We had two opportunities to participate in Halloween Parties.  One was a Stake sponsored trunk or treat There were a lot of very different costumes. The stake had dough nuts and cider for everyone. Above are some of the most interesting costumes.

Then on Halloween night our Ward participated with the Village of Magnolia. Each year the village businesses put tables or booths out side their stores and give candy and treats to all the children.  Our Chapel is just at the edge of the businesses, so we had not only candy but the kids could decorate a spider ring with sparkles  of about any color.  They also had small donuts attached to strings that the kids had to get with their mouth. They also gave out hot chocolate and hot cider( that was Sister Maxwell's) job.  My job was giving out the candy to the hundreds of children and their parents.  I thought it was going to rain, so I wore my black over coat.  One young girl took the candy and said, "Thank you Father" as she walked off.  What great memories!!

This is at Chittenden Locks

This is at Pike Street Market

Andy our Grandson

Sister Maxwell adding her Gum to the Wall

This is Gum all over the Wall

  We were really spoiled last Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday.  Becky(our daughter) & Michael flew in Wed. night and spent the next two days with us. We got to show them some of the sights of Seattle. On Friday we went to the Temple and then picked Kylie up at the airport. Saturday morning we went down to Puyallup to watch Andy play his last football game of the Season. We got to speak to him after the game for about 20 minutes before he had to get on his bus back to Oregon. Wow! he has grown about 2-3 inches since we left home. Kylie's hair is longer.  Didn't think to ask if she was going to donate it again like last time.

We really enjoyed visiting with the Harris'.  We really miss our family.

We continue helping in our ward with less active and new converts. We also taxi a car load of members to church each Sunday. More about the mission next time I add to the blog.

We have had a very
interesting week. Transfers were very traumatic for one of the Elders that live
down stairs. Initially, he was told that his companion was being transferred to
a different part of our zone. The next day this Elder was told he & his
companion were switching apartments with the Korean Elders, nearer to the
University of Washington campus. They moved and cleaned both apartments. Next
day, he & his companion went to tranferes expecting new companions while
staying at the University of Washington.

He got a transfer to an entirely different part of the Mission(Way down South
to Maple Valley). He never got to say good by to any of the Ward and never got
pictures he really wanted, besides he had to come back and pack his cloths. He
was not a happy camper! He will do great! He is one of the best missionaries we
have met. What caused this turmoil is the fact that a missionary from the MTC
ran off at the Airport and went home. The Mission President told us something
happens almost very transfer to cause last minute changes. Sister Graves the Mission
President's Secretary had to work all night re-typing transfers because of one
missionary disappearing. No wonder the Mission Presidents are younger!!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

We have about six new elders in our Zone. Plus
we have the Korean Speaking Elders now living downstairs. Elder Parsons is from
Long Beach Ca., his Companion Elder O is from Korea. They are working with the
Korean Students at the University. The Saturday before transfers Elder White
& Sister Lee had birthdays the same week. The Sisters wanted to have a
Birthday party at our apartment. They would bring the food. We ate Japanese,
Korean and Hmong food. I enjoyed the food, but Sister Maxwell was not liking it
so much! Here are the pictures of the party.

This
picture is at transfers. The only sister staying is Sister Lee, the one in the
lighter coat. All the others are leaving. Transfers are hard on us old fogies.
We get really close to the younger missionaries. They call us Grandpa &
Grandma Maxwell. They cheer us up as we build them up. What a joy to have them
always

We have had a very interesting week. Transfers were very traumatic for one of the Elders that live down stairs. Initially, he was told that his companion was being transferred to a different part of our zone.  The next day this Elder was told he & his companion were switching apartments with the Korean Elders, nearer to the University of Washington campus. They moved and cleaned both apartments.  Next day, he & his companion went to tranferes expecting new companions while staying at the University of Washington.
He got a transfer to an entirely different part of the Mission(Way down South to Maple Valley).  He never got to say good by to any of the Ward and never got pictures he really wanted, besides he had to come back and pack his cloths. He was not a happy camper! He will do great!  He is one of the best missionaries we have met. What caused this turmoil is the fact that a missionary from the MTC ran off at the Airport and went home. The Mission President told us something happens almost very transfer to cause last minute changes.  Sister Graves the Mission President's Secretary had to work all night re-typing transfers because of one missionary disappearing. No wonder the Mission Presidents are younger!!

We have about six new elders in our Zone. Plus we have the Korean Speaking Elders now living downstairs. Elder Parsons is from Long Beach Ca., his Companion Elder O is from Korea. They are working with the Korean Students at the University. The Saturday before transfers Elder White & Sister Lee had birthdays the same week. The Sisters wanted to have a Birthday party at our apartment.  They would bring the food. We ate Japanese, Korean and Hmong food. I enjoyed the food, but Sister Maxwell was not liking it so much! Here are the pictures of the party.

This picture is at transfers.  The only sister staying is Sister Lee, the one in the lighter coat. All the others are leaving. Transfers are hard on us old fogies.  We get really close to the younger missionaries. They call us Grandpa & Grandma Maxwell. They cheer us up as we build them up.  What a joy to have them always around!!!

This has been even a better week.  The
non-member husband(Ben) we taught when we first came on our mission. He said he
just was too busy to meet with us for the entire months of December, January and
now most of Feb.  He wants to continue having the missionary lessons, starting
this Sat. Maybe this is the time for his baptism.

Sunday evening we went
to The Mission Home for a Fire Side.  We got to go, since the Sisters we are
responsible for, had two investigators that wanted to go, and our car was needed
for transportation. Those invited were missionaries with investigators, or
recently baptized converts.  Pres. Larkin gave a short talk about Joseph Smith
and then asked each new member to tell the group why they joined the Church and
when and bear there testimony. One young man got up that was baptized last
Saturday, he said he was 15 years old.  He said that prior to meeting the
missionaries he had had no contact with any religion and didn't know anything
about God, Christ, Bible, nothing!! He said he felt that there was more to
living than what he was doing. This doesn't sound like the usual 15 year old
boy!  He and the other converts bore tremendous testimonies. Pre. Larkin then
asked all the investigators to stand and tell why they were investigating the
church and what brought them to this point in there life. Each of the
investigators gave heart felt responses. The Spirit was very intense.  The
entire evening was a feast. I think that all the investigators will be baptized
SOON.

We are having a two Zone meeting this Friday with Pres.& Sister
Larkin and the zone leaders.  There will be talks, but also a lot of training
and roll playing to make us more effective teachers of the Gospel.

We are
still looking for the less active in the ward we are assigned to.  We get really
disappointed when some one we find wants nothing to do with the Church. As the
Asian Sisters say "So Sad". We also get excited when some one lets us in to at
talk.

We were down town Seattle today, doing our usual, trying the find lost members. We have kinda complained about the stairs and streets we have had to climb.  These stairs take the cake!! I guess, so far!!! We went up and down stairs, up and down steep streets for about four hours. Along the way we saw alot of interesting people  from well dressed to homeless, talked to a few, none interested in the Church any more,We even had an address for a member which turned out to be a half way house for serious addicts. Fortunately, he was not a patient or an employee, he is still a lost sheep though!!  Mom, loves all kinds of Nature, Trees, flowers, animals, what ever, so here is some color on the streets of Seattle. The cabbage is beautiful surrounded by the other types of flowers.  We have noticed that Flowers are lasting much longer into the fall, than at home. Must be the temperate  weather.  Mom thinks it is COLD! because of the humidity.  The locals must think it is cold, they are bundled up and I'm sweating with a suit on, Drives Mom crazy.

 While we are walking, Mom has to pick up all the different leaves that have turned for winter.  Here is a sample of what she had found so far all over the coffee table. They are pretty!

The following pictures are for those that have been to the Puyallup Fair.  We were walking along 3rd Ave and saw a big sign over the door advertising these chocolate chip cookies.  They come in calf, cow and of course the biggest size the BULL.  We had to buy the biggest to remember our previous life, when we traveled so much. Each fair we went to had some food item that was unique to just that fair. Puyallup actually had three items.  These cookies, then they had a hamburger called the "QUAKE BURGER' the bun was about 10 inches in diameter and had grilled sweet onions about an inch thick on the meat as the only condiment.  If you wanted to spoil it, they had mustard and ketchup to add. The third item was a scone covered with fresh strawberry jam.  All were great, but my pick is the cookie.  If we are on 3rh Ave again and we will be! We will have to do some more remembering.

  

On Friday we were scheduled to take a part member family to the Temple grounds and show the non-member husband the beauty of the Temple and then take him on a tour of the Chapel next door.  When we went to pick them up, we found out the wife(member) was in the emergency room with stomach pains.  They were running tests. She came home late Saturday night, very tired, but with no results.  more tests I guess. The gospel progress gets delayed for a week or so.

This weekend has been stake conference.  Saturday evening was as usual the adult session.  All of the speakers were fairly recent converts (all less then 1 Year).  The North Seattle Stake has 18 full time missionaries assigned to the various wards and the Stake averages 25-35 baptisms per month. One young man, 18 years old, gave as he said "His Story".  He was raised in an Atheist family, who's God was Science. At age 14 he told his parents that he believed there was a God. He said they laughed at his ignorance.  Thus began his search for God's Church. In the next year he dated four different girls, belonging to four different religions.  He went to their Church's and still wasn't satisfied. He said he prayed very intently for guidance and a new girl friend.  He got both the next day.  The girl was a Mormon.  He started his lessons in August and was baptized on Sept 8, 2010. His family kicked him out after he was baptized. He broke up with the girl after General Conference in Oct.  She had decided that Mormonism wasn't for her and quit coming to Church. This young man had a testimony and domineer of a much older man. He definitely knew what he was going to do with his life.  Another young man a little older, age 24. joined the Church less than 1 year ago and is now in the bishopric of a Ward.  His conversion was patterned after the Alma 32 almost exactly. He had the faith to try each principle and then got a testimony of that principle.  There were two other speakers, also recent converts, with the great testimony building stories of their conversions.  This Stake has an early morning Sunday meeting for just recent converts and newly re-activated members (there were about 80 present).  In the regular session of Conference the speakers were the Mission President and the Temple President.  The entire week end was about Missionary work and Families.  What a Grand experience!  By the way the picture is the flower arrangement(Orchid) in the chapel for stake conference.      

This small tree is just the small version of the great big one.  The trunk and branches are all prickly, top to bottom.  We have never seen anything like it!!! It's very different.