June 30, 2024

I think I have mentioned before that one of the things I miss the most on our mission is the opportunity to reach out and have one on one contact with others. Of course we do that on a daily basis in the mission office with the young missionaries and even with the Sr missionaries at times, but I am talking about the ministering type of contact. We know people in our ward here but not on a real, personal level. And really, we don't have time to get to know them on that level. That is not our mission assignment and we just have to accept that for now.

Our Prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, will turn 100 on Sept 9th. He was asked by the media what he wanted for his birthday. This was his reply:

“I am soon approaching my 100th birthday,” President Nelson wrote in a social media post on Saturday, June 1. “One of the places where the Savior used the number 100 in the scriptures was the parable of the lost sheep. Though 99 of his flock were safely by his side, the shepherd went in search of the one who was lost. “At age 99, I have no need of physical gifts,” he continued. “But one spiritual offering that would brighten my life is for each of us to reach out to ‘the one’ in our lives who may be feeling lost or alone.”

I LOVE THIS!! I may not have people here that I can reach out to but I do have family and friends back home. With President Nelson's invitation in mind, and with the fact that we will be going home in a little more than 2 months, I have started to take the opportunity to reach out to some of the Sisters in my home ward that I have missed and reconnect with them. They may not be lost or alone but everyone needs to know they are thought about and missed. It has been sooooo good to visit with them whether it has been through text or a phone call. That one on one connection is priceless and I am grateful for the reminder from out Prophet to reach out and make the effort.

Not much out of the ordinary has been happening in the office this week. We have been doing our usual work and gearing up for the start of our 6 week rotation next week. Elder Rowan has had a breather from getting and giving out new cars which is good. He spoke with Elder Zahlman who will be replacing him and got things worked out for training. Elder Zahlman has already been a Vehicle Coordinator in the Kentucky Louisville Mission for the last two years so he should know what he is doing. His wife will be the General Secretary and they will only have about a 5 week break from ending one mission and starting another. Elder Zahlman will come in for 3 days during August and then the Zahlmans will start their mission on Septerber 2nd, just two days before we leave. My replacement, Sister Kanzler, will start her mission on August 15th. Her husband will be the Housing Coordinator and will have almost two months with Elder Larson before they go home. I spent a good part of my week working on written instructions for her. She worked for many years as an Office Manager for an accounting firm, so I think she will pick up things quickly.

We had Spanish Zone Conference on Tuesday and used up the last of our pork from Mission Tour. We are glad to be done with it but the Spanish missionaries are none the wiser and only know that they got Cafe Rio, which is always a hit. The Spanish missionaries love to move the tables around to try and get closer to each other so this was their arrangement for this week. The Assistants came in the office this week and pointed out that they looked like an oreo cookie so I had to snap a picture of them. We have been admiring the hydrangeas in the front of our church building all week so I finally had to stop and take a picture of them. They are beautiful!!

Late one night this week we had a knock on our door. It was the Social Media Sisters, Sister Bodily and Sister Murray. They were just getting home and brought us a pan of "mystery meat"! The members they had dinner with gave it to them and they didn't want it. Sister Bodily just wasn't a fan of something she couldn't identify. We decided it was a loaf of turkey like they would slice in the deli at a market. The members told them it was turkey and it looks good and tastes good but the strange thing is that even though it is turkey, it tastes like ham!!! We can't figure it out. We are never ones to waste food so we have been putting it to good use. We have had it with rice and salad, made a chef salad with it, and made sandwiches For multiple meals.

Next week it will be Transfers and New Arrivals. So many of the missionaries that we have come to love will be leaving us. We lose 17 missionaries and get 17 new missionaries. We are glad to be getting so many new ones because our numbers have been down for a few months but it is strange to think that we will really not get to know these new missionaries very well. But more about that next week.......

We have filled our Saturdays up with all the activities we want to do before we go home. This Saturday was the Willamette Jet Boat Excursion. It was like doing a shore excursion while on a cruise and we loved it!! We went with the Larsons and it was a blast! We had perfect weather for a boat ride--just hot enough to be really fun when we got wet. They took us on a 32 mile boat ride down the Willamette River which goes through the heart of Portland. The river was much prettier than we see from the freeway with lots of greenery and beautiful homes along the banks. The 2 hr ride was narrated and included both fast and slow times with turning donuts and making sudden stops to throw water over the front and sides of the boat. The turnaround point was in Oregon City at Willamette Falls, so an added bonus there for me! We could even see the bridge on the I5 Freeway that we cross when we go into Portland to the Airport or to Tracey's.

Sunday has been a busy day for us with District Council in the afternoon after church and Sister's Devotional in the evening for me. Our District Leader gives even the Sr missionaries assignments for District council that make us grow and stretch. Today Elder Rowan gave the life lesson. He talked about how the example you set for your children will influence how they grow up. He got permission to play the song, "Cats in the Cradle." I had to give training on a Christlike characteristic. I chose integrity. It was good to spend some time studying this characteristic. I found a talk by Tad Callister I really liked from 2011 entitled, "Becoming Men and Women of Integrity". Sister's Devotional is always special. The Sister Training Leaders are amazing and come up with the best topics to discuss. This time it was about comparing ourselves to others and the danger in doing that. We need to remember that our perfect, loving god will only compare you with the old you. He is only concerned with how you are becoming better and not how you compare to someone else.