Message—14 February 2012
Dear Family & Friends,
Here I am a day late again on adding last week’s blog message. This past week has been packed with much to do and not enough time to do it all; but we did our best anyway and with good help from other missionaries we accomplished what was needed. Tuesday the 7th was missionary transfers again. Eight new missionaries arrived on Monday and were assigned to their companions on Tuesday during the Transfer meeting. All of the other companion changes took place as well. Elder Cook, who has been an AP for one year went home; with many tears on his part as well as on the part of many others, including President Christianson and myself and Elder McVea. Sister Jensen and I have had many great experiences with Elder Cook in moving Elders and Sisters to different apartments and in other meetings and settings. Elder Cook is an awesome missionary and a great young man with much potential for doing great things in the future. He is from Washington State and for the time being is working for his father who is a mortician. Elder Anderson has been his companion and the other AP for the last few transfers. The new AP is Elder Campbell, who has been a Zone Leader in our zone for several transfers; and he was also in our district, so we met with him every week while he was our zone leader. He will be a great AP.
Tuesday afternoon we went with Elder and Sister Ellis to help them select some items from the Mission Storage Shed which Elder and Sister Wood will need in their apartment. Elder and Sister Wood arrived in the mission late Tuesday afternoon.
On Wednesday we spent the day in the Mission Office with Elder and Sister McVea teaching us more of what we will need to do when they leave two weeks from today. Elder and Sister Ellis went with the Wood’s to purchase a few additional things for their apartment. We went to the President’s home at 5pm to meet the AP’s and the Wood’s and the Ellis’s; and also to load the trailer with the furniture which was in the President’s garage; and also other things for the Wood’s apartment.
Thursday morning we took the Ellis’s with us and went to Depew NY where the apartment for the Wood’s is located on 4845 Transit Rd. The AP’s and the Elders who live in Lancaster (the town next to Depew) and also the Elders from the next nearest town of Orchard Park, met us at the Wood’s apartment a little after 11 am. We helped direct getting the furniture and other items all moved in the Wood’s apartment. The AP’s and I helped put together a new bookcase for the Wood’s. After getting everything moved in we went with the Wood’s, the Ellis’s and the 6 Elders to get some lunch. Each of the senior couples paid for the dinner for one of the elder companionships. We ate at a place called the Olive Tree; it is a very nice newly remodeled restaurant with good food. A member of the Lancaster ward works there. After the lunch we went to a Home Depot store and bought a baby (small) refrigerator for the AP’s and put it in their truck to take to their apartment. Elder Campbell only drinks milk because he cannot stand NY water; so he needed a place to put his milk so he can have a drink. The AP’s live with a member, Brother Kai, and share his fridge for their food; but there is not enough room in it for the milk Elder Campbell drinks. We arrived home about 6pm, had some dinner, and tried to relax and rest, but the phone kept ringing and we also called some other missionaries. While we were at the Olive Tree I received a phone call from Elder Peck and Elder Ingram who are serving in Geneva. A non-member man, Bill Dimick, for whom they have done a lot of service work, had an apartment available that he wanted to rent to the Elder’s. President Christianson told us he would like to have the Elders in Geneva move to a better apartment; so we made contact with Bill and made an appointment to go see his apartment on Friday morning at 9am.
In order to get to Geneva by 9am we got up at 5:30am and left home about 7am. We stopped and picked up the Ellis’s, who are staying in an apartment next to the Joseph Smith Farm, at 8am and made it to Geneva about 10 minutes before 9am. The apartments Bill has are very nice and well maintained; he does not allow smoking or pets, or drugs in any of his apartments. We were very impressed with the apartment and had a very good visit with Bill. Sister Jensen and Sister Ellis talked with an older lady, 87 years old, her name is Evelyn, who will be moving out of the apartment the Elder’s will be able to move into on April 1st. She gave the Sister’s a number of things which the elders could have when they move in; including a very nice set of china for $20.00.
We returned to the mission office about 12:30pm and spent the rest of the day learning some things we needed to know how to do correctly. Friday evening Sister Jensen did the wash and worked on some other things. I worked on getting talk ready for Sunday. Saturday we met the Ellis’s and the AP’s at the apartment where our ASL missionaries, Elder Frost and Elder Rasmussen, have been living. We loaded all their things, including furniture into the trailer and the truck and moved it to their new apartment at 2046 Monroe Ave. While there I and Elder Ellis put up new blinds in the windows of their apartment. When we finished with this move project; the Ellis’s and the AP’s went to meet Elder Miller and Elder Garcia at their apartment at 220 Culver Rd. and loaded up their things and furniture and moved these elder’s into their new apartment on Lilac St., Apartment 59 #1. While they were doing this move project, we went home and got ready to attend a funeral service in our Brockport ward for Dorothy Donoghue, wife of George Donoghue. She passed away last Wednesday and her funeral service was at 4pm Saturday. She is a wonderful lady who has given her whole life to serve others. Her and George have four children of their own; and have also been foster parents for about 100 other children. George mostly grew up in foster homes; including being taken to 3 different foster homes on the same day. At the first two he got in fights while the social worker and the foster parents were talking about George. At the third foster home that day they let him stay but he only stayed about 1 week; before the foster parents wanted him taken some other place. He had a tough life in his younger years and knew a lot about foster homes and the life of a foster child. His wife and the gospel saved him, literally, and he has become a wonderful faithful priesthood holder who has given much time and service to help others who needed help.
Sunday in Sacrament meeting I had been asked to give a talk on baptism covenants. I learned more about the baptism covenant in preparing the talk than I have known before. I actually ended up with about 30 minutes of time to give the talk; that is longer than I have ever had to give a talk; but it went well. The Sunday School teacher actually used one of my statements in the lesson she taught, because it fit right in with the topic. We all know that it was the Spirit which made this all work out, it wasn’t me alone. We actually ended up getting a Sunday afternoon nap, which was a real treat. It helped us feel rested up to begin a new week on Monday.
Monday morning we went to the Mission Office and had staff meeting. After this meeting and doing a few things in the office; we went home and Sister Jensen finished preparing some barbequed pork ribs to take to a dinner at President Christianson’s home. He and Sister Christianson had invited all the MLS Senior Couples, there are 7 couples, in the mission to this dinner at 4pm. One of the Christianson’s daughters and 3 grandchildren have been visiting since last Thursday, and they also ate with us. Four of the senior couples will be going home in the next 2 months. Elder and Sister Paulsen left to go home today (the 14th); Elder and Sister McVea go home on February 27th; the Gibby’s and the Depew’s go home April 2nd. We had a nice dinner. After dinner we met together for some instruction from President Christianson. Before beginning the instruction the President had these four couples share their testimonies. It was a very good evening. We did not get home until almost 10pm; so that is why the blog message is a day late.
Out testimonies are continually growing and being added to each day. We know more certain than we have before that Heavenly Father lives and his Son Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of all people everywhere. They direct they lives and events of their children on the earth; and they are directing the prophets and apostles of our day in accomplishing the work that needs to be done before the Savior returns. Joseph Smith is the prophet of the restoration; the Book of Mormon is filled with the truths of the gospel and truly is a witness of Jesus Christ. We are so greatly blessed to be serving in this mission where the restoration began.
We love each of you and pray for you daily. We hope you will all be guided and blessed through the Gift of the Holy Ghost in your individual and family lives.
Love,
Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Richard & Maxine
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