5 January 2013
Humbled by all the Converts!
Today was Fast and Testimony Meeting. A lot of converts bore their testimonies
today. One lady was converted many years
ago. In her life she had several
different friends and neighbors who were LDS and were great examples to
her. Finally, one neighbor family asked
them if she and her family would like to hear about the church. They did and her husband is now a member of
the Stake Presidency!
Out of the 51 black members in our ward, 49
are refugees from Africa …… specifically Liberia and Sudan. Several of them shared their testimonies. They
have great faith…..but three of the things they struggle with is getting up
early to come to church (so we keep the 11:00 am schedule), the cold weather
(can you imagine coming from Africa to Iowa), and baptism for the dead (not
sure why but would love to talk to them…probably a cultural thing related to
their spirits). They love Jesus and are
vocal about it. They are little shy
about sharing their testimonies in Sacrament Meeting or speaking up in
classes! But today several took the long
trek up to the microphone and shared their simple testimonies! One man talked about baptism for the dead in
his testimony and told the other Sudanese and Liberians that if the church was
true, then baptism for the dead is also true and not to doubt. One of the things I love about the Liberian
and Sudanese ladies is they wear their native styles of dresses and they are so
colorful! It brightens up the whole
congregation! Their little girls have
the tiny braids with beads and look stunning!
Well, we are surviving the cold! The Mission Office is warm and our apartment
is toasty warm. We are grateful we
brought our electric blanket. The
predictions is that we will get to -17 degrees tonight and into tomorrow, but
with a wind chill factor that will make it feel like -42 degrees. I will never complain about rain again! It is humbling to think of the pioneers who
walked through the state of Iowa in cold weather such as this. I don’t know if I can ever thank enough those
faithful Saints who suffered and sacrificed so much to bring the gospel out
west so the Church could grow and thrive!
I wonder if I even know how to sacrifice!
12 January 2014
It has been a good week. We are feeling a little more comfortable with
our assignments and duties. Mark keeps
getting calls from missionaries whose phones stopped working, got lost, or
stopped working. Missionaries have rules
for their phones. Most missionaries are
very obedient and keep the rules, but some are talking for 5 hours at a time at
night to who knows who. I have been busy
helping some missionaries who are what we call “visa waiters”, who are waiting
for their visas to a foreign country.
Brazil has decided that a police report wasn’t good enough anymore for
these young men. They now need an FBI
report along with the fingerprinting. So
I am helping these missionaries get these applications filled out and sent
in. We also have some who have not
gotten the flu shots and there is an outbreak of the ‘bird flu” in Iowa and we
are trying to get them to get it done pronto.
Today we were supposed to teach the 5/6 CTR
class. Then they needed a subs for the
nursery. The Elders are not allowed to
hold children and that would make it hard for these young missionaries. So at the last minute Mark and I switched
with them. We had 12 very young children
in there. We did not know any names (not
enough time to tell us), no lesson book, snack time was over by the time we got
in there. As soon as the regular
teachers left several started crying and several started grabbing toys from
each other. Well, after about 5 minutes
we got that under control and they kept us hopping just trying to find games,
toys, etc. to keep them entertained. The
class ended well because we found the bubbles and that was fun. I hope those young Elders enjoyed all the
activities I had planned for the 5/6 year olds.
We have a new MLS Senior Couple who moved
right next door to our apartment. He is
a former university professor and she is a family therapist. He loves anthropology and different cultures
and she just loves people. They were
warmly welcomed by our Bishop who has his hands full with his multicultural
ward. The Lord seems to know just where
certain people are needed.
The weather has warmed up to 51 degrees
today…..felt balmy, but not all the snow has melted. I think during our frigid weather it must
have frozen to the center of the earth.
The Des Moines River still looks frozen on top. Looking forward to spring.
Miss you all very much!
Elder and Sister Stringham
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