APRIL 13-19, 2015

Yes. Yes, indeed you do.  We took advantage of our sunny 70 degree Monday and headed for the coast!  We invited our good buddies Bob and Sandy (aka Elder and Sister Walsh) to join us for this adventure.  We loved having them along and thoroughly enjoy their company.  It was a serendipitous trip - knew where we wanted to start and where we wanted to end and a few major points we wanted to see in between but the rest was whatever caught our fancy along the way.

Hingham was our starting point and we drove up through Nantasket Beach to Hull, then through Cohasset, Scituate, down into Duxbury.  It was a most lovely journey and we saw some absolutely gorgeous countryside and seaside.  (And glorious homes!)

 Our first stop in Hingham.

 The bell tower.

 Behind the church we found this wonderful cemetery to explore.

 As we drove through Quincy on our way here and were discussing how the Massachusetts natives pronounce it (Quinzee), Sister Walsh commented that George Washington had died of "the Quinsey".

When we saw this tombstone we were so surprised to see this inscription.  You rarely see the cause of death written on the tombstones and thought this was curious.  We determined they included it because of  its infamy due to President Washington.

The church across the street.

 Can never take too many pictures of these.  One of the things I love most and will miss most about New England.

 Nantasket Beach

Heaven to my heart!   Hearing  the seagulls cries, feeling the sun warm my face, and smelling that salt sea air energized my soul.  It was laden with interesting rocks, very large clam shells, and I even found one perfect piece of seaglass! We could have spent hours just beach combing here alone. 

Lunch spot in Nantucket.  Nearly all the fun or fancy beach side restaurants are still closed for the winter so we took what we could find.  Cute sunny diner, great and very busy waitress but food... eh. 

On Jerusalem Road through Cohassett. There were so many fabulous homes and seaside mansions all along the way. 

 Picture postcard worthy! 

 Low Tide.

Getting ready to go and set out the traps.

 The scenes above and below were taken at Cohasset Harbor.

The Merry Missionaries!

It proved to be a most scenic spot. 

 Please read the story of these brave young girls.

  The next few photos will be a series :  Views of Scituate Light. ( In other words,  I had some fun!)

( Which is your favorite?)

 I love when the GPS shows us surrounded by water  :)

(and I promise it is not that dirty or dusty. I don't understand why this photo shows it like this.)

 Scituate was one of the towns most adversely affected by our winter storms.  The houses along this stretch without a seawall got banged up pretty badly.  I'm sure the sea side of these homes are damaged much worse than what we see here.   

 I absolutely adore cottages with names.  This one is very clever.

 One last parting look at Scituate Light from across the bay.

It was a day well spent and very much enjoyed by all.  It refreshed and revived our winter weary souls.  We ended our adventure with blizzards at Dairy Queen in Duxbury before we headed home.

Tuesday night we were able to have Elders Calvert, Jackson, McCan and Roos over for dinner.  I am so upset with myself that I forgot to take any photos.  Elder Calvert is going home this week and everyone in the mission will miss him tremendously. He is simply one of those kind, gentle, always smiling, ever friendly people that everyone loves.  He is a star basketball player for BYU however, so hopefully we will be seeing him on TV next season! 

We had a very good , productive District Meeting this week.  A lot of thoughtful counsel was given and gratefully received.

We meet as a zone for about 15 minutes before we break into districts.  There is usually a getting to know you question.  This week's was "If you had one last meal, what would you choose for dessert?".

Their answers touched me because more than half or their favorites were either  their mother's or grandmother's 'special' recipe.  Here are a few:  strawberry cake, lemon meringue pie, a Brazilian flan, and an oreo cake.  Mine was a warm- from- the- oven homemade (or Mrs. Field's) chocolate chip cookie with a glass of milk.  Dale chose an Olalaberry Pie with vanilla ice cream.

Just for fun and to cheer them and reward them for their hard, hard work I made 'Minionaries" out of Twinkies for them.  They were a Pinterest idea just too cute to pass up.  I hesitated because I've always associated minions with evil but after researching it, it is one of those unusual words that can have opposite meanings.  On the good side it means follower, disciple, companion, devotee, helper, proselyte, and servant (of the Lord , in this case :)  Our missionaries are all of these things so out came the 'Minionaries'!

Before our meeting we made an early stop by one of the members of the ward our Bishop asked us to visit when we got here.  We try every week but she has a difficult life and , bless her heart, calls us every week to cancel.  Her reasons have all been legitimate and we are so impressed that she always calls .  No shows are no fun.  She has been wanting and needing to work for some time but hasn't been able to find a job.  Her cousin arranged for an interview with her company and it would be a perfect fit.  Perfect hours for this mom to be able to be home when here kids are home.  One problem:  she is missing her front teeth.  She can't have them fixed permanently right now and needed a temporary quick fix but didn't know of any.  She felt impressed to have us over this week and made arrangements for this special time so we could see her.  She asked us if we knew of anything and though neither of us did, we thought of Larry, Dale's brother who is a dentist.  We called him on the spot and he did know of something !  He gave us all the information which we passed along to her. She was so very grateful and felt her prayers were answered.  Tender Mercies! 

We drew the names of our 2 Spanish Speaking sisters for our Secret Service activity. I found a talk by President Hinckley entitled, " 10 Things to Take Home from Your Mission".  It was a good exercise for my creativity but I managed to come with 10 items to tie in with the 10 things mentioned. 

1.  Knowledge and love for God the Father and Jesus Christ
2.  Knowledge of and love for the scriptures
3.  An increased love for your parents
4.  A love for the people whom you serve
5.  Appreciation for hard work
6.  Assurance that the inspiration of the Holy Ghost is available to all.
7.  The ability to work as a team.
8.  Personal virtue.
9.  Faith to act.

10.  The humility to pray. 

  Check them out with the items tagged above.  (Sorry- you'll have to look closely !)

This weekend is a BIG DEAL here!  Patriot Days !   On Monday businesses and schools close and the entire state remembers the events that took place here in Lexington and Concord that began the American Revolution and took us on our path to the freedoms we enjoy today.  

Events are held hourly from Saturday- Monday.  Parades, festivities, and reenactments galore!  

As Monday is supposed to be cooler and raining, we chose to attend some events on Saturday.  (Monday we will watch the Boston Marathon with the senior missionaries as the participants run right by the mission office.)

We visited the Battle Green in Lexington in the morning, had lunch outdoors by a little creek in Concord, and watched a reenactment of Parker's Revenge on Battle Road in Lexington.  

 Another church.  Different architecture but still wonderful!

 A view of a small portion of the Battle Green.

A diorama depicting the battle.  Our poor colonists were gravely out-numbered. Such brave men!

There is a seemingly unending stream of Redcoats just out of view on the right as well.

For you history lovers- a brief summary.

The Battle of Lexington occurred about 6:00 a.m. on April 19, 1775.  About 750 soldiers marched out from Boston to capture ammunition stored in Concord.  Knowing their plans, Paul Revere crossed the night before from Boston to Charlestown in a rowboat and rode a horse to Lexington.  He gave the alarm as he went through towns along the way.  He used a well-established network.  Lexington rang its alarm bell upon his arrival, as did the other towns Revere reached.

Early on April 19, the troops met their first resistance in Lexington, as about 70 Lexington Minutemen lineup to face them on the Green.  Shots were fired on both sides; eight colonists were killed.  The troops moved on to Concord.  The fighting began in earnest there and continued during the march back to Boston ( Battle Road).  The American Revolution had begun.

We'll have to return when the trees are full of leaves.

This chap, though 'British', was very helpful and taught us a lot.

 Mile marker to Boston Harbor. 

 Fell in love with these little re-enactors!

 Had to include the ladies- having way too much fun!

These mock battles are held in the exact same places they took place in 1775.  Knowing that fact certainly added to the feel of the day.  

Throughout the day, servicemen and women were walking back and forth all along the battle road.  They walk 25 miles with back packs weighing in at 40-60 pounds.  They do it as a fund raiser in honor of their fallen comrades.  Apparently they used to run the marathon with these packs on every year but now with tightened security, the packs are no longer allowed so they do this instead.  It was an honor to clap and cheer and thank them as they passed.  And pretty inspirational to see today's soldiers marching the same path of those brave minutemen from so long ago. 

 We are grateful for their courage, sacrifice and love of country, freedom and liberty more than life itself.  Thank you to each one of you, dead or living. 

We are grateful to be in this part of the country with so much history and for the opportunity it gives us to partake in events like this.

We rejoice in the freedom these  brave  men and women,  of yesterday and today,  have won for us at so great a cost.

We rejoice in living in this great country, the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.