RETURN TO FULL-TIME MISSIONARY SERVICE

Last Monday we returned to the mission training center (MTC) in Provo, Utah to start our recent call as missionaries assigned to serve in the Missouri Independence Mission.  Having been through the first week of MTC training several times before, it was easier to relax and enjoy the experience this time.  

The past couple of months have been quite busy.  Just two days before entering the MTC, we had the privilege and great blessing of attending the temple with three of our children and several other family members when Shefali went through the temple for her first time.  It was a day we had hoped and prayed for many years, might someday come to pass.  We are very, very grateful to have witnessed this wonderful event.

Ten years ago, we were serving in Indonesia when my (Russell) 40^th year high school reunion was held.  Since that time, I have thought I would like to attend my 50^th.  Unfortunately, it is going to be held later this coming week while we will be driving to Missouri.

However, a curious thing happened in the MTC this last week that has made me stop and ponder it’s meaning.  I have come to learn that what many in the world would write-off as coincidences, rarely are, and that I need to try and understand what God is trying to tell me when they take place.

 

During the first week of training at the MTC, senior missionary couples are assigned another couple to practice “teaching” with.  You take time to assess their needs, prepare a lesson/discussion, and follow-up after teaching the lesson.  You end up meeting with the couple four different times over three days and you quickly begin to develop a relationship with them.  We were paired with Elder and Sister Riches, who have been called to serve in Mexico, where they will assist in building one of the recently announced temples.  Elder Riches and I both graduated from Murray High School in 1973.  While we both had vague recollection of having heard the others name years ago, we didn’t have the same group of friends (he was popular, I was not).  I was then and probably still am today an introvert and most comfortable avoiding public attention.

 

While I hope some of the ideas we shared with them on ways to stay in touch with family and friends while being away from home were useful to them, I have struggled to understand what God wanted me to learn from the experience.  Perhaps it is that I have missed out on potential friendships and opportunities over the years because I haven’t extended myself beyond my comfort zone.  This is something I need to do better at in the future, particularly in my role as a missionary working with the young missionaries in Independence.

 

While at the MTC the first thing that stood out to me (Eileen) was the large number of missionaries around us. We were told that there were anywhere from 1,700 to 2,200 missionaries at the MTC during the week depending upon the day.  The first day we walked into the cafeteria I was overwhelmed with the crowd.  I have avoided crowds for the last three years as we have dealt with the Covid pandemic and my recovery from the bike accident.   Even though I was challenged by the crowds at mealtime, I loved the devotionals. It was amazing to hear so many missionaries sing Called to Serve and other gospel hymns. 

 

For our Preach My Gospel training, we were in a smaller group with three doctors and their spouses. We became good friends with them. I will be training with the other medical people this coming week in SLC while Russell has office (vehicles) training remotely over Zoom. 

 

While we have attended the MTC several times before, this was the first time I haven’t had my parents to visit during our MTC training week. Both of my parents passed away within a week of each other while we were serving in the Philippines. It was rather strange to be in Provo and not be able to visit with them. On Thursday we did an endowment session in the Provo temple with other missionaries. The Provo temple is where Russell and I were married, however we have not returned there for several years. My father was in the temple presidency while Mom was the assistant matron in that temple. It made me feel closer to them being there and knowing how much they loved the patrons and serving in that temple.

Our daughter Shefali and her husband Michael at the Bountiful Temple. This was taken after Shefali  attended the temple for the first time

Our first day in the MTC showing approximately where we have been called to serve

 

Elder and Sister Healy with Elder and Sister Riches

This couple sat down next to us on our first day in the cafeteria. I recognized them. When I saw their name tag I realized they were mission presidents in Rome when we trained one of our humanitarian couples in Italy. We were able to attend one of their zone conferences and have been in their home. 

The crowds of missionaries were quite large. This was taken before the Tuesday evening devotional where Brother Mark Pace gave an excellent talk. 

One of the buildings at the MTC has 12 beautiful floor to ceiling murals. They are digital photos printed on cloth and backlit. At night the visual is quite spectacular.  These murals depict individual men and women from the scriptures. On the opposite wall, scriptural references related to the photos cause missionaries to ponder their meaning.

Evening session at the Provo temple. This temple is scheduled to be closed for renovation next February.

This was our classroom for the week at the MTC, left to right, Elder and Sister Burningham, he is an ER physician going to the Spain Madrid mission to be the mission medical advisor, Elder and Sister Crimin, he is a family practice doctor going to the Central Africa Area as Area Medical Advisor, Elder and Sister Bailey, he is an anesthesiologist going to the Philippines to be an Area Medical Advisor, Elder and Sister Healy, missionary medical advisor for the Missouri Independence Mission.

Attached below are the talks we gave at our ward sacrament meeting prior to our departure.

Eileen Healy, Lakeview Ward Sacrament Meeting

July 30, 2023

When we make covenants with God, we express our desire to serve Him and our willingness to obey Him.  In return God promises us many wonderful blessings. 

We make specific covenants with God when we are baptized members of His Son’s church and additional covenants when we go to the temple to receive our endowments.  One of the covenants we make in the temple is the Law of Consecration, which means that we dedicate our time, talents, and everything with which the Lord has blessed us to the building up of Jesus Christ’s church on the earth. 

 

Russell and I feel like we have been truly blessed by God in many aspects of our lives. We have determined, that for us as a couple, one way we can try to live the Law of Consecration is by serving our Heavenly Father as senior missionaries. It has taken me three years to recover enough from my bicycle accident so that we could serve full-time again.  

 

As we were preparing to submit our papers for this mission, we contemplated where we would enjoy serving and what type of mission we thought we might be asked to serve.  Prospective senior missionaries are encouraged to note preferences for potential locations and kinds of service. We thought we had chosen six very appropriate preferences. Five of them were foreign missions. 

 

We were very surprised to open our call and to read that we had been called to the Missouri Independence Mission.   This was definitely not on our radar!  Through the subsequent months I prayed that we might have insight as to why we were called to that particular mission.  A couple of months ago while in the temple, I had an overwhelming feeling that this call was where my Father in Heaven wanted us to go.  I am very, very grateful to have received that confirmation.

 

In General Conference last April, Sister Camille Johnson said, “As covenant members of His Church, we promise ‘to mourn with those that mourn’ and ‘comfort those that stand in need of comfort.’  Because we are ‘come into the fold God’ and are ‘called his people,’ we ‘are willing to bear one another’s burdens that they may be light.’ “

 

Sister Johnson continued, noting, “Our covenantal blessing is to partner with Jesus Christ in providing relief, both temporal and spiritual, to all of God’s children.  We are a conduit through which He provides relief.”

 

I would like to relate a personal experience which happened recently where I was a recipient of members fulfilling their baptismal covenants.

 

About a month ago, Russell and I took 29 members of our family on a nine-day church history tour. We both felt strong impressions that this was something we should do. The trip was planned over a year ago, many months ahead of our receiving a mission call. Our hope was that it would develop or strengthen our children and grandchildren’s testimonies.  We also thought that by being in these sacred places, our family members might better understand why we were leaving them to go serve the Lord.

 

About six days into the tour my 18-year-old grandson, Andrew, became ill.  I was concerned about him, but figured maybe he had a flu bug.  When we arrived in Independence, I called the mission nurse, with whom I was already acquainted, to see if she had a blood pressure cuff I could borrow; I wanted to do a physical evaluation of Andrew’s vital signs.  

 

The mission office in Independence is only two doors away from the visitor center where we were.  Sister Hegvik and I had been in touch previously on a couple of different occasions, as I will be replacing her as the mission nurse in August. Although we were willing to walk to her office, she offered to come with her medical equipment to the visitor center. Andrew’s vital signs were stable and the next day we continued our journey to Adam-ondi-Ahman.  

 

As we traveled that morning, there was a rapid decline in his condition.  By the time we got to Farr West, Sister Hegvik and I had exchanged multiple texts discussing Andrew’s condition.  Soon she was telling me I must get him to a hospital immediately.  I knew he needed help, but she gave me the encouragement I needed to delay the trip for everyone else on the bus. 

 

There is not a lot in the way of medical care in rural Missouri. We were driving through miles and miles of corn fields.  We finally found a small hospital in Memphis MO (population 1,720).  The bus dropped my daughter Heather, Andrew, and I off around noon and then continued in the direction of Nauvoo IL. The staff at the hospital were amazed that we showed up and had gotten off a tour bus. There are no rental cars or Ubers in Memphis MO.  I had no idea how long we would be there, or how we would join the rest of our group, but God knew of our needs. I felt at peace and didn’t worry about transportation.  

 

While Andrew was being evaluated, Heather mentioned she wished he could get a priesthood blessing. The nurse overheard and asked if we were Mormon.  She said there was a retired doctor who lived in the area who was Mormon.  She contacted Dr. Keller, and he came with another Elder to give Andrew a blessing. Afterwards Dr. Keller told me that there were no missionaries in the area and that he and Brother Achim Hoyal were the only two Melchizedek priesthood holders within the whole county. The nearest branch was 45 miles away.  Dr. Keller then offered to drive us to our hotel in Keokuk IA (population 9,700), which was over an hour away.  He said regardless of the hour, whenever Andrew was released, he would be happy to take us.  It was well after dark that evening before we got to our hotel.  Dr. Keller was so kind and gracious with us, he would not even let me pay him for gas. Certainly, this was a tender mercy.

 

Later that night, or I should say early the next morning (3:30 am), Andrew’s condition went downhill very quickly. He was throwing up blood and the paramedics were called.  They would not allow me to go in the ambulance with them. Like in Memphis MO, there were no Ubers or rental cars in Keokuk IA. I was panicked, wanting to be with him and not knowing how I could get to the hospital. We weren’t even sure which city they were taking him to.  

 

It so happened that Andrew was taken to a hospital in Fort Madison IA, where the ER physician happened to be LDS.  Dr. Brodale offered his wife Stephanie to come pick me up in the morning and take me to the hospital in Burlington IA where Andrew had been transferred, once again by ambulance.  Stephanie picked me up at the hotel and took me to Burlington.  She was very kind and offered some peace and solace while I was a stressed-out mess, so concerned about my grandson.  She also offered to pick me up at the hospital that evening, no matter what time it was, and take me back to my hotel before our scheduled departure the next day. Once again, another tender mercy.  

 

Unfortunately, a severe windstorm/tornado hit the area later that morning.  At the hospital, workers were lowering protective coverings over all the windows.  Our other family members were in Nauvoo.  They spent a couple of hours sequestered in basements of the historic buildings. 

 

It was interesting that several members of the family told me later that they felt the Spirit so strongly as they joined together with missionaries and visitors singing hymns during the frightening time of the storm.  More tender mercies on a challenging day.

 

While on the trip, members of the family shared thoughts on what we were experiencing, both in person and through a group chat site.  With my son-in-law Zak’s permission, I would like to share one of his posts written the morning of Andrew’s transfer by ambulance.  It expresses my feelings better than I could on my own.

 

Zak said, “I had very high hopes of coming on this trip and having big spiritual experiences at places like the Sacred Grove, the Susquehanna, Kirkland temple, etc.  But while those visits helped me prove out my belief, I wasn’t having the immense experiences I was hoping for.

 

“However, the experiences of ‘happening’ upon members of the Church last night and this morning and the absolute love and charity they have shown while consecrating their efforts to help us has suddenly brought it all to me as I recognize just what being a part of the Church meant for the early saints and still means today.It means that we are the miracles that God sends for each other.” 

 

Brothers and sisters, when we seek to keep our covenants by serving God and following His direction, He will give us opportunities to be miracles and tender mercies in others’ lives.  

 

I am so grateful for those covenant keeping members who rendered service to me and my family in our time of need in those small towns in Missouri and Iowa.  But most of all, I am grateful for Sister Hegvik, a covenant keeping missionary; for her many texts and emails giving medical advice and encouragement.  My hope is that I can be as good a mission nurse for the missionaries of the Missouri Independence Mission, as she was for me in my time of need.

 

As I mentioned before, a couple of months ago after going to the temple I felt at peace with our call.  Now I feel I know one of the reasons why I was called to serve there.   

 

 

Russell Healy, Lakeview Ward Sacrament Meeting

July 30, 2023

 

This last week, as a Church and state, we celebrated the arrival of pioneers entering the Salt Lake valley 176 years ago.  While I, like most of us here, did not have ancestors who were in that very first wagon company of saints, many of my ancestors did join the Church and immigrate to Utah in later years.  As noted in the words of the hymn, Israel, Israel, God Is Calling, they heeded the invitation to “Come to Zion! Come to Zion!”

 

Prior to my grandfather’s death many years ago, he gave me this book, titled Spencer’s Letters, it’s a compilation of letters written on various gospel subjects, which was used by the early Church missionaries in England and Wales.  The book was first given to his great-grandfather by a missionary 150 years ago, prior to my ancestor leaving Wales in 1873 and coming to Utah. From Church records, I can see that he received his “temple ordinances” in 1874 in the Endowment House.  There he made covenants with God just as we have the opportunity of doing so today. I have the blessing of standing here today, as a member of Christ’s church, because of the sacrifices made and faithful keeping of covenants by this and many other of my ancestors.  My hope is that I can follow in their example and be of similar benefit to my family.

 

Now whether we have ancestors who joined the Church or are first generation members, we can all be figurative pioneers in the gospel for our posterity.  As members of the Church, we all have a part to play in establishing Zion.

 

In the October 2002 General Conference, Bishop Keith B. McMullin said, “Zion is established and flourishes because of the God-inspired lives and labors of its citizens.  Zion comes not as a gift but because virtuous covenant people are drawn together and build it.  President Spencer W. Kimball observed, ‘As we sing together ‘Come to Zion,’ we mean … come to the ward, the branch, the mission, the stake, and give assistance to build up Zion.’  Thus, gathered in the Lord’s appointed ways, Latter-day Saints conscientiously strive to bring forth Zion as the ‘kingdom of our God and his Christ,’ preparatory to the Lord’s Second Coming.

 

“The covenant of consecration encompasses sacrifice, circumscribes love, work, and self-reliance; and is fundamental to the establishment of God’s kingdom.  ‘Zion cannot be built up,’ the Lord said, ‘unless it is by the principles of the laws of the celestial kingdom.’ (D&C 105:5)  The covenant of consecration is central to this law. … This covenant embraces the ‘giving of one’s time, talents, and means to care for those in need-whether spiritually or temporally-and in building the Lord’s kingdom.’”

 

When I was young, I thought that the law of consecration was something they did in ancient times (with the city of Enoch and in both the Old and New Worlds following Christ’s death), but that we didn’t practice it today because the early Church members of this dispensation tried and failed at it; and that at some far-off date in the future, we would be required to give all our money and food storage to the bishop, and that would be when we start to live the law of consecration again.

 

Like a few other things I thought as a youth, I have come to realize that this was incorrect, a concept that was perhaps popular culture but not gospel based.  I believe that God has blessed each of us with varying amounts of time, talents, and means; and that just like in The Parable of the Talents (Matt. 25:14-30), God will judge us by how we utilize that over which we have stewardship.

 

As I watch young parents devote all their efforts to raising children, or individuals devoting their lives to caring for an invalid parent or spouse, I recognize I am witnessing consecrated efforts to keep temple covenants.  While we can see examples of consecrated service all around us, we need to be mindful not to judge the results of their or our efforts.  That is God’s role, ours is just to keep our covenants and serve.  

 

Within the Church we speak of ‘the covenant path’ back to our Father in Heaven.  While the major ‘milestones’ along that path may be similar for all, the challenges along that journey in life are different for each of us. Elder Neal A. Maxwell tells us that, “Consecration is both a principle and a process, and it is not tied to a single moment.”  Our ability and success at living the Law of Consecration seem to be something we individually grow into over time - if we seek it.

 

Elder Maxwell reminded us, “It is only fair to warn that any determination to seek greater consecration will soon expose what we yet lack, a painful but necessary thing.  Remember the rich, righteous young man who was told by Jesus, ‘One thing thou lackest’? (Mark 10:21) Ananias and Sapphira, otherwise good members of the Church, ‘kept back;’ a portion instead of consecrating their all. (Acts 5:1-11)  

 

“Unfortunately, we tend to think of consecration only in terms of property and money.  But there are so many ways of keeping back part.  One might be giving of money and time and yet hold back a significant portion of himself.  One might share talents publicly yet privately retain a particular pride.  One might hold back kneeling before God’s throne and yet bow to a particular gallery of peers.  One might accept a Church calling but have his heart more set on maintaining a certain role in the world.

 

“Still others find it easier to bend their knees than their minds.  Exciting exploration is preferred to plodding implementation; speculation seems more fun than consecration.” (Maxwell, Oct. 1992)

 

Ultimately, the submission of one’s will is really the only personal thing we have to give, everything else we give (time, talents, means, etc.) are actually things God has already given or made us stewards over.

 

Tucked inside this book that my grandfather gave me, was one of his missionary cards from when he was a service missionary and “Host” on Temple Square.  It has his name and contact information on one side with a picture of the Salt Lake Temple, and The Articles of Faith on the back side.  It was while he was serving in this capacity that he first met Eileen.  Eileen was one of the young women who conducted tours on Temple Square.  And it was he who introduced us to each other in the old North Visitors Center.

 

In addition to commemorating Pioneer Day this last week, Eileen and I also celebrated our 45^th wedding anniversary; the day on which we were sealed as husband and wife for “time and all eternity.”  This ordinance, like baptism and other temple ordinances, also involves making and keeping covenants with God.  But unlike those other ordinances, the covenants in this ordinance are not solely made with God.

 

With baptism, when we make and keep those covenants with God (to obey his commandments, to always remember Him, and to take Christ’s name upon us), He promises us the Gift of the Holy Ghost as a constant companion.  And when we make and keep our endowment related covenants in the temple, our Father in Heaven promises us all that we need to make our way back into His presence following our time here on earth.  When we make and keep our temple marriage/sealing covenants, God promises us exaltation and eternal life.  

 

Our covenant path back to our Father in Heaven is an individual one.  It requires each of us to make and keep our covenants with God.  Others may help us along the way, but salvation in the celestial kingdom must be qualified for individually.  For exaltation and eternal life, we first make marriage covenants as a couple and then keep them individually.  I feel very blessed to be on this journey with Eileen and look forward to spending not just the next 18 months with her on this mission, but for all eternity, should I be found worthy of it.

 

Now just as the old North Visitor Center on Temple square where Eileen and I met has been torn down and its elements “returned to the earth,” my grandfather’s missionary/name card, and likely this book, given enough time, will also turn to dust.  While important to me, they are all temporal in nature.  The benefits of keeping our covenants, on the other hand, are eternal; they are among the few things that we can take with us following our passing from this life. 

 

Brothers and sisters, I am grateful for the opportunity to make covenants with God; to have that divine guidance in my life.  I am grateful for ancestors, those both distant and close, who have been faithful to their covenants and taught me by their words and example.  I am grateful for a Father in Heaven who loves me enough to try and guide me through this earthly experience.  And I am grateful for His son, my Savior, and the opportunity that His sacrifice has given me to repent.  I feel it an honor to be able to serve again as a full-time representative of Jesus Christ and His church. And I say these things in His name, Jesus Christ, Amen.

RELEASE AND START OF OUR NEXT CHAPTER

Last month we were officially released as full-time missionaries.  It took several weeks after we had been notified by the Missionary Department that we would not be able to return to the Philippines for the release to go through.  Eileen has been serving part-time in Senior Missionary Services (SMS) doing medical screening of senior missionary candidates.  SMS wanted her to continue in that role and waited until she had been officially called as a Church Service Missionary to release us.  I have been looking for a volunteer role that would occupy me two to four days a week and just this week found a position in the Welfare Department’s Strategy and Innovation Services Division as a strategy consultant.  This is the same division as our former bishop, Jon VanWagoner, works in.  I want to leave one day a week open to be an ordinance worker again once the temple opens back up.

On Sunday, September 13^th, we will be speaking in the three sessions on our ward’s sacrament meeting.  Attached below are copies of our talks.

The last five months since we returned from the Philippines have been challenging, primarily due to the pandemic and our inability to meet in-person with our family, neighbors, or Church Service Missionary associates in SMS.  We are home in our house but not home with those around us.  It will be very interesting to look back on this time after the pandemic is over.  A few important events have taken place in the last two months.  

First, we met our youngest son Jon again.  He left over a decade ago and despite my efforts to contact him, we had not heard from him until our older son, Vijay, ran into him working at FedEx.  Since then I have met with him twice and it has helped me feel better about the difficult years he spent in our home.  For the first time I have felt that perhaps our experience in parenting Jon wasn’t a complete failure. I don’t know where the relationship will go, if anywhere, in the future, but I do consider our meeting a gift from God due to the peace it has brought me.

Going out together bike riding has been one of the few things that we have been able to do while safely getting out of the house.  Seven weeks ago we bought Eileen a new and relatively expensive bike.  On her first ride, just after we had gotten off the Legacy Parkway trail, Eileen was telling me how much she loved her new bike when the pedal suddenly came off.  That caused Eileen to lose control of the bike.  In the resulting crash,  the ligament in Eileen's left thumb was severed, she hurt her left foot and right shoulder, and suffered “road burn” abrasions all along the right side of her body.  She now has a cast on the left hand following an operation to reattach the ligament and going to physical therapy for her shoulder.  Her left foot is in a “boot.”  I don’t think she will be riding again this season.  Interestingly enough, I was in a bike accident three weeks after that.  A van decided to turn right at a red light and somehow didn’t notice that I was on my bike in in the crosswalk in front of him.  Fortunately, other than two skinned up knees and a bruise on my left hip where the van hit me, I was unhurt.  

EILEEN'S SACRAMENT MEETING TALK

We were asked to spend a few minutes talking about our experiences from serving in the Philippines Antipolo Mission.  Our call was to serve for 18 months, however we returned home after 9 months due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

My role was to serve as the mission nurse, while Russell worked with missionary housing. Russell played a vital role in assisting me with the sick missionaries, both in offering input regarding their care and also as the driver when I needed to get a missionary to the doctor or hospital. Even though we have served 4 full-time missions together as a couple, this was the first mission where we have worked with the young missionaries. It was very rewarding to me to be able to get to know them as individuals, hear about their success stories and concerns, and help them through their health challenges while still trying to serve. 

The Antipolo mission was newly formed on our first full day in the Philippines. I didn’t have anyone to train me or give me recommendations regarding hospitals or doctors. Each day as I said my prayers, I would ask Heavenly Father to please guide and direct me so that I would have the wisdom and inspiration to know how to deal with each specific health need. Sometimes it was just learning by trial and error, but I felt like many times I was prompted to know when a missionary needed immediate medical care and with Russell’s assistance I was able to get the elder or sister to the hospital. 

We had been in the Philippines just a few weeks when I was called by a zone leader stating that two of the missionaries in his zone were ill.  Russell and I went to visit these missionaries. As I walked into their apartment I knew that they were both really sick. Elder Bio was burning up with a fever and had sweat pouring down his face.  He was  so lethargic he could barely speak. His companion Elder Evans was laying on the floor moaning with pain. It was like something out of a bad movie.  Before taking them to the hospital I asked if Russell would give them a blessing. The spirit in that small apartment was very powerful as a worthy priesthood holder called on the powers of heaven to help these two missionaries. I silently prayed for inspiration to know which hospital to take them. I was prompted to take them to a hospital which was quite close to our apartment. While most of us here would consider that hospital woefully inadequate, it was fairly good by Filipino standards. This was the first of my many visits to that specific hospital with missionaries having Dengue Fever.  I learned far more than I ever thought possible about Dengue and the effects it had on individuals who caught it. Elder Evans spent 10 days in the hospital recovering. Fortunately, Elder Bio recovered more quickly. I was so grateful for the blessings they both received and their being able to fully return to the work.

As a mission nurse I could never really plan out my day because I didn’t know what kind of challenges might come up.  Some of my nursing calls were quite serious, others were humorous. We had one missionary from the U.S. who was 6’4”.  He called me one day saying he had split open his head while walking into a local shop. He didn’t duck far enough and he cut his head on the door jam.  From the picture he sent I thought he might need stitches.  He wondered if he could super glue his head together. It ended up being quite funny. His companion had convinced him that if you could superglue broken household goods in America, surely you could superglue a lacerated head in the Philippines. 

I think that sometimes there is a perception in the church that if you have a missionary from your family serving, that life will be free from trials and adversity.  From my experience I can assure you that this perception is not accurate.  However, Elder Robert D. Hales said, “As we serve in the mission field, our children and grandchildren will be blessed in ways that would not have been possible had we stayed home.”  I can testify to the truth of Elder Hales statement and would like to relate two experiences of how I believe our family was blessed through their adversities while we were gone.

My parents have suffered with health challenges for several years, my father with physical challenges, and my mother with memory loss. When I said goodbye to them prior to leaving for the Philippines it was very emotional for me as I knew it would be the last time I would see them in this life.   Dad was 95 years old when we left, his pacemaker battery was running out in a few months and my father refused to have it replaced. He kept assuring me that he and Mom would pass on together. I would question him and say, but Dad what if it doesn’t happen that way?  His response always was, “It will, I have talked with the Lord.”  He had much more faith than I on this matter. Dad died within days following a fall and breaking his hip just 7 weeks after we left for the mission field. Although he had assumed for many years he would die of his cardiac issues, it was the fall that took him quickly. The concern for our family then became how could we help Mom?  Out of necessity she was moved into a memory unit.  One week to the day after Dad passed on, Mom also passed on. Although I was very sad to have both parents leave this life, I knew that God had granted Dad his fervent desire that they could pass on together.  This was a wonderful blessing, not just for them but for all of our family.

Another  tender mercy for our family occurred  when we had been out in the mission field just 5 months. My daughter Jessica mentioned to me one day that her back was really bothering her. I suggested that she needed an MRI.  Her family had recently moved to Oregon and she was having a challenge even getting in to see a primary care doctor. The following Sunday, Russell and I fasted that Jessica might be able to be led to the appropriate medical care. Sunday evening a friend of hers who was aware of her symptoms brought dinner over to Jessica and her family. While there, this woman said that her husband was a neurologist, and after checking with him arranged for Jessica to be seen by him at the end of his schedule the next day. Following that appointment Jessica had several MRIs which showed a tumor  wrapped around her spinal cord. This neurologist was able to get Jessica in for surgery to remove the tumor shortly thereafter. It was quite remarkable that within 2 weeks of our fasting Jessica was diagnosed and having surgery.  Through some very miraculous events, we were able to get permission to go be with her during her surgery.   We are confident that the Lord was in the details of not only putting them in a location where she could get the appropriate care very quickly, but also guiding me and others to encourage her to seek and find the appropriate medical care she needed.   

Celebrating holidays in the mission field is always a bit different. It seems kind of strange to celebrate Christmas without being around family, without Christmas decorations, or even Christmas music being sung at church. While the Filipinos love Christmas (they celebrate it during all of the “ber” months: September, October, November and December), it seemed like life sort of went on as normal there on Christmas Day.  The malls and stores were all open. Traffic was only slightly lighter than usual. The temperature on Christmas reached the low 90’s - very different than in Utah with it’s snow.  The pool at our apartment building was crowded with families enjoying the sun.  To me, it really didn’t seem much different than any other day of the year. 

In the midst of my trying to sort out my feelings, our daughter Heather sent this quote to us by Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone.  “Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s will never be the same again once you have celebrated them while serving a mission. Imagine a small Christmas tree with a few decorations, Christmas carols, a humble apartment, never more in love with your wife—a Christmas spirit that makes that little apartment seem as a sacred temple. You pack your white baptismal clothing and walk, hand in hand, to the chapel, where a little family waits patiently to enter God’s kingdom through the waters of baptism. You see the star of wonder, not hanging over Bethlehem, but in the eyes of the humble, sweet converts. You look at your wife, she looks at you; nothing need or can be said, both of you overcome with joy.  The twelve or eighteen months will seem as a small moment, but the memories will last through the eternities.”

This quote was very touching to me, and made me think beyond the “normal” events of Christmas, and directed my thoughts to the joy we have felt the last few months in observing the conversion process of our newly found friends, Lance and Grace.  We invited Lance, Grace and their family along with a single sister missionary over for dinner on Christmas Eve. We had barely sat down at our tiny table when Lance announced he had decided to get baptized on January 11^th. I was overjoyed. He then said he was looking forward to going to the temple. When Shannon, their 13 year old daughter asked her mother what going to the temple meant, Grace told Shannon, “It means you will be my daughter forever!”  At that moment I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the birth of our Savior than to have a small part in bringing souls to Him. I could more fully understand the scripture from Doctrine and Covenants 18:15-16. “And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father.”

In all of our years in trying to share the gospel with others, we have never had an experience like that which we have had with this family. It has seemed like something you would read about in an Ensign article.  Things like this don’t happen to us, yet it has; and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.  My experience with Lance and Grace has been the highlight of my years serving on missions, a memory and relationship I never want to let go of.

Lakeview Ward – Sept. 13, 2020        Russell's Philippines Mission Experiences

When Alma was instructing his son, Helaman, about the importance of keeping the records of their people, he said, “Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.  And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.”  (Alma 37:6-7)  Today I would like to tell you about a few “small and simple” things that occurred during our time in the Philippines.

As Eileen mentioned, my primary role was dealing with missionary housing.  The quality of missionary housing (for both young and senior missionaries), while viewed by the local members as ranging from adequate to good, left a great deal of room for improvement.  As one new mission president’s wife in a neighboring mission (whose son had previously served in the Philippines) commented, “If I had known my son was living in these conditions, I would have brought him home.”  Over the nine months we were able to serve in the Antipolo Mission, we acquired new, or turned over approximately 40 percent of our apartments.  Most of the time, finding adequate housing was quite a challenge and time consuming.  But on a number of occasions, seemingly small things would happen that facilitated us getting the apartments that we needed.  I bear you my witness that the Lord is involved in the details of our lives.  The challenge is, are we in tune enough to recognize them?

One of the things President Alder stressed most with the young missionaries was issuing “Invitations to Act” (ITAs).  As in most missions, records were kept to note the number of baptisms, investigators attending church, lessons taught, Book of Mormons placed, etc.  But it seemed to me that his focus was getting the missionaries to invite others to do something, be it hear about the gospel, come to church or be baptized.  His point was that with missionary work, not much happens if you don’t first open your mouth and invite someone to do something.

Shortly after we arrived, the first series of zone conferences were held in which President Alder presided.  The meetings started with President and Sister Alder greeting each missionary, shaking their hands, President hugging the elders and Sister Alder hugging the sisters.  President Alder started and ended the meeting telling the missionaries how much he loved them.  After a few brief introductory remarks, President Alder asked by the raise of hands, how many of the missionaries used their morning commute to invite someone to attend or learn about the Church.  When only one sister raised her hand, he expressed his disappointment.  He then challenged every missionary to have at least one invitation offered by that evening and asked the missionaries to text him and let him know what happened.  By the end of the evening 172 invitations had been extended by 44 missionaries. 

Between President Alder’s challenge delivered at the first series of zone conferences and then with the mission leadership setting a goal of 15 ITAs per day for each young missionary, it did create a culture in the mission of talking about some aspect of the gospel to everyone around you. 

Occasionally I would take the missionaries with me when I was buying things for their apartments or getting something to eat.  It was fun and inspiring to watch as they would talk to anyone and everyone around us.  I had to be careful not to rush things in my effort to be efficient in accomplishing my housing duties, as the young missionaries were usually busy making contacts.  I think the most impressive example of this was Elder Ivins.  When he was sick and had passed out several times from Dengue Fever, Eileen asked if I would drive to the far side of our mission to pick up Elder Ivins and his companion and then meet her at a hospital on the other side of our mission.  I knew Elder Ivins was really sick because he wasn’t talking much on our long drive.  But once in the hospital Emergency Room, waiting his turn to see a doctor, we observed Elder Ivins sharing a pamphlet with a fellow patient waiting beside him.   

This example of speaking to everyone you meet about the church began to affect even Eileen and I to some extent.  While we spoke to several people who lived around us, and the head cook at our favorite restaurant, seldom did any express genuine interest to learn more about the Church.  However, one couple did.  

We met Lance and Grace Cendana while riding up the elevator in our apartment building.  It was early afternoon and we had decided to drop by our apartment after doing apartment inspections before going back to the office.  Lance and Grace were just returning from a doctor appointment.  What some would describe as just a coincidence that we were both home in the middle of the day, I know now was not.  In the brief couple of minutes we had with them Eileen started talking to Grace.  Then to my surprise Eileen told them we were with the Church and asked if they had heard of it.  When Lance said yes, and that his aunt was a member living in the U.S., I asked if he would like to learn more about the Church.  I think both Eileen and I were in shock when he said he would.  That brief encounter set in motion a series of events which would change their lives and ours over the next few months.

Lance, Grace and their two daughters lived two floors below us in a small one bedroom apartment.  Like many Filipinos, Lance worked nights in a call center.  Grace had recently quit her job so that she could stay at home and be a full-time mother to their two girls.  From what Grace told us, she was a bit rebellious during her teenage years and had a challenged relationship with her very religious, now deceased mother.  She actually reminded me in some ways of my youngest daughter.  The first time we visited Grace in her apartment, she expressed to Eileen and me, her desire to have a closer relationship with God.

Lance and Grace first met the sister missionaries in our home over dinner.  That night they were introduced to Joseph Smith and the restoration.  They were also given a  Book of Mormon and invited to read from it prior to our next meeting.  At our next meeting, when the sister missionary asked Grace if she had been able to read in the Book of Mormon, I began to realize what a special event I was witnessing.  Grace proceeded to give us a book review of 1^st and 2^nd Nephi.  Her account of the lessons and doctrine Nephi gives his readers let me know that Grace was not just being taught by the sister missionaries, Eileen or me; Grace was being taught by the Spirit and I was privileged to be able to witness it.

While as missionaries we love to teach families, we must never forget that true conversion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ is an individual matter.  Testimonies are achieved and the saving ordinances entered into on a one-by-one basis.  Lance was progressing at rate consistent with most serious investigators. However, his wife was doing so on an accelerated basis.  The family started attending church during November and in December Grace was baptized.  A month later Lance was baptized.

This was my fifth time serving as a full-time missionary, but it had been over 40 years since I had baptized someone I helped find, teach and fellowship.  It was a humbling and truly awesome experience.  Watching Grace give her first talk in sacrament meeting and then a few weeks later give the prayer at stake conference was like my being a proud parent all over again.  Even better was listening to the two of them tell me after stake conference how inspiring they thought the remarks of Elder Taniela B. Wakolo (from the Area Presidency) were.

Due to the pandemic, church meetings were discontinued in mid-March.  And two weeks later we were on a plane heading home.  While I felt bad about leaving President and Sister Alder half-way though our mission, it was leaving Lance and Grace that hurt the most.  On the morning we were to leave, Lance and Grace came up to our apartment to say our final good-byes.  As we stood there together, not able to hug or even shake hands, we were able to cry together, and we did.

You worry about your converts, praying that they will remain faithful to their covenants and active in the church.  Knowing that there are no weekly church meetings and that the Metro Manila area, which includes parts of our mission, have been under strict lockdown much of the time has only increased my concerns.  Fortunately, Lance and Grace have been blessed to have a good bishop and other missionaries who have stepped in to help support them in our absence.  Since returning home, I have emailed Lance periodically.  Words cannot fully express the joy I felt as I have heard about Lance blessing the sacrament and getting his first “ministering” assignment.  I look forward to the day when Lance will baptize his daughters, and then once the temple is open again, for them to be sealed as a family together.

As Alma said, “by small and simple things, great things are brought to pass.”  I have often wondered how different things might have been had I not asked that simple question and if Lance had not said “yes” when we were in the elevator that day.  That brief encounter changed Lance’s life, the life of his family, and my life.  I will be eternally grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission in the Philippines and for President Alder’s challenge to the missionaries of the Antipolo Mission to invite others to act.

PAST THE POINT OF NO RETURN

Last week we received a phone call from the Missionary Department informing us that we would not be able to return to the Philippines to complete our mission. This was due to the covid-19 pandemic, specifically: in both the Metro Manila area and Utah, as well as many other areas of the world, the medical situation is still getting worse; our having less than six months left before our release date; and since I (Russell) am turning 65 soon, Missionary Medical considers me a greater health risk . We have also learned that to date almost no senior missionaries who returned early have been allowed to go back out and almost all new senior missionaries called with start dates from April through September have been postponed or are serving from their homes. When we left Antipolo, I thought we might be back by July. Eileen has been telling me that I was underestimating the severity of the situation. Once again she was right. I should have listened more closely to the Mission Nurse, particularly on this medical situation.

In his April 2020 General Conference talk titled, Shall We Not Go On In So Great a Cause, Elder M. Russell Ballard invited us, “As we listen to the Spirit during this 200^thanniversary celebration this week-end, consider what offering you will present to the Lord in righteousness in the coming days. Be courageous—share it with someone you trust, and most important, please take time to do it!”

Both Eileen and I decided to take up Elder Ballard’s challenge; Eileen to organize her over 80,000 photo library and then utilize it to add to ancestors profiles in Family Search, and for me to write my personal history. We have used the time at home provided to us by the pandemic and each been successful in our efforts. We have also worked/served a day or two a week in the Missionary Department; Eileen doing medical screening of senior missionaries and I doing projects for Senior Missionary Services related to office missionaries. Since returning home, both Eileen and I have occasionally been involved in supporting the missionaries in Antipolo but the time involved has been minimal. 

While this is not the way I would have imagined our mission to end, I am glad the Church was concerning with our health and evacuated us when they did. I can clearly see that the Church is led by a prophet and that President Nelson has been preparing us for this latest challenge; be it the Come Follow Me program, telling us to prepare for an April Conference like no other last Fall, reacting quickly to close Church meetings and Temples worldwide, etc. I am grateful for the opportunity to have served in the Philippines and look forward at some later date to serve on another mission.