July 10, 2022- Update of the happenings in New Hampshire

June Was Bustin’ Out All Over!

We wanted to include an update on the changeover from our outgoing Mission President and Companion, the Becks, to the new—President and Sister Hayden. The “change of command” officially occurred on Wednesday the 29 after a very short transition. The Hayden’s flew in late Tuesday, spent their first night in the Mission Home, and we met them at the Mission Office the next morning for quick introductions. They then spent two final hours with the Becks, Mom took pictures of both couples, and we headed to Boston with the Becks. Our task was to shuttle them to the downtown Marriott, where they were planning to “take off their name tags, jump into jeans, and walk the Freedom Trail”. There were tears and hugs all around—both Mom and I had developed a special relationship with our first ever Mission President and Companion, and they will remain special forever. (It was kinda funny--before we left Manchester, they wanted to grab a burger, so we ate at a popular joint just down the street from the Mission Office. We love the Goldenrod for their huge servings of chicken strips and ice cream, but they make a mean cheeseburger too. I had chicken livers.)

The Hayden’s are on the road for two weeks of ‘Meet and Greet’—two a day-sessions with each of our 8 Zones. We attended the third in Nashua, and it was neat to learn about them and share insights about the NH Manchester Mission. The first hour was about them—both from California, met at BYU, both served missions, he began his career as an attorney, then a private school headmaster, then a trainer for Apple in China. They have 5 children, including their youngest that is serving a mission in Charlotte, NC. They had been back in the US only 6 months when the call came to NHMM. We learned, laughed, and listened as they bore testimony of the great work we will share with them.

For Mom and me, the month was quieter—a small transfer mid-month was the only major event. We welcomed 8 and bid farewell to 5, including an Assistant, Elder Fotu, from Highland, and Sister Langi, who has invited us to visit in Hawaii (and kept trying to feed us horse meat). Both very, very special.

The first weekend of the month was a trip to western New Hampshire to visit some spots that had been on our to-do list for a while. We drove to Hanover, NH, the home of Dartmouth College, the smallest of the Ivy League schools. Happened to be graduation weekend, so the place was crawling with graduates in robes, families, and Class of ’72 alumni. Favorite spot was the library, where we oohed and aahed at documents chronicling student protests through the years. All the way back to the 1700’s when Native American students (that was the original charter of the school), raised issues about exclusion from classes and activities. And it didn’t end there—always something the students felt needed correcting—poor professors, missing curriculum, bad accommodations. A beautiful day on campus, though.

Next it was to Cornish, NH, the home of Augustus and Augusta Saint-Gaudens, a renowned sculptor who lived out the last years of his life on a beautiful estate there. He died in 1907. He carved many beautiful and historic sculptures, including ones of Lincoln, Farragut, Sherman, and the first African American Civil War Regiment, the 54^thMassachusetts, known as the Shaw Memorial. Walked the grounds, listened to a Juneteenth presentation, and toured the house. A nice visit (it is a National Historic Park, so another box checked off my NPS list).

We then headed to Walpole, NH. My sister Betty had shared that it was the home of Ken Burns, producer of the great PBS documentaries on the Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, and others. Some of my favorites. Apparently, he settled there in part because the town had erected a small monument to two settlers that had been killed by Indians in 1755, Thomas Flynt and Daniel Twitchell. We asked about and were able to locate the marker just out of town. Not sure how I’m kin, but it was neat to track it down.

We lunched in Claremont, NH at a renovated mill, complete with huge beams and wood floors. Cream cheese and crackers were to die for. Our last stop was Keene, NH, a fun little village where the original Jumanji movie was filmed. We stayed in the car to avoid getting stampeded by elephants and ostriches.

Well, enough from Dad. Looking forward to seeing many of you early next month in Utah and Idaho for Ethan and Maddy’s wedding and Grandma Greats birthday celebration. Love you!

Well, you can tell how slow things have been at times, when we have to tell you what we had to eat Dad covered pretty much all of the events both in and out of the office - so I will post pictures and say very little this time.

The last weekend in June was the first really warm weekend of summer and found us at the beach - along with everyone else in NH and Maine! We still had a nice walk along the shore and a great place to read, nap and enjoy the sound of the waves for a few hours.

On the 4th of July we went on a dinner cruise on Lake Winnipesaukee. Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest lake in the state of New Hampshire, about an hour north of Manchester near the White Mountains. It is approximately 21 miles long and from 1 to 9 miles wide, covering 69 square miles. The cruise was 3 and a half hours long complete with fireworks in one of the towns that we stopped and watched from the boat. Jared asked if it was a "booze cruise" - which hadn't even occurred to us (thanks to the mission life) but indeed it was for some. Let's just say that I'm sure they make more money selling alcohol than they do tickets for the dinner and cruise. And there are some who hold their liquor better than others. But, it was an enjoyable evening for us.

When we start talking about upcoming events, we can see that our time in NHMM is quickly winding down. We are doing well, staying busy and looking forward to seeing you soon.

Love you all,

Mom