PARABLE OF THE DIVERS

This past Monday we had our senior missionary Family Home Evening. We participated in the Elderly version of the Olympics.  We threw the discus, using paper plates, did the javelin throw using straws, 50-yard dash relay while keeping a cotton ball on a spoon and then we created and launched paper airplanes.  Our team was the proud winner or several gold medals (chocolate formed into the shape of a 2 Euro coin).  The paper airplane challenge was much harder than you would think. The winner was a former helicopter pilot in the military.  The evening was a fun way to interact with the other missionaries and gave us some good ideas for a future family reunion.

Early Wednesday morning we heard on the news that Donald Trump had been elected as the next president of the United States of America. The reaction of the foreigners we have met is one of shock and astonishment. They have asked us how this could possibly happen. While we have strong feelings regarding the election, as missionaries we try not share them. Rather we say that we heed the advice of our church leaders and pray for the new leadership of our country that they may be wise and good.  Heaven knows more clearly than we do how much we need that to occur!

Wednesday we had our zone conference. This is a time when all the senior missionaries in Area Office gather together for instruction and edification.  Our former zone leaders, Elder and Sister Mills, were released.  Elder and Sister Proctor who serve with the Publishing Services Department were sustained as our new zone leaders.

Our zone with the Area Presidency

There were many excellent talks on subjects of becoming a successful missionary and inviting all to come unto Christ.  The highlight of the morning was hearing President and Sister Kearon speak to us. President Kearon is a Seventy in our church and currently is serving as the President of the Europe Area. Both he and Sister Kearon are some of the most kind, loving people I (Eileen) have ever met. It is a huge blessing to observe them in their interactions with others.

Sister Kearon expressed great appreciation for the dedicated service we as missionaries are offering. She told us how wonderful we are to forego so many family events at home so that we could serve here - because this is where the Lord needs us.  She told of a parable given by writer Stephen Robinson.  I have found a copy of the parable online and would like to share it here. 

 “Many years ago, when I was somewhere between nine and eleven, I participated in a community summer recreation program in the town where I grew up. I remember in particular a diving competition for the different age groups held at the community swimming pool. Some of the wealthier kids in our area had their own pools with diving boards, and they were pretty good amateur divers. But there was one kid my age from the less affluent part of town who didn’t have his own pool. What he had was raw courage. While the rest of us did our crisp little swan dives, back dives, and jackknives, being every so careful to arch our backs and point our toes, this young man attempted back flips, one-and-a-half's, doubles, and so on. But, oh, he was sloppy. He seldom kept his feet together, he never pointed his toes, and he usually missed his vertical entry.

The rest of us observed with smug satisfaction as the judges held up their scorecards that he consistently got lower marks than we did with our safe and simple dives, and we congratulated ourselves that we were actually the better divers. “He is all heart and no finesse,” we told ourselves. “After all, we keep our feet together and point our toes.”

The announcement of the winners was a great shock to us, for the brave young lad with the flips had apparently beaten us all.  

However, I had kept rough track of the scores in my head, and I knew with the arrogance of limited information that the math didn't add up. I had consistently outscored the boy with the flips. And so, certain that an injustice was being perpetrated, I stormed the scorer’s table and demanded and explanation. “Degree of difficulty,” the scorer replied matter-of-factly as he looked me in the eye. “Sure, you had better form, but he did harder dives. When you factor in the degree of difficulty, he beat you hands down, kid.”  

Until that moment I hadn't known that some dives were awarded “extra credit” because of their greater difficulty . . . . .

Whenever I am tempted to feel superior to other Saints, the parable of the divers comes to my mind, and I repent. At least at a swim meet, we can usually tell which dives are the most difficult. But here in mortality, we cannot always tell who is carrying what burdens: limited intelligence, chemical depression, compulsive behaviors, learning disabilities, dysfunctional or abusive family background, poor health, physical or psychological handicaps—no one chooses these things. So I must not judge my brothers and sisters. I am thankful for my blessings but not smug about them, for I never want to hear the Scorer say to me, “Sure, you had better form, but she had a harder life. When you factor in degree of difficulty, she beat you hands down.

So, enduring to the end doesn't have much to do with suffering in silence, overcoming all life’s obstacles, or even achieving the LDS ideal (“pointing our toes” and “keeping our feet together”). It just means not giving up. It means keeping—to the best of our abilities—the commitments we made to Christ when we entered into the marriage of the gospel. It means not divorcing the Savior or cheating on him by letting some other love become more important in our lives. It means not rejecting the blessings of the atonement that he showered upon us when we entered his church and kingdom.”

(Stephen E. Robinson, Following Christ: The Parable of the Divers and More Good News [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1995], 34-38.)

This parable came just at the right time for me (Eileen). While I have been extremely diligent in going to my German class daily and studying in the evening, I just can’t seem to keep up with the pace that some in the class are going.  Hearing this parable helped me consider the fact that although my German might sound very ugly or even non-existent, I am at a disadvantage in that I am essentially working a full-time job while going to school.  It is definitely a balancing act that I am feeling quite inept at. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that all my colleagues in my work sphere speak English. The chance to practice my German is pretty small until we are in a situation where it is needed. Then I am floundering for the correct vocabulary.  Perhaps as in the parable, I might get extra points for effort in a difficult situation. However, as I compare my situation and challenges with those of my classmates, I feel very blessed by and grateful to God for the life I get to lead.

In earlier blog entries we have mentioned that Eileen and Sister Anne Lovell have been attending a German language course.  The other students in the class come from a wide variety of ethnicity and cultural backgrounds.  From time to time it has come up in the class that both Sisters are missionaries and the Humanitarian and Self-Reliance efforts they are supporting here in Europe.  Earlier this week one man, Mohammed, told Sister Lovell that he was Christian and asked about our church.  Eileen and Sister Lovell brought him a Book of Mormon (in Farsi) and invited him to attend church on Sunday.  Since he does not speak much English and there are a few Farsi speakers in the German ward, they invited him to go to that set of meetings today. 

I (Russell) just returned from attending Sacrament meeting in the German ward.  Sister Lovell, Eileen and I all got to church 10 minutes early just in case Mohammed decided to come.  To our surprise he was already inside the chapel talking to the young missionaries!  He was introduced to two other Farsi speaking members, one of which interpreted for him during the meeting.  The young missionaries have an appointment to teach him later this coming week.  Today has been a rewarding one for Eileen and Sister Lovell.  Sometimes you need a reminder that you are doing something worthwhile.

This past week my father entered the hospital for surgery to remove a kidney stone he was unable to pass. My father is 92 years old. I am grateful that he was able to survive the surgery and pray that he will continue to recover.

My father and I taken 1 year ago, before 4 wheeling in the mountains