May 29, 2009 - comments from Ranelle

We are just completing five months of being "Michiganders" and we are feeling quite at home. Our surroundings are beautiful. Everything is very green and there are many wonderful flowers in bloom. This is a very "clean" state: it has to be--it get washed so constantly. Wednesday afternoon enough rain fell in three hours to equal one-forth of Utah's annual rainfall.






We are two weeks into the summer semester. John and I are each teaching one class. Though enrollment is small, our classes are very rewarding. Along with the students, we feel we are also learning and growing in our understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are also attending a class taught by the institute director. He is an amazing teacher and we are educated, inspired, and edified as we participate in each class.






We've enjoyed some Muncie, Indiana, company this past week. Gene and Jim Hoban stopped by on their way to their cottage on Lake Huron. It was good to be with them again. Gene was my Visiting Teacher in Muncie and we biked with Jim and Gene on the beautiful Indiana greenways. They loved seeing our apartment, the institute building, and our woods--then they took us to dinner.








A few days later, Ryan and Betty Jo Shrack came for the weekend. These two were undergraduate students at Ball State University. Ryan served a mission in the Utah Provo Mission and we enjoyed lots of contact with him when he was in Provo. Betty Jo served a mission in Salt Lake City and we were able to see her when she entered the MTC and again as she completed her mission. They began dating when they both returned to Muncie and were married in December 2007. Now they are going to be parents in August. We had a delightful weiner roast with them in our "woods" and enjoyed two full days sharing this mission with them as we shared our first one in Indiana.



We are enjoying our garden on our deck. We are harvesting fresh salad greens now and will have tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, and green beans later in the summer. We plan to plant some zuchini and yellow squash in the garden plot on the edge of our woods soon.

There are wonderful pictures to share, but I am still having difficulty learning how to connect them to the narrative. I'll still keep trying, but you might just have to use your imagination.

We enjoy your comments and emails.

Ranelle