Christmas 2014!

There's nothing like a Christmas Concert to bring the Christmas spirit into our home.  Ben and friends have put on a great show for four years now.  Can you find Aly and Mikele among the many pairs of footwear?

It was fun to have Bob & Cindy, Brian & Mericar and Mericar's brother and sister join us, along with about 100 -150 others...quite the crowd!  I always worry about having enough refreshments, but with pot-luck goodies there always seems to be enough.

On Christmas Eve we had Grandpa & Grandma Ehlert join us, along with two of Matt's co-workers visiting from India.  Sentil is Hindu and Mary is Catholic and they both sang Christmas carols and read the Nativity story along with us.  We gave them the hats as a souvenir for them to take home.  A memorable evening!

A "storybook" Christmas Day with snow coming down all day and into the evening.

A big treat was sky-ping with Daniel for about an hour.  Matt's letting him say "hi" to Cinder the cat.

We had two backpacking tents set up in the basement for Matt to choose between a 2 man or a 3 man size.

How beautiful is this?!  All hands on deck helping to prepare Christmas dinner.  It turned out to be pretty gourmet.

Matt made a generous offer to donate his collection of Star Wars action figures to Primary Children's Hospital's annual fundraiser, "The Festival of Trees".  That sent the two of us on a wild shopping spree the day after Christmas.  We decided to use a star theme with the colors of silver, blue and black.  Please share any ideas of how to create a Star Wars Christmas Tree.    We need 'em!

A fun mother/daughter holiday date...on our way to the Nutcracker Ballet!

Clark and Jenna stayed with us during the holidays enjoying a well-deserved break from medical school. They joined in on making the Lion House's famous taffy.

 It was so great doing a service project together as a family.  On the Saturday before Christmas we were able to help distribute gifts to some of the 1,000 plus needy families and then take down shelving that was used for the bags of gifts.  It was a well-organized project, called "Angel Tree", sponsored by the Salvation Army.

Woodrow Wilson Elementary Incentive Store

 A good friend, Jerie Holley, came up with the idea of making bean bags and crayon book bags for the students to "buy" at the Woodrow Wilson Elementary Incentive Store.

 As you can see, we had a lot of good help.  Thanks Stephanie and Rebecca!

 Each one is unique.

 Stephanie recruited Niel to help finish up the book bags.

Thanks Jerie for your creative energy and help!

 One day each month, the stage is turned into a "store" where 28 classes come to shop.  Each item is given a ticket value and the students use their "good behavior" tickets to shop.  In December they were encouraged to buy presents for their family members and were excited to wrap their purchases before taking them home.

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 My responsibility, with the indispensable help of Sandi Shields, is to keep the store stocked, to set it up and take it down.  The store is staffed by sweet Relief Society sisters from our Stake.  All items are donated by our Stake or purchased with donated funds.

 Many of the students are refugees and don't speak English yet.  They still "get" the concept that good behavior and effort has its reward.

 As you can see, diversity is very much alive and well in a school where 25 plus languages are spoken.

What a great opportunity to serve now that my PTA days are over!

The fat cats, Cinder and Cider love their dog igloo and heating pad when the sun isn't warming the deck.

Matt has moved into his 3rd decade or is it his 4th?  Happy Birthday Matt!  We're proud of you.

Dear Family,                                                                                                          December 1, 2014

This week was good. We had a pretty easy transition with transfers this week. It was a slower week, but we're excited to work and stay busy. I am now the senior companion, so I am mostly deciding what we should do, but as Elder Beare gets to know the area, hopefully it will become both of us planning activities and lessons. Elder Beare is from California, a small town called Lakeport, which is 2 hours north of Sacramento. He is only a transfer behind me on his mission. He is a great missionary, and he has lots of new ideas that hopefully we can implement and increase the work in this area. We get along really well, and we are doing the best we can to stay busy and obedient so we can hopefully be blessed with more people to share the gospel with. As for transfers, Elder Autrey left Monday morning, so Elder Rasmussen and I were together for P day. We were on a companion exchange until our new companions got here Monday night.

I don't know if you have heard of the "He is the Gift" initiative, but it is a big deal here. We will get pass along cards like the ones in the Ensign to use. We are expected to contact at least 10 people a day about this video, and we track and report our progress in finding new investigators and referrals that come from this initiative. It is a great video, and we are excited to share this with as many people we can. Don't hesitate to give those cards out to people. It will really bless lives this Christmas season.

Yesterday we had an amazing sacrament meeting. Every 5th Sunday in this ward is a musical Sunday. Members got up and said what their favorite hymn is, why they like it, and what verse they wanted us to sing. The Spirit was so strong. I think I've been around Dad too much because I really appreciate music and what the lyrics have to say. There wasn't one song that I didn't have tears running down my face. It got to the point where I couldn't sing the songs anymore. My voice just wouldn't work. It was an amazing experience for me.

We weren't able to meet with Skyleur this week, as she was in Casper for the break. Jacob and Erin are still doing well, and had a great time in Colorado with Erin's family.

That's all for this week, I love you all, and hope you have a wonderful week!

Elder Ehlert

We Give Thanks!

 Rebecca and her friend Andrew threw a "Friendsgiving" party for 20 plus friends.  

 Our family Thanksgiving dinner included G&G Ehlert, Paul's brother Richard & his wife JoDel, and neighbors Ed and Alex Brennan.  

 We loved being together with family and friends.

 Checking out the ads for Black Friday.

 Look who volunteered to do the dishes.

Jammin' with Beatles Rock Band!

We were lucky to have Wesley and Olivia Nielson for a sleepover.  Not with the cats!

 Grandma Ehlert reads to Grandpa for hours every day.  She says that they are both getting too close to the "final exam" to read anything but Church magazines, manuals, books and of course the Scriptures.

 Dad going in for the kiss.  We decided against this pose because Pam looks a bit dwarfed by her tall bro's

I'm truly grateful for this wonderful family that I get to share life with.

Dear family,                                                                                                           November 3, 2014

This week has been a good one. We went to Gillette again, this time to see Meet the Mormons. Our mission president came from Rapid to show it to us. It is an amazing movie, and I think it is perfect for nonmembers. It doesn't talk about beliefs much, but that's what we're here for. After the theatrical run, we will have special pass along cards to use in finding situations. It will be on Netflix, which will be good so members can show their friends easily. We were able to have interviews with our mission president as well, and that was good. From what he told Elder Autrey, it seems he will leave this transfer, which is the 22nd. Speaking of the 22nd, a recent convert family in our ward have reached their year mark, and they are getting their endowments and sealing that day! It's so exciting to see the joy they feel, and they are super members.

Today we got our first real snowstorm since the small one in September. It's a little chilly, and the high temp tomorrow is 15 degrees. Luckily I have some long underwear, sweaters, and a coat. We have had a real mild fall here, with temps in high 60s for the past couple weeks. But I think it will stay cold here for a while, which isn't super exciting, but at least I'm more accustomed to it than my companion from Texas. It's close to 80 where he lives this time of year.

The most exciting thing this week is our new investigator! After a couple weeks of trying to find people to teach, we now have a golden investigator, who is good friends with a member, has been to church for 4 consecutive weeks, downloaded the hymns and gospel library apps onto her phone, and has been reading the Book of Mormon on her own. Her name is Skylar. We taught her the Restoration, and after, she said "Do you feel that? Do you feel the same way I do?" We were able to testify of the Spirit and let her know that He is telling her what she has heard is true. We're so excited for her, and she is so prepared to hear the gospel.

That's about it for this week, Jacob and Erin are doing great! They are both worthy to take the sacrament now, and are working on getting temple recommends before they go down to Colorado for Thanksgiving to do baptisms for the dead there with Erin's family. They had an interview with Bishop yesterday, and Jacob will get the Priesthood on the 16th! We're so excited and happy for both of them! Thanks for all the prayers and support, I love you! The picture is of our zone in Gillette. My companion is the redhead sitting on the left in the front row.

Elder Ehlert

Daniel says that he is working out every morning, so he's gained some weight.  Plentiful meals from the Sheridan ward members have added some pounds as well.

Halloween!

You know it's Halloween when your son comes dressed for dinner as a Hobbit!

 Mericar (Goofy movie "Beret Girl"), Becca and Brian who takes the prize with his pink tutu!

  Scarecrow Stephanie with Tooth Fairy Niel

 Robert and Ethel celebrating their 65th anniversary. What a great example of how beautiful marriage can be.

 Kim, Bob and Spencer relaxing in the Cumorah room.

I finally got rid of the plastic ice cream buckets in the pantry.  I'm feeling pretty organized and "put together".

Dear Family,                                                                                                                October 20, 2014

We had another good week here in Sheridan, we packed in 14 lessons this week. It was a great way to start off this new transfer. We got quite a few member present lessons, and we have still been working with a lot of LARCs. And now we have a brand new recent convert, Jacob Campbell. He was baptized on Saturday, by Erin's dad, John Anson. All of her family came up from Colorado to be there except for one sister and her brother. Jacob's parents and sister Tori came as well, so it was good to see their support for him as well. It was a great baptismal service, and the Spirit was so strong. Normally for convert baptisms, the Confirmation takes place the following Sunday in Sacrament meeting, but we had Stake Conference on Sunday, so we got special permission to do the Confirmation right after the baptism. It was good for Erin's family, who wanted to be there, but wouldn't have been able to make our meeting because they had to drive back to Colorado. I had the opportunity to confirm Jacob a member of the church, and it was a great experience for me. We taught him a great lesson a couple days before his baptism on the role of the Holy Ghost so he could understand more about what the Holy Ghost could do for him. The 2nd ward elders had an investigator there at the baptism as well, and she's on date for November 8th. She said she loved being there, and could barely hold back tears. Like I said, it was a good way to start out the transfer. He was our only progressing investigator, so we are focusing this week on finding. We placed 2 Books of Mormons last night, and we got 2 referrals. Hopefully we can find more people who are prepared to hear our message. That's pretty much it for this week, it was a great week, full of the Spirit and good experiences. Thanks for all your prayers and support!

Elder Ehlert

 Daniel and his companion at Jacob's baptism

The following is an excerpt from an email to Becca which gives the "straight scoop" of what Daniel thinks of his mission.

As for a mission, I would say that it is between you and Heavenly Father, but if you get an answer to go, don't hesitate. It is hard at times, but it is worth it 100%. I love being out here, and i do get homesick sometimes, but it has been the best thing for me. I hope I can come back stronger, better, and with an unshakeable testimony. It has been such a great experience, and I love it. However, missions aren't for everyone, and it might not be for you. I told you that a mission scared me before I left as well. But it's like everything new. You just have to get used to it. Luckily I got used to it fairly quickly. The first couple days in the MTC, and the first week out in the field were very rough. But it has been so good, and I am glad that I have made the decision to stay and to be here. I love it so much. Hopefully that wasn't too much of a ramble and that it helps a bit. I think your older siblings would probably have better ideas about it that I would. Keep me updated on what you decide. If you leave in the next 2 months, we will get home the same time. That would be cool :)

HAGW (have a great week. or winter)

Elder Ehlert

Fall Fling at Lake Powell!

We broke a record!  This year we made it to Lake Powell three times.  Our third trip was during Fall Break, October 13 - 18.  We enjoyed beautiful weather (no wind!) and the great company of 24 young adults.

I can still hike an enormous sand dune, the "Sand King", only with pausing for breath.

Sue Tingey and I, chief cooks, taking a break in the kayacks.  It was so peaceful and beautiful without the summer boats and jet-ski traffic.

Paul with his two cute daughters...their first trip to Powell this year and happy to be there!

Skipping rock contest...Ben's turn

Matt showing off some great form in front of some beautfiul scenery.

Feeding the masses sometimes produced some shortages.  This night we ran out of spaghetti sauce, but Paul fixes the problem by using whipped cream instead.  Anything tastes better with whipped cream, right?

Awe inspiring scenery wherever you look.  This was taken while hiking around some weathering pits close to Cookie Jar in Padre Bay.

With the competent chief captain of the ship. The socks give a hint of what time of year it is.  

What a great group!  

The "old" adults were slightly out-numbered!  We love spending time with Alan and Sue Tingey and their family at Lake Powell.  What a wonderful trip!