Run, Mattie, Run

Run, Mattie, Run

April 12, 2015

     Our little Mattie Claire turned 13 this week. Wait, let me change this. Our-Tall-Drink-of-Water Mattie Claire turned 13 this week. I was there when she was born. This was her mother's first live birth. She got our Kenz the hard way - adoption. More on that later. Back to Mattie's birth. I had to leave the room. The doctor skinned Kirsten from head to toe. I could not watch or listen to that. Out of that near death experience we got our quiet, mellow Mattie. Mattie is now in track again this year. She can run like her dad. I hope she runs as long as it makes her happy because, after all, isn't this life to have joy?
     I've had some happy times this past week in the mission field. My uno #1 Happiness stems from that companion of mine. He sticks by me like glue on paper, like jam on bread. Get it?
     Our missionaries have been blessed with Black Boxes from Salt Lake. These were placed in each mission car with a full day of training on how to operate them. I kind of think of those boxes as BackSeat Drivers who know how to drive........"Seatbelt on?"......."Driver's speed is too fast."....."That was a lousy right turn"....I kind of wish Salt Lake could have used one of the First Presidency or Twelves' voice to make the recordings for that thing. That would have made it lots cooler, I believe.
     As a result of a long day of training, my elder and I did the lunch on both days. By now, you all know I am in my element in my elder's truck or on a walk or.....anywhere but the office.....It was joy to again see old friends that had been transferred to the far reaches of the mission. Ask me to set a table and pick up sandwiches and I am confident. I can do it! That is because I have my Elder. It was a different type of service for me this week and I loved it.
     I loved conference. I am still on a high from that. I know my People in Show Low heard the same thing I did. That makes me feel so settled and happy.
     One final note.....since we arrived here in Independence I have waged a silent war on our clothes dryer. As I had earlier reported, to wash and dry a batch of laundry costs 4 quarters at a time. I have made peace with the washing machine because I do love the smell of clean clothes. That dryer is another story. I feed that Maytag 4 quarters at a shot in order for it to BLAST our load dry for an hour. My size XL t-shirts and all other white things have now shrunk to size Petite 5's. I wore that size when I was 12. Jett Walker can now wear Elder Seaman's T-shirts.  So, what to do......my elder and I have figured out if we put a batch in and blast it for awhile we can take it out; add one more quarter; and, WALLAH.....we can dry two batches of wash for $1.25! Oh, this makes me happy!
    So, you see I am a pretty happy missionary this week. The Walker's are coming to visit in June. My elder still lets me be the senior companion most days. We are finding there are lots of ways to serve the Lord on this mission. Mattie Claire Claire can run like the wind and I rule the dryer.

All my love,
Sister Seaman

The Fishing Trip

     This weekend, the Sisters decided to go to "Time Off for Women or Time to Shop for Women."  Something like that.  That left four of us men with no companions and lots of time on our hands.  So the Elders decided to go it alone.  At first it was somewhat uncomfortable as we have not talked to anybody for quite a few months about anything important other than with our wives.  Dinner at the Court House Exchange (a basement bar/restaurant across the street from the Old Court House) on the square in Independence was nice.  It was a good start.  We then went to a movie, which shall go unnamed, due to the violent and graphic nature, and as Elder Garret said, "the bikinis."  The movie was 2 hours of violent car wrecks, shooting, bombing and unrealistic driving skills.  The best part of the movie was listening to Elder Garret, who was sitting on the edge of his seat yelling out loud, "yah" or "Oh no" or just cheering. Elder Garret is the missionary who is here to finish the mission he and his wife started in Oregon several years ago and was cut short by a horrific car wreck, which left him mostly dead.  After the movie he said it was the greatest movie he had seen.
     The next morning we went fishing. Yes, I said fishing. The church owns the property across the highway from the Far West Temple Site.  It has two large ponds on it.  So we got permission and drove up there to fish.  We used worms and immediately began to catch fish.  Elder Garret has a game he likes to play which is called "First-Most-Biggest."  He caught the "FIRST" with a blue gill.  I caught the "MOST" with 6 blue gill and Elder Black caught the BIGGEST" with a large mouth bass. I noticed something that I had not remembered or ever noticed before.  A man will chuckle or even laugh out loud whenever he catches a fish. Such a great sound. It was a gorgeous spring day in the very rural part of Missouri.  I have never seen such color in nature before.  Green grass covers every open, untilled space.  Purple, pink, white and yellow blooms on the trees.  Birds of many varieties singing.  A mated-for-life pair of Canadian geese honking at us for disturbing their nest on the pond.  Ducks taking off and landing on the pond. And the Silence. 
     We then drove on to Adam-Ondi-Ahman and then to Jamesport and then to Hawn's Mill.  It was a great day.  So let 'em shop.  We got the best end of that deal.

Sincerely,
Elder Seaman

Typical Missionary Car with Black Box

Elder and Sister Seaman at Zone Conference Luncheon

Coin-Op Master Blaster - Shrink to Fit