THE REST OF THE STORY

Last year on our blog entry of September 3, 2023, I (Russell) wrote about an experience with an elder who had lost his car’s key fob.  Elder Wunderly returned home this last week after having served a great mission.  Because of the experience we had together, I wanted to make sure I saw him at transfers on Wednesday before he and his group of missionaries left.  On Tuesday we received 24 new missionaries.   Wednesday morning Eileen did some training prior to the missionaries receiving their new companions who will be training them.  I accompanied Eileen so that I could see Elder Wunderly and say goodbye prior to his departure home.  While welcoming the new missionaries to our mission, Eileen said something unexpected.  She spoke about receiving our call to the Missouri Independence Mission and how we anticipated we were going to be called somewhere else.  She then related how this mission has turned out to be her favorite of the five full-time missions we have served together.  

While I have known that Eileen has been happy serving here, it was still a surprise to hear her say it so confidently and publicly.  Eileen’s statement and my hope to say goodbye to Elder Wunderly in the next hour caused me to reflect on the event with the lost key fob over a year ago.  In the blog entry over a year ago, I mentioned how early in the morning, the day after the key fob was found, I was prompted to recognize that both of us missed the greater blessing: that the key fob did not work that one time!  What I failed to disclose about that prompting was something that I have not told anyone, other than Eileen once a month or so ago.  As I was thinking that morning about how I had missed the greater blessing of the car not starting, another thought came: that I was missing a lot of God’s interventions on my behalf, including being assigned to this mission.  I remember feeling/thinking, “Do you know how much effort it took to not have you assigned to one of the missions you had requested?”  The six preferences we had put down in our missionary papers were all good fits for us and for the needs of the prospective missions.  But none were what God wanted for us at that time.  God knows what is best for us and He will lead us if we are willing to follow.  One again I’m being taught that lesson, I’m just a slow learner. 

The Sheffields invited us over to dinner. The wives sat at another table across the room. The wives were mentioning that occasionally members of our church mistake our husbands for General Authorities.  L-R, Bishop Causse (Elder Sheffield), Elder Uchtdorf (Russell), Elder Bednar (Elder Dennison).  

Sister Williams went home this past week for medical issues. I (Eileen) sure love this sweet sister. The flowers she gave me 2 weeks ago are still alive on my desk. I keep thinking they will soon be dried flowers. 

We had the wonderful opportunity as a senior missionary district to watch the broadcast for President Nelson's 100th birthday. He is such a remarkable man with so many great accomplishments.  He seemed to be especially chosen for this time leading the helm of the church during the pandemic and leading with love at a time when there is so much conflict associated with politics, gender and race.

Sister Parker told the remarkable story of a newly returned missionary from Mexico who was in Kansas City helping his sister move.  The truck they were using ended up getting stolen. His precious scriptures were in the truck. When the car eventually was towed for illegal parking, it was full of beer bottles and drug paraphernalia.  The police were contacted and they found this young man's scriptures in the truck. The police officer recognized the scriptures as being something very personal and brought the scriptures to the Independence Visitor Center. Sister Parker was then contacted. She tracked the owner of the scriptures down on Facebook.  He was no longer in Missouri however his sister came to pick them up.  I wonder how many angels it took to make all these miracles happen?

The Ranes are going home this week. They have been serving doing Records Preservation. Sister Ranes keeps all of us at the office supplied with plenty of treats. We love them and will miss them.

This week we had transfers. There were 24 new missionaries who arrived, all but 4 were elders. 

We love our amazing APs Elder Hymas and Elder Timpson

Elder Wunderly has been a great missionary. We will miss him and wish him well on his pursuits in the future with his education. 

Sister Creer and I took a walking tour on Saturday of historical sites in Independence related to the LDS people. This mural showing the trails of those going west is on the side of a building here in Independence.

This is another mural painted on the outside of a building. It shows scenes of Harry Truman. It is difficult to see in this photo but it shows his quote "Its good be back home in what I call the center of the world-Independence.  I think it is the greatest town in the United States."

This building was the first courthouse in Independence. It was built in 1827 and eventually moved to this location. A gentleman on our tour was actually a descendant of the man who built this courthouse.  

President Forsyth who is the mission president of the Historical Sites Mission led our walking tour. He is standing in front of  the current courthouse for Independence. It is estimated that in the  mid 1800s, 1000 wagons left/month to head west from this location.  In 1833 Bishop Edward Partridge was tarred and feathered in front of this courthouse.

Elder Hamas and Elder Timpson took the time to get Russell his favorite treats and bring them to the office for his birthday.  They even hand chose the Disney bag specifically for Russell. 

BEING PROSELYTIZED

A couple of weeks ago, we had our neighbors over for Sunday dinner.  While talking to them about our being missionaries and the gospel of Jesus Christ did not seem appropriate at that first meeting, I (Russell) have been trying to think of ways to follow-up and perhaps take our discussion in that direction.  The only thing that came to me was maybe I could get them a watermelon.  It seemed kind of a random thought.  The next time we went to the store, Eileen wanted a watermelon, so I got two.  While bringing our groceries in from the car, I dropped one off at our neighbors.  Theotus was both surprised and appreciative, but nothing more has come from that simple act.

In the Mansion Apartments, mail is not delivered to each apartment.  You and over 400 of your neighbors each have a mailbox in a single central location.  We never have anything sent to it, so we rarely ever open it.  When we do, it is stuffed full of ads and other junk mail. Yesterday Eileen decided to check the box for some reason.  This was perhaps the third time we have done so since moving here.  In amongst the many things that quickly found their way to the garbage was an envelope with “From the residents of 2503 to the residents of 2504,” handwritten on the outside.  Inside was a tract from the Jehovah Witnesses.  As it was not near the top of the stack of mail in the box, and it did not address us by name, I believe it must have been from Theotus and Lola, from a time before they knew our names.  We the missionaries were being proselytized!  They probably looked at us and thought we were a nice young couple (relatively speaking), and they could do their part to spread God’s Word. I can now understand better why Lola looked so nervous when she first came over.  She was probably concerned that the discussion would go towards religion because of what they sent us.  And here she was eating dinner at a table over which hung a four-foot framed quote of Joshua 24:15, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”  It is nice to live in a community where there are many good people trying to live their religion and sharing it with others.

This beautiful sunset photo taken at our apartment complex was taken by Elder Parker.  We have beautiful sunrises and sunsets here in Missouri.

Although the missionary department encourages all missionaries to get a flu shot, many were unwilling.  Instead of holding a flu shot clinic at Zone Conference, we are going to reward the missionaries with a Crumbl cookie if they take the initiative to get vaccinated.  Sister Beach and Sister Dow were the first to respond.

There were at least 2 dozen geese wandering around behind the mission office. 

This plaque is over our kitchen table. 

I took Sister Dean and Sister Williams out for lunch and was asked to wear light blue.  It was kind of like a family photo. Sister Williams is returning home tomorrow due to some health issues. She has been an amazing missionary. 

We celebrated Russell's birthday and Sister Creer's half anniversary by going out for Italian.  Russell and I ordered something with a wallop of garlic in it.  I was tasting garlic all night long. 

TRUSTING IN THE LORD AND HIS ATONEMENT

This entry is of those that following our mission, when I (Russell) sit down to create a book of our mission experiences, that I will most likely expand on to include names and facts that at this point seem inappropriate.  But the significance of the event is one of those you never want to forget.

Eileen has been good at developing relationships of trust with many of the missionaries she works with in her role as the mission medical advisor (nurse).  Due to the nature of the ailments, both physical and emotional/mental, a bond develops, seemingly almost in correlation with the severity of the issues.  This week Eileen got one of those calls where the missionary reached out for help when they were unwilling to talk to anyone else: not their companion, not their parents, or the mission president.  My role is just one of being Eileen’s driver so she can continue to take calls as we travel, and to bring the consecrated oil should a blessing be appropriate.

After spending quite a bit of time with the missionary by herself, Eileen asked me if I would administer a priesthood blessing.  However, neither Eileen or the missionary were sharing anything about the nature of the issue the missionary was suffering with.  During the few minutes I had to prepare, I prayed asking God to takeover because I had no clue as to the true nature of the problem.  During the blessing I said a number of things but mostly in a generic nature.  After the blessing, both Eileen and the missionary, expressed appreciation that the blessing had directly addressed the issue and needed course of action.  They heard what the Spirit said to them, not just the simple words I had spoken.  It wasn’t until well after the blessing and their disclosing to me the nature of the issue that I began to see how a small part of the blessing addressed the issue in both of their minds.  They both felt gratitude for the direction given through the Spirit.  I was just grateful that God had taken over and that I hadn’t made a mess of things.

Several weeks ago, the young missionaries sang the national anthem at the beginning of a KC Royals baseball game.  We noted in our blog entry that week about the chance meeting of Eileen with the parents of one of our missionaries.  This week Eileen was sent a copy of a sacrament meeting talk given by the mother of the missionary following their return to Utah.  It made Eileen feel good to think that she had been a part of something that made several people so happy.  Attached is a portion of her talk posted with her permission. 

"My daughter Shylo is serving in the capital of the 2nd coming…Independence Missouri. She has been serving for a little over 11 months. 48 weeks to be exact. She has 36% left of her mission and will be home in 186 days. 

 

There are so many historical sites within her mission boundaries…the visitors center in independence, Liberty jail, Richmond where a monument was built over Oliver Cowdrey’s grave commemorating the three witnesses, Far West where there is a monument dedicated to the temple lot purchased by John Whitmer, Hawn’s Mill, Adam-ondi-Ahman, and last but not least, Kauffman Stadium (home of the Kansas City Royals).

 

Baseball is the greatest game ever invented. The Book of Mormon was translated in 1829, the Doctrine and Covenants was first published in 1835, and baseball was invented in 1839. Can you imagine living in a time where so much revelation was happening here in the world? 

 

That’s why after Shylo arrived in Missouri last fall and told us that she just missed singing the national anthem at the Kansas City Royals game with the entire mission, I was determined to go this year if it was a tradition. 

 

I believe it was the end of June that Shylo confirmed that on August 6th she would get her turn singing at the Royals game. I told her that basically I HAD to come. She said something like “MOM!…can’t you watch it on TV? It would be too hard for me to see you and have to say goodbye again.” And I think I responded with something like “you know I love baseball and I don’t think it would be fair for you to ask that of me knowing I will NEVER have a kid singing the national anthem at a Major League Baseball game ever again.” I didn’t mention it to her again but immediately started scheming and planning. Thankfully I have a husband who is crazy enough to do something like this with me! Without knowing and not being able to ask where she would be sitting, I decided to buy tickets as close to where she would be singing so we could get a good video. 

 

Rob and I took off the day before the game, stayed in Lincoln Nebraska the first night and drove the rest of the way the next day which was the day of the game. After we checked into our hotel room we got dressed in our Royals gear so we would blend in and just to make sure she didn’t see us, we both put on wigs and went totally incognito! Yes both. Please see me afterward if you’d like to see what Rob looks like with a full head of orange hair.

 

We entered the ball park, got our souvenirs, took a potty break and headed straight to our seats so we wouldn’t accidentally run into her. We got to our section and wouldn’t you know it…of all of the thousands of seats in that stadium, our seats were in the exact same section as the missionaries. We hustled to the front row and found our seats and didn’t move. 

 

Soon after we sat down a lady came down wearing dark pants and a white shirt and was wearing a missionary badge. She asked if it would be ok if she stood by us to record the missionaries singing. Of course we said yes. Rob didn’t see her missionary tag and asked her if she had a missionary down there singing. She replied…” they’re all my missionaries…I’m the mission nurse!” We chatted for a minute and then I think she realized that both Rob and I also had our phones out to record. Looking a bit puzzled she asked “do YOU have a missionary down there?” We answered “wellllll yes, but she doesn’t know we’re here. We drove from Utah to watch her sing. We’re actually in disguise so she won’t see us.” Sister Healy laughed and laughed. She couldn’t believe we drove all the way there and had no intention of even seeing Shylo.   She loved our disguises. Especially Rob’s. She commented that it was the worst wig she had ever seen on a man. And it was!!! She asked if she could take our picture and after the anthem she went back up to her seat. 

 

One tender mercy Rob and I were able to experience was that they showed Shylo on the Jumbotron 3-4 times throughout the game.  It made us feel close to her even though we knew we wouldn’t be seeing her.

 

A few innings later,  a lady came and sat behind us and said “I heard we have a couple of imposters down here! We turned and laughed and I realized it was the mission president’s wife. She said she HAD to come meet us and say hi after Sister Healy told her we drove all the way there and were in disguise. While turned around in my seat talking to sister summerfeldt, I saw coming down the stairs president Summerfeldt with Shylo leading the way. I couldn’t believe it. I stood up and in that moment our eyes met. She recognized me immediately and her knees buckled and she started crying and ran to me and gave me the biggest hug ever. I know I speak for both of us when I say that it was the most joy either of us had ever felt in a single moment.  Having no expectations at all of being able to see her and then having that surprise…there’s no way to describe what I felt. Of course we took off our disguises. I wonder what everyone around us was thinking. They let us watch the game together for a while and we just hugged and hugged. When it was time for Shylo to leave she gave me one more hug and said “I’ll see you in February". 

 

After the missionaries left Rob and I went to get a treat. At the top of the stairs we ran into Sister Healy again. I hugged her and thanked her for making that all happen. She told us that when she sat down in her seat, sister Summerfeldt sat next to her. She said she shared our story with her and it made her tear up. She said “I have to go meet them!” That’s when she came down and sat behind us. Then president Summerfeldt said “Where did my wife go?” So Sister Healy then told him the story. He immediately got up and walked over to Shell and said “Sister Dow, I need you to come with me”. I think he told her she was going to throw out a pitch or something. He then walked her down the stairs and that’s when we saw each other.

 

It was a beautiful experience that I will NEVER forget. I know it happened because Rob and I were being obedient in following the mission rules and had no intention of disrupting her. "

In the talk the mom then shared some beautiful lessons learned by her daughter while she has been on her mission. It made me think about the growth which is taking place as missionaries serve, not just in the people they teach, but also the missionary as an individual. I (Eileen) was grateful to have been a small part in making that reunion happen. 

The KC Royals hat I purchased as we were looking right into the sun.  The picture of Jesus looking into the heavens was left by a missionary who no longer wanted it. I love the painting. 

For our senior missionary FHE Elder and Sister Ranes did temple jeopardy.  Our team won by a landslide, mostly due to our having served in the temple department and Sister Creer's encyclopedic mind. Elder and Sister Ranes have been serving in Records Preservation. He has been a sealer in the temple previously.

Sister Creer trying to put together the puzzle which Elder Young made and gave to me to give missionaries something to do when they are struggling with down time while in my office.

Sister Creer was finally able to put it together with some cheat photos sent from the Youngs who are now back home in Utah.

We found this lovely creature on our front door. 

Sister Williams and Sister Dean brought me flowers with a lovely thank you note after I helped them get some medical care.  Sister Williams was fed some food at a member's home which she had an allergic reaction to and needed to go to the ER.  She always has Benadryl and an epipen with her and used both of them on this occasion.