DIVINE PROTECTION

Independence and most of Kansas City are in Jackson County.  Directly north of us, on the other side of the Missouri River, is Clay County.  The temple and Liberty are both in Clay County, so we travel that direction frequently.  On Tuesday, during our lunch break, I (Russell) got a call from two elders saying their car had been towed.  They had already figured out where the impound lot was, and I believe they would have paid the fee and never told me about the incident had it not been for one unfortunate issue.  They were not the legal owners of the vehicle and impound lots will only release vehicles to their documented owners.  As I am the one with power-of-attorney for the Church owned vehicles, they had to call me. 

After gathering the necessary papers, Eileen and I set out for the lot which was in Clay County.The plan was for me to pick up the car and drive it back to the office, where the elders could come pick it up when they could find someone to give them a ride to the office.  Being pressed for time and not being in a very good mood because of this interruption of my training time with Elder Perry, I was not going to deliver the car to them.

As we were crossing the six-lane divided freeway bridge, a car quickly passed us, dodging in and out of traffic. When it was about 50 yards in front of us, the driver lost control and we watched the car hit the cement wall on the right side of the road.  The car then bounced across all three lanes to hit the left side cement wall, then back across to the right side hitting that cement wall for a second time, then finally coming to a stop when it hit the left side wall again.  How the car did not hit one of the several other cars or two tractor-trailers that were right there was amazing.  We could easily have been in a multi-vehicle pileup with many injured or killed. The news that night said the driver was going over 100 miles per hour.  The police were there immediately, which told me we were seeing the end of an extended chase.

Upon reflection of the event, Eileen and I had different impressions.  Eileen felt gratitude for Divine protection, mentioning that she had prayed that morning that we could drive safely that day, without any knowledge that we would be going anywhere other than to the office. While I too was grateful, I also recognized the irony of my being blessed even though I was irritated at the elders for getting their car towed and my having to go get it.  I can’t imagine God grumbling about my lack of patience as he protects and blesses me.  I recognize I need to cut the young elders more slack when they innocently do unwise things.   

On both Friday and Saturday evenings this week, we attended the annual Book of Mormon Symposium which is held here.  At least nineteen different churches in Independence trace their roots to Joseph Smith, with several presenting at the conference on various aspects of the Book of Mormon. Following the death of Joseph Smith the Church broke into a half-dozen factions, another faction broke off from our church following the Manifesto, and then a dozen or so have broken off from the Community of Christ (RLDS) over the last 40 years.  While the fundamentalist/polygamist faction(s) are not welcomed here at the symposium in Missouri, all of the other groups seem to get along quite well.  In a way it resembled an extended family reunion of a common distant ancestor.  Just like in our Church, each group refers to those in their same congregation/church as brothers and sisters, and those in the other restoration churches as cousins.

Casey Griffiths and two other BYU professors represented our Church and spoke during the two-day/evening event.  Casey was our tour guide last summer for our family Church History tour.  Some of the topics of talks and displays at the symposium were: Framing the Gold Bible; The Book of Mormon Our Liahona; Our Genetic Pool and the Restoration of the Restoration; Only Two Churches, Those of the Lamb and Those of the Devil; The Temple Lot; and How the Nephites sailed to the Promised Land (by rounding the Cape of Good Hope and across the Atlantic, landing in North America).  And just like at a family reunion, you may not agree with everything that is said, but they are family, so you smile and accept them for who they are and what you have in common.

I felt so blessed that we weren't injured during our travels. We saw the car involved in the accident bounce from side to side just 3 cars ahead of us. Every air bag went off in the car. We couldn't even see the driver through the windows. This is what the news report said:  "The driver was traveling at 100 mph and was observed weaving in and out of traffic, passing vehicles on the shoulder, and cutting off other drivers. The driver lost control on the bridge, bouncing off both the inner lane and outer lane barriers of the northbound lanes. At the fifth impact, with the inner jersey barrier, the Honda came to final rest."

At the impound lot.  Not sure where this bus came from. We weren't in the nicest part of town. 

Russell had to pay $435 cash to get the towed car out of the lot. We also had a tornado hit just a few miles north of where we were at the same time we were at the lot. The metal gate slammed shut as Russell was there. They needed to get a tow truck to pull the gate back open, and since the car he was picking up was behind the gate, he had to wait for the tow truck to come. 

I hate doing the bills, however there was a real sense of satisfaction in shredding these medical bills after making sure payment was made. 

The young missionaries from our church sang at the Book of Mormon rally. It was held in another congregation's meetinghouse. 

Eileen, Russell and Casey Griffith at the Book of Mormon Rally. 

This slide indicates the size of the religious populations of the world.  Those that believe in the Book of Mormon are the tiny pink box next to the green box. 

This photo shows some of the congregations who believe in the Book of Mormon and the years the churches were organized. 

In June 1833, the Prophet Joseph and his counselors in the First Presidency prepared a plat for the city of Zion—a plan for the layout of the city. President Frederick G. Williams drew the plat, which called for bishops’ storehouses and 24 temples in the center of the city, surrounded by blocks divided into property for residences.  (This area is shown in the current photo below). 

Drone footage of the current buildings around the temple lot.  Our office is immediately to the right of the LDS stake center. 

This man spoke at the symposium also. He visited 52 churches in 52 weeks. After those visits he went through 11 sets of LDS missionaries. He joined our church just the  week prior to talking with our group. 

BACK TO REALITY

General Conference was a welcome respite from our normal activities.  It did seem like many of the talks referenced the blessing of being able to attend the temple and keeping our covenants made there.  However, it was Elder Rasband’s talk, Words Matter, that resonated the most with me.  The Spirit reminded me of times when I have lost my temper and said things that I have later regretted, and of other times when even though what I said my have been completely true, it would have been better left unsaid. 

Elder Rasband said, “Words matter! They are the bedrock of how we connect; they represent our beliefs, morals, and perspectives.  Sometimes we speak words; other times we listen. Words set a tone. They voice our thoughts, feelings, and experiences, for good or bad.  Unfortunately, words can be thoughtless, hasty, and hurtful.  Once said, we cannot take them back.  They can wound, punish, cut down, and even lead to destructive actions.  They can weigh heavily on us.” I felt this talk was meant for me.

Last week, I (Russell) mentioned how two of our elders had an accident with their new truck just an hour before the Saturday morning session began.  Fortunately, we did better than that following the Sunday afternoon session.  We made it about 18 hours before two of our cars managed to come in contact with one another.  Well, it was P-day, they were both in a parking lot, and the front driver’s side corners of each vehicle came into contact with one another. Funny how things like that just happen. I’m grateful the damage to both cars were minor.  Later that evening, I got a call during our senior missionary FHE from two of our Spanish speaking missionaries.  They had been rear ended while stopping for a red light.  I drove into Kansas City to pick them up since their car needed to be towed.  Thankfully both elders were okay.  Unfortunately, neither car was okay; ours has over $7,000 in damage and the other car was totaled.  The experience provided a good example of why you don’t use your phone while driving.

I’m beginning to regret asking SLC for trucks that we use in the rural parts of our mission. The Arkansas Bentonville Mission has a third of their vehicles being trucks rather than the small SUVs that make up most of what the young missionaries’ drive.  We now have nine trucks, and the elders seem to have a hard time keeping them on the road.  Two are in the shop already and another I had to coach the elders on how to get themselves out of a ditch.  It’s not that I really have any experience doing it, but I did know enough to try when they called me stuck and unable to move (or so they thought).  I reminded them that they have 4-wheel drive and encouraged them to put the truck into “4LL” and then to try backing out slowly.  They were successful, but I wonder if their newfound ability with 4-wheel drive will just further embolden them to fear sliding off the road less.

The eclipse was a once in a generation event. Russell came out just long enough for a photo. We had about an 87% eclipse here in Independence.    The temperature dropped, but it never got dark. 

The "Sisters" viewing the eclipse. Eileen, S. Perry, S. Creer, S. Hunsaker and S. Dennison

 This photo was posted in USA Today.  It shows the stages of the eclipse similar to what we saw in Independence.

In our senior FHE Elder Haueter spoke about his experiences of hiking the Appalachian trail. He hiked 2190 miles and it took a little over a year. He wore this shirt he is currently wearing during the expedition. I think most of us were thinking to ourselves "WHY??"

I thought this was the strangest building when we moved here. It is beautiful with the sun setting. It is the temple for the Church of Christ. 

It was a long Monday for Russell. Two cars involved in an accident in the morning and this one in the evening. He left FHE and spent several hours with the elders.  The girl who slammed into the back of their car had no insurance and was busy using her phone when she hit them. The elders called the police but they never came. Russell didn't get home until 10:30 p.m. He had left for the office at 5:30  a.m.

It was late by the time the tow truck came. 

Elder and Sister Perry will be leaving in 10 days. They gave their departing testimonies in Zone Conference.  This is their 5th full-time mission. Elder Perry is training Russell to do the finances. Russell will be doing both the finances and vehicles until  the next senior couple arrives in June. 

We both taught in zone conference.  My presentation was on ticks, chiggers and a new medical document I had created for the missionaries to use as a reference for medical questions.  We have had two missionaries call me about ticks just in the last 3 days. Both ticks were quite embedded. I am glad I presented on that subject. 

Going away dinner at our home for the Perrys. Office staff plus President and Sister Sommerfeldt. During the dinner I had a medical call and Russell had a call regarding an accident. 

We used Christmas plates because Sister Perry had found them in a missionary apartment and wanted to get rid of them. She absolutely loves dejunking and organizing.

Sadly, Elder Davis will be going home tomorrow. He has struggled with a pre-mission injury and needs another surgery. I love the painting his father painted for him (below).  However, Russell thought it was    hilarious that I thought it was of Elder Davis and his mom. The person beside him is supposed to be Jesus. 

Temple day, warm and windy.  Eileen and Sister Creer.

EILEEN'S ZC PRESENTATION ON CHIGGERS AND TICKS

ZC PRESENTATION OBSTRUCTED VIEWS