Remember that due to transfers on Wednesday, tomorrow – Tuesday – is P-day and not today. So do not be surprised when your missionary does not write.

This week’s letter from president Anderson contained this bit of news…“A returned missionary last week wrote me about her father introducing her to Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve: ‘When my dad introduced me to Elder Christofferson, he mentioned that I had just returned from serving a mission. Elder Christofferson asked which one and when I responded that I served in Ft. Lauderdale he said, ‘Oh, the exciting one!’ Isn’t that awesome?! I knew our mission was amazing, but a member of the Twelve Apostles thinks so, too!  I had never been so proud to be a part of the FFLM!’

He also shared these experiences

“I love these great titles God has given us to earn and become. I love how you are magnifying these titles and utilizing the trainings we had to bring souls to Christ:

“The day before the specialized training, he told us that he didn’t want to get baptized because he never wanted to give up coffee.  After we practiced the role play at the specialized training, we replicated it with him.  We talked about the Restoration, and invited him to pray about his decision to give up coffee right on the spot.  We invited him to pray in his Guatemalan dialect so that he could fully express himself.  He did so, and about ten seconds into the prayer, I realized that I was understanding everything he was saying.  It wasn’t anything close to Spanish or English, but through the gift of God, both me and my companion were able to understand.  Afterwards, we invited him to give up coffee and be baptized.  His baptism was yesterday, and at his baptism, he got up and bore testimony of the Spirit of the church and the divinity of our Savior.  It was so incredibly special.”

You understand how these titles will bless those you bless:

 â€œWe beseeched the Lord that we want to find a family that day because our teaching pool is minimizing. We followed the prompting affirmatively and went to that place. We prayed again asking the Lord to please show us the exact street where we have to harvest. We looked at each other and said, ‘That is the street in front of us.’ We got out of the car and start booking to the first door. No one answered, second door same thing, third door a man rebuked us from head to toe. We told each other what we are grateful for and then approached the next door. An amazing family of 6 invited us into their home. We left a “harvest blessing” with them to invite the spirit. When we asked them what they need help with from God that we can include in the prayer, they replied, “We are going through some financial difficulties right now as a family. Please included that in the prayer.” So we did. We invited them right off the bat to be baptized the entire family accepted it but the mom. We set an appointment with them the next day. We left their home with tears streaming down our faces knowing that it was the Lord’s plan that the Gospel should be proclaimed to this wonderful family. We gave thanks to the Lord immediately before we left that area.  The next day came around, we were super excited to go visit the family. We got there and found out that they weren’t home. We called them, the father answered the phone sounding like he was in a rush, “Guys I’m so sorry we are almost home. We don’t want to miss this appointment.” Five seconds later we saw their car pull around the corner. They were super excited to see us. We went inside their house and the Father dropped on his knees and said, “Elders, I know that God sent you here, I do know without a doubt. You prayed with us yesterday and this morning my wife got 1900 dollars in her account, it came out of nowhere. We will get baptized for sure and we will do whatever it takes to get there.” This wonderful family came to church on Sunday and loved it. They are currently preparing to be baptized this week.” 

 

 

What a great conference and of course we are thankful for all the talks on missionaries and missionary work. I noticed that instead of taking a few days for the conference talks to be available on line, most of them were available almost as soon as the session finished. Even the individual talks were available to read, hear or watch in less than a day.

Our grandson is serving in the Spain Malaga mission and he wrote in his letter that while the members watched the sessions in the chapel in Spanish, he watched in English on a computer.

I love elder Andersen’s quote because it reminded me that even when we are released we are missionaries. The only thing that really changes is that we no longer are called to serve in a specific mission. In D&C 50 the Lord reminds his priesthood holders unto what they were ordained. “To preach my gospel by the Spirit even the Comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth.”

The quote by sister Dalton also touched me. It reminds me that no matter where we are we are to be the light of the world. That we need to let our light so shine that everyone who meets us wants to know why we just seem different.

What you can do to support you missionary…

Send a letter each week…not just an e-mail but a real, in an envelope letter. I can not tell really tell you how hungry missionaries are for letters and packages from home. I think the first thing most missionaries ask when they come into the office is if they have any mail. They are so excited when they get one and are somewhat disappointed when they do not. I have heard some missionaries say with a touch of sadness in their voice that they never get any mail.

Speaking of Mail.…

I would remind you again that unless there is some really urgent reason do not send packages via FedEx or UPS. Anything sent by US Mail can immediately be forwarded to their apartments or houses. Any other package must be hand delivered so that means it will sit around the office until either some one is going to the area or there is a meeting where it can be picked up. Because we know how important it is to the missionary, we of course try to get it out as fast as we can. But usually that means within a couple of weeks after it arrives overnight to the office.

Support Your Local Missionaries…and I do not mean just feed them!

By all means feed your local missionaries as often as you can. But try to be sure that you have invited a non-LDS or less active to share it.

If parents want to really support their missionary sons and daughters they will be the best member missionaries they can be. They will make themselves available to go out with the missionaries and be the right member present that means so much in the conversion process. President Hinckley pointed out that each new convert needs a friend…you can be that friend even before a person or family is baptized. Great missionary parents always have a pass along card with them and seek the Lords help in finding that person He has prepared to receive it. I can promise you that any day you start by asking the Lord to give you a chance to share the gospel or give away a card, he will put someone in your path. But of course we then have to be looking for that opportunity. I can not tell you the number of times I remembered at the end of the day a missed missionary opportunity that was right before me and although I prayed for just that opportunity, I was so caught up in the world that I missed it.

You know how much you love reading about your missionary’s spiritual experiences. Imagine how it will lift your missionary when you write about your missionary experiences for the week! When you tell them you had the missionaries for dinner and they met a missionary contact, how you gave out a pass along card or went out with the missionaries to help teach a lesson, I can guarantee that it will lift them more than almost anything else you could write.

OK enough preaching to the choir…When Will We Report Out Mission?

A number of you have asked about when we will be giving our mission report. Since we have a granddaughter being sealed on May 21, we would like to report  on May 19 but of course it is up to our bishop to decide if that will work. As soon as we know for sure we will post it here and on Facebook. We would love to meet the parents of the great missionaries we have served with and have the opportunity to get to know them.