Branch Open House

IT SNOWS UP HERE!
We are getting our exercise by shoveling snow.  Last week we had the biggest drifts we have seen this winter.

The other day we woke up to this

We shoveled for several hours

BRANCH OPENHOUSE

Sunday we had a Branch Openhouse in Ogdensburg.  The members were challanged to invite their family and friends.  Elder & Sister Esplin and the Sister missionaries put together some displays that were very well done.  The members brought refreshments and we all had a great time.  A number of non-member friends came.

Elder Sherwood teaches the Restoration



Sister Sherwood on YM/YW

Two wonderful Sister Missionaries



A New Convert in the Branch

Elder and Sister Sherwood and the Sisters

This openhouse was fun to be a part of.  We wish you all could have been there.  We bear testimony that God is alive and well.  His Son is the Savior of the World, was crucified for us and then resurrected.  He has restored his gospel, the church, the priesthood, and the ordinances of the gospel in these latter days.  Joseph Smith was a true prophet through whom this restoration was accomplished.  The church is now led by a prophet today.  The Book Of Mormon is the tangible evidence that God is speaking today.  We plead with you all to read the Book of Mormon and receive a witness of its divine origin.

Elder Scott, What a Treat

Visit By An Apostle
This weekend we had a special stake conference for the Palmyra Stake. Elder Richard G. Scott, from the Quorum of the 12, was here for some leadership training. Saturday morning he met with all the missionaries. He begain the meeting by having everyone come up, row by row, and introduce ourselves to him and shake his hand. For his discussion he walked the missionaries through several roll playing exercises. We focused on sharing the Book of Mormon, and challenging the people to read and pray.

Sunday morning they held a special conference for the Stake. An area authority seventy, spoke, along with the Stake President and Stake Relief Society President. Elder Scott then shared feelings about his wife who passed away over 16 years ago. It is always special to be able to interact with these good men and feel of their spirit. He challenged us all to show our love and appreciation to our wives and families.

He left an Apostolic blessing that was very special. He promised that as we ponder and pray the Lord will let us know what we are doing well and how we can improve. Last week we challenged you to take small steps in improving yourselves. Perhaps it would be well now to ponder and pray about those steps and ask for confirmation if that is what the Lord would have you do.

The Temple is Opening Next Week
We are into our last week of the temple being closed. We will be so grateful when it opens again next week. This week we have training meetings with each shift, so at least we have things to do in the evenings.

Are We Becoming Better Each Day??

We had a great week in the Branch on Sunday.

John, who was baptised in November, gave the Priesthood lesson. It was a thrill to see him do that. He is preparing now to go to the temple to do baptisms.

Cheryl, an older member whose husband died last year, after a long illness, is preparing to go to the temple for her own endowment and to be sealed to her husband. We are so excited to be able to help her prepare for that.

Cazzie, after a number of years of inactivity, came to church a month ago and hasn't missed a Sunday since. This week she brought her husband with her. Both are feeling the spirit and have contributed greatly.

Another sister, Dianne, began coming last month after many years of inactivity. She also is making great changes in her life to be in harmony with the Gospel teachings.

The Sister Missionaries are teaching a good man who has been to church a number of times. Last week he committed to be baptised, and Sunday he accepted an invitation to give a prayer in Sacrament meeting. He did a find job.

Gary and Bonnie, accepted a challange to read the scriptures daily with their grandchilden and to bring them to church each week.

Small steps are so crucial in each of our lives. We are so grateful we get to be a part of helping people make these small steps. We get to witness the joy that comes into their lives.

We have been thinking about how important these steps are for each person. The question came to our minds, are we making progress in our lives. A statement we heard years ago applies,

"The Gospel Of Jesus Christ makes bad people good, and good people better."

That should be true for each one of us, through out our lives.
How are each of us doing? Are we making "Small Steps"? Is there a small step we can make today?

We love this work. We love our mission. We love seeing the "small steps" both in the people we are working with and in ourselves and our families. And we love seeing the "Large Steps" like a baptism as well. Right Tyler?

We love you all. God Bless you all.

To Syracuse and Back Again-Congratulations Tyler

Hello from the North Country again. Here is the next chapter in the saga for Elder and Sister Sherwood VS the Weather Report.

We got already to go to the branch on Saturday, made some appointments to visit some members, then looked at the weather just before leaving. They had just put up a snow advisory in the last hour. There was no mention of 'lake effect' snow and we convinced ourselves we could beat it. The forcasted accumulation was only 3 to 6 inches for the entire night. So we left. It was drizzeling rain all the way to Syracuse. It took about 1 hour. About that time it started coming down sleet, hard. We began to feel bad about the decision so we turned around. We ended up getting home 2 1/2 hours later. The drive back was a nightmare. We counted 6 cars off the road or being put onto tow trucks. Much of the I-90 travel was at 30 to 40 mph. We were grateful to get home safely.

The next morning we heard from the Esplins that the weather had been nasty in Ogdensburg as well and had we kept going we would have had bad weather the whole way and who knows how long it would have taken us. Lesson learned! If the weather report has ANY mention of snow in the future, we stay home. We don't want another drive like we had Saturday.

CONGRATULATIONS TYLER!!!

We felt bad having to miss Tyler's baptism. Thank you, Rachael, for posting about it so that we could share in your excitement. It is the major drawback for going on a mission, but when you realize that we are giving up being close to our family for two years so that others get a chance to be with their families forever, it is a small sacrifice. We are so grateful that you all are doing well and teaching our grandchildren the gospel. We are so proud of you all. The Gospel is true! Heavenly Father loves us and our Savior has made it possible for us all to be together for eternity. Tyler, you have now opened the door and are on your way back. Life is good!

We love you all.