Monday the 30th of March came and I realized that we have been in Palymra for seven days. I like to start my day by drinking two cups of water and settling in to read my scriptures. Reading each day gives me strength and courage to go forth and try to be a better person. My personal reading schedule finds me in Alma in the Book of Mormon and in Acts in the New Testament. Plus I am studying the Come Follow Me program in the Doctrine & Covenants this year. It’s a lot to take in and process but I love being able to disect gospel principles and receive a confirmation.

Today was the day to meet the temple presidency. President and Sister Kimbler are from the Rochester area. The counselors are President and Sister Wozniak as well as President and Sister Lau. We met at the Kimbler’s home (the temple presidents have a home close to the temple) and Sister Kimbler made a beautiful luncheon for everyone. It was lovely to meet everyone. Brother Fergus, the temple recorder was also there and the Gurr’s. We were able to chat a little over lunch and afterwards we headed over to the temple for our orientation.

The Palmyra temple is one of what I call, “The Hinkley Temples. President Hinkley had built many temples according to this floor plan. They were called the small temples, usually just over 10,000 square feet. The Palmyra temple is all on one floor and is 10,900 sq. feet. There is a window in the main reception area that overlooks the Sacred Grove. I can’t wait to see it when the trees are leafed out. The trees that are there are a variety of the following: Sugar Maple, Tulip Poplar, White Ash, Black Walnut, Norway Spruce, Douglas Fir, Hemlock, Catalpa, Kentucky Coffee Tree as well as a variety of Oak species. Basically a hardwood forest covers the area.

The stained glass work in the temple is so beautiful. Looking back towards the main door, you see through a series of stained glass that looks like you are looking through the local forest, as to being in the Sacred Grove. This is the grove where Joseph Smith as a 14 year old boy, went to pray and ask God what to do as to religion. There were many different religions vying for members at this time; a religious revival. Joseph received his answer and it was not what he expected but he had been reading in the book of James. Chapter 1, verses 5 & 6. 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

I love his faith, being of a young age of a boy. I love these verses and from these I know that God loves us all and wants us to receive knowledge and understanding. Thus in 1820, he went to this grove of trees on the family farm and knelt to pray. In the Pearl of Great Price (a book of scripture), Joseph recounts the experience in the grove. It is titled Joseph Smith History. To be here in Palmyra where this account occured as well as other important events in history is inspiring and touching.

We received our missionary name badges and temple name badges as well as our scheduling for working. This week we will work 3 days. Our neighbors teased us about having a 4 day weekend. We finished orientation and left to go home and absorb what is ensuing for us.

Tuesday dawned and we checked outside to see what the weather is bringing. So far, spring season seems to be typical. Showers and clouds, wind and not yet warm enough to do short sleeves. I seem to be missing my Alberta blue skies. Sister Kimbler reminded me to take my vitamin D. I did my workout on the rebounder and then Erik decided that we should go shopping so that he could find some hiking shoes. We drove some back roads to a mall. The landscape here is stunning, beautiful acreages and homes, surrounded by woodlands. We reached the mall, parked and entered the mall to find shoes. Immediately, I found Williams Sonoma and told Erik that I needed to go in. It was heavenly! Erik spots a $400 toaster and says, “This is not a store for us!” I was not to be deterred, haha! I perused the knife section, drooling over the knives that I could imagine cooking with. Our little apartment has 3 knifes, dull as anything. Then I moved on to the rest of the store. I did purchase a couple of Victorinox knives and a micro-planer. We taste tested their Bunny Bark; quite delicious.

Walking on, we cruised the entire mall to find the shoe store that he wanted to go to. He found a pair of Merrell hiking shoes, and off we went for lunch. Finding a Mexican restaurant, we decided to try it. It was okay, but the horchata was exquisite. I had Erik drive me to the Hobby Lobby so that I could get embroidery floss for my Nauvoo cross stitch pattern. I can’t say Hobby Lobby without saying it like my friend, Carol Keller. It’s her midwest accent that I will never forget.

Arriving back at the apartment, I was feeling exhausted and wondered if it was wise to do a workout and then walk all over the mall and now have to work a shift at the temple. Maybe a nap? Erik got his nap in while I sat with my feet up. We packed a protein bar to go the temple and headed there. It’s a four minute drive; pure bliss! It was wonderful to be welcomed to the temple family and learn the procedures that the temple uses. Can you say, completely shattered? That’s how I felt after completing our day. Because of our jaunt around the countryside, I hadn’t done my Spanish lesson and had to do it at 10 pm that night. Lesson learned both ways; do it much sooner in the day.

Wednesday was a rain day; all day long and into the night. We went looking for a couple of items and ended up driving to Newark which is east of Palmyra. The highway travels alongside the Erie Canal. I spotted a Tractor Supply store which is just like Peavey Mart in Canada (the Peavey Mart that went into bankruptsy and is no more). I helped me feel like home and was able to find a shoe horn for Erik. I had the opportunity to chat with a couple of ladies in Marshall’s because they asked me about my name badge.

Spanish lesson was done early! We decided to do an early supper because we need to be at the temple by 4:30 pm. Discovering that our shifts do not have lunch/dinner breaks, we decided to change up our schedule. I am including the recipe for our supper. Adapt as you need for dietary needs.

https://eatwithclarity.com/white-chicken-bean-chili/#wprm-recipe-container-47154

The temperature was dropping and the rain was slushy and collecting in the spring plantings at the temple. I must invest in a umbrella as I learned that it rains frequently here. We met a whole new shift of workers. When you are an Historic Site missionary, you are able to work 2 to 3 shifts per month in the temple. We also were able to meet Sister Lau, as she had been in Idaho visiting grandchildren. Erik and I were also able to meet President and Sister Hall, who attend the Spanish Branch that we will be in. They were very excited that I spoke Spanish and already told us that we will be speaking in May. Jump right in with both feet. I had told Erik earlier that I can help him with translating a prayer and a simple testimony into Spanish and that he could have it at hand to go when needed. President and Sister Hall loved that idea. That idea was thanks to President Spackman from the Calgary temple. He told me that when he was a mission president in New York, he had a missionary translate a prayer for him so that he could memorize it and use it when needed.

One of the temple workers has a quirky sense of humor. While I went to the break room for a drink from my water bottle, he opens the freezer section of the fridge, looks in and then closes the fridge. He looks at me and says, “The temple missionaries always keep the freezer stocked with Turkey Hill.” I asked him what that was. It turns out that it’s ice cream. Haha, good luck with that! His wife told me at the end of the evening that she’s too cheap to buy that expensive brand of ice cream. It was nice to go home and put feet up. The rain was still coming down and in the middle of the night, the wind had to have been blowing fiercely because the building was shaking. Thunder, lightening and sirens, oh, my!

The weather forecast for Thursday was bringing warmer temperatures. It was going to be 20°C and still cloudy. I had a slow start to my day; standing on the marble floors for 3 hours straight made my bones a little achy. But after getting moving, life started to feel better. Erik wanted to do some ruck sacking while he was trekking around Palmyra. I remember Lyndon doing it when he lived in Calgary. He would load up a backpack and head out for a walk. There is a company that actually sells supplies to do rucksacking but Erik says they are very expensive. Rucksacking is just walking with weight on your back aka backpacking. I never wanted to be a Sherpa thus I never was interested in doing backpacking. It reminds me of Sister Marjorie Hinckley when she said that both her and her husband Gordon wanted to do different things for vacation, so she went off doing what she wanted and Gordon did his choice. She said that it made for a happy marriage. So, I bounce on the rebounder and have a little dance party all by myself, six days a week.

Pounding bass music was coming from a pickup truck parked across the street. It went on for what seemed forever. Dare I ask the Lord again for the favor of making the music stop? Well, I did, and it did too. We prepared for another evening shift at the temple. Yet again meeting new workers and missionaries. When I put my water bottle in the break room, it seemed that every surface was covered in some kind of treat. There was a really big cake on a table, decorated with the 25th Anniversary of the Palmyra temple, April 6, 2000. There were donuts, cookies, etc. When I opened the freezer to tell the tale of Brother Wilson’s request, There had to have been 7-8 tubs of ice cream in the freezer! Brother Wilson was going to be thrilled. He came in shortly and made himself a plate of cake and ice cream.

After a lovely evening working in the temple, it was time to head back to our apartment and have a snack and prepare for bed. We have the Canadian Government sending us voting ballots to mail in. Hopefully it doesn’t take too long. Everyone needs to use their voice in the election.

On Friday, April 4th, Erik made some plans after his walk-about, to take a drive to see Sodus Point. I had done my rebounding and thanks to my friend, Janet, I added a song to my playlist. It’s called, “Good Day” by Forrest Frank. He does worship music and this song is a great way to start our days.

We stopped at the Martin Harris farm on our way. There isn’t a building to tour but there is a monument with a map of the farm. He was an early supporter of Joseph Smith. He lived on a 300 acre farm outside of Palmyra. He received this portion from his father’s original 600 acres.

Martin mortgaged 240 acres of his farm to be able to secure payment for the printing of the Book of Mormon. Martin authorized E.B. Grandin to sell the land at auction to cover the debt if Martin defaulted. Eventually, he was required to sell 151 acres in order to pay the debt. This home in the photo is not the original but was rebuilt and is privately owned.

We headed north of Palmyra to get to Sodus Point. In 1794, this was the first settlement of European-American. Before the settlers came, the area had been for centuries, the territory of the Onondaga Nation. During the War of 1812, the village was burned by a British raiding party. This left only one building but the village was rebuilt. This village is on the shore of Lake Ontario on a point of land on the northeast edge of Sodus Bay. The name was derived from a native word meaning, “gleam on the water.” Another possible origin is from the Iroquois, “Land of silver waters.”

The area became an important port on Lake Ontario in the 19th Century. As the Erie Canal shifted state transportation patterns, the village’s function as a port declined. In the later 19th century, it became a popular vacation resort, especially for people from Chicago and other cities during the summers. We really noticed this as we were driving around. There were a lot of vacation homes and vacation rentals. It was fun to see all the boats in the shipyard. The museum was not open yet for the season but we took a few photos and tried not to freeze to death. The wind coming off of Lake Ontario was frigid but the view was beautiful. Erik brought out his binoculars so that we could see the Chimney Bluffs, which were spectacular.

This area is also known for it’s apple orchards and is only second in production in the USA behind Yakima County in Washington state. They call it the Finger Lakes Apple Country. We saw so many orchards being prepared for the coming season. It looks so different than anything we’ve seen before in Canada.

Leaving Sodus Point, we went to the Chimney Bluffs State Park. I went to the beach to see the stones, while Erik went up the hill to the cliff edges. Some of you may know that I am not a fan of heights and Erik even said that I wouldn’t have liked it where he had gone. The stones are famous here for buildings. If you look closely at the Martin Harris farm house, it is built in that manner. It was amazing to see them up close because of the colors.

Heading back south we made it home and then I realized that we needed some groceries for the weekend. Off to Wegman’s we went to procur nourishment to sustain us during General Conference. For my gluten free/celiac friends, I may try a recipe from the Loopy Whisk for a baking project. I used to always make cinnamon rolls (it feels like a million years ago) for General Conference weekend. I’m feeling brave. We’ll see how it goes. Most importantly we are looking forward to the messages. Oh, I just realized that we are not in the same time zone. It’ll be odd but it’ll be awesome to be fed spiritually and feel the joy of the gospel.