What a beautiful world! What a blessed week!

On Friday, last week, Elder Walker decided that on Saturday we were going to take a little break and visit the Hurricane Ridge. We had heard much about how beautiful it is. So we prepared for bed that night talking about what we would do--and then the phone rang. It was the Bishop's wife, asking if I could help her out. She had been asked to sing at the Visiting Teaching Conference the next day and had no time to prepare--until now, if I would help her. Could I please meet her at the Church the next morning to prepare the song before the meeting? I looked at Bruce, he nodded, and I said I would be happy to! So I went at 8 am to learn the song I had printed from the web and she came at 9 am. We practiced until it sounded really good and we felt quite secure. The meeting started at 10 and she sang at the end of the meeting. Then we enjoyed a nice luncheon. I asked her if I could get a ride home with her because my husband had dropped me off at the Church. She said she would be happy to, except that she also had been dropped off for the meeting! I called Elder Walker and he gave us a ride home. Since I had just eaten, he ate a little and then we quickly changed clothes and left for Hurricane Ridge.

 This is just a few miles above Port Angeles and Sequim. It is interesting to stand on the mountain and look out toward the Strait of Juan de Fuca, seeing the San Juan Islands on the left and Mount Baker on the mainland to the right.

Elder Walker and I are both taking pictures, it seems!

 This will let you see why the moss and ferns are so thick as we go from Sequim (the farmlands to the northeast) to the west toward Forks, We have not been to the real rainforest but we will go this summer.

Our first glimpse of what we think is our destination.

We passed through several tunnels on our way to Hurricane Ridge. Very pretty!

And here it is! We don't know why it is called Hurricane Ridge but it is surely windy! These mountains stretch as far as we could see both ways!

 We tried to take a picture for a young couple with two little children but their children wouldn't stop crying, so they just took a picture of us!

 We decided this is where these Peninsula Washtonians go to play in the snow!

I was quick enough to catch the snowball in the air, but not to move my thumb off the lens!

 There is heavy tree growth on these mountains!

On the way home we stopped at the harbor in Port Angeles.

The town of Port Angeles is the other side of this rise.

  That is a HUGE oil rig on the right! And I mean, HUGE! It looks so small in the picture!

 When we got back to Sequim we discovered an alfalfa field! It was fun to see and smell!
Notice how the round bales are wrapped in plastic as they come off the baler! We've never seen that before! We took a FOR THE STRENGTH OF YOUTH pamphlet to Molly! (She will be baptized Saturday!)

Sunday was another long day starting with choir practice for the Dungeness Ward at 8 am. (The director is a convert, having joined at age 19. She just received a mission call to Colorado.) After singing in that meeting we participated in Happy Valley Ward's choir and sang in their Sacrament meeting. Molly and Sara came to Church. Sara didn't stay after Sacrament Mtg, but Molly stayed for all three hours and loved it! For the first time, I attended their Relief Society! I must have been inspired because their pianist didn't come, so I was asked to play for the meeting and for a special musical number. After the Happy Valley block Molly had her baptismal interview. She came out glowing! We are so proud of her! We took her home from Church, then came back so I could play for Primary in Sequim Bay Ward. With a half hour break, we had been in Church for 8 hours and 15 minutes--same as the week before!

The Elders came over Monday morning for a couple of hours before their big Zone Party at "the Bunkers." (Some bunkers built to protect the harbor during WWII!) We had gone to the Post Office when we got a call asking if they could stop at our house on the way home? I thought they wanted to finish a chess game or something, but no, they just needed a little medical help! Elder Wilson had taken a dive playing Capture the Flag!

Monday evening we drove to Gig Harbor for FHE with the Senior couples of the mission--including Pres. and Sister Blatter! It was fun to have new people come in that we could comfort and reassure, instead of being the newest ones there!

Tuesday morning we booked our flight to Utah for Abby's wedding and our family reunion! What fun to anticipate! Then in the evening we celebrated Molly's 18th birthday with a dinner for she and her mother and the RS Pres. who introduced us to them. We gave her our movie, The Other Side of Heaven, and bought she and her mother some flowers. I'm glad we got to watch that movie again before we gave it away! ;)

Wednesday was our lunch with Pres. and Sister Shaw before our District Meeting. It is always fun to go there because he likes to teach the missionaries doctrine. It is interesting to see the hunger in some and the pride in others who don't want to seem like they don't already  know, but will not answer the questions he asks. Pride is such an easy thing to have and so hard to see in oneself or at least to admit! I repent of it over and over again!

After our meeting we drove to Forks to check the apartment of the Elders there. It was a pretty day for a drive.

We had never seen the water so blue!

We love this little waterfall! We pass it every time we travel to Forks and always want a picture, but it is usually raining and there is no where to park for a quarter of a mile, but this day was sunny so we parked the car and walked!

Doesn't it look like some petrified gila monster climbing up the side of the falls?!

A mallard duck and his wife came up to the car begging for food. The only thing we had was a little licorice stick we had purchased at the service station! We broke off a tiny piece and fed it to him. He loved it and wanted more! He did not share with his more timid and refined spouse!

Thursday was a wonderful day! We checked missionary apartments from 8:30 - 10:30 am, after which we ran home to quickly mix a batch of homemade bread to take to Chris and Erin. When I got it in the loaf pans we left for their house and cooked it in her oven while we taught them. We praised them for the commitments they are keeping, quickly reviewed the commandments we had taught them and again promised them the associated blessings. Then we taught them about the temple and sealing power.

I had printed pictures of the different rooms of the temple and the purpose of each room. In the picture of the sealing room we pointed out where each of them would kneel at the alter and where their little girls would be to put their hands on their parents hands and be sealed by the Holy Priesthood for eternity. We told them that we felt one of the reasons the Lord sent us to this mission was to meet them and to help them prepare to be sealed in the temple with their beautiful little girls. We explained that our mission would end the last of June 2016, and that it takes a year as a faithful member to prepare for that temple experience. That meant that Erin  would have to be baptized in June of this year for us to be able to go with them. We asked if she would pray sincerely this week and tell us when we came next week if she was ready to let us help her prepare for baptism in June. Her eyes were softer than usual and she gave a tiny nod of her head. It will be a huge step for her!

When we got home, Elder Walker, whose heart was also soft, helped me with the dishes!

That evening we met with Molly for her last lesson before baptism. We went over all the laws of the Gospel listed in the lesson, which she accepted with shining eyes. We also showed her a little about Family Search. She remembered her great grandmother's last name and that she was born and died in Hawaii. We put in that much and clicked Search. Her grandmother was the first person that popped up! Molly was very excited! Then I was going to show her the Gospel App so she could put on her iPhone. She already had it! I asked her how she happened to have it on her phone and she said she saw it in the App Store before she ever met us and it looked good to her! Was she prepared or what!?!

Later that evening we met the Sisters at the Church and found clothing the right size for Molly and Elder Walker. A day well spent!

Friday we had apartment checks to do in Port Townsend and Port Ludlow, so we went to the Temple afterward. It was a much needed spiritual boost and a great learning experience! We rode the Kingston Ferry over to the mainland and then against good advice, also rode it home. The good advice was correct. There is so much traffic on Friday evening that tho we were there in time that we could have ridden for the 5:30 crossing, we didn't get to board until 7 pm! But it was still relaxing to sit and listen to the classical music station and just rest rather than fight traffic. (I want to learn how to travel in lots of traffic without fighting it!)

Saturday was Molly's baptism! It was a beautiful experience! The Primary room was almost full of people who came to show love and support for her and for her mother, Sara.

Elder Wilson (District Leader), Elder Walker, Molly, Sister Walker, Elder Sommercorn

You would love Molly!

I got to play for the Baptism and sing, "I like to look for rainbows....," Elder Sommercorn spoke on the Restoration, Elder Walker baptized her, and Elder Wilson sang, I Know That My Savior Loves Me." The Ward Mission Leader spoke on Baptism and the Relief Society President spoke on the Holy Ghost. 

These next pictures are of carvings on the grounds of one of the apartment complexes where we have missionaries. Cute huh!

We seldom see a sunset here, and it was almost gone by the time I got my phone out, but it was beautiful as we crossed the Hood Canal Floating Bridge.

This is the new to us, used Yamaha Clavinova piano we bought "for a song" so we could have music in our home. It feels so good to have a piano again!

Love you all!