Faith and Hope

I can never remember what I've written about in previous posts, but as a mission we are focusing on studying the Christlike attributes found in Preach My Gospel.  We finished studying about Faith last week and we have moved on to Hope this week.  It has been such an interesting study and I have felt my understanding of the Christlike attributes grow stronger.  

We have had interviews this past week with several of our zones and as I meet with the missionaries, I love asking them about what they are learning  from their Christlike attribute studies.  Sometimes I am blown away with the insights our missionaries have.  Here are some of the things our missionaries have shared with me over the past week as I've been able to talk with them.  

One elder told me he thought the difference between Faith and Hope is that Hope is the vision and Faith is the execution of the vision.  Another told me she made the distinction that Hope is the soil that cultivates the seed of Faith.  Another sister told me that the reason we have power through faith is that the things we have faith in are true, and truth is power.  I could go on and on with the things that I learn as I get to visit with these faithful and hope filled missionaries.  It is a joy to spend time with them.  I think they may just like me for my cookies, and I'm ok with that.  One set of zone leaders sent out a message with the times of each missionary's interview and said "we are excited for our interviews with President Hymas and to be able to visit with Sister Hymas and get one of her cookies, no pressure Sister Hymas"  I thought that was pretty funny.  I was happy to tell them the cookies were already baked, bagged and waiting in the freezer!  

This weekend we were blessed to have 9 baptisms in the mission, we were able to attend two of them.  They were both wonderful, but one of them was the Chinese lady I wrote about a few weeks ago.  Her husband wasn't quite ready to commit to baptism, but he gave a beautiful opening prayer at the baptism.  She was so happy to be baptized.  I initially thought she had to go back to China in May, but it is actually next week, in March.  I look at her as one of the early pioneers on China, who is exhibiting faith in every footstep. I spoke with the Elder that taught her and asked if she had a branch or a place to meet when she goes back to China and they had already contacted an Area Authority who has got her taken care of and she will be welcomed and fellowshipped when she gets to her home in China.  It made me pause to be grateful, for not only the doctrine of the gospel but the organization of the church.  It was a neat baptism to be able to attend.  And we were able to see a former missionary couple, Elder and Sister Mu who did so much Chinese work while they were here.  They were back in town and it was fun to see them.  

We spoke in the East Sacramento Stake Conference last Sunday and in the Sacramento Stake in the Saturday night session last night.  It was kind of a marker of time for me.  I distinctly remember speaking in both of those Stakes fairly early on in our mission, probably last August or September and I didn't know hardly any one.  This time, as we sat on the stand, and mingled before and afterwards, it was fun to see so many familiar faces of new friends and people we have interacted with and come to know.  It was a nice feeling to not feel quite so new.  

We have been blessed to have a few visitors over the past week or so.  When we have visitors, we just continue with our missionary work and take them along with us.  Last weekend Ethan and his darling girlfriend Camee came to visit.  Camee has been serving a mission in Chicago for the past 18 months. She got home a few weeks ago and I was pretty sad to miss out on all of the excitement of her homecoming, but we were thrilled to see her so soon and have them visit us here in Sacramento.  It was fun to compare notes from her mission to ours and to have an understanding of all she was talking about.  My mission vocabulary and understanding is much more up to date than it was when my kids got home from their missions.  I'm now completely fluent in MLC, STL, ZL, DL, PMG, District Meetings, Street Contacting, T Contacting, On Date, Progressing Investigators, Safeguards, Area Books, Exchanges, Team Ups, 12 Week, Adjusting to Missionary Life, Comp Inventory, etc, etc, etc.  It was super fun to talk with her and hear about her experiences on her mission and actually know everything she was talking about!  Here are some pictures of our time spent with Ethan and Camee.

Welcome to Sacramento

We were able to take our P day on Saturday and we made the most of it.  We started with Breakfast at Bacon and Butter

A visit to the new R.C. Willey store that just opened in our mission.  Both Scott and Ethan felt right at home checking numbers on the computer, and it was fun to find a picture of my uncle and my dad from the early years. 

Fun in Old Town at GWillikers toy store

A walk to the Tower Bridge, The Crocker Art Museum and Downtown Commons

We took a little rest in the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, a beautiful old Catholic Cathedral, and then on to the California State Capitol Building and grounds

On Sunday they came to Stake Conference with us and then we made a stop at the temple on our way home. 

Sunday night we were thrilled to have a former missionary, Hermana, (now Cassidy) Scott come to visit with her boyfriend, Carlos.  We love to keep in touch with our returned missionaries and it is a special treat when we can see them in person. 

The weekend went way to fast and we hated saying goodbye to Ethan and Camee, but not before we had one final, huge, meal at The Broderick.

As always, goodbyes stink. We love to see them come, and hate to see them go, but it was wonderful to see Camee again after 18 months.  This story is an example of Faith in God's plan and Hope in promised blessings.  About 20 months ago, Camee felt strongly that she should go on a mission and we were happy to see her serve, but at the time we didn't realize just how great of a blessing it would be to her, and, honestly to us.  She and Ethan both moved forward with faith. She absolutely loved her mission and she grew in every way.  And on our end, Ethan was able to get into his accounting program and focus on school, and for us, it was a tender mercy to be able to have Ethan and Preston come out with us for a few months at the beginning of our mission together.  It made our adjustment so much easier with them here, and it was such an amazing blessing to have that special time with them this summer.  God's plans are always better than our plans.  

At the end of this week we were also able to have our good friends, Mike and Cristin Strong come for a visit.  They have been called to preside over the Peru Lima Central Mission beginning in July.  They were able to come and spend a few days following us around to get a feel for what is coming their way.  They are going to be amazing in their respective roles.  They were able to attend a District Meeting while we were doing interviews on Thursday in Elk Grove. Seeing them interact with our missionaries was so much fun, our missionaries loved them and their missionaries are going to love them even more, because they will know them better, and to know them is to love them. After we left there we took them with us to a meeting with our assistants to plan our next MLC and Zone Conference.  

The Elk Grove Zone, District Meetings and Interviews

We were able to go to dinner that night with Elder and Sister Gunnell.  It was a nice little Brookhurst Ward reunion.  When Scott was the Bishop, Todd, now Elder Gunnell, was his Executive Secretary.  The craziest thing was, while we were at dinner, his counselors Byron Clawson and Gary Hatch called him.  Their timing couldn't have been better!  We only wished the Clawsons and the Hatches were sitting at the table with us, instead of being on the phone. 

The life of a Mission President.  He is always only a phone call away, this time from some sisters who are serving in the mountains and were afraid of driving in the snow. 

We hated to say goodbye to President and Sister Strong, tears were shed knowing it will most likely be nearly 3 1/2 years before we will see them again.  As they were walking away I had to restrain myself from shouting "Hurrah for Israel" out of the car window.  They are in for quite an adventure.  It takes great faith to basically walk away from your life for 3 years. To walk away from home and career and family, with the faith that God's plans are always better than our plans, and hope in promised blessings. This work is wonderful, but it is also very hard.  Scott just asked me if I ever write that we are tired most of the time and worried about something all of the time.  I told him I usually try to emphasize the positives, but I would add that just for him.  

We had been to the airport earlier Saturday morning saying goodbye to our dear Elder Martineau.  He is a remarkable young man and we love him with all of our hearts. We will miss him. I was sadly mistaken when we left home and I felt relieved thinking I was done saying my goodbyes.  We say goodbye so often, you would think I would be getting immune to it.  It never seems to get any easier, but we move forward with Faith and Hope in our Savior Jesus Christ, and know that all will be made right through Him.   

A Week Full of Love

This year Valentine's Day fell on transfer week for us.  It was a week full of love. It was so fun for us to think of the families of our dear Sister Thomas and Sister Kearl welcoming home their daughters on the day set aside to celebrate love.  But I am getting ahead of myself... 

This weekend we felt a great manifestation of the Lord's love for his children as we had nine baptisms of 9 individuals into Christ's true church.  I love the quote by Elder Christofferson who stated: "The work of our missionaries is a magnificent expression of the Lord's redeeming Love".  This is never more apparent than on the day of an investigator's baptism.  The missionaries who have taught someone about their true worth and God's love for them, and then to see those people they love so much enter into the covenant path, feel a love that is the pure love of Christ.  These missionaries are like proud parents on these special days.  

We were able to attend two of these baptisms on Saturday and wish we could have made it to all of them.  The first baptism we were able to attend was that of Carmelita. She was found and taught by Sisters Cha, Brown and Coombs.  Sister Cha and Sister Brown have gone home now, but Sister Coombs continued to teach her with Sister Leavitt.  When Sister Coombs got transferred Sister Leavitt and Sister Clifford continued to teach her.  Carmelita's husband is a recently returning member and it was a blessing to bring a family together in the gospel.  Her 12 year old daughter is learning and has a desire to be baptized as well.  These Sisters were a manifestation of the Lord's love for Carmelita and her family and it was evident that she felt that at her baptism.  Look at these happy faces.  

The second baptism we attended was for Nancy and Alena.  I wrote a few months ago about a Sister who got transferred into our ward, and a few days later we found out her investigator was moving into our ward, and the Lord was moving Sister Clark right along with Nancy and Alena.  Nancy and Alena's story is also one of several missionaries diligently teaching and loving God's children.  They were found and have been taught by Sisters Koller, Thomas, Clark, and Mitchell, and probably others as well.  Here is a lesson about the importance of living the gospel in our every day lives.  Nancy said she has always been drawn to Mormons.  She is a teacher and said that she has had students who are Mormons and she always noticed a difference in their moms.  She gave several examples of Mormon women she admired and has watched them closely.  She told of the secretary at her school who headed up a large service project.  Someone later told her she was a Mormon, to which Nancy replied "of course she is".  All of those examples led her to accept the missionaries when the time was right.  Although, she also said she wished the missionaries had found her much earlier in her life and was so grateful that her daughter Alena found the church early in her life.  

I know every one of the baptisms that happened this week and every week have stories just like Nancy and Alena and Carmelita.  Again, "The work of our missionaries is a magnificent expression of the Lord's redeeming Love". What a blessing it is to be a witness to that redeeming love time and time again. 

On Monday we welcomed 3 wonderful missionaries into the mission.  The smallest group we have had come in up to this point was a group of 11.  We weren't really sure how to do such a small group, we had to make some schedule adjustments, but it was fun to have some more one on one time with these terrific Elders and Sister.  

Here they come.  The excitement of welcoming new missionaries every six weeks never gets old. It's such an exciting time.

We were able to bring them back to our home and we actually had time to all sit down together and have dinner.  Usually Scott has to immediately start interviewing and so dinner is a quick, eat when you can, event.  

We got a lot of our training done on Monday night and so on Tuesday we were able to finish up the training early and get the missionaries matched up with their trainers.  This is one of my very favorite moments.  I know I say this every time, but I love it so much when we bring the new missionaries into a room full of missionaries standing and singing Called to Serve.  I have yet to make it through without crying.  It's an amazing experience.  We matched the new ones up with their trainers and headed to the temple to take pictures and send them on their way.

Sister Ellsworth training Sister Fausett

Elder Rodriguez being trained by Elder Damon

Elder Coleman being trained by Elder Woodward

Once they were off and on their way, we were able to observe some of the transfers going on at the church.  Transfers are a model of supply chain logistics that would make even the most organized company envious of the efficiency.  The assistants work long and hard putting the transfer schedule together.  6 cars at a time line up, the transferring missionary hops out of one car and into the car with their new companion.  They can transfer the entire mission in about an hour.  We are usually in training meetings while transfers are taking place so it was fun to observe and be witnesses to the efficiency and the excitement of transfers. 

Once transfers were complete, we got to spend time with our departing missionaries.  Again, this was the smallest group by far that we have ever sent home so we just took Sister Thomas and Sister Kearl to lunch and then headed to the temple with them. 

We had a lovely experience with them at the temple, and then went back to our home where Scott gave them their final interviews, we had dinner and a testimony meeting and a wonderful evening sharing experiences, thoughts, feeling and testimony.  We love these sisters and are so grateful for their consecrated and dedicated service.  As we reminisced, Sister Kearl and Sister Thomas were two of the sisters I played tennis with our second week in the mission.  We have all come a long way since that day on the Elk Grove tennis courts.  

One of the saddest days in the mission is the day we send the missionaries home that we love so much.  I've said before, the only thing that makes it ok is knowing the excitement of their families who are waiting to greet them.  It was especially fun to think of the Thomases and the Kearls getting their daughters home on Valentine's Day, it will be a Valentine's Day they will never forget.  

Saying goodbye to Sister Kearl

Saying goodbye to Sister Thomas

And finally, I was able to go out for a walk one evening after we got home from a full day of missionary work and I snapped this picture of the sunset.  It was breathtaking and made me grateful for the beautiful place we are blessed to live for a season. #lovewhereyoulive

Ministering, Miracles and MLC

Last week we had a full week of interviews.  Every day we were with a different zone.  We do a lot of things in groups, but interviews are times of one on one ministering.  I know every missionary looks forward to the time they have alone with the President.  I always go along and I think they look forward to their time with me because I always bring homemade treats of some sort.  While one of the companions is in with Scott for their interview, I sit and have a visit with their companion and then we switch.  It really is the one time during the transfer cycle that we really can minister one on one to each of these missionaries.  For a few transfers I wondered if they thought it was weird that they had to sit and talk to me while they waited to talk with Scott, but I think they kind of like having a 'mom' to sit and talk to for a while.  Usually after interviews as we are driving home I will say, did you know... fill in the blank.... about Elder so and so, or Sister so and so?  It's obviously never anything confidential, just stories about their lives. Scott always looks at me and says, 'how do you get this stuff out of them?'  I just ask questions and let them go, and I think, with a plate of cookies sitting on the table between us, they feel like they are in their kitchen with their mom.  It's a great opportunity for us, although it is pretty exhausting.  We have anywhere between 12-23 missionaries per zone, so for some of those bigger zones it takes about 5-6 hours. I always feel bad for the last zone we do, because sometimes I will ask a question and then look at them and say "did I already ask you that?' because I know I have asked it at some point, I just can't remember if I asked that particular missionary.  

We also found some time to go out teaching and finding with our missionaries in the past few weeks.  I went out finding one afternoon with Sister Lund and Sister Baker.  It was so good for me.  We stand up and give them the go get em, and you can do this talks, and it is harder than it seems.  We went out for a couple of hours trying to 'find' and we went to at least 8 or 9 houses of people in the area book.  Only one of them was home, and they were nice, but didn't want our message.  We would try to contact neighbors, and people on the streets and it was amazing to me how the sisters would just yell hello to anyone, (even if they were across the street) and walk right up to them.  With most of the people we talked to I was getting the definite vibes that they were completely skeptical of us, and before we even started talking, a wall went up.  This didn't seem to phase or deter these sweet sisters, they just kept smiling and yelling hello to anyone and everyone. We were able to have a good conversation with a man who was sitting on the stairs of an apartment complex and we talked with him about Jesus and prayer.  It was a good conversation even though he wasn't interested in having us come back.  After our time together the sisters were apologizing that we didn't have more success, and I told them A. that I was so happy to see what they do every day, and to recognize their diligence, even when it is anything but easy, and B. that our miracle of the day was that we had a good conversation with Steven on the stairs, and we left him better than we found him.  Then I quoted President Monson, who was quoted by his daughter at his funeral. "Sisters, I believe we have done some good today.".

Scott went out one night teaching with some Spanish Elders, but out other teaching experience this week was incredible. We went with Sister Koller and Sister Sherman to a mother and her 2 teenage daughters and her 19 year old niece (or cousin, I didn't quite put the relationship together).  Wow, what a lesson and what a spirit that was there.  They were so open, and had such a desire to know and learn.  When we walked in they all had their Book of Mormons out, they had been reading and studying and were so engaged and asked really good questions, you could see things clicking in their minds.  The sisters taught with sincerity and simply.  At the end of the lesson we all knelt and the 19 year old said a prayer.  I can now see why missionaries say hearing someone's first sincere prayer is one of their favorite things.  It was so touching and I was so grateful to be a part of it.  I have received an update since our lesson, and the girls are going to the ward YW camp fund raiser because they want to go to girls camp this summer, and the 19 year old is asking about how she can serve a mission.  I can't wait to follow this family's progress in the gospel.  

That day the Sacramento Zone was doing an Olympic Seeking Saturday and so Sister Sherman did a post game interview, with my lipstick as a stand in microphone, to assess the lesson.  They are all so cute and are trying so hard.  Makes me love them even more, if that is possible.

I heard about an amazing miracle from one of our Chinese speaking Elders during interviews that I need to record to remember.  Let me just say, we don't have any missionaries who have been called here to as Chinese Speakers, but we do have four native Chinese speaking missionaries, 2 from Hong Kong, one from Mainland China, and one from Upstate New York.  I have been amazed at how the Chinese people are finding us and really accepting the gospel.  We have had a lot of Chinese baptisms.  I was talking to Elder He, our Elder from Mainland China and he told me this miracle.  He is assigned to a ward where the Chinese group meets. We don't have enough for the Chinese to have their own branch, but we do have a group and they meet with an English speaking ward and have translators.  We have quite a large turn out.  A few Sundays ago, about 10 minutes before sacrament meeting started, Elder He was in the chapel and one of the Chinese members brought a couple in to meet him.  This couple was also from mainland China, the husband is a lawyer who is here for a year and will return to China in June, the wife is here with him until May.  The Chinese member found them standing outside the church, kind of looking like they wanted to go in, but didn't know if they should.  The member asked if he could help them and they told him that they wanted to find a religion and learn about God and they felt like they should come to this chapel, but not knowing if they could come in or not.  The member welcomed them in and turned them over to the missionaries.  That is miracle enough, but I couldn't get over the fact that they showed up at the exact church, at the exact time that the Chinese group met, and Elder He, a Chinese speaking missionary was there.  It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord leads the prepared to the gospel.  They have been to church every week since, and they are on date for baptism.  I love this work. 

We had Mission Leadership Council yesterday.  I always love that meeting.  It is a meeting filled with the spirit and the Elders and Sisters always come with an open heart, ready to learn and to share.  And we always have a nice lunch, that our Senior office missionaries prepare for them, so that is another big plus.  I can't tell you how grateful I am for Elder and Sister Gunn and Sister Gunnell for their help yesterday.  We are blessed to have them here.  

It is so fun for us to have Elder and Sister Gunnell here with us.  I can't even count how many times we have worked in a kitchen together, some things never change.  However, we have never had missionary name tags, or missionaries photo bombing before. Love it!  The picture of President and Elder Gunnell was taken Monday night when we had a Senior missionary Family Home Evening at our home and they were in twin suits.  Nice to see them together again as well. 

I will never get tired of this weather.  Eating lunch outside in February is absolutely lovely!

We also celebrated our darling Sister Wilding's birthday!!!

 Even though this is a completely unflattering angle for me, it won't stop me from posting this picture of these amazing women.  Our sister training leaders are women of wisdom, strength, goodness and love.  How grateful we are to serve with them, and all of the other equally amazing Elders and Sisters in our mission.  We are abundantly blessed.