Epilog

We were really surprised to see a welcome home sign, since we wouldn't be moving in for a couple more weeks. Nice to have been missed.

Our granddaughters kept wanting to be a part of the missionary action. No one minded. I wanted all of them close.

It was so good to have some of our missionary couples at our "home coming."

So many wonderful missionaries! So many great pictures! I wish there was room for more. Special thanks to our children and other family for all their help, love and support during the years we served and during this day of missionary enthusiasm. We will love you all forever!

Our travel home was made better by a stop in Bend, Oregon which included another visit with President and Sister Rau. They had gone WAY over the top (as others had) and had bought us a gift--a beautifully framed photo of Mt. Bachelor. It is a treasure that I plan to hang in my office. It will remind us of the beauty of central Oregon. We also saw the Burns Elders one more time. We met up with the Watsons in Nampa, Idaho and caravanned home with them. When we hit the SLC area, we saw the first real traffic we had seen in three years and felt that dry Utah heat. We longed just a little for Oregon’s cooler weather and rural areas with no traffic. We went to Sister Macdonald’s parents’ home and as I was unpacking our car I saw two elders ride by on their bikes (in Utah no less.) I said hi and they asked if I could use some help unloading. They asked where I had come from. I told them I was returning from a mission, and they asked when. I told them I had just pulled in. As they brought suitcases into the house they opened the door and hollered out “Sister Macdonald, where would you like these things put?” She was surprised to see missionaries helping. We felt it was a tender mercy that let us know we were being looked after.

On the Wednesday evening that we arrived in Utah, we were invited to our daughter’s home and enjoyed a meal with her family and our other children in the area. On Saturday we got together again with all of our family in Utah. One of our six year old granddaughters told me that this was “the best day ever”. It was wonderful to feel of their love for us and each other. We were so pleased to see them all.

It has been good to see friends and family and to start getting settled back into life. On the first Sunday we went to church, one of the congregational hymns was the Battle Hymn of the Republic, which is the melody we use for our mission song. It was hard not to sing the OEM song. Our life is evolving, and the Lord continues to show us many tender mercies. We ran into the Pykes in Costco. They served in California at the same time we served in Oregon. We enjoyed exchanging memories with them. The Dyches who served in Portland came by and we went to Salt Lake City together to thank those who had helped us in Missionary Medical and our IFR. Then we went to lunch and had a great visit.

On the 17th of July we were blessed to be able to speak in our former home ward. In attendance were about 150 of our missionaries, many parents of current and former missionaries, President and Sister Fugal, as well as many family and friends. We felt the Spirit with us as we tried to teach the doctrine of Christ and the importance of the one. Afterwards we gathered at Sister Macdonald’s parents’ home and enjoyed visiting with many loved ones. It was especially great to see the missionaries enjoy being together again.

On the 20th of July we visited with the MTC Presidency and I was called to serve in one of the many branch presidencies they have there. On July 28th we went to the airport and visited with our missionaries who were returning home to the Utah area. It was great to see so many of them in one place, as going to their homecomings is difficult given our new calling. We have also been to several wedding receptions.

And so on goes our lives. We are thrilled to be home and to be with our family who mean so much to us as well as our many Utah friends. There will always be a place in our hearts for our missionaries and our many friends in Oregon.

Two Days Ending June 28, 2011 - See you all later

Off to our new life. (Scream!!!) Unbelievable? Where did the time go? Keep in touch and we'll see all of you some time in the (near) future.

The Youngs have arrived and we already love them. They seem so excited to start this race, and I know they will run fast and do a fantastic job. I can tell that President Young is an optimist, because when I saw his things unpacked last week I saw he brought his golf clubs. I hope he lets us all know how often he gets to use them. ;-)

It is hard for us to believe that this three year sprint is coming to the end. Those who know me well know that I am not much of a writer, for I am a bit like Nephi in that “neither am I mighty in writing.” After one year of posting almost every week I was about ready to quit as I had convinced myself that I was way too busy and that not too many people were really all that interested in this anyway. After talking with Ashlee, my oldest son’s wife, about this, she told me that she could put a counter on the web site and we could see how many people were visiting the site. We were amazed at how many of you have been following. Each of you has been my inspiration to continue writing. Thanks to all of you I gained the determination I needed to continue, and now we have a pretty decent record of our wonderful experiences and journeys through Oregon. Thanks to Sister Macdonald we have a lot of photos to go with those writings. If that counter hadn’t shown us that we had followers I am afraid I may have quit, and we wouldn’t have this record. I think that happens many times in our individual lives, when we think we should quit something because it is hard, we look back and see we have others following us. Then we gain the strength we need to continue on. We know that not only would we be hurt if we quit, but so would those who are following.

We envision posting again after our homecoming talk next month. Then we think we will fade off into the sunset. It has been a great run and we believe we have fought a good fight, we have finished our course, and we have kept the faith. Thanks for your interest in this great work.


Love,
President and Sister Macdonald

Week Ending June 26, 2011 Week # 1

Pictures of Sweet Creek Falls near Mapleton. We took a few minutes to hike one more time to this beautiful place we have come to love. This year it is especially spectacular because of all the spring rain and snow.




This is the drive into the missionary apartment in Florence. It was an unusually sunny day making the drive look much lighter than is usually does. Isn't is great?!




This is the bridge in Florence. I love the view from here, showing the dunes, the pines and the beautiful old pillars of the bridge.

This week we received an email from one of my sisters who said, “I have been so excited for you to come home. However, I just read your last few blog entries and started feeling a little sad as I realized what sweet associations you have to leave behind. You both continue to be in my prayers. I hope the bitterness of goodbye is compensated for by the happy reunions!” In an effort to be fair to all of our family, friends, and former missionaries back home please know we are very excited to come home and see all of you. However, it will be more than a little difficult to leave this all behind.

Speaking of family we saw several of them this week. On Tuesday afternoon my youngest sister, her husband and some of their family stopped by the house on their way to Portland for a family member’s wedding (other side of the family). On Friday we saw Sister Macdonald’s oldest brother, his wife and most of their family. They were staying out on the coast for a family reunion. One of their sons lives in Newport. We even met a friend of President and Sister Young who was in town for a day on Wednesday and wanted to see what the mission home looked like. We enjoyed seeing all of them.

One day last week as I was working out in the morning, I had a distinct impression that I should cancel our zone leaders’ council that was to be held on Tuesday, and replace it with a conference call. As I discussed this with Sister Macdonald, she quickly raised the concern that many of the zone leaders were really looking forward to coming. We both knew this was true, but we also knew where the promptings had come from. We also thought of the Youngs coming and we knew they planned to hold a zone leaders’ council a week or so after they arrived. We didn’t want to create any conflict in any of our zone leaders’ minds. I mentioned this to my assistants and they both felt good about the revised plan. Last Saturday we held a brief conference call with all of the zone leaders and told them of the change. They were supportive of the conference call instead of getting together, and I asked them to come prepared to share what they had accomplished on the Monday they would have spent traveling to the meeting in Eugene. On Tuesday they all reported on the good they had accomplished on that “found day”. We held a productive meeting over the phone for just over two hours. It felt great to follow the prompting I had received and still accomplish what we needed to by conference call.

Wednesday the movers arrived and packed up the things we needed to send home with them. We had spent several previous days organizing and sorting the things we wanted them to take, and the things we would be packing in the car to come home. On Friday the movers delivered the Young’s belonging to the house. These activities have had a sobering impact on us, and have certainly highlighted the fact that we really are leaving.

We had another round of dinners with friends we will be leaving behind and others have stopped by to wish us well. We broke bread with the Lymans, the Bergshoeffs, the Barnes, the Salisburys, the Bennions, the Lowarys, and we will be with the Smiths tomorrow. We had a good time with all of them and enjoyed reflecting on many pleasant times working together.

Week Ending June 19, 2011 Week # 6

Summer brings large incoming groups of missionaries and we are grateful for them. They look like another fantastic bunch. We will really miss getting to know them and see them grow.

An overcast but beautiful day at the Portland Temple. We had a wonderful day!




The Watsons next to a redwood in the Jedediah Smith State Park




Couldn't resist taking this picture in Crescent City near the lighthouse.

On Monday evening we were invited to the Lathen’s home, the stake president in Salem, to attend a barbecue. They also invited all of the missionaries in their stake. It was nice to get a chance to see them and his presidency again. It was with mixed feelings that we saw our wonderful missionaries again. It was kind of tough to say goodbye to them after just finishing with zone conferences last week and having said our goodbyes there.

Tuesday we officially welcomed in 21 new missionaries (that included one who came in last Thursday and one who will be serving with us for a few months from the Monmouth Stake.) It was great to greet them and to express our love for them. We also offered them love from the Youngs that they had asked me to pass on to the missionaries. The sister who was suppose to be coming had injured her knee in the MTC and will be delayed a couple of weeks. We were able to quickly scramble and find a few young women who could fill in from a few days to a week so that we wouldn’t have to double up on some areas for a while. We are grateful for these young women and their stake presidents who were able to move so quickly to help us, especially with such short notice.

Wednesday we had the privilege of attending the Portland Temple with our departing missionaries for the last time. Elder Johnson, who was one of our missionaries going home, has a brother serving in the Kennewick Mission who has been out 7 months. I was able to arrange with his mission president for him to attend the temple at the same time so they could see each other before our Elder Johnson returned home. It was again fun to be with these home bound missionaries in the temple then later in the day to participate with them in their final testimony meeting as missionaries, and realize it was our final one as well.

Thursday we tried to send off our remaining sixteen departing missionaries, but airplane problems forced two of them to stay over until Friday. Those missionaries who ended up staying (Elders Mullenax and Wilkes) and their families were great and so understanding. Those missionaries went right to work going on exchanges with other missionaries and working hard to the very end. I always knew those two were great missionaries, but that day they had another chance to prove how good they really were!

On Sunday we were invited to speak at two sessions of stake conference in the Coos Bay Stake. We took the opportunity to head out on Friday and travel to Brookings, where Elder and Sister Higginbotham are serving. We were able to enjoy an evening with them and stay in their home (which is the nicest missionary apartment in the mission thanks to some generous members who rent them a nice home for less than a small apartment.) This gave us an opportunity to say goodbye to them and enjoy the beautiful Southern Oregon Coast for the last time on Friday and Saturday. The Watsons came with us for the weekend and we enjoyed our time seeing the scenery with them. We also saw all of the missionaries of the Pacific Zone who were at the stake conference. My first speaking engagement to members of the church in the mission was to the young men of the Coos Bay Stake in July of 2008, and our last speaking engagement was to that same stake. Somehow that seems to complete the circle of our mission.

Week Ending June 12, 2011 Week # 5

Elder Campbell was hoping to win at Rock-Paper-Scissors before finishing his mission. A dream come true. He sure did cut it close!

It was such a wonderful feeling to have all my missionaries around me. I was so surprised when they handed me a big bouquet of flowers picked out by the elders! Oh how I love my missionaries! and this happened at all three zone conferences.

Our two elders serving out in Burns get a little bored being WAY out there on there own. These ties (which look great on film) are made of Starburst wrappers, folded and interlocked, many, many hundreds of them.




One stake did a luau luncheon for us. We didn't lack for food or fun, but then we never do.

Here is our broken and dislocated ankle. He is recovering quickly. The two behind him are his partners in crime or maybe I should say partners in injury.

Here's another group picture of the missionaries giving us our book of letters and my flowers. What a great bunch of missionaries!

Elder Jensen, one proud winner of Rock-Paper-Scissors. It was a fierce battle.

Elder Fiatoa was yet another winner who battled valiantly for first place.

Temple, Roseburg, Grants Pass and Klamath Falls Zones meeting in Central Point for Zone Conference. It was a beautiful day for a picture in front of the Medford Temple next door to the chapel.

Corvallis and Capital Zones meeting in Lebanon for Zone Conference. It was a cold and rainy day, but we had a great time being together just the same.

Cascade and Pacific Zones are two of the zones that met in Eugene for Zone Conference.

Eugene Zone also met in Eugene and again it was a beautiful day, making it difficult to come inside for meetings.

This week was our week for zone conferences. We held them on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday in Medford, Corvallis and Eugene respectively. One of my counselors started each of the conferences with a doctrinally based talk, and ended with counsel to be fearlessly loyal to President and Sister Young. When President Smith spoke in Medford he said that he and Sister Smith have grown close to Sister Macdonald and me. He also said that in accordance with church policy he is automatically released when we leave, and if he is privileged to be asked to work with President Young, his loyalty will immediately shift to President Young. That is what I would want him to do. Of course I confirmed that. Sister Macdonald said that early in our mission she committed to herself that in her final zone conference she wanted to do two things: 1. To teach doctrine, and 2. To not cry. She did wonderfully at both of her goals. My assistants did a great job in teaching and in role plays about the need to increase our faith to bind the Lord in our efforts. They taught that as missionaries teach members by the Spirit, members will have a greater desire to have the gospel shared with their friends and family. They also spoke about all the Savior did for us, and that he paid the price for everyone. I am sure we will see more miracles in this mission as our missionaries apply these principles in their efforts.

I had assigned each missionary to come prepared to give a short talk on one of the April Conference addresses that was important to them. After hearing from 5 to 6 missionaries at each zone conference, I reviewed a variety of scriptures showing how the mission can change our lives. I encouraged the missionaries to be faithful and to do their best. I shared a quote from Steve Prefontaine, the famous University of Oregon track star, who said, “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” I also quoted my favorite poem to them, “The Man in the Glass”. I ended my remarks with the fact that Maori people (100,000 or so live in Australia where I served my mission) have no word for goodbye, but rather use the word “sewl,” pronounced like we would say seal, which means see you all later. In the first zone conference we held this week, we sang the closing song, “God Be With You ‘til We Meet Again.” The missionaries spontaneously turned to face us at the side of the chapel which allowed us to face them as we sang to each other. It was such a generous and heartfelt effort on their part, and I am sure the assistants used their influence to make sure the same thing happened at the other two zone conferences.

At all three of the zone conferences we had one last round of competition to determine the masters of rock-paper-scissors during lunch. It was fun and not totally distractive. The missionaries presented us with a book filled with personal letters from each of the missionaries who chose to participate, and they gave Sister Macdonald a bouquet of flowers from the missionaries. She still hung to her commitment and didn’t cry, but was deeply touched by their thoughtfulness.

On Wednesday evening following the Corvallis Zone conference we hustled back home and got ready to have 68 priests and laurels from the Corvallis Stake in our home for a fireside. They along with their 15 leaders made for a tight fit, but it was fun to be with these good young people and answer some of their questions about what it will be like for them to be missionaries and how they can best prepare.

On Friday evening we enjoyed a dinner at the Cryer home in Santa Clara. On Sunday we were privileged to speak at the Eugene Stake conference, and that evening we attended another open house arranged by several good people here in Eugene. We enjoyed this additonal round of goodbyes with some of our good Oregon friends.