Beautiful

Romans 10:15 says:

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

A few weeks ago there was an extended exchange with the district leader so there was a different elder staying with Elder B.  As I was out working in the backyard I saw these two elders walk out of the apartment with book bags over their shoulders wearing white shirts and ties.  They walked right past their truck and headed down the street on foot.  The above scripture popped into my head and was a witness to me that what these young men are doing is good.  They are called of God, by an inspired prophet and they are showing their faith in the Savior Jesus Christ.  It really was a beautiful sight.

I didn't get much opportunity to visit with the missionaries this week.  Either they weren't home, or I wasn't home, so I don't have much to report this week.  It was kind of disappointing for me, I guess, because I am getting too used visiting with them when they have a spare moment, so when I don't get to visit with them I kind of miss the feeling of the spirit they bring into my home. 

I did get a short visit with Elder B. on P-day, he had gone out to get a couple pair of pants that can be washed - I guess it is hard to get to the dry cleaner too often, so it is easier to have some pants that can be washed.  Anyway... he came up to borrow the iron to get some of the wrinkles out of the new shirts and pants that he got.  So it was good for even just a short visit.

It's interesting how different the missionaries can be.  When Elder K. was here, they would play soccer, basketball, trampoline or some other physically active types of P-day acitivities.  These missionaries seem to go shopping or just hanging around.  Neither one is bad, just different.  Don't worry that they are going to get fat though,  remember on one of my earlier posts, I said that their daily schedule includes daily exercise.  Well I have some really stinky dumbells (no the ones you do arm curls with not the not smart people dumbells) out in the garage, I offered them to the elders and the dumbells (the arm curl kind -my elders are not dumb!) are now down in the apartment and the elders are using them.  I guess both missionaries have boxed prior to the mission and Elder L. found a heavy bag, so now they are wondering if they can get it and hang it up somewhere...  Hey, why not?  I have an unfinished basement with a large beam that they can hook it up to, so I said go for it.  I don't know how serious they are, but I will let you all know if it happens or not.  What am I running here, a missionary apartment or a gym?  (Really, I'm good with making their home as much like home as possible, so if I can help out, without creating a distraction, I am all for it). 

Memorial day is this weekend I am out of town, so I left the elders in charge of feeding the fish in my backyard  pond.  How awesome is it to have guys around to help out?  I promise not to abuse that convenience too much.
Thanks again to all the missionary moms and dads who are sharing your missionaries with me, and the rest of the world.  I pray the Lord's blessings on you for your sacrifice and generosity.  I love you for it, and I love your missionaries. 

Remeber to always carry a prayer in your heart for our missionaries.  Share your love for the Lord with someone this week, and I will try to do the same.

Blessings always

Last week I posted a request for information on favorite foods, I got a response on Monday morning and I told my mom about it and that very day she went down and invited the elders to dinner (she loves the missionaries).  As it turned out they had a cancellation for Tuesday night's dinner appointment and so they came to dinner Tuesday.  That is a rare privilege for us because the Relief Societies in the stake are pretty good at getting dinner appointments for the missionaries.  Mom teaches the 11 year old girls, so she doesn't make it to Relief Society and it probably isn't fair that we should get to have the missionaries live in our home and take up all the prime dinner appointments, so we let other members have the missionaries visit their homes for dinner.  Anyway we had a great visit and they were very complimentary about the dinner and everything.  They left us with a great spiritual message which was about service and they thanked us for the service we give them.  Every time I interact with them I feel like the small sacrifice we make for them is more than fully compensated by blessings from the Lord.  I can truly say that "I feel my Savior's love" in everything around me.

The Elders went to Zone conference Thursday and left home around 8 or so and didn't get home until 4:30 or later, I'm not sure.  Anyway, I took the opportunity to ask them how it went, and they said that it was a very spiritual meeting.  They said that they were really tired - it's interesting how spiritual experiences can take so much out of you.  Even being so tired, they still had 4 hours of missionary work left to do for that night.  Again, I am so very jealous of all the great motivation and spiritual growth they are experiencing.  Oh, to be able to hide in their pocket and gain from what they are going through; but it doesn't work that way, they have to work very hard to get the great blessings they are enjoying - sadly, my time is past for that.

On a more secular note, Elder L. just lost MEGA points with me.  I was wearing a San Diego Chargers t-shirt and he asked me if it was my junk shirt and something to the effect of "You can't seriously be a Charger's fan?"  I almost kicked him out of the house right then.  Well, we love all of God's children, even non-Chargers fans.  May the Lord bless Elder L. to see the light and cheer for Philip Rivers and the Chargers - Hey Rivers played college ball at North Carolina State, didn't he, so that should cover both coasts, no???  Only a Hawaiian would put the hate on San Diego.  (Just kidding on this paragraph).

As always, keep a prayer in your heart for all of our elders and sister missionaries I know that I do and I always will.  May the Lord bless our dedicated missionaries everywhere and especially YOUR missionary wherever they are serving.  Thank You to all the missionary moms and dads for the sacrifice you make to keep the Lord's work moving forward.  If you happen to stumble onto this blog and realize that I am talking about your missionary send me a message, I'd love to hear from you, the offer goes out to all missionary moms and dads.  If I can do anything to help make your missionary's experience better, please let me know what it is. email is eldersinmyhome@gmail.com
May the Lord bless you and your missionary this week and may you feel the love of Christ for you.

Family

Another pretty quiet week, but not without rewards.  So one of the elders came up to get his laundry on P-day and visited with us for a few minutes.  He said a few things that made my mom say "we're learning your secrets,"  his response, was "I can tell you guys this stuff, you're family."  That really made me feel good.  I mean, I feel like they are family, but for him to come out and say we are family is a great reward for what little I do for the missionaries.  I found a missionay's blog on the internet (written by his mother) and really enjoy reading it.  She mentioned the sacrifice that families make to send their son or daughter out and how they miss them.  I thank those moms and dads for the sacrifice they are making, but I sometimes don't like the sacrifice I have to make.  Here the missionaries stay for a few months and we get attached to them only to have them leave.  Some of the missionaries don't seem to get so attached, but others really become part of the family and it's sad to see them go.
My nephew is also getting into the family stuff too.  We had like five elders here one day (district leader meeting and somehow there were 5 elders from different zones).  As they were talking it came up that as one of the elders drove by the school bus stop a young boy yelled out, "Hey elder, why aren't you driving?"  I didn't know this, but it turns out that there are some missionaries who don't have driver licenses so they can't drive.  It turned out that it was my nephew who called the elder out.  Pretty funny, but a bit embarassing if you have a potential teaching candidate in the car with you.  So, the next time my nephew and his family were here for dinner, we kind of asked him about it and said that maybe he shouldn't have said that.  He has such tender feelings for the missionaries that he got a bit teary over the "reprimand."  As it turns out the elder called out to the boys at the bus stop teasing them for having to 'ride the bus'.   So, I guess it's just like family for my nephew, he teases the elders, just like he would a member of the family.  I know for me the teasing from my nephew would have been the same. 

For our elders we have now, we are getting used to the new elder, my nephews were in the back yard playing hacky sac and the missionaries drove up to pick something up from the apartment, and Elder L. took time to kick the hacky sac around a bit.  My nephew couldn't stop talking about how good Elder L. is and bragged about how he (my nephew) was able to do better than his cousin and Elder L.  I'm pretty sure the elders had some place to be, so the game ended with the perception of victory for my nephew.

Quick note to Sis Buz. et al.  Are there any special recipes, food, mementos or anything that mom can do special for your son?

Change

I worked the evening shift this week, so there's not much to report.  I was very sad to see Elder K. leave. It's tough saying goodbye to someone who has lived in your home for the past 9 months, but I know it was time and I am glad that he will get a chance to grow in his new responsibilities.  My mom told me that on the evening of when Elder K. left, Elder B. came up to get his laundry and said "I learned things from Elder K. that he doesn't even know I learned."  He went on to tell my mom that he discovered that he could get more work done if he spent less time goofing off - at least I think that's what she said he said.  WHAT?  Those guys were always out working and having great success.  Can the new guy keep up? 

My real fear is that the new elder will not be as motivated as Elder B.  Oh, by the way the new elder is from Hawaii, and I heard that he has been out about 4 months.  If I am counting right, that gives him 1 month seniority over Elder B.  Elder L. is his name and he seems to be a very friendly person.  He made points with me yesterday, here's the story:  I was out pruning roses in the morning before work and the elders came home from their morning exercises, but they got a ride home.  That seemed strange and when they got out of the car they told me that their keys had been taken and they couldn't get their car.  In the middle of calling around, trying to find the person who had their keys, Elder L. asked if I needed help with my yardwork.  What a great guy.

Anyway as I was saying, I sure hope Elder B. can keep up the pace that he would like to do in his missionary work.  I really admire him for his dedication, and if he does need someone to go out doing missionary work with him, my offer still stands.  I think this change is actually harder on me, than it is on either of the elders, because they just seem to keep going with the work no matter what change happens. 

Always stay positive and share your light with those you meet.  Keep up the prayers for our elders, they need your support. 

Transfers today

I just heard about transfers.  Elder B. gets to stay (that's good), but Elder K. is being transferred to another area where he will be zone leader for the last 3 months of his mission.  It is very sad to see Elder K. go, but I knew it had to happen since he has been here 9 months - that's uncommon.  I guess Elder B. will be sad, because he thought it would be fun to "kill" his trainer.  My fear and Elder B.'s fear is that the new elder will be less motivated than Elder K.  I sure hope the new guy is a hard worker.  I told Elder B. that if this guy is lazy, just come get me and I will be glad to work with him.  I haven't gone on exchanges for a very long time and it would be fun to go out with Elder B.  That's it for now.  Remember all our missionaries in your prayers. God Bless until next time.