When Two or Three Are Gathered In My Name...

The past two weeks or so, since I wrote last, have been full of gatherings.  I love the scripture in Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."  I have always loved the concept of gathering, even the word 'gather' has such warm and wonderful connotations to me.  We have done a lot of gathering, in groups big and small and have definitely felt the Savior in our midst as we have done so.  

I had an interesting gathering experience that was a little out of my comfort zone a few weeks ago.  It made me have more empathy for our missionaries.  I had been asked to speak at the Stake Women's Conference in the Manteca Stake one Saturday morning.  I was to give the same presentation, on helping prepare missionaries to serve, three different times.  I was a little nervous about it because I am a little more comfortable speaking to missionaries, I'm used to having my companion with me at all times, and also, because I didn't know anyone in that Stake.  I know the Stake President, and I have met a couple of people, but I really didn't know anyone to even look for.  I had corresponded with the Stake Relief Society President but I didn't know her, or who to even look for when I got there.  It all turned out just great. The women were lovely and now I know a lot of them there, but it gave me a taste of how our missionaries must feel when they get transferred, they don't know their companions or a soul in the new ward they have been transferred to, and I felt a greater deal of compassion for them after having had this experience.  I will say after I got everything set up in my assigned room and went in to the cultural hall, I have never been happier to see two darling sister missionaries waving at me in a sea of unfamiliar faces.  

The theme and the decorations and all of the classes were all centered around Super Heros.  It was a really fun theme to work with for my presentation and the decorations were absolutely adorable.  As were these darling Sisters I got to spend some of the morning with.

The next night, on Sunday night, we had our New Member Fireside.  It is a gathering we started about 6 months ago.  We have it on the fourth Sunday of every month and we have two or three newly baptized members talk about their conversion process and the changes the gospel has brought into their lives.  We allow missionaries from anywhere in the mission to attend if they bring a new convert, a less active member, or an investigator. We also encourage active members to come as well.  I love seeing the missionaries gather, it reminds me of what it is going to be like in heaven, when we see those we have loved and haven't seen in a long while.  The reunions with other missionaries and members from former wards, are heartwarming.  The spirit is always so strong as these new members testify of the changes that have come to them through their membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I was asked to speak this time and it was a special thing for me to be able to do.  I need to say here how much I am loving the new Come Follow Me study guides for Sunday School.  I have found so many times when what I had just studied is exactly what I have needed that very day.  The morning of the fireside I had read and studied John 1 and the insights I gained were what I talked about at the fireside.  I love when Jesus tells the two disciples to 'come and see'.  That is what we ask people to do everyday. Come and see what we have to offer in this beautiful gospel of Jesus Christ. 

The remainder of that week we spent gathering in different churches around the mission, spending time in interviews with individual missionaries.  I can testify that when two (president and the missionary, or me and the missionary) gather, I have truly felt the spirit inspire me on what I should say, or what questions need to be asked, or what I can say to help them individually.  It is a nice feeling to be directed by the spirit in those kind of small gatherings.  

Last week was really crazy and we gathered A LOT.  We started the week with Zone Conferences on Tuesday in Sacramento, Wednesday in Carmichael and Thursday in Manteca.  We had a Mission Conference on Saturday and so we shortened our Zone Conferences.  We just had me, Scott and the Assistants do training, along with departing testimonies and finished up after lunch.  Zone Conference weeks are really busy, they are exhausting, but they are probably my favorite week of the transfer.  I love gathering with all of our missionaries in one week and learning from them.  

I also love how the spirit always comes through.  We had planned what we were teaching on, and we all seemed to veer a little from what we had initially planned, and I was amazed at how each of our trainings just built upon one another.  The title of my training was "Remember Who You Are" and focused on being a person of integrity.  That as we remember who we are, we will become who we are meant to be, and in order to do that, we must build upon a foundation of integrity.  I love the comments and insights of our missionaries when I train.  They are wise beyond their years.  The Assistants followed me and trained on the talk by Elder Bednar from this past conference, taken from the 4th article of faith and how each of those points, builds upon each other, and helps us become who we are meant to become.  Scott finished with teaching about Letting the Spirit Be Your Guide and how we can't 'become' without the Spirit guiding us.  

Day 1: Tuesday February 5: Sacramento, Elk Grove, Cordova and East Sacramento Zones

 Cordova Zone

 Sacramento Zone

 East Sacramento Zone

Elk Grove Zone

 The Liahona Ward provided lunch for us this day.  It was unbelievable.  The missionaries serving there told us that as they passed around a sign up for members to help with the missionary luncheon, just about everyone in the ward signed up.  This is one of our Tongan Wards and they are lovely, kind and generous in every way.  They had SOOOOO much food prepared.  Honestly, they had enough food to serve at least 2oo people.  There wasn't even enough room to sit at some of the tables, it was piled with food.  They had a banana cake for each companionship to take home, and they had foil and tins for the missionaries to load up the leftovers and take with them.  I think every companionship took much more food home than they were able to eat at lunch.  It was incredible to see the love those dear members have for the missionaries and their generosity was truly humbling. 

 Members from the Liahona ward.  We always bring them out and sing to them after lunch, but we had a special treat this time, when they sang a song, in Tongan for us before we sang to them.  So touching!!!

Missionaries laden with left overs!

 So many of our Elders are in to making their own ties.  The Elk Grove Zone all made matching ties for Zone Conference

Day 2: Tuesday February 6: El Dorado, Folsom, Carmichael, North Sacramento Zones

 Folsom Zone

 El Dorado Zone

 North Sacramento Zone

Carmichael Zone

Another incredible feast provided to us by the Carmichael Stake, the San Juan and Deseret Wards.  It was as delicious as it was beautiful.  How did we get so blessed to land here with such amazing members.

Our friend and photographer, Patrick Twomey always snaps pictures of me with my little pink bag.  It holds our birthday gifts, and I have decided I can never have anything for birthday gifts that don't fit in this little pink bag.  It has become the birthday bag.  Last year we gave out temple recommend holders we had made with a picture of the Sacramento Temple and our mission theme. This year I went more practical and we are giving them spf 15 chapstick that is personalized from us.  

Day 3: February 7: Lodi, Stockton, and Manteca Zones

 Lodi Zone

 Stockton Zone

Manteca Zone

You might sense I'm a little obsessed with food, which may be a true statement, but again, we had an incredible lunch provided for us by the Manteca Stake.  Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures from lunch on this day, but it was SOOOO good and we were so grateful! But these are the sweet members who prepared it for us. 

Sisters of Manteca

After this zone conference we stayed in Manteca for a while to do half of the Lodi Zone Interviews.  In the Lodi Zone we have 4 companionships that are in what I call 'the mountain towns'. They are quite a ways away from, well, just about anywhere, and so instead of having them come back for interviews the next day, we just talked to them after zone conference.  Then Scott conducted two baptismal interviews and we were back home around 8 that night.  

We headed back south on Friday to finish up the other half of the Lodi interviews. Sister Armstrong and I were twinning, and the week before, Sister Bayless and I were pretty coordinated.  We have to take pictures when that happens.

It was a big weekend in the Lodi Stake and the Stake Center was a beehive of activity. There was a regional conference that involved 5 Stakes that was being held on Saturday, and with some Stakes on Sunday and the Lodi Stake was the host Stake.  We were involved in the meetings, which was a blessing for us.  Elder Neil L Anderson and his wife, Elder Robert Gay from the Presidency of the Seventy, and Elder Kevin Pearson of the Seventy, along with our area Seventy, Elder Scott Dorius, were all coming to the conference.  And we were blessed that as part of the weekend, they held a Mission Conference for our entire mission.  Since we were going to be down there all week, we got us a hotel room for the two nights we were down there.  

It began on Friday night with a fireside with Young Married Couples, 35 and under.  Initially Elder Anderson was going to be there and it was optional for us to be there.  At the last minute, plans were changed and Elder Anderson couldn't make it and so we were asked to be there to help answer questions, sort of a panel type thing.  We had a prayer in our hearts for Elder Pearson and Elder Gay.  You never want to be the substitutes when they congregation is expecting an apostle, but they were fantastic. It was a good meeting, but the next day was when the real fun began.  

We had asked all of our missionaries to gather at the church by 9:15 a.m. at the latest.  We were going to be all lined up, the General Authorities were going to arrive at 9:30 to snap a picture, shake hands and then start the meeting by 10 a.m.  Have I raved enough on here about our friend, and mission photographer, Patrick Twomey?  I feel sorry for every other mission who doesn't have him in their mission.  He is so generous with his time and talents.  We didn't know for sure if we could do a picture until Wednesday night, and he just drops everything and makes himself available whenever we need him.  He was there at 8:30 when we got there, he had everything set up and was ready to go.  It was his idea to have the missionaries all lined up, singing hymns when the General Authorities got there, which brought an incredible spirit.  

This is the first time since we have been here that we have been blessed to gather our entire mission, and only our mission together.  We were able to all be together when President Oaks came to speak to us in August, but we also had half of the Roseville Mission with us, which was wonderful.  But there was something special about having just our missionaries all gathered together.  It made me really emotional to see them all together.  And I have to brag a bit.  I was able to talk for quite a while with Sister Anderson, and Elder Pearson after the conference and they were both so impressed with all of our missionaries.  They looked great, they were reverent, respectful, dignified, attentive, they were all taking notes. Their questions and comments were inspired, and as they were so highly complimented I couldn't help but feel like a proud parent. We are very blessed to have such remarkable missionaries serving with us.  

These are some pictures of all 180 of them, while they were lined up, singing, and waiting for our special guests.

The General Authorities were a little later than we had anticipated and so our missionaries stood there and sang for quite a good long time.  The picture below was my from my vantage point.  You can see Patrick up on the stage waiting for the thumbs up from me that they had arrived.

I really would have rather been in the gym with our missionaries than in the foyer waiting, so I just kept sneaking in to feel of the powerful spirit that was in that room.

The moment they arrived and were able to listen to this beautiful missionary choir, as we led them in and made our way to the front of the gym.

The mission conference was amazing, the spirit was so strong.  Scott and I bore our testimonies, we had the most beautiful musical number by Sisters Workman, Clark, Simonsen, Leavitt, Clifford, Simpson, Osmond and Bowen.  They did a rendition of Brightly Beams our Father's Mercy and it was unbelievably beautiful . Elder Pearson, Elder Gay and Sister Anderson spoke and the rest of the time was Elder Anderson's. I will never forget the physical feeling I had as Elder Anderson was finishing and testifying of the Savior.  It was like an electric shock went from my head to my feet.  One sister said "He didn't really say anything different than we say about the Savior, but you could feel the difference because he is an apostle and a special witness of the Savior."  She summed it up perfectly.  It was a beautiful and spiritually uplifting morning, a gathering where we felt the presence of our Savior as witnessed to us by the Holy Ghost,  and we were so incredibly blessed to be a part of it.  

After our meeting, Scott and I were invited to have lunch with the General Authorities and then Sister Anderson wanted to go back to the hotel, and so I took her back.  What a lovely woman she is.  The men stayed for a meeting from 1-2:30 We made it back to the hotel and sat in my car for another 15 minutes just chatting.  I had to pinch myself a little bit to think I was just chatting in my car with Elder Anderson's wife!!!  We headed back to the church for another meeting from 3-5 and then we had dinner with the General Authorities and the five Stake Presidents and their wives that were included in the Regional conference.  It was a lovely evening and I have to give a shout out to the Lodi Stake Relief Society Presidency who did lunch and dinner and everything was SO delicious.  They worked their fingers to the bone and were there all day and into the night and it was much appreciated.  

Sunday morning we were assigned to go to the Stockton Stake Conference with Elder Gay who was the presiding authority at that meeting.  We both had to speak and were blessed to have the spirit help us. I have said this before, but it never ceases to amaze me that our life is what it is.  In my normal life I would have prepared for weeks to speak at a Stake Conference. We had to laugh Sunday morning, as we had an hour to prepare to speak at Stake Conference with a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, and thanks to the spirit, I think it went ok.  

After Stake Conference we stayed in Stockton and went teaching with Elders Shafer, Salvador and West to a darling family.  They are Spanish missionaries, but I was pleasantly surprised that the family speaks English, which was a benefit for me.  We left there and went to Elk Grove where Scott conducted another baptismal interview.  We made it home about 4:00.  We were starving, we had only eaten crackers and dried apples that we had in our car.  We had a delicious Sunday dinner of a tuna fish sandwich, (oh how our lives have changed) since we had no food in the house, and then we headed to our Stake Center in Folsom.  They had asked us to do their Stake Mission Prep class that night and had invited parents. They wanted us to talk about what we have learned that would help missionaries prepare for their missions.  We love where we live, we have a great Stake and it was a good night. But we kind of crashed when we got home.  

Luckily this week is a little bit slower, we have some meetings, but it seems like we have a chance to catch our breath for a bit before transfers start next week.  The missionary department has asked us to start having a monthly Missionary Medical Health Council to discuss and help those missionaries who have physical or emotional health challenges.  We held that today and were blessed to have our new Area Medical Advisors, Elder and Sister Burton, join us, along with Sister Goodwin and Sister Bird, our mission nurses.  Our mental health counselors, Brother Baggs and Sister Woolrich who help us SO much, were also there but they left before we snapped a picture. 

We are so blessed to have our new office couple here. Elder and Sister Mair arrived about a week ago, we told them they came at a great time, they were able to attend all of the Zone Conferences their first week here and meet all of the missionaries and were also able to be here for our Mission Conference.

The weekend they arrived, we were also blessed to have some visitors from home.  Our dear friends Gary and Kristan Hatch were able to visit for a few days. Gary had a conference just outside of San Francisco and we were thrilled when they asked if it was a good weekend for them to come a little early and spend a bit of time with us.  It wasn't long enough but we sure had a good time with them while they were here. And they were able to welcome the Mair's to the mission with us, as we met them at a baptism.  

 It felt like Old Home Week, with so many of our Centerville friends together again!

We took them to two baptisms, and then we showed them around some of our favorite Sacramento spots.  We had to stop at Estelle bakery, right by the Golden One Center and saw some basketball players from the 76er's who were playing there that night.  We couldn't help ourselves from asking for a picture with my darling 4'10 friend Kristan, next to this giant basketball player.  He wasn't as amused as we were, but he consented to a picture.

We took them on a walk around the State Capitol building, which is one of my favorite places here, and they got to witness Scott using his two phones at once, while keeping up a good walking pace.  He's pretty talented!

We met the Mair's and the Gunnell's for dinner that night, Gary and Kristan came to church with us the next day and then they were off.  It was a fabulous and quick 48 hours and we were grateful to have them come and visit.

We also had some very special visitors the weekend before the Hatches came.  We were blessed to have four of our former Hermanas come for dinner before they went to see one of their recent converts go through the temple for the first time.  It was so fun to see them, and so special to see the joy they had as they anticipated being in the temple with one of their beloved friends.  It really is what this work is all about.  Bringing people to Christ through covenants.  We focus on the covenant of baptism, because that's the first step and the one we are able to most help with. But we NEVER lose sight of the ultimate goal of helping them make even more covenants in the temple.  It is a blessing when they are able to participate in those sacred events.  And we are blessed because it means we get to see our beloved missionaries often as well, being just a 10 hour drive away from Utah is such a blessing. We had the best time reminiscing and enjoying these four remarkable Hermanas.  How we love them all.

 Hermanas Clark, Morris, Smith and Alexander