Playing Catch Up

Many weeks have gone by without any entries being made.  Our schedule has been very irregular and we arrive home late often because we are traveling farther away from home to make visits.  Here are some of the highlights of the last couple of months.

September 15, 2014

Kristin's Story

Sunday evening ended on a real down note for me and for our recent convert, Kristin.  Kristin was able to get her membership number so that she could add it to her FamilySearch account and be able to see the ordinance work.  She stated previously that out of respect for her parents and extended family, she does not feel that she should do the temple ordinances for all of her relatives until her family can come to terms with her membership in the church.  She has a grandfather who was a minister of another faith and the family was very involved with that church.  After church I received a phone call from Kristin, and she seemed quite upset.  Low and behold, when she added her membership number to her FamilySearch account, she discovered that her grandfather's temple work had been done about three years ago.  His birth was recent enough that his ordinances should not have been done without obtaining permission from the closest living relative.  None of them would have allowed that!  She went so far as to call her mother and talk to her about it so she could find out if one of the children had given their permission to someone for this work to be performed.  That was a mistake.  Now her mother was really upset with this religion that had split her family apart!  As we talked, she expressed her doubts about this supposed true church for allowing such a disrespectful thing to take place.   She really wanted the work to be "undone".  Additionally, she had decided against doing the work for two of the women on her line who she had previously felt were prompting her to get on it.  I tried to assure her that everything would work out, but I wasn't sure how.  In spite of her strong emotions, she was still willing to meet with us on Monday for another new member lesson.  I asked if she had a particular topic or question for the lesson, and she said she just wanted her family history questions answered.  I called the Family History Director in WP 1st Ward to see if she had any advice for me.  She gave me all of the answers that I already knew about personal agency and the importance of this work in Heavenly Father's plan.  She said she would join her prayer with ours in Kristin's behalf.  I went to bed with a heavy heart about Kristin's negative experience, which I am sure is just one more way that wily devil is trying to get in the way of Kristin's spiritual journey.

Monday morning I arose with a somewhat positive attitude that everything was going to work out for Kristin.  We are on the Lord's errand.  Sister Moraga and I planned what scriptures and discussion material we would use to reinforce Kristin's testimony and help her move beyond this additional family blockade.  We included Bible scriptures that declare that temples and baptisms for the dead are a part of God's church throughout all ages of the world.  We left at the planned time to arrive at the church about 15 minutes early, because Kristin is always early.  The time passed and she did not arrive.  Just as I was thinking that she was too upset and had changed her mind about coming, we saw her car approaching.  Her eyes were red as though she had been crying, but there was a sense of relief in her attitude as she got out of the car and approached us.  She said, "I just had a wrestle with the Holy Spirit on my way here.  He told me this temple work is no different than inviting my brother to attend church with me."  WOW!  She was okay with it.  She was still a bit offended that someone had been unthinking and disrespectful to have ordinances performed without gaining permission, but she could look past it as she realized the eternal invitation that it provided for her grandfather.  It was no more than an invitation that he could accept or reject just as her brother had a choice to respond with a yes or no answer to her invitation to go to church with her--which he did say yes to last week (just hasn't come yet).  By the time we finished the lesson and did some work in FamilySearch, she had resolved to finish preparing some names to take to the temple.  How grateful I am for this powerful demonstration of our Heavenly Father's love for all of us.  What a wonderful gift the Gift of the Holy Ghost is in our lives!

September 20, 2014

More Service

Today we drove down to a farm near Hughesville, Serenity Farm in Benedict, Maryland.  This farm was in financial distress and was headed for bankruptcy.  The owners made a deal to get some government aid to keep the farm operating and they would donate 100% of the harvest to the needy.  So that is what they have done for the last several years.  In three years they have donated over 2 million pounds of food for the needy in Maryland.  Each fall the wards in the area, I know for sure that Suitland Stake where we live gets involved, and they all come together one Saturday in October to help harvest the crops.  Last year it was potatoes.  

This year we picked green beans and others sorted and prepared corn and other vegetables for distribution.  The Boy Scouts provided a lunch (hot dog, chips, and a cookie) for the volunteers.  There were over 750 LDS members involved this year.  Sister Moraga and I spent several hours picking green beans.

It was so good to get out in the country with wide open spaces and be reminded of familiar sights and smells from my childhood on our Montana farm.

September 21, 2014

Change of Assignment

We have adjusted what we are doing slightly at the insistence of President Cooke.  We met with President Cooke, President Sakai and Sister Ramon along with the other missionaries who usually attend the Stake Mission Correlation meetings.  President Cooke asked for the Stake to give us more work to do.  I think Sister Ramon has been a bit discouraged that Sister Moraga keeps asking for more to do, and Sister Ramon doesn't know how to fix it because she isn't sure exactly what President Cooke is asking for.  Sister Ramon asked if we would begin working with Capitol Ward during the week along with some of the sisters that we will continue to visit in White Plains 1st and 2nd Wards.  This is in addition to meeting with Anacostia and Capitol Hill Wards on Sundays and the limited amount of work that we can do there (right now only Aminata and Evelyne in the company of the Biolos).  We were given a short list to begin with and then Capitol Ward RS President, Sister Goode, gave us an additional list of sisters that the Bishop would like us to visit.  We were cautioned that there are also a couple of areas in Capitol Ward that are not very safe for us to go by ourselves.  If we drive around a neighborhood and find that all or most of the doors and windows of the houses are barred, that is a pretty good sign that we probably should not be going there and especially not at night.  This ward has about 400 sisters but only about 100 are actively attending church.  So it looks like we will be doing much the same thing that we did in the other wards, which is not exactly what President had in mind, but for now that is what we will do.  Hopefully, as we meet with some of these lost sisters we will find more teaching opportunities, which will make President happy.

September 22, 2014

Family History Family Home Evenings

We have had a few opportunities to go into members' homes and present ideas or lessons on how they can have fun with family history and help their ancestors at the same time by getting to know them and looking for temple opportunities.  We have gone to the Ucles family a couple of times now.  Brother Ucles has been deployed and his wife and children love to have us come over.  We play family history games like "Not at All Trivial", Family History Bingo, and Don't Eat Pete.  Brother and Sister Ucles are from I want to say Honduras but that might be wrong.  She always prepares some of their favorite native foods when we go over.  One was a very tasty seafood soup.  When we have had family history home evenings with them, we have provided the refreshments and take treats that may be new to them.  The first time we took ginger ale and sherbet floats.  This time we baked a cookie pizza and let them make a fruit pizza.  I think they had fun and enjoyed the treat.

September 27, 2014

Seniors' Sailing Extravaganza

Brother and Sister Tate are church members who own a house on the shore of the Patuxent River down in St. Leonard.  He used to be in the Washington D.C. Mission Presidency and he and his wife have also served as Mission President in a different mission.  They know how much the missionaries just need leisure activities from time to time, so they have offered for many years to host a sailing and crab dinner event.  

The weather was perfect and we enjoyed a couple of hours on the water followed by a potluck dinner and grilled chicken and delicious, famous, fresh blue crab that was steamed and ready to eat within hours of being caught.  It was delicious.  

The only thing that would have made it better was if Verlin had been there on the boat with us.  As I sat there, I thought about how very much he enjoyed being on the water.  We would have had to ride a different boat though.  We used three boats but two of them were larger and went very slowly.  The third one was smaller and they let us know that it was for those who wanted to go fast.  It still was not nearly as fast as Verlin would like to move a boat when skiing, but after all it was only a sailboat.

October 2-3, and 27th 2014

Family Time

I had the cherished blessing of spending Friday, October 3rd with Alex and Heidi and her boys.  I missed out on Zone Conference, but I told my companion that being able to spend a day with family was as revitalizing as the zone conference would have been for lifting my spirit.  

Alex with the White House in the background

Alex came to Maryland to interview at Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda.  When he was through, he drove to Heidi's to spend a couple of days.  I went to Heidi's at the end of our Thursday visits.  On Friday morning we drove to Washington, D.C. and toured part of the National Mall, focusing on some of the memorials, i.e. Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and the war memorials.  It was a good day for touring with pleasant, sunny weather.

Lunch at the Lincoln Memorial

Looking from the Lincoln Memorial towards the Washington Monument

  

Isaiah at the National World War II Memorial

Taking a break while Alex went to feed the parking meter

The pillars that represent the three states where I have lived just happen to be right next to each other

Ohio State Buckeyes!!

Heidi and Alex holding up the Washington Monument.

October 4-5 2014

General Conference 2014

We have continued to go to Evelyne's each week to teach her the lessons.  The Biolos have been so good to go with us each time even though they don't understand French either.  We sing the songs in French and have actually been able to pick out a few words that we recognize as Sister Moraga teaches her.  We took her to the Visitor's Center with us to listen to the first session of General Conference.  Sister Moraga and a couple of French-speaking elders from the French branch interpreted for her.  On Sunday she went to both sessions with us at the Anacostia building where Sister Moraga interpreted all of the talks for her.  It is very tiring for both of them to have to concentrate so hard in the process of translating, but Evelyne said she enjoyed the meeting.

October 25, 2014 Evelyne's baptism

On Sunday, October 19, we thought that we would have to postpone Evelyne's baptism which was scheduled for October 25th.  Evelyne was sick when we went to pick her up for church.  She had a breakout of hives and took some medication for it, and it made her so groggy that she couldn't wake up the next morning.  We told the ward leaders that we would probably not be able to follow through with the preparations for Saturday since she had missed two Sundays in a row.  She did, however, attend often enough that attendance was not an issue for her baptism.  When we met with her on Tuesday to have our next lesson, we told her that we would probably have to postpone the baptism.  She was insistent that she was ready and wanted to be baptized this Saturday.  So Elder Biolo got on the phone and made arrangements for the French-speaking Elders to come and conduct her baptism interview on Thursday.   The elders that were going to do the interview had never been to her house before and they got lost and could not make it to the appointment.  The Biolos picked them up the next day and took them directly to her house so that she could have her interview.  At the same time, they talked with her husband, Valere, to be sure that he was comfortable with performing the baptism and showed them how it was to be done.  We worked together with the Elders and the Biolos to put together a program for Saturday and made arrangements for refreshments.  The Biolos took care of filling the font.  I typed the baptism program in French and English.  The French elders were late getting there Saturday because of bad traffic in D.C., but the meeting went forward as planned.  All of the talks and the ordinances were in French with the exception of the prayers, which were by the Biolos.  Those of us who do not speak French had a very good idea of how Evelyne feels every week as she attends church and listens to all of the meetings being spoken in English, of which she only understands a small portion.  Evelyne and Valere are very happy that she was baptized.  We continue to meet with her to give her the new member lessons and try to help her grow in her understanding of the gospel.  Sister Moraga is not translating for her as much now.  We hope that the more she hears, the more English she will understand.

Elder and Sister Biolo, Valere and Evelyne, and Sister Moraga and Sister Hatch

October 26-27, 2014

At The Smithsonian

I found out that Alex and Laura and the kids were planning a trip to visit Heidi again the end of October.  I was uncertain about asking Sister Moraga if I could take a day off again to hang out with them, but she was very supportive.  I drove over Sunday, the 26th after church and spent the night.  Monday we went to Washington D.C. again, this time to the Smithsonian museums.  We spent most of the time in the Air and Space Museum and then went for a short time to the Natural History Museum to show the kids some dinosaurs.  Unfortunately, they are remodeling the exhibits there and most of the dinosaur exhibit has been moved to another location while they do the remodel.  I think everyone had a good time.  FYI:  This time we found out how to pay for the parking meter using the phone and renew the time via phone, which was so much easier than going back to the car, although we found perfect parking spots right next to the Air and Space Museum.

Getting the kids to hold hands with each other was a chore at times, but when it was finally time to go back to the car, they were perfect!

Evelyne's Harrowing Experience

November 2, 2014

This Sunday Valere and Evelyne came to Sacrament meeting together.  Valere had to leave for work after Sacrament meeting so we agreed to take Evelyne home after Relief Society.  We drove her home and went back to the church.  When we got back to the chapel I heard my mission phone beep.  When I looked at it, I saw that I had 5 calls from the same number within six minutes.  I didn't recognize the number, but I decided that someone really wanted to talk to me, so I returned the call.  It was Evelyne.  I had saved her husband's phone number in my phone instead of hers, so when she called from her phone I didn't recognize the number.  She was very anxious to have me get Sister Moraga for her.  We learned that when we dropped her off at her house, she went in to find that someone had broken in to their apartment and stolen some things.  We weren't sure but it sounded like she was afraid someone might still be in the house.  Sister Moraga told her to wait outside until we got there.  It was a cold, windy morning, but when we got there 15 minutes later, she was still standing out on the sidewalk outside her apartment.  There was a young man standing on the deck by her apartment, just staring at us.  He was dressed kind of like a Ninja, all in black with a black cap and face mask.  He looked so suspicious to me.  He just stood there watching us while we talked to Evelyne.  When we started up the steps to her apartment he turned away and walked into the apartment next door but didn't close the door all of the way, as though he wanted to observe us.  We went into Evelyne's apartment and she showed us where her laptop and television used to be.  She walked through the other rooms checking for more evidence of theft, but it seems that that is all they took. (We later found out that some of her jewelry and African artifacts were also missing.)  She was so upset.  She had called to report the theft, and Sister Moraga was in the process of calling 911 again when Evelyne got a call on her phone.  The police were trying to find where she had called from, but had not understood the name of the street.  Some minutes later the first officer arrived and began the investigation.  He called a second officer who would document the scene with photos and fingerprint search.  They concluded that it did not look like it was a forced entry even though there were multiple gouges in the paint and wood of the doorway.  Maybe Evelyne had not closed the door tightly when they left this morning.  The officer lifted two fingerprint samples from the glass shelf of the entertainment center and said if they can identify the owner of the prints and they are not Evelyne's or Valere's then they would start an investigation.  That is all they could do for us except to advise her that she should have renters insurance and she should use the deadbolt.  Because they have only one key that fits the deadbolt, they do not lock it because Valere would not be able to get in if he gets home when she is gone.  Evelyne was so upset and afraid to stay in the apartment alone, so we took her with us back to the church.  When the Capitol Hill ward meetings ended (about 20 minutes after we got back) we asked if someone in their ward spoke French that could give her a blessing.  No one spoke French, but the Elder's quorum president and another fairly new member of the Elder's quorum give her a blessing and Sister Moraga translated for her.  I don't know how much she comprehended, but it was a very tender blessing that expressed just how much Heavenly Father loves her and is aware of her needs.  Then we brought Evelyne home with us and fed her dinner.  We went back to Evelyne's apartment around 9:00 p.m. because if Valere got off work early he would not have a way to get back into their apartment.  Evelyne was sure to lock the deadbolt this time.  We waited with her at her place until Valere arrived home, about 11:45.  We finally got back to our apartment at 12:30. What a long day!!

Unto One of the Least of These

August ended with the usual visits to the less active sisters in White Plains 1st and 2nd Wards.  We have a pretty good idea now of those who have moved, those who have died, and those who do not want us to contact them.  There are maybe 50 in each ward that we are still trying to see.  Of those, about a dozen invite us in and visit with us if we happen to find them at home.  We are waiting for Sister Ramon to come home from her summer trips so we can meet again and maybe get an additional assignment to help us fill our days with meaningful service.  I hope that she doesn't feel overwhelmed by this assignment that she has inherited from the previous Stake RS President who wanted senior sister missionaries to serve in Suitland Stake.  They have been so good to try and give us work to do, but after nearly a year here, there just isn't as much to do.

Starting in September, we have had more opportunities to do community-based service, which has helped us stay busy.  One weekend we participated in the D.C. Public Schools Day of Beautification along with members of Capitol Ward.  Additionally, a ward in the Greenbelt area sponsored a booth at the Greenbelt Labor Day Festival Information Day.  The booth featured family history work and Family Search.  Sister Moraga and I were invited to help with the booth, which we did from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.  It wasn't swarming with people all day, but there were quite a few who stopped by to check it out and some sat down at the computers and looked at Family Search.  Elder and Sister Knight asked us after the event if we would like to help gather information and identify contacts in the Wards and communities of the Mission who could help set up similar events in their areas.

In service of another kind, there have been a few times when we have met someone who has told us that we came to see them just when they needed us most or that we left just the message that they needed to hear that day.  One of these sisters is Lynsi.  She was only in the ward for a short time, but she always expressed appreciation for our timely visits.  Last week we were able to help her clean her house to help her get ready to move.  It was a very hard decision for them to make, but her husband has committed to enter a drug rehabilitation program and she will be moving back to Utah or California to be where family can help give her the support that she needs during this time.

Another sister that we have been able to serve is Dorothy.  She has had problems with her heart lately and has spent some time in the hospital as well as repeated visits to the doctor's office.  It may not seem like a very big thing, but we have been able to help her keep her beautiful yard spruced up by watering her flowers for her.  She usually takes care of her own lawn including cutting the grass, so she is grateful that we have helped her out.

We have gone to visit a sister who has not had a lot to do with the church lately.  She is in poor health also.  The first couple times we stopped by she did not answer the door.  After we left a couple of messages, she opened up to us the next time.  We had a good visit and promised to return and help her with some housework.  We went back yesterday dressed in our work clothes.  After we visited for about an hour I asked if there is anything that she would like us to help her with.  I suggested maybe pulling weeds since her front yard had a flower bed with rather tall weeds.  She said, "well, since you asked…"   She took us to the back yard and showed us a huge patch of weeds that were four times as tall as the front yard.  Fortunately they were very easy to pull because the soil was very loamy and moist.  Nonetheless, my hands—which have not done any yard work for over a year—had blisters by the time we finished the task.  I am grateful that we were able to help her though.

This month we have had the opportunity to help several ward members with their family history.  This is one of my favorite pastimes, so I have quite enjoyed this part of our work.  After we help someone and I learn a few things about their family, I come home and spend a few hours looking online to see if there is any additional information that I can help them find.  It is almost like they are a part of my family, too.

The highlight of this week was probably being able to go with Elder and Sister Biolo to visit a couple of new sisters in Anacostia Ward.  The Mangitukas are a young couple who moved from Africa to New Hampshire and then to Washington D.C.  Bro. Mangituka heard about the church, looked for some missionaries, took the lessons and was baptized.  (I am not sure whether this was in Africa or after they moved to New Hampshire.)  Sister Mangituka is not as certain about the church.  They speak French, and she does not understand much English.  She began to receive the lessons when they were in New Hampshire, but didn't continue with them.  Now she is taking the opportunity to hear them again because Sister Moraga can teach her in French.  We made an appointment with her for this week, and her husband happened to have the day off from work, so they were both home.  Sister Moraga taught her the Plan of Salvation in French while the Biolos and I sat and tried to keep up with the lesson by identifying occasional French words or phrases that sounded like English.  They are a great couple and we have a return appointment with her.

Our next stop was in the humble home of Aminata, a young girl from Sierra Leone who moved here with her 1-year-old daughter in July, just a short time before the Ebola outbreak in her country.  She was baptized in January of this year.  She is living in an apartment that a relative arranged for her for a couple of months until she can find a job and get another place to live.  She has no furniture.  Just two crib mattresses on the living room floor.  Sister Biolo helped her make some phone calls to try and get food and medical assistance.  She seemed so grateful.  How hard it must be to be all alone and so far from home, yet she is grateful that she is not in Sierra Leone with all of their problems right now.  At the end of the day, I cannot feel sorry for myself.  I have a wonderful family.  I have a safe, clean place to stay.  And I have the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a pattern and guide for my life.  I know my Heavenly Father loves me.  I am so blessed!

Time Flies...

It looks like my journal entry has turned into a monthly event instead of weekly.  Either we have been very busy or I have not made very good use of the limited time that I have at home.  Both are true.  So I am trying to learn how to use my limited time better.

How about the highlights of each week since my last entry on July 17th:

July 20-26

We did not get to teach Clara's friend yet.  Her friend canceled the first appointment because she was sick, and we have not been able to set another appointment to date.  We hope things will settle down in her life soon so that she will receive our message.

MOVING FORWARD WITH FAMILY HISTORY INITIATIVE
We met with Eleni Franklin to get the ball rolling on working with the members of White Plains 1st Ward to get them excited about doing family history.  Sister Ramon told us that she wanted us to start in First Ward and Eleni and her husband will soon be going to Greece for three or four months.  Eleni wanted to get this off the ground before they left, so she made some sign-up sheets and passed them around in the meetings on Sunday and we have about 30 people to visit now to answer questions or help them get started or solve problems with their family history.  I have mentioned that I have a Bachelor's degree in Genealogical Research Technology and it was soon construed to be a Master's Degree.  Now everyone thinks that I know a lot more than I do, but I am trying to stay one step ahead so that I can hopefully answer their questions or find out where to get the answers.  So far it is working.  We are so appreciative of Eleni for taking the steps to get this started for us!  We have had some fun visits with members doing their family history.

July 27-Aug 2

TWO NEW SISTER MISSIONARIES
We met with the two new single sister missionaries--also Women Auxiliary Specialists--who just arrived in the mission.  We drove to Anacostia and had lunch with them and talked about what we have been doing so that they will have some ideas as they begin figuring out their role in the Seneca Stake.  Sister McIllece is from Sandy, Utah and Sister Crosbie is from Australia.  They are real go-getters.  President Cooke told them that he wants their main emphasis to be contacting and teaching as in "proselyting missionaries" without actually knocking on doors.  They are excited and enthusiastic about their assignment.  They certainly don't need to take any suggestions from us.  They just talk to everyone they see in their apartment complex and have looked for ways to serve the community in their area.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS GAME
On the 2nd, we rode with Elder and Sister Biolo and went to the Washington Nationals baseball game as a mission.  DC South Mission was also in attendance.  Bad weather was in the forecast, but the weather was perfect and we had a very enjoyable time.

A sea of Washington Nationals fans

Craners, Kendricks, and Biolos with Sister Moraga and I

With our Zone leaders, Elder Giles and Elder Treasure 

 More of the Elders

 Elder Treasure and Elder Giles helping the Cheerleader

 Nationals player Bryce Harper who is LDS

We enjoyed the game.  I thought it would be amazing to look up into the crowd and see all of the missionaries sitting together, but they did not sell one big block of seats.  The missionaries were just kind of scattered around in small clusters on the side of the stadium opposite the jumbotron.  They did not zoom in on the missionaries either, so that was not as big a deal as I thought it would be.  Maybe the biggest excitement of the evening was when we got back to the Metro.  We arrived and got to the platform just as a train was getting ready to depart.  I should know by now that I need to slow down for Sister Moraga.  Well, I looked back as I approached the train and saw Sister Moraga and the Biolos right behind me.  I went ahead and stepped onto the train and looked back to watch them get on.  Instead I watched the doors close in front of my face.  I tried to signal that I would see them at the end of the line and then took the first available seat, which was after some of the people got off at the next stop.  I waited at the end of the line with some trepidation, since it was about 11:00 p.m. by now and there were not many people around.  I tried to stay in view of the people in the train that was waiting to depart soon so that they could watch me be mugged by someone lurking in the darkness behind me and hopefully come to my rescue.  (As you can tell, my imagination tried to run away with me).  The train with my companions arrived minutes before the departing train left the station, so all was well.  I had to laugh at Sister Biolo because she was so worried about my safety.  She was so relieved to see me standing there when they arrived, and frankly so was I.

August 3-9

TREATS BEFORE TRANSFERS
We went to Lexington Park and took the four sister missionaries to Sweet Frog for a yogurt treat before their transfer the following day.  We will miss working with Sister Sottili and Sister Johnson who are going back to the Visitor's Center.

 Sisters Johnson, Moraga, Berthalon, Sottili, and Fifita

ODDS AND ENDS

We met with four sisters from White Plains 1st this week (and two brothers) to help them with family history on familysearch.org.  We hope there will be much more work to do here as the members get involved.

We took two sisters to the temple, Sister Ren and Sister Simmons, and met up with Tamara Ross from 2nd Ward to attend the 4:00 session as part of Stake Temple Day.  What a great experience!  Saturday we drove to Anacostia chapel to attend the baptism of a young couple, Jonathan and Angelise.  Angelise's 9-year-old daughter was going to be baptized also, but she got nervous and would not go through with it.  They arranged to baptize her the following week without a crowd.

Following the baptism we drove up to the Mission Home with the Biolos to attend the Senior Missionaries barbecue.  We were a little late getting there, but there was plenty of food and plenty of fun to be had.  There are now 27 couples and 7 single sisters serving in the Washington D.C. North Mission.

August 10-16

After many months of going back to the same houses and knocking on doors to try and meet some of the less active sisters in the wards, we have been able to meet a few of them and find out that they are not so opposed to our visits.  I think the birthday cupcakes that we take out on their birthdays and inspirational messages that we leave each month have helped to soften hearts and help them to just see us as new friends.

WEDDING DAY FOR JONATHAN AND ANGELISE
Thursday the 15th of August was a busy, fun day.  We had Zone training all morning at the Stake Center.  Then we drove to Anacostia chapel to attend the wedding of their most recent converts, Jonathan and Angelise.  One of the Anacostia elders, Elder Archibald, had been to culinary school and had experience in setting up and serving special events, so he wanted to make the day special for them.  The couple did not have a lot of money so the Elders said they would arrange a small reception at the chapel.  Elder Archibald made the cake and they decorated the room with items that the ward members provided.  The elders made some of the refreshments and ward members provided some of the food as well.  Everything worked out so well.  They had just the right amount of table cloths and just the right amount of lights to make the room lovely.  Everyone was very surprised at how well it turned out.  The Elders were so excited to give this service and couldn't wait to see the reaction of the family and the ward members.  We had fun just watching their excitement.

Jonathan and Angelise

Wedding cake, a creation of Elder Archibald

August 17-23

We have now helped quite a few of the sisters in White Plains 1st Ward and some of the brethren as well to encourage more family history work.  The Relief Society has asked us to help plan the September Enrichment Night activity around family history.  Our goal is not to plan, organize, and pull off an amazing event.  We want to give invitations to serve and have the ward members actually do the presentations and preparation so that they will own the event and gain a greater appreciation and desire to continue with family history work.  I love being able to do more with family history while I am here.  In some of my limited spare time, I like to go through the branches of my family tree and look for ways I can improve the information that is there.

TAKING CHRIS FOR CHEMO

Wednesday Sister Moraga and I split up to give service in two areas at the same time because there was an overlap in our schedule.  She went to Lexington Park to do splits with the young sisters, and I drove Chris Emerson to her 3rd of nine consecutive chemotherapy sessions before her reevaluation and next steps.  We took her a couple of weeks ago and then she went alone the next week.  She got in trouble from the hospital staff because it is not safe for her if they have to give her pain medication, which they did have to do this time.

While I was sitting in the hospital waiting with her my phone rang.  I wasn't going to answer it but when I saw the name Pres. Cooke show up on the caller ID I really didn't want to answer it.  For the second time in a couple of weeks I was outside of the mission boundaries, and this time I was not with my companion.  Neither of these is a violation of mission rules really.  Sister Moraga and I do not have to be together all of the time.  And it is okay if we go a few miles outside of the mission without permission such as when we drive to the airport.  It is probably a good idea to let them know though.  But for some reason I felt very uncomfortable having to talk to the President today.  He has an uncanny way of knowing when things are not right.  For instance, the Elders who were previously in Lexington Park had decided to attend a sporting event without getting approval (which they probably would not have been given even if they had asked).  President Cooke just happened to call and check on them while they were out having fun.  Unfortunately, I believe those elders were sent home.  So I did swallow a lump and answer the phone.  As it turns out, my phone has Pres. Cooke's name entered for the Mission Office number.  It was really Sister Colson from the Mission Office and she dialed my number mistakenly.  It was a good reminder that we need to be sure we follow the mission rules.

A Week in the Life of a Missionary

Sunday July 13

Spent an hour Sunday evening at the Visitor's Center listening to the Spanish Night of Music and Inspiration.  Somehow I missed the spot at the entrance where they were handing out translation headsets.  I tried really hard to understand what they were saying but probably understood the most by watching the American Sign Language missionaries :)

Monday July 14

Ten sisters on our visit list today but only saw three of them plus one sister's mother.  At least we had our puzzling question answered about a previous visit.  It goes like this: 

May visit--lady answered the door.  "She can't come to the door.  Her mother just died."  

June visit--Different lady answered the door and told us she was the mother!  

Today--We were told it was really the grandmother who had died.  Had a pleasant visit with the mother but still have not been able to meet the ward member we have been asked to check on.  Maybe next time.

Tuesday July 15

We spent three hours of our day helping an investigator who had a broken leg get to her doctor appointment, waited for her, and then took her home.  Then we drove down (40-minute drive in good conditions) and spent a couple hours with the young sisters in Lexington Park.  It started to rain just after we started our drive home, and we drove in a pouring rain for half the trip.  We talk about "white-out" conditions in a snowstorm, but this was a "white-out" rain storm.  We could not keep the windshield cleared and had to pull over and stop at one point.  When the rest of the traffic slowed down enough that we felt it was safe to continue, we pulled back on the road and drove to our next appointment.

Wednesday July 16

We took Marcie to the temple with us and met up with Heidi and attended one endowment session.  About 10-15 miles before we got to the temple, I hit an enormous pothole which made our teeth rattle and then some.  I looked in my rear view mirror and watched my hubcap roll across all the lanes of traffic and off the side of the beltway.  Happy Birthday to me!!

Good News/Bad News

Good news is, my car still rolled straight down the road without vibration or indication of a damaged tire so we proceeded to the temple.  

Bad news is when we arrived at the temple I discovered that my rim was badly dented.  I don't know why or how it did not wobble.  

Good news is I knew the tire problem would still be there in a couple of hours, so we forgot about it and went ahead and had a wonderful session and visit with Heidi over lunch.

Bad news is when we went out to the car my tire now only had 24 pounds of air pressure instead of 32 so we began to pull out the spare tire to change it.  

Good news is a temple missionary couple were just leaving at the end of their shift, and Brother Williams offered to lead us to a service station nearby.  He thought the tire would make the few blocks we had to go and that they could solve my problem. They pounded the dent out and did a pretty good job of it.  It held air and a test drive around the block made the "Low Tire" light go off so we we were able to go home without incident.

Bad news is I now have to buy a new hubcap and tire alignment for my birthday present instead of something fun.

Good news is it could be worse, but I know Heavenly Father was watching over us.

Reward:  Just before bedtime, Sister Gomez from Capitol Ward called and told us she would like us to teach the discussions to a friend of hers.  We are going to give the first lesson this Sunday afternoon.

Friday we had Zone Conference followed by a meeting with Sister Ramon et. al. about implementing Family History in our visits.

Thursday and Saturday we had four sisters who canceled or just didn't show up for appointments, but there was only one sister who told us not to come back again.:) Birthday cupcakes have helped us get back in to see two sisters who were not welcoming last time we saw them.  And we met a sister we had not met before.  We finally found Rosie at home after going to her house for months and never finding her home.  She was very friendly and said we can come back and visit even though she now attends a local Methodist church with her husband.  So sometimes doors close but windows open.

Kristin's Baptism

Saturday, July 12, 2014

We were so grateful this day to be able to participate in Kristin's baptism.  We were introduced to her in May and met with her weekly for the last two months to prepare her for her baptism day.  Kristin's husband is a member of the church, but Kristin was raised in the Episcopalian faith.  She wanted to learn more about the church before choosing which church to raise their son in.  After the first lesson, Kristin told us that she would commit to be baptized but was not sure when.  She would have to work things out with her family first.  It was a difficult thing for her to do because her parents are very devoted to their religion and she was afraid of how they would react.  Her mother was the first one that she told, and she seemed disappointed but said "well, if you think that is a good fit..."  This gave her courage to talk to her father and brothers and sister.  After a few lessons she knew she wanted to be baptized in spite of the differences that her family may have.  The next question was when.  She could not commit to a specific date because they were planning on a friend of John's from Kansas baptizing her and they didn't know when he would be coming to Maryland.  I expected that it could be months, but a week or two later she announced that she had picked the date of July 12th.  We were so happy.

The day went fairly smoothly with only a couple of hiccups.  The ward mission leader thought that the font would already be filled since there was a baptism scheduled for earlier in the day.  What he didn't know was that the previous baptism was changed to Friday evening, and they drained the font when they finished.  So we had to start fresh Saturday afternoon when Bro. Amoah and the Elders arrived to print the program.  They found out that they could fill the font sufficiently for a baptism in only 1 1/2 hours.  We told them that it might not be wise to count on that every time.  It was just a blessing today that we were able to have it fill in that short a time.  Rob, who performed the baptism, forgot his towel so I had to run home and grab one of my towels for him.  By the time I returned they were about ready to begin the service, so I was not able to get a picture with Kristin as I had hoped.  Her friend, Steve, took some pictures afterwards with us.  I hope I will get a copy of the pictures.

Immediately following the baptism, Kristin was confirmed and then their baby, Gavin, was blessed.  It was a special blessing from the Lord that Sister Moraga and I had this opportunity to teach Kristin and be a part of her special day.  When I contemplated a mission, I knew that senior missionaries do not proselyte, so I came here with the understanding that I would not have the opportunity (or should I say the responsibility) of "proclaiming the gospel" in this manner.  I love being a representative of Jesus Christ and telling others about Him.  It was a challenging experience for me to help teach the discussions, but I am grateful for the opportunity.

A Different Point of View

As you can see, our horizon is changing...

This picture was taken the first month I was here.  Sister Boone loves flowers and filled the deck with them. Notice the trees in the background.  You can't really see the hilly area in front of the trees, but it was just grass and trees that provide a nice background for our balcony.  Over the months as Sister Boone and I sat in our apartment we noticed that a change was coming.  Excavators came in and began knocking down the trees and hills and hauling them away.  There were more apartments behind those trees.

By late fall, we knew they were building more apartments.  This picture was taken in April, a little over two months ago.

The builders have been busy, and those apartments are hidden again--not by the trees but by more apartment buildings.

We have been very busy too.  June 7th, we enjoyed a great day at the Stake Center next door to the Washington D.C. temple attending our first annual Washington D.C. North Mission Super Seasoned Senior Missionary Conference.  This came at the suggestion of one of the senior missionaries who has participated in some of our telephone conference calls with President Cooke.  It is good to be able to talk together this way but sometimes it is difficult to hear who is talking and what is being said.  And besides, it is always more fun to see and visit with each other in person.  So President Cooke decided that we would give it a try and hold a day-long conference.  It was a very long day, starting at 9:00 a.m. and ending at 4:30 p.m.  We had a good time and learned a lot about each other and what our various assignments are.

We haven't gone up to Anacostia and Capitol Hill wards for a few weeks now.  We did attend Anacostia's weeknight RS meeting on the 11th.  I sat in on the demonstration about how to make healthy fruit smoothies, and Sister Moraga took the opportunity to meet with young Ada and give her a piano lesson.  She will be able to teach her about three times a month, twice when we attend their Sunday meetings, and on the night of their Wednesday night meeting.  I am glad that she gets to render this service for Ada, who is so excited and eager to learn to play so she can begin playing the organ in meetings.

Last Sunday we were supposed to teach a lesson to young Belinda to prepare her for baptism, but the family was not home when we arrived, so we drove to the Visitor's Center instead to attend the monthly Why I Believe fireside.  Brian, a recent convert from White Plains shared his conversion story and testimony of Jesus Christ.  Charity Tillemann-Dick from Capitol Hill Ward also told her miraculous story, not of conversion but of how her life has been preserved.  She is a renowned opera singer who has survived two double-lung transplants, and she continues to perform still.  She told how being offered not one but two lung transplants has given her a second chance at life.  What she does with that gift is up to her.  She made the comparison to the most marvelous gift of all that each of us has been given, and that is the gift of the Atonement that Jesus Christ offered each of us.  It is up to us to accept his offering and do all things that are necessary to have the atonement work in our lives.

Other activities of the past weeks included visiting sisters, helping with household chores, helping sisters with family history research, and helping out at the weekly Shepherd's Table.

Last week, we attended a health and wellness conference for the young sister missionaries (we drove a couple of sisters up to the conference, which was held in the Kentland's chapel near the Mission Home, and helped prepare and serve lunch).  

Foyer of the Kentlands chapel

It is an older chapel, but it is beautiful and elegant.

Today would have been our day to go back and attend church with the members in Anacostia, but it was Stake Conference this weekend.  We had excellent meetings last night and this morning.  Last night was two wonderful hours of beautiful musical numbers by talented members in the Stake and the talks, which again focused on the marvelous hastening of the work of salvation.  We came away spiritually filled.  This morning we listened to the conference from our own White Plains chapel.

Just as I realized the view is changing from our patio, my view about life and my approach in living it is changing.  I view my church attendance quite differently since I no longer have to spend my energy on keeping young children quiet and reverent while at the same time trying to help them develop habits of Sunday worship and build their own testimonies of Jesus Christ.  I am reminded of this as I watch the young mothers in the congregation go in and out of the chapel with their fussy babies and distracting children.  Because I know this is where they should be, I do not let their distractions bother me.  I am capable of staying focused on what the speaker is saying and contemplate how I can apply it to my life as well as gleaning thoughts and principles that I can share with my family and those whom we serve here.  I am grateful for this opportunity to improve my relationship with the Savior.  That is what this life is all about.

Friday we attended the final district meeting before the upcoming transfers.  These young men are fine missionaries and it is uplifting to be able to meet together and learn from their good examples.

At the last district meeting before transfers, our meeting is a little different.  We don't do the usual role play activities.  Instead, we each get to share our testimonies.  Then we had a little activity called Comp Unity. Each companionship was asked a few questions and we had to say whether the question applied more to us or to our companion.  The winning companionship was the team who agreed on their answers the most without being able to see the other's answers.  Sister Moraga and I came in second place.

 The winners, Elder Harston and Elder Ng.

The Elders respond to one of their answers.

After the closing song and prayer, the Elders had some time to play a game of 

Ninja Attack.  

I won't try to explain the rules except that players take turns making one move at a time, and then they freeze until it is their turn again.  A player is out when someone else strikes their hand during an attack.  Elder Harston put Elder Mecham, our District Leader, in a vulnerable situation when he placed his hand over Elder Mecham's face.  Of course no one would strike (which was the hope of both of them at this point). Everyone had a good laugh and we had to pause and get it on camera.

White Plains District:

Elder Tilby, Elder Collins, Elder Ng, Elder Harston, Elder Mecham, Elder Zollinger, and Sister Moraga.  The Zone Leaders are in our district also, but they had commitments to attend two other district meetings.

I love these missionaries!!!