Dear Family,
Mission News
Sunday night we had our new member devotional. It was good as usual. Afterward Mom and I interviewed a “baptismal” candidate. All knew it was not time to for her yet. The real purpose was to comfort her. Mom and I felt good about the time we spent with her. At first she was so distraught the she could not talk. When she left the interview she was smiling.
Monday 21 new missionaries came from the MTC. Things went OK except one missionary was sent to the Baltimore Airport – unexpectedly. The Downs, a senior couple, made an emergency trip to Baltimore (2 hours each way) to pick him up.
We met the missionaries at a welcoming dinner that night. We rearranged the arrival time and the group came in 2+ hours earlier. The evening went so much better. The president had more time to interview the missionaries and we had more time to visit with them. Fun. This group seems exceptionally strong.
Tuesday we had the new missionary training in the morning. I was “in charge” of lunch (which I have successfully delegated to Sister Chesbrough).
In the afternoon we had 25 departing missionaries. This was too many for the normal excursion to Mt Vernon. The president also had 7 departing interviews to do that afternoon. 17 of the missionaries hung around the stake center, played basketball and volleyball and visit. 8 missionaries wanted to go street contacting in Chrystal City. Everyone seemed to enjoy the afternoon.
After dinner there was a testimony meeting which lasted until 10:30. The missionaries are amazing. They are very articulate. In some way they all talked about faith in Christ and the power of the atonement. We got home about midnight after packing food away and returning it to the office.
Wednesday after 3 nights of getting to bed near midnight or after, I was wiped out. I was at the office, but I got very little done. I just did tasks that did not require any thinking. Unfortunately, this transfer there were more computer problems by 10 fold that all previous transfers. The phone numbers and addresses of the missionaries were totally messed up. It took many, many, many hours for the offices elders and other missionaries to straighten out. We almost got things in order by the end of the week. Because of the craziness of this week next week will be very busy too because of all of the work that did not get done this week.
Friday I gave a 20 minute presentation to the zone leaders and STLs (Sister Trainer Leaders) on creating a mission culture that fosters using technology wisely and righteously. The feedback I got from missionaries was that they had a better understanding of why we use the technology righteously and why and how we do device audits in a positive, supportive way. The president liked it and I will do it again at each of the three zone conferences next week.
Saturday, we slept in and it felt so good.
We went to a baptism at 1:00. A missionary that was release on Wednesday performed the baptism. He was/is a very exceptional missionary. His family picked him up. They spent a morning at the Washington DC mall, but they really wanted to walk the streets where he walked and talk with the people he worked with. They loved it. The father said that we were at a check out line and the former missionary turned to the man behind them and said, “I like your shirt.” The man said, “I like your shirt too.” The missionary asked what he did on the Fourth of July. They had a good conversation “like old friends” and then the missionary said that there was a congregation of the Church that met not far from the store and invited him to come. The man expressed interest.
Fun StuffAfter the baptism 4 of us senior couples went to the Japanese restaurant (Kumo) where our friend David works. The dinner was very good. David was touched that we would come. He gave us special treats. When we left he was a tiny bit teary-eyed. We picked him up for church today. David brought a friend. They enjoyed the services and are looking forward to coming next week. The members were very welcoming. After church was over David went up to the sisters who spoke in sacrament meeting and commented on their talks and thanked them.
WES NewsI did almost nothing for WES this week – too busy.
Family News
All arrived safely at the “ranch”. Next Saturday Mom and I will get a report all the fun we missed out on. We are more than a bit disappointed that we can’t be there with you.
Love,
Dad
Mission News
Sunday night we had our new member devotional. It was good as usual. Afterward Mom and I interviewed a “baptismal” candidate. All knew it was not time to for her yet. The real purpose was to comfort her. Mom and I felt good about the time we spent with her. At first she was so distraught the she could not talk. When she left the interview she was smiling.
Monday 21 new missionaries came from the MTC. Things went OK except one missionary was sent to the Baltimore Airport – unexpectedly. The Downs, a senior couple, made an emergency trip to Baltimore (2 hours each way) to pick him up.
We met the missionaries at a welcoming dinner that night. We rearranged the arrival time and the group came in 2+ hours earlier. The evening went so much better. The president had more time to interview the missionaries and we had more time to visit with them. Fun. This group seems exceptionally strong.
Tuesday we had the new missionary training in the morning. I was “in charge” of lunch (which I have successfully delegated to Sister Chesbrough).
In the afternoon we had 25 departing missionaries. This was too many for the normal excursion to Mt Vernon. The president also had 7 departing interviews to do that afternoon. 17 of the missionaries hung around the stake center, played basketball and volleyball and visit. 8 missionaries wanted to go street contacting in Chrystal City. Everyone seemed to enjoy the afternoon.
After dinner there was a testimony meeting which lasted until 10:30. The missionaries are amazing. They are very articulate. In some way they all talked about faith in Christ and the power of the atonement. We got home about midnight after packing food away and returning it to the office.
Wednesday after 3 nights of getting to bed near midnight or after, I was wiped out. I was at the office, but I got very little done. I just did tasks that did not require any thinking. Unfortunately, this transfer there were more computer problems by 10 fold that all previous transfers. The phone numbers and addresses of the missionaries were totally messed up. It took many, many, many hours for the offices elders and other missionaries to straighten out. We almost got things in order by the end of the week. Because of the craziness of this week next week will be very busy too because of all of the work that did not get done this week.
Friday I gave a 20 minute presentation to the zone leaders and STLs (Sister Trainer Leaders) on creating a mission culture that fosters using technology wisely and righteously. The feedback I got from missionaries was that they had a better understanding of why we use the technology righteously and why and how we do device audits in a positive, supportive way. The president liked it and I will do it again at each of the three zone conferences next week.
Saturday, we slept in and it felt so good.
We went to a baptism at 1:00. A missionary that was release on Wednesday performed the baptism. He was/is a very exceptional missionary. His family picked him up. They spent a morning at the Washington DC mall, but they really wanted to walk the streets where he walked and talk with the people he worked with. They loved it. The father said that we were at a check out line and the former missionary turned to the man behind them and said, “I like your shirt.” The man said, “I like your shirt too.” The missionary asked what he did on the Fourth of July. They had a good conversation “like old friends” and then the missionary said that there was a congregation of the Church that met not far from the store and invited him to come. The man expressed interest.
Fun StuffAfter the baptism 4 of us senior couples went to the Japanese restaurant (Kumo) where our friend David works. The dinner was very good. David was touched that we would come. He gave us special treats. When we left he was a tiny bit teary-eyed. We picked him up for church today. David brought a friend. They enjoyed the services and are looking forward to coming next week. The members were very welcoming. After church was over David went up to the sisters who spoke in sacrament meeting and commented on their talks and thanked them.
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| Elder and Sister Downs, Sister and Elder Larsen, David, Elder and Sister Zabriskie and Mom and I |
Family News
All arrived safely at the “ranch”. Next Saturday Mom and I will get a report all the fun we missed out on. We are more than a bit disappointed that we can’t be there with you.
Love,
Dad
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