THE ANGELS AROUND US

The mission office is only six blocks from downtown Independence and two blocks, in the other direction, from the Temple Lot, a location dedicated by Joseph Smith for the building of a future temple.  So, most of the construction around us is dated (old) and many of our neighbors are on the lower end of the economic spectrum.  Early in our mission here we met the “Fox Lady,” she feeds the local foxes at night.  We have encountered her in our parking lot late in the evenings.The other day, I (Russell) got out of my car at 6:00 AM prior to entering the office and was greeted with a “Hello” from her as she sat on our grass under a tree.  I wondered if she might have slept there.  She likely has an apartment near, but I wonder if she forgets that at times.

We also have another middle-aged woman who occasionally walks squares in our parking lot or amount the nearby trees.  She is very precise in making her corners.  The other evening I came out from work to get in the car.  It had been a long day and my car was the only one left in the lot.  And Angel, as I came to learn was her name, was walking her squares between me and my vehicle.  My intention was just to ignore her, but to my surprise she asked me a question, “How many places in the Bible is Lucifer noted?”  The temptation to follow through on my intention was strong, but I thought I am wearing a missionary badge and I should at least act the part.  We had an interesting discussion which I steered toward the pre-earth portion of the Plan of Salvation, focusing on the Savior’s and Lucifer’s parts therein.  When I suggested I could have two of our young missionaries come talk to her, she told me that she had talked to them before and she only wanted to talk to someone older, like me.  I think she was surprised when I said I could have two senior sister missionaries contact her.  I got her name and contact information, and after returning home gave them to one of our senior sister missionaries assigned to the Independence area.  As it turned out, Angel was not a “Golden” contact.  But as I have thought about it later, she is a daughter of God, deserving of love and respect regardless of her mental or emotional challenges.

On Saturday, we had a senior district activity.  We all drove to Excelsior Springs, about 45 minutes northeast of Independence, to listen to Keith Bowen, a Church member and President of the Missouri Mormon Frontier Foundation.  His home was like a museum with artifacts ranging from old copies of the Book of Mormon (several published by other restoration churches) to foundation stones from pioneer era buildings.  We visited the location on the Fishing River where Zions Camp encountered the mob in June 1834 and experienced the violent storm which dispelled the mob before any bloodshed occurred.  We also visited the grave of Hyrum Page, one of the eight witnesses to the Book of Mormon.

Following our Church History activity, we had lunch at Wabash BBQ, just down the road from Keith Bowen’s home.  I have eaten at both Jack Stack Barbecue and Joe’s Kansas City BBQ, considered by many to be the best BBQ places in the Kansas City area, but in my opinion Wabash is better.  It was amazing!

Last night, about 11 PM, we had a severe storm hit the Kansas City area.  In addition to the rain, hail and thunderstorm, we had straight-line winds of up to 70 miles per hour.  The hardest hit area was just south of us a mile or so.  At our apartment, we lost electrical service for 12 hours, with the power coming back on just after we got out of church today.  Then just as we thought we were going to be good for the day, the power went off again. Fortunately, the church building and mission office did not lose power.   It may be a while before this addition to the blog gets posted.

We had Elder and Sister Sheffield join us and Sister Creer for dinner last Sunday. They literally had just arrived in Missouri from the MTC.  She was a dance professor at BYU. They are currently assigned to Mound City, Kansas, a very rural city in the southernmost part of our mission. They were both delightful and we felt like we had been good friends with them right from the start.

Elder Webber and Poulsen both had a very difficult day this past week. Russell suggested that we take them out to eat. I was surprised they were available. They said someone had cancelled on their dinner appt. Imagine my surprise to find the people who had cancelled eating dinner at the restaurant!  Both missionaries handled it like champs. I (Eileen) thought it was very awkward. 

The Dennisons with their daughter who is visiting.  She is just as hilarious as her Mom. Both can be very dramatic. 

Elder Olsen and Aguirre.  Elder Olsen's grandpa was my obstetrician with my last pregnancy and saved my life.  I am very grateful to his grandfather and will always hold him in high esteem.

Why didn't I get the memo that coral and black were the colors of the day?

I saw a cardinal outside my window at work. Unfortunately, this photo through the slats of the blinds did not turn out well.   I understand that seeing a cardinal may be a symbol of loved ones who will always be in our hearts. My parents have both passed away. My father would be 100 years old on May 28th.  It is nice to think that maybe he and my mother are both watching over me. I am grateful for the wonderful example they set for me and my family members. 

This sign on the entrance to the church parking lot in Excelsior Springs, MO. 

Brother Bowen sharing one of many of his rare copies of original manuscripts of the Book of Mormon from restoration churches. 

This beautiful stained glass window was in the Bowens home which was built in 1909. 

Brother Bowen explaining Zion's Camp at this location and the ferocious storm that drove the militia away. Later that evening we had a bad storm which tore down trees and power lines, cutting off our power.

Senior missionaries at Fishing River, site of Zion's Camp.  Joseph Smith received D&C sec 105 not far from here. 

Gravesite for Hiram Page, one of the eight witnesses of the Book of Mormon.

When Russell ordered ribs he did not know how much he would get.  He shared some, and still ate it for 3 meals. 

Photo from KC area storm on the night of May 25th, taken from the news. Over 140,000 people lost power due to the storm.

MISSION TOUR

Elder Ricardo Giminez from our Area Presidency and his wife came this week and conducted three days of Zone Conference, plus he spoke to the missionary leadership and had an additional session for just the Spanish speaking missionaries in our mission. Russell was not able to hear Zone Conference at all so this week, so I (Eileen) will have to do my best to describe it. 

Sister Sommerfeldt showed some photos of one of our missionaries in his BYU football uniform and one of her son in his military uniform. She talked about being bound to the organizations these two men are associated with. Then she talked about how our missionary badges indicate that we have bound ourselves to the Lord to preach His gospel and to act as he would want us to. When their son was released from his mission by his father/stake president (President Sommerfeldt), the son wept.  It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy to be home. He even had a girlfriend waiting for him. Instead, it was the sadness which came knowing that he would no longer be in full-time service to the Lord as his emissary.   It seemed to be very thought provoking to many of the missionaries. We never know when someone might be observing our behavior. Are we an example of Christlike behavior in our words and actions?

President Sommerfeldt talked about the importance of being bold in our invitations to others. We discussed boldness and how we can act bold without being offensive.

Elder and Sister Giminez were masterful in their teaching techniques.  Elder Giminez walked up and down the rows of missionaries as he talked making eye contact with each missionary.  On Thursday we had the service missionaries within our mission join us at Zone Conference. Usually with Zone Conference, the service missionaries have breakout sessions during some of the time when the information presented may not be pertinent to them.  This time they stayed the whole session.  Elder and Sister Giminez included them in all their teaching. Some teach by proselyting; others teach in their service. 

Elder Giminez talked about how in the NFL there are 32 teams, 31 need to fail for one team to be the final winner. The gospel is not that way.  Heavenly Father would like us all to be winners and return to His presence. As missionaries teach the gospel their success is not dependent on how many ”friends” are baptized.   In Africa a missionary may baptize hundreds during his/her mission. In Europe a missionary may feel lucky to teach a lesson once or twice/month. The outcomes are not always equal because it is dependent on other’s agency.

Elder Giminez talked about being involved in the assignment process with a member of the Quorum of the Twelve.  At one session the apostle turned to him and asked where he thought the young man whose photo was on the screen should be assigned. Elder Giminez hoping he had the power of revelation made a guess that he should be serving in Sao Paulo, Brazil.   The assigning member of the Twelve then said that the young future missionary would be going to Sapporo, Japan.  In 1 Nephi 3:7 Nephi is told that the Lord does not give commands save he should prepare a way for that commandment to be fulfilled.  Do we believe that we can be successful in our callings with the Lord’s help even though it is beyond our comfort zone?

In 2014 Elder Bednar and President Nelson were both on the Missionary Executive Committee.They suggested the use of technology for the young missionaries. In 2018 a pilot program began for 80 missions to have the use of technology (smart phones, Facebook).  In January 2020 approval was given for the use of technology in all the missions worldwide.  By March of 2020 missionary work in person had pretty much shut down due to the pandemic.Missionary work still moved forward. with the use of technology which a prophet could see would be necessary. It was not a coincidence that technology was approved just two months before the pandemic. “A prophet can see around corners.”

A final thought which struck me was that Elder Giminez felt very strongly that we are assigned to our location because of our mission president and wife.  He said if the Sommerfeldts were called to Alaska we could very well be serving our mission in Alaska with them. We both have a great deal of love for the Sommerfeldts and are grateful for the opportunity we have had to serve with them. 

I (Eileen) attended all 3 days of Zone Conference. While sitting on metal folding chairs for 3 days can be a little bit challenging, it was wonderful to observe the missionaries. Several who have had difficulties with obedience, mental health or physical health issues were there participating.One even stood behind me at the end as we went to go meet Elder Giminez. This particular young man was one who I was concerned would struggle on his mission. Even his parents were hesitant about the probability of him being successful on a proselyting mission.Yet, as we stood there in line together, he told me how much he loved his mission and was happy to be here. (This, despite the fact that he had gotten into an accident earlier in the week with his new vehicle.).  In my mind that was definitely a feel good moment.  Perhaps we are doing some good here. 

Elder and Sister Gimenez with President and Sister Sommerfeldt 

                               Elder Jimenez didn't eat lunch but instead visited with the missionaries.

                  Elder Clifton signing for the singing of The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning.

These ladies were assigned lunch. I was getting nervous when it was 7 minutes til lunch was supposed to start and they weren't at the church and we didn't have their contact info. They rolled in with 24 hot pizzas. The missionaries loved it. They were give 3 slices/per person.

Elder Hall, Elder Dennison and Elder Healy trying to figure out a problem with the new truck. Elder Hall taught automotive classes in his pre-mission life.

Sister Sommerfeldt talking about making commitments and being bound to the Lord. Here she has a photo of our missionary Elder Thomason who will be bound to BYU after his mission. 

Elder Wunderly and Elder Mortenson role playing teaching Elder Gimenez about the law of chastity. 

Sister Devashrayee taking her medicine the nurse just gave her. She was feeling pretty miserable during Zone Conference. 

This package came to the office totally trashed. Some poor mother paid $72 to ship this. There were holes ripped in the box all over the place. It was obvious the package had been treated poorly. I can see this happening if we were overseas, but we are in Missouri!

Russell hanging some paintings for Sister Creer in her apartment.  The painting above is Come Follow Me by Liz Lemon Swindle. The painting below is  Of One Heart, Emma Crossing the Ice by the same artist.  While Joseph Smith was imprisoned in Liberty Jail, Emma crossed the frozen Mississippi fleeing extermination with their four children. Emma sewed Joseph's translation of the bible into her petticoats.   

d

Another photo of the Church of Christ Temple. This time it was interesting to see it with the spire in the clouds.

TAKE IT ON FAITH

This week, the news of the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) that would be visible on Friday and Saturday nights was well announced. Pictures Saturday morning on the local TV stations and social media were amazing, and motivated Eileen and I to try and see them for ourselves. At 10:30 PM Saturday we set out, driving northeast. We were trying to get away from the city lights, and in that we were successful. However, we failed in our efforts to see anything and returned home a little before mid-night. It was a beautiful, clear night, lots of stars but no Northern Lights. We are going to have to trust the accounts of others and accept their pictures as to what had appeared in the night sky. As I drove home last night, I wondered if this is what it is like for investigators of the Church listening to the missionaries, or for young children hearing from their parents about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Everyone wants to see for themselves, but most of us have to just live by faith (see Hebrews 10 & 11).

As we celebrate Mother’s Day today, I find myself extremely grateful for Eileen, the mother of my children, for my mother and grandmothers, and for my mother-in-law. All have been such an important and cherished part of my life. All but Eileen have passed on and I find myself missing them very much. I look forward to the day when we can be together again.

We really put  a lot of effort in to see the Northern Lights.  I know they were visible in our area, because there were several photos such as this one above taken by Travis Heying not far from Kansas City. We don't normally stay up til midnight, however Russell kept thinking if we drive north just a few minutes more maybe we will see them.  Alas, we were disappointed and finally gave up. 

Sister Creer and I (Eileen) went to a celebration of Harry Truman's birthday at the Truman Presidential Library. Truman lived in Independence, both prior to and after being the U.S. President. You can see both of us on the far left hand side of this photo, just to the left of the lady rummaging in her purse. We were at the front of the line of guests. Family members are in front of us. 

                                             Sister Creer, me and Harry Truman.  

Elder Thomason (middle), has returned to our mission after being on a leave of absence for surgery. Elder Hall on the right is 6'5". He has never met anyone who has as big of feet as him.  Elder Thomason has a size 17 shoe so he beats out Elder Hall's shoe size.

Sister Creer's foot in comparison to Elder Thomason's  The heels of their shoes are touching. 

Sister Dennison usually goes to the YSA ward, however joined me today in our family ward.

We have been blessed to have wonderful mothers.  Above is Russell with his mother.

Russell's Grandmothers Werrett and Healy. They came to his house regularly to help his mother while she was ill with cancer. 

Eileen with her sisters and mother at  her sister in law's wedding. Eileen is in the blue.

Our family, outside of the Bountiful Temple after our son Jonathan was sealed to us.

Russell was very close to my mother. He loved to cook for her on Mother's Day. His mother died a year after our marriage. 

A text from young sister missionaries this week. It is the second key fob which has been lost in the week. Unfortunately after several unsuccessful efforts to retrieve the key, it was determined this key was forever lost in the crack under the front stairs. 

CHALLENGING WEEK

Over the past six weeks, we have been picking up cars from the Nissan dealership but been unable to put them in service because we didn’t have license plates.  I (Russell) was hoping (a false hope) that we could get them turned over before the Perrys left.  As the number of cars has grown, so has my fear of how we were going to deal with them should the plates come in all at once, which of course they did!

This week we traded out 24 cars (2024 for 2023 models), 25 percent of our total fleet.  On Monday and Tuesday, we did 22 of those.  The task could not have been accomplished without the help of several senior missionary couples.  The Dennisions and Elder Hall helped me with the cars and the John’s spent the week reconciling the April gas cards.  It has been a long and difficult week, and I’m sure I am not the only senior missionary who is looking forward to the Parkers arrival in June.

We decided to take the Dennisons out to dinner on Saturday as a thank you for their help.  Elder Dennison, as is another senior couple serving here, strictly following a “plant-based” diet.  So, we went to a restaurant named, “The Fix,” one of the few restaurants in Kansas City that cater to this segment of vegans.  The restaurant was not in the nicest part of downtown Kansas City and had the bohemian atmosphere one might expect to find near a college campus.  The food was surprisingly good given my expectations.  It caused me to think about what my food might be like in the Milenium, when, “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and fatling together, …” (Isaiah 11, 2 Nephi 21 & 30).

As we were leaving the restaurant, Sister Dennison and Sister Creer saw a quaint shop across the street named “Under the Cover,” which they wanted to stop at.  It looked like a nice family-owned bookstore. Fortunately, Eileen had heard about the store on talk radio, which she had listened to for just a few minutes while driving to a doctor’s appointment.  Turns out that nice looking little shop was an adult book and trinket store.  I’m glad Eileen was able to warn the other sisters before they went inside!

I (Eileen) had a bit of a frustrating day on Friday. Russell had been working extremely long hours all week. He has been leaving for the office by about 5:30-6:00 a.m and has been returning after dark.  We recently received a recall on our car which I wanted to take care of since Russell was so busy. Medical has also been quite busy recently for me, with numerous calls each day.  I made an appointment with the dealership for Friday and then called twice to confirm. I was sent 5 reminder notices. After I had traveled 30 minutes to get to the car dealership, I was told that the appointment would be very quick as they needed to order a part before the service could be done. 

On my return trip to the office I received a text from a senior missionary saying she was taking a young missionary to an urgent care.  I have to always receive approval from Missionary Medical before a missionary can go to the doctor. Before I even reached the office where I could check with Missionary Medical, I was texted again saying they were going to the ER stat per the urgent care’s request. I immediately turned around and headed to the hospital which was about 30 minutes away. When I arrived, the missionary was sitting up on a gurney smiling and laughing with her companion. I soon realized that she was not in dire pain requiring surgery or other immediate interventions and returned to the office.   It seemed a bit of a difficult day.

Saturday and Sunday was our stake conference. One talk which particularly impressed me was by the father of 19-year-old Jonathan Fielding.  Jonathan was a young man who had fallen to his death 3 months ago in Utah, while taking a photograph during a hike.  Brother Fielding talked about how he and his wife had just gotten off their shift as ordinance workers at the temple, when they were notified of their son’s passing.  Rather than being bitter about this tragedy, Brother Fielding discussed how blessed they felt to be able to have returned to the temple 30 days later to do Jonathan’s temple work. He testified of the beauty of the Plan of Salvation.  Both he and a member of our Stake Presidency quoted pieces of Alexander Dushku’s talk from the most recent conference. Elder Dushku is our former stake president and he set us apart for our last two missions. 

After 6 months of wearing a boot and almost 4 years of recovering from my bike accident with accompanying surgeries, it feels so good to be playing racquetball.  We have a racquetball court at our apartment complex. We have never seen anyone else use it other than me, Russell and Sister Creer.  I finally beat Sister Creer on Saturday, 4 out of 6 games. 

Elder Dennison cutting up old license plates with tin snippers

Our "lot" with 22 used cars (2023).  Russell will be so glad when these cars are finally gone

Sister Creer, Sister Dennison and me (Eileen) visited the Polly Pop soda factory in Independence. They first opened in 1923.  Russell and I do not drink normal soda drinks and we weren't a huge fan of the "diet" drinks that were sold. Everyone else loved the normal soda flavors.

Russell planted hanging flower baskets just two weeks ago. One is already dying, but the birds love it. They made this lovely nest in what is now a dead flower basket. 

Eating vegan at "The Fix"