034 Tuesday to Tuesday (Dec 10-16, 2014)

I’m really behind, and I need to catch up. Sometimes it is so hard to write, and I realize that I’m not very good at this. I write from stream of consciousness (I think that is the right term), but when I go back and reread it, it sounds so silly. I’ve learned to edit it at least once, but it is obvious that I need to do it at least several times. Forgive the craziness of the mistakes and know that I really meant to do it right.

Wednesday (the 10^th), we both had our dreaded dental appointments. I really hate going to the dentist. I think it stems from the fact that when we were little I (who was scared to death of needles anyway) knew I was always going to have to have something done to my teeth. I’ll bet we never went to the dentist unless there was a problem. We had no fluoride in our water, and I don’t remember there being any emphasis on brushing our teeth. Sounds gross doesn’t it, but facts are facts. I can remember the work hurting even after supposedly being given the medication to numb the area. I do remember that I did not let the dentist give it to me easily. I almost have a memory of a kick or two. Now that I think about it, it’s a wonder I didn’t get a shot in the brain from the needle traveling up through my gums and into the top of my head.  Hahahaha  Even today, although I brush my teeth religiously, use every pic I can find, and (my downfall) floss several times a week, my hygienist still gives me a lecture on cleaning my teeth. Ugh! I feel like I’ve been taken to the principal’s office. Well, I wasn’t disappointed. I got my annual lecture; Craig has been told that he doesn’t have to worry about plak because he doesn’t have as much saliva or has some kind of enzyme that helps to protect his teeth.  It is so unfair.

Afterwards, we went to a restaurant that only serves breakfast and lunch. (Thanks Adam and Belinda for the card.) We enjoyed eating breakfast because we don’t get to do so very often.  We left there and headed off to Sam’s for some items I needed to get. Then it was home to prepare for Pathway the next day because we had a busier day planned for Thursday.

Thursday saw us heading to an inactive member’s home.  This sister has moved up from Chicago and has several children. Once she got here the Elder’s called us about providing transportation for them, but we had to tell them we had only three seats in our car. We never heard anything else until one day she showed up for Church by herself. We spoke with her then, and she never came back. I think this must have been in September sometime.  I had called ahead of time to make an appointment and to get the address. The Elder’s had her correct phone number which I had to get from them when the one in the roster didn’t work. We are finding that our roster often is not a good source for phone numbers or addresses.  When we got to the house, the sister was not there. A neighbor was keeping her kids while she went to pick up someone. It was a relief when we saw that she had a car. We left there and proceeded on over to Denise’s house where we were able to read some scripture with her. When we got out of Denise’s, we decided to go back to the first sister’s place and just see if we could catch her. As we knocked on her door, she answered, and she was on her way to pick up her children from school. She was late, so we got to say hi, we will come again, as she ran past us and out to her car.  

That night we then had Pathway. It was a great lesson on “giving back” and how to increase charity in our lives. This is a great time in our lives to practice charity more than ever. I will testify that the more we give to others, the better we feel inside. Sometimes in working with people like we do, we have a tendency to want to judge them for their actions and we have to keep remembering that isn’t our job. Do they do things we don’t like or approve of, well, yes they do. The Lord will handle whatever they are doing in His time. We can only try our best to love them (not the things they do), but as the children of God and as our brothers and sisters.

Friday was our usual run to the grocery store with a Church member who needs help. I’m glad we as a Church have a great welfare system that allows us to help others. Later in the day, I briefly remembered it was Krispy Kreme day where you buy a dozen and get a dozen free. We were so going to be Krispy Kremed, but we forgot. It’s a good thing. We truly don’t need those things, but it sure is nice to think about how yummy they are going down. It’s afterwards that we remember why we should stay away from them. We had to go back to Denise’s to get our hours in with her. Her kids were supposed to be there, but they didn’t show up. Their dad wouldn’t bring them.

Our Branch Christmas Party was held on Saturday. This was a big deal. We don’t do much of anything else because we have to have a guard in the parking lot watching out for our cars, and at night, it isn’t safe in that part of the city. We held it at 5:00 so we could get out early. We ended up picking up both Victor and Denise to take them. They have formed a bond because both are recovering addicts, and they can talk the same language. I had thought she wouldn’t have anything to do with him because he is older and a little scruffy man. I’ve found out when you are with people who have had the same experiences with the addiction, they understand each other pretty well. They can talk with ease and are very supportive of one another.

Sisters Zundell and Smith

Elders Larsen and Goodale                   

Brother and Sister Smith           

 

Victor in front; Elder Allen in right back

Brother Woods is Santa

Our Chapel at dark.

On Sunday we had some great talks. It is amazing to me how our little Branch exists to begin with because so few of those who attend are actual members of the Branch. Almost 95% of our members do not come and those who come are visitors (usually people who had been in the Branch way back when it was very active) or people from other units who come to support us. All I can say is that we have more musical talent in this Branch than I have seen before (except our Utah Ward, which is, of course, filled with professional talent).  The main speaker spoke on why the message of the Restoration is important. It is necessary that people know (and most do not) that God still speaks to His children today. The Restoration helps people learn that there is a plan for us while on this earth. He wants us to come back to Him, and he has a plan to get us there. The other speaker had spoken of the two parts of faith:  belief and action. We have to use both to follow the plan. It is comforting to me to know that there is a road map given to us, and if we use our belief in our Savior and act on that belief to do what we need to do, we can go home together as families.

That evening we set out to find another inactive. We did find her place, but she wasn’t there. We were quite persistent in knocking on the door because we knew someone was there. Finally, a young man comes to the door, and when we ask for the sister we are looking for, he says she does live upstairs but she was working a double shift at her job that day. He was her nephew. We told him we’d be back. I had emailed this sister once before, but never heard from her. She was baptized just over a year ago and was so active for a good while. She had a teenage daughter that came to Church with her. Then work came into play, and slowly she just stopped coming. In today’s world, I can see why this happened. We will go back to try to catch her another time.

Monday was a cold and windy day. We got up and went to gym, got home and cleaned up to go downtown to help the Salvation Army unload a truck that was coming in between 12-3:00. It was bringing the supplies that would be used for the Christmas dinner. So, we went down and sat around for three hours, but no truck ever showed up. The woman that had asked us to come did call and told us we could glue old Christmas card fronts onto some construction paper to be used as Christmas cards for all those that would show up. We had gotten the Elders to come down also, and they laughed and told jokes while making the cards. The stick glue sticks we had were mostly dried up, and the woman had told us to stick them in some water to soften them up. It was not pretty, but they did a great job. Finally, the Elders started to leave two at a time when it became obvious no truck was coming in. We felt bad that we had gotten them down there, but they didn’t get to help like they had planned. However, they did meet a man whom expressed an interest for more. Elder Lenhard got his information, and the Elders will be going to see him.

On Tuesday, we had to get out of the apartment early to get to Denise’s place to take her to Court for her final hearing for reunification with Timmy. We got to the courthouse on time and went upstairs to wait for her. We were going to babysit Timmy while she went inside to the meeting. She comes back down the hall and says the hearing was not on the docket. To say she was mad would be a slight understatement. She fussed all the way back to her place. Later she found out that her social worker hadn’t been told also so that made her feel better. Haha  If I understand right, since she and Timmy had already been reunited, there was no need for a court hearing. Good job!

That afternoon we had our last official District Meeting before transfers. It is hard to imagine that transfers are here again. They will start closing down apartments and consolidating the missionary areas because we are losing so many missionaries in our mission. I’m not sure if this time is the time that we have so many going home, or if it will include this one and the next, but we are losing about 60 of our young men and women. One of our young men who went home in September is getting married on January 3^rd.  He lives in Mesa. Another young man has written us a couple of times. He was a Spanish missionary. He is still trying to adjust to being home.

Our testimonies continue to grow. There are no accidental encounters when we are involved in the Lord’s work. There have been so many times that we have had opportunities to talk with someone, and we know that it was meant to be.  We love this work. We hope to have a white Christmas, but if not, we can wait on the snow. I think that people who lived through the last winter are grateful the snow is taking its time. We shall adopt that attitude also. Especially, when we hear about places like New York that got so much snow the roofs on their houses were collapsing. I cannot even imagine that and don’t wish to do so.

Christmas is coming. We are excited. There is something magical about this time of year.

Our Scripture for the December is 2 Nephi 25:26 –

          And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy

          of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may 

          know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.

Elder and Sister Lenhard

033 Tuesday to Tuesday (Dec. 3-9, 2014)

This was a busy week. It’s funny how some weeks really keep us going, while others tend to leave us to finding our way. We have decided to try to help the Branch by locating an inactive family a week and seeing if we can visit with them. I hope this works out. There are some shady places in our area, so we have to make sure we visit only in the daytime. Hopefully, we will be successful in finding them.

On Wednesday, we went to Denise’s to take her to Toys for Tots to register for Christmas.  She will get toys for her kids from this group as well as toys from the addiction group who works with her. She just got a small inheritance, and she will be buying a car. That will be really nice. She will be less dependent on others.

Craig had to get a haircut because we had a special luncheon we would be attending on Thursday, so I sent him off to that. It is amazing to me that he finally will let a woman other than myself cut his hair. The lady does a good job, and she is a talker. Fits in with us. Hahaha

Thursday we got up and spent the morning trying to get ready for the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee. It was to be held at the Italian Community Center located close to the fairgrounds where all the festivals are held. We didn’t know what to expect, and we found it was a really good meeting. This group was involved in the Sihks 5K fun held in the fall where we met lots of people involved in different faiths. The group promotes our getting to know and understand what others believe and look for commonalities among us. I sat at a table with a Jew, a Nun, a woman United Methodist Minister, an Unitarian, and two retired Catholic workers (husband and wife). There was a moderator at our table and she asked a question to each of us. We could give our answers, but we weren’t allowed to comment on any of the answers given by anyone else. There were several awards given out to people who do lots of service for the community.  

 

Elder Lenhard also sat at a table with people of different faiths. One, Jewish, got the question about how her faith influenced her everyday life. She couldn’t come up with an answer. Another, a professed Christian, was asked about the afterlife. Turns out she didn’t believe in an afterlife and didn’t feel it was necessary to worry about one. WOW, I guess I have taken it for granted that if they professed to being a member of a particular faith, they could answer both of these questions.  Guess not!

We went early to the Ward building where we have Pathway on Thursday. We took our Mexican Nativity scene to include in the ones that will be shown for an activity on Friday and Saturday. We asked the Armstrongs to meet us there so we could have a good Missionary opportunity.

Afterwards, we had Pathway. We love these students so much. They are so good to be in class with, hard workers, and they have the experience in life that helps them recognize the importance of an education. We are so blessed to work with them.  We only have a couple of classes left for this semester. We are hoping all will register for the next semester.

On Friday, we went to the library with Denise and actually introduced her to Family Search and got her started. I don’t think she was excited about it, and after about 45 minutes she began making noises about needing to get home for something else. She had gotten her parent's information up, and we began on the grandparents. She didn’t know much about them, but we started with her mother’s side. At first we couldn’t find anything on Family Search, so we went to Ancestry and found her grandmother’s birth and death dates. Once she found that and their places of birth and death, she was ready to continue. I told her that we could wait until another time, but she suddenly realized we could stay a little longer. I was excited to watch her open up to the work. Hopefully, this won’t be our last time working together on her family.

That night, we met the Armstrongs to see the Nativity scenes. It was like being in Paradise. I saw at least three scenes that made me feel the evil feelings of envy by wanting them very badly. Beautiful, beautiful!  I really like my Mexican one made from cornhusks. Now, all I need is the Creche (I think that is the building – right?)

I really want one like this!

Made from a gourd

Saturday, we got up early because we were taking some Missionaries to the Chicago Temple because a couple they had been instrumental in teaching were getting sealed. We had to use the Mission President’s car because ours could not take three big young men. They were all Spanish speakers (one was Mexican), so that’s what they spoke the entire way to the Temple. It is really disconcerting when you have young men behind you laughing and laughing, and you aren’t in on the joke. Elder Lenhard and I took names to the Temple for a Sister who is physically unable to take them herself. I was hoping we could get our own names ready, but she had a greater need at the time. I hope our relatives realize that we will take care of them as soon as possible. Maddie and Zach, there are names for you to take to the Temple.

On the way home, we stopped at the couple’s home (it was getting dark), and it meant we had to leave the interstate and travel another 20 miles that we had not expected to do. President Cutler was expecting us to get back because he had to go north about 40-50 miles after we got home. I, also, had to get to the Church and pick up my Nativity scene by 8:00. We arrived at the home and ended up eating some really good Mexican tacos and hot wings, and there was a cake to die for.  We had to force the Missionaries to leave and by the time we got to President Cutler’s home to pick up our car and unpack his, he was a little unhappy with us. We scurried out of there as fast as possible. We had to take one of the Missionaries over to a Ward building to be picked up by his companion and another set of Missionaries. We went by to get my Nativity scene, and they were cleaning up the place as I went in. Good timing!

Sweet couple we got to see sealed in Temple.

Three missionaries (two in white shirts, one red head) we took to the Temple).

Sunday was a great day as usual. We still have only Sacrament and Priesthood/Relief Society at this time. After the end of the year, something is going to happen with the Branch. Whether we are disbanded and moved to other groups, or the lines are redrawn and other groups are brought into our unit, we don’t know. It will be good to get back to our normal schedule.  We took a member home after Church. It is good to be able to help people in small ways.

One of the speakers spoke of the Gospel reminding us of a quote by President Monson:  The Gospel is that penetrating light that makes of every hopeless dawn a joyful day. I love that.

Monday night we were messing around getting some things done, when Elder Lenhard asked me when we were supposed to go visit a Smith family. He is in medical school here; she is a nurse in the emergency department of a local hospital and pregnant. They are gifted musicians. He took music as a minor at BYU, and she has studied quite a bit. She plays the violin, and he takes the piano. Since they have been here the last four months, they have made quite a mark in the Branch. They love to help, and they are so upbeat and really good people.

We rushed out the door and got to their house only about 25 minutes late. We got to work with them on Family Search and were able to show them several things. They had accounts set up, but there were some questions we helped them with and showed them some easy ways to do different things. This is great work. 

This past week we were finishing the scriptures in 3^rd Nephi. I’ve never read the Book of Mormon so fast before. In some respects, it helps keep up with the action, and I don’t have to review as often.  hahaha

Our Scripture for the December is 2 Nephi 25:26 –

            And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, 

            and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source 

            they may look for a remission of their sins.

Elder and Sister Lenhard

THREE QUOTES FROM NIBLEY ON CONSECRATION

• It is possible for a powerful mind to have joy amidst vile surroundings, but it can have greater joy in pleasant surroundings. There are degrees of joy, and God wants our joy to be full, that is, with every possible factor contributing.
• If we all labor a few hours a day, we could then spend the remainder of our time in rest and the improvement of our minds. That is the real work we are called to do and the real wealth we are to accumulate individually. Work less, wear less, eat less, and we shall be a great deal wiser, healthier, and wealthier people than by taking the course we do now.
• If we lust for the riches of the world, and spare no pains [hard work] to obtain and retain them, and feel ‘these are mine,’ then the spirit of the anti-Christ comes upon us. This is the danger we are in. Admirable and indispensable in themselves, hard work, ingenuity, and enterprise become an evil when they are misdirected, meaning directed to personal aggrandizement.

032 Tuesday to Tuesday (Nov. 26-Dec. 2, 2014)

What a wonderful time of year. I love Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love the lights, the decorated trees, the bells, the Christmas programs and celebrations at Church, the Spirit that comes with the Season. I love Nativities and wish I had some from home (but I have my Spanish one that I’m happy with this year), the candy, foods, and new recipes people are willing to make and share. I wonder if those who lived at the time of the birth of Christ had any true idea of what was happening. What did those shepherds feel when the Angels came to them singing of Jesus Christ’s birth? What were Joseph and Mary thinking when they saw their baby for the first time? I cannot even imagine the feelings of the Spirit that were present in the stable. This is such a precious time of the year. It’s only appropriate that Thanksgiving comes first to give us time to reflect on our blessings. Christmas then is like the icing on the cake. It brings our focus back to what we should be truly thankful for – the Son of God who would come and bring us all the blessings of the Atonement. I am so grateful for our blessings for we have been truly blessed.

On Wednesday, we spent a fairly slow day. We went to the gym, visited Denise (which wasn’t very successful as the Social Worker showed up right after we got there). Timmy, who up until this time, was sleeping soundly – and I do mean soundly. He has some asthma and was having a breathing treatment while he was sleeping. Denise took off the mask and proceeded to wake him up. After that, between the social worker and Timmy there was no lesson.

Thanksgiving Day was a treat. We didn’t have Pathway because of the holiday, so we felt like we were free birds. We took off for the Milwaukee Rescue Mission to see if we could help for the day. Nope, they already had 100 volunteers and needed no more. We then went to the Salvation Army, and they didn’t serve meals at the place where we went. Since we were not wanted to help anyone, we headed to the Potawatami casino for dinner. After having searched for a good buffet to eat, this place had the best ratings. We had planned on taking a new member of our Ward to dinner, but at the last minute, he was blessed to be asked by his sister to dinner. The food was delicious, and we didn’t have to wait to be served. The only problem we had was the cigarette smoke we had to walk through to get to the dining area. As soon as we walked in, we were reminded of Vegas many years ago when we took Amy to Ricks.

As usual, we found ourselves sitting next to a couple who were more than willing to talk with us. They were very interesting. The man has a brother living in Ogden. When we mentioned that we were missionaries and we helped people with family history work, he said his brother was into that, so we could only surmise that the brother may have been a member of the Church. He was very careful not to talk about anything that could lead to the Church, and he appeared quite determined to make sure we knew he wouldn’t be interested. However, we had an enjoyable time listening to his stories about his ggrandfather who did mysterious things.

Friday found us doing the grocery run for a Church member, we had an appointment with Denise, and we ran by the Mission Office. Otherwise, we spent the time making calls and working on some things we needed to do for the weekend.

Saturday, we headed off to Fond du Lac with another Missionary Couple to visit the Kristmas Kringle Shop. When Mallory lived in Indiana, we got to go with her and Brad to a Christmas shop in an Amish town. Oh, did I love that place. However, I do believe this one had it beat. For one thing, it was bigger and brighter. Everywhere you looked there was a tree with a different kind of ornaments. It appeared that they had ornaments from anyone in the world who could make them. I was entranced and could have stayed all day. However, we did eventually have to leave. We only bought a little glass Christmas tree with twinkling lights. I patted myself on the back for not getting something else that I now wish I had gotten. Maybe next year!!!!!

 

                         Some of the types of ornaments they carry. Could have stayed there all day.



When we got home, we had to put together a powerpoint on Family History for one of the Wards we have been working with over the past couple of months.

On Sunday, we were able to visit the West Allis Ward for all the meetings there. Our presentation was during the last hour. It was made in conjunction with the High Priest Group Leader who is over Family History work in the Ward. While we were there, we made contact with the High Priest Group Leader in another Church group who meets in the same building.  There are actually three Wards that meet in this building every Sunday. Their meetings are staggered, and there is some overlap. We will be setting up meetings with this new group leader soon.

Monday saw us going to the gym. Then it was off to Menomonee to exchange the boots I had bought a couple of weeks ago. One of the hooks had come off after one wear. They were very nice and sent me back to find a pair to exchange. There was another lady there looking at boots. I had to have a size 9, and there were none available in black. I didn’t want the brown ones, and I was not looking forward to having to look through all the stock for another boot style. The other lady there had a box in her hand that looked like it held the boots I was looking for  and after surreptiously looking at the box, I realized she had the 9. I told Elder Lenhard if I couldn’t find the black in a 9, we’d have to look further down the aisle and headed that way, passing her as I went. I heard Elder Lenhard asking her if she had the shoe we were looking for because she was putting it back. We grabbed it and thanked her profusely. She said she was taking another pair, but if she didn’t like them, she may be sorry she was giving up the one we were getting.  The gist of the story is that I got what I wanted and was a happy old lady.

Tuesday was really busy. We went to Denise’s thinking we were going to the library to help her set up a Family Search account. She doesn’t have wifi in her apartment, and the library was the closest place to get it. When we got to her place, she wasn’t there. She had sent a text that I hadn’t seen telling us she was at a place down the road cashing a check. By the time we got to her and to the library, we found out the library wasn’t open until later. We went back to her place, and I got to help her with her math (fractions) for an hour and a half, then we read Scriptures for an hour, and talked about genealogy. We felt like it was a very successful day.

Did all of you receive a letter from the First Presidency? An historic moment – and we were part of it.

We have had an excellent week. Some down time, but still lots going on. We have been chilled this week, but if the wind wouldn’t blow, it would really be comfortable.

Our Scripture for the upcoming month will be 2 Nephi 25:26 –

            And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.

This is the Lord Jesus Christ’s Church. All that we do is for him. He is our Savior and Redeemer. If we can stay on the path back to him, we can expect potholes in the way, cracks in the cement, and adventures on the side that would have us tarry and play. But what a glorious reward it will be when we can make it to the end of our journey and be together with our families. 

We love you muchly.

Elder and Sister Lenhard