Letter from Elder & Sister James

Dear James Gang,

What a great way to stay connected! We miss all of you, your pictures and your news, so this is a way to get some periodically. We have had our own blog, palmyraexperience.blogspot.com on the web since December, but not everyone in the family knows about it. We have a posting for each of the historical sites here in Palmyra. We have also enjoyed Jan's blog from England where she is at school, jansenglandadventure.blogspot.com.

Senior missionary work is an amazing experience. We love taking visitors through the four historical sites, explaining the miracles and sacrifices made here from which we all benefit every day of our lives. Our journals are growing fat from many spiritual experiences and good stories we have heard from visitors, experienced with visitors, or learned in conferences and meetings. The Lord puts the right person with the right tour in some kind of ongoing miracle, where both are edified together in some particular way. For instance, a sister came who had my identical kind of cancer and who was struggling with joint pain from the aftercare drugs like I did, and I was able to tell her about being a guinea pig for all the drugs and finding one that makes it easier for me to get around and sleep without the awful hip pain. That's no coincidence that she was on my tour and that the subject came up. But, goes the saying, coincidences are God way of staying anonymous. There are no coincidences in missionary work.

We also use our specific talents as situations make it possible. Mo spent half a day fixing drawers for a couple of sisters whose dressers were falling apart, and he is the master breakfast cook in the mission. His pancakes and crepes are legend. We have also been working on a musical production for investigators which takes the Restoration lesson from Preach My Gospel (a great manual--no more memorizing discussions!) and presents it in scriptures and hymns. We will put this on in September to kick off a monthly series of lectures and musical performances for members to take their families and investigators to.

Hill Cumorah Pageant is coming and is the 6,000 pound gorilla in everyone's living room right now as we prepare the Peter Whitmer Site and the other historical places to have upwards of 8,000 visitors. We are the site supervisors at Whitmer, so anyone who comes out for Pageant will find us there during July 11 - 19.

Our address is 603 State Route 21, Palmyra, NY 14522, and our phone number is (315) 539-8624. It is permissible for senior couples to talk to people at home. We don't have the same communications restrictions as the young Sisters and Elders, thank goodness!