Valentines Day

Larry's baptism with Elder Owen.

Our Valentine Day selfie!  We are happy in knowing we are supposed to be here now, serving those in Ada, OK! We experienced a wonderful day!  The Gospel of Jesus Christ brings more happiness to us in this life than anything else. All of us can always be happier through living the Gospel and keeping the Lord's commandments.

District Meeting

     Friday, February 13, was our District meeting. Because three missionaries from our Zone are going home this week, two of which were a Zone leader and Sister Trainer, they attended our meeting so we could have our farewell.  So after our meeting, we all travelled to Sister Chappell's home (on a huge ranch) and enjoyed one of her country meals for lunch that only Oklahomans can cook up!  We ate roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, macaroni and cheese, homemade rolls, green salad, fruit salad, green beans, pickled beets, homemade jam, two homemade cakes and ice cream.  (and we wonder why we have gained a few pounds??).  Well, Sister Chappell always serves us scrumptious dinners at least once a month. There were 12 missionaries, Bishop and Sister Niblett and Sister Chappell.

     Sister Chappell joined the Church a year ago, soon after her husband passed away. She has experienced such joy and happiness since she was baptized, that she just glows. She will be going to the Temple this next Saturday, and many in the Ward will be joining her, along with many missionaries who love her dearly.  She has sold her four ranches and will move to Utah in April...she will be dearly missed, but will be close to her grandchildren.

     So we feasted and laughed, had a spiritual message, and took photos.

Elders Swenson and Nelson hugging the bear rug in Sister Chappell's livingroom         

Sister Chappell and Elder Owen (who leaves Wednesday--his two years is over....

 Elder Nelson, our Zone Leader, who is also leaving for home Wednesday. He has so much ambition and energy, and is a terrific teacher!  He also plays the bagpipes!

The Oklahoma Oil Museum, Seminole, Oklahoma

Monday, February 11, 2015, we decided to take a drive to Seminole, Oklahoma, about 45 miles north of Ada. It was a beautiful, sunny, and warm day and we felt like a drive.  We were very surprised to learn that it was a huge booming town with hundreds of oil derricks all over the land. The towns were booming, We saw many pictures where Model A cars were everywhere in the town. All of the surrounding towns were also large.  Seminole, which now has a population of about 7,000, was populated at 40,000, as well as all the towns surrounding it being very populated. The oil companies would put up housing for their workers also, as you'll see in the pictures below. This was also an area of large natural gas deposits, as well as oil. We were surprised to learn that many of these surrounding towns were very large at one time, since many of the buildings in the towns are old and the windows boarded shut. We were also told that this area was a hangout for the many of the gangsters of the day, such as Pretty Boy Floyd!  They would rob banks and often give away some of the money.  That reminded us of a story that a member of our Ada Ward told us.  She and her brothers were young, and there was a well dressed man handing out money to all the kids when her brothers were in town. So they were given some money, and that money was the means to feed the family for the winter. Our day was educational!

The pictures below are some of the oil rig equipment that was used here in the 1920's and 1930's.

On our way out of town, we drove by the LDS church building and saw the missionary cars there (they are easy to spot because they all have bike racks on the back!) So we rang the bell and six missionaries appeared in their workout attire, as they were playing basketball. It was fun to meet and talk with them, especially since we saw them again in the Temple the following Thursday.  

We, of course, topped off the day with Braum's ice cream!