I just wanted to post these three pictures that mean something special to us. First Jim and Kristy’s great family picture that shows three of our beautiful children. Then there is the beautiful wedding picture of our dear young friends from Indonesia Rudi and Femmy. Finally a picture that was posted on another blog of a beautiful African children using a humanitarian kit as a hat…or perhaps he is learning to carry things on his head. One of the joys of serving in Africa was seeing all the shining faces of the young children.

We had the great blessing of being able to take the 7 departing elders to the Orlando temple today. We were able to do this almost as soon as we got here and it was a wonderful experience. However we really did not know any of the elders and sister who were leaving. This time we knew four of them very well and one fairly well. The other two we knew only through forwarding mail and the mission board. However in the 15 hours we spent with them we came to know and love elders Farr and Chandler as much as the others.

  

The 7 stalwart Elders who have faithfully served the lord here in the Fort Lauderdale mission for two years. Elder Neeley who we worked closely with for the months we have been here and who saved me from driving for 7 hours. Later he confessed he was much more comfortable driving when going long distances than being a passenger. A view of the temple above the trees as we drive up the hill. The temple sits on the highest hill we have seen in Florida…the elders were all impress with the height which was probably 220 feet or so above sea level.

We were up at 4:00 am and at the Plantation chapel by 5:20. This group of elders were so obedient that all but one of them were already there and the last one drove up at 5:31. We took only enough time to take a couple of pictures and say a prayer before we were on our way. Elder Neeley, who was just released as an assistant wanted to drive and since had a lot more experience with the van than I did, I was happy to let him.

  

The seven in front of the temple. Next time I am going to take this from the other side like they suggested. Mary beside one of the twelve fountains on the grounds. The corner stone that was laid in 1984.

  

Mary beside the wall that looks like a door that faces the traffic that is streaming by what I think is the North side of the temple. Mary beside one of the beautiful colored glass windows. Finally a view of the temple with the dark clouds behind Moroni.

We got to the temple early enough to take a tour of the grounds and take pictures before going in for a session and then President Tilton of the temple presidency spent 30 or so minutes talking to us about the temple and answering any questions that the elders might have. Missionaries hold a special place in his heart because, like me, he and his wife are converts. He spoke about the special place the elders would have in the hearts of each person they brought unto Christ and were baptized.

After the temple session we all went to Firehouse Subs where all the missionaries love to eat. For some reason I forget to take pictures while we are there. Maybe it is that the food and company is so good that nothing else is worth thinking about. I did give a pass-along card to one of the servers who I chatted with for a short time.

Elder Neeley decided he would like to also drive home and was not about to take the pleasure away from him. One thing he kept spotting was alligators in the canal along the side of the expressway. No one else could see them but he swore that they were there.

We made it back to the mission home by 5:30 where we had a delicious dinner and good conversation. We found out that President Anderson was a swimmer and had swam from Alcatraz to San Francisco. Sister Anderson proudly showed us a picture of the President in his wet suit just after he had finished.

After dinner I clean-up while the elders first shared a special experience they had on their mission and then bore their testimonies. We were privileged to share in these experiences. We left after that and made it home by 8:30 – some 15 1/2 hours after we left this morning. Physically we were tired but spiritually we were fully charged.

  

These are the pictures from the recent conferences that were held when Elder Gavarret of the 3rd Quorum of the 70 did a mission tour. The left picture is the North part of the mission from about Fort Lauderdale North. We would have gone to that one but we volunteered to take care of the office. So we are in the right hand picture which was good because we got to meet a lot of missionaries we did not know except from their names on mail.

We had a very busy but special day. As we walked out of our apartment we were met by these two ducks…there is always ducks but they usually stay out on the grass. This one just wanted to get a closer look.

 

We spent the morning doing lots of different things at the office. I helped with finances, cars, and phones. Mary worked on getting missionaries moved around for transfer…only on the computer of course after President Anderson and the assistants have made the changes that will occur on Wednesday.

  

The big event of the day was Shauna came down from Orlando where her and Kelli are visiting. She stopped at our office to pick us up so we could go with her to visit a teaching institute in Key Biscayne. After her tour of the institute we had lunch at a nearby Cuban fast food shop. The food was OK but not something I will want to eat very often. After lunch I drove back to the office with a quick detour to show her our apartment. We bid goodbye to her in the parking lot and went back in to put in a couple more hours of getting things together for Transfer meeting tomorrow. We will not be there because we will be taking the soon to be released elders to the temple but there were things that others will need to take care of that we could help get prepared for the big day.

We have had a very busy and very special day. While I made a run into the office to drop off some things and take care of the Saturday mail, Mary got things organized for having the district over for lunch after the District Meeting which was moved up an hour.

   

As usual Elder George directed and taught a very spiritual meeting which focused on how close the district was to taking off as far as baptisms are concerned. He also taught from Moroni 7 about faith and how it leads to baptism. After the lesson the Zone Leaders – Elders Beard and Clark demonstrated a role play on how to get a baptism commitment. Elders George and Smoot then taught me. They got the spirit to come in but missed an opportunity to introduce the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

I have to say that it was a very powerful meeting for me. As we sang the songs I remembered a talk I read on Saturday about how I needed to actually think about the words I was singing if I wanted to get the blessings that comes from singing the Lord’s hymns. I found that it was true and so I felt the spirit as I sang.

After the meetings we hurried home to set up for the lunch. We were had again made sure that Sisters Pack and Beck were invited and they asked if it was OK for their YSA branch mission leader could come. Since we had plenty of food we said sure. A little later the sisters asked if Sisters Holladay and Mata’u who were in the area for a doctor’s appointment could come and of course we said yes. The more the merrier. So for a couple of hours our small apartment was full of busy missionaries who wrote in each other’s journal, ate, took pictures, and just had a good time being together. Just as with South Africa it is a special time for us.

   

The food was ready – Sister Beck could not wait – Everyone is too busy eating to talk so it was a success.

   

Sister Hong writes, Sister Holder reads, Elder George socializes.

  

Sister Holladay demonstrates ‘the claw’ while sister Beck looks on. The sisters wanted a picture with elder George and he made sure he was not touching any of them. Then it was time for a final district picture before they had to leave so Elders George and Clark could attend their exit interview with President Anderson.

After the missionaries had left we found this delightful note from the sisters which is displayed next to the program for the funeral. By the time we had cleaned up and straightened out it was time for both of us to take naps.

I can not say that we have been so busy that I did not have time to write here. It just has not been important enough for me to sit down and produce something interesting enough to share. But I am determined that over this weekend I will do some catching up just in case anyone is really interested.

  

Sister missionaries are very thoughtful and often send notes thanking us for some little thing we have done for them. They also often decorate their reports with little drawings. We are lucky if the elders manage to write clearly enough to be read. On the way home one day we saw this rainbow – the first one we have seen that was not in the fountain at our apartment. On the 10th we were invited over to the Collins to go to dinner with them and the Beagleys . Before we left I noticed this osprey in a tree at the back of their house and got a fairly good picture of him at rest. Dinner was OK but the company was great.

  

On Sunday the 12th we had the opportunity to attend a baptism for two very happy people who were taught by Sister Hong and Sister Holder. I am always touched by the simplicity of the ordinance of baptism. A priesthood holder calls the candidate by name, declares his authority , and then in the name of the father, son and holy ghost washes away all sin by immersing the person in water and they arise as a new person as they have entered the narrow gate and set their feet on the straight and narrow path that can lead them to Eternal Life. The spirit was strong and they had beautiful smiles as they came up out of the water.

    

We were coming home from the chapel on Sunday and saw this beautiful black bird stretching it’s wings out to catch the sun. We see the birds here do this often and wonder why. Are they just enjoying the sun or are they drying off? Whatever the reason it was fun to sit and watch the action. I started this post by saying that sisters often send nice notes and that elders never do. However on Valentine’s day the assistants – Elder Neely and Elder Kealemakia spent much of their spare time making a pile of valentines to take to their investigators and recent converts. When I asked them later about how it went they said it was great. So you see some elders do have a softer side. The final picture was taken on the 14th as we walked over to have our valentine pictures taken at the club house. I want to try this picture again when it is not quite so dark and the detail of the trees can be seen.

Today we went to a conference in Miami where Elder Gaverett of the 3rd quorum of the 70 taught about missionary work. It was also the last time that some of the missionaries would see each other as there is a group of 7 going home on Thursday. I completely forgot to take any pictures until the last minute when I caught elder Neeley saying goodbye to elder Castillo. I will take more pictures of the 7 when we take them to the temple on Wednesday. I am sure I can not fully understand the bond of love and friendship that is made between companions as they serve the Lord and teach the gospel 24/7 together for anywhere form 6 weeks to 6 months. They have experiences that will shape their whole lives and after.

Each week President Anderson send each missionary an e-mail with a spiritual message and usually some examples of how that message has worked by extracting sections from some of the letters he gets each week from the missionaries. Here is one that he chose to share this week and it shows the power that missionaries have when they follow the spirit…

“This week has been a great one as I was able to teach my district the importance of accessing the Atonement. We were all edified in the training and we were taught by the Spirit knowing the things that we need to do differently in our lives. After the Training on Tuesday, my companion and I were so excited to go out. We went out with the attitude that we would teach this to our investigators that we would be teaching that day and invite them all to be baptized. We went out that day with so much excitement and with the Spirit and we were able to set 8 baptismal dates that day. It was absolutely incredible what can happen when we really internalize our purpose because when we do that, we rely on the Spirit and when we follow the promptings immediately we are led to those that are prepared.”

It has been an interesting week for us. Tuesday’s District Meeting was video recorded and then on Friday parts of it was shown at the monthly Zone Leaders Conference. Since we were asked to help prepare the lunch for the meeting we were there and Mary got to see part of the presentation. Elder George talked about his style of leadership and how it has succeeded in our district.

  

I grilled 36 hamburgers and a lot of sausages out on the beautiful patio of the mission home. President and sister Anderson says they do not have time to enjoy the pool but do appreciate the beautiful flowers and yard. I was extremely jealous of the gorgeous bed of impatiens that you can see in the middle picture. All the elders managed to get themselves around just three tables. They love to just talk to each other – especially those who have served together or were in the MTC together. There was a great spirit there.

 

When we left the mission home we decided to drive down the street and look at the houses. At the end of the road was this house that looks completely different from any of the other houses on the block. It seems organic to it’s surroundings. The picture on the right tries to capture the size of the huge stag horn fern that is on the tree…it must is the largest one either of us had every seen.

On Thursday I started to seriously get trained as the mission finance secretary. The Steimles have just over 4 months left and then someone is going to have to take his place at what is probably the most complicated job in the office. If elder Steimle got sick and had to go home early  there would be no one ready to step in. On Friday when we are at the mission home, I mentioned to the president that I was starting to learn the job and made a case for me taking over for the year that we would be here after the Steimles go home. He said he had not thought of that and would take it under consideration. So we will just wait and see what happens. But while waiting I will learn what I can. Elder Steimle is a talented and willing teacher.

I am also learning much of what Elder Beagley does with the cars. Where the finance is pretty much learning the routine, the vehicle coordinator never knows what he is going to have to do day by day. There is of course some routine, such as posting the monthly mileage and gas card purchases. But every time his phone rings it could be someone calling because they have had an accident, have locked their keys in their car, lost their gas card, or that one of the cars is acting up. I can remember how elder Sessions in Durban hardly ever made it through one of our meals without someone calling with a problem. Elder Beagley does an excellent job in a very difficult position.

This morning I was reading from Elder Carl B Cook’s conference talk of that name, where he shared how President Monson redirected his focus to look up to God where he could be healed and strengthened through Christ’s atonement. Elder Cook said ‘That is what prophets do for us. They lead us to God.

This brought back the memory of an experience I had during the last month that I served in the Provo temple before we were to go into the MTC and then on to the Durban South African mission. The temple had been closed for a couple of weeks for cleaning and some remodeling. President Bateman pointed out that the original chandeliers  had all been replaced with new ones featuring beautiful crystals from Austria. He suggested that we take the time to go to the Celestial room and see the one there.

Later I did that and the chandelier was gorgeous but as I looked up at it my eye traveled to the right and the large painting of the Savior coming down with his arms outstretched in welcome caught my eye. I was immediately overcome with the spirit. It seemed to me that he was reaching out to me and telling me to trust him. At that moment any concerns I had for what we would experience in Africa or for the rest of my life left me. I decided there and then I would trust the Lord and as Alma 37:37 says, I would try to counsel with him in all my doings.

It seemed to me that this was my better to look up to Christ moment.  Thank you Elder Cook for reminding me of this special experience.

We received a call from Elder George on Monday saying that the District Meeting on Tuesday was going to be moved from it’s regular 11:30 time to 4:00. When we got there at 3:45 we found the reason it had been moved was so that it could be recorded for use in training other District Leaders.

Due to technical difficulties – and the sisters getting tied up in a lesson – we did not start until around 4:30. Before we started, Elder George threatened fire and brimstone to anyone who deliberately look at the camera. Since the camera was sitting just behind my right shoulder I was told I was not to raise my right hand – I only forgot once!

As always it was a very good DM. Some of the numbers for the week were disappointing and Elder George showed his disappointment but challenged the district to do better and tailored the lesson at how the goals for the coming week could be met. He also committed the district to an unusual request. He had them commit that if they found themselves in a lesson where they could not feel the spirit that if they could not quickly get it there they would quickly end the meeting and leave. He asked them to text him if that happened.

On Friday when I saw him again I asked if anyone had, had to do that. He said that so far no one had to do that for a lesson, but that he and elder Smoot ended a blessing visit when they felt opposition to the spirit. Instead they sang a song and prayed. When they were done the man felt the spirit and asked them back.

Mary made her famous chocolate/Ritz Cracker/peanut butter cookies and they quickly disappeared. I think Elder Neeley came out from interviews just so he could get another one.

As always it was one the spiritual highlights of our week. We loved to feel the spirit of the missionaries and they have accepted us as a real part of the district. We could not ask for more.

  

Elder George before the meeting starts. The Zone Leaders Elders Beard and Clark…we found it was Elder Clark’s birthday on the 4th. Elder Meredith makes a point…it may be his last transfer here. He is a good missionary and I think he has learned a lot while in the district.

  

Sister Hong is not texting Elder Clark. Sister Holder did not want to be left out of the picture so she stuck her head in front of sister Hong. Elder Clark looks on. David Bastias is a convert of a few months and willingly used his great Cannon EOS camera to record the meeting.