Dear Family,

Hi, we are doing great.  Summer has been tolerable.  Some days are very muggy but we are not complaining about all of the beautiful sunshine.  So far the temperature has not exceeded 86 degrees.  We have been busy!  The Elders tracted into 3 young men from the Congo:  Daniel, Christian and Consolation (that is what his name means in Swahili, I cannot pronounce or remember his real name).  They are all Christian and loved Church.  In their religion the young people cannot partake of the Sacrament until they are 11 or 12.  Dad explained that the age of accountability is 8 and that came as a revelation to the prophet Joseph Smith.  We only picked them up and have nothing to do with teaching them, wish we did as they are wonderful young men.  They speak Swahili, French and are learning English.  They did very well for only being here since May.  They are looking for work which we pray they find so the government doesn't send them back to the Congo.  We did get to go with several sets of Elders to teach families from San Salvador, one from Columbia and two Natives.  I just love going with the missionaries and to feel the great Spirit they exude when they teach. 

All of the office staff pulled off the largest transfer yet.  13 missionaries.  It went well due to the planning of the President's assistants.  What great training for them as they organize, plan and work.  Our beloved mission presidents went home a few days later.  Our new Mission President and wife are from Ketchikan, Alaska.  They have a family business of 3 hunting/fishing lodges.  He is a bush pilot and only loves to fly float planes.  He has 20,000 hours experience.  Their children were left to run the business; they are sure to do well. Here is some exciting news, you may already know.  The Mormon.org project is booming.  It is fulfilling the prophecy that the Gospel will go to everything nation, kindred, tongue and people.  Plus, because of Mitt Romneys campaign, Church headquarters has been flooded with inquiries and truth seekers.  For once they are coming to the source, instead of listening to the anti-Mormons who write their version of what they think our Church is about.  The First Presidency used to take care of the dignitaries that come to Temple Square.  There are so many now that they expanded to the Quorum of the Twelve but now they can't handle the flood.  There have been more inquiries in 2011-12 then the combined inquiries from 1830-2011.  See the prophecy in Isaiah 2.  Wow, is this wonderful or what?  Oh, and this piece of info:  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the predominant faith in Alaska!!!

We went to Selkirk on Church business several weeks ago.  We stopped for several hours on the way back at Lower Fort Garry.  It was originally built on the Forks right here in Winnipeg.  The flood of 1826 destroyed the Fort. This was not good for the Hudson Bay company.  So they rebuilt the Fort 32 Kilometers from Winnipeg on higher ground?  That is a stretch, but there is an embankment you have to climb from the river that Dad guessimates at 50 feet.  I am attaching some pictures that I hope you enjoy.  This fort never saw a battle.  They eventually made a treaty between the Ojibway and Swampy Cree nations and the Crown.  Okay.  One picture has a young college student pictured with a top hat on.  A quality top hat is made from beaver hides.  They are amazing to examine up close.  The people who made them used chemicals which included mercury.  After a period of time they became "mad" or crazy before dying.  Hence came the term "mad hatter."  There is a picture of their pain killer.  You might like the recipe:  Cayenne pepper, alchohol, & opium.  Whew!  The 3rd floor of the Saleshop is called the furloft.  There is a fur press at one end.  They pressed 90 pounds of furs and wrapped with a hide.  The tripmen then tied 2 bundles to themselves and packed them around the portages and back to the York boats.  These people were tough. Apparently 180 pounds of furs often out-weighed the tripmen.  They invented a version of our hand carts and they are a sturdy vehicle.  The Governor's house was also occupied by the man and his family that took care of all the ordering for the Hudson Bay Company and the fort. He was referred to as the chief factor.  He actually recovered from TB here. It took great planning because their order didn't come for 15 months.  The grounds had a blacksmith shop; the farm manager's house; a guest cottage; a small infirmary;  the men's house for the labourers and tradesmen.  Some of these tradesmen came from as far as Scotland.  It was a fun diversion to see this fort.  There is so much history here.  Fascinating.

Bye for now.  We love you.  We hope all of you will put your profiles on Mormon.org and then you can chat with anyone in the world who might like questions about the Gospel answered.  Who would have imagined that the internet would play such a huge part in the final gathering?   It is very exciting to see.  We have great hope that the Second Coming is closer than most think.  Sure hope so!


 xoxox mom & dad