MARTINS COVE 12/20/09

Merry Christmas family and friends,

This past week has been anything but merry for Sister Leavitt. Some how she came down with a serious case of shingles. For those of you who may not be familiar with this particular disease, it is a virus which usually manifests itself with a blister type rash and can be very painful. Not only do you experience excruciating pain where the rash is, but also in other parts of the body. Sister Leavitt was in so much pain, I thought I was going to have to shoot her to save her life. Fortunately we got her into a doctor in Casper who prescribed some anti-viral medication which seems to be helping. Albeit, she spent most of the week in bed. Today, Sunday, is the second time she has ventured out of the apartment this week. She attended all of her Church meetings and our Sunday pot-luck, so I think she is on the mend. The other time she ventured out was Friday to attend our Christmas program put on by President Lorimer's brother and sister-in-law. Brother Lorimer is an accomplished baritone and entertained us with beautiful Christmas music. He was accompanied on the piano by his wife who is a concert pianist. The rest of the Christmas program was narrated by Elder Bretzing our Farmland Reserve director from Salt Lake. The Bretzings drove 350 miles just to take part in our program. After the program we had a sumptuous dinner. We also had about 15 guests. Some missionary couples from Casper, our High Council Representative and his wife, a rancher and a saloon owner from over by the Willie Center, Tina Sun and one of her ranch hands from the Sun Ranch, ( the largest ranch in Wyoming on which Martin's Cove Visitors Center used to sit ) the Singh family, an Indian (India) family who live in Rawlins and are investigating the Church. Sister Leavitt was in a lot of pain, but she loves any kind of musical performance, especially Christmas, and could not resist. We know and feel that all of your continuing prayers on our behalf have helped.

My week has been pretty much the same, installed a couple of more air hose reels in the woodshop, serviced the heavy equipment, loaded and hauled gravel to the Cherry Creek Campground. Fortunately the ground is not frozen solid so I'm still able to dig gravel out of the pit. Actually the weather has been fairly warm for Wyoming. (the mid-thirties) The only downside is the wind. When it blows, which is most of the time, the thirties feel like the low teens, but if you dress for it, the weather has been fairly tolerable.

We are really going to miss our children and grandchildren this Christmas. This is the first time in many years we have not been able to celebrate the Christmas season with them. We want our family and all of our friends to know how much we love and appreciate you and what you mean to us.

May the Lord bless and keep you safe this Holiday Season!
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukah!

Elder and Sister Leavitt aka Peggy and Charlie

PS Conner, Garrett, Olivia, Wyatt, Tommy, Parker, Preston, Delaney, Rory, and Isabella. Grandma and Grandpa hope you have the best Christmas ever!

FROM AFRICA DEC 13-19, 2009

MARTINS COVE 12/13/09

Hello again everyone,

Greetings from the Cove. It's been another productive week in the cold, snowy, windy high plains of Wyoming. This has been an interesting week weather wise, with temperatures ranging from 30 degrees above to 37 degrees below zero and winds from 0 to 60 miles per hour. But, the work goes on and so we don't really have time to think a lot about the weather. I think I'm becoming somewhat acclimatized to it, or maybe I'm just frozen senseless. Sometimes I have dreams about playing golf on the beautiful green grass of the Boulder City golf courses, but then again look at the money I'm saving, and I certainly wouldn't have herds of beautiful deer walking around me every day! Some of them have turned into little beggars, but how could you turn down those sweet little faces. Seriously though, the weather, so far, has not been nearly as bad as we anticipated.

The first of the week I was busy making a stockpile of gravel for the roads and parking areas at Cherry Creek until a hydraulic hose on the backhoe sprung a leak. Because I couldn't work on the backhoe, until someone went into Casper and bought a new hose. As an alternative I installed a new air compressor in the welding shop, and new air hose reels in the welding shop and in the mechanic shop. In the process of hooking up the electrical for the compressor I accidently tripped the welder breaker. As hard as I tried I could not find the tripped breaker. There was a panel in the woodshop with a breaker that was marked welder, but it was not the right one, and to make matters worse, no one knew where the right one could be found. After a prayer for help, and fruitless searching, something told me to look in the far corner of a large room we call "the barn" which was the farthest distance possible from the welder, and there in a dark corner was a breaker panel with the tripped breaker. It was in a place that common sense would have never led me to look! Another one of the Lord's tender mercies. Tomorrow I will help install a new air compressor at the Willie Center, after a prayer!

Yesterday, after I repaired the backhoe, I was able to remove snow from around the Visitors Center, as it had built up considerably from the drifting, wind -blown snow. Due to the wind, the snow doesn't build up at all on the flats, but around structures and fences it gets pretty deep. The blowing snow looks almost like the blowing dust at home. Sister Whitlock, one of our Casper missionaries stepped into a two foot snow drift next to the Visitors Center, fell down and couldn't get up. It took two elders to pull her out. She was a little embarrassed, but okay.

On Tuesday of last week we had the great privilege of giving a tour of the Martin's Cove facility to 65 full time missionaries from the South Dakota Mission which includes Casper and Gillette, Wyoming. This was probably the worst day weather-wise this week. But, these valiant young men and women insisted on visiting the Cove and so they braved the elements (snowing with temperatures below zero) and made the trek. It was a great spiritual experience and I'm sure they received a small taste of what the Martin and Willie handcart pioneers endured. A few of the young men were even wearing tennis shoes, but none of them complained.

Today, Sunday, we had the privilege of having President and Sister Lorimer as our Sacrament meeting speakers. Sister Leavitt and I were scheduled to speak, but were more than happy to delay our assignment until January so we could listen to this great couple. You former missionaries know what we're talking about. For those of you who don't, President Lorimer was the Riverton, Wyoming Stake President who oversaw the creation of the Martin and Willie visitor sites, as well as the placement of all the Historical Monuments on the trails. He was also the liaison between the Church and the Sun family in arraigning for the purchase of a portion of the Sun Ranch (a miracle in its self) on which the Martin's Cove Visitors Center now sits. A person can listen to this man for hours. I'll let Sister Leavitt tell you about their remarks.

Love you all, Elder Leavitt

This has been another fabulous week. We so enjoyed having the Missionaries here. Although they did trek - they didn't do the entire trek. The Elders transported them up to hand cart parking so they only walked 1 1/2 miles rather than about 5 miles. However, the weather was so severe that day, as Elder Leavitt said, they really got a taste of what the pioneers experienced. I do want to thank Adrienne and Audrey for the long underwear, which I wore that day :) We fed them lunch and as part of lunch we had a special treat for them -- homemade cinnamon rolls. Of course, I was the only Sister who didn't make any -- those of you who know my culinary skills will not be surprised. As I explained to my Sisters up here, I have never made anything that requires yeast :)

Wednesday night I worked on a humanitarian project -- I helped sew handles on school bags that will be shipped to Salt Lake and from there, distributed all over the world. I have learned that I can sew a straight seam, but nothing more complicated than that !

As Elder Leavitt said, the Lorimer's talks were not only spiritually uplifting but very informative as well. Both of them tied information they have learned on trips to the Middle East into the Christmas Story. Sister Lorimer talked about the shepherds being chosen to be the first witnesses of Christ's birth. She explained how the least of us can be chosen by God to do the most important work here on earth -- all He requires of us is a willing heart.

President Lormier talked about the 3 Kings (or Wise Men or Magi). He explained the region from which they came and how difficult a journey it was for them to find the Christ child. He said they were the scientists of their day -- learned men who had studied about the Savior and his coming. I won't go into all of it as it would take too long and I'm sure you're tired of reading already. However, I want to share with you what we learned about the gifts the Wise Men gave to Jesus and the significance of each: Gold -- was a gift for Kings. Frankincense is sap from a tree (did you know that?). These particular trees grow only in a small region in the Middle East, between Oman and Yemen -- it was very hard to get. Among other uses, it has/had curative powers. It was considered more valuable than gold -- it was a gift given only to Priests or High Priests. Myrrh -- again is a sap that comes from a tree and is grown in that region. It is used to embalm people and is a commodity that is given to a man who is going to die.

After lunch the Lorimers gave each Missionary couple a beautiful wooden box with a picture on it that Sister Lorimer had taken while they were in the Middle East. It is a desert scene with camels in the distance. In the box were samples of gold, frankincense and myrrh that they had brought home with them from one of their trips. President Lormier explained that Sister Lorimer had given away all their belongings when they were in the Middle East --everything-- so they could pack their suitcases with gifts for their family and friends back home. So President Lormier said he wanted us to remember he gave away his clothes so we could have our gifts:) Seriously, it is a precious gift to us and something we will always cherish.

Enough for tonight -- thank you for reading all of this.if you have gotten this far.

We love you all and are loving the Christmas season in Wyoming,

Sister Leavitt aka Peggy

FROM AFRICA DEC 6 - 12, 2009

MARTINS COVE 12/6/09

Happy Winter to all our family and friends,

This has been a very invigorating week, with the temps not getting much over Zero, especially with the wind chill factor, in fact today the wind chill was about -20. But the work goes on! I have been grading for a new campground at Cherry Creek to add to the two existing at this location, not counting the one we added at Jackson Campground last summer. It seems we just can't get enough space for all the trekkers. Next year we have already scheduled 10,000 more trekkers than this year and still counting. Adding additional campgrounds requires a lot of work, including restrooms and water wells, not to mention fencing and parking areas.

Because of my experience with the sprinkling system last spring here at Martin's Cove ( I've become the sprinkler guru) the Director wants me to be in charge of putting in a system next spring at the Willie Center ( about 65 miles to the west of us ). For those of you who are not familiar with the two ill-fated handcart companies caught in the early winter storm of 1856, the Martin Company was stranded here at Martin's Cove and the Willie Company was stranded at the sixth crossing of the Sweetwater River 65 miles to the west. Eight of the ten Mormon Handcart Companies that came west to Utah traveled with few out of the ordinary challenges. In fact, because they were walking and pulling handcarts they stayed healthier and generally traveled faster than the wagons.

Even though we are having a great experience, we really miss our association with our family and friends, especially our beautiful grandchildren. I even miss my golfing and lunch buddies. Golf has been somewhat difficult here, by the time the ball stops rolling it is about a foot in diameter, and you have to travel 65 miles to go out to lunch. But, other than that this has been a walk in the park, that is, if you dress like an Eskimo.

Yesterday and today we were supposed to travel to Casper for Stake Conference -- this is where all the Wards in our area, (a Ward is a church unit of about 4 or 5 hundred members) get together for a Sunday meeting to hear from our Stake leaders and receive spiritual nourishment. But due to the snow and icy roads we chose to have our Sunday meeting here at the Cove. Our speakers were the Boltons who are a couple serving as ranch missionaries and work with the cattle ranch. Sister Bolton is a retired College Professor and Brother Bolton is a retired Social Worker. Brother Bolton and Sister Leavitt are able to share a lot of war stories. The Boltons both gave great talks (especially considering they had only a few hour to prepare) Sister Bolton talked about never giving up on life's challenges, and Brother Bolton talked on the importance of forgiveness, especially forgiving others and following the Lord's commandment to not judge one another and forgive everyone.

I received a nice call from my brother Lynn this week. It seems he has finally decided to retire from parking cars at age 83. I don't know what his problem is, I think he still has few good work years in him. The truth is he was forced to retire! I really love this brother who along with the Savior carried me figuratively on his back through most of my early years. May the Lord bless him with a long healthy retirement. I know that his 5 sons are always there for him. Well, were going to try to call the grandkids, so I'll sign off.

Love you all, Elder Leavitt

Hi everyone-- the message this week is probably the weather -- I promised some of my friends that I wouldn't complain about the weather, and I'm not, but it has been an interesting phenomenon to watch this storm we have been having. Eventho is snows like crazy, the wind blows so hard, that the snow doesn't really accumulate. I was up and down last night peeking out the window as I thought the snow would be getting deeper, but it really didn't. However, the snow drifts due to the high winds, so against buildings and snow fences, which you see all over Wyoming, you do see deeper snow. I now understand the phrase that it snows horizontally in Wyoming ! :)

For those of you who know Elder and Sister Bolton, I have to say that their talks were a spiritual feast this morning -- so inspired and powerful. I wish you all could've heard their remarks. For those of you who don't know the Bolton's, Charlie didn't mention that Sister Bolton is about 90% deaf, but it certainly doesn't hinder her in communication. She is a brilliant woman. Between their biological children and their adopted children, they have 15 kids -- sounds like my friend Audrey :)

We have a busy week ahead -- the weather is supposed to continue to be stormy and we have 65 Missionaries who are planning to come here for a Zone Conference to trek to the Cove. I can't imagine they will do it as cold as it is, but our Director said the as of Saturday when he talked to the Mission President, they were still planning on coming. We'll let you know next week what happens.

With all the singing of Christmas carols and everything that goes along with this holiday season, it makes us miss all of you and the traditional events we celebrated as a family and as friends . However, we feel so blessed to be here and are having the time of our lives. It seems strange to us now that we ever dragged our feet about staying the winter -- we would have missed out on this great experience and adventure.

Love to you all,

Sister Leavitt (Peggy)

FROM AFRICA NOV 29TH - DEC 5

(CLICK ON THE PAGE TO ENLARGE ENOUGH TO READ)

Martin's Cove 11-29-2009

Hello again everyone,

Another week of playing with the big-boy toys. This week began with rehabbing some of the trekker trails. Some of the trails ran through areas that after a rain or during the spring run off became very swampy. Although some of the leaders thought that hiking through these swampy areas might give the trekkers a more realistic experience, I disagreed. My argument against this idea was three fold. 1. The trekkers are very creative young people -- if the trail was full of mud and water, they would just walk around those areas and create new trails, which was evident. 2. It really was not a true pioneer experience because the pioneers would have avoided the swampy areas also, if at all possible. 3. And lastly, because we are in an area prone to rattlesnakes, and snakes are easy to see on the trails it is much better to keep the trekkers on the trails and not in the weeds and bushes where the snakes cannot be easily seen in advance. I was given permission to fill in the swampy areas. The bottom line is that the trekkers get plenty of realistic pioneer experiences with the normal everyday Wyoming weather.

The latter part of this week I have been kept busy removing all the pea gravel around the Visitors Center and replacing it with 3/4 inch rock. The leaders feel that this rock will stay in place better. I have no argument.

On Thanksgiving day we had a rewarding experience going the Salvation Army and helping to feed the homeless. The SA does such a great job assisting the less fortunate in our communities.

I found out today that a missionary couple serving here (Sudweeks) knew Eloise Leavitt from St. George, I told them that she was like a second mother to me, and that her sons were more like brothers than nephews. She was a remarkable woman and a great mother, and we all miss her.

Brothers and sisters, family and friends I know that the Lord lives and we are privileged to feel His presence in our lives everyday. May He bless you in whatever your righteous desires may be and may He bless all of those whom you care about, especially the sick and afflicted is our daily prayer.

Elder Leavitt

Hi everyone -- our computer has not been working for several days, so it's nice to be back online.

What a great week -- met a woman in Sam's Town who came over to talk to me because she saw my badge. It turns out that she is a convert to the Church and lives at a neighboring ranch. However, she had been in this area for only about a year but hadn't been to Church -- so I invited her to come to Church w/ us at Martin's Cove. She and her husband showed up on Sunday and we had a great time. They actually raise sheep instead of cattle, but that's OK by me. It was very interesting talking to her husband as he is a native of Casper and knew the history of this area. He was also a classmate of Dick Cheney -- I hope no one holds that against him! He is not a member of the Church but said that he is interested in investigating it. So, they plan on coming to Church with us eventho they have to drive almost 100 miles to get here!

We have had a lot of visitors this week as people were traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday. I worked in the Visitor's Center for 3 days and met so many wonderful people from all over the country. I didn't work in the Visitor's Center much last summer, as I was usually in the office, so I have really appreciated the opportunity to meet our visitors and tell them the story of the handcart pioneers. Had a funny experience w/ a couple today who had identical twin 2 year olds, also dressed identically :) It took me a minute to figure that out as they were running in and out -- I thought for a minute I was in the "Twilight Zone" :)

Thanksgiving was a very special day. Besides the Missionaries, there were many other volunteers not only from the Salvation Army, but other service organizations as well. We all worked well together and enjoyed meeting some new friends. We later all went to the movie "Blind Side" which was great -- I can recommend it to you. (I need to mention that we Missionaries fixed our own Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday -- it was almost as good as what we had at the Salvation Army !)

The weather has been so nice that I have begun to wonder if I'll ever see snow. However, the weather report says that the cold weather is on the way. Apparently the high's this week will only be in the teen's. Snow is also predicted, so maybe we'll have a white Christmas after all.

Tonight was such a beautiful sight -- we had a gorgeous sunset -- a full moon coming up over Devil's Gate, and the Visitor's Center was all lit up with Christmas lights. The Missionaries have been working so hard and the Homestead area is spectacular -- lights everywhere.

Well, so long from "the high plains of Wyoming".

Our love to you all,

Peggy

OUT OF AFRICA NOV 22-28

(As usual click to enlarge each page of the letter)

MARTINS COVE 11/22/09

Happy Thanksgiving everyone,

Another great week of serving at the Cove. For me it has been a week of hauling gravel and grading trails and roads. Its so great to be able to work with trucks and tractors! The ground is still not frozen so I am able to get a lot done. A cold wind has been blowing so we still have to dress warm, but it is certainly not unbearable. In fact, so far my asthma is actually doing better up here. Maybe we will have to consider spending all our winters in Wyoming, NOT! But we do love serving here at this sacred historical site.

I failed to thank some of the people who made our stay at home so enjoyable, and also, on our trip back. Alice Bridges for a great visit. Alice is always so positive and uplifting! Al Muncy and Jo Clow who share their time and friendship with golf and meals and looking after our business concerns. You guys are great! Adrienne Cox who is such a loyal and special friend. Never lose that positive attitude! Ross and Susan Johnson for taking time out of their busy missionary schedule to help us have a great time in Ohio. They are true friends! Lavar Short for providing me with a great down coat. I don't have his email, so would someone please pass my appreciation on to him! Audrey Rosenstein for being a good and generous friend and is in the running to be the World's best Mother. After raising her family has adopted six beautiful children. You're amazing! Roy and Bonnie Wilson for being our friends through thick and thin and always opening their home to us. Your friendship has no limits and we love your family too! Lorin and Dianne Leavitt who have opened their home to us and shown such amazing hospitality. Lorin is my nephew, but growing up he was more like a brother to me. And Dianne is the most positive and upbeat person I have ever met, besides giving World Class Hugs! Lanita (Pete) Brown for sharing our emails with our extended family. You're such a great asset to the Leavitt family! Maria Heaton for the great meal and the opportunity to speak to her seminary class. And thanks to my brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews for holding a get together while we were at home. Its so much fun seeing all of you, even though we got there late and missed some. (that was the day of my hospital episode) Keep getting together, its so important, that goes for the Leavitt Reunion also.

While at home I had the chance to visit a couple of times with my sister Irene who is confined to the Henderson Rehabilitation Center. Although she is down to about 80 some lbs and confined to bed, she is still very alert and coherent. I love this little sister dearly and she is always in our prayers. I would like to thank her husband Bob for being such a Christ-like example in his devotion to her. I would also like to encourage the family to take the time to visit her. I know she would really enjoy seeing you. The days can be very long when your confined. (Read Matthew 25: 34-40)

In the last couple of emails I know I've probably missed thanking some of you, but that certainly doesn't diminish our love and appreciation for you. We have the greatest friends and family in the world!

To our children and grandchildren, thank you for making our life so complete. We would ask you to love one another and put your trust in the Lord. Our love for you is great, but nothing in comparison to how much your Lord and Savior loves and can do for each of you.

Love Elder Leavitt

Hi Everyone --

I can hardly believe that it's Thanksgiving this week. This will be the first time we haven't been with family at Thanksgiving probably since we were married so, it will be very different experience. We will be serving the homeless at the Salvation Army on Thanksgiving Day along with the other Missionaries so we're all looking forward to that. We will have the "traditional" Thanksgiving meal the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

Not much to report this week --- our routine remains the same -- Charlie working on the trails and me working in the office. We stay busy so the time flies. One bright spot in this week was seeing Elder and Sister Johansen -- Missionaries with whom we served during the summer. They came by for a visit and left us a couple of turkeys and a ham. We plan to have the turkeys for our Thanksgiving celebration. It was wonderful seeing them -- we had a impromptu dinner and Sister Stastny fixed a delicious meatloaf and we all had a great time.

As Charlie as mentioned before, we have so many deer who "hang out" right close to our apartment and the Visitor's Center. There is one little deer - whose ear was damaged and there is a notch in it so the Missionaries have named her "Notch". She has become so tame that one of our Missionaries can feed her by hand.

I also send by best wishes to each of you and pray that you will all have a blessed Thanksgiving. Our family has certainly been blessed this year and we have so much we are thankful for, including our association and friendship with each of you.

Know we love you and will be thinking of you this week,

Peggy

FROM OUT OF AFRICA NOV 15 - 21

(click on pages to enlarge to read)

Aunt Ila is turing 90

MARTINS COVE 11-15-2009

Greetings Family and Friends,

Well, after a six week hiatus the polar bears are back in Wyoming. We had a wonderful time at home visiting with our children and grandchildren and many friends. We had a few uncomfortable moments at home, like the night I drove myself to the hospital thinking I was having a heart attack, (Sister Leavitt was out doing the town with friends). It's bad enough thinking you're having a heart attack, but then to have the doctor chew you out for not calling 911 is too much !. As it turned out after a battery of tests and a night in the hospital, it turned out to be an esophageal spasm or what doctors refer to as a imitation heart attack. The good news is that my heart is in perfect condition and all I have to do is take is a pill for an irritated stomach. Sister Leavitt also had a little concern over a questionable mammogram, but it was okay also. It did hold us up another week waiting for the test results. Knowing she is okay is worth any wait.
We expected to come back to Wyoming in snowy, sub-zero conditions but no such luck. The roads were clear and the temperature was in the 60's. But, that didn't last for long, today we woke up to 10 degrees with frost on the ground. Fortunately, with a little help from our friends we had the right clothing and so we're all warm and fuzzy. Another amazing sight is that there are deer everywhere! They are all around us in herds. I remember when I used to go deer hunting I used to hike all over the mountains looking for a decent buck, while here all you have to do is walk out the door and several nice four point bucks are standing there looking at you. For some reason they are aware that missionaries won't shoot at them. A few year ago the sight of these beauties would have made my trigger finger itch like crazy, but now I just enjoy photographing them. The young ones even like to come up and pose for a photo shoot. Its mating season so the other day I watched two big bucks duke it out. I don't know what the big deal is, there seems to be plenty of females to go around.
We have picked up right where we left off, Sister Leavitt working in the office and I'm out fixing roads and trails. I'm trying to get as many trails as possible groomed before the ground freezes solid.
Today (Sunday) we had a Stake High Counselor and his wife speak in church. He is an attorney and she is a housewife with 3 children. They both gave great talks, hers on obedience and his on honoring the priesthood. Their young son (about 8)also played a musical number on the violin. ( I am a child of God ) accompanied by his mother on the piano, it was a tear jerker. I was also assigned to teach Priesthood and Sister Leavitt was assigned to teach Relief Society. Because there are so few of us teaching and speaking opportunities come along quite regularly.
After church we continued our weight gaining program with our great pot-luck dinner. After dinner Sister Leavitt and I had the opportunity to give a great little family from Provo a tour of the visitors center. The were returning home from Casper where they attended the unexpected baptism of his 74 year old father whom they weren't aware was even investigating the Church. He just phoned out of the blue and invited them to come to his baptism. The father of this little family is a convert also and is now the head tennis coach at BYU. I have rarely seen such well mannered children. After the tour they each came up unprompted and shook our hands and thanked us. The youngest one even gave me an (unsolicited) big hug. This job is great!
But we do miss all our Martin's Cove friends and neighbors from last summer, many of whom (thankfully) will be coming back next year, it will be great to see them when they return. We also miss our family and friends we left behind, which is the hardest part of serving. Especially our beautiful little grandchildren. Well, its time to hit the recliner for a Sunday evening nap so I'll turn the rest of the email over to Sister Leavitt.

Love, Elder Leavitt

Hi everyone -- As Elder Leavitt said, it doesn't take much time to get back into the swing of things. The hardest thing for me has been all the moving. It seems like the item I need the most at a particular time is still at home or in the motor home. And, I'm sure I'll end up finding that a lot of the stuff I have brought, I could've left at home. The other day I went to use my mix master and couldn't find the blades -- I couldn't believe that I would have packed my mix master and forgot the blades. I was talking about it at lunch and one of the other ladies said, "I might have them as I found an extra pair at my apartment when I was unpacking". She and her husband had stayed in our apartment while we were at home so she mistakenly picked mine up. Then, she said, have you seen my rolling pin? And my response was that I was wondering where that came from as I never use a rolling pin! So that little conversation pretty much sums up my discombobulated life right now.

I have been very busy in the office booking treks -- no rest for me. With so few of us here, we are teaching or giving talks almost every Sunday. Another interesting thing is that everyone takes turns leading the music -- even those who know little about music.

We loved our time at home -- we had so much fun seeing everyone and I think we did get to see or visit everyone we hoped to see -- even our dear friend , Ernie, who happened to fly in from NYC just a day or so before we left. We also enjoyed a short trip to Ohio where we visited with our buddies, Ross and Susan Johnson, who are serving a Mission in Cleveland and just loving it. The fall colors were absolutely gorgeous. We also enjoyed a couple of trips to Amish Country. We were able to golf several times as well. We were delighted that our youngest son, Kelley, was able to drive up from North Carolina and spend a few days with us. I had several get-togethers with friends and my sisters that were just great -- unfortunately one of them was when Charlie was in the Emergency Room. My cell didn't work that night so I had no idea what was going on until the next day. Anyway, thanks to all you, including our kids, who fixed wonderful meals for us and showed us such a good time while we were at home.

It was hard to leave again but we always felt that we still had one foot in Wyoming so we were also looking forward to getting back. As Charlie said, the weather hasn't been bad since we've been here but while we were gone they had 5 snow storms. We feel prepared as we have all the warm clothes,etc. that we need.

That's all for now -- we love and miss you all and hope that some of you can come visit us.

Much love,

Peggy

FROM AFRICA Nov 8-14, 2009

(Click on each page to enlarge to read)

LAURA LEAVITT HAUCK

Cousin, Laura Leavitt Hauck writes for a column called “Missionary Journal” for Meridian Magazine.

This is her last article. She often uses stories gleaned from family missionaries in her articles.

http://www.meridianmagazine.com/missionaryjournal/091029tradition.html

Article from the Meridian Magazine

This is an article written by Ric Hauck, archeologist and husband to Laura Ann Leavitt (Theron), that is published in Meridian Magazine.

http://webmail.xpressweb.com/horde3/services/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ldsmag.com%2Fchurchupdate%2F091109digging.html%23_begart

FROM AFRICA Nov 1-7

(Click on each page to enlarge to read)

ENSIGN NOVEMBER 2009 ISSUE

If you turn to page 96 in the November 2009 issue of the Ensign you will find a picture of 4 elders. The one on the far right is Elder Brett Leavitt (Ronnow, Jack). He is serving a mission in the Odgen, Utah Area and is due home in January. It looks like he is doing great.

FROM AFRICA OCT 24-31

(click each page to enlarge to read)

FROM AFRICA OCT. 18-24

(click to enlarge letter pages to read)