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.

Merry Christmas

The work is progressing.  Saturday (Christmas eve was a very eventful day)  Elder W (who is from New Zeland) visited with a member from New Zeland who has lost his way.  They had a great visit and they took time to talk to him about his testimony of the Book of Mormon.  This gentleman does believe the Book of Mormon, but not so much the prophet.  Elder M challenged him to ask the Lord if President Monson is a prophet.  This was a good visit and hopefully with all your prayers he will find his way again.

Also, the elders have a few baptisms lined up for the near future and they just found a new investigator to teach.  When they told me this I told them that that was a wonderful Christmas Eve gift (meaning for the new investigator).  Since it was Christmas Eve, the mission got together for the evening where they heard a christmas message and got to watch a Christmas video.  Then they got  their mail and some gifts.  Elder M. commented that he got like 3 tubes of toothpaste and 4 toothbrushes from various people.  He wonders if people are trying to tell him something.
We have been trying to get the Christmas spirit here for the elders.  We put a Nativity Set up in the apartment, and a small Christmas tree too.  We also filled some Christmas Stockings for them.  It's hard to decide what get for them, because they need to keep their belongings light enough to fit in their suitcases.  We just got silly stuff like deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste and stuff like that.  Yea, I was one of those multiple toothbrush sources.
For Christmas the Elder W and Elder M were invited to lunch at the Stake President's home and dinner at another member's home, so they are being well taken care of.  They also get to call home and talk with their family.

Christmas evening was wonderful, we got a visit from Elder U and had a great visit.  He is doing well (of course) and it was awesome to see him again.

That's about it for now.  Be awesome this week. 
It's the Christmas season so give a gift which can last through the eternities, give the gift of the gospel.  Have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy new year!

No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. -Joseph Smith

You may recall that I told you last week that we have a brand new elder, Elder M here who is waiting for a visa so that he can go to Brazil.  Well since he is brand new, the mission president has to get a copy of his driving record before he is allowed to drive and his companion Elder W is from New Zealand so he doesn't have a U.S. driving license, so they are on foot or on bike.  They have a pretty big area to cover just on bicycles, so they are depending on members to give them rides to their appointments.  That doesn't seem to slow them down much; neither does the waiting for a visa, Elder M is just like any new missionary working hard and totally motivated to share the gospel with anyone willing to listen.  One might think that waiting for a visa gives you permission to slack off a bit while you wait, well that is not at all the case with Elder M; he is a worker. 

Yesterday they told us about knocking on a lady's door.  When she answered she was a bit gruff with her greeting (I guess in an attempt to get rid of them quickly).  But these elders didn't give up.  They asked her if there was some kind of service they could provide for her and so they helped her by fixing a light.  Her goodbye was a lot warmer than her greeting.  The next time missionaries knock on her door she might be a little more open to listening to what they have to say.

Speaking of light, I have a story about light that involves my nephews (again with the nephews!).  We were at Walmart this week and my nephew B. asked if I would buy a playground ball - this was not your ordinary red rubber playground ball, it was a glow-in-the-dark ball.  I bought it and of course, we had to play with it.  So we went into the laundry room and closed all the doors and turned off the lights and covered all the cracks to get it as dark as we could get it.  We had lots of fun playing with the ball.  We all noticed that as time went on, our eyes got more used to the dark and we could see the ball better and better, we even got to where we could make out the outline of each other as the ball passed by. 

Okay, now for the principle I am trying to get to.  When we opened the door the light that flooded in made our eyes hurt, and it chased away all the darkness and then when we closed the door again, we found that it was hard to see the ball again. 

The spirit of the Lord is like this, if we are immersed in the spirit, like me and my nephews were while in the dark room, we are more sensitive to the subtleties of the spirit and more aware of where you need to be.  (Aha, I bet you thought I was going a different way with my light metaphor!)  These elders are a great example of this.  It's interesting that when I offer them rides they ask me to turn off the radio, they don't want secular and possibly inappropriate music to dull their sensitivity to the spirit.

Time for my, it's all about ME story.  Today marks the tenth anniversary of the day my Dad passed away.  In some ways it seems like yesterday and at other times it seems like forever.  My whole family is very supportive of missionaries, my dad served a full-time mission in the southwest U.S. speaking Spanish.  This was right after being released from his duties as a radioman in the Navy in World War II.  Later he worked with the missionary program in ward and stake positions most of his adult life, and now I am sure he is sharing gospel truths with those who died without the opportunity of hearing the gospel message while they were alive on the Earth.  I like to think that he is pleased with my decision to allow the missionaries to live in my home.  Not long after my dad died my mom served a full-time mission in Oklahoma City and spent most of her time in the mission office as the secretary to the mission president.  She loved the experience and fell in love with the young missionaries who served there.  Now she spends her time trying to help the missionaries living in my home by doing their laundry, baking them bread and making sure that missionary birthdays are not forgotten.  My parents are great examples for my nieces and nephews and I am confident they will be blessed for it.

Life is great!  To paraphrase a previous post "The Gospel is true, may God bless YOU".  It is the Christmas season, share what you know to those who have lost their way and are just focused on all the shopping, rushing and stressing.  Christ is what CHRISTmas is all about, may we share our Savior's love with everyone we meet.

Keep praying for our missionaries and for those who are trying to get the opportunity to serve as missionaries.  God loves them all. 

Be Awesome this week!

Waiting on Visa

I think that I mentioned that Wednesday was transfer day.  Well Elder U was transferred out and we will miss him.  He is going to be a Zone Leader again.  He will be awesome as a zone leader, he is such a great trainer that his trainee is now a trainer, so I have no doubt that he will do awesome in his new assignment.  Elder M is the new elder and he just got here Friday fresh from the Missionary Training Center.  Elder M is from California and is here temporarilly while he waits for his visa to come through.  He has been assigned to go to Brazil, so he will not be here very long. 

The holidays are coming and so we are decorating our house for Christmas.  I have a Christmas Village set up in my entry way and have been doing it for a few years now, but this year I found some small missionaries that are almost the right size to go in it.  I set them up high so that they look like they are looking over the village and to me it looks like they are planning how best to bring the spirit of Christ to my Christmas Village.  I thought it was kind of a nice thing to do.  Fun for me anyway.

I don't have much to report for this week.  I guess that is because of transfers, so I haven't had much chance of hearing what is going on with the missionaries.  Elder W spent a couple days in a trio of missionaries while he waited for his new companion to arrive, so nothing really to report. 

Well it took me 3 paragraphs to say pretty much nothing, so I guess I will close this one.
Remember to be awesome this week.  Do something special for your missionaries this holiday season. 
As always keep on praying for our missionaries.