What a week!

What a week we have had!  As I looked back at my last post to see where I left off, I can't believe all that happens in just a week or so.  We did a lot of interviews with several zones.  I have been fighting a nasty cold all week and I felt bad to sit in interviews sneezing and coughing, but I had plenty of hand sanitizer and kleenex to help me through them.  I had to snap this darling picture of Sister Wilding and Sister Kackstaetter, who without planning, showed up to interviews looking like a tropical vacation.  

The majority of last week we were blessed to spend with Elder Patrick Kearon from the Presidency of the Seventy, who came to our mission for a mission tour this past week.  What a blessing that was for us.  We were able to meet him on Tuesday evening for dinner.  We loved spending the evening getting to know him and kind of planning the week with him.  He is such a delightful man.  He is real and authentic and himself, and as he describes himself, a little goofy.  Our missionaries LOVED that about him.  He was funny and had them laughing one minute, and then the spirit was so strong they were crying the next.  His British accent didn't hurt either.  We had zone conferences on Wednesday and Thursday with him.  He met with the Zone Leaders and Sister Training leaders for about 10 minutes before each conference started. Then he shook everyone's hand and had them tell him their name and where they were from.  It was so special for each of them to feel like they had a personal moment and connection with him.  

Scott and I did our training together for about 45 minutes.  We talked about the bridge from trust to happiness, using scriptures from 2 Nephi 4-5.  At the end of 2 Nephi 4 Nephi tells of the death of his father and then he writes the things of his soul, ending with the verses at the end where he talks about trusting in God.  By verse 27 in chapter 5, Nephi and his followers have fled to the wilderness and did several things until in v. 27 he tells us that they lived after the manner of happiness.  We explored the patterns of the things they did that took them from trust in the Lord to happiness.  It was fun teaching together.  

The rest of the time was Elder Kearon's and he was incredible.  He had a unique way of training.  He told Scott and I that he wanted us to sit on the stand with him and just pop up to the pulpit when we had some thoughts to share about whatever it was he was talking about.  He told us he really wanted us to do it, and that it works best when that happens.  At times he would look at us and ask us if we had any thoughts.  So, we tried to do what he said.  It felt a little odd just walking up and interrupting a General Authority, mid sentence, but he loved it and after the first day he told us it was great and he wanted us to come up even more.  It made it so we were certainly engaged the entire time and it was interesting how the Spirit would bring a story or experience to my mind that I hadn't thought of in years that seemed to fit.  

One thing the missionaries absolutely loved was on Wednesday right after lunch.  He was just getting started and his phone rang.  He looked at it and said "This might be an emergency, I better answer this." So, right at the pulpit he answers his phone and said "I assume this is an emergency?"  He listened for a minute and then said "I need to take this" and walked off the stand and out the door.  Scott jumped up and just started talking about what he had been talking about.  He was gone for about 5 or so minutes.  He came back in and said "That was Elder Uchtdorf, he told me to give you his love and his advice to you was to make sure you stay in touch with your converts."  The missionaries about died that he just took a phone call from Elder Uchtdorf, like it happened every day.  Which it might.  

These are some of the things that he emphasized during the two days of conferences:
The greatest understanding is to know who you really are
This is a church of new beginnings
Baptism needs to be brought much higher in our expectations and our priorities.  How do      we increase baptism goals without increasing anxiety
If we lower our expectations we lower our productivity
Nothing happens in missionary work until you find someone to teach
People want to see the results of the spirit in your life, what it has done for you and what it can do for them
Mormons thrive on opposition, we have since the very first of the restoration
We cannot have it easy, we aren't meant to. We are given opposition to make us who we need to be
Don't worry, work hard, be happy, don't overcomplicate that
Baptism is a blessing that brings power
Simplify and promise blessings
Choose to become the message, choose not to be a victim
Be your authentic self, don't try to be someone else
Do we see our potential and are we living up to it
Unapologetically invite
Turn outward, it's not about you.  Our problems come from turning inward
Look like the plan of happiness
Attack the day.  An enthusiastic morning schedule is highly practical and will give us a lift
Become the cutting edge.  Get out of the box, but stay within the fence
Kindness is a great quality in a leader
Be less technical, be more loving
Change your direction, not your speed
When you go home, don't go back
Second chances are for missionaries as well as our converts
We are meant to be happy

There was so much more than this as we were blessed to be taught and inspired by him for the two days of Zone Conference and then he also did an MLC, with the mission leaders.  It was an amazing 4 days of time spent with him.  We loved every minute of it, he is the real deal.  We are so grateful he was sent to our mission.  We will love him forever.

Zone Conference Day 1.  Unfortunately, while we were taking pictures Elder Kearon had to step out and make some phone calls so we didn't get any pictures with him the first day. 

Elk Grove Zone

East Sacramento Zone

Sacramento Zone

Rancho Cordova Zone

Singing to our lunch providers

With Sister Gilbert and Sister Richins

Zone Conference Day 2. This time we cornered Elder Kearon and so we have photographic evidence that he was actually here.

 Folsom Zone

 El Dorado Zone

 Carmichael Zone

North Sacramento Zone

It's always fun to see how many selfies are on my phone after the assistants have got ahold of it.

Elder and Sister Gunnell with Elder Kearon and us

With our Assistants, Elders Yorgasen, Murphy, Nelson, Forte and Ravston.  On July 1 we are getting half of the Modesto Mission which is being dissolved.  We are getting 3 more zones and 50 more missionaries.  Because of that, we have called two more assistants to help with exchanges and training of new missionaries.  Elder Ravston and Elder Nelson have been a great addition and have helped us so much already. 

Friday morning we had MLC with Elder Kearon

We said goodbye to Sister Baker on Friday.  We love her and will sure miss her

Saturday was a day that really put why we are here in perspective.  I started early picking up Sister Clark and Sister Simpson to go to a sealing at the temple.  It was an interesting situation.  Sister Clark and her sister are the only members of the church in their family.  Her sister was getting married and due to some other temple closures, and her fiance being from the Bay area, ended up getting sealed in the Sacramento Temple.  Months ago Sister Clark told me about it but was scared to ask President if she could go.  I told her she was never going to get a yes if she didn't ask.  She did, and because of the unique family circumstances, Scott felt it would be good for her to be there.  I was able to take them and witness Sister Clark and her sister seeing each other for the first time in 6 months, and to witness Sister Clark being the escort for her sister.  It was a wonderful experience to see her sister, and the young woman who introduced her sister to the gospel, who then introduced our dear Sister Clark to the gospel, all in the temple together.  We often say "two times in white".  Meaning, look at the people you are teaching not only in baptismal white, but in temple white.  It kind of brought that all full circle and was a wonderful experience for all of us.  It was also so special to see so many of their Young Women leaders and ward members in the temple with them.  Most of whom made the trip from Texas to be with these special sisters.  It made me realize again the importance of a ward family and fellowshippers who are more than doing a duty, but truly love these new members like members of their own families.  This is the gospel in action, the way it is supposed to work.  

After I got the sisters safely back to their area, I met Scott and we went about our day attending as many of the 11 baptisms that we had on Saturday as we could.  One that I just missed was an amazing baptism of a family of 4 from Iran.  They were so prepared, it was amazing to see the hand of the Lord leading them through the years to the church.  The mom told of an amazing experience where she had a dream years ago that let her know God was with her and was leading her where she needed to be. When she found the gospel she knew this is where he had been leading her all of these years.  

We went to a baptism of a young man in one of the YSA wards.  He told of how he had always been looking for something and didn't ever feel very confident in life and knew something was missing.  When the Sister missionaries knocked on their door his brothers and grandma said "don't answer it, it's the Mormons." And he said "I just thought, someone needs to answer for them, why not me?"  He said he knew their message was true from the start and knew he had finally found the place where he belonged.  

The next one was the baptism of a bright young engineer, whose wife was a less active member.  He told of being raised by an agnostic father and a very atheistic mother. He told of being a young boy and feeling there was a God and telling of times when he even tried praying on his own.  Again, when the missionaries found him, it rang true and he knew what he had been looking for all of his life.  

It is such a blessing to be able to hear the testimonies of those whose lives have changed because they chose to listen, learn, feel and act.  His missionaries were Elder Thompson and Elder Fischetti, who, after the baptism, were heading to an event at the Fijian ward, which they also cover.  They quickly changed and I couldn't let them leave without snapping a picture.

Just as we were going into Daniel's baptism, Scott got a text from Elder Ricedorff telling him that they were happy to take him up on his offer of dinner that night.  He started laughing and said that was pretty creative, he hadn't offered to take them to dinner, but of course, how do you pass that one up.  Especially since he and Elder Anderson were the missionaries who taught and baptized the Iranian family earlier that day.  Of course we were happy to celebrate with them.  I understand that is a well known trick of missionaries looking for a dinner, and it worked on us.  We told them to choose the place, and the fact that I actually went to Wing Stop with them shows them how much I love them.  I had never been to a Wing place before, don't know that I'll rush back but it was great to be with them.  I love how, whenever we take missionaries out to eat, no matter where we are, they always give us a dinner message, right there in the restaurant.  I LOVE that!

We left dinner and headed to our last baptism of the day, up in El Dorado, another young man who was introduced to the gospel by his girlfriend and he was so sincere in his testimony of now being able to start life with her as a member of the church.  He was humble and sincere and bore such a sweet testimony.  We were blessed on Saturday to be able to see so many people entering into covenants, both temple and baptismal.  I thought on more than one occasion "this is why we are here".  It quickly puts things into perspective and made me grateful all over again to be here doing this work. 

Today we actually had the first p day I can remember in a very long time and so Scott and I found a trail by Natoma Lake and went on a little hike.  It was such a gorgeous day and we were both so grateful to be out in nature enjoying this beautiful place we get to call home for a while.

We also had a meeting with Elder Nelson and Elder Ravston and got to feed them afterward and so that was a great way to end a really nice day.  We love feeding the missionaries. 

And finally, this is my favorite picture of the week.  We always talk about how most of our baptisms come from member referrals.  Darling Hermanas Wallentine and Alexander snapped this picture, I'm assuming in front of a business sign they found.  It made me laugh and I loved it so much!!!

The church is true, joyfully and unapologetically share it with your friends, and then refer them to your local missionaries.  Because you know, 75% of our business is from referrals!!!