Finally Something to Say

I'm sorry for not posting for such a long time, but I just don't have much to say lately.  This changed yesterday as a few very strong impressions came into my mind that I have to share with you.
Yesterday was Father's day and so in our Sacrament Meeting we had a father and son speak.  The father was our Bishop who was released just 2 months ago and his son is a missionary who is serving in the Romania, Bucharest mission.  The guy who was conducting made kind of a joke that Elder Peterson came all the way from Romania just to speak to us. :)  The actual story is that he tore his ACL and had to come home for surgery and is now on a medical release and hopefully he will be able to go back to Romania in September or October.  I keep hearing about missionaries who have to leave their full-time missionary service for a time.  I just heard that Elder C. (I haven't talked about him much, but he was in my home for a while and he had to go home for a while) just returned and there have been others.  It is very cool to hear about these awesome young missionaries and their dedication to the Lord.  If I had left part way through my missionary service, I would never have gone back and that's sad to think about.  But these young men are totally devoted to giving the Lord their all for 2 years and they are serious about it.  I am so impressed with their strength.
Well, Elder Peterson had successful surgery on his knee and is now going through some intense physical therapy.  But, when he spoke yesterday I was impressed at how well he is dealing with being back home.  He is working with the Single's Ward in our City and encouraging many young men to get ready to serve missions and he is working 3 days a week at the MTC helping teach Romanian to a Senior couple who will be going there soon.  His talk was a little random at times, but that's how my brain works so I connected with his message perfectly and one of the things he said that really impressed me was that he recommends getting a journal that you can take to church with you and then in Sacrament meeting write down, not notes on what the speaker says, but what the spirit is teaching you.  That is so cool!  I am going to try that.

So, now reason number two on why I had to write on the blog and it also happened yesterday.  I woke up about 6:30am (I know, I kind of slept in, but it was Father's day so I took advantage).  When I looked out the window to my back yard I saw a flood of water.  I thought, at first, that I had left the sprinklers running all night, but there was way too much water for it to be from the sprinklers.  So I went out and investigated.  The city I live in is kind of rural and there is about 10-20 acres of open field behind me and that neighbor had opened the gate to the irrigation canal Saturday night.  That's not uncommon, farmers will often flood their fields to water their hay so then they only have to water weekly.  But the problem that happened Saturday night is that one of the dams, which was built up to divert the water into his property failed and the water went into the vacant field behind me and then into my back yard.  The water went through my garden across the weeds and onto my next-door neighbor's driveway then onto the street.  We got the irrigation gate closed and the water finally stopped coming, and when I investigated, there was no real damage to my yard or basement.  The only thing that really happened is that I lost some topsoil from my garden. 
I told the guy who did the landscaping on my backyard that he graded the lot so well that all the water was diverted away from the house.  In talking to him, I said that it would not have been a huge problem, because my basement is mostly unfinished, except for the missionaries apartment, so I guess it was lucky.  Then the landscaper said something that was very cool, he asked me if maybe the reason that the water diverted away from the house was not so much his landscaping but maybe because the missionaries were down in the basement and the Lord protects His missionaries.  I like that reason better.

Wow, this was a long one.  Maybe next entry will be sooner and shorter.

Keep strong in your faith.  The Lord loves you and wants to bless you.  Share your testimony with someone you care about and do it soon. 
Keep praying for our missionaries.  Elder U and Elder T are still great and the pranks continue.  Until next time.

Ninja Wars

Okay, so I have been a little afraid to post this story, but I'm going to post it and hope that I don't get in too much trouble.

Over the past year and a half, I have been trying to make the elders feel as comfortable as I can in my home.  They have their own apartment with a separate entrance and separate driveway, so if they want to come and go with out being bothered, they can.  There are some missionaries who interact more than others.  Now I think I have finally broken down some small barriers and that's a good thing.  Here's what's been happening.  Remember back with Elder U and Elder B2?  They came charging into the apartment one night when I was doing some touch-up work on the wall (see post on 9/11/2011).  That opened the door for me and I took the chance.  I have randomly taken the opportunity to leave little reminders in the apartment. It will usually be something little like a glow in the dark alien or ninja figure (no bigger than an inch).  The ninjas go in the refrigerator -of course, because they are cool. ha ha ha. 

Anyway, on occasion, I have seen odd little things hanging on pictures or lamps etc.  It's the elders way of returning my little reminders.  The Easter Bunny even left Nerf guns in their baskets on Easter so we had a battle with my nephews one day. 

I guess somewhere along the way it came to be known as the Ninja Wars. I guess you could say there was a big battle last week. Remember, last week was Mother's Day and that's one of the rare days when the missionaries get to call their families.  So while one elder was talking with his family, the other elder had a little free time.  They had a dinner appointment at 5pm and we had family dinner about the same time, so we left for my sister's house and left the missionaries to lock up the house.  That's fine, but when we got home there were ninjas, flamingos and aliens all over the house.  Those elders move fast!  But the coolest was the picture of my nephews (notice the picture at the top of this blog) had post-it notes with the elders' names on them.  I loved it.  Anyone in a leadership role or otherwise who takes offense to this story, please understand that I totally encouraged this behavior and it doesn't take away from time that could be spent on missionary work. 

Transfers were Wednesday and, as expected, Elder B has been transferred.  He will be district leader in his new area.  I know he will be awesome.  The hard part is that he is assigned to an area that starting in July will be part of a brand new mission.  Yup, you got it, he is no longer in our mission.  That makes me kind of sad, you get to know these guys and then they get transferred and don't come up to report on their week.  Welcome to Elder U from Pennsylvania.  Elder U has been out about 9 months, in fact he was companions with Elder W while at the MTC.  Pretty cool huh?

So, this was not a very spiritually motivating post this week, but I thought you might like to read about the human side of our elders.

As always, remember to be awesome this week.  I will try to do the same, though some weeks are harder than others.  Share the gospel with someone this month, they will be blessed for your efforts and so will you.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's day.  Today Elder B got to skype with his family and I hope Elder T gets to tonight.  I told him that if he didn't get a chance to during the day, he could use my skype account to call.  I hope all you missionary moms got a chance to have a great visit with your missionary.

This Wednesday is transfer day.  I love almost everything about having the missionaries live in my home, but there is one thing that I don't like so much.  I always hate transfer day.  You spend all this energy getting the elders comfortable enough to think that this is really their home, then they go and get themselves transferred.  Not fun!  I keep praying that both Elder T and Elder B get to stay here for another transfer, but it's not my call to make and so, if the Lord wants one of these guys transferred, then I have to respect that call because someone needs them more than I do.

I am amazed at the growth that occurs in these young men is such a short time.  It was about a year ago that Elder B was here and he was great then, but now he tells us of the things he is studying and it's great.  He just finished the Book of Revelation in the New Testament and talked a little about what he learned there and it's so cool to hear what he has learned.  Now he is starting the Old Testament - I didn't even get to the Old Testament until AFTER serving a mission.  I love to hear his insights because it's just a little glimpse of what it might be to sit in on one of their companion study sessions.  What a blessing that would be to be a regular part of that spiritual feast.

That's it for this week.  Happy Mother's day to all.  Remember to be awesome this week.  God Loves You. 

Lemons or lemonade

This might have been a rough week for the missionaries, but it's all in what you make of it.  The Elders are required to report in with their statistics for the week and last week Elder B and Elder T were late reporting in because they were late getting out of an appointment.  The district leader wanted to teach the importance of obedience, so they lost their car for p-day and cut the number of miles they could drive.  They could have been upset and complained and used that as an excuse to do less work.  No, that didn't happen.  They spent many more hours on their bikes and even said that they were able to get more work done because of the bikes.  They were able to tap into the awesome members here and get rides from them.  Well, after a while, the district leader reevaluated his decision and gave them back their miles.  So, today is p-day and they have saved up over a hundred miles on the last day of the month.  They made the best of a difficult situation and they are better for it.

Good news, remember when I told you about going out teaching with the elders a few weeks ago?  Well the person we taught was baptized this past weekend.  Next week there are three more baptisms.  What a wonderful plan the gospel is. 

If you ever feel like it's tough sharing the gospel remember the recent convert who would go home to a non-Christian country and face persecution for their membership in the Church.  Won't they make it hard for you when you go home? 
Yes.
How will you deal with being rejected by your family?
The Church is true, isn't it?
Yes.
Then What else matters?

Want to grow your testimony?  Share it.

Be awesome this week.
Keep praying for our missionaries.

Great blessings are here for the taking.

The work here is going great.  Our missionaries are serving a fairly large area comprising two stakes.  Last Winter I was in a stake leadership meeting and our Stake President mentioned that he did not like the fact that we have to share our missionaries with another stake.  Lots of meetings resulted in the twelve wards in our stake and we are now keeping Elder B and Elder T busy enough that most of their time is being spent in our stake and there is little time left for the other stake.  Good four us, bad for the other stake.  There may be some changes and other missionaries might be assigned to that stake.  Our Stake President will be happy for that. 
The baptisms are happening fairly regularly now and that is pretty cool.  Last week there was a baptism that Elder W wanted to attend because he helped teach the lady who was being baptized.  I got to take him back to his new area and we had a great visit, but the fun part is that Elder W asked to borrow my phone to text his companion to find out where we were to meet them.  Well, I don't know if you remember me mentioning that my phone is about 10 years old....  It has the old style 9 key texting keyboard and so Elder W tried for a while to text, but finally gave up and said that he would just call when we got closer.  I guess my phone is just too old, but I love it when my nephew teases me about how old it is.   So I'm not getting a new phone any time soon.

Well I found out that I get to teach the priesthood lesson at the last minute, so I am going to cut this one short.

Be strong in your testimony and stay awesome this week.  Take good care of your missionaries and I will do the same for mine.  God loves us, it's up to us to share that love with others.

Jesus' Love.

This week was awesome.  We had some nice weather Tuesday, so I went out to work in the yard.  I often like to plug into my ipod and listen to one of the sessions of the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Tuesday was one of those days.  So as I am listening to the first session I hear one of the speakers I hear one of the speakers talking about how much he loves missionaries.  Well I love them too, so I listened a little more carefully.  One thing he mentioned was about the commandment to love one another as Jesus loved us.  For the first time this scripture really hit me in a very different way.  Jesus took upon Himself my sins, so that I wouldn't have to suffer their consequences, Jesus died for me.  Can I love someone as Jesus loves me?  Wow, that's a tough one, I'm not yet that good.  But you look at these missionaries, you see a little of this, in that these fine young men and women, (and senior couples, and sisters) give up their lives for people they don't even know yet.  They are sacrificing time, money energy and a very important part of their lives to serve others.  That's a lot more love than I am showing.

Wednesday the district leader had exchanges, so Elder B went with the Spanish speaking elders and the district leader came here.  Wednesday evening I got a text from them asking if I was home.  I said yes, and they asked if I would be able to go with them (Elder T and the district leader) to a lesson.  They need a priesthood holder to go with them to the lesson.  I was glad for the opportunity and I am so amazed at how cool it is to hear them teach the basics of the Gospel to an investigator.  They taught the first lesson about prophets, the apostasy and the restoration.  What sweet testimonies were shared in that lesson and what a great spirit was felt. 

Lately I have been wondering when the blessings were going to come for having the missionaries in my home, I have had two vacuums break, a the water heater went out and on and on with the day to day average challenges of life.  Why should I feel entitled to anything?  So, finally I got this opportunity to share in this lesson taught by Elder T and the district leader and I realized that I couldn't be more blessed.  The spirit these elders bring to my home is so much more that a vacuum or two, and so I have changed my attitude and have begun focusing on the great blessings I have.

When I was driving the district leader home he asked Elder T what he learned from the exchange.  Elder T said that he learned to be more bold.  So now he spends more effort on not losing contact with the people he teaches and tries to teach at least two lessons to them a week and to set specific dates, not open ended times.  What a great district leader they have. 

While the district leader was here Elder B was with the Spanish elders and kind of got lost during some of the lessons (he doesn't speak Spanish).  But he said that he learned something during the exchange too.  He said that he learned a more simplified way to explain and understand the Ward Mission Plan.  These guys are great.

Life here is not totally serious all the time.  The other night as I was getting ready for bed I heard a noise in the hall.  I didn't think too much of it because this house can be noisy, so I continued on.  Pretty soon a nerf bullet whizzed past my door.  Okay, so it's time to burn off some energy and that's what happened.  It was fun, but as always it ended too soon.  (please don't be offended and think that I distract the elders from their work, it doesn't happen that often).

The Lord loves us more than we can know.  Try to think on that love and how we can love one another in a Christlike way.

As always be awesome this week.  Thank you for reading my blog.

Happy Easter - Look who the easter bunny brought us.

Happy Easter.

Have you ever had one of those days where absolutely nothing goes right?  Well this wasn’t one of those of days.  This was one of those days where the heavens open up and swallows you up in Our Heavenly Father’s love.  It’s like getting a celestial hug.  I know that sounds sappy, but that’s how this week ended.

So here’s the story.  Remember how I was worried that we wouldn’t survive this transfer without some change?  Well we really got change, in a big way.  First we learned that Elder W would be transferred to another area as District Leader.  That’s sad for us, but awesome for him, he will get to grow with his new leadership responsibilities.  Next, we would get Elder D (for only 3 days????) that was pretty sad, I don’t really understand that one.  And we learned that Elder M got his visa and will be leaving on Monday- again sad for us, but great that Elder M will get to the mission he was called to, that’s in Spain.  So, if you are doing the math that leaves Elder T here alone.  Not to worry, this Friday we got an awesome surprise and in walks Elder B (the first one).  WHAT??  Yes the wonderful elder from S. Carolina is back and ready to tear this place up.  I think this is the Lord’s way of showing his love for us. 

Having missionaries in your home can be a bit strange at times, but it’s hard not getting attached to them.  I would be proud to have any one or all of these missionaries as sons they are the best of the best, so when you get a chance to have one come back that is a real treat.  Maybe it is the mission president telling us that we didn’t get it right the first time and this time we need to treat Elder B better. J  I hope to be blessed to see Elder W again and that makes me very sad to think that when he goes home he will be going to New Zealand and that’s pretty far to come back for a visit.  By the way, the W in Elder W stands for Wonderful.

So last Sunday was General Conference, this week is Easter.  Please remember the reason for this celebration.  It’s not His death we celebrate, it’s His Atoning gift given to us that we celebrate.  Remember to thank the Lord for the opportunity we have to repent and be forgiven!  If the sound of this paragraph is strange to you, I know some totally awesome young men who would love to explain it to you.  If you know someone who needs to hear this message invite that someone to your home and have your missionaries come teach them.  You will be better for the opportunity.

Be AWESOME this week.

How cool is General Conference!  Okay, so how did you love Elder Holland's talk this conference?  Last October, he "got in your face" and wanted to feel as though you had your eyebrows singed.  So now, just when you thought those eyebrows would never grow back, he gives this awesome talk on how there is no darkness so deep that the shining light of the atonement cannot penetrate.  I think we look better with eyebrows.  Thank you Elder Holland for such inspired words.  And what's up with Elder Uchtdorf not using the aviation references?  I still loved his message.

Last week the missionaries came up to report on their week they found a nerf gun that one of my nephews had left on the couch.  We couldn't figure out how to reload it, so I called my nephew to ask how and he said I'll be right down.  He only lives about 5 houses down from me, but in the time it took for my nephews to get here the missionaries had figured out how to load the gun and they were waiting in ambush for my nephews.  Pretty soon, I hear screaming and then nerf darts were flying all over the house.  It only lasted about a half hour, but it was pretty crazy while the war was waging.  I loved it! 

This Wednesday is transfer day and rumor has it that there are about 18 new missionaries arriving and about 17 missionaries waiting for visas.  That means that there is little chance that we will get to keep these three elders for another transfer.  I will be pretty sad to see one of them leave.

"Cute" story for the week.  I picked the elders up from the stake center last Wednesday and we had a few minutes wait for a report from the stake clerk.  Elder W and Elder M like to tease, so they were talking back and forth and Elder M said, it would be hard once he got his visa because then Elder W and Elder T would have to walk again.  Teasing them that they wouldn't be able to baptize anymore.  Elder W was quick with a comeback.  He said that they were baptizing during the month and a half they had no car.  Then he said "Besides, Jesus baptized and he didn't have a car."  Yes, I am going to miss these guys!

Friday I got a call from the Stake President inviting me to do a sealing session at the Temple with him.  It was a wonderful experience.  There was couple who joined our group towards the end of our time.  The wife in this couple was in a wheelchair and it appeared to me that she had had some kind of brain injury.  She had great difficulty controlling her body, but that didn't stop her from participating in the blessings of the Temple.  As she was kneeling at the alter the sealer was touched by the spirit and we a got a bit emotional.  You might see this woman at the shopping center or other place out in public and think, oh, that poor woman, she can't do anything she is so unfortunate.  But, in the Temple this broken body is doing something wonderful.  She was part of something wonderful.  She was helping to seal a family together in that "broken" body of hers.  The woman she was acting for was truly blessed and could not do it on her own, so there was nothing broken about this beautiful woman kneeling at the altar.

Getting Comfortable?

So is it me, or are the elders getting more comfortable living here?  I had to smile last P-day because the they came up kind of early and shared cinnamon rolls with us, later that same day they came up to get their laundry and they left a loaf of bread for us, Elder T. said that they had made the bread... (I kind of doubt that).  I think they stopped at a bakery and bought the bread, but who am I to accuse a servant of the Lord of lying? 

This next story requires a little background so that you don't freak out that the elders are damaging my home...
In my house I have a small, but kind of formal living room with white  carpet and is kind of plush.  The reason I mention this is that I am kind of fussy about how I vacuum it.  When I vacuum, it has to be perfect with the nap all going the same direction and no lines in it.  Well my brother-in-law loves to tease and would often leave foot prints in it.  His son picked up on the tradition and so there are often strange marks in my living room carpet.  One of the past elders thought it would be fun to write my name in the carpet by drawing in the nap with his finger.  That was pretty funny, but it was more funny when my other nephew corrected the spelling of my name in the carpet as a note to the elder who misspelled my name.  Wait, this is still background.  That elder is home now (no he didn't get sent home for writing in my carpet, he served an honorable mission, even serving as a zone leader after leaving here).  Anyway he was trainer to Elder W. who still lives here, and last Monday I noticed my name written in the carpet again, and it was spelled wrong again.  So when I confronted the elders about it, Elder T didn't know anything about it, and Elder M said that he didn't do it, but knew who did it, I didn't need to be told that it was Elder W.  When Elder M talked about it he said that they were admiring how all neat and tidy the carpet was, when all of a sudden Elder W bent down and wrote my name in the carpet, he was shocked.  I just laughed.  You might think that this is out of line, but it is not at all out of line in my house, in fact I kind of encourage such behavior.  If you are considering hosting the missionaries in your home, you set the ground rules and if you don't want them writing in your living room carpet you just tell them and they will respect that request.  Elder T was afraid to cook in the apartment, because his last area the landlady was kind of fussy about them using their kitchen, so when I found that out, I told him that the kitchen is his and if he wants to cook, he is welcome to do so.  He was happy and is going to buy veggies and stuff to make omelets and other breakfast kinds of stuff.  (What?  Do they think the kitchen is just for show?)  I'm just sorry I didn't know earlier, so that they would have been more comfortable sooner.

So maybe this week's blog wasn't totally uplifting, but it is what I wanted to say, and since I am the author of this blog, I can indulge once in a while. 

That about wraps another week for this blog.  Make yourself even more awesome this week. 
Treat your missionaries to something special, invite your nonmember friends to visit with you and the missionaries, you will be glad you did.
God bless you this coming week.

The Spirit Leads and Elders Follow

So, I heard in Ward Council this morning that our elders are tearing it up out there.  This week they visited with a member who doesn't come to church very often.  It's interesting because the member had been feeling the need to reread the Book of Mormon and as part of that prompting, the missionaries came knocking on their door.  How cool is the Holy Ghost?  I just find it amazing how the Savior directs His work here on earth.  There are so many "coincedences" that happen in just the right way that I can't believe that it is just by chance.  The Lord loves His children and when we listen He will guide us.  Thank goodness for missionaries who are in tune with the Spirit!  Right now is a difficult time for our nation and many people are struggling.  I find it very awesome that the Lord would show his loving mercy to us and send worthy priesthood holders into the homes of those who need blessings.  Needless to say, the missionaries have another appointment with that member to teach one of the missionary lessons.

As expected we got a new elder last Saturday, he can drive and he is from California.  Welcome Elder M.  He fresh from a 2 (I think?) week stay at the MTC in Provo, UT.  He is waiting for a Visa and he will be going to Spain when it comes, he was supposed to go to the MTC in Spain last week except for the lack of a visa.  I am glad he is here, he is a fun elder and fits right in with Elder T and Elder W, I love them all.  Yesterday I had to take something down to the apartment and when I knocked on their door, I was greeted by them playing guitar and ukulele (you gotta love those island missionaries).  Our year and a half commitment is over by a few months, and I think I told you about the mission housing coordinator calling and talking to my mom about whether we wanted to have a break from the missionaries in our apartment, well mom said definitely NO.  I'm kind of feeling the same way, I love the wonderful spirit they bring into my home.  I bet if some of the members who live in our ward knew how awesome it is to have the missionaries in my home, they would be calling the mission office and complaining that I am hogging all the blessings for myself.  I hope the word doesn't get out, I like it just like it is.

Daylight savings time has kind of thrown me off a bit, but it comes as a reminder that the annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is in just a few short weeks, I'm so excited to hear the words of inspired leaders, prophets and apostles.  This time we have missionaries who have been out less than a year and that means that none of them get to attend conference in person this time.  That just means that I might get a chance to have them watch conference here. 

Did you ever feel like you are one who just can't be a missionary?  Don't believe it, anyone can serve I saw this on Mormon Messages on the http://www.mormonchannel.org/ check it out.



Share your missionaries with someone you know.
May God bless you this week.  Remember the missionaries in your prayers.  When you pray, rather than pray that the spirit might direct the missionaries to someone who would hear the Gospel message, pray that you might be instrumental in leading them to someone who needs to be taught the Gospel.  Keep yourself awesome this week.

Is there a spy out there?

I don't know where the last week went.  I missed last week's post so this is what happened.  Wednesday was transfer day and when I got home from work Mom told me that she knew something I didn't know.  I guessed right that nobody was going to get transferred.  So we were relieved to keep Elder W and Elder T.  But Mom didn't know everything, because that night the mission president called the elders and told them that he had just learned that they were a companionship without a car.  He asked them each if they wanted to be transferred so that they could get into an area with a car. I was relieved to hear that they both declined.  So they then learned that a third elder who can drive would move in for the last week he would be here before he left for his assignment in Spain.  Welcome Elder S.   I didn't even get time to get to know Elder S except to know that he is from Oregon.  He left Wednesday and now there are just two elders here again.  We should be getting a new elder straight from the MTC who is waiting for a visa, but he should be able to drive.  Elder W and Elder T have a baptism tomorrow afternoon, so I wonder if there will be a time conflict with meeting up with the new elder and getting to their baptism on time.  Things are never boring here.   
The funny thing about this past week is that it makes me wonder if we have a spy out there telling the mission president that none of our elders drive.  I wonder if one of the ward mission leaders called and complained about having to drive the elders around?  I can't always be there to give them rides when they need one and I love the opportunity to help them out, but when I can't help they call around to the various ward mission leaders (there are 20 of them).  So, I can't help but wonder if one of them complained, if they did that kind of bothers me.  These elders are dedicating one hundred percent of their time to serving the Lord for these two years and all they are asking is for a short ride somewhere in the area and the absolute longest drive would be about 30 minutes round trip for those giving rides.  That's a pretty small sacrifice in comparison.  If you are out there reading this ward mission leaders, stop your whining and serve, these are awesome young men very dedicated to the Lord.
Oh, was that too much?  Sorry for getting on my soap box again.
I love getting meeting the elders and getting to know their personalities.  It has finally started to look like Winter here.  We had snow Thursday and so Elder T had to try out the snowblower.  He is from Hawaii, so snow is a novelty for him.  It was pretty funny, he comes out with the winter coat and beanie and wearing shorts and dress shoes, I guess it was too cold for flip-flops.
All in all it was a pretty great week.

Take good care of your missionaries and never pass up the opportunity to offer them a ride, it's worth it.
Stay awesome this week.  Don't forget to smile.
May God bless you.

Great week for the Elders.  Yes they had their challenges.  There's not a lot going on for them, so they have been knocking on doors in the neighborhood.  Knocking on doors has never been successful, but it shows dedication to the work of the Lord. 
Mom says that she thinks this week one of our elders will get transferred because neither of them drive and they have a pretty big area to cover so they need a driver.  I told her that not having a car is kind of an advantage for these guys because they depend on the members more for their transportation.  This means that more members will see them and get to know them better.  The better the members get to know the missionaries, the more comfortable they are and the more likely they are to invite the missionaries to meet with their non member friends.  See the wonderful plan in all of this? 
I recently have been trying to get pictures of the elders who have lived here.  The elders from a year ago or longer I didn't get, but I have been able to get a few of them from pictures on the mission blog.  So last night I got pictures of Elder T and Elder W together.  After I took the pictures they asked if they could borrow the picture.  When I asked them more about it, they said that they are making a flier with their contact information so that they could post it in each of the ward buildings to introduce themselves to the members in the area.  It sounds like a great way to get the members more involved.  They have also been speaking in each of the Wards in our two Stakes here.  They have about 21 Wards they cover so they are pretty busy on Sundays.
Last Sunday they asked me for a ride, but I was unavailable.  They were taking a man they are teaching to meet with the mission president.  Well they must have gotten a ride because they had two baptisms yesterday and today they have to be in two different Wards to do the confirmations.  They will end up going on splits with priesthood holders.  It must be great to have that kind of problem.  Elder T joked that since they have had four baptisms this month they should get extra sleep.  They definitely work hard and yes they are pretty much still teenagers so they would like to sleep a bit more. 
That's about all for now. 

Make this week awesome.  When you pray for the missionaries don't pray for the spirit to lead them to people to teach, pray that YOU and other members might lead them to people to teach. 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is TRUE.  Share it with someone.

I'm taking the week off.

Very rough week at work, nothing to report.
So here's a video to make you smile.

I have not met either of these elders, they have not stayed in my home and I do not take any responsibility for the content, it just makes me smile.

Be awesome this week

Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice

So totally not fair!  Okay, maybe I complain too much, but I am jealous.  Monday I got a call from Elder W asking if I could stop by the Stake Center across the street from where I work and pick him and Elder T up at the end of their P-day.  I was glad for the chance to help and it was no inconvenience, because I didn't even have to go out of my way to get them.  Anyway the reason I bring this up is that on the way home Elder W was teasing me and asked if I knew who was speaking at their mission conference on Tuesday.  (I keep telling him that I need to get invited to their mission conferences).  Well it was Elder Boyd K. Packer.  Too sweet, how would it be to sit in the presence of a prophet of the Lord Jesus Christ.  As it turns out, Elder Packer opened up the meeting to questions from the missionaries.  I asked Elder W. how it was and he said that his favorite part was when a missionary asked Elder Packer how it felt to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ.  His answer was very insightful.  His answer was that it feels pretty much like how it feels to be a missionary.  Pretty cool huh?
I guess that when you think about it, that's what an Apostle's call really is all about.  It must be an honor beyond awesome to have your whole life totally devoted to serving God and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Not just for 2 years like the full-time missionaries, but for the remainder of their life here on earth.  That would be pretty awesome, but totally heavy responsibility.  I totally respect each and every one of the apostles if the church. 

Well that's about all for this week.  I hope all is well with those who read this blog.
Remeber our missionaries in your daily prayers.  And just as important remember to support your missionaries and help them serve by providing them opportunities to teach.

Be awesome this week.  God Bless you as you strivve to be awesome.

Enjoy the Moment

This has been one of those times where I just don't know what to write.  It's not that nothing happened, I just don't know what to say.

Last Friday the elders got a call telling them that Elder M now has a visa and would be leaving first thing Monday morning and that he had to go get a vaccination before he left.  Mom called me at work to see if I would be able to take Elder M to the state health department to get his shot.  I told her that I would have to make arrangements to leave a half hour early, but I could do it.  Well before I could even make arrangements, they already had one of the ward mission leaders volunteer to take them and so I didn't get to take them.  I guess everyone wants to help out the elders where ever they can.  More on that topic later.  Anyway I did end up taking Elder M to the mission home Sunday night around 9:00 pm. because he couldn't go alone and the Elder T and Elder W would need a ride home because they don't drive yet.  It was kind of fun to hear the district leaders call to check in on the missionaries and find that they were on the road at 9:30 at night and they had a valid excuse - um, sorry, we are just leaving the mission president's home.  Yes, I am a trouble maker whenever I can :).

So now here we are with two elders in a pretty big area in the middle of winter without a car.  It's sad to see them walking home all bundled up against the cold, but there is usually someone more than willing to give them rides wherever they go.  Members just love missionaries.  Two or three months ago the elders called and asked me to pick them up at the apartments in our area.  I was glad to do it, but when I got there they said that next time they might just try standing on the corner because while they were waiting for me people would stop and offer them a ride.  A while back one of the elders was at a store and found a suit that was on sale, so he decided to buy it, well once he got to the register someone paid for his suit.  How cool is that. 

About a year ago we had a brand new elder who had just arrived here from the MTC and his trainer told him about how the members treat the missionaries and he said that missionaries are not supposed to get all puffed up about it.  Even before he got to his new area his trainer said ignore that talk and enjoy it all as much as you can.  - okay, so maybe I am telling this story wrong, but you get the idea.  Anyway those two were two of my favorite elders...  (no, I love them all, so I can't say they were my favorite, but we did have fun!)

The work here continues, but is being challenged.  It seems that there is always something (or someone) trying to block the work from progressing here.  There were a couple baptisms planned for this month and they have been postponed until February.  I am reminded of a quote from Joseph Smith

"The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done."

I kind of like that quote.  It tells me that even these 19 year old "kids" are going to succeed where college educated divinity professors will fail.  The gospel is true and no matter how hard Satan tries to block its success, the Lord will come out on top and so will we if we follow the gospel plan.

Share your testimony with someone this week.  You might not be a full-time missionary right now, but you still have that same spirit that missionaries have and you should be sharing it with people you know. 

Make your week awesome. 
Pray for your missionaries (I still pray for my missionaries here and at home).

Three is NOT a crowd.

This Wednesday was transfers and as expected Elder W and Elder M are still here.  What is surprising is that we got a third elder in our home.  Welcome Elder T from Hawaii!  Wow, extra blessings!  What's really cool is that I am seeing the extra blessings already.
 
Elder T has been out for about 12 weeks so he has already done some great work in another area.  He and his companion taught the father of a young family and this man asked to be baptized (his wife is already a member).  Saturday was the baptism and Elder T was allowed to attend, so he needed a ride and I offered to take him.  That family just lit up when Elder T walked into the church, you could tell that they love him. 

The blessing I got from this experience is that I was able to attend a convert baptism and feel the missionary spirit at it's best and what is really cool is that I couldn't help thinking how awesome it is that this beautiful couple with their two cute little boys will soon be able to join together in a Temple of the Lord and be sealed together forever as an eternal family.  Now that's good stuff.  No, I don't feel a bit bad that we have three elders staying here!  My only regret is that I didn't make the bedroom bigger, there's just not room for 3 beds in there, I wish I could make it a bit more comfortable for them.

One of the scriptures read at the baptism was Mosiah 18:8-9 talking about those who are desirous to come into the fold of God, to bear one another's burdens, to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those who need comfort and to "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places..." It makes me think how sweet is it that as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we are all in this together.  We don't need to be ashamed of our beliefs and shouldn't be ashamed to accept help from others when we need it.  But what is really great is that if we expect to live with God after this life, we need to get used to living the kind of life that is compatible with being in the presence of the Lord. 

So I'm not sure where that last paragraph came from, but I'm not deleting it.

Not sure why I'm posting this pic either, but I guess I need to explain.  During Christmas I like to setup a Christmas Village in my entryway.  This year I found these awesome missionaries that I put in the village.  I have them set so that they are high on a hill looking over the village almost like they are planning how best to bless the village with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  But why the giant sock monkey?  It's all my nephew; yes, the same nephew who called out to Elder B (the first) from the bus stop asking why he wasn't driving...  He got my camera and started taking random pictures and when I got the camera back there was a series of pictures of the sock monkey attacking the missionaries.  Here is the ending frame...

I have no doubt that my nephew will be an awesome missionary.  I wish I could say that I will still be blogging when he is out serving as a full-time missionary and tell you of all his successes, but he is only 15 years old, that's a long time to commit to.

So another blog entry in the books.  Remember the missionaries in your prayers every day.  Help out the missionaries in your area, they can't do it alone.

May God bless you to be awesome this week.  All the best to anyone reading this.



Are We Back to the Pranks?

My nephews and niece wanted to be have a sleep-over New Year's Eve, but since it was a Sunday the next day I told them they had to wait a day.  Well we had the sleep-over and they brought silly string.  (Yes, that means trouble).  So we wait until about 9:15 and here come Elder W and Elder M driving up the driveway.  We oops, I mean my niece and nephews... wait for the elders to get out of the car and that seems to take forever, but they finally get out of the car.  Yes, the elders got sprayed with silly string the whole way in the apartment, it's tragic because they had to get their key out and unlock the door to the apartment :), so we (er, I mean my niece and nephews) had an extra few minutes to get them.  It was great fun, but tomorrow is p-day and I am afraid they might plan on finding some way to get even...  If they do, I will let you know, although it will be hard to match the prank Elder B2 and Elder U got me back with, the manequin head, that was classic.  (If you don't remember this one, read my Sept 11 blog entry - I jumped out of my chair 'nuff said)

Don't think that just because I am still a bit on the adolescent mode that the missionaries who stay here are.  These guys work hard.  Wednesday I got to go on splits with Elder M because they had two lessons scheduled for the same time.  What an awesome opportunity it is to go with the missionaries when they are teaching the gospel.  I keep wishing that I could be ninteen years old and go be one of these guys.  The lesson I was in was a bit tough for Elder M because the person we were teaching was a talker and by the time we got to the lesson there was very little time, but Elder M did a great job.  The cool thing about these guys is that even though they are young and inexperienced, you can feel the spirit with them and you can't deny their testimony. 

Thursday we had a missionary focused meeting at the Stake Center and President Miller of the mission presidency spoke.  What a great man he is.  These elders have an awesome leader, no wonder they do such great work.  Anyway in the meeting the mission president had Elder W and Elder M stand up and was asking them some questions about the work here.  One thing that came out of their conversation was that they aren't teaching enough lessons, and the Mission President (in a loving way) chastised us for not providing enough opportunities for these great elders to teach.  Our Stake President also told us that we are slacking a bit and that because of that we have had to share our missionaries with a neighboring stake and the stake president does not like to share his missionaries.  -- so, interesting observation by my mother today... "I haven't seen much of the elders these past two days.  -- maybe our stake was listening???  I hope so.  (I guess that means that I need to pick up the pace myself -does this blog count, I hope so?).

Wait, I have rambled on forever here and said almost nothing.  Today I am fasting for our stake's missionary program, along with every other member of the stake.  The goal is to get more missionaries ready to go out from our stake (it is one of the largest stakes in the church) and to get more senior couples as missionaries too - we only have two couples from a stake of 12 wards, that's pretty sad.  We are also fasting for the success of the missionary effort right here at home.  The elders are currently teaching a couple who recently moved here from Texas.  Our Stake President said that their ward prayed them there, because they didn't have any possible candidates to teach.

Okay, really I am done.

Be especially Awesome this week it's really that important. 
Welcome home to Elder U  I am very proud of you. 

May the Lord Bless all of our missionaries, and all of us, for are we not all missionaries?  (OK you can call me a weirdo now)!

Happy New Year

Great news, Elder M. is now allowed to drive the mission vehicles, so our elders aren't totally dependent on bikes and members giving them rides.  That's great because people have been telling me how sad it looks to have the elders walking or riding their bikes all bundled up when it's so dark and cold.  I had a bit of a disappointment yesterday.  The elders have a limited number of miles in a month that they are allowed to drive, so there are times when they will still ask me for a ride or ask me to pick them up from an appointment. I love the chance to help them.  It gives me a chance to find out what they are up to.

Well yesterday I missed an opportunity to help the elders and I'm kind of sad I missed it.  The mission had a mission conference where Elder Russell M. Nelson (of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) was the speaker.  One of the advantages of being a missionary during the holidays is that the church does cool stuff for their missionaries.  The elders asked if I would take them to the meeting, mostly because they didn't know for sure where they were going.  Sadly I had to work a twelve hour shift so I couldn't help out.  I did give them my gps unit to help them and I guess they found their way okay.  I had heard from the elders a week ago that they would be hearing from Elder Nelson and I was totally jealous!  I kept teasing them that they need to get me an invitation to attend the meeting.  President Miller- if you're reading this blog, I would sure love an invite to the President Packer devotional.... (Not so subtle hint). 

Next Sunday our stake will hold fast Sunday and have asked all the members to fast for an increased desire for success in missionary work and to get more members to serve missions.  They will include asking for senior missionaries to serve both in the Temple and in inner city type of missions.  What a great opportunity to get out and serve the Lord.
My oldest sister is not in our stake, but she is totally in the category of people the stake presidency is talking about.  She has a daughter who is married to a U.S. Army Officer living in Germany and her other daughter just bought a house.  She has no children at home and no debt (her house is even paid off).  My brother-in-law is still working, but I am sure that he and my sister have enough savings that they are perfectly suited to go out and serve the Lord.  It would be awesome for them because they are still young and have lots of energy and have a lot to give.  What a powerful missionary force there would be if more people in their situation would serve.  (KAREN I am calling you out).  I am also inviting anyone who is an empty nester to seriously consider talking to your bishop.  You will have the opportunity to work side by side with some pretty AWESOME youth both men and women who are totally dedicated to serving the people in their area and serving the Lord.  I tell you now in all honesty:  We have nothing to worry about with the future of the church and the nation if all young men and women are of the quality of the young men who have been living in my basement for the last year and a half.  Get to know the missionaries in your area, they are great.  Get motivated to be a missionary yourself.

The Church is true, God loves YOU. 

Continue to pray for our missionaries, they need the support.  Elder B (you know who you are)  I am waiting for your return!  God bless you.
Be awesome this week.
Thanks for reading my blog.