Daily Footsteps of Faith

Here we are in mid-May, realizing that our 18 months is winding down.  One summer, only four months remain, and we realize how much we yet want to accomplish. Each day finds us with tired feet yet wishing we had energy to do more. The weather has dried, and we've mowed the lawn a few times. It feels good to get out and work outdoors. Temperatures, however, have been pleasant. Friday we felt the first hint of the sweltering summer days that lie ahead. We feel better acclimated, however. Today is Sunday, and we were wakened at 6 a.m. by thunder and flashing lightning. Heavy rains brought the torrents of rain sheeting across the lawns and overflowing gushes in the flood control ditch outside our bedroom window. It goes from a trickle to a 3-ft. deep and 6-ft. wide gush in about 15 minutes; then back again to a small flow quickly as the rain ends. A spring cold has hit the mission office, and we've passed the runny nose and cough around. Ray's having a hard time kicking the cough; still miserable after three weeks. We've had to slow our footsteps a bit as we try to get the bug out of our systems. However, considering all of the missionaries we interact with, it's surprising we've all stayed as healthy as we have. Last Sunday was Mother's Day. Jackie Ober invited us to brunch after Church with her mom and dad (Zaza and Don). We enjoyed wonderful calls with our family. We are so grateful for the Lord's blessings and care for them as we've been away. Of course, He is the greatest caregiver, and we trust Him in all things. As we learned on Friday of the passing of Sister Monson, we know President Monson is in His care in a most intimate and special way.

Two weeks ago we handled our largest group ever of arriving missionaries - twenty-two.  We have 50-55 more scheduled to arrive by July 23. Subtract only 28 going home by that month, the 70+ will net us nearly 50 additional missionaries! It's wonderful. These missionaries seem so willing, ready, and capable to walk in faith and knock on doors. We read and learn about the many tender mercies and miracles that are helping Church administrators deal with the missionary surge. It's likely we will lose some of our missionaries in July as they realign Georgia to re-open the Macon mission. Even with that change, our numbers will exceed our December levels. Obviously, the transport,  paperwork, orientation, departing fireside, and support efforts for the missionaries both coming and going have kept us very busy. We've picked up 25 new cars that we will transition into the fleet.

Elder Connors and I worked an extra seven hours at the office last Saturday to stay on top of the paperwork. In the evening, we traveled to the Monroe Ward to attend a Ward luau planned and executed by the Loganville, Monroe, and Social Circle missionaries. Sister Iketau (Spanish Fork) and Sister Markowitz (Hawaii) sang and danced and conducted the program that included other island members who also shared their singing and dancing talents. The entire ward family participated (a luxury of a smaller congregation). The food was great. The ward loves their black bishop, islander counselor (who also is a Church FM employee), and tons of kids (something we don't usually see in the wards in Georgia). It was a great evening that ended with a beautiful sunset ride home.

This week has been highlighted with some soccer thrills and some wonderful meetings of the Saints. Maddie and Izzie Ober play on the Parkview High School soccer team. Tuesday evening we took a few hours to watch them play in the state soccer semi-finals.  Since the playoffs began, their team has held 3 opponents to only one goal and won handily. Tuesday's game was defensively tough on both sides, ending with a 2-1 victory for Parkview. The championship game was held last night. We weren't there because we attended the Lilburn Stake Conference evening session. Good news! Parkview won the 1-1 game in penalty kicks after two overtimes. They ended up with a 20-3 season. It's been an exciting soccer year for the Obers and for Grandma and Grandpa Clark.

We did squeeze in a trip to Gainesville yesterday to take four elders to lunch and deliver a package. It was Elder Tarver's birthday, and we used the occasion as the focal point. Of course, we took the long way home through the back roads of the Georgian hills. We drove through some of the most humble areas we've seen in Georgia. Our GPS had a hard time finding our location, and we got turned around a couple of times with the winding roads. But we no longer worry about getting lost; we feel confident that we'll eventually see a name or road we recognize. Unfortunately with narrow, winding roads, traffic, and light rain, we weren't able to stop or pull over to capture many snapshots. The rural images will have to stay in memory.

Elder Stanley Ellis of the Seventy was the visiting General Authority for Stake Conference. A new stake president was chosen, President Thomas Frost. President Frost lives in the Lilburn Ward and is a wonderful example of living charity. We worked side by side with him and Sister Frost in cleaning up a tree he felled for a member. We also love and highly respect outgoing President Weiler and his sweet family. Sister Weiler helps us with some of the mission meals. She is spiritual and down to earth and full of humor. President Samuelson, one of the new counselors in the Stake presidency, is a black brother who has been president of one of the two Spanish branches in the stake. Both the Saturday evening and Sunday sessions were filled with strong spirit and inspired instruction. We accepted the assignment of driving the two 12-passenger mission vans as shuttles from the overflow parking at Parkview High School back to the Stake Center Annex for the Sunday general session. Many of the members walked the three blocks, but we helped transport dozens of faithful Lilburn Stake members. With record turnout, it was a fun service to provide; Ray driving one van, Linda the other.

Elder and Sister Ellis were in Lilburn for more than Stake Conference. We feel like friends with them since they also completed a 4-day Mission Tour this week, and we've spent time with them each day. On Tuesday they spent 3 hours in the Mission Office, visiting with each of us and interviewing the assistants and enjoying lunch with us. Then we had a Marietta/Roswell zone conference Wednesday (Linda stayed in the mission office that day), Athens/Sugar Hill on Thursday (we both attended), and Lilburn/Conyers on Friday.  Elder Ellis repeated some of his mission tour themes in the Stake Conference meetings. We will work to internalize and remember much of his counsel.  We felt the power of his allusion to the Savior in his directive to accept change and assignments as did the Savior. Raising his hand, he said, "Here I am, I'll do it!  Send me!"  In our staff meetings, Elder Ellis said that senior couples, especially, are examples of that willingness since their call does not come by assignment or priesthood responsibility. We saw work that needs to be done and stepped up. That's how our efforts should always be, and especially now as all Church members will need to step up and open their mouths to help these surging new missionaries stay busy.

Elder Ellis reminded us over and over in many ways that this is the Lord's work and that He will fill in the blanks in our work after we do our very best.  Moroni 6:4: "...relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith." At each meeting he talked about how we exercise faith and prepare, participate, and learn through the Spirit when we meet together (such as zone conference and stake conference). D&C 44:2:  "And it shall to pass, that inasmuch as they are faithful, and exercise faith in me, I will pour out my Spirit upon them in the day that they assemble themselves together."  Elder Ellis emphasized the "pour" and talked about ways in which the Spirit teaches, reveals, comforts, guides, helps us remember, warns, and purifies us.

He mentioned three rules for accomplishment:  1) If you've done it before, you can do it again.  2)  If they've done it, we (I) can do it.  3) With God, all things are possible. Thinking of goals in short terms; not ten baptisms per mission; not one per month, but one per week can help us increase the number of baptisms. But more importantly, we can better help the Lord harvest the elect. Like calls from the Lord in the past for sacrifice and action (e.g., the Mormon pioneer sojourn to the West), this surge in missionary work is a call for today, an urgent call to share the Gospel and build the Kingdom. We will discover all of the "hows" (many miracles have already occurred) as we engage and get to work.

We closed our zone conference sessions by singing Faith in Every Footstep. We've found most of our mission days require willingness, faith, and problem solving. Ray daily recommits despite frequent functional challenges with his hands and stamina. Yes, our mission has required faith, but we see it only as blessing and joy. The Lord helps and directs us each day. This week has been special as a servant of the Lord helped us better recognize the eternal principles that underlie our daily footsteps of faith. When we exercise faith, He does pour out his spirit, and we see Him make up the difference when we fall short.

A Treat for the Senses

It's spring in the Southeast. Sunshine, rushing wind and pattering rain, along with fragrant, beautiful flowering trees and shrubs have filled our senses. We've been told that every plant in Georgia flowers openly and abundantly.

A film of pollen continues to coat our cars each day. And then every few days the quiet is punctuated with thunderstorms and heavy rain. Tornado warnings have sent our missionaries to "shelter" three times in the past month. Several weeks ago we had driven to Alpharetta to take Elder Jackman to his apartment. He had just returned from Utah after knee surgery. When we arrived, we picked up Elder Sarniguet and Elder Astel and took the three to dinner (Elder Jackman had been all day without food). While in a wings' restaurant, we saw the sky change color; then flashing warnings popped up on the restaurant's flat screens and Elder Sarniguet (Zone Leader) received a "take shelter" text from President Wolfert. He began texting the missionaries in the zone to take shelter immediately. Pouring rain and thunder stormed for nearly an hour, but fortunately we had no hail where we were. Several zones in our mission saw hail, and areas outside our mission experienced serious tornado damage. It's a quiet Sunday afternoon today. After fixing dinner for Sister Ferguson who had fallen and injured herself (must have been those very high heels this tiny, ex-military single sister wears), extreme weather warnings are out again. We see only steady rain here in Lilburn; hope all is well elsewhere.

It was nice to be back to six weeks between transfers; it was a breather and catch-up for Sister Connors. Elder Connors, however, had a half-dozen fender bender reports from our missionaries. Most of them were not the missionaries' fault, but the paperwork and repair hassle is the same for him. The Halls, Tewalts, and Assistants have been very busy preparing five new apartments for the 20 missionaries that are joining our ranks on Tuesday. Twelve are sisters, and until our proportions change, there will be multiple sister trios and "twins" for training as we absorb these wonderful boon of sister missionaries.

Last Sunday we drove to Athens for Church. Elders Hanny, Vandertoolen, Brown, and Owens had baptisms - Chris Burton and Ewart Leslie. Brother Leslie had family travel all the way from Brooklyn to support him. The Gospel Principles class was moved to the Relief Society Room to accommodate everyone. What a wonderful problem!  Upon returning home we visited the Chase family. Brother Chase is doing relatively well. His speech is back, but he is still having trouble getting his arm to work. We're optimistic that his determination will get him back to productivity soon. We were comforted to see a greater calm in the home and especially with his wife, Ariel. She has been blessed through her conversion and faith and her more calm influence will bless her family. Today we were delighted to see Lila back in Church after her travel. AND, her husband attended Sacrament Meeting with her! That is so promising. Brother Boateng and Sister Okuko are at Church every Sunday, tired from their long night shift at Walmart, but dedicated. The elders are now teaching Brother Boateng's girlfriend and another co-worker that Elder Connors and Elder Atkin split with the Assistants on Friday to teach. Brother Boateng may bring his entire Walmart stocking team into the Church! These dear people have spiritual eyes and gifts that are such blessings to those around them.

Yesterday we accompanied the Halls and Atkins on an outing back up to Cornelia where we picked up Elders Bowers and Yellowplume. They had permission to visit a Yonah Mountain Cherokee pow wow near Cleveland, GA. Elder Yellowplume is from the Washakie reservation outside Green River, Wyoming. He was optimistic that they could make some teaching contacts at the pow wow. And they did successfully schedule three return appointments. He was also excited to eat a Navajo taco again!  Unfortunately, it was a drizzly, muddy day, and the turnout was small. We visited the craft booths and watched four dances, but gave up into the 4th hour.

Since we were only three miles from Helen, we drove there for a short visit before heading home. This Bavarian inspired community is a tourist hot spot in northern Georgia. The cool weather made it the perfect day to visit. The rain had stopped so we senior office couples strolled the shops as the young elders contacted for about an hour.

From Helen we headed back to Cornelia for dinner. We had an interesting conversation over dinner with Elder Yellowplume. He is Sioux and Arapaho; his family joined the Church through his great-grandfather, Chief Red Cloud. Brigham Young and a companion sought out the chief to warn him of military troops coming to massacre the tribe. The stories passed down say that once the Chief received the priesthood he felt his duty was to lead his tribe in the Lord's way, and most of the tribe was baptized. Because of his heritage, Elder Yellowplume had to choose between the opportunity to become medicine man in his tribe or go on a mission. He testified that after pondering and prayerfully studying the Book of Mormon, he found the scripture holds the same truths that his people tell in legend. Elder Yellowplume felt the Spirit tell him to follow in his grandfather's example. That's why he is in Georgia, to share his testimony of the commonality and consistency of native cultural tradition with the eternal truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He shared many feelings and observations that we have not heard before because we've never had an in-depth gospel conversation with a Native American.

After dinner, we stopped by to visit with the Barksdales, Ruth and Glen. They are new senior couple in Cornelia, and friends of the Halls. They were not able to go to pow wow for the longer day with us. Wonderful people!  This is their fifth mission, but the other missions were CES callings. They find Member Leader Support very challenging! We encouraged them to be patient. They've been in Georgia only two weeks (and one Sunday was Stake Conference).  They'll find their niche as promised, we're sure. (And they did, both as fellowshippers and for Elder Barksdale's skilled teaching in the ward.)  We were so glad we spent a rainy day getting to know yet again two wonderful young missionaries and another dedicated couple. Yesterday was another memorable treat for our natural and spiritual senses.

Learn, Step, Crunch....and Pray

We will miss watching General Conference with the group of missionaries serving in the Lilburn and Centerville Wards in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Last weekend was our last opportunity to enjoy the setting, and it was a spiritual feast as we listened, took notes, and felt the spirit.  The dynamics were the same - principally missionaries in attendance on Saturday and a few additional members on Sunday. We served Publix subs to the missionaries during the Saturday break. Florence Okuku and Obiri Boateng attended on Sunday; that was happy news.  The investigators that we had hoped would attend did or could not. The Conference messages were powerful and testified of truth. Sister Weiler bore her testimony in Sacrament Meeting today. She and her husband, who is the president of the Lilburn Stake, attended Conference in Salt Lake at the Conference Center. She indicated that the spirit was no stronger there than when their family sits on the front row of our darkened chapel for other General Conference sessions. That's because the Spirit is the teacher. We, too, testify that the spirit was strong and spoke of truth with our small congregation. Can't wait for the Ensign to come out so we can study and learn more!

The mission office couples prepared lunch for all of the missionaries between sessions on Saturday. After our short meal, the young elders and sisters eagerly traveled to nearby Mountain Park Park and came back with several viable contacts! They have only Sunday to complete and report their weekly goal of 70 meaningful contacts per week (10 a day). Zaza had a few tough days after her shoulder surgery. Her daughter-in-law, Laura, came from Austin for several days to help out, and it was a big boost. Don was able to go to Priesthood Session with Ray. Held from 8-10 p.m., it feels very late. Linda finished filing income taxes to end her day. Zaza is doing much better and is able to get out a bit, but must be very careful. She won't begin physical therapy for 8 weeks.

In the past two weeks we've kept busy at the mission office. Two days of leadership training for nearly 40 missionaries brought them to the mission office before and after meetings. New vehicles arrived to complement the increased number of missionaries, but a few weeks earlier than we would like to have received them. It's kept Elder Connors pretty busy. We need to fit them with hitch mount bicycle racks and Tiwi monitoring devices, so they will be ready for the next group of missionaries coming on April 30. Two missionaries had to leave for home for medical treatments. Elder Kampton Youd (Orem, UT, and son of my Aunt Merle's home teacher) re-injured his knee and moved his release up three weeks. He's a great elder who will be missed. Elder Poole hurt his elbow and will return in about 8 weeks after surgery. Another emergency departure got Elder Connors and Elder Atkin up at 4:30 a.m. to get that missionary to the airport. The Halls and Tewalts are busy trying to get six new apartments leased and furnished before next transfers. The paperwork and database work continues to expand with the increasing number of missionaries. We've had lots of phone calls to the mission nurse (especially with extreme pollen counts in Georgia this year - 3rd highest in history). And now it's bicycle mania for Elder Atkin (and his trainer Elder Connors) as they pick up new bicycles in Duluth (usually a 2-hour round trip) and find places to store them. Sweetly there is no rest for the mission office couples.

Well - almost no rest.  Yesterday we finally realized a goal we made to have all the senior couples go on a P-day outing. We picked Tullalah Falls State Park, northeast of Cornelia, as the destination. The ten of us took photos and hiked the rim trails. A few of us walked the 320 stairs down to the suspension bridge and then back up. We couldn't go across the bridge because the south rim was closed for kayakers only so they could transport their kayaks down to the river. A water release is scheduled periodically into the canyon to accommodate kayak sporting, and we fortunately had hit the lucky day. It made for wonderful sounds and photos. The extreme river scenes in Deliverance and several other movies have been shot at Tallulah Gorge.

The Stowells, Lees, Connors, Atkins, and Halls

After our Gorge adventure, we enjoyed a picnic along the gentle upper stream and then drove about an hour to an artist and tourist studio near Clarkesville called Mark of the Potter. There we snooped around the old mill nestled on the banks of the Soque River, watched potters, and shopped. A restaurant dinner was followed by a peaceful two hour ride home on a beautiful evening after a beautiful spring day. The exercise, conversation, and camaraderie were good for our spirits and souls. However, the stair stepping made it a bit more difficult for some of us to get up and down at Church meetings today!  We love and admire our senior missionaries so much!

The crunch from two reports of car damage today followed another expensive repair last week. And why is the damage always to the new cars!?  Two accidents involved rear end bumps, and were fortunately not our missionaries' fault. More fortunately, there were no injuries. Today an unsecured lawn mower rolled off a utility trailer onto one of our missionary cars. It's always something. We're heard that Georgia has some of the highest accident rates in the country. Sounds right to us!

Our prayers this week will include our increased supplications for Brother Tyler Chase. We love the Chases, one of our recent convert families.They have so many challenges, and now Brother Chase had a stroke this past week. He was in our hearts during our fast today. Victoria (the 11-year old) bore a sweet testimony of prayer in our Fast and Testimony meeting today. She got a big hug from Sister Connors after the meeting. The Chase's home teachers and the RS President have really shepherded this family. We are grateful and will add our prayers now and help once visitors are allowed.

March Concludes with a Wonderful Easter

The last day of March ended in a beautiful way - with a lovely Easter Day.  We had a wonderful Sacrament Meeting to start the day (despite our early 8:30 a.m. start time for 2013). Sister Connie Hutchins talked about the hope provided through the Atonement and Resurrection. Brother Karl Brandau shared insights into how the Passover and other Jewish traditions occurred on the same calendar days as events in the Savior's life and acted as types of things to come. The ward choir sang a simple version of He Is Risen that was so joyful, particularly because of the skilled and powerful accompaniment of Sister Merrill.  The highlight for us, however, was the confirmation of Lila Andriamaromanana (yes, we can pronounce the last name). More on that later on.

After Church we returned home to finish preparing a nice Easter dinner with the Clarks and Obers. We enjoyed turkey, ham, and all the accompaniments. After dinner, Ray helped Don and David Paulikalitis give Zaza a blessing. She is having rotator cuff surgery in the morning. Ray then gave Don a blessing; he's had a bronchial infection for weeks that just won't go away. We enjoyed laughing with the Ober girls, Maddie, Izzie, and the Cami as they shared distorted photos of us all on Don's I-pad with their Instagram application.  After two busy weeks and a heavy, happy meal, we took a long nap. We then had another highlight with a family phone call. We so much enjoy talking with the grandkids. They are happy and busy. It's great to talk to Faith about her observations on life; she's such a grown up. Hailey is always so positive, and they are both busy studying for AP exams (9th and 11th grades). Noah proudly reported that he found nearly $40 in his Easter egg hunt and is reading at 9th grade level (in 4th grade). He takes after his sisters, and it was good to hear that he's more interested in school now. Ammon is always happy. They always make us happy.  It was a great way to end the day.

What else has the past two weeks included?  Let's go backwards a bit now. We enjoyed a slightly chilly 90 minutes watching Izzy Ober's last season soccer game at Parkview High. The high school is adjacent to the Church property and is one of three schools we pass during busy school bus hours when we make our afternoon post office runs. Seniors, Elder and Sister Lundgren, were released. They plan to travel about on the Eastern Seaboard visiting family before heading home. Another group of 8 sisters and 8 elders arrived on March 19. As always, they were happy and tired after arising early at the MTC, traveling, and then riding the MARTA for their first chance to approach strangers in the real mission world.

We have several missionary trios teamed up as we work to train enough sister trainers to welcome in all of the new sisters arriving through summer. Our farewell fireside honored five departing missionaries. There was an exceptionally sweet and reverent spirit in this particular fireside. We'll miss them all, especially Elder Astel, a former Assistant to the President who has such a strong testimony, is a baptizer, and delights us with his child-like personality. The only sister leaving was Sister Bulouniwasa from Fiji. We volunteered to take her to the airport since her flight left 6 hours after the other departing missionaries' flights. She would have 22 hours of airport/airplane time before she arrived home. She is a strong and mature sister, but she knows she is returning to a home country with little opportunity. She was pretty tearful. She actually lives with her uncle and aunt and has little parental support. She was on our minds all night; in fact, we tossed and turned thinking about her. On Friday morning I arrived at the office to hear a tearful voice mail from her. She was stranded in the LA airport; her connecting flight out of Phoenix arrived late and she missed her connecting flight to Fiji. We were so relieved when we heard from her in person a few hours later. Our prayer and prediction that the airlines would provide her with comfortable lodging was realized. I gave her the LA Mission Office phone number. She sent an email a few days later to let us know all was well. The mission staff in Los Angeles took care of her for the two days she had to wait there until another flight departed for Suva. We love Sister "B" and pray only the best for her. Perhaps we'll have to visit Fiji sometime!

The Friday night after transfers we joined the elders when they met with Lila and conducted her baptismal interview. We feel such a special connection with her; it began the first day she attended Church. She and her family had moved into the Atlanta area several months ago and live only a few blocks from the Stake Center. She self-referred herself to the missionaries. Her first day in Relief Society the lesson was about temples, and I sat next to her and tried to clarify a few things. Mormon jargon can really mystify investigators! After working in France for three years, the Andriamaromananas moved their three daughters (one in high school, Yari, who is twelve, and Tiki, who is 8) to Atlanta. Yari and Tiki have attended and love YW and Primary, but right now dad won't give permission for their baptism. Lila struggled for several weeks with her baptism decision because she didn't want to split the family. She and I had a short conversation in which I reassured her that as missionaries we have no desire to break up families and that she should continue to study and pray and the spirit would guide her. We were happy to see Yari and Tiki at her baptism. They enjoyed the service. Lila had asked me (Linda) to give the baptism talk. I was very honored. There was a special reverence (even others noted that), and Lila bore an amazing testimony as a new convert.

A week later, Lila again asked me to join with the elders as they met with her to discuss the confirmation and the gift of the Holy Ghost. There is such a sweet spirit as these young missionaries explain principles and bear testimonies with confidence and simplicity. The best moments during any mission!  Ray was privileged to stand in the circle when Elder Chugg confirmed her. Lila is so anxious to continue learning; again we told her that will be a lifelong pursuit. Unfortunately no family attended on Easter when she was confirmed; the girls were at Church with their father. Lila will be in Toronto for two weeks on business and asked for information about where to attend and how to watch General Conference. She has been a highlight in our spring, and we look forward to getting to know her and her family better.

We finished up our two shorter 5-week transfer periods. Now we're back on regular 6-week cycles. That will give us a bit of breathing room. With warmer weather and longer days, we hope to have less office time and more energy to get out and about to spend more time with our recent converts and investigators. Today is Monday, and we just enjoyed another pleasant senior missionary couple FHE. We brought soup and salads. Elder and Sister Lundgren will be released this week.  At age 84 and wrapping up their 5th mission, they are amazing examples to us. They exude happiness and energy.  Zaza's shoulder surgery today was pretty complex, but the prognosis is good.  We're grateful for that and for every wonderful minute.

Spring is Here

Everywhere we look blossoms are popping out. A hint of the green pollen that will mask our car each morning is beginning to appear. It's spring in Georgia. After a few weeks of chilly, windy days accentuated with frequent rainy days, it's been a beautiful, warm weekend. The changeover to daylight savings time has lifted our spirits despite the fact that we lose track of time and don't get out of the office until 6:30 or so. Nice walks in the park the past two days have led to sounder sleep.

Sister Connors started her Saturday with a wonderful Lilburn Stake Women's Conference. Ray mowed the lawn. Then in the evening our one-hour car ride to Jackson, GA ended after three hours with a beautiful sunset as we drove back to Lilburn. We intended to spend our evening supporting Sister Waterworth and Sister Markowitz and Elder Grimm and Elder Auaea in a fireside they presented in Jackson. We were running late, so checked the Church's website on our cell for the Jackson Branch address as we started our drive. Add to that a 30-mile construction backup on the freeway and we arrived after the fireside's start time.We arrived in Jackson but couldn't find the building! Add to that a 30-mile construction backup on the freeway that caused us to arrive after the fireside's start time. Feeling lost and old-age foolish, we decided to enjoy the sunset and just drive home on back roads. Part way home the thought occurred to us to text the missionaries, but the feeling of calm after a hectic week kept us heading home. We stopped at McDonald's for a shake since we had skipped dinner. Because the shake was overfilled, Sister Connors was blessed with sticky fingers, a large puddle of melted ice cream in her lap, and the need to suck madly to lower the overflowing vanilla foam. We had a good laugh and returned home with smiled on our faced. Life is sometimes just a bit out of sync, but oh, so wonderful!

Postscript: After this post, we learned that the branch was a half block from where both our GPS and cell phone were directing us in Jackson. We simply could not see the sign in the window of the strip mall due to all of the cars parked around the adjacent burger shack. Fortunately the sisters gave us a CD of the fireside so we were able to enjoy it later. It was a branch and missionary pre-Easter outreach with a wonderful outpouring of both member and missionary testimony given in word and music.

Zone Conferences and a disciplinary court in which Elder acted as recorder filled the last week of February. Preparations for incoming missionaries filled the first two weeks of March. We also had another emergency medical release. It's amazing to see the humility and obedience and love that surrounds unplanned departures. The Spirit of the Lord is truly with these young people and sustains them. In two days we will welcome another group of 18 new missionaries; next transfer it will be 24 missionaries and a similar group in June; about two-thirds are sisters. Sister Hall, our Housing Coordinator, and Elder and Sister Tewalt, the local service missionaries from nearby Snellville are very busy locating, leasing, and furnishing apartments. As the missionaries call it, we have lots of "twins" right now - trainers training two new missionaries and several threesomes in companionships/ areas. We are excited to meet and feel the enthusiasm of our next group of new missionaries.

New Missionaries Departing MARTA at the Doraville Station

Our Lilburn missionaries, Elder Miller and Elder Edmunds, are working with several great investigators. We especially love Lila, a bacteriologist with the Center for Disease Control here in Atlanta. She is from Madagascar and exudes love and warmth. She was schooled in Switzerland and her family has lived in France for three years. Lila and the three daughters meet with the missionaries; she is so ready to be baptized but her husband and children are comfortable with their current Church. We've enjoyed our opportunities to help teach and bear testimony to Lila. She feels very conflicted. We are praying the family will soften and that Lila will stick with her baptismal commitment for next Sunday and be an example to her family. We know they all will be blessed.

Last Tuesday we fed three sets of elders; two of those companionships had baptisms this weekend. After a new year lull, the work seems to be picking up. Elder Scothern and Elder Hansen from the Mountain Park YSA branch baptized Robert Meyers yesterday. The Stake Women's Conference and drive to Jackson prevented us from attending the baptism, so we promised to attend Robert's confirmation today. We attended the YSA Sacrament meeting after the Lilburn Block. Robert lives just over the fence from the Lilburn building and spent many hours on the grounds as he grew up when he needed a quiet place. He said he always had a special feeling here but never investigated inside the building until the elders talked to him several months ago. Now he is a very happy member and his once resistant mother is now reading the Book of Mormon. Never give up!  Never assume someone understands or is not interested.

A week ago we took the afternoon of our Saturday to drive to Loganville to take the sisters there to lunch. Sister Bulouniwasa will be flying home to Fiji this week. Sister Sanders who had gone home for medical reasons has returned. Sister Crane is the new sister in the threesome. We decided it was time for a celebration. They had always wanted to eat at the popular Blue Willow Inn in the small town of Social Circle where they occasionally work. So off we went to the historic home reputed to have the best authentic Southern buffet in the area. It was a busy place. The mac and cheese, fried chicken, collard greens, desserts, and other assorted delectables were, indeed, yummy. Favorites for us were the fried green tomatoes! The beautiful mansion was built by one of two brothers; the other brother built a twin home across the street. It is said that Margaret Mitchell had a fling with one of the two brothers and the town inspired her to write Gone with the Wind. Truth or town tale, we don't know, but it was an interesting story. So is the tale of the origins of the town name. Long before the Civil War, travelers found a group of locals standing around a fire and sharing conversation. They greeted them with the phrase "My, this is a social circle." Thus the community of Social Circle was formed.  

As if we hadn't had enough food, we drove to Monroe after returning the sisters to their apartment.. Roy and Millie Coe, our prior counterparts in the mission office live outside Monroe. We had promised to visit them for months, and it felt time to follow through. Surrounded by beautiful farmland and ranch homes, their home sits on a portion of what was once 300 acres belonging to Millie's grandparents. Roy restores and paints cars, and Ray was anxious to see the 64-1/2 Mustang in his garage.

I was impressed with the long-bed truck that was once a rusted relic with no engine that Millie purchased as a flower planter, Roy decided to restore it. But Millie's decorative hand was apparent everywhere. We love this couple! They've fulfilled two service missions, helping both the Atlanta and then Atlanta North Missions. They are now coordinating the Athens Stake Addiction Recovery Program. 

Our Social Circle and Monroe visits made for a great Saturday. We are celebrating one year in the Mission Field; spring has arrived, and we feel a new energy in our hearts!

Sweets and Sorrows

The past two weeks have been filled with many happy and busy minutes, along with moments of reflection on death, that bittersweet event that is part of our eternal progression. While we acknowledge that we're in the "associates are dying" stage of life, we certainly feel we have sent a greater number of condolences during our time as missionaries. Neighbors have lost parents; in the past month nieces Laura and Michele have both lost a parent-in-law, Tom's mother and Dave's father. One of our missionaries lost his mother unexpectedly this week! A week ago yesterday, our former bishop, George Wall, was particularly on our mind. Then the next day we learned by email that he passed away after weeks of hospice ending a valiant fight against pancreatic cancer. We remember vividly the ward fast over two years ago in which Bishop Rapp led the ward prayer and pronounced that Bishop Wall would be healed despite the 2-week to 2-month prognosis physicians gave when the cancer was diagnosed at an aggressive Stage 4. Several months later, Bishop Wall bore testimony of pure faith and witness from the Lord that he would survive. There was no doubt that he trusted fully in the Lord. We're not certain we have ever witnessed a greater example of personal humility and pure faith. A year later, he had amazed the experts at Huntsman Cancer with a miracle remission. The year allowed him to prepare his home and family for future possibilities. He even had the energy to travel and see grandchildren enter the world. The cancer was surfacing again as we prepared to leave for our mission. He blessed our Orchard 6th Ward family so much with his example!  Ray was so grateful to have been home teacher to the Walls for several years, to share in their highs and lows, to spend a few hours each week with neighbor Gary Thorne helping at the Wall home before we left for Georgia. Our shared knowledge of the plan of salvation has helped our ward family back home rejoice in faith and lessons learned, and it has made comfort available along with immense gratitude for knowing this great man.

We had an excited fourteen missionaries arrive on February 12, and Sister Sanders returned after her long medical release! Only three missionaries went home this month - two by schedule and one with a bit of sorrow again. Next month we have 18 scheduled to arrive and only five going home. Our numbers are climbing, and Elder and Sister Hall and our local service couple, the Tewalts, have been busy working on new apartments and furnishings to help us grow. Then sweet surprise, just this weekend the Church announced 58 new missions to accommodate the increase in missionaries! One of those missions includes the reopening of the Georgia Macon Mission. Time will tell what that will mean for the Georgia Atlanta North Mission. Another big change for us is that Elder Hanny, the 1st Assistant to the President, was transferred to Athens after six months in Lilburn. We learned so much from him, but it's a blessing that he can spend his last months free to preach full-time. Elder Chugg is the new 2nd assistant along with Elder Edmunds. We surely love our assistants and missionaries!

Last week included a Valentine's surprise  It was to be a simple day for us because it was a busy week. However, about mid-day on February 14 a young mother and two sweet young sons walked into the Mission Office. She introduced herself as Natalie Ormond, Mike and Wendy's dear friend from the Yonker's Branch in New York. Her husband is in residency at Emory in Atlanta, and she came bearing roses and candy to wish us Happy Valentine's! What a sweet and happy expression of Christ-like love. Then we had a carrot cake surprise in the office and elders singing Feliz Cumpleanos for Sister Connors birthday. Later flowers came from the Clarks after attending a somewhat cold evening double overtime winning soccer game with them for granddaughter Maddie. More gifts arrived by FedEx from our children. Sweet February!

On Sunday we drove to Cornelia and attended Church with the Lundgrens.  They will be released in April. This is their fourth mission, one as mission president in Norway. Elder Lundgren is 82 years young!  We stayed and joined Sister Lundgren as she led choir practice and watched Elder Lundgren, the skilled CES instructor, lead Gospel Principles class. We toured the tiny town a bit, and enjoyed dinner together. It was a surprisingly cold day in Georgia (frozen fountains are rare), and a great Sunday. 

We worked in the Mission Office on the President's Day holiday to help with the mission audit and then left a bit early with Elder and Sister Atkins. We drove to Kennesaw to visit the Southern Civil War and Locomotive Museum. It's great satellite museum under the Smithsonian's oversight. The jewel of the museum is the General, whose factual story was told by Disney in The Great Locomotive Chase. The visitor's center at the Kennesaw Nat'l Battlefield was closed after our hour at the nearby locomotive museum, so we decided to return there another day. A light dinner killed some rush hour traffic delay time and ended a nice day.

Yesterday we attended a baptism in Roswell. We love Elder Astel and Elder Sarniguet and promised to visit them there before Elder Astel is released. They taught and baptized two Haitian families and five individuals after two months in the area. The Joseph family simply walked into the building one Sunday morning looking for a Church after the family had joined Dad who was already living in Georgia. Young Finley, a member for only a month, bore powerful testimony. Yesterday, the Pierre family (grandma and grandpa, 86 and 83, and in the US only two months) joined their daughter and two grandchildren in a truly "sweet" baptismal ceremony. Sister Connors enjoyed visiting with them a bit; they were pleased to meet someone who had been in their homeland. It was a time I wished I could remember my college French; but only words here and there surface. So many people in Georgia speak two languages that we often feel inadequate; hopefully as Utah becomes more diverse, the general population (and not just return-missionaries) will be bi-lingual. Wouldn't that be great?!

After the baptism we found our way to view the historic Morgan Falls Dam that backs up the Chattahoochee River as it approaches Atlanta.

Busy days, heavy rain, sun, and wind filled our week. Daffodils and a few pink blossoms hint that spring is on its way. Like life, our mission is web and flow, pace fast and slow, emotions sweet and sorrowful. All provide good and blessed gifts from our loving Savior. 

Warm Hearts

Utah has experienced its coldest January in 65 years. The Northeast US was hit by Hurricane Sandy and now a strong nor'east-er dubbed Nemo buried them this weekend. After a sunny Saturday, it's a "rainy night in Georgia," and Atlanta expects 4-5 inches of rain in the next two days. Our lives and hearts, however, are warm with the love we receive and give each day.

As our day-to-day office assignments continue to keep us busy, we relish those moments of spiritual uplift.  Now that we have several senior missionaries in the office when the work day begins, we have been blessed as we offer a group prayer to start off our day. It brings calm and direction. Just three days ago, our prayers were very specific and answered quickly. Here is the setting: On Wednesday we helped again with preparing , serving, and cleaning up the meal served as part of the Trainer Followup meeting. New missionaries are assigned a trainer, and both the new arrival and trainer follow a Church published "learning" curriculum for 12 weeks. Four to five weeks into the program, they come together for a day of debriefing and additional training with the Mission President. A nice luncheon is prepared (Sister Weiler, our stake president's wife, helps us with the luncheon). Sister Wolfert uses the luncheon as an opportunity to teach the missionaries a bit about etiquette and manners, giving tips that are helpful to many missionaries. So we set up a complete table service, serve and clear the courses, and help Sister Weiler clean up. Sister Hall woke this Thursday morning to realize she had left her wedding rings and bracelets in the ward kitchen after the luncheon. When she checked there upon arriving at the office, the rings were gone. Prayers and phone calls helped us quickly learn they had been found the evening before by the adjacent ward and were in a bishop's office; safe. Tears of gratitude were shed. 

Last Monday evening, Len and Darlene Holladay (originally from Pocatello, ID but Georgians for nearly 20 years) invited the three office couples and several other friends to their home for dinner. The feeling around them is like that with lifelong friends from home. Holladay, UT, is named after Len's family. They just celebrated 80th birthdays. and their family gave them a cruise to the Yucatan as a gift for their 60th anniversary, on February 13 - their "lucky" day. Their home is filled with their own original art, and they can tell stories that will keep a group laughing for hours. They have the most generous and warm hearts. The elders in the Centerville Ward are bike only, and the Holladays are their primary chauffeurs, dinner providers, and helpers. They are marvelous examples of living life to the fullest, in simplicity and generosity. The same characteristics we admire in the Holladays can be found in so many of the friends we have made here.

A week ago we traveled to Jonesboro to have lunch with Elder and Sister Stowell and Elder Chambers (Woods Cross, UT) and Elder Miller. After lunch, we went to the local D&G Mens Store. It's a cross between Mr. Mac and Ross. Elder Connors found an affordable suit to fill in the gap between the one that's too small, the one that fits, and the one that's too large. Elder Chambers started looking (his buttons are so stretched to the limit on his shirt and jacket). It was sweet to see Sister Stowell coach him like a mother. The group dynamics helped Elder Chambers commit to something he had been putting off for weeks. His request for a 42R turned into a good-looking and affordable 46L. Physical growth doesn't stop on a mission! Again, our hearts were warmed by the love the six of us shared in those brief two hours.

Yesterday we were blessed to spend our Preparation Day by attending a training session led by Elder Ulisses Soares, newly called as one of the presidents of the Seventies and the area authority over the Southeast Area. The meeting was in Atlanta, and only about 30 of the elders from the GA Atlanta North mission were able to attend with the many Atlanta Mission missionaries. We are grateful that President Wolfert included the office couples in his list of invitations. We have four Brazilian elders in our mission. Elders Gomes, Moraes, Santos, and Freitas were so elated to be instructed by a fellow Brazilian.

Elder Soares spoke with positive love and energy, counseling about many things. Four of his insights stood out:

1. Our callings are from God; we are where he wants us to be.
2. We are representatives of Jesus Christ, as if we carry his power of attorney. Is what we do each day truly represent Him? 
3. Using God's perfect example as he "created all things" in spirit before He created them on earth, we, too, should plan and work every hour of every day, and also prepare back up and contingency plans.
4. Be obedient; the Lord always keeps His promises. The work will be hard; but obedience brings blessings. The missionary handbook holds 150 years of experience! 

Another heart-warming outcome of the day was to know that Elder Soares is the long-time friend of Don Clark. In fact, he is Don's protege. Don and Zaza are close friends with Elder and Sister Soares, and when Don heard where we were going, he told us their story. Don convinced Elder Soares to leave the private sector (after joining the Church) and trained him up in Temporal Affairs work. As we helped the Brazilian elders take a photo with Elder Soares, he asked us to tell the Clarks that he would call them at 9 p.m. Although he would have liked to meet them in person, he didn't have enough time for a face to face visit during this, his first, visit to Atlanta in his new assignment.

Now, we saved the best for last in this entry. We participated in another sweet baptism today. Sister Florence Okoku was baptized. She admired the work of the Church when she lived in Ghana and had several online chats on Mormon.org when she arrived in the U.S. She works at night at Walmart with Obiri Boateng, who was baptized about two months ago. He invited her to meet with Elders Hanny and Edmunds, and she quickly recognized intellectually the truth of the Gospel. As she bore her testimony after her baptism, Florence described how the Spirit bore witness to her as she came out of the waters of baptism. She now knows truth in mind and spirit. Sister Connors was sitting next to another investigator, Lila Andriamaromanana (from Madagascar). Tears were flowing down her cheeks as she listened to the talk on baptism given by Brother Matthews. He is another convert from Ghana and a new member of the Lilburn Ward. He has such a strong and articulate testimony. Baptized as a youth in Ghana 21 years ago, he was just received his US Citizenship a week ago. Lila has family we'd love to convert along with her. They will be in our prayers.

Warm hearts today, indeed!  The Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses us in so many ways.