FOR MEGAN!

Yesterday my daughter Megan told me I suck at updating my blog. She said that when she gets bored at work, she'll go online to look at all the blogs of all her friends and family and I suck at updating mine.

I told her that I am working on an amazing entry about Missionaries living with us, and the things I learned from them and their memories of living with us. Well, since that is still in the works, I have decided to post only one here and now. The following bunch of memories come from my dear friend Ethan Boehner....Megan, I hope you get a good laugh and feel so me of the love in this that B has for us!

I have included it just the way he sent it to me, typo's and all!


"Ethan Boehner March 7 at 9:48am Reply
I remember Mari before her baptism. I claim the great honor of being one of four missionaries who initially taught her. My abridged memories are as follows:

1) There was a time when Mari, as a social worker in Iowa, was asked to help a client move. She enlisted the of the missionaries to help. Because of my long arms, I ended up riding on top of a mattress, on top of her car, holding the mattress to the car, through the streets of Keokuk, Iowa. It is a miracle I did not slip off or that we did not get stopped by the police. Thanks for the ride Mari!

2) Prior to being baptize, Mari decided to stops smoking cigarettes. She had a little get together to kick off the process. However, she was relunctant to give up her last pack. This resulted in a few missionaries chasing her around her yard atempting to remove the "temptation" from her. Mari is amazingly athletic and agile when properly motivated. Thanks for the workout, Mari

3) I remember being summoned to Mari's workplace because she was in pain (during her effort to quit smoking). Apparently, one of her teeth had been broken by chewing on vitamin C tablets that had been given to her by the missionaries to help remove the addictive nicotine from her body. From that time forward, she has spread a funny, but not entirely accurate story, that a missionary broke her tooth.

4) Quittng smoking was a real challenge for Mari. I recall, walking the streets of historic Nauvoo with Mari an dthe other missionaries as she ate apples and snapped a rubber band on her wrist every time she felt the urge to smoke a cigarette. Her wrist got very red with a few welts as I remember. Thanks for the walk Mari - it saved my tesimony of repentance.

5) I remember being in Bart and Becky's place in Nauvoo. We (the four missionaries) would wash dishes and sing our favorite hymns while Mari got to talk with Bart and Becky. It has since been a custom for new missionaries to "sing for their supper". Thanks for letting me share my testimony through music - it's how I preferred it anyways.

6) Finally, I recall having to be transferred from Iowa to the opposite corner of our mission to train another missionary and lead a district. I woke up my last day to find my front door covered in hearts with notes of encouragement and friendship. I still have one of those hearts today. Thanks for remaining my Mari - even when you got to see who I really am sometimes."

It is important to mention here that the missionary that broke my tooth was Ethan...he gave me the vitamin C tablets...it is also important to note that it was also Ethan that was THE missionary chasing me around my yard trying to take the cigarettes away from me!

I remember the mattress on the car incident slightly differently...I thought Ethan was in the bed of a small pick up truck owned by my client, not on top of my car. I don't think I would have wanted my car to get scratched up!! LOL!

So, Megan how was this? Are you happy and chuckling now!? Never say I don't try to give you all I can!