Can it be that January is almost done? We were sad when the Bollwinkel family left right after Christmas and it took us a minute to get refocused on our missionary work, but the Elders and Sisters were calling us and back to work we went. We attended zone conferences in Nanaimo and Victoria and enjoyed them so much. The young missionaries here are so dedicated. They are some of the finest youth you could find anywhere. They work so hard, through rain and gloom they press forward in Faith. It has been our privilege to serve along side of them. What a power they are!! They will forever by in our hearts.
Now that January is almost over we will begin to pack up our things and prepare to return home. It seems a long time since we have seen home. We are excited to be reunited with our family, but at the same time we will miss the spirit that comes with being a missionary and associating with the young missionaries and being involved in a mission. We have had many wonderful experiences and have met many faithful people. It does seem to be a time for reflection. We will go home with so many memories of this beautiful place. I truly don't know of a more beautiful place than Vancouver Island. I would of liked to see it in the spring and summer, as we have only got to see the winter. But even still it has been beautiful, very rainy, but still so green. I wonder how Idaho will look to us as we see it again in about 10 days. I will miss the scenery here and the ocean just across the street, but my heart still yearns for the sites of Idaho. There truly is no place like Home. I will be very happy to see sage brush and open spaces, to feel the dryness of the air, and to smell the fresh air as it blows across my face. I guess you could say I am ready to trade rain for snow. :)
We have been busy in January with many meetings and traveled up island to check on missionaries in Port Alberni. We went a bit farther and visited the west coast. It was a beautiful, sunny crisp day and we enjoyed it very much.
I am just going to post various pictures that we took that day. It was on the beach of Torofino. It was fun to be on the beach and in the sun. We enjoyed our P-day.
I loved hearing the waves hit the shore and if you look hard enough there is a surfer coming in. They were fun to watch. Kind of cold, they were all fitted with their wet suits and you would need one on the west coast.
As you can tell I like "sky" shots and the sky was as beautiful as the ocean.
Al looks like he is standing underneath cotton candy.
Zan would love it.
What is sky and what is beach?
The blue and white, I think I should make a quilt.
One of my favorites.
Needless to say this is a beautiful island.
On the drive to the coast it was breath taking and we stopped at Cathedral Grove. The trees are like the big red woods in California, but they are covered with moss. I expected Leprechauns to jump out at any time.
That's not a Leprechaun!!!!!
We helped at January transfers. It was kind of a bitter/sweet time. This will be our last transfer to help with. The Elders and Sisters that are going home now are ones we have served with our entire mission, and now they are leaving just ahead of us. We will always remember, and love them.
Elder Rose, we love this Elder. A good Idaho Elder.
Elder Durfee was awesome
Sister Fonnesbeck served with us in Nanaimo.
She was the District Leader.
One of our assignments is to take them to the airport and make sure they get onto the airplane safely. This is hard to say goodbye, but they are certainly Returning with Honor. Elder Farnsworth is so talented.
Elder Miller an example of pure patience.
Elder Steele, always has a great smile on.
We know and love everyone of these wonderful missionaries. They have served faithfully.
Wow this is getting long, but I must include a few pictures of a trip we took to Galiano Island. It was P-day and we decided to get on the ferry, which is 2 miles from us, and go exploring.
Not the Caribbean beaches, but beaches just the same. It was so quiet and still. The beach was covered in broken shells.
Moss grows everywhere here.
We went to a place called Lover's Leap, but we decided to not leap as it was a long way down.
OK this should be the United States. This should be the dividing line.
Water is everywhere. Lots and Lots of waterfront property.
Last but certainly not least. We attended our last District Meetings for January. We hope we get one more in February before we head home.
The Sidney Sisters District. Sisters Ritchie, Ealy, Cendreda, Dixon, and Nickels
The Victoria Elders Sutton and Matheson are having a birthday, so we had cake.
We will miss the Victoria Zone.
I will close this long blog with a few pictures that I took today coming back from district meeting. This is what we see each day we head to Sidney or Victoria. It is a beautiful place to live.
Elder Nickels wanted to watch the plane, out there in the bay, take off. (Look hard).
Hope to write one more blog before our mission comes to a close. We have a very exciting baptism coming on the first week of February.
