrilled for this calling because it gives us the opportunity to serve but most of all because it is helping us to grow in ways we (I) need to - WE LOVE THE WORK AND WE ARE SO CAREFUL FOR ALL OUR MANY BLESSING. We love each one of you so very much PLEASE BE CAREFUL IN ALL YOU DO - let us know how we can help you!!!
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