PUMPKINS

This is another little saying that I gave to each of the missionaries and camp leadership. I had the story copied on goldenrod yellow paper and cut it the size of a snack sized baggie. Inside each baggie I put the story and four little candy pumpkins. We had received the original via email and I decided to pass it along.

PUMPKINS

A woman was asked by a co-worker, "What is it like to be a Christian?"

The woman replied, "It's like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Even if you're not the perfect shape or the best looking, He loves you just the same. Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed. After that, He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."

We liked this enough to send it to all the pumpkins in our patch. May His light always shine forth from you.

Love, Elder and Sister Conlin

We're almost done

As our time comes to a close, many of the missionaries are placing little treats, gifts, remembrances and thank-you cards in our mailbox. It has been fun and it reminds me of opening my valentine box when I was in elementary school. We gave each couple a piece of paper with a computer-generated graphic of some hands reaching out. It said something like: "Thank you for the 'Extra' helping hands on the challenge course this year." There was a pack of 'Extra' gum on it. For our team leader and the other challenge course hosts, I made each a set of three stuffed fabric pumpkins with a wooden stem, tied with jute and a bow of raffia. I received some of the new, purple iridescent, triple chocolate M&Ms. Yum, yum! They are to die for...a chocoholics dream!



The temperatures have been dropping and we have had a little snow. Not much has accumulated but we do have to sweep snow and scrape ice from our windshield. Some of the trailer dwellers are having to take precautions against freezing pipes. Some are having problems. This morning the low was in the low 20's and the high today was in the low 30's. Thankfully, the temperatures should warm up and we will have blue skies when we move home on Wednesday. Our closing social is on Tuesday evening. Utah's school kids will also be glad for the warming trend for the upcoming UEA weekend when they are out of school.



Yesterday on our way to the challenge course for the last time, we saw four deer and two moose. The challenge course participants were here for a Fathers and Sons outing. It was bitter cold and snowing. Many were not prepared for the weather conditions. We were able to accommodate everyone who wanted to go on the Giant Swing. Afterwards all the supply boxes containing the helmets, harnesses, ropes and game props were removed from the course and stored. I had previously inventoried the boxes. This reminded me of the words of a hymn: "all is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin."



Today we had an awesome three hour testimony meeting. We have been blessed to associate with so many good people. We are going to miss them. We feel fortunate to have spent time in this beautiful 'temple in the mountains' where the spirit is so strong. One sister missionary stood and thanked us for the experience her brother and sister-in-law had on our challenge course. She said her brother and his wife had been active in the church at one time. They had been married in the temple. Gradually they had fallen away from the church and had believed some anti-Mormon literature they read. After experiencing the giant swing and particularly when Reed talked about the spiritual analogies of the swing, they were touched by the spirit and their hearts have been softened. They want to return to camp next year. It was nice to have a 'validation' of our hard work and missionary experience. I have said before, stake presidents and bishops who have accompanied their church units to the challenge course have told me I shouldn't think for a moment that ours is not a proselyting mission, because it is. After the meeting we had an hour to be back to the Sunday Potluck Dinner. The food was delicious, as usual. I took apple dumplings and they got cleaned right up.



This evening we went for a little ride and visited some other missionaries. On the way back to our humble cabin abode we encountered more deer. As I have said before, this is like the Garden of Eden where we and all animals live peaceably one with another. Here are a couple of pictures Reed took:

Reed asked me why I was bothering to take more pictures of deer. He said that they are more common than dogs in regular neighborhoods. That is probably true. When these deer saw me they came trotting towards me. I wonder how close they would have come had I not accidently stumbled and scared them away.

Halloween masks

I've had my money's worth with this mask. It has been lots of fun too.

Elder Evans and Sister Conlin

Big tree on challenge course 5

There is a very massive tree on challenge course 5 right next to the Trust Fall. I always wanted to take a tape measure and see how big it was around, but never did. These pictures don't do it justice, but I imagine it would take three adults holding hands and with arms outstretched to reach around the trunk. If I had put a person in the picture standing next to the tree, it would help show the size of it. I wonder how old the tree is. There is another huge tree on challenge course 1 which was cut down previous to our coming here. It is too big to move so it just lays alongside the trail. It has trimmed it up nicely. I figured if it were possible to somehow saw slices of the tree trunk, some beautiful round tables could be made with the cross sections. Recently I was told that someone else must have had the same thought. Attempts had been made to cut slices from the tree but it was rotten inside. Too bad!




We did take our ATV trailer home with a load of wood on it. Reed sawed it up with Jill's help. (I hope her unprotected ears didn't suffer permanent damage) I loaded the 16" wood lengths in the wheelbarrow and stacked it at the back of our workshop. We will use the wood for our outdoor fire pit-- a.k.a. a washer drum on top of a tire rim. We already used the portable fire pit to make some tasty campfire treats. Jill purchased the pie fillings, whipped cream and refrigerated biscuits in tubes. We also had our next door neighbors over to cook and eat the yummy concoctions. Reed and I made the special sticks using wooden closet rods cut into 6" sections and rounding an end. A neighbor used his drill press to make some holes to allow for a wooden dowel to be inserted. After soaking them for a few days in mineral oil to prevent food from sticking, they were ready to be used.

Mt. Timpanogos

As you can see, the backside of Mt. Timp received a bunch of snow. The mountain did not loose all of the snow it received last year before it was added upon a week or so ago. The last picture I took and posted of Mt. Timp showed a few little patches of snow which had not melted.

Can't resist...more fall pictures

We have been slowly moving home on P-days. We hope everything left in our cabin will fit in our car for our final trip home next Wednesday, October 15th. The biggest load contained our loveseat, 4-wheelers and things we didn't think we would need anymore. When we drove home for P-day yesterday we took a long ride and looked at the dwindling fall colors. We made a loop through Kamas, Oakley, Francis, Woodland, Peoa etc. and came to the freeway at Rockport Reservoir. It made for a lengthy drive but we had never been through that area before. Reed had a little difficulty with the exposure of some of these pictures but here they are:

Reed took these pictures around camp:

We've taken lots of pictures of Legacy Lake from this vantage point showing it in various stages. The lake is mostly empty in this picture.

This picture was taken from the Heber Valley Camp Parkway. It shows part of the Timberlakes subdivision nestled amongst the trees.

Provo Temple Excursion

We stayed Sunday night in Robin's guest suite. We met all the other Heber Valley Camp missionaries at the Provo Temple on Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. It took two sessions to get us all in. There were many missionaries from the MTC at the temple also. I kept hoping I would see Elder Milligan but I didn't. It was a beautiful October day. We had a group picture following the temple session. Then we went to the Harmon Building on the BYU campus and had a catered lunch. After we ate we went back to camp. Here are three pictures on the temple grounds.

A real live baby doll

All of the missionaries were allowed to leave camp on Friday for General Conference weekend. We took the opportunity to pack up and take our big things home. (primarily 4-wheelers with trailer and loveseat)

Robin and Andrew invited us and the VanWagenen family to a nice dinner at their home at the conclusion of conference on Sunday. While we were there the kids got the doll stroller, doll swing and doll bassinet and had to see Brooklyn in them. As you can see, she is a real doll. The swing tray wouldn't fit but everything else worked fine.

Camp Rebekah

I've watched the construction progress of Camp Rebekah all summer long. The new camp is right by Challenge Course 5 where we worked. I am impressed by what has been accomplished. I think it would be very satisfying to be on the construction crew and be able to see the fruits of your labors. The cabins stand as a reminder of all the hard work; what they built will last for decades. We worked with the young women all day, every day. We have no way to gauge whether or not we made a difference to anyone. Other than giving thousands of young women and leaders a good time, did it really matter? Who knows? President Hinckley said that if one young woman can be 'saved' then generations can be saved. Anyway, hats off to the Heber Valley Camp missionary construction crew and volunteers too! When totally complete, Camp Rebekah will have 6 campsites with a combined total of 22 cabins, one huge pavilion, 6 smaller pavilions and space for 2 missionary RVs. The camp will accommodate 368 campers.

These two pictures show the beginning of a campsite. Footings and foundations are poured, the area is backfilled and compacted, then a concrete pad is poured. The cement work is done by a construction company. When the concrete is cured, the missionaries take over and use kits to construct the cabins. Campsites generally have 3 or 4 cabins each.

These two pictures show the staging area for the building contractor. The hired company builds all the pavilions. The cabins are constructed by missionaries and volunteers.

This is one of the smaller pavilions under construction. There is one of these per every 3-4 cabin campsite. The open area is for meal preparation, eating and activities. There is a storage room with shelving and refrigerators. The other doorways are the restrooms and showers.

Here are two of the completed cabins. This season the construction crew has built 18 cabins in Camp Rebekah! At the beginning of next year the crew will have only 4 cabins to build and this camp will then be ready for occupancy. All cement work has been done for those remaining cabins.

P-day Travels

For our p-day on Wednesday we picked up Elder and Sister Cole and drove into Heber for breakfast at "The Hub." We went to Midway and took the road up through Guardsman Pass, ending up at Brighton Ski Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon. The following four pictures were what I took along the way.

Our next stop was in Salt Lake at the Body Worlds exhibition. That was very interesting. It took about 90 minutes to complete the tour. To learn more about the display, go to the website at: theleonardo.org/bodyworlds. I wouldn't recommend the exhibit for children. Besides the content, the admission is not cheap.

We made a stop at the Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum to see about ordering a picture of Reed's great-great-great grandmother which they have on file. As luck would have it, the photo department is only opened on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. We have made trips there on Wednesday and Friday. We looked around the museum for a while. I saw a picture of great-great grandfather James Hancey on display.

We dropped the Coles off at the WalMart on 6200 South and 5600 West. Then we hurried to visit Candace and Brooklyn for a few minutes. We had a couple of gifts to deliver. Brooklyn is two weeks old. After her initial weight loss, she has added a half pound to her birth weight. Candace said Brooklyn has learned to scream when she is hungry. The newness hasn't worn off yet and the boys can't wait to get home from school each day to see her. The outfit Brooklyn is wearing says, 'Perfect is my middle name.' The pictures below were taken just after Brooklyn drank a bottle and fell asleep. She is a cutie.

We stopped back at WalMart to get Roger and Deon. We ate at the Sizzler. Then much to the dismay of the guys, we shopped about an hour at Gardner Village. I love perusing the shops and also seeing the huge witches and other Halloween decorations and displays. I didn't spend any money. We made a big loop by driving back to Heber Valley by the way of Provo Canyon. The canyon is gorgeous right now. Bridal Veil Falls was really pretty as well.

On Thursday afternoon we drove back down Provo Canyon to tend Ashlyn and Katelyn so Robin and Andrew could attend the Body World Exhibit in Salt Lake. We came back to the mountain tonight but tomorrow we are packing up many of our belongings and driving back to Nibley. Everyone is excused from camp to watch General Conference. We will be staying at Robin's house on Sunday night. All of the Heber Valley Camp missionaries are meeting at the Provo Temple on Monday morning at 8:30. Following the session we will have a group picture and then eat together. The past week has been unseasonably warm but that is supposed to come to a screeching halt this weekend. Boo-hoo! I am not ready for cold weather and snow.