It's Autumn in Iowa

                                                                 "It's Autumn in Iowa"

Sounds like the title to a musical doesn't it?   We should have dancing, singing and catchy show tunes but unfortunately we don't...we have horticulture.   Just a few pictures and some random thoughts from the last few weeks.   It's hard to believe that we have been on our mission for two months already but thankfully we are beginning to find our way around Iowa City and some of the major freeways without using Google Maps every time we get in the car.

The humidity is gone and the leaves are changing.   What everyone says about the autumn colors in the Midwest is certainly true.   The yellows seem yellower, the oranges orangier (?) and the reds are deeper and redder.   I have been taking pictures but they just don't really do the colors justice.   It is amazing.   If it's not on your bucket list already,  make sure you add "See the fall colors in the Midwest" to it before you die.

 I have taken lots of pictures while we have been out driving and none of them have really come out well, but hopefully you can catch the vision of what it's like to travel the roads here this time of year.  Once the leaves are off the trees, driving the long, flat, straight roads will be boring, but right now it is pretty spectacular.

This is a street not too far from the Mission Office that we came across.  We had to stop and take a couple pictures.   Very pretty now, but probably a lot of work for the grounds keeper at this mobile home park.

These two pictures are of the trees around the parking lot outside the Mission Office.   Our Mission Office is located inside one of the two church buildings in Iowa City.   This is the older of the two buildings and we share a wing with the Relief Society Room and the Primary Chapel.

It is truly amazing how many shades of red there are in the leaves here.   This season is way too short.

Now we switch from leaves to grass.......

  

On our way to church, shortly after we arrived here, we happened upon this beautiful field of really tall grass.  This grass is grown in big fields in several places around Iowa City, especially around the University of Iowa.  It is called miscanthus.  It is a bamboo type grass that grows up to 12 ft tall and after it is cut and harvested, is combined with coal to provide energy for the University.   It is a giant (300 plus acre) experiment to find sustainable, renewable energy and reduce the use of fossil fuels.   (The things you learn when you live close to a university!!!)   It is absolutely stunning in the sunshine, and not a bad place to find bluebirds and blackbirds, either.   If you love watching rippling grass or wheat in the wind, and have a LOT of room, miscanthus is the grass for you. 

We have enjoyed watching it ripen and blow in the wind for several weeks now.  Then last Sunday as we came out of church there were black clouds of  birds flying over in waves across the sky.  It was somewhat reminiscent of the Alfred Hitchcock movie.   The clouds were circling in the sky and as we watched, we realized they were diving down into the miscanthus.   We drove closer and realized that the entire field was covered in blackbirds gorging themselves on the ripening seedheads.   The noise was incredible as it was just a non-stop din of squawking, roaring blackbirds.   What an amazing site!!

                                                           

And now.......on to corn!

Autumn in the Midwest is also corn harvest season.   This picture (above) is one I snapped out the window at 70 mph.   I hope it gives you the idea of just how large the cornfields are here.   They go to the horizon and beyond, then stretch for hundreds of miles in all directions.    Perfect crop for a flat country like this.   

The first picture was taken about 6 weeks ago, while this picture was taken only about 2 weeks ago and as you can see... the corn has gotten much older and drier.   It is left to dry out in the field and becomes very hard and tough.   After the plant has completely dried out, it is then harvested using a combine harvester which strips the corn cobs from the stalks, husks the corn and peels the dried kernels off the cob and neatly deposits them into the back of this truck.   John Deere was so smart.

If you look closely you can see all the ears of corn hanging downwards about halfway down each corn stalk.   Wasn't that considerate of them to grow that way so they would conveniently be the same height and fit neatly into the harvester?

These giant rolls left in the fields are not hay, as most of us western farm-type people would assume.   They are called corn stovers.  They are the leftover stalks, husks, etc that are baled into these giant rolls and fed to cattle through the early part of the winter.  

We were informed shortly after arriving that it is tradition that all missionaries who come to Iowa have their picture taken standing "in the corn".   So here is our best effort at being traditional semi-Iowans, trying to get ready for the harvest.    Love you all!

"Because of Him" - certainly not an original phrase but a meaningful one.  Because of him and our testimony of him and his gospel, we are serving a mission in the Iowa, Iowa City Mission as full-time Senior Missionaries for the next 18 months.   When we got our assignment to Iowa we were a little surprised, as we didn't even know that there were openings for service in Iowa and as our Mission President put it "Nobody every puts down that they want to serve in Iowa but the people are great and you will love it."   He was absolutely correct and the people in Iowa are great!!!!

We entered the MTC on Monday September 2nd and it is too bad everyone in the church doesn't get the opportunity to experience the chaos, acceptance and just overwhelming love that is there for each person.   The Spirit is so great, you can not help but feel uplifted and able to perform whatever work is asked of you.  

It just wouldn't be an MTC experience without the old standby photo of "The Map".   If only it could say how many thousands (millions, maybe) of missionaries have had their pictures taken in front this map.   You might say it is a rite of passage that you can't leave without this picture being taken.   

Our District (which is a group of 3 other couples) truly became our friends and we came to appreciate them.   They truly made us feel loved.   On the last day, we all posed for pictures and then checked on "Relatives Around Me" on Family Tree.   And... we discovered we were all distant cousins, including our teacher, Sister Peterson.  It's a small world in the church.

The MTC is a beautiful place and there were approximately 2000 missionaries there the week that we were there.   The logistics involved in feeding, housing and educating that many missionaries is truly mind boggling and after watching the MTC cafeteria in action, I vowed never to complain again about planning and cooking for ward dinners.   It is truly impressive.   Below are a few pictures of the MTC and some of the beautiful artwork and facilities that it includes. 

After we left the MTC we were blessed to spend the weekend with our daughter Candice and her family in Orem.   We spent Saturday in Vernal at a mountain bike meet that two of our grandchildren were competing in.   While there we had the opportunity to spend a hour or so with Bill Workman, Linda's stepfather.   He is such a sweet and gentle man.   His example and enthusiasm buoyed us up before we started our long drive eastward.

After another week in Salt Lake getting medical training we pointed the car eastward and headed out for Iowa.   Neither of us had ever traveled very far into Wyoming or any points beyond that.   To say the least the few hundred miles left us a little apprehensive.  

It appeared to us that most of Wyoming didn't believe in trees or grass but we are happy to report that by the time we got to Nebraska that changed into the rolling fields that we had heard so much about.  And then the corn fields just kept coming and coming and coming.   

About the time we were getting sick of looking at corn, the farmers were kind enough to throw in a field of soybeans, just to keep us on our toes.

After 2 days of looking at corn (and occasional soybeans) we finally arrived in Coralville Iowa where we will be living for the next 18 months.

We were greeted in the parking lot of our apartment building by two other senior couples, the Quincys and the Sanders, who showed us to our apartment and had our truck unloaded within 15 minutes.   They have made us most welcome and comfortable since we got here.   Unfortunately, we are here to replace the Sanders who go home the end of November and we know already that we will miss them.   

The first week of our service here we were fortunate to have a Senior Missionary Training with all the senior missionaries and President and Sister Sturm at Carthage Jail.  Following that we attended a session in the Nauvoo Temple together.  What a wonderful way to begin a mission and actually walk in the steps of the early Saints and see firsthand that it is real and realize again how many people have sacrificed and died so that we can have the knowledge of the gospel and the opportunity to be part of something so great.  

For any of you who don't recognize this, it is the bullet hole in the door....the shot that killed Hyrum Smith.

This is the well that Joseph fell onto, when he fell out of the second story window as he was shot.

Of course the site is owned by the church and is beautifully maintained.   Linda can't resist the flowers and the beautiful gardens, so here are some pictures of those.

Of course the highlight of the day was being in the Nauvoo Temple.  There is so much history and sense of eternity there that we just were overwhelmed at the sacrifices that have been made.   It puts our 18 months service into perspective.  

While in Nauvoo, we visited the memorial to those who lost their lives in the westward trek.  One of Doug's ancesters, Jane (Jean) Penman Hutchison, has her name on the memorial.  She died near Sweetwater, Wyoming and was followed a day or two later by her 3-month old son.  Some have given a little, some have given much and some have given their all to embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ and gather with the Saints.  

We can do this because of him and because of all the ancestors who have gone before us that have done more.