




Good morning from the “big sky” country!
We are sitting in the laundry mat. Today the sun is shining, so all’s right with the world. We left California on May 6th. It was 90 degrees and beautiful. With a few exceptions, we have been under heavy rains ever since. On May 24th we were evacuated from the ranch as the river overflowed. We had been watching for days as it got higher and faster. Then the call came to leave quickly. We all unhooked our rigs and our motor home wouldn’t start. Gordon and dad worked on it and finally got it going but it would cut out every few feet. They finally had to drive till it stopped, throw gasoline on the carb, or something, get it going again etc. When we got to the section of road that was washed out Dad was so blessed to be able to make it through the river and out onto the road before the RV stopped. I was driving the truck behind him and seriously considered staying at the old farm rather than cross that mess! We inched it into town by spraying gasoline till we got to the chapel. We spent the night there on the road. Then the next day we had a mechanic come and put in a new filter. It seems that the last time we gassed up Dad accidently put in Diesel fuel. So we have been running it everyday and letting it idle to burn off as much as we can. Added lots of additive stuff! From then on we moved to the RV Camp in town.
Gordon is parked in the house next to the church and Gary is parked at the shed on the road above. They have been using Sister Budges home for showers etc. Gordon & Carol went home to Utah the next week for a few weeks as Gordon had hurt his hand and is recuperating. The week before we got here he was using the cut saw and it kicked back and cut his wrist. It went down to the bone and severed a tendon so he had to have surgery. It was hard to keep him from doing things he shouldn’t with that hand so it has been good for him to take this time off. Also because of the weather things have been slow on the new home. We spent a lot of time helping people pump out their basements and tearing out old carpeting and padding that was flooded. Some folks had to live at the chapel for a while so we were feeding them.
Montana has had droughts for the last 9 years. Last year was a bit wetter than usual. This year all heck has broken loose. The towns are flooded in this valley. We have had terrible thunderstorms and hail at night. On Monday night they were so violent that it frightened a herd of cattle and they bolted and ran over a cliff. It killed 184 cows. Some of them fell onto ledges and are still there alive but there is no way to get to them. In Billings on Sunday night they had tornados touch down but didn’t damage, then on Wednesday a gas main broke from all the rain and a house blew up. Thankfully no one was home. It totally demolished the house and caused damage to the neighborhood homes. Weird weather all over the country.
Here in Harlowton everyone is so nice and helpful. The town is a lot like South Royalton, Vermont. Small and cowboy! The country here is so beautiful. Huge horizon with blue skies (when it‘s not raining) gently rolling hill, and surrounded by mountains. The mountains are full of snow right now so everyone is waiting for the runoff which will cause more flooding. The wildlife is abundant with lots of deer, turkeys, cranes, rabbits, lynx, antelope, buffalo, etc. We have cute little bunnies that are all around our lot. When we were able last week to get back to the old ranch house we painted rooms, and have been laying laminate flooring etc. Then on Tuesday the river overflowed again and we are cut off once more. We have been looking for sunny days so that we can finally pour the basement and garage floors.
The only good day we had was a holy day for the Hudderite colony. They are doing our cement. There are lots of colonies here. It looks like the rain might let up enough next week to pour on Wednesday. We are so far behind that we’ll have to put in long days once we are able to begin framing.
I am so sorry that we have been out of touch for so long. Our T-mobile service doesn’t work in Montana. Right now we are using Gordon’s phone while he is gone. The # is 406-366-9423. The # he told us was wrong and so no one has been able to get a hold of us. We are finally able to hook up at the little library here in town so am able to receive e-mail. We didn’t get any for a few weeks and last night I discovered that Qwest, which is my internet service and e-mail account had switched to a new program so everything that had come in since May 25 was being held in a new account that I didn’t know existed!! I need a month with all my grandchildren to straighten out all our electronic gear and teach us old folks!!
I’ve enclosed a few pictures:
3-our home in Wasco with the landscaping in
1-bunnies in our yard
1-road into the ranch the day we arrived
1-the old house we are renovating Part of as a commons area for us
3- the road washed out over which we crossed
1-flooding at the other ranch at Winnacook that the church has
1-Dad and Gordy pumping out water
We love you all so much and will do better at keeping in touch.
Despite the trials we love it here and love being able to use our talents to serve in the kingdom.
Our prayers are constantly with you that you will be watched over and have experiences that will grow your spirits and testimonies!
Love ya, Mom & Dad