Blog Message – 2 May 2011
This past week has been mostly cloudy and has rained nearly every day. Saturday, however, was an absolutely beautiful clear and sunny spring day. The temperature was in the 70’s and the sun was warm; and the leaves on the trees began to appear and the spring flowers opened up and the birds sang. It was a very lovely day. We went for a short drive after dinner on some of the back roads and took some pictures of what springtime in New York can look and feel like. We noticed that the water was turned into the Erie Canal so that it is full. One of the days we saw the bridge over the Erie Canal in Brockport was being raised just to test it out I think, because there was no barge in the canal.
We attended the Mission Office staff meeting last Monday; these meetings are always helpful and we take time to share spiritual thoughts and scriptures that relate to our missionary work. The Mission President always shares some spiritual messages from the scriptures and also some of the experiences the missionaries are having and some additional details about those who were baptized during the week. We have been asked to do some behind the scenes things to help with the Zone conferences during the week of May 9th to the 13th.
Last Tuesday and Wednesday we provided a ride to Rochester for some investigators the Elders are teaching here in Brockport. The investigators have some legal issues to take care of to help them be worthy to be baptized in a few months. The woman has a testimony which is growing and she helps it by reading in the Book of Mormon daily. She wants to be baptized and so does her 8 year old daughter. The teenage daughter is being a teenager and cannot make up her mind about being baptized. Due to previous marriages and divorces the woman and her boyfriend have some legal issues to resolve before they can be baptized. The boyfriend is not as willing to be baptized and he has more legal problems than the woman does. The elders are patiently working with them and teaching them and the members are helping with making them welcome as they attend church. One of the ward members is a police officer and is trying to help them with their legal issues. It will be several months at least before they can get baptized.
We spent one day looking for an apartment for some sister missionaries. Several sister missionaries completed their missions and went home; and since there were not enough new sister missionaries arriving in the mission the President had to close one area. There were 4 sister missionaries living in one apartment; two went home and two stayed. The apartment they are living in has some problems with mold, and the stairway leading up to their room reeks with second hand smoke which is not good for the sisters. Plus the landlord keeps raising the rent, so President C. asked us to try to find a new apartment for these sisters. One that has 2 bedrooms so when additional sister missionaries are assigned to the mission there will be a place for them to live. We had searched several internet sites to find apartments for rent in the Irondequoit area where the sisters live and do missionary work. We took a print copy of the information about the apartments and entered the addresses in the GPS and headed off to see what we could find. As we were trying to find our way to the first address, which only had the name of where two streets met and not an exact address, Sister Jensen saw an apartment available on a sign in front of an apartment complex on Hudson Ave. which we did not have on our list to check on. We took note of where this apartment was at and then continued trying to find the one we were looking for; which ended up being at a catholic school, so we knew that would not work for LDS sisters to live in. We discarded that one and went to the 2nd apartment we had on our list and talked with the people in the rental office. We were not real impressed, but it was better than the one they now live in. We then decided to go check out two other apartments in a different area across the bay in Webster. One of these would have been a good place for them but they would have to change to this area to do their missionary work. We then returned to the one on Hudson Ave. with the sign out front, and went in to the rental office. The lady in the office saw our name tags and said “I know who you are” you are Mormon missionaries. We did not know if that was good news or bad, until she continued. She has had many interactions with our missionaries over the years. She has also worked as a dental assistant for a dentist who has treated some of our missionaries. She grew up in Scotland, she still had the Scottish accent, where her mother frequently invited the Mormon missionaries to dinner, even though she was not a member of the church. She was just a kind Scottish woman who felt like she should be kind to the missionaries. The lady was very willing to rent the apartment to the church for the missionaries, especially for sisters. The apartment is being totally refurbished and is in a quiet area, and very clean and no mold or 2nd hand smoke. We reported to Sister Evertsen, who takes care of the rental agreements etc., in the Mission Office that we recommended the one on Hudson Ave. Sister Evertsen checked with President C. and he said take it; so that is the one the sisters will be moving into at the end of May when the lease will terminate on the apartment they now live in. We were impressed that the Lord had time to have the Spirit help guide us to find an apartment for just two of His sister missionaries. The Scottish lady was very talkative with us and we spent over 20 minutes visiting with her. One other thing she shared with us that you will find interesting was about one of her friends. This friend is a woman and is a member of the LDS Church. She came to visit with the Scottish lady and the Scottish lady took her to the “Holy Grove” (Sacred Grove) in Palmyra. She said there is a special feeling there in the grove, she was very impressed with the experience. Perhaps the sister missionaries, with the help of the Spirit to guide them, will be able to share the gospel with her at some point. She also commented that she hopes we get the Mormon for President of the USA next year.
We want to wish happy birthdays to Megan on May 3rd, Shadyn on the 11th, Hayden on the 23rd, and Chandler on May 24th. We also give congratulations to Tyler for graduating from high school early and beginning his National Guard training. We also give congratulations to Mckinzi, and Chandler who will graduate from high school at the end of the month. We hope the Jensen rodeo children are doing well and not getting injured. We wish all the women 18 and older, including mother’s, a Happy Mother’s Day!!
This is long enough we better quit. We thank you all for your thoughts and prayers in our behalf; they make a positive difference in what we accomplish. We see the hand of the Lord each day in what we are able to accomplish. We pray for each of you in your lives and individual challenges. Our testimonies are increased and strengthened more each day by what we read in the scriptures and other gospel related sources, and also by our experiences. We know Heavenly Father and the Savior live and love us and do all they can to help us. Joseph Smith is a prophet, the Book of Mormon is full of truths and doctrines that will bless our lives if we let them. President Monson is the Lord’s prophet today.
Love,
Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa etc.
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