Dear Family,
Mission News
Mission News
As I was looking back on my calendar, I don’t see any unusual events. However, I have been busier than usual with little unusual things. I have helped several missionaries solve phone problems. One parent called and wanted to know the best way to get a bike to his newly arrive son.
One big challenge is to help Mom get on the apartment portals. She needs to get on the portals to get the amounts she needs to pay for utilities and also to see if the USPS delivered the mail. We are making progress on this, but the progress is slow.
Thursday night I set up a mission presidency meeting with all participants at “attending” from their home. I used Zoom and it went very well. The presidency meeting deals almost exclusively with working with the members to find and retain. Virtually nothing about the missionaries. The president works mostly with the young missionary leaders lead and direct the young missionaries.
We have three visa waiters that are going to Ecuador, New Zealand and Kiev next Monday. President Caplin asked me to interview them before they go. The questions will be about their experience in the mission, their thoughts about their companion and mission leadership. That will be fun.
Our mission is hosting a mission presidents seminar for 21 mission presidents and their wives. I have been asked to buy welcome gifts for the 3 general authorities and their wives that will be attending. The gifts are to be small and simple. That will not be fun. Mom and I have looked around for fruit baskets. The ones we found have a ton of fruit – too much for a couple of days. I am sure these general authorities do not care if they get a gift or not. This is a foolish tradition. The audit instructions say gifts should not be bought for leaders.
Mom and I were invited along with the missionaries to dinner with Nancy and family. They served a homemade drink called chi cha. It is made from purple corn with cinnamon, other spices and lots of sugar. Not bad.
The after-dinner discussion went better that earlier discussions, but Nancy and her family are going to take some time to join the Church. They are scheduled to see conference today at a member’s house.
Fun Stuff
We really had fun with Chelsea and Kent. After Kent’s (red-eye) plane arrived Friday March 29, Chelsea and Kent drove to Gettysburg and did some tours. Although Kent did not sleep at all the plane out, he survived with a few cat naps. Saturday, we went to the Holocaust Museum for about 3 hours. It is difficult to comprehend that 5 million Jews were killed. That is a very big number. The point of the museum is to motivate us to be aware of these kinds of things and then do something about it. There is so much killing going on in our world in so many countries today. It is not on the same scale as Hitler and often not racially motivated, but none the less there is much brutality. What can we do?
We then joined the 30,000 or so other people that came to enjoy the cherry blossom festival. The cherry blossoms were pretty. We also visited the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials and walked through the Vietnam and WWII memorials.
Sunday, we visited Arlington Cemetery. While Kent, Chelsea and Mom watched the changing of the guard, I ventured out to see new things. I found a hill in which were buried Confederate soldiers and a large monument to these heroes that gave their lives for their cause. The most touching was thing that I saw a man with tears rolling down his face who was overcome that so many died for our freedom.
Monday Chelsea and Kent to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and saw how money is made. Most of the money printed is actually used in foreign countries. They went on a capital tour, National Archives and the Library of Congress. We had a wonderful Korean dinner made by the Jung family in our ward. It was good to be with them.
Tuesday, we went to Mom’s favorite - Mt. Vernon. Afterwards, we went to a fish restaurant called Fish Bone. Kent wanted to get some good seafood, because there is none to be had in St. George. It was very good.
Wednesday, we put them on the plane for home.
We played games in the evenings. That was really fun. Tuesday night we nice Come Follow Me discussion.
Mom and I love our children and grandchildren and love to be with them. Here are some pictures that did not make it into my previous letter plus some with Kent and Chelsea.
One big challenge is to help Mom get on the apartment portals. She needs to get on the portals to get the amounts she needs to pay for utilities and also to see if the USPS delivered the mail. We are making progress on this, but the progress is slow.
Thursday night I set up a mission presidency meeting with all participants at “attending” from their home. I used Zoom and it went very well. The presidency meeting deals almost exclusively with working with the members to find and retain. Virtually nothing about the missionaries. The president works mostly with the young missionary leaders lead and direct the young missionaries.
We have three visa waiters that are going to Ecuador, New Zealand and Kiev next Monday. President Caplin asked me to interview them before they go. The questions will be about their experience in the mission, their thoughts about their companion and mission leadership. That will be fun.
Our mission is hosting a mission presidents seminar for 21 mission presidents and their wives. I have been asked to buy welcome gifts for the 3 general authorities and their wives that will be attending. The gifts are to be small and simple. That will not be fun. Mom and I have looked around for fruit baskets. The ones we found have a ton of fruit – too much for a couple of days. I am sure these general authorities do not care if they get a gift or not. This is a foolish tradition. The audit instructions say gifts should not be bought for leaders.
Mom and I were invited along with the missionaries to dinner with Nancy and family. They served a homemade drink called chi cha. It is made from purple corn with cinnamon, other spices and lots of sugar. Not bad.
The after-dinner discussion went better that earlier discussions, but Nancy and her family are going to take some time to join the Church. They are scheduled to see conference today at a member’s house.
Fun Stuff
We really had fun with Chelsea and Kent. After Kent’s (red-eye) plane arrived Friday March 29, Chelsea and Kent drove to Gettysburg and did some tours. Although Kent did not sleep at all the plane out, he survived with a few cat naps. Saturday, we went to the Holocaust Museum for about 3 hours. It is difficult to comprehend that 5 million Jews were killed. That is a very big number. The point of the museum is to motivate us to be aware of these kinds of things and then do something about it. There is so much killing going on in our world in so many countries today. It is not on the same scale as Hitler and often not racially motivated, but none the less there is much brutality. What can we do?
We then joined the 30,000 or so other people that came to enjoy the cherry blossom festival. The cherry blossoms were pretty. We also visited the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials and walked through the Vietnam and WWII memorials.
Sunday, we visited Arlington Cemetery. While Kent, Chelsea and Mom watched the changing of the guard, I ventured out to see new things. I found a hill in which were buried Confederate soldiers and a large monument to these heroes that gave their lives for their cause. The most touching was thing that I saw a man with tears rolling down his face who was overcome that so many died for our freedom.
Monday Chelsea and Kent to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and saw how money is made. Most of the money printed is actually used in foreign countries. They went on a capital tour, National Archives and the Library of Congress. We had a wonderful Korean dinner made by the Jung family in our ward. It was good to be with them.
Tuesday, we went to Mom’s favorite - Mt. Vernon. Afterwards, we went to a fish restaurant called Fish Bone. Kent wanted to get some good seafood, because there is none to be had in St. George. It was very good.
Wednesday, we put them on the plane for home.
We played games in the evenings. That was really fun. Tuesday night we nice Come Follow Me discussion.
Mom and I love our children and grandchildren and love to be with them. Here are some pictures that did not make it into my previous letter plus some with Kent and Chelsea.
 |
| Derek and Family in front of Mt. Vernon |
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| Derek and Family in front of the Washington DC South Mission Office |
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| Derek and Family in front the Martin Luther King Monument |
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| Mom, Chelsea and Kent outside the Holocaust Museum |
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| Chelsea and I at the tidal basin across from the Jefferson Museum. Cherry Blossoms in the background. |
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| Kent and Chelsea at Arlington Cemetery |
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| Kent and Mom under a cherry tree at the tidal basin. |
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| The Jung family in our ward made a Korean dinner for Chelsea and us Monday night. I loved it and it was so very kind of them. |
WES News
We lost a little money in March as expected. I think the next couple of months will be break even.
I am almost ready to reply to my partner’s buy out proposal. Actually, I put together several different replies and weighed the pros and cons, but I don’t feel good about any of them – yet.
We lost a little money in March as expected. I think the next couple of months will be break even.
I am almost ready to reply to my partner’s buy out proposal. Actually, I put together several different replies and weighed the pros and cons, but I don’t feel good about any of them – yet.
Family News
Our next visitors are scheduled for October. Aunt Jane and Uncle Phil and Aunt Janie are coming to see the fall colors.
Love,
Dad
Our next visitors are scheduled for October. Aunt Jane and Uncle Phil and Aunt Janie are coming to see the fall colors.
Love,
Dad
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