May 14, 2023

Happy Mother's Day! I have heard from all of my children so it is a good day even if we are not with them. Last night we met Tracey & Tom in downtown Portland and went to a fun restaurant known for desserts. It was called Papa Haydn. It was like we were on a double date with them! So fun! I don't think we have ever done that with them before. I should have gotten a picture of Tracey & I together but I only have this one outside the restaurant before they got there.

Today we are having dinner at our house with the other senior couples to celebrate Mother's Day together. Elder & Sister Stewart go home tomorrow and we will miss them. They have been so kind, fun, and helpful. This is their 3rd mission. What an example of service and dedication they have been. They served as humanitarian missionaries in Jamaica, then MLS/Office missionaries in Canada, and now here as the Housing Coordinators. They say this is their last mission but we will see. They are the couple standing in front of us in this picture and the Larson's (the ones who will be with us for the next 18 months) are on the other side.

We have done quite a bit of driving around this week. We delivered cars to Forest Grove & Albany, and then went to Silver Falls State Park with the Larson's yesterday. In our travels I love to see all the pretty flowers. Here are some pics of some beautiful Azaleas and the waterfalls at Silver Falls State Park. In this area there are groves of hazelnut trees and fields of "hops." And then of course there are the wineries. I don't know if I have mentioned that before but there are hundreds of wineries in this part of the state with the accompanying grape vines. We saw some plants yesterday that at first sight we thought were grape vines. But then we noticed that they were bushes and not growing on a vine. They were in rows in giant fields. We did some research and discovered they were blueberry bushes! I can honestly saw I never knew how blueberries grew before. Now we do! Oh yea, I also have to mention the Crimson Clover. We drove by all these fields that were green just a few weeks ago and now there were red flowers on them. We couldn't figure out what they were so we stopped and took pictures so we could identify them. They were Crimson Clover, just like the song by Tommy James! Turns out they grow them in the fields between crops to help retain the nutrients in the soil. See how much we are learning!

It was a busy week with Transfers this week with missionaries coming and going in all directions. It made for a fun time in the office. We still have some "reassigns" waiting for their Visas but about 6 of them got to go on to their final destinations in Peru & Columbia. Elder Rowan had to take (2) of them to the airport at 3:00 am one day. We only had (3) new arrivals this transfer but in June we will get about (15). For transfers we meet with the new missionaries and I tell them about their Missionary Spending Cards and Elder Rowan talks to them about their driving cards (called TIWI Cards). Then the next day Elder Rowan gives a little presentation on the privilege of driving while on their mission. Sister Larson and I also prepared dinner for the new arrival group (about 15) and lunch the next day (about 18) when they met their new companions and headed out to their teaching areas. One of the missionaries serving in our area was without a companion for about 1/2 of a day so Elder Rowan got to be his companion during that time. The Elder was in the office with us and joked that it was like "Bring your child to work day!." But we marvel at how hard our missionaries work, at the rules they keep, and the love they have for what they are doing!

I don't know if I was naive or what, but the one thing I did not understand before coming on our mission was about how much we would learn and be instructed on becoming a better disciple of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I think I thought that at zone conferences, training meetings, etc. that the missionaries would be taught the "Mechanics" of how to be better missionaries. But instead what we have seen is that they are instructed on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. They are learning how to change their hearts before they can go out and help change anyone elses heart. As we have studied the same material they are encouraged to study, I can tell you that my heart is being changed too! This week we studied an excellent talk by President Thomas S. Monson given in October 2015 conference. It is called, "Be an Example and a Light." So good!! He said, "Each of us came to earth having been given the Light of Christ. As we follow the example of the Savior and live as He lived and as He taught, that light will burn within us and will light the way for others." He then goes on to tell us how we can develop attributes that will allow our lights to shine. These missionaries, and me too, will be changed forever if we work hard to develop these attributes and become better disciples of Christ!