February Flurries

 



They say that "A picture is worth a thousand words" so, I won't mention the "C" word, instead I will just show the pictures.



 

 

A lot of love went across Sister Barlow's desk this month. Valentines boxes and letters galore. Here is a picture of Sister Blevins opening her Valentines package.

Sister Blevins "Peek-a-boo"

 

This Valentines day was spent serving together as a Senior Missionary Couple. We have often mentioned just how grateful we are for this opportunity to be together 24-7. Next month we will be celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary. Has it really been that long? We are often asked how we met. It is fun to tell these young missionaries how we met on Elder Barlow's first night home from the mission field. Sister Barlow was trying to make a good first impression and asked him how she could prepare to go on a mission. Little did we know at that time Sister Barlow was interviewing her future Missionary Companion. We have had a wonderful life together. How blessed we have been as a couple and as the parents of six beautiful children. This mission experience has added to our commitment to each other and to the Lord.

 



Cutlers, Barlows, Elder Perkins, Wirthlins

At the beginning of the month we enjoyed a visit to the mission from Elder Anthony D. Perkins. He was able to share an idea that the Church is instituting in some remote parts of the world where travel is limited. They are forming small groups within a Branch or Ward, overseen by priesthood. These small groups meet in local homes three weeks and then come together one Sunday out of the month. In some area's they share speakers and messages from their leaders via Skype. We have areas in our mission where members have to travel an hour each way. President Wirthlin has already initiated a "Group" up North to see if this might work.




MLC

 

February Arrivals


MLC(Mission Leader Council) meet each month for instruction. 


In February we welcomed another fifteen new missionaries.


Gabbitas, Pipe, Bezzant, Lamb, Tanner, Taylor

Pryor, Tanner, Lamb, Taylor, Pipe, Whitworth, Bezzant,Wirthlin

Our returning missionaries this month were: Elder's Pryor, Tanner, Lamb and Taylor; Sister Pipe returned to the Salt Lake Visitor's Center while Sister's Whitworth and Bezzant returned home. Elder Tanner was very special to us. He was Assistant to the President and we worked closely with him in the Mission Office. I don't think I have ever met a more capable leader, even at his young age. In October we were all saddened to hear that Elder Tanner's father had been killed in an airplane accident. He faced this trial with a great amount of faith and courage. In the final training he gave at Zone Conference he shared some of the experiences he learned from his father's death.  He taught that "Things will happen in life that will rock you boat." He explained that his father, who was the pilot of a small plane had a choice to make at the end. He couldn't go up because the plane had lost all power at take off  but he could choose to bank the plane to the right or the left. He chose to bank it to the left although he knew he would take the full force of the crash but there was a chance that his young son who was a passenger in the back seat and his friend seated next to him might survive. Because of his father's choice, Elder Tanner's younger brother and his father's friend, although critically injured, did survive while his father was killed on impact. Because of this experience, Elder Tanner more fully understands what it means that the Savior died for him. He said, "The time is now, the time is yours to build a foundation which will help you through the trials of life. You can not wait until the trials come, it will be too late."

Elder's Pryor, Taylor, Lamb and Tanner

 We have a tradition in the New York Utica Mission that the returning missionaries are given the opportunity to travel to Palmyra with President and Sister Wirthlin and attend the Temple. As part of the excursion the Elders and any Sister's who wish race to the top of the Hill Cumorah. It is not an easy task, especially in the snow. Elder Lamb won the contest. They all said that they felt like throwing up after. Once again, it's hard saying "goodbye" We learn a lot from these missionaries and they leave an impression on our hearts and minds.

Elder Chandler and Elder Mecham

On Friday we once again invited our leaders back for MLC. We had come full circle. Here is Elder's Chandler and Mecham showing off their matching ties.

Elder and Sister Eliason and President and Sister Wirthlin

When we first came to the Oneida Branch, their were between fifteen to twenty-five attending meetings with four or five leaders running the branch. The last few months our attendance has risen to between thirty and forty. We have four investigators who are attending regularly (Tony, Felicia, Dan and Heather) with the Hill family coming back into activity. The Hills have four children and a niece who attend now and give us a full Primary. Elder and Sister Eliason from Orem have been assigned full time to Oneida and we are going to have Palmyra Temple missionaries this summer.

Tony, Jan

Hill Family

 

Oneida Primary

Amy and Becky Mathews

Felicia

White family

 



Sister Diorio

Sister Diorio is the heart of the Branch. Oh how everyone loves Sister "Cookie". After joining the church she moved away from her family here in New York and struck out for Salt Lake City. She has worked in the Family History Library and attended the temple every Friday for years. She is now 90 years old (young) and her children said it was time for her to come home so they could look after her.  She is the only member of the church in her family. The Branch has adopted her as the Branch Grandmother. Her testimony of the restored gospel was evident last Fast and Testimony meeting as she was helped to the podium and closed her eyes and repeated a 7 minute memorized reading about the Prophet Joseph Smith's mother, Lucy Mack Smith, and her testimony of the Prophet. By the end we were all in tears and Tony was so touched that he committed to baptism. These are OUR people. They are the people we love. Or course we haven't forgotten our family and friends who support us in so many ways.

Eula Wilkinson and E. Garrett Barlow

 

In closing this month's blog we have had to say good-bye to Elder Barlow's step mother, Eula Wilkinson Barlow. She passed away this past week. We are grateful for those who took such good care of her these past few years. We are also grateful for the many years they spent together, caring for one another. Eula leaves behind a strong testimony of the Restored Gospel and a love for the Prophets that guided the Church. We have been blessed to have known her...farewell.