I've decided that being on a misson is unique enough for Elder Linde that I'd better comment on what I have been able to gather as part of a normal mission.
First of all, missions are not for the faint of heart, even for old worn out people like ourselves. they demand a lot of your attention, time and patience. Things that are sometimes in short supply.
After thinking about it, I am not half so critical as I was about young missionaries who sometimes do not finish or barely start their missions before they throw the towell in and decide its not for them. Sometimes its quite understandable.
We have come in contact with enough of them that I both saddened and sobered by the amount of effort that is needed by them to persevere and succeed. Most of them do succeed and are succesful in completing their missions.
Both Shauna and I have had are ups and downs as we learn our duties. She has her desk about three feet behind my desk in the Mission office. We literally are closer all day in this mission than we have ever been in civilian life --most of the time its a plus as we can help each other, but sometimes it feels like we both need to get away from each other for a while.
We sure do miss our families -- This next month is going to be busy what with zone conferences, 20 new missionaries comming in, and lots of Xmas stuff -- so we hope to stay busy.
Love to all our friends and Family Elder Linde

I think that I hit a wall last week. I was in a depressed, unhappy, homesick, ugly mood. The whole week was not good. I was planning to call my Mom and Dad and I saw an ad on TV about a family walking along the shore of a lake or the ocean, the Grandpa suddenly does not know what is going on and the young boy goes and takes his hand and walks with him.......you have probably seen it. I just started bawling and thinking of my folks and how I longed to see them and I couldn't quit crying. Then I had a dream about Brett and Angi. It was crazy. And the same week another dream about Megan. I usually don't dream in the present, so if what they say about dreams is true, I must have you'all on my mind and missing you.

Thanksgiving day came and I said I would bring candied yams and hot rolls. I woke up suddenly and had been dreaming that it was 11:30 and I didn't have time to prepare my food for the dinner at 1pm. Well, it was actually 7:30, so I did jump up and begin. Then I forgot to put butter in my sauce for the yams. I added it at the end just before I put it on my yams, but then even forgot to add salt to the sauce so I had to shake it on after all was put together.

And my poor rolls. I don't know if it is an electric oven (which I do not like at all), the change in altitude or climate, my tiny cupboard to roll out my dough on, or just my age. I am beginning to think that I can't do anything right. The first dozen I rolled out, I scraped up and threw in the garbage. My dough was sticky and I couldn't get them off the counter. It was a joke. I finally added flour and got a tray to bake, but they were not very good.

This was our Thanksgiving group at President and Sister Van Komen's home. It was a nice dinner with everyone bringing food. The Van Komen's got the turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and dressing from a local store and I wish you could have seen the dressing. I even offered to bring dressing. (I should have insisted!) It was like a liquid vegetable. It was awful. I did take one small spoonful and had a hard time eating it. And no cranberry sauce! Thankfully someone had made that salad with ground up cranberries in it.



After dinner the Christmas decorations were brought up from the basement and we began our decorating. Lots of decorations and where to put them. It was fun. All of the men put the tree together and put the lights on and then we women did the bulbs and bows. Someone sitting back a ways and telling you where you needed a ribbon or a larger bulb. It was interesting.

That is President right next to Dad.

And this is some of the sisters who were still there at the end. I, of coarse, could not get down on my knees and all the other women are trying to get on the back row so they cannot be seen. So I ended up sticking out front and center and you know how that is not my thing. Sister Van Komen is sitting on the floor on the right.

A different Thanksgiving with all "old folks". When we arrived it was so quiet and I did say that we needed some kids around. I am not used to quiet Thanksgiving day dinners.

Today is Sunday. We first watched SUNDAY MORNING at 8am. It is a very interesting show. Lasts for 1 1/2 hours and today it was all about chefs and food and knife makers. It was quite fascinating. We enjoyed it. Afterward we went for our walk in the cemetary again. Dad got on the internet last night and found George Lucas's tombstone at our neighboring cemetary, so our quest was to find that stone. And, well you guessed it ....

DAD FOUND IT!! We wandered around looking at a lot of tombstones and finally he is waving his arms at me. This is the man who wanted the prophet dead. Dad was not standing too close so I made him move in a little.

This is a closeup of the stone. It shows a hand with a feather pen in it. We don't know if he was a penman or a writer or what.

I came home and started some hot rolls. Can you believe that I am taking rolls to T-day dinner for the seniors. Guess we have joined. I never feel that I am old enough though.

We had a good day at church today. We had to pick up two of our sweet sisters at the VC. It is always good to be with them. Our Bishop is Samoan and not very old. Probably in his 40's. One of his counselors is also Samoan and kind of hard to understand. You must listen carefully. But is was a good meeting and then SS and RS and priesthood. We don't get out till 5 and it is real dark by then. Seems strange.

We love you, one and all.

Mom and Dad, Doug and Shauna, etc.

Today is our day! We got up late and went for our walk in the cemetary. It is a big cemetary with lots of old grave stones in it. Way old. And we are looking for General Samual Lucas, one of the men who wanted to kill Joseph Smith. I really enjoy reading gravestones and dates and lots of them have huge amounts of info on them.
This pic is showing you the wall around the west end of the cemetary. It is a cool rock wall.

This pic is from the cemetary looking toward our building. You can see our car sitting there and our building is at the top left of the pic, behind that little house that you see.

After our walk today, Dad asked what was on our agenda. I couldn't think of a single thing. I like days like that. So he decided to go golfing. After breakfast he headed out and found a place and rented some clubs and had to buy some golf balls. He played 18 holes and had a very enjoyable afternoon. And me, well, you know that being home is my favorite thing. So it wasn't hard for me to find something to do.

First I streaked my hair. Then I got out a little stool that I bought at Salvation Army and started sanding it and getting it ready to paint. Did a couple loads of wash. And I am hanging everything these days. Don't use the dryer at all. You know, if you shake things out real good they dry OK. Haven't washed any levis yet, they might take several days to dry. Made a pot of potato soup. Some brownies. And some turkey burger shepherd's pie. Don't know what it will be like. I thot maybe like a turkey dinner. The turkey burger, green beans, and cream of chicken soup instead of tomato, and then mashed potatoes on top. I have got to get some things in the freezer since I do not like fixing dinner at 5:30 at night.

I think that we need to have a day to do whatever we feel like. It is quite refreshing. This is going to be a short week. Thanksgiving at the President's home with some of the seniors.

Later. Loves to all

A couple of the contrasts in our life. We are serving a mission but sometimes it doesn't feel like it. It kind of feels like we are just taking care of kids. And basically, we are. They start here at about 19 years of age and go up a couple of years, but there are some of them who look and behave like they are almost 16. So our mission is to really serve the kids so that they can do their work better and easier. Like this week I hand stitched a seam in someone's suit coat and put a patch on his pants that was completely worn through. Dad is counseling girls and guys on where to go to get their oil changed and what kind of oil to buy and why. His phone is usually quiet between 9pm and 8am, but the rest of the day it is ringing continually. Two phones. The one on his hip and the one on his desk. And if both of those are busy, they just call the office and ask for him. He has a hard time going to the bathroom in private. They have actually found him there before!

We bought some ant traps for the Elders who moved into the little home that we were in. Elder Ale came in one day and asked me how we controlled the ants in the bathroom. So I bought him some ant traps and he was so grateful. He reported that they are working too!

This is one of the contrasts. We go to Costco mostly to buy snacks and treats for the missionaries. They come in a lot and are always looking for something to munch on. So tonight we went to Costco and picked up licorice, tootsie rolls, nuts, fruit snacks and goldfish----and then Dad asked if I wanted a poinsettia. What a question! He has brought one home for me quite often on our anniversary, so I guess this is a little early, but it is beautiful! I love it.

Next to the poinsettia is my load of wash. Drying! There is a washer/dryer upstairs that was so expensive that everyone went to a laundromat down the street that just opened and did their wash for half the price. When the owner got 0 kickback one month and about half the next month, he asked why. They told him it was the price. So he told the guy who owns it and he pulled the price down to match the laundromat, but the dry cycle is not long enough to get much of anything dry. It is 24 minutes long. So I am boycotting and just bring my laundry down and hang it on my little clothes dryer. You know how I like to line dry anyway, so it is working out good. Except that I can only dry a load at a time, so there is usually a load of clothes drying in my room.

And this is Dad's 'on the side' job. A used car salesman! Yup, those are his four cars that he is wanting to sell. One is a Toyota Avalon that the president has driven for about two years. Never had a kid behind the wheel and it is beautiful. A Toyota Corolla, maybe two, and a Chevy Malibu. He has put new brakes on one and had them all detailed, so they are ready to drive off the mission office parking lot. Any takers?!

I just tried to get rid of some of the cement in front of the cars and I lost the pic. Anybody help! Well, enough for tonite. Tomorrow is Saturday and we have the weekend off.

See you later. Love from us.

I tried all day to get a pic to post tonight, but I was not able to. At the end of work someone came in and said the sun was like a ball of fire, but by the time I got out there to get a pic, of coarse, it was gone. And then I tried to get a pic of Dad at the office. He had his most harrowing day yesterday. If I had been brave enough I would have taken a pic, but I thought he might throw something at me if I tried.

At one point he had a phone on each ear and I had answered my phone and the call was for him! He was so frustrated at the end of the day that we drove around old town Independence looking for a place to eat. They were either all empty, or Dad went in and said no, we don't want to eat there or they had Budweiser and Coors signs filling the windows. Somehow it was not appropriate to walk into a restaurant with suit and tie and a name badge with all that on the window. So we went over to another busy street and found a Country Cafe. And it was country. Three electric guitars playing and the old guys singing along. It had quite a few people in it and so we ate and the food was OK, but the music was fun. After eating we went to a movie. Saw the latest Christmas Carol. Dad loved it and I spent part of the time sleeping, but it was a very interesting show. Don't know how they did it.

The reason for Dad being so stressed? The day before some Elders called and they had been in an accident. They ran a STOP sign and got hit on the passenger side front wheel. Dad called his auto guy and he said he would send a tow truck and get it here and fix it. When he called the missionaries back to tell them what would happen, they said that there were already two tow trucks there and the police wanted the car off the road. So he talked to the tow guy and told him where to take it, and it would cost about $200. OK. The car should have been here by five or six pm. It did not arrive that night. Did not arrive the next day, so Dad called SL and they said to report it as a stolen car. So then the phone calls began trying to find the police that handled the accident. He told his story three or four times and still couldn't find much info. Then he got a call from an auto body shop saying he had his car, and he had paid the $500 towing fee and what did he want done. Dad about flipped. Told him not to touch the car and he would not pay that kind of a towing fee. He was not even supposed to have the car. So he had to write a report about everything that had happened and faxed it to SLC. They were in charge now. So he relaxed a little today until he started getting calls from SLC from his superior and the church's lawyers and who knows who else. The police, the missionaries involved, the tow guy, our auto body guy. Well, this afternoon he was given permission for our guy to send his tower and bring the car back and get it fixed and they would take care of the crazy towing fee. Everyone thinks that they are out to get us. There was a lot of opposition from different areas in Kansas City about the temple that is going up there. I think they are a bunch of scammers. So tomorrow should see our car back in Independence and getting fixed up.

We just keep learning new things about our jobs. I found out that I was supposed to be sending birthday cards to all the missionaries. So I colored and got 8 cards ready to send out for the rest of the month. Now I need to go back and take care of the first two weeks. Any ideas for some cute birthday cards would be appreciated. I just used a print out of some that I found in the drawer. But I need to get a little creative with little or no money. I have colored pencils and some colored markers, lots of colors.

Darn, I forgot a pic. This is how it looked today as we walked out our front door. I was awake at 2:30am and looked out the window and exclaimed out loud, Doug, it is snowing. Turn off the alarm and let me sleep then, he said. As you walk out our door and look to the right, there is a street and then this cemetary is right there. On the left of the pic is a wall made from rocks along the front and that is the busy street where all the police drive fast and loud. So our first snowstorm and it is cold today. Several sisters were in today and among those was one from Samoa. She was so excited. Her first time to see snow and she told me that she ran outside with bare feet and played in it as her comp took pics. It was so cute.



That's all folks. See you tomorrow.
Love you all, M & D, G & G, Doug and Shauna