I really hate it when I read something that has so many grammatical and spelling errors in it. With a background in
editing, it makes it painful to read stuff that isn’t written with a modicum of correctness. I just reread last week’s
post, and I’m embarrassed. I know I read it a couple of times and those errors weren’t there. If I spell “repentance”
wrong one more time, I’m going to have to think of a substitute word for it. Any suggestions? I’ll try to do a better
job, but since I’m writing off the cuff here, I won’t guarantee that I won't sound like an idiot. I hope you know that
someday when I pull it together to pass down to my ggggggrandkids, it will have been corrected. Hahahaha
On that note, let’s get started.
Tuesday was a busy day, and while I did cover it somewhat last time I wrote, I see I left some stuff for this writing (how is that possible?). Craig did get up the last of our curtains. We have these blinds that are great and help with keeping the world out, but the light is so bright in the mornings that there is no sleeping past sunrise. Plus, the window in the living room is so long that they have installed three blinds to cover it. There are gaps between them, and I couldn’t stand that. We got the living room curtains up front, and it makes such a difference, esp. at night. Now I feel like I can turn on the lights, and the world cannot see every step I make. When the bedroom curtains went up, we rejoiced when the next morning the sun did not send its bright yellow beams all over the room and into our sleeping eyes. Do you know that at 4:30 in the morning, it looks like it is time to get up and go to work? It was killing us. Now, it is dark in that room until we have to get up. YEAH!
That same day we had an appointment that was cancelled. I’m beginning to understand how all those missionaries we have known throughout our lives must have felt when they were left high and dry because someone could not meet with them. These valiant young men and women have dedicated two years of their lives at their own expense to serve the Lord by serving others. It is no wonder that when they go home, they aren’t the same. We marvel at their testimonies of the work in which they are engaged.
Finally, on Tuesday, we went to a new restaurant (I have bought a Groupon – the only way to dine) called the Rodizio something or other. For those in Utah, it is like an upscale Tucanos. We really enjoyed it, and we are thankful that we knew when to say stop. The meats were fabulous, and we tried not to eat too many veggies and salads; however, those are my weakness. The Groupon also included a bottle of wine, and we felt like we were something because we could substitute fancy fruit drinks instead. We rarely drink anything but water; however, the way the Groupon was written, it priced the wine at $40 which was technically free. So we said, why waste a technically free drink. The drinks also helped fill us up faster so we didn’t eat as much All in all, it was very nice. It is now on our favorites list.
Wednesday, we ended up getting some stuff done with personal items like insurance and other bills. We had to mail off our car registration papers here. We got the car inspected and filled out a special form for Utah to get the tags for the year. I looked and looked, but it had no mention of money. I knew something had to be up, but I was thinking that maybe we wouldn’t get a new sticker for our tags, we just had the registration done for the year. We’ll see what happens.
That evening we had our usual 5:00 meeting with the young lady who is in a hurry to be baptized. She wants to get the lessons finished so it can be done on the 27th. Our new goal from President Cutler is that every set of missionaries will have a baptism by October. We are seeing the work increase and have been blessed to be in on several discussions with the young missionaries. When they call us, we find out what they will be teaching, and so we have to be prepared to help with any of the lessons. It is fun to watch the different missionaries teach. They all have their own way of doing things, and we are touched at the way the Spirit works with each set.
I have lost my small calendar. I have lost my mind. We have looked everywhere, and it is not to be found. I never realized before how much we can depend on a calendar. I will have to get another one. I have a big one I keep here at the apartment (thank goodness), but the smaller one was so helpful. I just hope I haven’t forgotten things from the smaller one that didn’t get transferred to the bigger one. Ugh!
On that note, let’s get started.
Tuesday was a busy day, and while I did cover it somewhat last time I wrote, I see I left some stuff for this writing (how is that possible?). Craig did get up the last of our curtains. We have these blinds that are great and help with keeping the world out, but the light is so bright in the mornings that there is no sleeping past sunrise. Plus, the window in the living room is so long that they have installed three blinds to cover it. There are gaps between them, and I couldn’t stand that. We got the living room curtains up front, and it makes such a difference, esp. at night. Now I feel like I can turn on the lights, and the world cannot see every step I make. When the bedroom curtains went up, we rejoiced when the next morning the sun did not send its bright yellow beams all over the room and into our sleeping eyes. Do you know that at 4:30 in the morning, it looks like it is time to get up and go to work? It was killing us. Now, it is dark in that room until we have to get up. YEAH!
That same day we had an appointment that was cancelled. I’m beginning to understand how all those missionaries we have known throughout our lives must have felt when they were left high and dry because someone could not meet with them. These valiant young men and women have dedicated two years of their lives at their own expense to serve the Lord by serving others. It is no wonder that when they go home, they aren’t the same. We marvel at their testimonies of the work in which they are engaged.
Finally, on Tuesday, we went to a new restaurant (I have bought a Groupon – the only way to dine) called the Rodizio something or other. For those in Utah, it is like an upscale Tucanos. We really enjoyed it, and we are thankful that we knew when to say stop. The meats were fabulous, and we tried not to eat too many veggies and salads; however, those are my weakness. The Groupon also included a bottle of wine, and we felt like we were something because we could substitute fancy fruit drinks instead. We rarely drink anything but water; however, the way the Groupon was written, it priced the wine at $40 which was technically free. So we said, why waste a technically free drink. The drinks also helped fill us up faster so we didn’t eat as much All in all, it was very nice. It is now on our favorites list.
Wednesday, we ended up getting some stuff done with personal items like insurance and other bills. We had to mail off our car registration papers here. We got the car inspected and filled out a special form for Utah to get the tags for the year. I looked and looked, but it had no mention of money. I knew something had to be up, but I was thinking that maybe we wouldn’t get a new sticker for our tags, we just had the registration done for the year. We’ll see what happens.
That evening we had our usual 5:00 meeting with the young lady who is in a hurry to be baptized. She wants to get the lessons finished so it can be done on the 27th. Our new goal from President Cutler is that every set of missionaries will have a baptism by October. We are seeing the work increase and have been blessed to be in on several discussions with the young missionaries. When they call us, we find out what they will be teaching, and so we have to be prepared to help with any of the lessons. It is fun to watch the different missionaries teach. They all have their own way of doing things, and we are touched at the way the Spirit works with each set.
I have lost my small calendar. I have lost my mind. We have looked everywhere, and it is not to be found. I never realized before how much we can depend on a calendar. I will have to get another one. I have a big one I keep here at the apartment (thank goodness), but the smaller one was so helpful. I just hope I haven’t forgotten things from the smaller one that didn’t get transferred to the bigger one. Ugh!
Thursday, we got to do one of our favorite things – go to the dentist. How can anyone enjoy going to the dentist? I
wonder if dentists have a complex about how much people really dislike what they do. Now, we can argue that if we
took care of our teeth, we wouldn’t have to endure all the bad stuff that is inflicted on our mouths. I will tell you up
front that I have always tried to take care of my teeth, but honestly, every time I go I have to listen to how I need to do more. Every tooth in my head has been worked on. I have more caps than I would like to have, but at least
they don’t show up black in my mouth. Before I die, I think I’ll probably have every tooth in capped. My
mouth will be worth more than my body to medical science. Do I get another UGH?!
That night we were again at the Pathway meeting and the genealogy library. We will be working at several more of the festivals, so we told the library coordinator what we needed to take with us for the first one. She is really good at what she does. She knows everyone in the Milwaukee genealogy world. She is very generous in wanting to help other organizations in the area and offered to lend a couple of computers to the effort for the Mexican Festival.
On Friday, we went to gym, and while pulling into the parking lot found that they were setting up for a July 4th parade. How fun! We were at the gym by 9:00, and we couldn’t tell when the parade would be because like in Utah, everyone was setting out their chairs and blankets and marking their spots. We did see one sign that indicated that it might be happening at 11:00 so we thought we had plenty of time to get out of the gym and back to the apartment. However, an hour later and the road was blocked. We had to ask a policeman how we could get back to West Allis. The road took us thru and thru a really nice neighborhood before we finally hit an area that we recognized would get us home. Afterwards, we realized that we were going to have to get an oil change because we were going to the Temple on Saturday and weren’t sure if we would be driving. Guess what! This area closes up on the 4th. After trying three places and passing up several others that were obviously closed, we remembered good ole Sears. Got in there and were finished with time for us to walk the mall next door.
It was 2:00 in the afternoon, and we had heard about this city named Cedarburg at the genealogy library last night. We were encouraged to go because it is really quaint and parlays its history into a nice tourist area. It took us about 30- 40 minutes to get there thru some beautiful, beautiful country. The settlers here were farmers. This is the Midwest with red barns everywhere and old silos that are fantastic. I know Heavenly Father planned for this world to be beautiful for us. Sometimes I like to imagine what it would look like without all the mess we have added to it. Take away the roads, the cement everywhere, the buildings, take it all. What would it look like? It is hard to even picture the Garden of Eden, but someday I hope we have our own Garden to tend. I’ll have to ask mom to come and help take care of the flowers. Since Craig has already added several pictures for Cedarburg, I’ll hush about it. We will go back when the shops are open.
Saturday found us up bright and early to head to the Temple. We had to meet the other missionaries at their apartment by 7:00. It was fun to go with someone else, and we learned more about them. They work in the Mission Office. He was an accountant, and she worked in the offices at the mines in Utah. All of us took names to the Temple. That is so special. It is hard for us to find names to do, but if any of our children are going to the Temple, please ask us first if we have names that can be done.
On the way home, we stopped at a place called Apple Hollow. They come up to our local farmer’s market and bring some of the best eclairs (they call them Long Johns). We had lunch/dinner there, and it was good. Craig and I got in on the tailend of their breakfast buffet. We love breakfast, but usually with studying and having stuff to do, I don’t get it made. So Craig fixes a lot of shakes, and I eat what fruit we have. It was late when we got home, and we were tired from getting up so early. It was fast weekend, and I was grateful I didn’t have to make a meal for dinner.
On Sunday, we had to pick up our young investigator who is in a hurry to be baptized for Church. We were told we had a Council meeting at 9:30 so we went early to get her. When we got to Church, there was no meeting for some reason. That was ok, it gave us more time to meet with people. During Priesthood and Relief Society, we each gave a presentation to our respective group on the Pathway program. It has been hard to schedule this presentation, so we had 5 minutes each. There are some who may be interested, and we had some handouts to give those who might actually want to pursue it. We had been told that we needed 15 people in each cohort (15 in the 18-30 year group, and 15 in the 31+ group), but actually, we only need a told of 15 for the program to continue in the fall. That seems possible, but I’m not sure how it will go at this point. We aren’t truly in charge yet, and the service missionaries here have been doing the bulk of the recruiting so they have a better idea of what is happening.
That night we were again at the Pathway meeting and the genealogy library. We will be working at several more of the festivals, so we told the library coordinator what we needed to take with us for the first one. She is really good at what she does. She knows everyone in the Milwaukee genealogy world. She is very generous in wanting to help other organizations in the area and offered to lend a couple of computers to the effort for the Mexican Festival.
On Friday, we went to gym, and while pulling into the parking lot found that they were setting up for a July 4th parade. How fun! We were at the gym by 9:00, and we couldn’t tell when the parade would be because like in Utah, everyone was setting out their chairs and blankets and marking their spots. We did see one sign that indicated that it might be happening at 11:00 so we thought we had plenty of time to get out of the gym and back to the apartment. However, an hour later and the road was blocked. We had to ask a policeman how we could get back to West Allis. The road took us thru and thru a really nice neighborhood before we finally hit an area that we recognized would get us home. Afterwards, we realized that we were going to have to get an oil change because we were going to the Temple on Saturday and weren’t sure if we would be driving. Guess what! This area closes up on the 4th. After trying three places and passing up several others that were obviously closed, we remembered good ole Sears. Got in there and were finished with time for us to walk the mall next door.
It was 2:00 in the afternoon, and we had heard about this city named Cedarburg at the genealogy library last night. We were encouraged to go because it is really quaint and parlays its history into a nice tourist area. It took us about 30- 40 minutes to get there thru some beautiful, beautiful country. The settlers here were farmers. This is the Midwest with red barns everywhere and old silos that are fantastic. I know Heavenly Father planned for this world to be beautiful for us. Sometimes I like to imagine what it would look like without all the mess we have added to it. Take away the roads, the cement everywhere, the buildings, take it all. What would it look like? It is hard to even picture the Garden of Eden, but someday I hope we have our own Garden to tend. I’ll have to ask mom to come and help take care of the flowers. Since Craig has already added several pictures for Cedarburg, I’ll hush about it. We will go back when the shops are open.
Saturday found us up bright and early to head to the Temple. We had to meet the other missionaries at their apartment by 7:00. It was fun to go with someone else, and we learned more about them. They work in the Mission Office. He was an accountant, and she worked in the offices at the mines in Utah. All of us took names to the Temple. That is so special. It is hard for us to find names to do, but if any of our children are going to the Temple, please ask us first if we have names that can be done.
On the way home, we stopped at a place called Apple Hollow. They come up to our local farmer’s market and bring some of the best eclairs (they call them Long Johns). We had lunch/dinner there, and it was good. Craig and I got in on the tailend of their breakfast buffet. We love breakfast, but usually with studying and having stuff to do, I don’t get it made. So Craig fixes a lot of shakes, and I eat what fruit we have. It was late when we got home, and we were tired from getting up so early. It was fast weekend, and I was grateful I didn’t have to make a meal for dinner.
On Sunday, we had to pick up our young investigator who is in a hurry to be baptized for Church. We were told we had a Council meeting at 9:30 so we went early to get her. When we got to Church, there was no meeting for some reason. That was ok, it gave us more time to meet with people. During Priesthood and Relief Society, we each gave a presentation to our respective group on the Pathway program. It has been hard to schedule this presentation, so we had 5 minutes each. There are some who may be interested, and we had some handouts to give those who might actually want to pursue it. We had been told that we needed 15 people in each cohort (15 in the 18-30 year group, and 15 in the 31+ group), but actually, we only need a told of 15 for the program to continue in the fall. That seems possible, but I’m not sure how it will go at this point. We aren’t truly in charge yet, and the service missionaries here have been doing the bulk of the recruiting so they have a better idea of what is happening.
That evening we went with the Spanish-speaking missionaries to visit a part-member family from Mexico. The wife, her mother, and her sister are members. The husband of the wife is not. The reason we were invited to go with the missionaries is to encourage them in their genealogy. The wife is actually going to the Temple with her mother on Saturday. While we were there, I was able to get them into the Family Search site, and we found a name for the mother to take with her. They were so excited. This work is fun. I love it when good things like this happen.
These people are as good as gold. We laughed and laughed at just silly things, and at one point, the husband (when asked if he was a member) quietly said “not yet.” It was a word of promise though, and we could feel that he is a good man with a good heart. The missionaries say he comes to Church more often than some of the members, and his immediate family is very active. He grew up Catholic, and it is hard to tell his parents he feels he wants more. Before we left, we made arrangements to go to their favorite Mexican restaurant on Monday night.
Monday came way too quickly. After gym, I had several phone calls to return, and to get some things cleared up business wise. We had a meeting with some missionaries that fell through, so we went to the zoo again. This time we made sure we saw the lions, tigers, and other animals we hadn’t gotten to see the first time around. It was cool and shady, and we so enjoyed being there.
Before we knew it, we had dinner to go to, and again, we were struck by how much we love this Spanish couple and the family. Dinner was so good. We ordered a plate to share with 4 people and it fed 6, including 2 missionaries. One of the missionaries was Mexican and has been a member for three years. He kept us in stitches. He made fun of the gringos, himself, Mexicans, you name it, he had something to say. It was not mean things that he said, just funny observations. He teased the family we went with, and they ate it up. Evidently, the nonmember brother plays soccer with all the missionaries on Saturday mornings. From the talk, I got the feeling there was no mercy given on anyone’s part.
Tuesday, we were up early to get to Zone Training. WOW, we just had this meeting, and here it is again. Some thoughts that I came away with were as follows:
Matt. 11:28-30 – Christ was able to say His burden was light and His yoke was easy because He kept all the commandments. There was nothing wishy/washy about his work. He knew whose business He was about, and He did it completely in accordance with how our Father wanted it to be done.
1 Nephi 14:14 – We may make covenants, but power and righteousness comes thru obedience to those covenants. If we aren’t obedient, we lose the covenants upon which blessings are predicated.
Did you know the word GRACE is spelled XAPIS in Greek? It means a gift that brings joy. How appropriate!
We are sanctified when the temptations are no long temptations because we have no desire to be disobedient.
In Helaman 3:35, the people became sanctified because they grew in humility and faith, yielding their hearts to God.
Missions are allowed so many Books of Mormon over a certain amount of time (who knew?). In a month, this mission gave out over 700 copies of the book to people who said they would read it. That is amazing. We are over our quota and need more books. Our Mission President had to call Salt Lake and ask for more. They said we are over our quota and couldn’t get more. President Cutler, we were told he said this, “but we are doing the work, and we need more.” Every missionary companionship was goaled to find someone every day to whom they could give a Book of Mormon. This person had to express an interest and were committed to read every day. The missionaries had marvelous stories to tell about their experiences in achieving this goal.
A Sister Missionary told of how one investigator who is reading the book found the story in 1 Nephi 17 that told
of Nephi’s efforts to build a ship, not after the manner of man, but after the manner of God. God told him how to
build the ship, and it was different than how man did it at the time. This investigator reflected on this story, and he
felt that he needed to build his life after the manner of God and not after the manner of man.
We walked away being spiritually fed and ready to work harder doing the Lord’s work. He is certainly filling our schedule and helping us to become more involved in different aspects of the work in this part of the vineyard. We love our mission. It is truly a great blessing.
We walked away being spiritually fed and ready to work harder doing the Lord’s work. He is certainly filling our schedule and helping us to become more involved in different aspects of the work in this part of the vineyard. We love our mission. It is truly a great blessing.
Wow. 700 books in one month? Come help us down here.
ReplyDeleteJon tells of how as a Missionary his district had to pay for the copies they gave out themselves. Since they had no money, they ended up going out and knocking on doors to ask for unused/unwanted copies of the BofM back.
ReplyDeleteAnd honestly, I don't think any of us sit down with pen and paper and keep track of your mistakes. : )