Blessed

It was my father in law's viewing tonight, with the funeral tomorrow.  As hard as it is to be away from family at a time like this, it has caused me to reflect on how blessed we are.  It is always a good idea to focus on your blessings, and for me that has been particularly true this week.  

I feel blessed to have such a wonderful family, who pick up the pieces and stick together, support each other and fill in when we aren't there.  I have kind of felt like we have left our kids as orphans to deal with the death of a loved one, that they really haven't experienced in their lives to this extent, which is a blessing in and of itself.  I have been so grateful and proud of the way our children have just filled in for us in our absence.  They have been there for each other, they have helped with arrangements we probably would have made, they have loved and supported their grandma and us and each other and I couldn't feel more blessed or proud of them all.  And I feel blessed to have friends and family who have reached out in love and support to us and to our kids.

We are so blessed to have Scott's siblings and their spouses, who have made every arrangement, cared for their mother, and carried more than their share of the load because we weren't there to carry ours.  They have done it without a complaint and have kept us informed and included and have shown complete love an support for us.  We love them and are so grateful for them.  

 How blessed we are to know and have a firm belief in the Plan of Salvation, to know that families are forever, and that this parting is temporary. That we will be and live and love together again. 

I feel blessed to have technology in our lives.  The family got together after the viewing tonight to share memories of grandpa and thanks to facetime, we got to participate and share in the wonderful memories.  

I continually feel blessed to be surrounded by good and valiant missionaries.  We had a meeting with our assistants this afternoon and as we sat around the table I thought, 'what if we hadn't come, and I had never gotten to know and love these young men.'  What a blessing to love and be loved by so many wonderful missionaries.  We got the opportunity to take several of them to Coloma this week.  Coloma is where the Mormon Battalion members were helping to build Sutter's Mill, when gold was first found.  It is basically the place that started the California gold rush.  We had a great day learning about California and Mormon history and we even got to pan for gold and Scott and I attempted to use a two man saw to saw a log.  I hope we are better partners in life than we were on the saw.  

                                 We started the day with Breakfast at our house

                    Sister Gomm and her goat Taggart were our special tour guides

 Always have a Book of Mormon in your hand

                       Scott with our wonderful assistants, always teaching them something

                        We did it!!! Eventually

Panning for Gold was more difficult that it looks

I have also felt blessed this week to have been able to meet so many remarkable and kind people here.  Last Sunday we were able to meet with a wonderful couple, The Martinezes, who know everything about the Spanish wards and branches and have a unique perspective and were so willing to do whatever we need them to do to help nurture and care for the latin members of the church.  Then on Tuesday we were invited by our Hmong missionaries, Elder Seamons and Elder Bitner, to have dinner at the home of one of their Hmong members, the Her family.  They were so kind and generous and we had the best time being in their home, and eating their incredibly delicious food.  It was an honor to be with them.  As we were driving home, I thought again at how blessed we are to be here and to be having these wonderful, not only spiritual, but cultural experiences that we would have never imagined having.  

We are so blessed to work with the best senior missionaries, who keep our office and our mission running so smoothly. They are so diligent and work so hard. They are also so extremely kind to us.  And I have already talked about what a blessing our assistants and office elders are to us.  We could not do this mission without each and every one of these people, and all the others in the mission as well.  

And finally, but first and foremost, we are blessed to have testimonies of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and to have the opportunity to be led and guided and directed in this, His work.  To be a participant in this great work is a blessing for which we will be eternally grateful.