Pettit's Highland Highlights: Summer Is Almost Over

Dear Grandchildren, all the Family, and good Friends,

Well it is August, and we think that the end of summer is just around the corner for all of you. We hope you have had a nice vacation and we hope all you grandchildren will write us and tell us the most fun thing you have done during the summer break. We are happy to hear of some of the fun things you have been doing, but it would be so fun to hear your highlight.

Here in Ireland, even according to the natives, the weather has been cool. May had a few weeks of warmth, and a few people said that it might be all the summer we would see, but we thought they were joking to make us worry, but it has been true. We suppose that since we have heard how extra hot it is in the States, especially Utah, that we could make you envious of our weather. Today the high was 61 degrees F. but the sky was blue (because the clouds got blown away). That probably sounds wonderful to not have to ever turn on the air conditioners---which don't even exist. Grandma wishes it would be warmer, but she is doing fine. On Saturday we even took a walk in Phoenix Park (the second largest urban park in the world) to see and feed the roaming deer herd and Grandma didn't even wear a jacket. ( just two long sleeved shirts, but no jacket)

With August we think of three important birthdays: Archer on August 15, turning 6 years old, Adaline on August 27 (turning the big eight years old!) and Great Grandpa Godfrey on August 31, turning 90 years old!! It sounds like Adaline will get to eat Great Grandpa and Grandma's birthday cake on her birthday! :-) We send love and best birthday wishes to each of you.

For the Grandchildren (and anyone who wants to play) we also have a few Irish word questions. First of all we often pass by a town by the name of Newtwopothouse. The question is: did this town get its name because someone had two new cooking kettles, or because they had two new beautiful flower pots outside, or because they added an extra bathroom? Oh dear! What a question we have been having. The next question is: Can you guess what is a raschursa is? They have a lot of them in Ireland. Don't look ahead until you have guessed. The answer: race course for horses. Last questions: What is a Ringaskiddy or a Skibbereen? Answer: really cute names of towns. Wouldn't you like to live in either one of those?

Now for our mission news: The week has passed very quickly, probably because we had so many fun things that happened. Monday was quite normal, mostly spent taking care of reports, washing, shopping and in the evening having English Class--which is so fun, but from there on, the week had plenty of variety.

For awhile now, we have been planning to act on the Mission President's permission to train the other senior couples in Ireland to be Specialists or Facilitators in Self Reliance; so on Tuesday we drove to Limerick and met the other four couples in Ireland for a day of training. Getting some people convinced that Self Reliance classes are not just another program that they can't or don't want to implement, is a real part of what we do, and the group of couples was about split 50/50 with support and not. The great thing is that the Spirit did the work, and not long into our session, the support turned to 100%. Resistance that had developed because of some less sensitive District leaders, was totally turned around and everyone became eager to know how they could help. This was even before we took them all out to lunch!

Another success of the week was our trip to Belfast on Thursday. We began the day with a good returning missionary training (this is about a 3 hour session) , then did 4 missionary flat checks, and last AND BEST, we had a very good Stake SR Committee Meeting. For some reason, the same resistance we just described has been a roadblock for a long time in this stake. The SR Initiative needs to be Priesthood led, so until that could happen, nothing much was happening. The previous Stake SR Specialist just finally gave up, but a recently released Bishop and his wife were just called and their persistence and testimony were not to be defeated. Once again, the Spirit prevailed and arms that were defensively crossed, turned to open arms of willingness to make things happen. It really was a miracle---and so fun to be a part of it.

Our third thing to celebrate was a good trip to Sligo, on Friday. Sligo is nearly 3 hour’s drive and we couldn't leave until we finished the All-Ireland Mission Conference with the Area 70 attending, at nearly 4:00. In Sligo, we are helping classes in a small branch to get going solidly. We knew the numbers would be fewer because of "holidays" (summer vacation things) but they didn't want to postpone at all, so we went ahead. It was fun to feel the commitment of those who were there, who reassured us that things would be fine even if the few moved on alone, because they would in turn teach and help others. The classes ended at almost 10:00 so we were glad we could stay overnight at one of the member's homes who was out of town. We were so hungry by that time, so we went searching for the unlikely: an open pizza house. (Pubs were of course open, but it was too late in the day to go there.) To our surprise, the Garmin was right--- and lo----there was a Dominoes! We ate like hungry hippos and it tasted very American! We slept well and didn't wake up until we wanted to!

After we were rested, we realized that we could possibly meet with Stephen, a young man who is a new member that we encouraged to come to the YSA Convention. Not surprisingly he was at work, but surprisingly he called back shortly and asked if we could still meet him. It was such a great time with him. He is really quiet, but has such faith. He really wanted to be in the Friday night work class, but had been sick the first time, and had to work the second time. We spent a few hours with him to get him caught up, and took him to lunch. He is a hard worker, but wants to participate so that he be sure he is doing the right things to improve his work opportunity. We had the opportunity to teach him about Patriarchal Blessings and he was so appreciative. We put his mind at ease to let him know this was not like fortune telling, but based on believing that the Lord will guide his life if he is faithful.

Well, that will probably do it for the week. We had English class tonight with five Brazilians and one Italian, so that brings us full circle again. We remain busy, but realize that we couldn't do this without the constant miracles - both large and small - that we witness almost every day. When we look back on things, we realize how involved in this Work the Lord really is. His angels are hard at work blessing the lives of so many. There are no coincidences in missionary work: only miracles. We are grateful beyond words to be a part of the "grand millennial mission of the Church", as President Hinckley put it.

Of course, we pray for you constantly. You are always in our hearts and in our minds, and we plead with the Lord for your happiness and success. We look forward to hearing from you.

Love,

Grandma and Grandpa

Mom and Dad
Lynne and Lanette