Elsie's Notes from New England - THEMission edition

I'm going to share a kind of personal spiritual experience here; I hope that's not inappropriate.  It has been on my mind lately. We arrived in New Hampshire 26 years ago, four kids in tow, one on the way.  John's salary was meager, but he liked his job.  We rented a second-floor apartment for about six months, and then moved into a home across town that was owned by the invalid mother of a family friend. Her family needed someone to stay in the house and look after it, but weren't looking to make a profit.  Our rent essentially covered the taxes and water bill. We've lived in this house ever since. When we first moved in, it was a mess - needed painting, the roof leaked, there was a ton of construction debris and bric-a-brac in the basement.  The windows upstairs had no screens nor latches.  There was essentially no insulation in the home.  The wiring was all knob and tube.  It was a handyman special, if ever there was one, but we weren't very handy. Plus,

My dad was born Myron Gerald Nuffer on March 4, 1922 near Preston, Idaho, the oldest child of Myron David Nuffer and Camille Cole.  Gerald's father was a farmer, a school teacher, a salesman, and a carpenter . Gerald as an infant (about 1922) Gerald and Sport, his dog. (1934) My dad loved to tell stories of his idyllic childhood living and working on the family farm, roaming the fields and hills with his dog or his horse, hunting, fishing, and generally being free to explore his world. Camille Cole and Myron D. Nuffer, about 1920 Dad loved his parents.  Every night he would go for a walk with them down the lane near their home. At a certain point, Gerald was not allowed to walk farther with them.  They would walk further down the lane alone together, talking with each other, and eventually would return.  He knew better than to join them before they got back to the assigned spot, and he would wait for

Columbia, Missouri is an average-sized city near the center of the state.  On I-70 running east and west, whether it's farther to St. Louis or to Kansas City depends on which Columbia exit you use as your starting point.  Highway 63 runs north and south, and the street our family home was built on is just off the Old Highway 63.   In 1959, Columbia's population was about 36,000.  Home to the state university, a community college, and Stephens College, an all-girls school, the city also boasted the County Hospital, a Veteran's Hospital, a Cancer Hospital, and the University of Missouri's Medical School.  It was a unique place to grow up. LDS chapel on Old Highway 63 South In the late 1950's my dad helped select land on which to build a new church building.  In the process, he also found land on which to build a home for his family of eight.  The house at 2000 Valley View Drive was built in 1958, and I was born May 21, 1959, delivered at the Boone County Hosp