Week Ending March 29, 2009 Week # 4

Here we are at the Ashland Ward with Elders Anderson, Foy and Chord. We also spent some time with them on Monday going to lunch and shopping. Lots of fun!

We spent a night out near Newport with the Strattons and went to the aquarium before heading to Ashland. We were feeding the seagulls. Can you see them running into each other as they try for that piece of pancake?

This week we finished the transfer interview schedule with visits to Klamath Falls, Bend and Redmond, and made most of the transfer decisions. We typically get all of the transfer work done the week before our round of zone conferences (which are this next week and the week before transfers are made) and may make some changes based on promptings received during zone conferences. Once again the transfer decision process was revelatory and I can feel the Lord’s hand in the decisions made.

I thought I would share a story that happened a couple of weeks ago. During interviews one of the companionships told me about offering to do some service for a man who was cutting down a tree. The man was in the tree and a woman was at the door. They asked the woman if they would like any help. She told them she was not a member of their church and they didn't need any help. The man said, "Sure, I would like some help." They went home to change and came back and helped him pile the limbs he was cutting down. They had a nice visit with him as they worked, but didn’t talk religion. They went home thinking he was a nice man and thought they would go back some time. That evening they received a call from the sister missionaries in their district thanking them for helping this man. It turns out he was hired to take down the tree and the sisters had been teaching him. He had been praying to know if he should accept the invitation to be baptized. As the Elders were helping him he just felt of their goodness and the spirit of the Lord as they worked and he made a silent decision then and there to be baptized. When the sisters saw him later that evening he told them of the events of the day and set a date for baptism.

On Sunday the 29th of March we attended church in Ashland and spoke to a combined Priesthood / RS along with the older YM and YW. We had originally planned to speak in their sacrament meeting, but when we scheduled this we forgot it would be fast Sunday due to conference next week. I think it worked out better.The class setting allowed for more give and take from the people in the ward and allowed us to really engage them in a discussion on how they could improve their missionary efforts. In truth the Ashland ward is one of the most successful wards in members being involved in missionary work and they have had a lot of success there already. We stayed for a baptism after, and the elders arranged for us to speak before the baptism to some recent converts and investigators. That went really well too. I think at least one person made a decision to be baptized during that meeting.

Since we were going down to Ashland to speak, Sister Macdonald and I went to a play the night before called, “The Music Man” with Stake President Woodley and his wife. We really enjoyed both the entertainment and the company. You may recall that President Monson quotes a line from that play in one of his talks warning us not to spend our time waiting for tomorrow, for if we do we end up with a lot of wasted yesterdays.

Week Ending March 21, 2009 Week # 3

This sign is posted as you enter the small town of Monroe, Oregon. We don't know the story behind it, but we like it's message. President used it in a stake conference.

Last weekend we enjoyed our time in the Redmond stake at their stake conference. We were hosted by the Wright family – Brother Wright serves as a counselor in the stake presidency - and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with them. In order to get back to Eugene from there we go over a mountain pass which was snow covered. We spent about an hour and a half parked at the top, or traveling a few feet at a time then stopping again. Tow trucks passed us and then we saw them going back without a vehicle in tow, so I assumed someone or ones went off the road and had to be pulled backed on. Anyway, although delayed slightly in returning home there were no real challenges for us. (I did go somewhat crazy because we had no cell coverage. :>)) In truth we enjoyed listening to a couple sessions of the last general conference on our drive / park back home.

The interviews continued this week with a trip along the I-5 to the North (Corvallis and Salem) and then off to Coos Bay. We interviewed another 70 missionaries this week. We continue to be impressed with how amazing these missionaries are.

I understand that March Madness is in full swing. At a district meeting in Corvallis this week one of the elders asked if as a district activity they could all fill in a bracket. I said that would be okay if they didn’t waste proselyting time on it and if there was no gambling. He then stuttered a little and said, "Well, would it be okay if we all threw in a tie and the winner got to keep the ties?" Oh the questions I get asked continue to surprise me and leave me just a little unprepared. But they are always interesting.

After we interviewed the missionaries in Coos Bay we headed north along the 101 and attended a dinner in Newport at the Bergshoeff's home. They were former senior missionaries and were kind enough to host a dinner for us and the Kirkhams, another senior missionary couple serving in Lincoln City. We had tried to have the couple who replaced the Bergshoeffs in Waldport come too, but they were not available. It was good to visit with them about the successes and some of the frustrations that senior couples experience. Their challenges and opportunities are different than the younger missionaries. We love visiting with them too. We are trying hard to figure out a time that will work for us to get out to the other outlying areas where senior couples are serving and speak in their wards.

The drive up the coast was different than we had seen it before. It was stormy and the waves were quite fierce. It was fun to see. Since we knew we would be late, we overnighted with the Bergshoeffs and after a nice walk on the beach the next morning (the weather was much nicer by then) we drove home.

My sister Leslie sent me an excerpt from her son’s letter who is serving in South America. He has just hit his six-month mark. He told his mother the time was going fast and he wrote about something President Uchtdorf had said when he was in the MTC, “The bad news is that time flies. The good news is that you’re the pilot.” I was impressed with this thought and I am sure I will use it regularly with our missionaries. We have reached the 1/4 mark of our mission as well, 9 months for us. I am grateful that the Lord has allowed us to be the pilot and given us agency to determine how we will use the time we have been given in life. I hope and pray we are using our time wisely.

Week Ending March 14, 2009 Week # 2

Elders Cluff, Perez and Christensen serve together on the coast. They don't look anything alike, but they act like triplets (brothers, inseparable).

Elders Harris and Peterson are office assistants. We love their humor!

We began our interview portion of the transfers this week with a trip along the I-5 to the south (Roseburg, Grants Pass, and Medford) and then here in Eugene. We interviewed about 70 missionaries this week. Before we start with the interviews Sister Macdonald and I take a half hour or so and review a chapter or section of the scriptures with the missionaries. This transfer’s chapter has been section 50 of the Doctrine and Covenants. It is great to visit with the missionaries and get their insights into the scriptures. It reminds me how great these missionaries are when I see the wisdom they gain from the scriptures and we get to share our thoughts with them too. Anyway, I find it to be a great way to prepare myself and them for a one on one discussion about their work and their individual happiness. While I interview the missionaries are trained by their zone leaders as a district.

Last weeks Church News had the assignments for the new mission presidents that will come out in June of 2009. It was all but impossible for me to realize that it was a whole year ago that we were there. It brought home to me that there is a definite time limit on what we may be able to accomplish with these good missionaries and the people of Oregon. It certainly didn’t have any “trunky” impact, but rather a sense of urgency to do all that we have been asked to do. That perhaps is the reality of our lives too. That which we desire to do must be done timely or the opportunities can slip away from us. I think we have now been here long enough for both Sister Macdonald and me to be feeling very at home in our assignment. We are comfortable, but not too comfortable. By saying that we know enough to move forward, but little enough to know that we still need to rely heavily on the Lord to direct His work. I hope we always stay about like that.

I was grateful for the information the church has put out this week about the temple particularly since I understand that the show “Big Love” on HBO will depict it in less than favorable ways this week on their show. For insights on where you can learn more about the temples or the church’s position on responding to this type of issues please see:
Temples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x_-TQivCx8&feature=channel_page

Position:

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma


This weekend we are off to Redmond for their stake conference. They were scheduled to have Elder Teixeirao there, but he had a family issue. Elder Merrell, an Area 70 is coming instead. We enjoyed speaking with him a month ago in the Salem area and it will be fun to see him and his wife again. We then go into a five-week period of no stake conferences being held in our mission area. During that time we are speaking in a few wards that are having great success with missionary work.

The work continues to go forward and the missionaries are having success as they put their all into the work.

Week Ending March 7, 2009 Week # 1

Gary Stewart, one of Tom's counsellors, joined us for zone leader council--what a treat. It was a cold, but beautiful day.

We enjoyed holding our Zone Leaders Council on Tuesday of this week. This chance to bring in the leaders of the mission and train them in their duties and in doctrine is so fulfilling. As I mentioned a couple of transfers ago, we switched to holding ZLC in our home. Although our home is a little tight on space, I like being with them here. It also cuts down on time wasted going from our house for breakfast to the church for training giving us more time for teaching and discussion. This week we reserved a bit more time for open discussion items and most of them actively participated in ideas to improve the mission and keep the momentum going forward. We talked about the need to have sustainable progress and not just “one-time” spurts that flame out too quickly. We compared our efforts to running a marathon versus a sprint and our need to keep building upon what we accomplish one month over to the next. I would have loved to have this kind of training while I was a ZL 30 plus years ago. I am keenly aware that there is a lot of investment in time and money to have everyone travel in for this meeting, so we try and make sure that there is meaningful content when they get here.

This week has a few days that are scheduled “catch-up” times to answer e-mails, catch up on reading letters, and various other correspondence. This is also the one week in the transfer process that we are pretty good at getting in a real P-Day and enjoy a bit of a break. This week we went to Portland on Thursday to see the play "Wicked." We went with the Portland mission president and his wife, Pres. & Sister Dyches. We always enjoy our time with them. We had received permission to go out of our mission from Elder Clayton. We ran into a lot of people who recognized us – or more accurately spoken – recognized our name tags. We also sat right in front of people from our ward here in Eugene. We enjoyed the outing and company immensely. We had seen the play twice before in NYC and it brought back pleasant memoires of those trips as well.

On Friday of this week I was a bit anxious to be out among the missionaries again, so I went to a couple of Zone District Meetings (ZDM) that are held at the beginning of transfers and where the ZLs bring information they have received at ZLC to the missionaries. They typically have a zone wide tract in the area and gather for lunch too. In the morning I headed up to Corvallis and stopped to purchase some donuts for everyone. I attended the training portion of that ZDM and then drove back to Eugene and caught the end of their tracting time when they were gathering for lunch and also brought in donuts for that zone. I have attended ZDM before, but most of the missionaries hadn’t been aware of it, or they were less impressed because I hadn’t brought donuts previously. So I learned that donuts are the trick. I really enjoyed seeing so many missionaries at a time I don’t normally get to see them and feel of their spirit and happiness.

I had a funny experience when I was purchasing doughnuts at Safeway. When I went to check out there were two clerks talking at the checkout line. One read my name tag and I heard him say “Jesus Christ” out loud in a reverent way. He told his friend he should go to church and follow Jesus. I told them I was a missionary for the church, etc. and started a conversation that didn’t go real far. The clerk who had been told by his friend that he should go to church said that he was Catholic and that his grandmother was a nun. I thought to myself, "How is that possible?"( nuns don’t have children and therefore would not have any grandchildren). What I did say was, "Your grandmother was a nun?" but he didn’t understand my underlying question and told me that she was definitely a nun. I just smiled and wished them a good day.

This Sunday we have no stake conferences to go to so we will get to go to our own ward and partake of the sacrament. I am really looking forward to that and have a keen awareness of what I am missing when I don’t partake of the sacrament each week. Next week we are back on the road to speak at another conference that I am sure we will enjoy, but for this week I am grateful for a slower pace.

I look forward to seeing the missionaries this next week and pray the spirit will be with Sister Macdonald and me so that we can teach and lift them throughout the interview process.

Week Ending February 28, 2009 Week # 6

Our newest AP, Elder Brown. Transfers are hard on all of us. When I got a look at him, I told him to take a nap. He looked at me like I'd suggested he give a sister missionary a big kiss. I assured him it was okay. He wasn't needed for anything else for 30 minutes or so and there he is in a noisy house SOUND asleep, exhausted. I do my best to take care of them mom.

My parents got up early for the drive to the Portland Temple where Jamie and Kim met us to start the long drive home. We took a picture together in the atrium before hugs and kisses goodbye.




Elder Leet cooks a pretty good breakfast. The last couple weeks he was here he could be found in different homes cooking breakfast for people he loved.





Each time we send a group home now it seems more difficult because we know them better. This time I cried off and on for two days. We do love our missionaries. Having the Dixons with us is always a special treat. They are such a great help to us in the office.






Our new arrivals. Another great group, although I will say they were much quieter than others we have had. I'm sure that won't last long. Give them a couple weeks with the other missionaries and lots of things change--for the better.

Again a family issue tops the highlight of the week – and since we believe that families can be forever that’s not all bad – right? Sister Macdonald’s parents visited us for a couple of days this last week. They have served three missions together. In their first one he presided over the Arizona Tucson Mission from 1990 to 1993. They were here when we had our incoming missionaries come in on Tuesday. I think they enjoyed watching some of that, and reliving the pleasant memories of their own mission. We were thrilled to have them here, and we are grateful to Kim and Jamie (Sis. Macdonald's sister and husband) who drove them out here in route to see their daughter’s family in Washington.

The incoming group of new missionaries this week was full of excitement and happiness to be here – as usual. As I get to meet them in person it becomes obvious that the trainers they have been assigned to go to are who they were supposed to go to. I can only learn so much from their picture and brief history that I have before they get here. The Lord knows them and loves them and guides me so strongly to put them with a specific companion and in a specific area where they will get started on the right foot. I have enjoyed the practice that Sister Macdonald suggested to me, of calling the incoming missionaries’ parents on the day they arrive. I am sure the parents feel a bit of assurance from that call, and I love making a connection with them as well.

On Wednesday / Thursday comes the downside of the transfer process. Sending home missionaries that we have come to love. This week’s group was all great – as they all are – but it also included one of my assistants, Elder Leet. I wish I could get as close to all of the missionaries as I get to the assistants, but it just isn’t possible. We, along with the entire mission, will miss him.

Stake conferences: It was a year ago that I was released as a stake president, but we are not lacking for opportunities to speak in stake conferences still. In the last three weeks I have spoken in nine sessions of four different stake conferences and I spoke at a fireside as well. Sister Macdonald has spoken at the appropriate sessions as well. The differences of course are I don’t know the people here like I did the good people of the Orem North Stake after living there for 30 years and being in the stake presidency for 15 years. The other difference is that we almost always speak together and on the subject of missionary work. I still enjoy the opportunity and Sister Macdonald is an excellent speaker and getting more comfortable doing it too. Although we don’t know many people we have run into several former members of our stake from home which gives us a touch of familiarity that is a tender mercy for sure.

When I started this blog idea I had to promise myself I would do it even when I didn’t have time for lengthy entries and I wouldn’t feel guilty if I didn’t have much to say. So I trust the pictures that Sister Macdonald will add will be sufficient to round out this week’s brief entry.