Happy New Year

I Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  I certainly did.

 We currently have three missionaries living in our home, it is interesting how that came about but it's like this. Elder C from Oregon is awaiting a visa because he was called to serve in the Brazil Manaus mission so in the mean time he is here  but because he may leave before the next transfer it's better to have him here with 2 missionaries so that when he does leave there is still a companionship here and not just one lone Elder.  The other two are just awesome.  Elder L is from Tonga and Elder W is from Jacksonville Florida.  All three Elders were able to talk with their families on Christmas Day and that was great for them and their families.  The members here just love missionaries and so they are always giving treats and junk food to the Elders, the only problem is that they are all gaining weight and they don't really like the idea of going home fat.  Elder C's mom saw him on Skype on Christmas Day and told him that he looked fat, so he is trying really hard to turn down deserts and extra treats.  

I went down to the apartment this week and there was this countertop just filled with junk food! Most of it was not really good and definitely not good for them so they kind of threw all of it in the garbage.  This really upset Elder L because in Tonga there are too many people there who go without and here they just throw food away.  How sad is that?  It really tugged at my heart to realize that we waste so much while people are out there starving... 

Today's reward was awesome, there was a knock at the door and Elder M and his mother were here from Houston Tx.  Elder M finished his full time service 2 weeks ago and now he is moving back to go to college near by.  It's great to see that the missionaries don't forget us.

Goodbye and Hello (for a few days anyway)

Today Elder T from Arizona left for Brazil. It was pretty sad to see him leave, but I am totally excited for him because he is absolutely ready to teach. I just pray that the language will come quickly for him.  The people of Florianopolis Brazil will be so blessed to have him there.  

Today we got a new Elder from Cedar City, Utah he is Elder R and he is waiting for a visa too.  His call is to Florianopoliis Brazil also. He arrived in the mission the same time as ElderT but he is still waiting for a visa. He was with the zone leaders but that meant that there was a companionship of 3 elders so now that there is a place here he is companion with elder V from Philippines. There is a chance that he could be here just one day because official transfers are tomorrow.

Here's this week's events. Friday night the missionaries had no appointments so they needed to do some contacting all over the city, but since they are on bikes they needed a driver.  I was lucky enough to be that driver.  It was so awesome to be able to see these two young men share the message of the restoration.  One of the visits went really great and Elder T invited someone to be taught and they accepted, they go back Tuesday.  They made a few more visits and made some more appointments, then we went to another ward area and had a totally different experience.  We knocked on a member's door who hadn't been to church for a long time and she said that she wasn't interested.  The elders tried to find out what her concerns were but she didn't want to discuss that with strangers, then Elder V started bearing his testimony to her and she said Whoa, whoa.  That's enough and dismissed us. That is the first time I can remember ever hearing someone interrupt a testimony.  I feel very sad for her.  We had a similar result at a different house just down the street.  I feel sorry for those members who have lost their way, it doesn't make sense to me, but I guess they must feel like Jesus Christ is kind of like Santa Claus and they are just too old to believe in the Savior of the world.  Sad indeed.

Saturday night my nephews came over and waited for the elders to come home and they attacked the elders when they came up the driveway.  Pretty funny and it lightened things up a bit.  

I just heard about transfers and I worst fears came true.  Elder V is leaving and Elder R is also leaving and he won't even be here a full 24hr day.  That really makes me sad.  I guess that Heavenly Father has a greater need for these great missionaries somewhere else.  I sure hope the new guys keep their appointments made last Friday night.  It sounds like there are lots of changes throughout the mission.  I hear that one of the elders coming here is Elder C.  

Well that's all for this week.  I need to go to bed and I'm kind of sad about the changes, so I will end this one.  

As always keep praying that God blesses His missionaries.  I know He loves them all.

Please do your part to help the missionaries in your area, God will bless you for it and you will love it.

Last Minute Update We're Losing an Elder.

Today is Sunday and after church I went home teaching then up to my sister's house to play a game with my niece and nephew.  I came home about ten minutes to five and as I was walking in the door my phone rang.  Mom was calling to tell me that the missionaries needed a ride to their appointment.  Ok, fine I home so I can give them a ride... as we were talking Elder T from Arizona gave me a hug.  I was confused about the hug and he said that he had to tell me he loves me before he could tell me that HE GOT HIS VISA to Brazil.  Elder T leaves next Monday and I am super excited for him, but really sad for me and our mission because he is an awesome elder and we will miss him.  He says that he is kind of nervous.  I was totally expecting him to be here for at least another month.  I guess that someone in Brazil needs him more than we do.  I am going to miss this young man.  God Bless you Elder T.

Take Care of My Sons.

In order to tell this week's story I have to tell you a little about me.  

I work in a hospital, and so last Thursday I was heading back upstairs after lunch and I saw the Zone  Leaders in the lobby. (I knew that Elder M from Houston might be having surgery, so I was kind of watching out for him.) It was still a surprise to see all these missionaries, so I went to talk to the Zone Leader and found out that Elder M was going to have surgery in just about an hour. The funny part is that I got a text from Elder M's mother right after that with the same information.  I got off work about 3:30 and then went up to the waiting room and I got to see a bit of what a parent feels while waiting for their child in surgery.  I tell you it's a bit stressful.  Just before Elder M went in to surgery I saw His surgeon and told him that he had better take good care of Elder M. I got a kind of funny look from the doctor but afterward i explained that Elder M was one of my elders.  

While I was waiting for the surgery to be done I had a great opportunity to visit with the "mission mom" - the mission president's wife.  She is a great lady and is very concerned about her missionaries.  She is from Idaho and just a very caring person. Well the surgery went well and I was able to text his mom with updates for when he went in and when he got out of surgery. I even included a couple pictures.  She was very grateful.  The one bad part was when I put my phone back in my pocket it actually called Elder M's mom, well it's just not fair to talk to an elder's mom without letting them talk, so I just quickly hung up.  I can't imagine how stressful it was for her to get a call.  She probably thought the worst was happening, but I do know that the surgeon called her and let her know that the surgery went well.  I overheard the first part of the call and he called her Sister M....  How very cool to have a surgeon show so much respect for a missionary and his mother.

I guess I should tell you how I knew that Elder M was having surgery. Monday is p-day for the mission and so this past Monday the missionaries in the district came over about noon for my birthday.  That's where Elder M told me about his surgery.  It touches my heart to think that these awesome young men would sacrifice a part of their free time to spend with me.  They word hard for six and a half days a week and p-day starts with personal and companion study until 10:00 am then they clean the apartment do laundry and shopping etc and then p-day ends at 5 or 6 pm and it's back to missionary work.  I feel totally honored to have them as friends.  Elder T from Arizona just took over with cooking hamburgers and getting other things done.  I really like that young man.  I feel like these are the sons that I didn't have.

So that's how this week went. 

The Gospel is true. God Loves YOU.  Please do all you can to help your missionaries in any way you can, but especially with finding people to teach.  YOU need to be a part of the missionary process or they just won't be very successful.

Pray for our missionaries  everywhere and search for your own missionary opportunities.

I LOVE These Guys

Sometimes I just connect with one of the missionaries more than others.  And this must be the case with Elder T from Arizona.  It's so much fun to get to know these dedicated servants on a more personal level. When most members see the missionaries they are pretty serious about the Gospel and  they are always at there best.  When they are home in their apartment they have the opportunity to be more relaxed.  

I tell all the elders on their first day here that this is THEIR home and they need to feel comfortable to ask for whatever they need if they can't find it.  They have free access to the whole house and I will be upset if they don't make themselves at home here.  So with that as background here's how the past few weeks have gone.  

Two weeks ago the faucet in the apartment kitchen was leaking, so I went down to look at it.  While I was down there Elder T asked me if I could show him how to sew a button on his shirt. (you can learn anything by searching on google).  So the next day I went down and walked Elder T through how to sew on a button.  I told him that my mom would be happy to do it for him, but he wanted to do it himself because he would need to know how when he got to Brazil.  He was very grateful for the help. He did a great job sewing the button.

The bike saga continues.  Our area covers lots of dirt paths on the side of the road that have way too many thorns so it is almost a daily occurrence for either Elder V or Elder T to have a flat tire.  So the hint here is that if you live in an area that has missionaries on bikes, keep extra inner-tubes handy so that if you see them pushing, rather than riding the bike you can offer them a spare.  They will love you for it.  Right now Elder V is borrowing a bike from one of the zone-leaders and Elder T is using another one from the mission office (the first one had tires so old that the rubber was rotting).

I think that the ninja wars might be starting up again, last week I found some ninja's in a sort of pyramid on my keyboard (one was holding 4 others one on each knee and one on each shoulder) and today there was one hanging from the ceiling fan.  I know who did this. and his initials are KT.  

so the note on this one says "Ye are the light of the world... Let your light so shine." -Matthew 5:14-16.  there is a ninja and light stick hanging from the light. This made me laugh.  I absolutely love these guys!  

Well that is enough for today.  Keep praying for our missionaries. While you are praying for our missionaries, pray that you will be able to provide opportunities for the missionaries to share the gospel.

And So I continue...

Last week I spent in Provo, UT attending BYU's campus education week.  It was pretty cool.  I attended one class that talked about how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is really embracing electronic resources to spread the Gospel of Christ.  It made me feel like I really need to write on my blog. 

A lot has happened since I last wrote on this blog so I will try to get you up to date on what has been happening.  Elder M from Texas got a new companion Elder P got transferred and Elder V from the Philippines replaced him.  Elder M seemed very comfortable here we were able to visit fairly regularly and he kept us up to date on what was happening with the work.  Just when all was going great there was this influx of new missionaries in the mission and that meant there needed to be several more companionships created. In anticipation of that growth, we were asked to house the zone leaders for a short time so we got Elder C from Japan back for 2 weeks - I really liked him, so I was happy to have him come back.  The funny part is that he remembered about the scone parties, so we had a scone party just before they moved out. It was pretty fun to have 4 elders living in our home even though it was just for 2 weeks. 

They added 2 new elders to our stake (they don't live here in our house). The problem with adding 2 elders to our stake meant that there weren't enough cars in the mission and Elder M was told that he shouldn't be riding bikes.  Long story short.. Elder M got transferred out and Elder V got a new companion who is actually assigned to one of the Brazil missions.  Elder T from Gilbert, Arizona is waiting for a visa and they say that it averages 7 months for the visa to be processed so if all goes well we can have him here for a while.  I really think he is a great elder.  He is fresh out of the MTC and already doing great things.  I feel really bad because they don't have a car and since Elder T will not stay in the mission, he doesn't have a bike.  So for his first few days here I let him borrow my bicycle but that was a mistake because it is kind of a junk bike and so he got a flat tire the first day, so the Stake President noticed them walking the bikes and took them to their appointment and took the tire to get fixed.  Well he couldn't get the tire back on the bike right and so he ended up walking the bike a second time.  There is no way it was his fault, but I am sure he felt bad about it.  But I really feel bad for all the problems I caused him.  Anyway I think that there are a lot of members who are providing rides for our elders. The day the bike broke down the elders went to a lesson and the man they taught just wanted to argue about silly stuff. This man was kind of rude to them and there were bad feelings starting to develop but at this very moment The Stake President felt the need to go pick them up.  President Howell is a very inspired man and Elder T and Elder V learned a great lesson about trusting our leaders.  

I think the lack of a car can be a really good thing because it requires the elders to get rides from members.  When the members get to see the awesome young men who are serving in this area they will get to know the elders and feel more motivated to provide them more missionary opportunities. 

Well, that's too much for this blog, I will try to write less on the next blog, but maybe write more frequently.

Please continue to pray for our missionaries. 

Elder G went home last week and we welcomed Elder M from Texas. He has been out 17 months and  the day after he got here he had minor surgery.  Nothing serious, he is back to work already, but what a way to start out.  We have an awesome stake so they arranged to have someone to work with Elder P while Elder M stayed with a family during his recovery.  Lots of people have been blessed by this little setback and they still managed to teach 20 lessons this week.
I was talking with a member of the stake presidency tonight and he said that he got in trouble for keeping the missionaries out too late.  The good news from that is that since the elders are so busy they have requested that we get another set of missionaries in our stake.  How cool is that?  I told them that they could house 2 sets of elders here on a temporary basis, but I think that it would be best that they stay separate.  I think more work would get done.  It would be pretty nice to get double the blessings with twice the elders though.  Maybe they could stay here. Wait, what if they get sister missionaries?  Nope they can't stay here with elders.
Well that's about all for this report.
Until next time.
Keep praying for our missionaries, both male and female young and old.
Helaman had 2,000 warriors, today we have more like 60,000.  Keep sending your best!

Should I try again?

It has been a year since I last blogged.  I guess I have been too lazy to write, but I think it's time to try again... mabye.  Today I saw on another blog that two of my favorite Elders are now companions.  Elder B(the first) and Elder M ( I haven't mentioned him before).  Elder M is from Texas and he was part of a threesome but only stayed here a short time ( I think it was only one transfer).  It made me sad when he got transferred, but it's great to hear that these two Elders are companions.
Right now we have an Elder G from Boise ID and Elder P from California.  We have two extremes, Elder G goes home in 4 weeks and Elder P has only been here 8 weeks.  Elder G is not at all sitting on his trunks waiting to go home, he is working hard and training Elder P like a pro.  I always take a week off from work in April to work on my yard to clean up after winter.  So this week I have had some free time, and just by coincidence last Friday Elder G asked me what I had planned for this week.  I told him that I was off the whole week.  He said good because it is the end of the month and they don't have a lot of miles left they can drive.  I have been driving them around this week so that they don't have to do too much on their bikes at night.  Tuesday they had a training at the mission office with the assistants to the mission president, Thursday I picked them up after they visited the temple and today I took them to their Zone meeting.  I have met some of the other missionaries in the district and have to say that they are all very high quality young men.  The news would have you believe that today's generation of youth are self centered and just a bunch of trouble, but I see these wonderful young men and I believe that there is definitely hope for the future.  (By the way, I have been able get some work done on my yard and it is looking pretty good).

I think that we might be able to continue to host the missionaries, a couple weeks ago I received a call  from a member of the stake presidency and he asked if we needed them to find a new place for the missionaries to stay.  I told my mom about this call and she almost cried.  I told them that as long as they need a place for the missionaries to stay there is a place for them here.  I hope it can continue.

Please help bring the miracle of the gospel into the lives of your friends, coworkers and neighbors by inviting the missionaries to meet with them.  The missionaries can't do it alone, they need your support and prayers. They are giving up two years of their life, the least you can do is give them a few hours of your time and support.

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.