December 9, 1984 Billings, Montana

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

We just came home from Worland, Wyoming and it is just getting dark - it's so nice to come in at a decent hour - usually it's later and we're ready to just go to bed!!! It is also so nice to come in and find everything in the Mission Home so well taken care of - we have a very responsible Elder in here now (Elder Stastny) who is Daddy's Secretary and he always has the doors all locked and the thermostats turned down low. There have been so many times when we have come home to find all the lights on and all the furnaces running full blast and the doors unlocked and no one here - the office staff now is just ideal and we appreciate then so much!!!

Bob & Claire - we loved your letters this week. We are disappointed to not have you come to Billings but there is no way it would be worth all that expense for just a weekend - you will never know how much e appreciate your willingness to do it but we want so much for your family to come together at time when we're not all so busy. Daddy and I are going to really put forth our best effort in our last six months but we definitely won't be under the pressure we are now! Come January 1st we are going to start getting our things each month - we're not going to travel ferences and have the Assistance take care of the other meetings. Daddy' s Mission Presidents' Seminar is over too and we can kinda' control the Stake Conferences we attend so if you get some where you can come as a family we hope you'll come! We love to hear about Michael & Laura and we can hardly wait to become acquainted with then - you can't imagine how funny it feels to have a little granddaughter who can walk & talk we haven't even seen her yet. We're so proud of all the upholstering you have done Claire and to be singing in the Messiah and accompanying the choir too - you sound like a superwoman to us!!

Johnny - it was good to talk to you a few minutes ago and you sound happy and busy!!! We're keeping our fingers crossed that the weather will be good for your trip home for the home for Christmas holidays - it's really good that you won't have to leave certain day and you cant wait for a good time to travel - the roads can clear up in just a matter of a day or so. We will be thinking of you during the week and hoping your tests won't be to hard!!!

Roy - you have had some cold, cold weather!! We surely hope things are going really well for you and you're not working too hard.

Ann & Jean - we haven't heard from you this week but we know you're super busy with Christmas preparations. Johnny told us about going over to Ann's and seeing her "pasta machine" - that's what she got for her birthday and I guess she's having lots of fun with it. The most favorite meal of the mission home when Brenda was here was noodles and chicken over mashed potatoes - no wonder everyone gained so much weight!! Johnny also said that little Russell was in big boy pan and was just a doll. Jeannie - we surely hope you are able to take it easy most of the time - one of the Lady Missionaries who went home last week was telling me about a friend of hers who is serving a mission in North Carolina and who has been really sick with "Crohn's disease" - she was so happy that I knew something about it. I'll bet all the little kids are SO excited about Santa Clause - I hope they will be excited for many years to come when we're close to them.

We really had a busy week last week. I cooked all day Tuesday - made four big pans of lasagna and the sauce for the enchiladas. Daddy and I experimented with the enchiladas and they were absolutely delicious - I cooked two huge seven bone roasts all day so the meat just fell of the bones and we mixed that with six pounds of ground beef cooked and also some cooked beans and green onions & peppers, enchilada sauce and other spices - I really thought the Elders were all going to be sick, they ate so much. We had the enchiladas the day we got the new missionaries in from the MTC and then ice cream sundaes for dessert and some cookies. We had the lasagna the day the missionaries came in to go to their homes. We set the table for about twenty each night.

Daddy had to leave on Thursday about four o'clock to fly to Denver so he asked one of the Patriarchs to come in to give the talk before they went to their homes. We also asked his wife to come for dinner and they are such special people it was really a treat to have them here. Daddy was really worried about this group of missionaries going home because he was afraid they would take advantage of me and raise the roof of the Mission Home. They weren't that bad but they weren't really good either - we had two sisters in the General Authorities' room and it is right next to our bedroom and they talked ALL night and then they were up showering about four in the morning. The Elders going home went into the house Elders dormitory and got all their shampoo and put it in the wastebaskets and they left their rooms filthy - there were eleven of them and we won't have that big a group going home again. I felt kinda' bad for the ones going home this time because there was a lot of pressure on them to stay the extra six months and only one of the group decided to stay. One of the sisters in the group was nicknamed "Sister Fun" - we were so glad to see her leave - she has given Daddy "Fits" and the last thing she did was to throw the whole schedule off four hours because she decided to leave her apartment and take pictures - this was a mess because we had missionaries waiting in different places throughout the mission for cars and she held everything up.

We are constantly worried about automobile accidents - not only with our own children but with the missionaries and the way some of them drive it is a pure miracle we don't have more of them. Well a couple weeks ago they called Daddy from Salt Lake to compliment him on the automobile statistics for our mission - we were number eleven of about two hundred missions in the world and we have some of the worst highway hazards. Just two days after he received this call two of our missionaries were driving and attempted to pass a truck on a bridge and hit an icy spot - the driver is from Hawaii and has never driven on snow and ice and had been told he couldn't drive when it was this way - well, he hit the brakes and the car slid into the guard rail and then back into the truck and spun clear around and hit the other guard rail and then slid into the barrow pit! It completely totaled a brand new 1984 Chevrolet - the two Elders didn't even get a scratch and we are so thankful for that!!!

We left early yesterday morning and drove to Casper for our Wyoming Zone Conference - it was from 1 to 4 and then Daddy had interviews from 4 to 6 - and then we drove to Worland and got there about 10 o'clock. Casper just has to be the most undesirable place in our whole mission - the wind is always blowing and it is so cold and dirty. It reminds me a lot of Laramie and I could never get used to that place and I know I could never get used to Casper. They have this gorgeous new Stake Center there and the people who live there like it and that's good. We have just moved to sweet Lady Missionary there and she came up to me very quietly yesterday and said, "Sister Mellor I just hate Casper"!!! They had their Stake Conference in Worland this morning and Elder Tyler Woolley who is their Regional Representative had both Daddy and I speak. We think this might be his last conference - he is due to be released, we think!!! It was so beautiful in Worland - quite warm and so bright & sunny.

Daddy really enjoyed his meetings in Denver - Elder Loren Dunn and Elder George P. Lee were there and so was the President of Rick's College - he is a Regional Representative for one of the Regions in our Area. Daddy stayed at the Marriott and said it was really nice - they didn't have any great news to give them - Elder Lee's message is always one of "Love Everyone" and Elder Dunn's message is always, "Work Hard" - Ha!!!

I forgot to tell you that I made Claire's chocolate almond pie for the dessert for our lasagna dinner and they all wanted recipe. It was just heavenly and I saved two pieces for Daddy and me and we are going to have them as a snack before going to bed tonight - I'm sure each piece must have at least 1,000 calories in it. I also made two batches of cinnamon rolls for them for their breakfasts. It is so funny - I do all these things and maybe one out of forty will say thanks - I believe somewhere along the line you are supposed to get more blessings for doing things without expecting thanks or rewards - Ha!!! If I thought any of our children would be so unappreciative I believe I would spank you good!

Did I tell you that both Chris Jordin & Joy Geisler called me last week - such sweet friends! They told me that Kim Aday just had another little baby girl but something is seriously wrong with her - she has a brain infection and if she lives she will be severely retarded - sad! Judy (Joy's daughter) is also expecting again. They didn't have a lot of news but it was so good to talk to them - I hope I can find good friends like that in Utah. Sandy Jones calls often too and I just love her but she is so much younger than I am!!!

We love each of you so very much and really do miss you, especially at this time of year. PLEASE BE CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO - Let us know how we can help you!!!
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