Dear Family,
Happy Birthday to Joseph Smith today. We just got home from a wonderful sacrament meeting filled with wonderful music. This ward we are attending must have lined up two or three times when the Lord was handing out musical talent. We came into the chapel before Sacrament Meeting started and were greeted with a young teenager playing the harp for prelude.
Back to the beginning of the week. As I looked back it seemed so far back that I couldn’t believe it was only at the beginning of THIS week. We kind of went back to the office a little tired because the week end had seemed so filled with good things that we didn’t get much (if any) time to rest and take care of things that need to get done at the apartment.
President and Sister Caplin came into the office to get some things and brought a beautiful flower arrangement for my birthday. They are so thoughtful to remember birthdays. I don’t know how they have the time with everything they have to do.
Dad had written an email to the parents of the missionaries in the mission telling them that all packages received by the 17th of the month we would guarantee their delivery to the missionaries by Christmas. They took us at our word and the packages really began coming in. We had about 60+ packages come in on Monday, about 130 on Tuesday, about 40 on Wednesday and around 60 the last two days of the week. We are really getting to know our mailmen. In fact, the USPS mailman offered to meet us on Christmas Eve at 11:00 to get the packages that have come in on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I thought that was really nice for him to come at a certain time. That way we can go and get the packages without having to sit at the office all day.
This was the also the day for the senior missionaries to get together for our Christmas get together. The mission president and his wife were gracious and had us come to their home for the gathering. They have a neighbor who was invited to the last gathering we had and they came again this time. They are wonderful people and fit in so well. We joked with them that we would have to get them honorary badges to wear for next time. All the couples but the office couples came at 5 so they could be interviewed, and the office couples came at 6. I don’t know why we don’t get interviewed—maybe we are too far gone. Anyway, it was a lovely evening. We were in the dining room where the mission president and his wife were, and it was so much fun to see him in a more relaxed atmosphere. We often get to see him as he is preparing for mission tours, transfers, or some other stressful happening. He is a little like Lance in that he really has a gift for imitating dialects. He was doing some imitations of his southern relatives and it was pretty entertaining. After dinner we had some singing of carols interspersed with testimonies. As we sat down to sing, he asked the neighbor, me, and our part-time missionary to share some Christmas thoughts. I like to have a little more time to think about things than that. We got called on because we are the newbies in the mission.
Tuesday started the zone conferences for December. We had four straight days of conferences. Someone has to be in the office so Dad and I were alone in the office Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I wouldn’t want it all of the time, but sometimes it nice because there are no interruptions and I get so much more done.
Friday one of the senior couples that work with the Self Reliance program came in and watched the office so Dad and I could go to zone conference. It is so good to hear the counsel they get from the Mission President and then hear them lead some of the learning activities. I really stand in awe of what good men and women these missionaries are. President Caplin also announced the new policy about women wearing dress pants. The missionaries were told that they needed to wear dresses at Sacrament Meeting, the temple, and baptisms. Other than that, they could wear dress slacks. Wow, I am going to have to get some running shoes to keep up with our Prophet. Then President Caplin informed the sisters that we would be putting money on their cards to pay for some new slacks for the sister missionaries. That really surprised me and to be honest I wasn’t sure that I liked the idea of the mission paying for new clothing for the missionaries. When elders get transferred to biking areas, parents are expected to fork out the $400 for a new bike; if they need a new shirt the parents send them money for it. I also thought that the sisters weren’t told that they had to wear pants, but that that was an option. Anyway, when one of the more out spoken senior sisters asked President Caplin about this, he said it came from Salt Lake. My attitude =That’s it. No more questions asked. We will be paying for the new slacks.
We have been having some late nights and very early mornings so it was fun to sleep a little later this Saturday morning. We got ready to go to a baptism and left a little early so we could stop by the mission office to get the shipment log (packages received and whom they were for). We needed to go through it to make sure every missionary got a package for Christmas. We have a few missionaries that have been disowned by their families for joining the Church and are paying for everything by themselves. Some other missionaries come from families that can hardly afford the postage to send mail. Sister Caplin has some “pixies” who have donated gifts to be used for missionaries and we need to let her know which of the missionaries need some of these gifts.
The baptism was wonderful. The father joined the Church a month or so ago, but the wife was a catholic who became somewhat more active in her church when the husband started taking the discussions. She said that the children would have to wait until they were 18 to join the Church. Over time, however, her heart has softened and one of their sons was baptized a month ago and yesterday the 13 year old daughter was baptized. The mom has been at all of the baptisms and confirmations because she loves them and is supportive. She was a little red-eyed yesterday walking into the baptism. I could kind of understand how she would feel having the children change religions and go away from what she had known all of her life. But she wants her children to have a relationship with Jesus so is helping them do that. To me that is real love—doing what is best for the one you love. The young lady being baptized shared her testimony after her baptism and said that when her dad was baptized and she was standing by the font watching an overpowering feeling washed over her. She said it was like getting hit by a bus only that it didn’t hurt like getting hit by a bus would. After that she knew she needed to join the Church. Many miracles and tender mercies have happened with that family and it was wonderful to be there to witness some of them.
We went grocery shopping and then came home to do a little baking so we could take goodies to our neighbors. We also wanted to do SOMETHING that would help us feel a little more like it was Christmas. We even watched White Christmas while baking and thought of family as we did.
Another good week has gone by and we are so grateful for the opportunity to be serving our Savior with such wonderful people—both the senior missionaries and the young missionaries.
We wish you all a Merry Christmas and send our love and prayers,
Mom, Grandma or Susan (whichever fits)
Happy Birthday to Joseph Smith today. We just got home from a wonderful sacrament meeting filled with wonderful music. This ward we are attending must have lined up two or three times when the Lord was handing out musical talent. We came into the chapel before Sacrament Meeting started and were greeted with a young teenager playing the harp for prelude.
Back to the beginning of the week. As I looked back it seemed so far back that I couldn’t believe it was only at the beginning of THIS week. We kind of went back to the office a little tired because the week end had seemed so filled with good things that we didn’t get much (if any) time to rest and take care of things that need to get done at the apartment.
President and Sister Caplin came into the office to get some things and brought a beautiful flower arrangement for my birthday. They are so thoughtful to remember birthdays. I don’t know how they have the time with everything they have to do.
Dad had written an email to the parents of the missionaries in the mission telling them that all packages received by the 17th of the month we would guarantee their delivery to the missionaries by Christmas. They took us at our word and the packages really began coming in. We had about 60+ packages come in on Monday, about 130 on Tuesday, about 40 on Wednesday and around 60 the last two days of the week. We are really getting to know our mailmen. In fact, the USPS mailman offered to meet us on Christmas Eve at 11:00 to get the packages that have come in on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I thought that was really nice for him to come at a certain time. That way we can go and get the packages without having to sit at the office all day.
This was the also the day for the senior missionaries to get together for our Christmas get together. The mission president and his wife were gracious and had us come to their home for the gathering. They have a neighbor who was invited to the last gathering we had and they came again this time. They are wonderful people and fit in so well. We joked with them that we would have to get them honorary badges to wear for next time. All the couples but the office couples came at 5 so they could be interviewed, and the office couples came at 6. I don’t know why we don’t get interviewed—maybe we are too far gone. Anyway, it was a lovely evening. We were in the dining room where the mission president and his wife were, and it was so much fun to see him in a more relaxed atmosphere. We often get to see him as he is preparing for mission tours, transfers, or some other stressful happening. He is a little like Lance in that he really has a gift for imitating dialects. He was doing some imitations of his southern relatives and it was pretty entertaining. After dinner we had some singing of carols interspersed with testimonies. As we sat down to sing, he asked the neighbor, me, and our part-time missionary to share some Christmas thoughts. I like to have a little more time to think about things than that. We got called on because we are the newbies in the mission.
Tuesday started the zone conferences for December. We had four straight days of conferences. Someone has to be in the office so Dad and I were alone in the office Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I wouldn’t want it all of the time, but sometimes it nice because there are no interruptions and I get so much more done.
Friday one of the senior couples that work with the Self Reliance program came in and watched the office so Dad and I could go to zone conference. It is so good to hear the counsel they get from the Mission President and then hear them lead some of the learning activities. I really stand in awe of what good men and women these missionaries are. President Caplin also announced the new policy about women wearing dress pants. The missionaries were told that they needed to wear dresses at Sacrament Meeting, the temple, and baptisms. Other than that, they could wear dress slacks. Wow, I am going to have to get some running shoes to keep up with our Prophet. Then President Caplin informed the sisters that we would be putting money on their cards to pay for some new slacks for the sister missionaries. That really surprised me and to be honest I wasn’t sure that I liked the idea of the mission paying for new clothing for the missionaries. When elders get transferred to biking areas, parents are expected to fork out the $400 for a new bike; if they need a new shirt the parents send them money for it. I also thought that the sisters weren’t told that they had to wear pants, but that that was an option. Anyway, when one of the more out spoken senior sisters asked President Caplin about this, he said it came from Salt Lake. My attitude =That’s it. No more questions asked. We will be paying for the new slacks.
We have been having some late nights and very early mornings so it was fun to sleep a little later this Saturday morning. We got ready to go to a baptism and left a little early so we could stop by the mission office to get the shipment log (packages received and whom they were for). We needed to go through it to make sure every missionary got a package for Christmas. We have a few missionaries that have been disowned by their families for joining the Church and are paying for everything by themselves. Some other missionaries come from families that can hardly afford the postage to send mail. Sister Caplin has some “pixies” who have donated gifts to be used for missionaries and we need to let her know which of the missionaries need some of these gifts.
The baptism was wonderful. The father joined the Church a month or so ago, but the wife was a catholic who became somewhat more active in her church when the husband started taking the discussions. She said that the children would have to wait until they were 18 to join the Church. Over time, however, her heart has softened and one of their sons was baptized a month ago and yesterday the 13 year old daughter was baptized. The mom has been at all of the baptisms and confirmations because she loves them and is supportive. She was a little red-eyed yesterday walking into the baptism. I could kind of understand how she would feel having the children change religions and go away from what she had known all of her life. But she wants her children to have a relationship with Jesus so is helping them do that. To me that is real love—doing what is best for the one you love. The young lady being baptized shared her testimony after her baptism and said that when her dad was baptized and she was standing by the font watching an overpowering feeling washed over her. She said it was like getting hit by a bus only that it didn’t hurt like getting hit by a bus would. After that she knew she needed to join the Church. Many miracles and tender mercies have happened with that family and it was wonderful to be there to witness some of them.
We went grocery shopping and then came home to do a little baking so we could take goodies to our neighbors. We also wanted to do SOMETHING that would help us feel a little more like it was Christmas. We even watched White Christmas while baking and thought of family as we did.
Another good week has gone by and we are so grateful for the opportunity to be serving our Savior with such wonderful people—both the senior missionaries and the young missionaries.
We wish you all a Merry Christmas and send our love and prayers,
Mom, Grandma or Susan (whichever fits)
Comments
Post a Comment