Friday, July 25, 2014

Each Life That Touches Ours for Good

Each life that touches ours for good
Reflects thine own great mercy, Lord;
Thou sendest blessings from above
Thru words and deeds of those who love.

It was a blessing from above to have Luke, Liz, Caden, Halle, Noah and Abby come for a visit.

One of the few photos with all the kids and us in it. What a feast for hug-starved grandparents.



Our first in-person visit with Abby angel. Love at first sight!

They all enjoyed Lake Banook, right across the street from our apartment.
PEI is just as beautiful as advertised. We accused Liz of coming to see Anne instead of us. We saw Anne's house, her musical, her lake of shining waters, and the beautiful fields.
Anne's beach was one of the best of the trip. 

Grandpa and Halle at the lighthouse by the PEI ferry.


We bumped into Bishop Sexton and his boys at Hopewell Rocks during their YM Camp. This bishop shows Christ-like love for everyone and always focuses on what people are doing right. 

The hours in the car were more bearable due to naps and a portable DVD player. The kids were real troopers.



Halle with an e at the Anne room at the Mission Home. Noah was grandma's buddy and  also came and saw the room, but we will save that photo for future blackmail.
The MPW (Mission President's Wife) got a baby fix via Abby.
Caden and Noah loved all the guns at the Citadel.
A huge shout out to Luke and Liz for bringing 4 kids to see us and enduring cancelled flights and disrupted schedules. What a great gift.


What greater gift dost thou bestow,
What greater goodness can we know
Than Christ-like friends, whose gentle ways
Strengthen our faith, enrich our days.



Emmeline Barnett, who was baptized last month, is one of our Christ-like friends with gentle ways. Her faith strengthened ours. This was one of the highlights of our mission.
Attending her baptism was a great opportunity to see some of our other friends who have strengthened us and enriched our days.


Camelle and Manida Currie, who enriched our days as they accepted and lived the Gospel.
Louise (and Barry) Hatt--our eternal friends--with Camelle, the photo bomber.
David (and Carol) Ray, the gentlest of friends and parents, have enriched our days.
Sister Kadisch (and the PB). How we miss her love, example, hospitality, and missionary spirit. Yes, we admit, we also miss her wonderful cooking and farm-fresh brown eggs.

Guess who with Elders Gibbs and Skinner and Pat Hatt? Elder Skinner kept the work going strong in Fredericton. We love him like a son. Great Elder Gibbs was there doing exchanges and Pat is a stalwart ward member and friend.
More amazing missionaries. Sister Drew shared her beautiful voice in the concerts, but her real talent is loving service. Sister Weaver started her mission at the MTC with us and has also grown to become a powerful missionary.
Many more friends and missionaries escaped our camera or were the victims of our lack of photography skills. We love them all, even without a picture. Besides, this is a pretty long post as it is.


When such a friend from us departs,
We hold forever in our hearts
A sweet and hallowed memory,
Bringing us nearer, Lord, to thee.

Some of CHM's finest Elders departed for home on July 4. They will forever hold a place in our hearts.
 The day of the baptism, our across-the-hall neighbor, Bob Anderson passed away. He and his wife, Theresa, are our adopted family we will remember always.

One sweet memory with Bob & Theresa was our last night out before we were transferred.


Bob seems to be pointing heavenward. His passing has given us a sweet memory and brought us nearer to the Lord. There are no permanent goodbyes in the Gospel.



Each of you has touched our lives for good.
With much love,
Elder & Sister Hendrickson