5 October 2014 Mission Letter
It has been a great learning experience the past few weeks. We are so grateful to have the Shelleys
back. I have learned lots. First, that I can do more that I thought I
could. With the other Office Couple gone
I was forced to do more and didn't have the time to write down everything I did
as reference. But, I did quite well and
don't think I messed up much. Second,
that young people can do the work in half the time. They had the young Sister Missionary come by and do some of the office work that I
couldn't get to. So I gave them lots of
stuff to copy and put in Welcome Packets, New Missionary Binders and
Trainee/Trainer manuals. I had them do
enough to keep me going through the next two transfers. They were so fast I had them do enough for 4
more transfers. Anything that I had them
do they just whizzed through. So I am
now set with a lot of things until next April.
Third, I appreciate Elder and Sister Shelley more than ever. She is so sharp and good with all the
telephone calls and he is always on top of the vehicles. Also, they have a certain way with the young
people and they are loved. We did the
crucial things, but I am afraid they came back to a pile of things to get
caught up on. I feel we did quite well, considering the fact that
we had the Mission Vision (newsletter) and a Baptism Video that were extra
stuff for us to handle. Also, the
printer gave us trouble and the computer nearly crashed with all the pictures
coming in through Outlook. We couldn't
send anything out for quite awhile one day.
But, I really can't complain
because I think I was extra blessed when I needed it the most. Also, I've learned that I have quite a knack
for investigating things. I've learned
how to process undocumented missionaries (and you know how confusing the
government can make things)so they remain here legally, how to resolve problems about missionaries before they even
get here, and solve questions for Stake Presidents about issues that no one has
a clue. Maybe I should have been a
private investigator instead of a nurse.
The APs love Elder Stringham and his computer knowledge. They are always asking him to help them set
things up on the computer. He has simplified
my "B" report which is a big deal specific to this mission. Well enough bragging. Better be care about pride. Like our Mission President said, "we have a whole Book of Mormon about
such a thing."
In making the Baptism DVD, I saw pictures of all those
individuals whose baptismal record I submitted to Church HQ. That was a special treat for me! One that particularly touched me was of a
young Russian couple. Sweet story. Many months ago they were approached by a
couple of Sister Missionaries. She was
quite interested, but her husband was not so they stopped having the missionary
lessons. One of the Sister Missionaries
who taught them was transferred and after 6 months in another area, was
transferred back to Clinton, IA. She was
not happy. That meant that she would
probably spend her whole mission in only 2 cities. She complained...more than once. The Mission President told her that he
considered several times of putting elsewhere, but that the feeling was strong
that she needed to go back to Clinton, IA.
She did, grudgingly. The first
thing she did was to look up this Russian couple. They were so excited to see her and did not
know how to get in touch with the missionaries.
The husband was ready to learn more.
They were re taught all the lessons and were baptized. Their new ward loved them. This next transfer this Sister Missionary and
the Russian Couple will leave Clinton, Iowa.
The Sister Missionary goes home and the couple are returning to
Russia. The Lord knows where you should
be at any given time and if you heed that prompting, your life will go as He planned which will
bring you the most joy and peace.
On Friday, the missionaries were privileged to see the
"Meet the Mormons" movie that will soon be out in theaters. It is delightful. It will make you laugh, but bring some tissue
with you, too!
I am very grateful for medical reasons that I am in this
Mission. There are a lot of Med schools
around and I think I found a great doctor who will treat my liver and gluten
problems. About 10 days ago I had
routine endoscopy and US and all is well.....except for one tiny little issue
with varices. But, this doctor knows of
a new procedure to treat them and it is supposed to be very noninvasive.
We love our Mission President and his wife. They
are great with the youth! They know how
to show them love. Even those of us in
the office get little "love notes" left on our computer or little
gifts with Thank You notes. President
Jensen is the best speaker and we laugh and cry in each of his talks.
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| Us with President and Sister John Jensen
Well, we need to get ready for General Conference! So much to learn from our Prophet and the
Apostles and the other great men who serve the people of this Church!
We love you all so much!
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