Message 26 December 2011

Message—26 December 2011

Dear Family & Friends,

Since the last message was late; done on Tuesday, this message will begin with Wednesday the 21^st.  We drove to Palmyra and met Sister Tirrell and Sister Fetuli at the White House apartment at 1pm.  The sister’s had made a spaghetti dinner for us.  We enjoyed the good food and visiting with the sister’s.  The AP’s and the Zone Leaders also met us there at 1:30pm.  We then loaded all of the furniture and belongings from the garage of the White House, into the trucks and trailer.  It was raining a little, but nothing serious.  We managed to get everything in one trip.  We then went to Farmington where their new apartment is located.  We moved all their items into the new apartment and helped them get everything organized.  We arrived home about 9pm.  The AP’s and the zone leaders were a great help.  We are more impressed with the faith and devotion and obedience of these great missionaries; we enjoy associating with them.  We can see the wisdom of  Heavenly Father in using younger missionaries to help accomplish His work.  They are at the right age and stage in their lives to be moldable to do what they are inspired to do.  They also have the desire, energy, and enthusiasm to do what is required.

On Thursday we spent the day checking the apartments in the Rochester Zone; there were 8 apartments.  We also checked the apartment of the Elders who live in our same apartment complex here in Brockport.  This completed the apartment checks for this month.  This made it so all the apartments were ready for the transfers for this next week.  One of the apartments was not as clean as it should have been, so we told the elders they needed to clean what was not done and we would return on Tuesday morning before transfers to check the apartment again.  Friday morning we drove to the Kenmore apartment in Buffalo to re-check it to be sure it was clean for the coming transfers.  The apartment was very clean and looked great; far better than the first check.  Elder Garcia, at this apartment, is a very talented young man.  He had done a pen drawing of a farm shed and an attached vertical corn silo, with fields and some trees in the background; it was very well done.  He asked us to take it with us to give to Elder and Sister Jones, who are serving in Warsaw, as a Christmas gift.  We have made arrangements to get it to them tomorrow, Tuesday, with an elder who is being transferred to Warsaw.  Friday afternoon we did some shopping on the way home so we would have what we needed for the Christmas weekend.

On Saturday we had a P-Day and did the washing and cleaned the apartment so Santa would feel welcome.  We talked with our daughter, Lynne, on the phone and had a short conversation with our grandson, Shadyn.  I told him maybe Santa would not find me since we were living in New York.  He said, “...trust me Grandpa; Santa will always know where you are”.  Sure enough, Christmas morning there were some presents from Santa under our small Christmas tree; so Shadyn was correct.  Saturday afternoon we drove to Palmyra to the Hill Cumorah Visitor Center to join with the other Senior Couples for a Christmas Eve dinner and some other activities.  We sang some Christmas songs and did an interesting way of sharing presents.  We had all brought one inexpensive gift; when we arrived we placed our present on one of the chairs in a circle of chairs.  We had a dinner of ham and potatoes and some other good food.  After the dinner, we all moved to the circle of chairs and picked up the presents under the chair we chose to sit on.  Sister Lenker then read a story about Mr. and Mrs. Right doing a variety of things.  As she read the two page story, every time she used the word “right” we were to pass the present we held, one person to the right; every time she said the word left we passed the present we held, one person to the left.  At the end of the story, whatever present we held we opened and kept.  It was an interesting way to move the presents around and involve everyone in the process.  It was a nice event together.

Sunday morning we attended our sacrament meeting.  Most important we partook of the sacrament on the day we recognize the birth of Christ, who is the center of the sacrament.  It is such a marvelous blessing to be able to weekly prepare for our sacrament meetings by repenting and becoming worthy of being forgiven of our sins and mistakes during the previous week.  By repenting we can come ready to allow the atonement to cleanse us by taking the sacrament.  After partaking of the sacrament; some ward members had put together a narration about the birth of the Savior and interspersed it with some Christmas hymns done by a number of different people, and included some songs for the congregation to join in singing.  It was a very good service and the Spirit was present.  Sunday afternoon and evening we received some phone calls from some of our family; and we were able to visit with April and Josh’s family by using Skype.  It was fun to see the excitement of the grandchildren with gifts they received.  Christmas does indeed include a special peace and power of the Holy Spirit that touches our lives in important and special ways.

Monday we attended our mission office staff meeting.  We were asked by President Christianson to find an apartment in the area of Fairport for two Elders to begin working in that area again after it had been closed earlier in the year.  With the transfers taking place tomorrow, one of our Brockport elders, Elder Swanner, will be one of the missionaries moving to Fairport; his companion will be Elder Adair.  Our other Brockport elder, Elder Olsen, will be going to Warsaw to serve with Elder Bowman.  We spent time after the meeting trying to find an apartment in Fairport; we were blessed to find 2 possible apartments and made appointments to go see them tomorrow.  Twelve new missionaries arrived in the mission today; so we attended the new missionary orientation meeting tonight at 6pm; and presented our instruction about taking care of their apartments and keeping them organized and clean so the Holy ghost will feel welcome to be there.

We thank everyone who helped to provide the pictures of each of the grandchildren; we have hung them across the top of the drapes over our sliding glass door in our living room so we can look at them anytime we want.  We also thank Dana and Shaun for sending us the picture taken at the family reunion last summer and the banner that was signed by those who came to the reunion.  We thank our children for the gifts they sent to use, we appreciate each one.  We also express appreciation for each of you who sent us a Christmas card and/or letter; we are very appreciative of each message and thought you shared.  We hope you all have a safe and enjoyable holiday week.

We express our love and appreciation to each of you and we feel the power and influence of your thoughts and prayers in our behalf.  We know the Savior lives and loves us and will help us in our lives to choose to follow Him.  We know this work is true and divinely guided.  We know we have living prophets and apostles who are so faithful, diligent, and focused on doing all the Lord inspires them to do.  Obeying all of their instruction and counsel will bless our lives eternally.

Love,

Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Richard & Maxine

Message 20 December 2011

Message—20 December 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

Last week was very busy for us.  On Tuesday we attended a missionary and Christmas training meeting with the Buffalo and Rochester Zones at the chapel in Amherst.  We helped the Servoss’s and McVea’s with the snacks and lunch.  Monday evening Sister Jensen, with a little help from me, took the meat off of 12 roasted chickens that were bought from Wegman’s, to use for the chicken salad sandwiches for the lunch on Tuesday.  Sister Jensen also prepared the other ingredients to go in the chicken salad.  Tuesday morning, early, Sister Jensen mixed all of the ingredients together to make the sandwiches.  We left for Amherst about 7:45am and arrived about 10 minutes before 9am.  We helped the McVea’s and Elder Servoss get the snacks and tables and decorations organized for the day.  We attended the training until about 11am then the McVea’s, the Jensen’s, and Elder Servoss and Sister Moses and Sister Jones came and helped in the serving area to make the sandwiches and get the lunch ready for the missionaries and President & Sister Christianson.  After the lunch we provided ice cream and all the topping items for the missionaries to make their own ice cream sundaes.  Then we cleaned up and attended the rest of the training until about 4:30.  We then helped gather up the food items left over and decide who was going bring what for the same training to be held on Wednesday for the two Palmyra Zones.  The McVea’s took the meat off of six more chickens Tuesday evening so there would be plenty for the lunch on Wednesday.  Wednesday morning we left home about 7:45 am to get to the Palmyra Stake Center before 9am.  It turned out that there was enough chicken salad left from Tuesday to feed all the missionaries on Wednesday.  Since we did not need the meat from the chickens the McVea’s did, they put the meat in the freezer to use for some other lunches for missionaries going home this week and new missionaries arriving on December 26^th.

Sister and President Christianson provided the training both days.  They both taught us about Christ and His life and all He has done for us to bless our lives as we follow Him and His example.  They taught us about His matchless gifts to us.  The President let us watch a movie entitled the “Ultimate Gift”.  He then compared the gifts talked about in the movie with the gifts the Savior has given us.  As missionaries, and church members, we should now offer to our brothers and sisters in our communities and other places we go, the opportunity to learn about these gifts available to them.  As we learn to follow the example of Jesus Christ, we will also be learning to be like our Heavenly Father, because all the Savior has ever done is to follow the example of His Father.

Thursday we had a P-Day so we could get some clothes washed and take care of other things we needed to accomplish.  We also rested some from three long days, and get ready for two more long days.

Friday we checked the apartments in the Palmyra North Zone.  This took all of the daylight hours.  We installed new carbon monoxide detectors in all of the apartments we check this month, because the ones currently there have been installed for longer than the warranty specifies.  On Saturday we checked the three apartments in the Buffalo Zone which we are assigned.  Then Saturday evening we attended our ward Christmas dinner.  We had a great evening with the members who were there.

Monday we went to the Mission Office to help while Sister McVea and Sister Servoss went to help Sister Christianson with a lunch for the missionaries who were to fly home on Tuesday so they would be with their families for Christmas.  The new missionaries will be coming on December 26^th.  After we finished helping in the office, we went back to our apartment and picked up a few things and then drove back to the Westfall chapel and picked up Elder Swanner and Elder Olsen and took them to the Joseph Smith Farm Visitor Center.  For Family Home evening last night the senor missionary couples provided some special Christmas presentations at the Joseph Smith Log Home and the Smith Frame Home.  Members from all of the stakes in the area had been invited to come.  Then also in the visitor center some of the missionaries sang some Christmas songs and had the people who came, join in singing some of the songs.  There were also some children’s games in the lower level of the visitor center.  Cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate were also provided.  There were a lot of people who attended.  Many of the people went to the log home and frame home and the barn by the frame home and there were some senior missionaries in each place who were telling stories about the birth of Jesus; and also about Christmas in the Smith home in the 1800’s.  We also went to Farmington and delivered a rent check for an apartment into which two sister missionaries will be moving on Wednesday.  We also picked up the keys to get into the apartment on Wednesday.  We did not get home until 10 pm, so I did not get the blog message done until tonight.

Today, Tuesday, we had our district meeting at our apartment.  Sister Jensen fixed a nice dinner for the elders for a Christmas gift.  After the dinner we also had some missionary training given by the zone leaders.  They had us listen to some instruction given by Elder Bednar at the Provo MTC earlier this year.  The topic was about how to be a Preach My Gospel missionary; it was very excellent instruction, followed by a powerful testimony of the Savior.  After the district meeting we went to check the apartments in Geneseo, Warsaw, and Battavia.

We are pleased to learn that Lynne and Chris will be having a baby boy in April; we were hoping for a girl, but we are just as happy it is a boy.  We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas together with your families.  We also hope you take time to remember the Savior and recognize the peace and love and blessings that come through his gifts to us.

We love you all,

Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Richard & Maxine

Message 12 December 2011

Message—12 December 2011

Dear Family & Friends,

This past week we were blessed with the opportunity of having time to get caught up on a number of things that have had to be set aside for a while.  We had some apartment records that needed to be updated and filed; and copies of some of the apartment record forms made for President Christianson; and variety of other projects to complete.

Thursday we attended our District Meeting at the chapel in Greece NY; and Sister Christianson attended the meeting with us.  President Christianson was not well enough to come with her.  We had a very good meeting.

Saturday evening we were invited to dinner at Brother and Sister Petranek’s home.  Brother Petranek was the first counselor in the Bishopric up until a month ago.  He is now our Ward Mission Leader.  We had a great visit with the Petranek’s and learned a lot from each other which will be helpful as we continue trying to work in unity to do more missionary work with the help of the members.

Sunday evening we had a District Meeting to organize and prepare a short missionary related skit for our Christmas Training meeting on Tuesday in the chapel in Amherst NY.  We will be meeting together with the Buffalo Zone from 9am to 3pm Tuesday.  We will also be attending the Palmyra North and South Zones on Wednesday, also from 9am to 3pm.

In our mission office staff meeting today we were asked by the President to find a new apartment in the town of Fairport.  We were able to find a few possibilities after the meeting and will be following up to determine which one to rent.

While we were at the Petranek’s, a question was asked by Sister Petranek about the Nicean and Athanassian creeds and how confusing they are in describing the nature of Heavenly Father , Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.  We shared with them part of the instruction President Christianson gave in our last zone conference about Heavenly Father.  We asked Sister Petranek how she felt when she read the words of the two creeds.  Then we read the words of Joseph Smith concerning the first vision, and also verse 22 in Doctrine and Covenants Section 130; then we asked her how she felt after reading those words.  The statements in the creeds are confusing and make no sense; the words of Joseph Smith and the verse in the Doctrine and Covenants lead you to feel like they are true and perfectly logical.  This is a good example of how we can know the truth of anything in any circumstance.  Just like it explains in Moroni 7:15-19, we can know what is right and good and what is not good or evil.

We have been told that all those who attended the family Christmas party last Saturday had an enjoyable time together; including a visit from the real Santa Claus.  We were thinking of you and missed being with you; but we were able to talk for a few minutes with some of you on the phone and we heard your Merry Christmas wish to us.  We are anxious to hear from Lynne and Chris whether they will be having a girl or boy in April.  We hope Olivia continues to hear well with her hearing aid and will begin learning to talk.

We love you all and pray for you daily, and we appreciate your prayers for us.  We hope you enjoy the coming days leading up to Christmas and feel the love and peace of Jesus the Christ.  We know He lives and has given us the greatest gift possible; the atonement and the promise of the resurrection, and perfect example to follow.

Love,

Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Richard & Maxine

Message 5 December 2011

Message—5 December 2011

Dear Family & Friends,

Tuesday we arose at 5:30am so we would be ready to leave the apartment by 7am to drive to Canandaigua for the Palmyra South Zone Conference to begin at 9am.  We needed to arrive by 8:30am to help with getting the missionaries to park their cars where we wanted them so we could do the inspections of the cars easier.  We arrived a little late because I did not follow the directions from the GPS, and took the long way to get there, so we did not arrive until 8:50am instead of 8:30 am.  There is a chapel there in this town in which we met for the conference.  My main assignment for each of the zone conferences was to help Elder McVea with inspecting each of the vehicles the missionaries use.  The church has a very well organized system and procedures to see that the vehicles used in the missions are well cared for.  Part of the process is to have the vehicles inspected at each zone conference.  This provides the information needed so if any repairs are needed they can be done.  Also this inspection was used to see that the vehicles are prepared and safe for winter driving.  This takes several hours, so Elder McVea and I did not have the chance to hear the training the missionaries were given in the morning session of the zone conference.  Sister Jensen provided some training and instruction for the missionaries to help them in taking better care of their apartments.  After dong this training she came outside and helped us with recording the information from each inspection on the form that is provided by the church.  Sister McVea was in the Mission Office each day of the week along with Sister Servoss.  Elder Servoss came with Elder McVea and he helped us with the inspections for as much of the time as he could.  He also coordinated with the missionaries each day to give them new cell phones to replace their old ones; and to insure the phone information was transferred from the old phone to the new one.  We were able to get all of these things done in the morning time.  In the afternoon session Elder McVea did some vehicle safety training, and then we were able to hear the training provided in the afternoon from President Christianson.  We were blessed to not have rain on Tuesday or Wednesday, but Wednesday was quite cold, in the upper 30’s.

The major topic for the training was concerning faith in Jesus Christ, faith to find the people the Lord has prepared to receive the gospel, and praying with faith to help us do what the Lord wants us to do.  The instruction was provided by the AP’s, Zone Leaders, and President Christianson.  President Christianson’s counselors and the Stake Presidents in each zone also took some time.  The instruction was accompanied by the influence of the Holy Ghost and was very influential and motivating.  Part of the training given by the President was given to him by Elder Jensen of the Presidency of the Seventy.  Elder Jensen had asked that this training be given.  He said we sometimes do not include the importance and power of Heavenly Father in the eternal plan provided by Him, and taught to us in our pre-mortal life by Him.  Understanding more about the Father helps to strengthen our knowledge and testimony of the Savior, Jesus Christ.  The other part of the training was based on the last talk given by Elder Bruce R. McKonkie who was one of the 12 apostles.  His talk was given in the April 1985 General Conference.  He was dying of cancer but the Lord strengthened him sufficiently to give this profound address entitled “The Purifying Power of Gethsemane”.  This is one of the most powerful testimonies of Christ and the atonement and resurrection he has provided that has ever been given.  I remember seeing and hearing this talk when it was given in 1985 and it made a permanent impression of me of the truth and reality of the Redeemer of us all.

On Wednesday the Palmyra North Zone Conference was held at the Palmyra chapel across the road from the Palmyra Temple which is less than one fourth of a mile from the Sacred Grove.  We also had to arise at 5:30 am so we could leave by 7:15 am to get to the Palmyra chapel by 8:30 am.  This day was very similar to the Tuesday zone conference including the vehicle inspections and the training which was given.  Wednesday afternoon we spent a few hours in Farmington NY trying to find an apartment for the two sister missionaries we had moved out of an apartment in Shortsville the week before.  We were led by the Lord to find an apartment that will be much better for the sisters than was the previous one they had.

Thursday we were able to have a P-Day so we could get the laundry done and the apartment cleaned and spend some time catching up on what we did not get done the previous two days.  Included in the activities of the day was a trip to Wal-Mart to get me some thermals so I could keep warm at the other two zone conferences; they were very helpful on Friday and Saturday.

Friday was the Rochester Zone conference which was at the chapel on Westfall Rd. in Brighton NY, which is only about a 25 minute drive from our apartment.  The first hour of our vehicle inspections there was no rain; but then it started to give us a light rain mixed with some snowflakes, but mostly it was sleet.  We got somewhat wet, but not soaked clear through.  For this day we had a young man help us with the inspections.  He is a member of the Rochester Stake and is waiting for his mission call to come.  Elder McVea and I did the inspection steps and Kenny did the recording of the information for us.  On the last few cars Elder Servoss came and helped also; so we could do two cars at a time.

Saturday the Buffalo Zone conference was held in a chapel in Amherst, a suburb of Buffalo, East of the city.  The day started off at freezing, 32degrees; but by the time we were done the temperature was up to the low 50’s.  The vehicle inspections went quite fast because Sister McVea and Sister Servoss were both able to come to the conference since the Mission Office is not open on Saturday’s.  Sister Jensen and Elder Servoss also helped out.  With all the help we had, we were able to inspect two cars at a time.

Sunday was our Fast & Testimony Meeting.  The testimonies shared were filled with the Spirit and very uplifting.  In the evening, at 8pm our time, we had invited Casey Reichhart to come to our apartment to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional with us.  You may remember she was baptized about a month ago here in our Brockport Ward.  She is doing very well and has been attending early morning seminary.  The seminary instructor is Jeremy Browne; his wife Brooke is a granddaughter of Arnold Wilson from Mapleton.  Arnold was my Scout master when I was in the scout age.  Jeremy has been a professor here at the Brockport College; but he has recently been hired to work and teach at BYU Provo.  They will be moving on December 13^th; and Jeremy will begin at BYU in January.  Brooke is one of our organists in the ward, and Jeremy has also been the Sunday School President.  They will both be missed; but this is what Jeremy has been hoping for since he graduated from BYU about 10 years ago.  They have twin boys named Isaac and Asher who are full of “vim, vigor, and vitality”; or as my mother used say “wim, wigor, and witality”.

Today, Monday, we attended the mission office staff meeting and then helped do some things at the mission office for the rest of the day.

We hope Chris gets home safe from the fire he was sent to in southern California.  Last week they had Santa Ana winds that were over 100 mph; and they had all the fire fighters in the state on red alert.  There were trees blown over and many homes without power.  Chris was sent as a leader of a strike team to work on a fire there.  We heard there were winds over 100 mph in the Centerville Utah area that has done a lot of damage and caused many homes to be without power.  We hope these people affected can be provided for and that they will somehow have a Christmas.

We hope our family has a wonderful Christmas gathering this Saturday at our home.  Please take time to share the story of the birth of Jesus from Luke 2:1-19 to help remember the real reason for Christmas.  We hope Norm and Rhonda continue to do well in keeping their cancer under control.

We love you all and think of you and pray for each of you and your families.

Love,

Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Maxine & Richard

Message 28 November 2011

Message—28 November 2011

Dear Family & Friends,

We have survived another busy week.  Monday we attended the mission office staff meeting and coordinated assignments for the zone conferences to be held during the week of November 28^th-Dec 3^rd.  In the afternoon we drove to the Buffalo area to check three apartments; the apartments in Lockport, Niagara Falls, and Kenmore.  After checking these three apartments we had made arrangements to go to the home of Richard Grapes in North Tonawanda, so we could visit with him and his son Rick Grapes who was visiting for Thanksgiving.  Rick works in the BYU Library in the same department in which I worked.  Rick and his father took us to Ted’s, which is a well-known eating place for NY hot dogs.  The regular hot dog size is about 8 inches long, or you can have a foot long.  After eating at Ted’s, we then went to Wurlitzers Pizza which has an adjoining Ice Cream shop which sells the famous Perry’s Ice Cream.  Even though the weather was cold we still had some good Perry’s ice cream; which is almost as good as the BYU Creamery ice cream.  We arrived home about 9:30 pm.  Our late arrival home is why the blog message last week was not posted until nearly 11pm our time.

On Tuesday, Sister Jensen got up early and made some of her wonderful cinnamon rolls to take with us to Shortsville.  There were eight Elders who met us there at about 1:30pm to move out all of the furniture and other items from the apartment there; and move it all to be stored in the garage at the “White House” which is near the Palmyra Temple.  The White House is an old home on the original Joseph Smith Sen. Farm; in which there is space for three sets of sister missionaries.  The sister missionaries who had been living in Shortsville were moved to the White House the week previous.  The cinnamon rolls were for the elders who came and helped move things, and also the two sisters who came and helped finish cleaning the old Shortsville apartment.

Our district meeting was held Wednesday morning at 10 am in the chapel on English Road in Greece.  Before we left for the meeting, we checked the apartment of the two elders who live by us in Brockport.  After the meeting, we checked the apartment of the elder’s in Greece, who are also our zone leaders.

Thursday we used partly for a P-Day and then in the afternoon at 4pm we took the two elders here in Brockport and drove to Holley NY to have Thanksgiving Day dinner at the home of Brother & Sister Kimbler.  Brother Kimbler is our Ward Mission Leader and his wife is the Ward Relief Society President.  In addition Brother Kimbler’s mother came, and also John and Jackie Petranek were there; John was recently released as the first counselor in the Brockport ward bishopric.  We had a very good Thanksgiving Day dinner and visited with each other for a little while.  Yesterday in our sacrament meeting, Brother Kimbler was released as our Ward Mission Leader; and then sustained as the new Young Men’s President.  Brother Petranek was then sustained as our new Ward Mission Leader.  Brother Petranek will be a good leader and will be very helpful to the missionaries.

On Friday we went to check the apartments in Geneseo, Warsaw, and Batavia.This took the better part of the day.  We finished our P-Day work when we returned home from these three places.

On Saturday we returned to the Niagara Falls apartment to re-check it; since the apartment was very much not clean when we went on Monday.  We told the elders we would give them until Saturday to get it cleaned up, and then we would come back to see how well they had done.  When we walked in to the apartment there was a very good feeling in the apartment, we could actually feel the Spirit there, because the apartment was very clean and orderly.  The Spirit was not there in the apartment on Monday.  This was a great lesson in why it is important for the missionaries to keep their apartments clean.  When the apartments are clean the Spirit will be there to help them with their preparations; when the apartments are not clean the Spirit is not there.  I know this same principle applies to our own homes.  After checking the apartment we took the elder’s to lunch at an Italian restaurant and were able to get better acquainted with them and learn about their families and the success they are having with the missionary work in their area.

After church on Sunday we did some things to prepare for the busy week ahead with four zone conferences.  Today we went to our mission office staff meeting; and had a post-Thanksgiving discussion about things for which we are thankful.  President Christianson said he was grateful for the commandments which have been given to us; and shared some things he had written in his journal about how commandments bless our lives; they do not restrict us, they enable us to receive more blessings than we ever will by not obeying them.  We also helped with getting some last minute things ready for the zone conferences this week.

We are patiently waiting to hear from Jana how her father-in-law’s surgery for removing some cancer went today.  We hope all will be well for Norman.  We talked with Kristine and learned plans are going forward for the family to have our annual Christmas gathering on December 10^th in Utah.  We hope you all have a great time together and take some time to remember how important the Savior is to Christmas.  We know He is the Only Begotten Son of Heavenly Father and has provided the great promise of being resurrected, and has also suffered more than we can know to provide the atonement to make it possible to be forgiven of our mistakes and be made clean and pure enough to return to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus.  In Sunday School last week a wonderful quote was shared about the Savior and the atonement, I will share it with you.  “I bear testimony that you cannot sink further than the light and sweeping intelligence of Jesus Christ can reach.  I bear testimony that as long as there is one spark of the will to repent and to reach, He is there.  He did not just descend to your condition; he descended below it, ‘that He might be in all and through all things, the light of truth’.”  (D&C 88:6)   (The quote came from "The Infinite Atonement" by Elder Tad R. Callister, now of the Presidency of the Seventy, on page p.101.  Elder Callister is actually quoting from "Christ and the Inner Life" by Truman Madsen on page 14.)  This quote was given in connection with four principles given in the lesson manual, which are actually a process.  The principles are afflictions, prayer, self control, and obedience.  Afflictions, challenges, and trials are a natural part of mortal life which helps us to learn humility which will lead us to prayer and faith to receive help from the Lord to properly handle the afflictions.  This includes learning to control anger and other wrong behavior thereby helping us learn to properly control our behavior.  As we do this we learn to be obedient to the Lord’s will, plan, and timing.  Then we have more afflictions and start the process again and learn another lesson to help us become more like Jesus, step by step.  The atonement makes it possible to be forgiven for the times we make mistakes; and we can then try the process again each time new challenges come along.  I am a little slow at learning, but I am gradually learning more about Heavenly Father’s great love for us in providing a divine plan to help us return to Him.

We wish a happy birthday to Josh on December 1st, Alli on December 10th, Colton on December 15th, Jada on December 18th, Olivia on December 19th, and Kristine on December 22nd.

We express our great love for each of you and appreciate our associations with you.  We pray for each of you as we know you pray for us.

Love,

Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Maxine & Richard

Message 21 November 2011

Message—21 November 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

Monday we did not have Mission Office Staff meeting since President Christianson had new missionaries arriving.  At 5pm on Monday we went to President & Sister Christianson’s home to meet with the President and the new missionaries and participate in the orientation of two new sister missionaries.  One is Sister Fetuli from Tonga, and the other is Sister Hatch from the North Ogden Utah area.  Sister Jensen made a very tasty fresh apple cake with a caramel sauce which we took to the orientation meeting.  We had dinner at the President’s home along with the rest of the office staff in the kitchen; and we also served President and Sister Christianson and the new sister’s and the AP’s and ate the apple cake for our desert.  We then did our part of the training; then the President invited us to stay and listen to all of the training he provides for new missionaries.  He is an awesome teacher and knows the scriptures very well, as well as quotes from many General Authorities.

Tuesday was transfer day.  We meet at the church building on Westfall Rd. in Brighton, (part of the Rochester area) for the transfers.  We go to these transfer gatherings so we can take items missionaries have asked us to get for their apartment and give them to the missionaries or the DL’s or the ZL’s to take back with them.  We also pick up from the missionaries, any clothing that has been left by missionaries who are going home.  We then sort through the clothing and save the good things and discard what is not useful, and then take the rest to a Goodwill store.  The Goodwill stores are like our DI stores.  Tuesday afternoon we went to see a few additional apartments which Elder and Sister Moses could look at on Wednesday.  Then also in the afternoon, Sister Christianson called us and asked if we would take care of a problem for her.  We went to one of the apartments where we have sister missionaries, to see if we could determine what kind of insects we could find that have been biting one of the sisters.  We suspected bedbugs, but after a thorough search of the apartment we could not find any bedbugs or spiders.  We decided we would make arrangements to go see the sister and try to determine what the bites looked like.  As we were leaving the apartment, Sister Jensen saw a large mosquito on the inside of the window by the front door; so we wondered if that is what the source of the bites was from.  We explained to the sister what to do that night so we could determine for sure what kind of insect was the source of her bites.  Tuesday evening Elder Moses called to get the addresses for the possible apartments we had located for them to look at, so they could go see the apartments on Wednesday, and decide which one they wanted, that would be safe for the asthma with which Sister Moses has trouble.

Wednesday afternoon we attended our District meeting, which was held in our apartment.  The training was about sacrifice.  For part of the training, Elder Olson, our DL, used the church produced video about John Tanner.  John was a part of the restoration of the gospel and the church at the time of Joseph Smith.  John Tanner is the grandfather of Vasco and Wilmer Tanner, who were two professors who taught me at BYU.  Wilmer Tanner just died a few weeks ago at the age of 100; he almost made it to 101.  Vasco Tanner is the father of Carol Tanner Smith who hired me as a student to work in the BYU Library after Maxine and I were married.  Carol then taught me how to be good librarian which I have done for the last 40 years.

Wednesday afternoon we went to the Mission Office and met Elder and Sister Moses who just arrived in the mission on Tuesday afternoon; they had stayed at President Christianson’s home Tuesday night.  After getting acquainted with the Moses’s; we went to Palmyra to the Hill Cumorah Visitor Center where the site missionaries, including the sister missionaries have a training meeting every Wednesday evening at 7 pm.  While there we found the sister missionary who had the insect bites.  When we saw the bites we were quite certain the bites were from mosquitoes.  We explained to the sister that we were sure the bites were from mosquitoes and told her to let us know the next morning if she had any more bites after doing what we instructed her to do to get rid of the mosquitoes.  She has not had any more trouble with the bites since then.

Also on Wednesday while at the Hill Cumorah Visitor Center we learned that two sisters who had just been transferred to a new place; one of the sisters was the new missionary from Tonga, had experienced some difficulties with people in an adjoining apartment.  After learning the details of the problem and also learning they had talked with President Christianson; we also called the President to see what he would like us to do about the problem.  He told us to find them a new apartment as soon as possible.

Thursday we spent some time on the internet, trying to find a new apartment for the sisters we talked with Wednesday night.  After searching and not having any success, Sister Jensen remembered there was an empty bedroom at the Palmyra White House, where there is room for six sister missionaries.  We called the President and asked if we could move the sisters into the empty room at the White House; he said that was a great idea.  Thursday evening we drove to the sister’s apartment and met them after they completed their assignment at the Grandin Building.  We met them at their apartment about 7:30pm and helped gather their personal items and the food items that needed to also be moved.  We then loaded their things into their car and ours, and went with them to the White House apartment and helped them get their things moved in.  They will be able to stay there for a few weeks while we find them another apartment.

Friday we checked six apartments in the Rochester Zone and then on Saturday we checked six apartments in the Palmyra North Zone.  Sunday I attended the PEC meeting for our Ward Mission Leader who was delayed getting home from Moscow Russia from a work assignment.  We also had great meetings during our regular three meeting block.

Today, Monday, we left our apartment at 9:20am and drove to Fairport to attend the Mission Office Staff Meeting.  After the meeting we stayed for a farewell lunch for those who have office space in the same building the mission office is in.  These people are moving to a different office building close by.  We had also invited the lady who is our Postal Carrier and delivers our mail to the office.  Sister Jensen got up early enough to make some home-made rolls to go with the soup and other things that were made by Sister Servoss, and Sister McVea.  In the afternoon we drove to the Buffalo area and checked the three apartments we have there.  After finishing the apartment checks we drove to the home of Richard Grapes, who is long time member of the church in North Tonawanda, which is in the Eastern outskirts of Buffalo.  His son Rick Grapes was home for Thanksgiving and we had made arrangements to visit with them and have dinner with them.  I worked with Rick in the BYU Library for about the last 20 years or so.  Richard took us to eat at Ted’s Hot Dogs; which is a popular place the local people eat.  We then drove home and arrived at 9:20pm.

It is past my bedtime, so I am going to close this message.  We hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving gatherings this week.  We hope you will take time to think of the countless blessings you have received in your life, and express to Heavenly Father your gratitude for all of your blessings.  If we will seriously think about our lives we will be able to recognize how blessed we truly are.  We hope you travel safely wherever you go and that you will appreciate your families and express your love them.

We love and appreciate all of you and thank you for the influence for good you have been, and continue to be to us.  We are so deeply grateful for your kindness and love and help in our lives; and for your prayers and thoughts in our behalf as missionaries.

Love,

Elder & Sister Jensen

Message 15 November 2011

Message—15 November 2011

Dear Family & Friends,

On Monday we attended the mission office staff meeting at 8am.  After the meeting we went to President & Sister Christianson’s home and sorted through all of the items in the trailer in the their garage.  This is all of the items from the Wellsville apartment where Elder and Sister Depew lived.  There were some things we junked because they were broken or otherwise not usable.  We rearranged the good things in the trailer so nothing would fall out when the trailer door was opened.  Monday evening we had family home evening together since President Christianson asked all of us in staff meeting to begin (or continue) doing that regularly.

Tuesday we spent the day searching various online sources to find a suitable apartment for Elder & Sister Moses, a senior couple from Houston TX who will be arriving in our mission on November 16^th for a one year mission.  We found some possible apartments for them to see after they arrive.  Sister Moses has some problems with asthma so she will need to be sure the apartment will be safe for her to live in.

Wednesday morning we had our district meeting at the chapel in Greece NY where our zone leaders, Elder Cox and Elder Campbell serve.  These two elders reported in our district meeting that they had fasted and prayed the previous Saturday to Sunday to ask for help in finding a family to teach.  Sunday morning when they arrived at the chapel, they saw a family they did not recognize.  They introduced themselves to the family and learned their last name was Torres.  The husband is a member but has not been to church for many years.  The wife is not a member, and they have twins who are 5 years old and another 1 year old child.  The wife wants to be baptized into the church and they want to work towards going to the temple to be sealed as a family.  The elders were very excited to have their fasting and prayers answered so quickly.  Elder Campbell was particularly excited because he has had a major goal on his mission to find and baptize a family.  Elder Campbell is a serious soccer fan and his favorite player is Fredrico Torres; Brother Torres is not named Fredrico, but his last name is Torres, so Elder Campbell was very happy.  Wednesday afternoon we looked for more apartments for Elder & Sister Moses.

Thursday morning about 8:20 am our daughter Kristine and Her husband Brandon arrived at our apartment.  We knew they were coming to see us, and President Christianson had given us permission to spend time with them while they were here.  They arrived Wednesday evening at the Baltimore airport and had dinner with a friend of Brandon’s, who is getting married Saturday.  Brandon and Kristine then drove part of the way to our apartment Wednesday evening/night.  They finally found a motel and spent a few hours getting some sleep, then drove the rest of the way to our apartment Thursday morning.  Right after they arrived we loaded a few things in our car and drove to the church history sites, beginning with the Hill Cumorah.  President Christianson was so kind to us to make himself available to take us to some areas of the Hill Cumorah which very few people get to see.  The president spent about a half hour with us and then got a call from some missionaries who needed his help, so he had to leave.  We were privileged to see a very large and very old sugar maple tree on the Hill; which is the oldest sugar maple in the state of NY; it is over 350 years old.  Sister Maughn was our guide for our visit to the Hill Cumorah Visitor’s Center.  We then went to the Sacred Grove where the Prophet Joseph Smith received the first vision.  Sister Stoker was our guide for seeing the log home and frame home where the Smith Family lived; she is completing her mission tomorrow and will return home on Wednesday and will be attending BYU next semester.  We then went to Palmyra and saw the grave and monument where Alvin Smith, Joseph’s brother, was buried.  We then went to the Grandin Building where the Book of Mormon was first published.  I served as the tour guide for us, since I had done this for part of the two weeks during the pageant last July.  We then drove to Fayette to see the Peter Whitmer home, where the Church was organized on April 6, 1830.  Elder & Sister Toronto, from Spanish Fork, were the guides for the visitors center and the home.  We had a wonderful day together at the church history sites.  The weather was very cooperative for the day, there was no rain even though it was cloudy and windy and cold.  We were very blessed to feel the spirit and the peace that are in these special places.  My testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the restoration, the truth of the Book of Mormon; and the restoration of the fullness of the gospel was increased through this experience.  We also felt the Spirit tell us how central and important families are in Heavenly Father’s plan.  Being in these places with Brandon & Kristine were very special to us, and we hope also to them.

Friday morning we took Kristine and &Brandon with us to see Niagara Falls.  We took a scenic route on Highway 104 to the Falls so they could see some of the rural NY country and farms.  It was very cold when we first got to the Niagara Falls State Park, it tried snowing a little.  We braved the cold and walked out on the observation deck so Brandon could get some pictures of both the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls.  As we started to leave there was some snow pellets which hit the ground; but before we got to the car the sun came out, the wind stopped blowing and it warmed up 15 degrees in less than 5 minutes.  This was quite interesting.  On the way back to our apartment we stopped at two different Amish stores in Lyndonville NY, which is very near the shore of Lake Ontario.  After we arrived at the apartment about 3:30pm, Brandon and Kristine loaded their things in their rental car and headed back to Baltimore.  They arrived in Baltimore at about 10:30 pm.  We have not heard from them since they arrived there; but they should be on the plane heading home about now, and will arrive in SLC about 12am tonight.  Since Brandon and Kristine took a number of pictures and some video also; we hope they will share these pictures with you and with us also. 

Saturday we drove to Hornell NY to help Elder Bryson and Elder Maisey move to a different apartment which is much cleaner and is not so small.  The Zone Leaders, Elder Peck & Elder Fitt came from Geneva NY, and also Elder Wilson and Elder Caldwell came from Wellsville to help do the moving and cleaning up of the old apartment.  We arrived home about 6:30 pm.

Sunday morning I attended the ward PEC meeting in place of our Ward Mission Leader, Brother Kimbler, who is in Moscow Russia on an assignment for his work.  He is a computer wizard for the Kodak Co. whose headquarters are still in Rochester.  This was the first PEC for our new bishop, Bishop Zundel; he will be a fine bishop, he has desires to see missionary work increase in the ward.

Since Thanksgiving will soon be here we hope we will all stop and consider how blessed we are, in spite of the challenges we are experiencing.  We have a beautiful world on which we live with plant and animal life to give beauty and variety to the earth.  We have life and good health, we have homes and as far as we know all but two or three of us have jobs.  The grandchildren are able to go to school and obtain an education.  We have food to eat, and freedom to worship according to Heavenly Father’s revelations.   We have the gospel and the knowledge of the doctrines and ordinances that go with it.  We know of the atonement of the Savior; and we have living prophets and apostles to help us know how to live worthy to return to be with Heavenly Father and the Savior for eternity.  We have scriptures, including the Book of Mormon.  We have wonderful families and friends to be part of our lives.  We have countless comforts, conveniences, and inventions to make life so much easier.  The list goes on and on if we stop to think about it.  Having gratitude and appreciation to Heavenly Father for all with which we are blessed will help us be more positive and add to our joy in life.

We love each of you so very much.  We pray for each of you every day and hope you will be blessed with what you need to provide for yourselves and be happy together in your families.

Love,

Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Richard & Maxine

 

Message 8 November 2011

Message—8 November 2011

Dear Family & Friends,

On Halloween night we attended a social for all the senior couples in the mission at the Hill Cumorah Visitors Center in the basement.  We shared an organized potluck dinner and then had some entertainment by a few of the couples.  Elder McVea did some magic tricks and also did his famous chicken dance; he is awesome at doing it.  One senior elder played his guitar and sang some old 1950’s songs.  Another senior elder quoted some cowboy poetry.  It was a fun social.

Tuesday we drove down to Hornell to check to see if an apartment the Elders there had found would be suitable for them.  The apartment they are currently living in is way too small for them to be able to meet their needs, and also has some other problems.  After seeing the new apartment, it was a great improvement over the one they are now in.  When Elder Bryson saw how much larger the bathroom was he was as excited as a young boy on Christmas morning.  We will be going down to Hornell on November 12^th to help move them in to the new apartment. 

On Wednesday I helped our two Elders here in Brockport some other ward members, move a member and her family from one old home into another old home.  The member, Sister Newbould, had rented a U-Haul truck to help us move her belongings.  On the way back from our second trip to the new home, I made a wrong turn and got lost.  I had to stop at a house and ask for directions to get back to the old house where our car was parked, so we could get to a 6pm appointment the Elders and us both had.  We had left some boxes in the truck on our trip back to get the rest of things.  Elder Swanner and Elder Olsen rode in the back of the truck to keep the boxes in the back from tipping over; I had left the roll up door in the back of the truck up a little bit so they would have some light and air.  While riding in the back, the Elders found a toy truck.  They tied a string on to the truck and let it out on to the road.  At first it did fine then as we picked up speed the string broke and the truck went off the side of the road.  The Elders then started throwing a Frisbee around inside the back of the truck.  It got away from them and rolled out the back and was rolling along the road on its edge.  A car that was following the truck tried to dodge the frisbee and ended up screeching to a stop, but no one was hurt and no damage was done to the car.  Sometimes elders have too much fun on their missions.

Wednesday evening we went with the elders to have dinner with a wonderful member couple, Lee and Loraine Arrington.  The elders have been helping Lee, during their 4 hours a week service time, put in a winding rock sidewalk from their driveway to the front door.  Lee is a very talented person.  He does beautiful woodwork of many kinds.  He can weld and do many other things.  He has offered to give me some instructions on doing lathe work, and building a bowl or something on my P-Day.  We had a lovely dinner and visit and shared some gospel messages with the Arrington’s. 

Thursday we went to the mission office and spent the morning helping with some projects.  We also went to the storage units where we keep furniture and other supplies for the missionary apartments.  We did some reorganizing and helped the AP’s get some things they needed to give to some of the zone leaders to take to some missionaries.

On Friday we drove down to the far South of our mission to the town of Wellsville to help the two Elders there move into a different apartment across the street from where they were living.  The reason for doing this was so the apartment owner could do some work on the old apartment and fix it up.  The new apartment was nicer than where they have been living.  Elder Wilson and Elder Caldwell are two of the most obedient missionaries in the mission.  They have been greatly blessed in finding people to teach; and they have had baptisms as well.

Saturday we finally had P-Day so we could get the wash done, and the apartment cleaned up.  It was very helpful to have this time to take care of things that we have had to let go for 2 weeks.

Sunday was a wonderful day at church.  We had a great Fast & Testimony meeting.  The elders had two investigators who attended for the 2^nd week in a row.  One of the recent converts, Sidney, was asked to help teach the Primary Sunbeam class.  We gave her a ride to church and she was nervous about doing this before the meeting.  After the meetings were over Sidney said she had a great spiritual experience with the children.  She said they knew all the answers to the questions in the lesson.  Sunday evening we had the elders; Marin and Sidney two recent converts who attend College; and two of Marin’s roommates, Stephanie and Yazzini, who are not members, come to dinner.  They then stayed to see the CES Fireside broadcast with President Packer as the speaker.  We had a great experience together and Stephanie and Yazzini felt the power of the Spirit from President Packers talk.  Stephanie is a music major at the Roberts Wesleyan College; and she was asked by the Primary President to play the piano next week at Primary as a substitute for the person who usually plays the piano.  She accepted and is excited to do it.

Today after the Mission Office Staff meeting we went to the Mission Presidents home and rearranged the load of furniture and other things in an enclosed trailer at the president’s home.  Some of these things will be needed by a new senior couple who will be arriving in the mission next week.  We were given an assignment by the president to find an apartment for this new senior missionary couple, and get it furnished for them.  They will be working with the ASL Branch in the Rochester Stake.  We also drove a new car, a Toyota Corolla, back to our apartment with us for the elders here.  There old car, a Mazda, has over 49000 miles on it and is being replaced.

We express our sincere sympathy and love for Josh and April and Josh’s family at the passing of Josh’s brother, Kelly.  We pray for Susan, Kelly’s mother, and all of her family that the peace and comfort provided by the Savior and his atonement will sustain and support them and help them to carry on in their lives with faith and hope in Heavenly Father’s eternal plan.  Kelly’s funeral was today, Josh was asked to speak at the funeral.  I was able to help Josh last Thursday, find some sources to help him with preparing his talk.  We have not heard a report on how the funeral was.  We will be praying for Olivia as she goes through the challenges of getting a hearing aid and learning to leave it in her ear.  Her right ear is the one that needs some assistance to enable her to hear.  We continue to pray for Norm Erickson that he can get his heart to function right so he can go through the treatments needed to help him have his cancer go into remission.  We hope Austin continues to recover from the serious infection he has had; and also that he will not have any problems in the future from this infection and immunity problems.

We share our testimony of the truths of the restoration and the fullness of the gospel which has come through the prophets of this dispensation from Joseph Smith to President Monson.  We know and witness the Book of Mormon is a very powerful testimony of our Savior, Jesus the Christ.   We know Heavenly Father lives and is very much involved in the details of our lives and answers prayers according to His wisdom and timing.  We also know the Savior lives and provided the atonement so we can repent; and he also suffered death and was resurrected and we will all be resurrected also.  The gospel is perfectly true and correct.  We are very grateful to be serving as missionaries.  We love you all and pray for your well-being and happiness.

Love,

Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Richard & Maxine