JOHN'S PHONE NO.:801-377-9695

September 28, 1984 Billings, Montana

Dearest Johnny; Roy; Bob, Claire, Michael & Laura; Rick, Jean, Ricky, Barbara Jean & Mary Ann and Ron, Ann, Susana, Jessie, Russell & LeeAnna:

It's Friday afternoon and I'm going to write my letter early again this week - Our week-ends are mostly traveling so I guess I'll be doing this quite often!!! It's an absolutely gorgeous day in Billings - we have had snow and cold weather all week but today is really nice

Claire - you are so good to write and we love your letters. We can't believe all your projects - painting the swing set and the piano and sewing for Laura - we know Bob is gone most of the time and it's wonderful you use your time to such good advantage. We laughed about little Michael getting in the boat and pretending he's the "captain" - he and Laura are at such a darling stage and it's great they have each other to play with. We can imagine how hard Bob must be working but he surely is learning a lot - neuro-surgery and then plastic surge. We wish he wouldn't "moonlight" at all - we worry about his health!!

Roy - it was so good to talk to you last night and we know you are really working too hard too!!! He goes to the hospital every morning at 6:30 and doesn't get home until 6 or 7 at night - he says he has to get up at 5:30 and we can't believe that - Roy has always been a "night" person who hated to get up before noon! When we were talking to him he mentioned that it was getting a little chilly in his apartment because his windows were open (it was about 9 o'clock there) and it was about 30(here and we have the furnace on. He had been to Maine and said it was absolutely beautiful with the Fall colors - he said there was a lot of fishing there now and he and Patrice had had a delicious lobster dinner on the coast - yum!!!

Johnny - we loved talking to you Monday night - we had worried a little about you because we hadn't heard if you got your car keys or not and we expected a letter when we got back from Helena on Sunday night. We know you're busy studying and getting accustomed to college life!! Johnny and his roommate have rented a little refrigerator to keep in their room - doesn't that sound fun? I wish I had more time and I would make you some cookies - it's a big deal to make cookies here because I have to do it in the big kitchen to use the mixer and that's where ever thing is. I can't make them and do other things at the same time- I have to wait until I have about three hours to just do that - surely, I'll get some free time soon because there aren't too many things I would rather do than make cookies!!! You didn't tell us if you wanted a rin and I forgot to ask you - please let us know! When you decide what kind of a calculator you want, let us know. There are a million antelope and deer out in the field throughout all of Wyoming and Montana - we even saw an antelope in a residential area in Casper this week!!!

Annie & Jeannie - we know you're busy with all kinds of children's activities and other things. Johnny said he had been with Ann and they all survived having Ron gone for a long trip - I remember those days and I could hardly wait for Daddy to get home to get things back in order. Has Rick moved his Aunt back to Wisconsin yet? Ann - we've loved your little notes!

We really loved the Helena Stake Conference - Enzio Busche was their General Authority and he is such a special man. He was converted to the church in Germany twenty-seven years ago and has been a General Authority for the last seven years - he was Mission President in Germany about the time Daren & Bart Forrest served their missions over there and I'm wondering if they served under him. He said he was called as a Regional Representative and accepted the calling even though he didn't know what that was. He is a very successful business man and owns the Busche Printing Business in Germany and had to leave his business and his parents who don't belong to the church as well as his wife's family and come to live in Salt Lake - I think that would be very difficult! They have four sons and a daughter who all converted to the church and his oldest son is back in Germany with his company.

A man, whose family I know in Brigham City, lives in Helena and it is always nice to go see them again. His name is Burt Freeman and his grandmother & grandfather are my parents' ages and I remember when his grandfather was their Bishop. He has a beautiful family and he was sustained as a Ward Mission Leader and he'll do a good job - his aunt Roma was my friend! He told me that his grandfather, Ernest Freeman, had passed away this year at the age of 90 and his grandmother, Ruby, lives with Roma who is in the process of moving to Fruit Heights in Utah.

We had meetings in Bozeman on Friday and then we went to Great Falls where we had two District Meetings before going to Helena for their Saturday night meeting - Daddy and I both spoke at their Saturday meeting and then Daddy spoke at their Sunday conference. After their conference we drove to Butte to hold another District Meeting and then we came back to Billing. We had a big snow storm and the roads from Bozeman to Billings were just terrible - we saw three accidents so we didn't come very fast!!!

We got home about 9 o'clock Sunday night and listened to the weather forecast. They had had lots of snow in Cody and also in the Billings area and around the Indian Reservations where our couples were so Daddy called Elder Knight who was coordinating the couples conference and they decided to postpone it until better weather. Well - the one couple who is in Lander, Wyoming wasn't home and we could never get in touch with him Sunday night so by Monday morning we decided to re-schedule it since this couple would already be on their way! Daddy called the couples in Cody to tell them to come and found out that the one man hadn't been feeling very well and had had unexplained bleeding in his mouth so he had gone to the hospital and they had admitted him for observation. With all these complications Daddy just decided to leave it as it was and have it another time. As it happened, the couple we couldn't get in touch with had left on Sunday afternoon so they would for sure be able to make it and they came in at 4 o'clock. This is the Atkinson couple and he just talks constantly and really drives Daddy Crazy! We fixed dinner for them and they stayed until about 10 p.m. (they had already made motel reservations and couldn't cancel them) and then they came back the next morning for breakfast. It would have been easier to have had all seven couples!!!

We just found out yesterday that the man was in the hospital for observations has tuberculosis!!! They have told him they are pretty sure they found it in time so it isn't in the contagious stage but we are really grateful we cancelled the conference or he probably wouldn't have gone into the hospital for a while longer and all of us would have been exposed. This is their second mission and they spent their first one in South Dakota working on the Indian Reservation. They will be going back home next week and they are disappointed and so are we - Daddy had just made arrangements for them to labor in Wolfpoint and they are really needed there. Their last name is "Watts" and they are really special people - they had been working in the Cody Visitor's Center for the last four months.

We left Tuesday afternoon and drove to Casper - the snow had mostly melted by then but they had had quite a bit!! We had two district meetings in Casper on Wednesday and then drove to Riverton to have another one that evening and we stayed there that night. We had another meeting in Greybull, Wyoming Thursday morning and then come home. It is really interesting to us how much money is being put into church building in our Mission. The one is Greybull is really nice (it serves both Greybull and Basin) and they are going to remodel it and it will cost $400,00. The stake center in Lovell is being remodeled and it's costing over one million dollars and that town has a population of about five thousand people. We preach "Provident Living" to our missionaries all the time and make sure they turn the heat out of the house at night and have them be so careful with everything and we just can't believe all this money being spent on perfectly good buildings!!! We are just naturally this way but we also remember how difficult it was to get money for buildings in Arkansas.

Most of our garden is Frozen - Daddy says he thinks there are some tomatoes hidden under the vines and snow that might be okay if it doesn't freeze anymore. This has happened each year we have been here - they have a killing frost in September to take all the flowers and vegetables and then it will warm up and be nice until almost Christmas. We have really enjoyed the vegetables this year - the tomatoes are out of this world!! I bought some Utah peaches this morning and they really bring back memories - they have a special taste! Johnny, I hope you get to have a lot of them!

We have a wedding reception to go to tonight - we had a district meeting here this a.m. Then we leave early, early in the morning to go up to the Northeastern part of the state and will be gone until late Sunday night. I'll miss the women's broadcast again tomorrow night - I have only heard one of those in all these years - Oh well!!!

Our missionaries are really doing a wonderful job in the house - we're really proud of them. Garic Powers is going to San Jose, California on his mission!!!

We love each one of you so very much - PLEASE BE CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO - Let us know how we can help you!!!
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