HUMILITY

In preparation for next week’s “Come, Follow Me” lesson, I (Russell) was reading Ether 12:27.  In that verse Jesus Christ tells us, “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men if they humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” 

As I have thought about this verse of scripture, and considered how it applies in my life today, I can see how my willingness to serve a mission (“come unto me”) here in Missouri provided an opportunity for me to be shown my  weaknesses.  Working with vehicles, particularly backing up a truck and trailer, and interacting with some of the young missionaries who struggled to stay accident free, has made clear to me some of my inadequacies. 

But I struggled with the application of the last phrase, “then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”  I clearly did not learn how to back up a trailer very well.  Perhaps I have failed with the “if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me” part.  Or, I incorrectly assume that I would “become strong.”  

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the part I have appreciated most during my time taking care of the vehicles, was the support of senior missionary elders who helped me in my assignment.  My association with Elders Bradford, Young, Dunham, Dennison, and Hall is one of the highlights of my time serving here.  I desperately needed their help, and with that help, “weak things become (became) strong unto them (me)."

I (Eileen) go to doctor appointments with missionaries when the outcome of the appt. could affect their future missionary status.  This week I attended two appointments with missionaries.I was really proud of the elders who arrived early.  

                                         
In this photo I have tried to discreetly show all the people who were waiting for the missionary to complete her checkin.  She was  a few minutes late and then took 20 minutes to complete her registration. It was extremely awkward for me as there were 5 people waiting for her to finish. 

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

Each Sunday as we return from our church meetings, Eileen and I talk about what we might want to include in our blog.  We look back at the past week, thinking about the things that have been meaningful and/or memorable.  Sometimes, like this past week, it seems like not much has happened. When serving overseas, we could almost always fall back on talking about the local culture, or the more interesting aspects of our duties there.  Here, our days and weeks are much like the ones before.

As I sat down and started noting a few things that happened, I began to realize that with each of these items, there was something to be grateful for, a prayer answered, or a blessing received.The following are some of the things I noted:

My daughter, Shefali, was able to get an appointment to see a doctor at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in the near future;

We were able to take a few elders out to lunch after delivering some mission supplies and packages from home to their zone, it was good to talk to the missionaries about their work and not ours;

Eileen was able to get a shot in her neck/spine to help relieve pain in her shoulder and lower arm, she has not been playing racket ball for a couple of months due to pain, and the procedure appears to be working well;

A young sister missionary listened to her even younger trainee companion and finally called the nurse for help with a persistent cough, she was then able to see competent medical professionals who diagnosed her with double pneumonia, and prescribed medication which has helped the sister to get better (after 3 urgent care visits); and

My youngest grandchild, now 21 months old, has been suffering from not being able to eat, this has inhibited his growth and delayed his learning, despite going to many doctors and therapists, not until this week did it appear that there were any answers to his issues.   We thank God that he has a persistent mother who will not rest until our grandson’s needs are met.  It turns out he is allergic to dairy, gluten, and soy, which when eaten cause his throat to constrict  and cause to refuse to eat.  While his new diet is going to be limited, at least he is now eagerly eating solid food for the first time in his life.

While much of the world is in turmoil, yesterday I was able to serve in the temple and today attend sacrament meeting, life is good and I am blessed.  It reminded me of the fourth verse of a primary song which I learned to sing as a child over 60 years ago:

“So amid the conflict, whether great or small,

Do no be discouraged; God is over all.

Count your many blessing; angels will attend,

Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.”

                         

Adding to our collection of Community of Christ Temple photos

My daughter sends me waxed amaryllis bulbs every year for my birthday. They are great because they require no watering or effort.  Hopefully they grow before we leave in February.

Sister Creer and I (Eileen) visited the Union Station in Kansas City.  It is the first time I have ever been there.  The apple pie caramel apple she purchased was to die for.  I would never have tried it on my own. 

OBEDIENCE

Each new missionary to the Missouri Independence Mission (MIM) is taught that we are: (1) a Christ centered mission: (2) a Preach My Gospel (PMG) mission: and (3) an obedient mission.This is the mission culture we strive for in the MIM. The third pillar of that culture is sometimes a challenge.

In Chapter 3: Lesson 4 of PMG, we learn about Becoming Lifelong Disciples of Jesus Christ.One critical part of that process is learning to be obedient to God’s commandments, as given to us through his divinely appointed prophets.  Fortunately, we live in a time when we get more of that direction at least every six months with General Conference.  As missionaries, we have the added benefit of being led by a mission president, through whom we can receive inspired direction specific to our work and needs.

By keeping the commandments and other direction given to us by God’s representatives, we can avoid the consequences of sin and error.  From experience, our own or that of others, we learn that divinely inspired rules do not restrict our freedom; but rather they enhance it, allowing us to more safely navigate the many challenges we face in life.  In a spiritual sense, obedience is doing God’s will, and not pridefully trusting in our own understanding.

This past week, two of our elders went home early.  They chose not to follow the direction that was meant to help keep them safe.  On Halloween, President Sommerfeldt asked all the young missionaries to be back to their apartments by 6:00 PM.  Between having a lot of children running around on the streets in the dark, and some adults participating in activities which make being out more dangerous, President felt it best that the missionaries be in their apartments early that night.  While just not being in by the time you are supposed to be will not get you sent home early, not being in as directed allows you to be in places where you should not be.  And some things done in those circumstances can get you sent home. I (Russell) feel sad for the missionaries and their families.  I know this was not the homecoming they had hoped for.

This past week, our daughter Shefali, who is turning 37 on the 14^th, disclosed on Facebook that she has been diagnosed with cancer.  She told us before that, but we did not want to say anything here until she made the news public.  She is in the process of getting an appointment with an oncologist.  We have been praying that she can get in as soon as possible.  Shefali is about the same age as my mother was when she was first diagnosed with cancer.

On Friday we took Sisters Devashrayee and Tippits, two of our Spanish speaking missionaries, to our favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch.  When our waiter first came to our table to greet us, the sisters, perhaps out of habit, started speaking in Spanish.  A brisk conversation started that I did not understand.  After he left us with the menus, Eileen mentioned to the sisters that if they could get him to let them teach him the Gospel, we would bring them back each week and pay for their meals.  When the waiter came back to get our orders, Sister Devashrayee launched right into a conversation that I could not follow, until they started exchanging telephone numbers. It turns out they learned that the man’s wife also worked at the restaurant and that they would be interested in learning more about the Church.  Which brings up the question, if we take the sisters to dinner at the restaurant while the husband and wife are working, and we talk to them there, is that a bona fide teaching appointment?

Sister Kington and Sister Hyde at a medical appointment.

Sister Kington told me about a miracle which happened the day previously.  She felt prompted to wear these boots while out knocking on doors.  At a trailer park, a big dog came running out to the sisters. The dog bypassed Sister Hyde (who had regular Sunday shoes on) and went and latched on to Sister Kington's boot.  If you look closely you can see where the dog bit through the leather.  She had a bite on her leg but it didn't break the skin.  It would have been much worse had she not felt impressed to wear her boots that morning. 

Sister Devashrayee goes home next transfer.  We have become very close to her and will miss her.  Sister Tippets is the blonde missionary. They are both awesome!

WHEN THE VALUE OF MEDICAL ADVICE EQUALS THAT OF A CRUMBL COOKIE

This fall, like they have done in prior years, Missionary Medical sent out a reminder to the missions to promote getting the missionaries vaccinated against the flu.  Historically, the Missionary Department, of which Missionary Medical is a part, has encouraged future missionaries, under the direction of their individual doctors, to be inoculated for the flu, Covid and a number of other diseases.  In almost all cases, if someone is unwilling to be vaccinated, they will not be assigned to serve outside their home country.

Like last year, Eileen tried to arrange it so the missionaries could be vaccinated at a zone conference.  That way they would not have to go to a pharmacy or doctor on their own.Unfortunately, in order to have someone come and administer the vaccines, you have to guarantee a minimum number of shots to be delivered.  And like last year, there were not enough missionaries willing to get the shot to make that possible.  Less than  a quarter of the young missionaries were willing to be vaccinated.

The decision was made to try and entice missionaries to get their flu shot by offering a Crumbl cookie, at zone conference, to anyone who got inoculated and reported it to Eileen.  At zone conference this week, Eileen handed out three-and-a-half dozen cookies.

While I can understand why someone would not get vaccinated if they have had a bad reaction to a shot previously, or if their doctor advised against it due to their medical situation; I don’t understand why you would not follow the medical advice from a medical doctor and General Authority Seventy who heads Missionary Medical. Or choose not to follow the example of a medical doctor and President of the Church who had his picture posted on the internet of him receiving a Covid shot.  I guess when some raise their hand in sustaining the prophet and other general authorities in conference, maybe it is a qualified sustaining.

This past week, two missionaries, one young and one a senior (we don’t call them “old”), injured themselves but chose to try and work through it rather than seek medical advice.  Fortunately, their companions encouraged them to talk to Eileen. In both cases it turns out that bones had been broken, and in both cases I think the missionaries are now glad they followed Eileen’s advice and went to an orthopedic care center. While our individual missionaries span the range on pain tolerance, these two are on the high tolerance end of the spectrum.                                     

This photo is of an unaltered  photo taken with my phone of a beautiful sunset from our patio.  We have some exquisite sunrises and sunsets here.

                                    

We have only been to Crumbl cookie once previous to this purchase for our missionaries. It was fun to both see how they operate and also to see the excitement each missionary showed who earned a cookie. One sister said getting her flu shot was the best decision she has made on her mission. We hope that is a bit of an exaggeration. 

                                              

Sister Parker testing out the reward for getting her shot.

This elder was also stubborn about going to a dr.  His companion sent me a text regarding the miracles which had occurred related to his injury. It is nice to know that perhaps I can be an influence on missionaries when they are hurt or sick.   Text from companion shown below:

It must be why they pay you the big $!  ( Our Heavenly Parents in the currency of blessings).
Miracle 1 He was wearing his leather shoes
Miracle 2 The elders showed up unsolicited  and gave him a blessing.
Miracle 3 Sister Madsen brought it up at FHE
Miracle 4 Elder Healy was Paying attention and told you ( since I was not allowed)
Miracle 5 Your medical knowledge and psychology to get him to see a Dr.!  Thank you!  The toe is fractured.  But alligned…And beginning to heal.

I nagged this sister to go to the dr repeatedly for several days after a fall on some steps in the rain.  She insisted she was just too busy.  She finally consented to go when I pointed out that her grasp was weak and there was a constant popping noise when she moved her arm. I think she was afraid to call me to tell me I was right. Instead she just sent this photo with the caption saying it was fractured.

These two sisters volunteered to role play at Zone Conference. Later that night she was running a 102 temp.  I told her companion to please take off the blanket and then gave her other advice to help her symptoms.

It was a downpour today at church.  What a great idea these youth had to provide umbrellas at the drop-off point.