We're Here!

We have arrived in Alturas, CA, our home for the next year, and have spent the week getting settled.  (We are in the Eugene, OR mission, but it takes in a corner of CA - our corner!)  We have cleaned and worked on getting to know our neighbors and the town.  And cleaned some more.  We have yet to meet with our Mission President or the Stake President, to whom we will primarily report.  But we have met both Branch Presidents over the Branches we are to attend and serve.  More on them and the branches another time.

Alturas is in the very northeast corner of California, and has a very rural feel.  Their High School of 264 students has an FFA building that is almost as big as their gym!  The town has only one stop light, which just blinks red to assure a 4-way stop.

Because we haven’t really gotten into missionary work yet, we don’t have a missionary experience to share, but I love this thought shared by my sister, Margaret.  Brigham Young said, “There is no other one item that will so much astound you, when your eyes are opened in eternity, as to think that you were so stupid in the body.”  Sobering!  So our challenge this week is to ponder what all we are doing “in the body” and see if we need to make any changes!!!

Instead of an apartment, we have a house!  It's 110 years old, but has mostly been updated.
The sky really is that blue!  It has been unseasonably warm, which we've loved, but are 
worried about what that will mean for the summer and fall fire season.

We were greeted by a Christmas Tree from last month in our front
yard. We were grateful to find a place to dump it. Craig's a good sport!

Not the best bread I've ever made, but we were 
able to take some hot bread to meet our neighbors.

There are deer roaming all over the town - so lovely!

And yes, we are in 
California! 😵