25 years down, Eternity to go

This week we celebrated the 25th anniversary of our being sealed together for all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple.  To celebrate this special anniversary, we performed sealings for 4 of Debbie's great . . . grandparents in the Palmyra Temple.  Then the Lord gave us a bonus and we were able to perform a few more sealings that evening during our temple shift. 

During our marriage we have grown closer together as we have served together in many capacities, and we feel that we make a pretty good team.  We keep telling the Lord that we serve best when we are together and we pray that we can spend as much time together on this earth as possible.  We do glory in the knowledge that we have been sealed together by the power of God.  However many years we have together on this earth is small compared to eternal life together!

We are loving our mission in the Palmyra Temple.  We love those that we serve with.  We love the area that we are privileged to live in.  We love the branch that we have been assigned to in Penn Yan. 

In front of the Palmyra Temple before entering into our sealing session on our 25th anniversary of our own sealing

We have been blessed to continue to find more direct ancestors that are waiting for their temple ordinances to be performed.  The cards shown below were the four couples that we were able to seal together and three of their daughters that were sealed to their parents.  Each one was one of Sister Rueckert's great . . . grandmothers.

Debbie's four great . . . grandparents and 3 of their daughters were all sealed in this special occasion

 

Our sealing session was in the morning on April 30, at 11:15 a.m. This approximates the time that we were sealed together on the same date in 1999.  We went back to serve in the evening shift in the temple and found that we were both assigned to assist in a sealing session, where there were not sufficient patrons to complete the ordinances.  While there, we were able to add two more sealings related to Maria Rinnerman, Debbie's great . . . grandmother.  She was able to be sealed to her first husband, who had passed away, and he was sealed to his parents who were also sealed that night.  This completed an amazing day of celebration for us.

Sometimes we find that we have erred in our family history work.  In this case, we had thought that Maria Rinnerman was Maria Zimmer.  As we looked one more time we found that she was a widow of Heinrich Zimmer, not a daughter of Heinrich Zimmer.  That resulted in our finding that her maiden name in that first marriage was Rinnerman and we identified her parents.  This all happened in the early part of this year.  As seen by the temple ordinance records below, we have been able to complete these ordinances for her parents in a very unique manner.  They were baptized as we did baptisms with our grandchildren in the Brigham City Temple in February.  Then we were able to do the initiatory ordinances in the Jordan River Temple right before leaving on our mission.  While traveling to our mission, we stopped at the Nauvoo Temple where we were able to have their endowment ordinances completed.  Then finally we completed their sealing ordinances in Palmyra.  Quite a journey in a few months.  We just love doing this work and seeing our ancestor families united!

A few years ago, a kind and anonymous member of our community gave us a $25 gift certificate for See's Chocolates.  They were always a little expensive for our tastes and our budget, but we used the gift certificate.  We were hooked.  It has become a preferred gift for our special occasions.  I was able to have some shipped to Palmyra to surprise Debbie on this special occasion.

Opening the chocolates before we went to the temple that morning

After the sealing session, we were able to go to lunch at a new location.  We weren't sure about what we were getting into, but we were pleasantly surprised.  Debbie said it was the best salmon that she has eaten for sometime.  So this was one more bonus of this special day. 

After serving in our temple shift that evening, we were able to watch a movie before going to bed.  It was a perfect day for us.  We were constantly reminded of our love for each other and the eternal nature of our covenants together.

Visit to Pennsylvania:

This celebration culminated an amazing few days.  On the Friday previous, we had arranged to visit our daughter Melanie and her boys in Pennsylvania.  We decided to take each child out for a one on one date during this and a subsequent visit.  On this trip we were able to take out James, 18 (Friday lunch), Thomas, 16 (Friday dinner), and Henry, 14 (Saturday lunch) and have great conversations with each of them.  In between we were able to have all of the family spend time with us in the swimming pool at our hotel which is always fun together time.

Dinner with Thomas.  He doesn't like photos, but this is the closest to a smile that we have ever had in his photo.  He has a big appetite but we found that this time he was totally satisfied.

Three of the grandsons in the pool with their Opa

Edward again, with Timothy

Some good conversation time with Melanie while the kids played

As we arrived at their home, a truck was delivering a new refrigerator and two new storm doors for their home.  The refrigerator was needed to replace one that was on its last leg.  On Saturday morning we worked with the kids to install the two storm doors.  We also were able to solve an electrical problem in their home with long distance consulting from our son, Daniel, who is an electrician.  We determined that we just needed to replace a faulty outlet and found that this solved an electrical circuit that sometimes worked and sometimes did not.

Overall our mission for this visit was accomplished.  We will be back in another month to visit with the other three grandchildren and anything else that we can do to help.

Penn Yan Branch:

We were able to leave our home on Friday morning, drive the four hours to Lehighton and then return on Saturday afternoon.  That way we could be back home for our new assignment to serve in the Penn Yan branch.  This is the Sunday part of our mission.  We are asked to visit this small branch and serve as much as we can as long as it can be done on Sunday.  We have been there the last two weeks and are getting to know the members better.  It is almost an hour from our home going through beautiful farmland.

The name Penn Yan represents a mixture of people from Pennsylvania and Yankees.  I was told that some years ago, the community had grown and decided to become a city.  They discussed this over some drinks.  Most were either from Pennsylvania or from New York or Yankees.  This is the name that they came up with.  They have a ward building that is quite small.  They basically have a large multipurpose room that can seat up to 70 or so for sacrament meeting.  They then divide it into multiple rooms for the second hour.  There are a few other rooms on the side that are used by the primary.  I was very impressed with the Elder Quorum meeting on Sunday.  There was a very capable instructor and plenty of discussion, from missionaries and members.

Last night I visited for awhile with a temple worker who had been the branch president for 18 years in this branch.  He is a faithful member that has given his all to the branch.  His son-in-law is the current branch president.  We are excited to do what we can to help strengthen the members.

The meetinghouse for the Penn Yan Branch

Debbie received this paper from one of the sisters the first week that we attended.  She gave a hand made copy of this message to each sister.  A good message for women!

We were thrilled to se some yellow fields on our way to the Penn Yan Branch.  These are rape seed fields, similar to what we have seen in Germany in April and May when we have visited.  We love these.  They are just beginning to bloom.

Jacob and Deb:

Thanks to our two hour time zone difference, we were able to come home and listen to the sacrament meeting from our home ward on Zoom.  Our son, Jacob and his new wife, Deb, were the speakers.  We thought they did an amazing job in sharing thoughts from recent general conference talks, including their personal insights.  We were very proud of them.  We are excited to have them in our home and in our ward while we are away.

Deb spoke first and talked about Pillars and Rays by Elder Alexander Dushku

Jacob finished the meeting by discussing Integrity: A Christlike Atribute by Elder Jack N. Gerard

Not only did we enjoy their talks, we received feedback from several ward members about how impressed they were.  Ours is a great ward with amazing members.  We are so happy to see them become part of this ward as they begin their marriage.  Later in the week, we saw some of their wedding photos.  I include a few here for our own family history:

The bride and groom with us and Deb's parents

With eight of the siblings that were at the temple for this photo.  Two others left before the photo.

Jacob and Deb in front of the Temple

A close up of Deb's smile. Her smile was perhaps my highlight of the entire wedding.

Hill Cumorah:

The next day (Monday) was our P-Day.  It was a beautiful day, so we decided to visit the Hill Cumorah, including the Visitors Center.  It was delightful!  Not only could we enjoy the visit, we are constantly planning how to fit things into our Teenage Grandchild Retreat in July.  It is great to ponder the many, many miracles that occurred so that the golden plates could be delivered to Joseph Smith and translated into the Book of Mormon which has the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I never tire of this story.  Also, Debbie wanted to try to walk to the top of the Hill Cumorah.  She rested on a bench a few times, but did just fine.  What a wonderful visit!

We started in the Visitors Center with the beautiful Christus statue

The visitor center displays and movies are inspiring and informative

With copies of the Book of Mormon in 92 languages.  An amazing result that began with the golden plates hidden in the Hill Cumorah.

Debbie resting on the way up the hill

We made it to the top and this amazing statue which was placed on Hill Cumorah in 1935

A look down to the west from the top of the Hill Cumorah .  Joseph 
Smith said that the plates were found near the top of the west side of the Hill Cumorah.  

Tom by the blossoming trees on the top of the Hill Cumorah

Debbie near the sign describing the Hill Cumorah Pageant with the clearing that has now been reseeded for the future.

The description of the change from a forest to a stage to a forest again

That night we finished our Hill Cumorah day by having a Family Home Evening activity with the Church Site Missionaries.  We watched the movie Ephraim's Rescue in the Hill Cumorah Visitors Center Theater, the same place that we were in earlier in the day.  The movie was inspiring and reminded us of Miracles in our day as well as immense sacrifices of the early Saints.  We also enjoyed participating with these missionaries which included about 11 new Sister Missionaries who had just arrived in their missions.

The Theater Room with the missionaries.  The young sisters are on the front two rows

Serving in the Temple:

Of course, our primary purpose on this mission is to serve in the Palmyra Temple.  This has been a wonderful experience so far.  Starting April 16, Debbie and I were asked to serve as the lead officiators in an endowment session for three shifts in a row.  On the next three shifts, I continued to serve as an endowment officiator while Sister Rueckert had other assignments.  This week, for the first time, Debbie and I were asked to be the Baptistry coordinators together.  We generally do get to see each other often during our temple shifts.  This morning (May 3), we were able to be officiators on a special endowment session for missionaries from the Syracuse New York mission.

Since we serve on most days, we have now each worked with 10 different shift coordinators.  Many of the local ordinance workers serve multiple times each week, so we are getting to know some of them very well.  We also have the privilege to work closely with each of the members of the temple presidency and the matrons.  Those that we see the most of are our fellow temple missionaries who have become dear friends.  As we associate with each of these temple missionaries we find that each is different but they are all fully consecrated and dedicated to serving.  They are great examples to us. Working with all of these exemplary individuals has been one of the highlights of our mission.

A photo taken our first day on our mission with the other temple missionaries and the temple presidency (Three couples in the back of the photo)

In one of our family home evenings, one of the other temple missionaries called the Palmyra Temple a Patron Friendly Temple.  We totally agree.  Because of its limited capacity, we often see the same patrons in the baptistry, initiatory and / or in the endowment room.  Many of the patrons are local and come frequently.  Others come from long distances or as tourists.  Each has a different story, but all bring the spirit of the Lord with them.  Just a few examples from this past few weeks.

• We have one local patron, who is also an ordinance worker who comes in a walker and is quite limited, requiring assistance in much of what he does.   However, we see him in many of the endowment sessions.  In one that I was officiating in, we had limited males and needed one more male for the prayer circle.  He got right up without hesitation and, with assistance, joined us in the prayer circle.  I had been thinking about him during that endowment session.  His dedication is exemplary to all of us with much more physical ability.
• This week in the baptistry we had two different adult sisters come to do baptisms who were not yet endowed.  Both were recent converts and were anxiously waiting to receive their own endowment.  One had come from four hours away and this was her first visit to Palmyra.  She told me that she had visited the Sacred Grove, Hill Cumorah, the Grandin Press, and the Distribution Center.  She had bought herself a temple dress so that she would be ready for the day to receive her endowments, even though she had only been a member for three months.
• Debbie overheard a conversation with another new member who was struggling with her faith.  She was told to come to the temple to be strengthened even though she didn't have a temple recommend.  She spent time in the entry of the temple sharing her feelings and plans to return weekly to receive strength.
• We love those who come from far.  This week we had a family of five come from Louisiana. This was a beautiful family that were full of the spirit as they performed baptisms, including the son who helped perform the baptisms and the father who did the confirmations.  Today, we met a family that has come from Chile and were visiting family in Toronto, Canada.  They specifically came into the U.S. to be in Palmyra and showed up in the temple as we were finishing the sessions with the missionaries.  Hopefully they can come back tonight and participate in temple ordinances.

Changing Weather and Scenery:

During the first month of our mission, we have experienced a lot of rain.  Now, spring is fully appearing.  We are seeing many beautiful blossoms and green growth everywhere.  We just want to share a few photos that represent this change:

Debbie with beautiful blossoms on the trees in front of the temple

Here you can see the blossoms mixed with the leaves

Two days later, the blossoms were falling like snow

The daffodils have been beautiful.  We decided to get a photo before they died.

Later that same day, when we came out of the Temple, the daffodils were gone

But we saw beautiful tulips

We have enjoyed visiting the Sacred Grove whenever the weather permits to see the change in foliage during the springtime.  The photos below show some of our photos from April 22

A pillar of light

Debbie meditating in the Sacred Grove, still peaceful and inspiring

Starting to get green

May 2, Just ten days after the previous photos we see a lot more green everywhere:

April 22 and May 2, same location, 10 days different

May 22 Cherry Blossoms

May 2 Leaves

Green is beginning to fill the Grove

Home Improvements:

We bought another small desk and received an extra printer from our missionary neighbor.  Now we can print out our own ordinance cards for the temple and have separate workstations.

The Palmyra Community:

We are still getting to know more about our community.  Each week we have discovered new shopping and eating locations and items of interest:

We found the biggest grocery store so far, Wegmans

And a Mennonite store with lots of fresh fruits, bakery items and candy/chocolate/fudge

We love the fire hydrants in Palmyra.  They are painted so nicely and have a little flag way above.  Maybe it is to locate them when the snow is deep?

Today's (May 3) experience in the temple with the missionaries from the Syracuse New York mission:

Today we served on a special endowment session for the missionaries of the Syracuse New York Mission. This was one of six sessions that are being held this and next week. One of the missionaries is from East Africa and speaks very little English. He speaks Swahili. The Spirit was strong during the session but I believe the presence of this young missionary added greatly to that Spirit. As I took him through name issue I could tell that his English comprehension was very limited.  

Due to his language needs he was given headphones to listen in Swahili. Right after the temple president gave him the headphones he went and got another set for his companion who was sitting next to him. His companion was American and spoke perfect English. I first thought that his companion didn’t want him to feel different. Then I thought that the companion might be listening in Swahili to,earn his language and better communicate with him. I still don’t know the reason, but I was touched by the love the American companion showed for his African companion. 

I was asked to be voice for the prayer circle and was pondering a lot about these valiant missionaries. As the prayer circle began, 18 male missionaries stood up, including the elder from Africa. Since there were only nine sisters in the room,  several sister ordinance workers came in to assist in the prayer circle. One was the matron of the Temple, Sister Pitts.  She specifically stood at the side of the missionary from Africa. As I looked at her, the Spirit again came over me. She was doing what I have seen her do many times, reaching out to the one with love and tenderness. 

With eighteen couples, the prayer circle went around the outside of the rail around the altar and into the aisle of the endowment room. In the prayer I was inspired to pray specifically for the missionaries of this mission and for those in attendance with us. The Mission President who was also in the prayer circle, thanked me for the prayer. 

As I sat down after the prayer, I was overcome by the Spirit.  Tears flowed down my cheeks as I pondered the goodness of God and the others in the prayer circle and in the session, including Elder Bobo who was the lead official and had asked me to offer the prayer. As I pondered the strength of the manifestations of the Spirit, I knew that I can never deny the existence of my Heavenly Father and His manifestations in my life. Sometimes thoughts come into my mind about how the things that I believe are so different from the world. These thoughts placed by the devil who wants to discredit what I believe. I usually dismiss these thoughts immediately. This experience today was so strong and told me that any of those thoughts come from the devil. I felt to remember this outpouring of the Spirit as a manifestation that should never be forgotten.