MARTINS COVE 2/21/10

Happy Winter to everyone,

Well , finally we got our blizzard, and I'm not talking about the kind you get at Dairy Queen. This week we were blessed with more than a foot or so of snow. It was mostly a fine dry snow but it kept coming most of the week. With the wind blowing all week it made for some pretty significant drifts. I was keeping most of it off the roads with the Motor Grader, that was until I ran the blade into one of the tires and ruined it. Because of a defect in the blade rotor motor control, (which turns the blade around to get different angles so you can push the snow to the side) the blade did not stop when I released the control lever and I didn't notice the blade was still turning until it was too late. Consequently the blade put a 10 inch gash in one of the tires and the only fix is to buy a new tire. I must hold the record for the most flat tires in Martin's Cove history. Maybe it's because I drive the equipment more than anyone else, or maybe it's because I'm a little over-confident as an operator! Whatever the reason I'm not proud of the record.

This week I also had to take the backhoe over to the Willie Center (65 miles) during the blizzard to repair a broken waterline -- they had been without water for about 24 hours. Luckily it was an easy fix and I was back home by lunch. Yesterday I was on the backhoe all day trying to keep the roads open, and even with this effort we still had about 6 inches on the road when we got up this morning. Not being from snow country I am amazed at how beautiful the snow is when it covers everything. When the sun comes out and shines on it, it looks like trillions of sparkling diamonds. The amount of sparkles that you see may be even more impressive in numbers than our national debt, but I doubt it. Maybe you can tell that at night I usually watch the national news, that was until it became so depressing that Sister Leavitt and I have chosen to watch re-runs of NCIS. (Naval Criminal Investigation Service) It's pretty bad when watching a crime flick can be more uplifting than observing our national state of affairs.

Fortunately the Lord is still in charge and He will have the final say in what takes place in this country and on this earth. Hopefully we will all be on the right side of history when He sends His angels to separate the wheat from the tares, and then burn the tares. (Matthew 13: 24-30) This parable is even more understandable in modern revelation (Doctrine & Covenants 86:1-7) Well what do you think, is the field is getting pretty ripe?

We want you all to know that we love you and miss you, especially our dear children and most beautiful grandchildren. (yes we are prejudice) We feel so blessed to have them in our lives. We miss, but want to congratulate our very good friends and golfing buddies, Al and Jo on their new golf course mansion in Oregon, we're looking forward to visiting you up there next fall. (Al -- I need lot's of golf strokes) We are looking forward to the return of those dear friends,who as missionaries, will be coming back to the Mormon Handcart Historical Sites this spring, and we will also miss those good friends who are not returning. We are anxious to meet the new missionaries who will serve here this next year, some of which are our dear friends from home. We also want to thank all of our brothers, sisters, relatives and their families for all your love and support. All of you make life worthwhile and help to make serving here an honor. Everyone we know has, in some way, helped to give our lives purpose!

Love Elder Leavitt

Hi Everyone -- Hooray for snow -- I never thought I would be saying that. However, we haven't had much snow this winter and so we've enjoyed the last few days. I told Elder Leavitt that I don't know if the amount of snow we've received would constitute a "blizzard" as the roads weren't closed that I know of, but it's his story and he's sticking to it :)

Spent most of my week in the office and we're still booking treks -- what amazes me is that we still have folks who are wanting to book treks for 2010. That's a little late in the game, if you ask me. There is so much planning to do, but hopefully by attending our Trek Seminar they'll get the necessary information to get everything organized by the summer. We also have been very busy preparing for the returning missionaries and the new missionaries.

One morning I was assigned to the Visitor's Center and I had 14 members of one family visit. They had been in Casper for dog sled races. This family raised Siberian Huskies -- in Kansas! -- and wanted to check out some of the historical sites before heading home. We had a wonderful visit and eventho they were not of our faith, they appreciated all they learned about the handcart pioneers.

I'm attaching a photo of all the Sister serving here at Martin's Cove as Polar Bears. One night when we were working in the Humanitarian Center, I realized the fabric in the quilt was of Polar Bears, so I insisted we all get together the following day to have our picture taken with the polar bear quilt -- so here it is. You also might notice that Sister Stastny and I have on the same vest -- as I've told you before, that's not an uncommon occurrence here as we all shop at the same store :)

We had a lovely Sabbath today -- we had a High Councilman from Casper bring his son and his fiancée -- both of whom are returned Missionaries. The young man served in Toronto and the young woman served in Budapest, Hungary. How inspiring were there remarks !

Also, Elder & Sister Hardy's daughter and her children were visiting and the Hardy's daughter played a beautiful piano solo -- it literally brought tears to my eyes. The Hardy's also have a granddaughter named "Izzy", who from her profile reminded us of our granddaughter, so Elder Leavitt and I got so homesick for our little Izzy and all our other grandkids. We can't wait to see them again.

That sums up another week here at Martin's Cove. The time is flying by and before you know it we'll be swamped with trekkers. In the meantime we're enjoying the beautiful snow (see attached picture of the fort) and the blessings of being here.

Our love and prayers to all of you,

Sister Leavitt AKA Peggy