When your schedule changes and the days go by, you may start to wonder what day it really is. When there is no clear purpose in your days, one slides into the other, leaving you in a puddle of where am I and what am I doing? I experienced this the past week because the temple went into maintenance for two weeks. Two times per year, each temple has a two week break from normal duties to attend to bigger maintenance items. Erik went over to see if they needed his help and sure enough they did. Similar to the September maintenance period, he put his skills to use. He met the upholsterer again that came in September. As you know, every building has wear and tear from use or even non-use. The Palmyra temple floor plan was used 43 times to build temples around the world. This floor plan has now been retired. The standardized plan built a building that was 10,700 square feet. So, even though it is a small temple, we receive a lot of patrons and the building gets a lot of use.

Erik helped the upholsterer by breaking down four arm chairs that needed to be reupholstered. They weren’t on the original schedule to be done, but Erik & I noticed that the chairs had worn in places and shouldn’t be left in that state. With Erik’s help, the upholsterer was able to complete his scheduled work as well as these four chairs. We will have visible changes in the decor when we return on March 31.

In the meantime, I am trying to keep track of the days so that I don’t mess up my medication. I tried to motivate myself to sew but that didn’t pan out. I managed to cook our meals and get my exercise done each day but it was like my body needed a big rest. We received another invitation to try extending our mission for six months. The couple that they thought would come have been assigned elsewhere. Our offer to stay was turned down again. Personally, I know that we are needed somewhere else. We do need to do some regrouping upon returning home and get our next mission application ready. I am working on my A1C to lower it so that I will be able to serve again.

We had our first week at the Auburn Ward. It was lovely to see familiar faces that we have seen at the temple. It takes us approximately the same amount of time to get to the building in Auburn as it did to get to our Spanish Branch in Greece.

I started prepping food for our trip this week. I made the Grillo Dill Dip. Erik cut up tons of veggies to eat it with. Two types of muffins and some Chocolate Date Balls were also on the menu.

We loaded the car and hopefully we didn’t forget anything crucial. Our morning started with a remote (online) doctor’s appointment for me and then we had our prayer and started the journey. As we headed south, the route was a reminder of our journey to Nauvoo a year ago. You are cruising down the interstate and then the GPS sends you on a small farm road and we really thought that the GPS had lost it’s mind. No, it’s just in the middle of Podunk-nowhere! Today was the same experience and instead I relaxed and enjoyed the view of rural New York and Pennsylvania. As you journey into Pennsylvania you notice the rock formations have changed. Coal mining is a big deal in PA. As of 2022, there were still over 100 active mines. Anthracite is found in the northeast and is known as “hard coal”.

We drove down the east side of Canandaigua Lake as we wound south along little rural byways. It is unbelievably picturesque. Soon the leaves will be making their appearances and the views will change yet again. We saw maple sap collections with tanks near the road for easier pick up. Little road side stands selling maple syrup were also seen.

As we came into Corning, I was reminded that we never did get to the Corning Glass Museum in the past year. As we carried on, the temperature was dropping and as we looked south from atop of a crest of a hill, we saw white dusted trees in the distance. We hit the Blossburg pass and at 2270 feet of elevation and found snow melting on the road. The temperature was below 0C.

A large part of our journey took us along the Susquehanna river. I have talked about this river in the past and as we have seen more of it, we gain a greater appreciation for it’s history. We reached Harrisburg and were amazed at the mansions lining the river. We drove past the Governor’s mansion (Harrisburg is the state capital).

Located in the Dauphin Narrows stretch of the Susquehanna River, stands a mini Statue of Liberty that is a 25 foot tall replica of the original. Technically it is a replica of a replica. The current statue is the second little Lady Liberty to hold her torch high above the old railway piling in the middle of the river. The first was 18 foot tall and made of plywood and venetian blinds. It was erected in 1986 as a patriotic prank to commemorate the centennial of the original Statue of Liberty. No one knew who made it or how it got there, and no one would come forward to take the credit/blame.

This first replica was blown off her pedestal and destroyed in 1992, a surprisingly long run considering its construction materials. However, in the six years since she first appeared, the people of Dauphin Township had grown rather fond of her. Money was raised to erect a heavier, sturdier 25 foot version of the statue, this time constructed from metal. This one was put in place in 1997 by a helicopter and lashed to the piling. It still stands today. 

It wasn’t until years later in 2011 that local lawyer, Gene Stilp finally owned up to not only orchestrating the making of the statue but also taking the daring trip into the dangerous river water to climb the piling and help erect the statue. Little did he know his prank would become a permanent monument for the people of Harrisburg, PA.

Being a lawyer Stilp also pointed out that the statute of limitations for prosecuting the crime of illegal statue placement has long since passed. 

We saw so many law practices along our route, hahaha!

We were also impressed by the Jewish presence in Harrisburg. They immigrated in the 1840’s from Germany and England. Another wave of immigrants came in the late 19th century and early 20th century (they were from Lithuania). We drove past two big buildings and one was Temple Bethel El and the other may have been a community center. They have been vibrant community in Harrisburg.

This isn’t in the right order but, we stopped for gasoline at Hilsher’s General Store. I chose it because I was pretty sure that it was a Mennonite store (and it was)! It was at Port Trevorton, north of Harrisburg. It is over 20,000 square feet of fun; bakery, deli, meat processing, clothing/footwear, hardware, home decor, housewares, sporting goods, and toys. Erik picked up a slice of Shoo-fly pie and I bought a little bottle of Bronner’s baby soap along with dark chocolate almonds. I am a huge fan of the Mennonite stores. They make my heart sing!

We made it to Gettysburg and Erik had downloaded a driving tour of this historic site. I will tell you about it next blog post.

Despite not knowing what day it was last week, I know that I have a purpose. Keep smiling and keep your heart ready to hear your next steps or deeds that God has in store for you. We all don’t do great heroic things each day. It is in the little steps, day by day that we show our true selves. So, with that twinkle in your eye, carry on and be joyful.