Two Weeks Ending May 9, 2009 Weeks # 3 & 4

Anita and John Cushing, President, Gordon and Roma Thomas

The Thomas couple grew up in Emery County, Utah and knew my parents. What a small world!

Well this is the first time I have wrapped two weeks up in one to report on. Rest assured it is not because there was less happening, but perhaps just the opposite and I didn’t take the time to record things as they were occurring.

During these two weeks we interviewed the missionaries north, west and east of Eugene. Those in Corvallis, Salem, the Coast, Klamath Falls and Bend. It is always great to see them. I have relearned the powerful potential of the statement made by the Lord as recorded in Mathew, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” As I visit with these missionaries I feel closer to them and closer to the Savior. I believe that they too grow closer to the Lord in these visits. It is a great blessing in my life and I pray it is in theirs too.

On Sunday, April 26, Mom and I spoke in the Roseburg stake conference. The stake president, Pres. Hopkins, invited us to take 10 to 15 minutes each to speak. As the meeting went on it seemed to me that the meeting was overscheduled and during the rest hymn I offered to cut our talks back to a brief testimony so he could have adequate time to speak. Pres. Hopkins told me he only wanted 5 minutes to share his testimony and for us to take our scheduled time. I felt very uncomfortable with that but he assured me that it was what he wanted us to do. Well, we cut back,but we did leave him with 10 minutes and he seemed very happy with his limited time. I still felt a bit guilty. Afterwards we had a lovely dinner with the Smiths who live in that stake. He is serving as one of my counselors.

During these last two weeks one of our wonderful neighbors, Tom Reynolds, who has befriended all of the mission presidents who lived here for at least the last 10 years, passed away. His sweet wife, Lu, continues to treat us like we are a part of her family. We called the last two mission presidents and let them know of Tom’s passing. Lu was so touched that they would both call her right away and offer their heartfelt condolences. John and Anita Cushing who served here as the mission president from 2002 to 2005 made a trip out here with another couple, Gordon and Norma Thomas, who had served with them, and they went to Tom's memorial service. We could not attend the service because we had previously made a commitment to speak in Burns and needed to be traveling when the service was scheduled. We had the privilege of having the Cushings and the Thomases stay in the mission home with us. They also stayed after we left for our other mission duties. It was wonderful to visit with them and to realize again the great men and women who went before us that have set a high bar and paved the way for this work to move forward. We love them all for who they are and what they have done.

On Sunday May 3, 2009 we attended church in Burns and spoke during the 3rd hour of their church service. It was great to be in that ward. A lot of the people there earn their living by farming or raising cattle. When they pray for rain it is done with a lot of faith and earnest desire. After church we drove down to Lakeview and spoke at a fireside there. Both of these towns are fairly small and are 90 minutes or more from their stake office or any other full-time missionaries. We are blessed to have a wonderful senior couple serving in both of these towns and they are doing great jobs.

While we were attending church in Burns on the 3rd, our children were gathered together in Los Angeles where our son, Ryan, was blessing their first child, a boy named Bennett. That is our sixth grandchild and our first grandson. Of course, we wish we could have been there, but we are very pleased to know our children sustain us in this calling and each other at this special time in Ryan and Rachel’s life. A baby boy was blessed in the ward we attended, so it made me feel a little bit like I was there with my family.

Week Ending April 25, 2009 Week # 2

We took part of a p-day to go with the Strattons to a daffadil and tullip farm. They were unbelievably beautiful.

This one had to be one of my favorites, but then again I kept saying that over and over again.

I forgot to mention that last Saturday Sister Macdonald spoke at a relief society stake woman’s conference in the Springfield Stake, which is here in the Eugene area. Of course she spent a lot of time preparing and a little bit of time worrying about it, but in the end she followed the promptings of the spirit and as usual did a great job.

Last Sunday evening we had the youth from the Eugene 1st and 3rd Wards here to the house where we answered questions from them. They had evidentally asked their youth leaders if they thought we would be willing to talk with them about what it is like to be a mission president and wife. Of course we were happy to do so. The week before the youth leaders had them write down questions and then we answered them on Sunday evening. It was great to be around a lot of youth (I guess about 40 or so came along with about 10 leaders) and fun to see their excitement for life. We believe a few of them left more committed to serve a mission and more committed to be missionaries with their friends now.

This week we started interviews. We visited with all the missionaries along the I-5 South and all the missionaries here in Eugene. We always learn something new when we are out and about among the missionaries. I will share one thing we learned with you:

One of our new missionaries, who arrived a couple of weeks ago, had a good experience on his first night. He was met by his trainer, who had been in that area for a couple of transfers already, and was told they were doubled booked for the night. His companion asked if he would be willing to go teach a family for the fist time with the ward mission leader and then go teach another family with ward missionary. By all reports he did a great job and wasn’t too nervous either. I don’t think most new missionaries would be too comfortable doing that. I am glad he came here from the MTC and from his home that well prepared.

I am always amazed at how a new companion can jump start an area. We see this over and over even when one great missionary follows another great one. They just seem to bring a new focus and excitement and the work improves. Of course if you change too frequently you lose the benefit of having people come to know and trust the missionaries. I hope I will continue to be able to follow the spirit and make the changes the Lord directs and hopefully we can continue to see improvements over and over again.

Saturday the assistants had a baptism and they invited me to speak about the importance of the Book of Mormon in general and specifically in the conversion process. It was a short talk, just during the changing time, but I hope I was able to share in a meaningful way what has become so significant in my life. That book, read with real intent, has the power to change lives.

Week Ending April 18, 2009 Week # 1

Here is our most wonderful Zone Leader Council plus Brothers Randall and Packer over on the far right. We loved having them with us. They were a lot of fun.

Spring has arrived in full bloom! Aren't these beautiful?

Just another beauty. A small blooming tree or bush. I'm not sure which. I do know we have nothing like it in Utah.

I have been so spoiled in my life and have never had a flu bug or cold hold on to me for more than a day or two, but this week I fought one all week and am finally getting somewhat back on top of it. The Lord has been good and blessed me this week so that the things that I absolutely needed to do I was able to complete. However, most optional activities were cancelled.

This year the church is having all first- year mission presidents receive a visit from two people in the missionary department who work with training. We had Brothers Randall and Packer here Monday through Wednesday. It was really good to have them here and we learned a few things we could improve on. They seemed interested in learning how we do things too. Prior to their coming they asked me, and all of our missionaries, to complete a survey. I was grateful to find that what I thought were our strong points the missionaries agreed with, and where I thought there was room for improvement they agreed with too. I was grateful to find that the Lord has been leading me in the right direction. They worked with Sister Macdonald and me on Monday and then went out teaching with the missionaries that night. Regretably, my being ill kept me from going out teaching with missionaries that night, but Sister Macdonald went out with the sisters. On Tuesday we met with Brothers Randall and Packer and our assistants and reviewed the teaching of the night before then focused on Zone Leaders Council (ZLC) that would be held the next day.

Wednesday we held our ZLC. A couple of weeks ago when I first heard we would have visitors from the missionary department and that I would need to share some of my precious instruction time during ZLC with them, I was somewhat apprehensive, but they were a great addition and really added insights that were very useful.

Thursday and Friday were mostly catch up days. I will admit to taking a nap each of those days. I think that helped me get the upper hand on this bug. I also read well over a hundred letters to the presidents from missionaries, did office work and prepared for an upcoming mission tour in May with Elder and Sister Hinckley.

Friday night we had dinner with our friends, Elder and Sister Sybrowsky who were in town to reorganize a stake presidency just north of our mission. It was fun to visit with them and see him in his role as a general authority. They really did lift our spirits and helped us realize the potential of our mission. Most of our previous time we have shared together was in business or social settings and it was fun to see the two of them in their current roles.

Week Ending April 11, 2009 Week # 6

Elder Manisela's mothers made us this quilt as a gift before he left to go home. It is so beautiful it takes my breath away. Why she would do something so nice for us is beyond me.

Here is Elders Barton and Wilson with Michel. What an exciting evening!

Once again we have a great new group a missionaries. I can't believe how quickly they come and go. Time is flying by too quickly.

What will we do without this bunch?! I look at them and feel a bit of a panic. Elder Buchanan didn't even stay for the picture. His parents met him at the temple and swept him away!

My highlight of the week was again being personally involved in very productive, real life missionary work. We went to a combination dinner-fireside-baptism in the Salem area where I was invited to speak. It was to be followed by two convert baptisms. Prior to the dinner I was visiting with some missionaries outside while people were gathering. I noticed a man I had seen at a stake conference a couple months ago who had attended a meeting for investigators and recent converts prior to the general session. He had been attending church for about six years with his wife and children who were all active members. He had been struggling with living the word of wisdom and had allowed that to stand in the way of his baptism. When I saw him I said, “Michel, when are you going to get baptized?” He said, “As soon as Elder Buchanan lets me.” I called Elder Buchanan (who is a zone leader) over and he interviewed Michel and found he was ready for baptism. He had been waiting for someone to invite him again. Well, he had gone through so many sets of missionaries that I am sure the elders were suffering from a bit of “invitation fatigue.” Anyway, he accepted and was baptized that night with the other two baptisms already set up for the evening. That was great. His wife was so happy and came over to me and thanked me. Of course I was just in the right place at the right time, with the courage to challenge him.

The transfers were again great to be involved in, although this week we did have one elder not make it here from the MTC (we found out the day before he wouldn’t be coming because of some health issues) so we had to quickly make a couple of changes to that, but all-in-all it went good. We had nine come in and eleven go home.

Again the trip to the Portland temple with the returning missionaries was delightful and we feel such a loss when each group of missionaries leaves us. Just a year ago we didn’t know these people and now loosing them is so difficult!

Right after the returning missionaries left on Thursday, I went to the mid-year mission president seminar in Portland. This was for the 9 mission presidents in the Northwest area – Alaska, Vancouver Canada, Washington and Oregon. Elder Clayton presided and he was joined by Elders Arnold and Carlson. It was informative and uplifting. It is not like business meetings I have been to in the past. Although the encouragement to do better is always there, but it isn’t to meet quotas or goals, but to help people find true happiness in this life and in the life to come. It went from Thursday evening through noon on Saturday.

I am writing this on Easter and I am so grateful for the great gift of the atonement and the hope of the resurrection we all have. I am grateful to be involved in teaching this, and trying to better apply it in my own life.

Week Ending April 4, 2009 Week # 5

Elders Gibbons and Parks getting in one last picture before Elder Parks goes home.

Elder Manisela and Elder Tancayo, what are you thinking?! All I could think was let's not have a big scene.

Now that's more like it.

We held our three Multi-Zone-Conferences (MZC) this week. Our pattern in these MZCs for speakers is to have Sister Macdonald speak and normally one or two others (typically one of my counselors in the mission presidency or a stake president in that area) then I will speak. After that we have a workshop put on by the assistants (which I participate in too). After a break for lunch we gather together and I give another “talk”. In that talk I am normally very interactive with the missionaries. In addition to the talks we also have incoming and outgoing missionaries offer their testimonies and have various short lessons given by a few missionaries. Well with that background this week was slightly different. We had planned it out with minor changes (having missionaries talk instead of my counselors) but I was feeling that we needed more talks about Christ and His sacrifice with Easter and Conference coming up. When I mentioned this to the assistants they said they were feeling the same and that they had felt impressed to teach more about the atonement rather then doing role plays during the workshop portion of the MZC. I was so grateful that they had been moved by the spirit in the same way and that they had come up with a plan that was excellent. They are a great help to me and to this work.

So while outwardly we didn’t change major portions of the outline, the portion they taught was so appropriate and fit right in with other teaching done by Sister Macdonald, me and the others. In addition to having one or two highly effective missionaries teach at each MZC, we had the Bishop from Ashland (where the work is especially strong) speak. In each conference roughly the same thing was taught, but one of the conferences I would only give a “B” grade versus the other two receiving an “A”. There was one missionary who came to that particular conference less prepared and his body language was negative. It caused a tangible change of feeling and I didn’t feel like I was as effective in my teaching as I would have liked to be. Of course I visited with him afterwards and worked through his concerns and I think he is OK and back on track. I think it emphasized that it is as important for us all to come prepared to hear as it is for the speakers to come prepared to teach if we are going to have the desired results. As discussed in Mosiah chapter 2, I need to come having my tent door facing the temple if I am going to be edified during general conference or any other meeting I attend.

At one of the MZC –before it started - I was visiting with an elder in another portion of the building and I came into the foyer where almost everyone else was standing. As I entered the foyer a hush fell over everyone there and I felt like I was being watch by all present. I noticed Sister Macdonald, my assistants and the Bishop from Ashland particularly, looking at me. Then I noticed why they were staring at me. Many missionaries will wear matching ties (called companionship ties) to the MZC. The thing that had created the hush was that two elders had worn matching pink shirts as well as companionship ties. One of them was going home and the other was his new elder just being trained. Now I knew why everyone was watching me – they wanted to know how I would react. I asked the trainer how far he lived from the chapel. He said, "About 5 minutes". I said, "OK, I will see you in 10 minutes." He said, "Oh, come on let us wear them." I was kind - but firm - and sent them home to change. The Bishop said what everyone else was thinking, "I wondered how you were going to handle that." They were back in the foyer in 2 minutes. They had brought their white shirts to change into. Their pink shirts still had tags on them as they planned to return them. Once I knew it was a joke I was much more relaxed and Sister Macdonald and I got before and after pictures with them afterwards. Later in the conference I modified D&C 68:25 and said if any new Elder is not taught well by his trainer that the sin be upon the senior companion. Anyway it was funny, and I am so glad it was just a joke and not someone seriously trying to change the dress code.

After MZC I did make a few changes to the transfers and then I spent Friday after 9:00 PM and early Saturday morning making leadership calls. Once again I am excited for this new transfer and the work that will be done. I was impressed that when I was making the calls that a few elders said they had their door facing the temple (something I had taught during MZC) and they were prepared to listen. Boy these are great missionaries we have here.