Message—3 February 2013

Dear Family & Friends,

We spent every day in the office this week trying to help the Willyerd’s and Sister Harris and Sister Allred learn more of what they need to know to take over the mission office responsibilities all on their own, beginning on Thursday.  We spent time planning for this weeks’ Zone Conferences at the Hill Cumorah and what needs to be done.  These wonderful people have been called by the Lord and they will do exactly what needs to be done in the way it should be done.  The Lord will direct them and sustain them in their assignments and provide help through the Holy Ghost just as he did us a year ago.  This really and truly is the Lord’s work and he is in the details more than we know.

Tuesday and Wednesday evenings we stayed home in the evening and started organizing and planning and gathering together what we need to send home and what we will take with us in the car when we leave.  Thursday morning the Servoss’s stopped at the office to say farewell to everyone.  They are taking a month to drive home because they will be stopping in many places to see friends and relatives.  Thursday evening we decided to go to the last Institute Class which Brother Gammon taught.  As we left the house to drive to Geneseo it was cold but there was no snow.  After about 5 miles the snow began to fall and the closer we got to Geneseo the snow became more heavy until by the time we were getting off the freeway exit to Geneseo it was white out.  When we arrived at the church there was about an inch of snow in the parking lot.  At the end of the lesson we said farewell to Brother Gammon.  When we went outside after Institute, there was about 4 inches of snow.  As we drove home the snow gradually quit and by the time we got to the house there was no snow on the ground.  These lake effect snow storms have very strange and unique patterns.

Friday we spent most of the day helping the Willyerd’s prepare for next weeks’ Zone Conferences.  Saturday we spent the day deciding what items we still needed to send home in boxes and getting them boxed up.  We also spent part of the day cleaning up some of the rooms in the house so the Willyerd’s will have a clean home in which to move.

Today, Sunday we attended church in Geneseo and had a great Fast and Testimony meeting.  Elder Willyerd shared his testimony first and we shared our testimony a little alter, and others shared their testimonies.  Our other meetings were very spiritual and edifying.  The church is really true and the people in Geneseo are great people whom we have learned to love.  A young 4 or 5 year old boy, who is a son of our newly sustained ward clerk, shared his testimony by relating a short story about fish getting caught in a net.  He then said if we do not want to get caught in the net of Satan we have to choose to do what is right and let the Holy Ghost help us.  That is so profound and from a 4 year old.  Our life really is that simple; choose to do what is right and let the Holy Ghost help us.  The youth of the church today are so much closer to the gospel and the Lord than I ever was at that age.  The church is in the Lord’s hands for sure; but he has sent young people who will be a part of the coming of the millennium.  Many of our young missionaries in this mission come from very dysfunctional homes and yet they are the spiritual giants they are and will yet become even greater leaders.  We know the missionary work in which we have served the last two years is perfectly true and it is being hastened through inspired prophets and apostles and other faithful servants raised up in this day to do all the Lord needs to have done.  We as members need to do our part to help in the gathering of Israel.  Joseph Smith is the prophet of this dispensation; the Book of Mormon is absolutely true and will help us come to the Savior through faith in his atonement and using our agency to choose to follow the inspiration we receive from the Holy Ghost.  President Monson is the Lord’s prophet today and we need to follow what he and the other brethren teach us.

We love you all and look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks.  Many of you we know will not come to see us on the 17^th, but you are welcome to come to our home any time after that when you are available.  This will be the last blog message from us as we complete our mission on Wednesday and begin driving homeward on Thursday, in a meandering path that will get us home on February 16^th.

Love,

Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Maxine & Richard