Zone conferences are a three day event that takes place every six weeks. However, due to a visit from our area President last month (our first week here), that zone conference was delayed several weeks to accommodate Elder Wong’s schedule. While at that conference, Elder Wong noticed that we had young elders from different zones helping with the car servicing and inspections that I (Russell) am responsible for. He suggested to President Sommerfeldt that we should not use the young elders time doing that, which direction President Sommerfelt relayed on to me.
I was quite distressed at the thought of taking care of over 90 vehicles, about 30 each day of all future zone conferences, by myself. I knew Eileen would help me, but she needed to be inside the zone conference where the young missionaries would talk to her about their medical problems.
Trying to be obedient but also trying to find a way to still accomplish the tasks assigned to me, I approached some of the senior missionaries. With the help of our Senior Missionary District Leader, we were able to take care of the vehicle servicing and inspections at zone conference this past week. In fact it went better and faster than when we had the young elders participating. The senior sisters can be quite effective motivators for the young missionaries to clean the cars both inside and out.
I am very grateful for the senor elders and sisters who helped me out this week. And I’m grateful for the direction given by Elder Wong. He was right and I was doubtful, and I’m learning. In the process I also found a senior elder who knows how to back up a trailer. Having to back up the trailer during transfers has been keeping me awake at nights. God was aware of both my needs and provided solutions to them. I got two blessing out of being obedient once.
Twice a month we have our senior missionary family home evening. A potluck dinner is held and we have a special presentation by a member of the group. This past Monday President and Sister Sommerfeldt shared a little about their lives and what miracles have occurred to bring them to the point where they are now. President Sommerfeldt asked us if anyone remembered the story about the two little girls who President Nelson had operated on as a young cardiac surgeon. Both girls passed away shortly after the surgery and the family was quite bitter towards him and the Church as a result.
The Hatfield family lives in the Sommerfeldt’s stake in Utah and the Sommerfeldts knew the family quite well. They related the following story. Several years ago, when President Nelson was the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he had a dream where the two young girls came to him saying they were not sealed to anyone and could he please help make it happen. President Nelson contacted President Sommerfeldt, who was then the Stake President, requested that either he or the family’s ministering brothers approach the Hatfield family and ask them if they would be willing to meet with Elder Nelson. Previously the family had declined similar offers to meet.
This time they accepted the request, forgiveness and reconciliation occurred and the family returned to activity in the Church. President and Sister Sommerfeldt had the wonderful opportunity to be present in the Payson Temple when the Hatfield father and a proxy for his deceased wife were sealed to the deceased two daughters. It was a good reminder to me (Eileen) of how forgiveness can bring healing to the soul.
This morning we listened remotely to our stake conference in Utah during which Dan Wadley was put in as our new stake president. Dan and Lisa live around the corner from us and we have a great deal of respect for both of them.
Dan is an ultramarathon runner, sometimes running races as long as 100 miles long. In June, he was going for a run while on vacation in Puerto Rico. He went into a full cardiac arrest. He was defibrillated several times and on life support in the ICU with a very grim prognosis. Our stake had a fast for Dan. Lisa told me that she was expecting to lose her husband. As our ward knelt in the chapel to offer up a prayer for Dan and his family, Dan started becoming responsive and the breathing tube was removed from him. It is truly a modern miracle that he is alive after all he has been through. Even more of a miracle that he will be able to function in the very busy role of stake president. Today in his talk, he thanked our stake members for the prayers offered up for him and vowed to serve the Lord knowing that the fact that he is alive today is truly a miracle from on high.
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