October 15, 1983 Billings, Montana

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

It's Saturday afternoon and I'm going to start my letter today because we have to leave really early in the morning to go to Lovell for their Stake Conference and we won't get home until late tomorrow afternoon and I know I will be "zonked". We were supposed to go there today but the meeting tonight down there doesn't have a lot to do with missionary work so we decided we could miss it!!!!!

This has been a fun week - we have been home all the time and I have been able to get caught up a little on correspondence and mailing gifts, laundry and other things. Yesterday afternoon I announced that I was caught up on laundry and the apartment was cleaned and I believe that's a first for me! I was kinda' pressured into it - we have some really sweet friends who live in Cody and they have been called to be Directors of the Visitor Center in Mesa, Arizona. We invited them to come to dinner last night and to spend the night - some of the Elders in the home and arranged to teach a family in the living room last night so I had to get the apartment cleaned - Ha! Howard and Doris Gagon are these peoples names and they are excited about their new calling - they will be released just one month before we are - their calling is for 18months. Brenda fixed a good dinner for them (brisket, broccoli, corn, baked potatoes, slaw, hot rolls and apple pie) and then we came to the apartment to visit and later some other friends came over and we had ice cream - we were STUFFED when we went to bed.

We have a really sweet Lamanite sister in the hospital here and they called and asked us to go see her - her name is Maxine Big Medicine. I fixed her a bouquet of roses from our yard and took to her and she had just been in for some tests and they didn't know what was the matter with her. Her relatives called the Mission Home today and said she has seven tumors on her brain. Their families are really close and her room was filled with people - you can't help but really love those people even though it's hard to communicate with them.

The Relief Society President of our ward came by Thursday afternoon and took me for a ride to see some of the famous places here in Billings. They have a "castle" here that was built from a plan of a castle in England only on a much smaller scale - it was interesting to see it. It is now a museum and people put their arts and crafts in it on consignment and some of the work was really "way out". She also brought some chocolate chip cookies that were made differently and they were delicious - I am getting my pounds back FAST!

Johnny is doing really good - he loves to watch the football and baseball games on TV. I hear that Arkansas isn't doing well at all - one of the Elders in the home went to school in Austin, Texas and he is constantly teasing Johnny about Texas being better that Arkansas and I guess today that beat him by 28 points - ugh!!!!

We haven't heard from any of you this week and we know that you're really busy. We had two long letters from friends in Little Rock and it was so good to hear some news from them. Floy McKell write that they are looking for a new place to build a Stake Center in what would have been our Stake there - she said Pres. Griffin is looking around the Otter Creek area. She also said that Susan Barnes is doing quite well - her legs are still in a cast and the whole family takes turns caring for her. Chris Jordin wrote and told how much she appreciated having a letter from Claire and also a picture of Laura - I'm so proud of you all for acknowledging gifts the ways you - we send so many gifts and never know whether or not they even receive them. Chris said also that Linda Smithers is going to get married - isn't that wonderful???? Brad is home from his Mission and he and Ann Nance will probably marry if he decides to settle down in Arkansas - she would be really lucky to get him.

I'll finish this tomorrow when we get home!!!!!

Sunday afternoon - I just talked to my brother Dee and Grandpa Forrest. Mother fell last week and they had to get an ambulance to come get her to take her to the hospital. They have taken x-rays and there isn't anything broken but she has a bad sprain - they'll keep her in the hospital for a few days and then she'll go home later on this week. I have worried about her falling and breaking her hip because that happens so often to older people and especially to people like Grandmother who aren't real steady on their feet. I know it's hard for Grandpa to be home by himself and I'm grateful that Dee lives close by.

They had a good Stake Conference in Lovell - Bro. G. Homer Durham was their General Authority and we brought him back to Billings with us so he could catch his plane back to Salt Lake. He was President of Arizona State University while we were in Phoenix and then since then he has been Voce-President of the University of Utah (maybe he was that before he was in Arizona) and also Commissioner of Education for the Church so he has been in the field of Education for a long time. I didn't know this but he also was at Utah State for awhile and did some work with Box Elder High School so we had a lot to talk about - he knew many of the same people we did. He told us about his family - two sons and a daughter - one of his sons graduated from Harvard and then went to Duke Medical School and is now a pediatrician in Salt Lake and his wife is the first Justice (Woman) of the Supreme Court in Utah (I think I have that right). Anyway, we loved to brag about our family and tell of all your accomplishments.

They have a beautiful church building in Lovell - it covers a full city block and is right on the main street. I have never seen one built like that - it has two chapels in it - on e on either end and I have just loved going there. Well - the first of next month they are going to completely "gut" it and built a new church just using the outside framework - it will take ten months to complete it and I'm sure will cost a lot of money. We understand the local people are quite upset because they will have to drive thirty miles to go to church in Byron and that building is quite small. Bro. Durham's talk today was mostly about the differences in people and how important it is for us to be tolerant of each other - I felt like he was trying to put out a fire in that area. Jeannie - your friend, Linda Morrison, is always so sweet to us and comes up on the stand to say "hello". She wanted to know all about you and she felt bad when I told her you had been here a couple weeks ago - she said she would have driven to Billings to see you. They have put in their adoption papers but will have to wait awhile to get a child. She is teaching kindergarten for half a day and really likes that!

Cissy and Charles Beyers are coming to see us this Friday - it will be so neat to have them come. The East Billings Stake is going to have their Women's Conference this weekend and I'm sure Cissy will enjoy going to some of the workshops they have planned.

We are having really pretty weather - I'm sure it will be cold before long but right now it is nice. Our Mission is going really fast - won't be long until we will reach the half way mark. We will be getting a new car next month or at least by December - ours has 50,000 miles on it. The Elder who is in charge of cars said he received a call from Elder Loren Dunn who said to get us any kind of car we wanted because Pres. Mellor was doing such a good job. We said we would be happy with the same kind we have now - it's a Chevrolet Celebrity. We are hoping Johnny will be able to drive this one to Utah and pick up the new one - last time they paid a lady to bring our car up to us!!!

I can't think of anymore news - next week is our busy one - we have 12 new missionaries coming in and a big transfer so that means we'll be baking cookies like mad!!!! We brought Bro. Durham to the Mission Home before taking him to the airport and I showed him through the home - when I opened the door leading from our bedroom into the Elders Dormitory there was a big pile of dirty sheets on the floor. I about died - I explained that I do all the laundry on Monday morning and some of the Elders must have changed their beds early. He looked at me so funny and said "You do all the laundry" -"I thought you had a housekeeper". I wanted to but I didn't tell him that she does very little housework - but she is a really good cook!!!!

When we were talking to our friends from Cody they told us that Glenn Neilson's daughter who is the wife of the Mission President in England, has 17 Elders living in that Mission Home and she can't keep a cook so she does most of it. I don't know that I really believe that but it made me feel better. Glenn Neilson is worth $600 million and I'm, sure they could send one over there if they wanted to - Sister Neilson said she was thinking of going over to help her daughter.

We love you all so very much - PLEASE BE CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO - let us know how we can help you!!!
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