Adventure in Kentucky

Last weekend we took a trip to Kentucky.  First we went to the Louisville Temple then the next morning headed to Henderson Kentucky.  We were hunting for Smithharts.  Our first find was Smithhart Insurance.

Unfortunately they were closed.  So we decided to try and find cemeteries in town.  A local policeman pointed us in the direction of a couple big ones, but we didn't have any success.  Looking at Stan's pedigree chart, his great-great-grandfather, William Wesley Smithhart, died in 1891 on Bluff City Road in Henderson.  So off we went to find Bluff City Road. Well, I guess he died ON the road but there was no cemetery to be found nearby. A local fellow gave us directions to a small Bethel Baptist Church cemetery on the outskirts of town.

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Off we went, guessing as we drove, and up over the hill was a little church.  Stan jumped out and started looking.

Nothing on the left, but on the right side he saw one that looked pretty old and found 5 Smithhart graves!

Then he found what we were looking for....his grandparents!  William Wesley

Smithhart and Carolyn Amanda (Carrie) Kitterman.  What an adventure!

Senior Activity Day

We had our Senior Activity Day last March.  It really was fun to see a little bit of downtown Indy.  We went to the Dallara Indycar Factory.  This factory builds all of the Indianapolis 500 cars.  Yes, they are all built by the same company.  After factory, competitors personalize their cars.  They have a choice of 2 brands of engines. Talented mechanics tweek to make them efficient, and the drivers do the rest.

We also visited the Indiana State Museum.  We started with an Imax movie.  It's been so long that I don't remember what it was called, but I loved it.  It was all about a village surrounded by water.  The sun was shining, everything was green, and the children were all barefoot and playing in the ocean.  It made an impact on me because we were still covered with snow at the time!

The actual museum was larger than I expected, 4 floors, and very interesting.  I loved reading about the history which started in 1862 during the Civil War.  There are displays of the period clothing, kitchen appliances, furniture, and farm equipment.  And a still.  There was a display of native and pre-historic animals.  It was interesting to see the many people who hailed from Indiana, like David Letterman, Greg Kinnear, Shelly Long, Red Skelton and Colonel Sanders.

Elder Roberts, Sister Steadman, Elder & Sister Smithhart, Sister & Elder Woodhouse,

Sister & President Cleveland, Sister & Elder McClelland, Sister & Elder Hodges

Our First Mission Daughters

Several weeks ago I went to teach an investigator with Sister Pitcher and Sister Mumford.  Since then, Sister Pitcher completed her mission and returned home.  Sister Barrett became her new companion and they moved upstairs in our apartment complex.  We've had lots of interesting and funny experiences with them. One time their heat went out and at 7:00 in the morning we found 2 shivering young women standing at our door wrapped in their quilts.  We let them stay in our apartment while we were at work until the heat problem was resolved. We've fed them, taught with them, laughed and cried with them.  Sister Mumford and Sister Barrett became true friends, almost like daughters.

Today we said goodbye to Sister Mumford.  She was transferred to Franklin, which is 1 hour south.  We will miss her and look forward to times in the next few months when she comes to Carmel for meetings.  Sister Barrett's new companion is Sister Howard, and we look forward to getting to know her.

Sister Mumford & Sister Barrett

Hastening the Work

The purpose of every missionary is to invite others to come unto Christ.  I have a rich heritage of ancestors who answered the call and came unto Christ.  My great-grandmother, Marguerite Stalle, born in 1850, lived in the Piedmont Valley of Italy.  She and her family joined the church and migrated to the United States. When she was 8 years old, she walked with her family across the plains.  Her father died during the trek for lack of food.  He gave up his food for his children along the way and was left behind 7 days before entering the Salt Lake Valley.

Marguerite Stalle & Henry Barker

Henry Barker was born in 1840 in New York.  He married Marguerite Stalle in 1867 and they had 10 children.  My grandfather, Fred, was born in 1876 and married Della in 1908 when he was 32.  He also served a mission to Great Britain just before the depression.  They had 7 children, one of which was my father Wendell.  

Fred & Della Barker

Wendell was born in 1925, and in his early twenties served a mission to California.  He met Dorothy in Santa Maria, and they were married in 1948.  They had 5 children: Shelly, Bruce, Craig, Doug and myself.  The 3 boys served missions, North Carolina, Japan and Arkansas.  In their later years, Mom and Dad served 2 missions; one to Tallahassee, Florida, and the other to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Wendell & Dorothy Barker

Fast forward to today.  Three of our own sons, Mark, David and Ryan served missions to Argentina, Columbia, and Georgia respectively.  It is no wonder that Stan and I would have decided years ago to follow the example of generations of family members to serve a mission.  The themes have changed over the years though.  In 1959, President David O McKay encouraged "Every Member a Missionary." In 1974, President Spencer W Kimball encouraged the members to "Lengthen Your Stride." Then in 2012, President Thomas S Monson, introduced a program called, "Hastening the Work of Salvation."  With it, the age was lowered for men and women to serve missions.  Doctrine & Covenants 88:73 states, "Behold, I will hasten my work in its time."  We are involved in a marvelous work to invite others to come unto Christ.  We are proud to be a small part of it.

Monon Trail - FINALLY!

We have had such dramatic weather that I thought I would NEVER get to ride the Monon Trail.  Well, finally, Saturday the 15th was a warm day. If you want to call 56 degrees warm, it was the best we've had so far and by golly, we were going to ride!  We already had a bike from one the members that I rode, and Stan borrowed a bike from Elder Williams, along with helmets. We had lots to do in the morning.  The warmest part of the day was going to be around 3:00, so that was our time to ride.  We thought the trail was at the end of our street but we were mistaken.  We found a trail, wound around about 1/2 hour and came back to almost where we started on Main Street.  Up the road a bit we found it and headed north.  It was so exhilarating!  Just the thing us old goats needed!  After 15 miles, we stopped at the famous Bubs for hamburgers and headed home just before sunset.

Our day in the SUN!

Spring Is Coming!

Friday we had a fabulous surprise!  The sun was shining!  Yippee!!!  It was so nice outside that I actually opened my window.  If you look on the far left side, you can see that there is still snow on the ground.  But the most wonderful part is the glorious sunshine on my desk.  We've talked to a lot of people about the weather this year. Everyone agrees that it is the worst winter in the history of Indiana.  In fact, one man said that last year he never even got the snow shovel out of the garage.  I can't even imagine!  The fear now is that we will skip Spring altogether and go right into Summer. It has been so wet and cold that they predict summer will be less hot but more humid. Oh boy!
 

First time having the window open

The weather this week looks promising though except for Wednesday...snow.  Other than that, look at a high of 63 degrees!  I am so ready to start riding a bike and walking the Monon Trail.  

5-day Forecast

Let me tell you about the Monon Trail.  It is 16.7 miles long and runs north and south. We access it at the end of our street.  According to Wikipedia, it is used by 4,000 people per day, plus 2!  

Indianapolis Temple

The temple is coming along.  It is about 5 miles from us and we pass it every time we go to church. The Stake center next to the temple will be where our Ward will meet once the temple is finished.  Progress is super slow due to the weather.

 Taken last November

After church today

Rendering of the temple at completion

There is a wonderful video explaining temples, why we build them, and their purpose. It can be found at http://www.lds.org/church/temples/why-mormons-build-temples?lang=eng.

A couple of weeks ago it was announced that the intricate painting inside the temple would begin.  This would include the beautiful gold trim that is found in every temple which adds to the beauty.  A member had moved to the area and was looking for individuals to hire the help with his assignment of painting, no experience required. Wouldn't that be an incredible experience to work on the temple?