New Hobby?

Learning to weave in case I need a hobby after the mission

Super fun Girls Trip

Our daughter and her baby and two of our daughters- in law came for a quick visit last weekend.  It was so wonderful to see what valiant women they are.  They all came to our trainings and shared mission experiences and their testimonies with our missionaries

Future Missionaries

One of the bishops invited us to speak in his ward during sacrament meeting and afterwards we had a question and answer with the youth about what they need to do to prepare to serve a mission.  It was lots of fun and lots of youth agreed to leave with the missionaries to learn how to teach!

Our Mission Leadership Council celebrating our Harvest of Converts

Our Angels celebrate the Harvest Fest

View from the Stand

Each zone presented a musical number during their day of zone conference last week.  We loved seeing the unity demonstrated by this zone while they were singing.

Now that's putting God first

We receive inspiration from this amazing couple.  The Rasbands were serving as temple missionaries, expecting to stay in the DR for two years.  The month before they were scheduled to return home they were asked to stay on and serve as counselor in the temple presidency!  They accepted and after 3 years 7 &1/2 months of service they are getting ready to return home.

How Blessed to have a Living Prophet!

When the prophet came to visit us here in the mission (the photo is from a different encounter) he invited President and me to bear our testimonies from the pulpit in front of all the missionaries.  While standing next to us with his arm around President Smith's shoulder, we had to decide what we would say.  I thought it an opportune time to bear my testimony of a living prophet.  I shared the witness I had recently received when we had the Solemn Assembly during the General Conference where President Nelson was sustained.  President and I were watching conference in our apartment and when it came time for the Relief Society sisters to stand and sustain the prophet it seemed kind of silly to me to stand when we were alone, just the two of us, in our apartment, but President Smith had done so with the brethren, so I followed his example.  As I stood and raised my hand I felt the strongest witness I could ever feel.  The Spirit not only touched my heart, but filled my body, I felt a flood of warmth from my head to my toes in every single cell confirm that it was the right thing to sustain this prophet.  I was super surprised to receive such a strong confirmation of his divine calling, but extremely grateful.  In my testimony in front of the missionaries with the prophet standing by my side I said I would have followed the prophet even without this powerful witness from the Holy Ghost, but I am sure grateful I was given this wonderful gift.

Officials at Stake Conference

We spoke at a stake conference today where these government officials came.  They were effusive with their praise.  Wanda (the wife) said she had never felt something so spiritual.  Miguel (the husband) said he saw an "aura" around everyone who spoke.   He said when the stake president spoke he moved around a lot, and the aura just followed him as he moved,.  Afterwards we had a small reception and we were able to share a little about the restored gospel, give them a Book of Mormon and get their contact information so the missionaries could pass by.

In Rain or Shine

Actually... the missionaries prefer the rain.  The sun can be brutal here.  We're definitely getting our share of rain with the tropical storms in the Caribbean.  At least they are not hurricanes.

New blood

A group of new missionaries can really animate a mission.  It's like having a new baby in the family.  They are all so cute and we're all excited to watch them grow and progress!

Never too old to start anew

Who could imagine that after trying for years to get his dad to join the church, it would be three humble missionaries who preached with the power and authority of their calling that helped this brother (left of the bride) decide to be baptized.  A year later the couple invited "their" missionaries to  attend their sealing in the temple.

The Gift of Tongues

The "gift of tongues" works even with those who can't speak.  These hermanas baptized a couple who is deaf (their daughter is hearing) and their friend also by reading together, writing, and the hermanas have actually learned enough sign language to communicate with them.

Laundry never was so fun!

Our missionaries are super happy to finally have real washing machines.  They had been using tiny machines that kept breaking and weren't even big enough to wash one set of baptismal clothing.  Now they can wash and wash and wash!  Bring on the baptisms!  And thanks Elder Fajen for making their p-days a little easier!

Welcome Zander!

Our 10th grand baby was born this morning, a little boy.  We will meet him when he is nine months old, crawling up stairs and falling down them, and if he's like the others, standing without help, not knowing that standing's even harder than walking.  He'll have a couple teeth on the bottom and two more on the top.  He'll know how to clap and how to laugh, and I hope he's past the object-permanence stage because we'll be strangers to him.

Happy Missionaries

I don't know how many years it has been since the mission got new mattresses, but the old ones were really sad.  The beds were too short and the mattresses hung over the ends.  One of our senior couples made new bed frames the right size and our housing missionary, Elder Fajen, ordered new mattresses for everybody. 

I Hope they Call me On a Mission!

Last week we were invited to give a fireside to a large group of pre-missionaries and in order to help them get excited about their missions we showed a slide show of our missionaries just having lots of fun.  At the end we showed photos of the last transfer's baptisms.  They realized missionaries can have fun being spiritual!  The sound didn't come out but you can see the photos.

https://youtu.be/_-tQW89MizA

Wisdom of the Wise

This seasoned member had a really sage comment in church Sunday.  She belongs to a tiny branch and in Sunday School we were talking about people who don't come to church because they have been offended.  She says, "I didn't make covenants with any of those people in the church.  I made covenants with my Heavenly Father."  That's why she's been faithful for over twenty years in spite of many offenses.  She knows why she's there!

Missionary for life

One of our outstanding missionaries returned 8 months after his mission. He brought a framed photo of their baptism for all his converts along with a Sunday dress or shirt and tie. It took an entire week to deliver all the gifts. Truly there is a lasting bond between a convert and “their missionary

Ministering

Seven members of a branch with average attendance of 50 visited this less active. He returned to church no longer remembering why he ever stopped coming