THICK THINGS

In his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey suggests we keep our priorities right in terms of not letting lesser concerns get in the way of our greater ones, so that we avoid finding ourselves “in the thick of thin things.”  This week has been one full of very “thick things.”

On Wednesday evening, Eileen and I had the opportunity to go with the young sister missionaries to teach a lesson to Nelda, a recent convert, on Family History and temple work for our deceased ancestors.  The young missionaries are limited to visits of just 30 minutes in our mission.  It took that long just to get Nelda up and running on her android phone with the FamilySearch app.  As I (Russell) was showing Nelda how to input her father’s name, we only had to input his full name and then his birth day and month (she was not sure on the year) for the program to “suggest” a person that we might be searching for. The record showed her father’s birth, marriage and death dates, along with locations for each.  Nelda excitedly confirmed that he was indeed her father, but none of us present were prepared for what happened once I pushed the button accepting the app's suggestion.  Nelda’s family tree/geneology filled in immediately.  I quickly followed her father’s line back to the 1600’s.  We were all amazed.  Nelda asked if we could pull up the records of a deceased uncle, which we did. She was delighted to see names she recognized from long ago, and siblings of her uncle she did not know existed.  At one point we were stumped as to how to work the program on an android phone.  Eileen suggested calling Chuck and Fran Moulton.  Nelda was again amazed that with just a few pieces of information, Chuck was able to get on the program with us and fix a problem in her family tree.

As we looked at the names of Nelda’s ancestors, I reminded her that she could do temple work for them.  We talked about 1 Corinthians 15, where Paul teaches about Christ overcoming death and the resurrection.  We read in verse 29, were Paul asks, “Else what shall they do which are baptised for the dead, if the dead rise not at all?  Why are they then baptized for the dead?”  We look forward to going to the temple with Nelda to do baptisms for her deceased family members.

Earlier on Wednesday,  Eileen’s sister Chris, who had been in a coma, opened her eyes.  Medically it was the first positive sign in over a week.  Each day this week Chris has improved, to the point that she was able to talk to us a few days later.  We feel greatly blessed to have her back.  We appreciate so much her friend Yvis, and her sisters Cindy and Cathy for their being by her side during this ordeal, for the wonders of modern medicine and the medical professionals that took care of Chris, but most of all for God’s healing and comfort.  We are very blessed!

While Eileen has many interactions daily with the young missionaries regarding their medical issues, three stood out this week as being of significant consequence and situations where she felt guided by the Spirit.  One was a missionary who had suffered silently with severe medical problem, working hard as a missionary, and only very reluctantly finally disclosing the issue to Eileen.  The missionary had no idea that the condition would require a return home and operation. Another missionary with just minor symptoms was surprisingly (miraculously?) diagnosed with a serious disease that usually only afflicts senior citizens. The last of the three situations was one where two missionaries told a new missionary that Eileen was “someone he could trust.” He then spent a lengthy visit with her, sharing some very personal challenges. It was a tender visit. 

There was a horrible ice storm on Monday.  Our car on Monday morning was totally coated with ice. This was Russell trying to get the ice off of the car.

Sister Hard slipped on the ice two weeks ago. She hasn't been going out and her battery died. It was very cold outside when Russell went to go jump her battery.

Elder and Sister Dunham taught Tai Chi for our senior missionary FHE.

Road trip to Mound City (extremely rural area) looking at housing for future missionaries. We had 5 phones and a computer going during the trip.

Previous missionaries had signed their name on this goat head, with a Book of Mormon next to it

                                      Russell helping Nelda with her family history.  

This was in our shower. I think it is a brown recluse. Since they are very poisonous I am glad it wasn't found in our bed.

It was a thrill to see my (Eileen) sister Chris extubated after two very critical weeks of illness.

I have been wearing this boot and a sketcher flip flop now for 4 months. Not exactly appropriate missionary attire. I received three more cortisone shots in my feet on Friday. MRI showed I still have edema along the nerves.

Remember 10 days ago at Zone Conference when the church reeked of gas and I called the fire department?  We were in the middle of a fireside today when the firemen came in and evacuated the church building. Fortunately we were able to go to the visitor Center nearby and continue the fireside.

HOW QUICKLY THINGS CAN CHANGE

A few weeks ago, my sister-in-law, Chris, came to visit us over Christmas.  It was wonderful to spend the holiday with family.  Eight days ago, Chris went to the hospital with an eye infection and some minor respiratory issues.  Last Sunday was the last time she was able to communicate with us. In less than 48 hours her health went downhill very quickly, landing her in the ICU and a medically induced coma.   Much of this past week, Eileen has been on the phone talking to the hospital and her other sisters who are with Chris, monitoring her status and wondering if we will be attending a funeral soon. 

 

As I (Russell) have been praying for Chris, I found myself asking, if it not be against God’s will, that she might have a full recovery, and that she could be free from pain, at peace, and know that she is loved by many on both sides of the veil.  I couldn’t help but feel a bit selfish in my request, knowing that: (i) her deceased mother, father, and sister would be excited to have Chris with them again; (ii) Chris would be returning home to her Heavenly parents and her Savior; and (iii) she would be free from the pains and challenges of this life.  Still, I hope she can recover. 

 

I am grateful for my knowledge of our Heavenly Father’s eternal plan for us and for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I am eternally indebted to my Savior for His atoning sacrifice for me, which makes repentance possible, so that I can possibly return to my heavenly home someday. It is so comforting to know at times like this that we will all be resurrected someday and that familial bonds can extend beyond this mortal life. 

 

Two weeks ago in our blog, I noted that we attended Nelda’s baptism.  A week ago, the young sister missionaries called Eileen and asked if we would like to go to the temple with them and Nelda on Tuesday.  Eileen had previously mentioned taking Nelda to see the temple.  Eileen told the sister missionaries that we would be tied up with a zone conference that day but would that we would love to do so some other time.  Today we sat with Nelda during both Sacrament meeting and Sunday School.  Nelda told Eileen about her visit to the temple and how she loved doing proxy baptisms.  I asked Nelda if she had considered doing proxy work for her deceased relatives.  She expressed surprise at that possibility – something during the missionary lessons must have been missed or not understood.  I explained the concept briefly and our interest as a Church in doing genealogy.  I immediately recognized that Eileen and I now have an opportunity to do what most would consider to be real missionary work.       

      This is what happens to the underside of a car when  it travels at 86 mph on a gravel road. 

Elder Haueter, Elder Bradford and Elder Healy, braving the cold with wind chills of 30 below to inspect and work on cars.  We truly appreciate the seniors and their help with the cars.

I sure admire and appreciate this couple. The Beatys came from the Far West Zone, which is very far away, with terrible road conditions to serve food for our missionaries. They previously  served a mission with the Havasu Indians and spent some time in the bottom of the Grand Canyon. They had to helicopter in to their living accommodations. 

The menu for our zone conference on Tuesday. The hot chocolate bar was especially appreciated with the frigid temperatures.

                                    Our media sisters, Sister Beach and Sister White

The Beatys brought a piñata. It was Sister Chamberlain's 81st birthday. She is a senior sister serving a mission here. She got first whack at the piñata.

I (Eileen) immediately smelled gas when entering the building for the Independence Zone Conference on Wednesday. The  fire department came and checked it out and said it was ok. I didn't want to have 100 missionaries with carbon monoxide poisoning. 

The pipes on the apartment across from ours froze leaving frozen ice on the walkway to our car.

Our dear missionary friends the Bradfords will be completing their mission soon. They have been a wonderful help to us. They treated us to dinner at a fancy restaurant in Kansas City.  

BAD WEATHER? OR BAD CLOTHING?

There is a Norwegian proverb that says, “There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.” Others have said similar things, all which basically come down to making it my fault that I have been freezing the last few days.  It is early afternoon and looking out my window I see the sun is shining, the sky is blue, and it is -4 degrees Fahrenheit.  Before sundown, the day’s high may reach -2.  Last night, I was unable to successfully explain to Eileen why people would play football when it was -9 (with a windchill of -20+), or why the stadium would be full of spectators just to watch a game. 

We had gone to the temple yesterday and quickly recognized that nothing we had brought with us was going to keep us warm.  So afterward, it was off to Walmart to buy multiple pair of thermal underwear.  I have known for a few days that the weather was going to be sub-zero for the zone conference this coming week.  I’ve made plans to minimize what we do outside with the cars in an effort to not give the mission nurse any more senior sick missionaries.  The most critical thing I have to do, putting the new registration stickers on the license plates of several cars, was concerning to me.  I knew that adhesives are degraded by the cold, so I was exploring on the internet to find out just how warm it had to be for the new stickers to stick.  There were many opinions, but it was the Wisconsin DMV which actually gave the best advice: take the plates off, take them indoors, get them to room temperature, put on the stickers, and then put the plates back on.

 

The stake president canceled church today, due to the weather, so we listened in on our home ward’s meetings.  In addition to being great meetings, it was fun to hear and see our neighbors from home.  Earlier this week, Kai Hintze dropped by to see us for a few minutes.  He was on a work trip, visiting Independence, Adam-o do-Ahman and Nauvoo.  We have been very blessed to live and raise our children in Centerville, surrounded by many good, wonderful people.

I (Eileen) received an urgent call stating that one of our senior missionaries had slipped on the ice outside her apartment and hit her head on the cement. After talking with the sister, I was concerned that she might need to go to the ER as she was very disoriented. Russell and I visited her in person and these two elders came to give her a blessing.  Elder Fisher had only been in the mission field two days and had never given a blessing before so Russell and Elder Fleming gave her a priesthood blessing. Sister Hardy said afterwards that it was almost like angels were caressing her head as she hit the ground with her fall. Her condition improved significantly after      the priesthood blessing. 

Kai Hintze from our ward in Centerville dropped by our office and visited with us for a while. He is the Director of Temporal Affairs for the Historic Sites. We had a wonderful time visiting with him. 

 

Russell found these overshoes in the closet at the office. They will keep his feet dry in bad weather. 

  

                                           Posted on Facebook Saturday.

 This is an oops. Russell tried to open the blinds to show me how beautiful the weather looks even though it is so cold. The blinds refused to go back down. This is our version of fixing them. 

WHAT MATTERS MOST

While New Year’s Day is a holiday, it also happens to be the first day after the end of a month. Starting a month ago, I (Russell) began preparing a spreadsheet for the prior month comparing miles driven to miles allocated/authorized for each car.  This information is then used by the Assistants to the President (APs) and Zone Leaders (ZLs) to allocate miles for the upcoming month and to rein in those going over their allotted miles from the prior month.  During September and October we had a number of what I might call “free range” elders that needed some attention.  That took most of my Monday this week.  Tuesday, the first workday of the new year and month, I began my most tedious of monthly tasks, that of checking/viewing receipts on all the gas purchases of the prior month for our 90+ vehicle’s credit cards.  When they average 7-8 transactions per month, and half the missionaries forget to provide a receipt or two, even though the process is automated it still takes several days.  With transfers on Thursday, I really needed to finish by Wednesday evening.  Once people move to different areas and cars, the odds of being able to successfully follow up on discrepancies diminishes greatly.

 

Tuesday evening we had the opportunity of attending the baptism of Nelda, a woman a few years older than us.  She had been taking the missionary lessons for 7-8 months.  Recently, we have been sitting near her in Sacrament meeting. The baptismal meeting was a wonderful spiritual experience for both Eileen and I.  It caused me to reflect a bit and recognize that I have not experienced a lot of that on this mission.

 

Perhaps it was in part because of my prior night’s experience, that I reacted the way I did the next afternoon when I got a call from a senior sister missionary to see if I would come to her apartment and help give her a priesthood blessing.  She fell a couple days prior and had just returned home from being in the hospital.  My first thought was, I need to finish this report today and I’m nowhere near done.  Fortunately, a quickly following second thought was, and is, this is a lot more important than the report you don’t like doing anyway.  As I drove back to the office after helping with the blessing, I thought, this may be the one truly important thing I will actually do today. That night it was after 8 pm before I left the office.

 

Today in sacrament meeting we were able to witness Nelda confirmed a member of the Church and receive the Holy Ghost.  Like at the baptism, her younger sister was with her.  Eileen sat next to her sister during sacrament meeting and Sunday School explaining what was going on.  Perhaps there will be an opportunity in the future for us to do some real missionary work with Nelda’s family members. 

 

During our weekly office staff meeting, we learned that there were 401 baptisms in our mission during 2023, a 20% increase from the prior year.  I guess Eileen and I get so caught up in the health and vehicle challenges of the mission, that we rarely see all the good that is taking place.  I’m grateful for the brief experiences I have had this week that have reminded me of what truly matters most.

L to R, Elder Louder is our new AP and previously taught Nelda, Elder Baxter, Nelda and Elder Gordon. 

Elder Gordon having some Chick-fil-A, just returning from a doctor's appt. where he heard good news.

New arrivals of missionaries, we had a smaller group this transfer.

Our first lunch with the missionaries. After lunch President Sommerfeldt interviews the new missionaries, while I do medical interviews. There were a lot of tender feelings with tears shed this month. 

                                                     New missionaries with trainers.