AND AWAY WE GO!

I can't for the life of me make a bigger image this morning. You'll have to squint or use your magnifying glass! It's a picture of the Vermont countryside. We'll spending the next few months in Vermont working at the state repository imaging records among other things. We're excited for the new direction in our lives. We are grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and for a prophet who has the wisdom to challenge us out of our stupor. Keep yourselves safe while we're gone and we'll do the same. I am absolutely dreading the winters in Vermont (didn't I ask to be in sunny Florida?).

We'll be in the SMTC (Senior Missionary Training Center) until April 10. Our address there is:

Elder Garth Arlo Gunter

Sister Joan Rae Gunter

Manchester New Hampshire Family History Records Pr Mission

Provo Missionary Training Center

2005 N 900E

Provo, UT 84604

Our e-mails are:

gunterfolks@homenetnw.net or gagunter@ifiber.tv

We love you all and will try to keep you updated. Please do the same. And away we go!

A Lot Happening in our Lives

This has been the scene at our house for two weekends--wall to wall kids. What a lot of fun! Please note Dylan's socks. As Jennie says, he much prefers to sleep in all his clothes including his shoes and socks!


I don't know if you can tell, but they're all coloring in the same color book. You can imagine that didn't last long.

Everybody always needs a haircut! She also cut Angie, Sammie, Andrew, and Joe's. She also did a little waxing. Can you imagine the sound of his ouch?

This week we lost another dear friend of our family, Carolyn Winder. Our little town is reeling from all of these deaths--there have now been eight in as many weeks. Carolyn died from complications of extensive heart surgery. She was here on the Slope when we came. She and her husband DeWain have been our dear, dear friends. The four of us spent many good times going to the movies and dinner on payday while her kids watched our babies. One time we even careened down long Radar Hill because the two men had both fallen asleep! No one was hurt--just the car. Carolyn was the head cook at RHS for many, many years and was well-known for her famous rolls. She was fun loving and full of vinegar and spice. She will be missed.

We're only days away from our departure for the mission field. We're planning to leave Friday as soon as we've watched Angie's presentation at History Day. With only two weeks preparation time, we've been in panic mode since our call came. We'll be set apart tomorrow by President Leavitt. We've many questions as we haven't yet heard from either our mission president or the Family History department. However, we're anxious to get on with this new phase in our lives. I read the weather report on the mission web site and I think we'd better take our long johns! Hope all is well with everyone.

IMAGINE ME A MISSIONARY

Imagine me a missionary! This little song sung by Primary children has been running through my head. On Friday, we received our call. We have been called to the New Hampshire Manchester Mission whose headquarters is in Bedford, New Hampshire. The mission covers parts of 5 states: New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts and 1 part of New York. We will be on a Family and Church history mission doing records preservation which means we'll be recording records of various types to be included in the large collection of records in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City as well as any other work directed by our mission president. After all this waiting, we are going to be reporting to the Missionary Training Center on March 30 so we hardly have time to breathe let alone get ready. The picture is of the birthplace of the Prophet Joseph Smith in Sharon, Vermont. We're speaking in our ward today at 9.

Reminiscing

For whatever reasons (there were several), today has been a day for tears, tributes and to-dos. I've been thinking about my brother Joe who was killed in Viet Nam 42 years ago today. This picture was taken just before he left. He was proud to be a Marine. Daddy had tried to convince him to join the Army and Uncle Jack voted for the Navy, but Joe had always wanted to be a Marine. War is hell. My heart is always with those who lose their sons, fathers or husbands to war because I can share in their sorrow.
Family worries and the anticipation of our mission call added to my musings. I've decided crying is good for the soul. Several people have reminded me that Satan always works hardest when we are ready to do an errand for the Lord and he's certainly doing his best. My sweet niece Shannon reminded me. "Grandma Gunter used to say, "I know that worrying works, because 99 percent of the things I worry about never happen!"" Finally, I got hold of myself, put on my Nano and let George Strait take away my dark thoughts. Nothing like a little country music to put things in perspective!