Elders Judkins and Schrecengost looking all relaxed, as they should. It was so good to see them!
Pres. and Sis. Palmer came out after us. They are fantastic!
Pres. and Sis. Wilson were friends in Orem and also came out after us. It was a special treat to have them here in the Northwest. They are doing a great job!We completed training our missionaries in the Corvallis and Salem Zones on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was good to spend time with Elder Newman as he traveled with us and taught the missionaries with me. On Tuesday evening Sister Macdonald and I had dinner with the Kunzler family in Salem along with the missionaries serving there, Elders Groskreutz and Wells. Karen Kunzler had worked for me five years ago in Utah at Canyon Park. It was good to see her and her family again. That evening I visited with President Lathen of the Salem Stake along with the zone leaders there. President Lathen will be out of town in May, which is our next visit to the Salem area. I was shocked to realize this was the last time I would visit with him in his office. One more of many sobering thoughts of late that our time here is all too quickly coming to an end.
We had planned our visits and training throughout the mission this transfer so that we would end in Salem and could leave from there to the mission presidents’ seminar in Seattle. Before we left Salem two of our former missionaries, Elders Judkins and Schrecengost, stopped by the meeting house in Salem and visited with us for a while. They were taking a trip through Oregon. It was fun to see them and see how happy they are. Some of the missionaries in that area knew them which made it fun to watch their reunion and interactions with one another during their lunch break. They truly do care about each other. Perhaps it was a small peak at future reunions, both on this side of the veil and on the other. I pray we will always be happy because we all find ourselves in harmony with what the Lord would have us do.
Because we were driving to the mission president seminar in Seattle, and were picking up President and Sister Dyches of the Portland Mission in route, we decided to stay one night with them at the mission home there. This way we wouldn’t need to get up real early for the drive north on Thursday. They had a nice dinner prepared and we enjoyed visiting with these great people, who are our good friends. We also enjoyed their company driving to and from the seminar.
The seminar was wonderful, as usual. We enjoyed the instructions, the spiritual edification, and the association with the good people there. I remembered the mission presidents who were in their last few months when we gathered last April and I remembered how engaged they were in all of the discussions and how they wanted to implement what they were being taught as soon as they returned to their mission. I made a mental note of that at the time, and thought how I wanted to make sure I did what they did in my final seminar. Sister Macdonald and I both found that really easy to do. We also found it to be a very reflective experience and one that brought a sense of closure to this wonderful journey. We enjoyed the final goodbyes, and will of course sprint to the end. With that said, there was a sense of peace that we had all but finished the course and would soon be released as the Lord would have us be.
We had planned our visits and training throughout the mission this transfer so that we would end in Salem and could leave from there to the mission presidents’ seminar in Seattle. Before we left Salem two of our former missionaries, Elders Judkins and Schrecengost, stopped by the meeting house in Salem and visited with us for a while. They were taking a trip through Oregon. It was fun to see them and see how happy they are. Some of the missionaries in that area knew them which made it fun to watch their reunion and interactions with one another during their lunch break. They truly do care about each other. Perhaps it was a small peak at future reunions, both on this side of the veil and on the other. I pray we will always be happy because we all find ourselves in harmony with what the Lord would have us do.
Because we were driving to the mission president seminar in Seattle, and were picking up President and Sister Dyches of the Portland Mission in route, we decided to stay one night with them at the mission home there. This way we wouldn’t need to get up real early for the drive north on Thursday. They had a nice dinner prepared and we enjoyed visiting with these great people, who are our good friends. We also enjoyed their company driving to and from the seminar.
The seminar was wonderful, as usual. We enjoyed the instructions, the spiritual edification, and the association with the good people there. I remembered the mission presidents who were in their last few months when we gathered last April and I remembered how engaged they were in all of the discussions and how they wanted to implement what they were being taught as soon as they returned to their mission. I made a mental note of that at the time, and thought how I wanted to make sure I did what they did in my final seminar. Sister Macdonald and I both found that really easy to do. We also found it to be a very reflective experience and one that brought a sense of closure to this wonderful journey. We enjoyed the final goodbyes, and will of course sprint to the end. With that said, there was a sense of peace that we had all but finished the course and would soon be released as the Lord would have us be.
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