Last week was busy, as we assume all of our weeks will be here.  We finished our last week of training in the Training Zone where all Missionaries in our Mission begin their service.  The training itself is not too hard, and we get plenty of breaks, but it can be tedious.  Nevertheless, it's important in order to keep up with the changes that keep happening in familysearch.org and Family Tree.  By the way, we have another week of Family Tree training starting Monday.  It's been said that we'll never be through training while on this mission. We also had a Mission Conference this past week as well as our weekly devotional.  It can't be said that we aren't spiritually fed on this mission; almost every time we turn around, there is something of a spiritual nature happening. 

I have found a good friend in the First Counselor in the Mission Presidency, he not only looks like, but talks like and acts like President Faust.  We continue to watch over our adopted Mom and she is doing good, although working on the computer does not come easily to her. During the week we had lunch one day with one of Lorene's friends from Hacienda Heights.  Her name is Content, and she and her husband are Service Missionaries here in this mission.  I assume we will see them quite frequently over the next several months.  Also,we are heading down to Provo today for a baby blessing for my Sister-in-Law's first grandchild.  Lyla has three more grandbabies (all first babies for each of her children) expected to come over the next 6-7 months.

Friday was a memorable day for us.  At the conclusion of our two weeks of training, we were treated to a morning snack of bread and homemade honey butter with the entire Training Zone and all of the missionaries that came here with us.  At the conclusion of our little snack, we adjourned to our "Go Forth" meeting where we were given our actual assignments which would identify what zones each of us would be working in the remainder of our missions.  The Mission Presidency takes the process of assigning missionaries very seriously, having the Lord decide where we should serve based on impressions and inspiration from Him through the Holy Spirit.  At this meeting each Missionary is asked to stand up, and then the President tells them where they are being assigned and introduces to them to their new Zone Leaders.  Watching this process and speaking with the other missionaries after they received their assignments was a testimony that each of us were assigned to our various zones by inspiration, Each of us are in fact assigned where we are needed, where we can serve to the best of our ability, and where we can grow and progress.  We have been assigned to the British Services Zone where we will help others who are looking for ancestors that lived in the British Isles, New Zealand, and Australia.  Both Lorene and I have ancestors who lived in the British Isles and we may be able to find some of these elusive family members.  We are pleased with our assignment and look forward to learning what we need to learn quickly so that we can be of assistance to the patrons who will visit our floor.  At the conclusion of our meeting we went to the Temple with the other missionaries, many of our instructors from the training, and the Mission Presidency and their wives.

Two other spiritual experiences rounded out the week.  While working with her trainer, Lorene was able to find the second and third wives of one her 5th great-uncles.  Until last week, she did not know that this man had more than one wife.  Our ancestors are waiting to be found and are anxious for us to see that their temple work gets done.  The other thing happened yesterday.  For her birthday I ordered a painting for Lorene with the intention of having it delivered to our home in Arizona.  Having checked with our tenants in our Arizona home, and them indicating that they had not received it, I contacted Deseret Book to tell them that my credit card had been charged but we had not received the painting. After some research, they informed me that the painting was delivered by Fed Ex on the 27th of August and left outside in our side yard behind a gate.  I figured that of course if the painting was left outside for over three weeks it certainly would be ruined.  Telling our tenants where the painting had been left, they found it in its shipping box next to several other boxes they had broken down after they moved in. In one of the tender mercies of the Lord, the box was in perfect condition and the painting was unaffected  by the elements although the other boxes were damaged as a result of being left outside.  Our painting now hangs in our home for all to enjoy its beauty and message. (It's a painting by Simon Dewey entitled "Men of Galilee.")

We thank our Heavenly Father every day for the opportunity to serve here in this Mission. We love our work here and we love the Gospel of the Lord, Jesus Christ.  We send our love and hope you are all doing well.

We have been on our Mission for almost two weeks now, and it has been everything that they say a Mission can be for Seasoned Missionaries.  The first week we were spiritually fed daily as were taught how to utilize Preach My Gospel (PMG).  In our group of Missionaries, we met some of the most wonderful people who will be serving throughout the world, from other locations in the continental U.S. to places such as Albania, England, Hawaii, Africa, and South America.  Out of the approximate 100 Missionaries, thirty (including us) are assigned to the Family and Church History Headquarter Mission (FCHHM) in Salt Lake City.  During our week at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) we were fed as if we were on a cruise and studied every day.  While participating in one of our training exercises where Lorene and I had to give a lesson from PMG to a person acting as an inestigator.  Not knowing his name we kept referring to him as "Brother Smith." Near the end of our role play he said his name was McKell.  After probing a little bit we discovered that he is the father our Financial Adviser!  We had met Brother McKell about two years ago in St. George, but we did not remember each other.  Lorene, as usual, was able to find someone in our group of Missionaries to whom she is related (Elder Warner, a second cousin.) There was also a young missionary, Elder Jex, to whom she is probably related, but we were unable to determine the exact relationship.  (I can't take her anywhere without her finding a relative!)

The highlight of our stay in the MTC was on Tuesday night when Elder and Sister Dallin H. Oaks. spoke at the weekly devotional on the importance of Preach My Gospel, with the counsel to use it where- and whenever we teach.  Lorene was blessed with the opportunity to sing with the MTC choir at this devotional.  One other sweet experience came when we met Sister Sharon Walker who was in our group at the MTC and is now among the 30 missionaries sent to the FCHHM. Sister Walker is a sweet sister from Rigby, Idaho who has been widowed about ten months, and the first time we met her at the MTC she was scared to death.  We adopted her immediately and will be friends the rest of our lives. We continue to look after and care for her as time allows.  In addition, we were able to help another "seasoned" missionary couple.  This sister had packed her husband's shoes and neglected to pack any shoes for herself.  We were able to provide some financial assistance to them with the direction that they are to, rather than pay us back, pay it forward.  We truly enjoyed our time at the MTC.  We were fed well, spiritually and physically.

We arrived safely to Salt Lake City on Friday afternoon (Sept. 4th).  After getting settled in our apartment (which is very nice, by the way), we started on our training early Tuesday morning.  The schedule has been rigorous, but we are enjoying it and learning much.  We will write more about that next week.  We will get our assignments as to which zone we will serve in, so we'll let you know when we write again.

Love you all!

One of my favorite Disney movies is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  It might be that way 'cause in many ways I am like or can be like the Dwarf named Grumpy.  Just ask my kids or my wife if I can be Grumpy at times, but like the Dwarf Grumpy I am trying to be not so grumpy.  However, I'm diverting from my real thoughts.  In the movie the Dwarfs sings a song entitled "Heigh Ho: as to they head off to and from work each day.  Part of lyrics are as follows:

"We dig dig dig dig dig dig from early morn till night
We dig dig dig dig dig dig up everything in sight
We dig up diamonds by the score
A thousand rubies, sometimes more
But we don't know what we dig 'em for
We dig dig dig dig dig.

Heigh-ho, Heigh ho
Heigh-ho, Heigh ho
Heigh-ho
Its off to work we go."

My version goes something like this:

"We pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack from early morn till night
We  pack, pack, pack, pack, pack, pack everything in sight
We pack up clothes by the score
A thousand shoes,  sometimes more
But we don't know what we pack 'em for
We pack, pack, pack, pack, pack.

Heigh-ho, Heigh ho
Heigh-ho, Heigh ho
Heigh-ho
Its off to moving we go."

And so it has been every six months for the last four years as we move back and forth between Cedar City, Utah and Surprise, Arizona.  We pack up in time to unpack, get to know our grandchildren a little better and spend time with them and each of our children, then it is time to pack up and move again to start the cycle all over again.  Once again we are in the packing up cycle, but this time when we unpack it will be for eighteen months.  It is going to seem so strange to be in the same house (apartment) for more than six months, we may have to ask to move into a different apartment each six months so that we don't get out of the habit.

As I go from room to room each day I have to be careful to not trip over packed boxes, packed suit cases, and piles of this and piles of that.  At last I can see the end of the tunnel, the end of the month is not that far away and then we will be on our way to a great adventure and hopefully my "snow white" named Lorene won't discover that grumpy dwarf is her companion for the next eighteen months.

Well, it's time to go and think about what needs to be packed next.


 

This past week has been another roller coaster week.  However, I have learned as we exercise patience and wait for Him who can solve all our problems as He sees best.

Thursday started out great as we traveled to the Temple in St. George.  Before heading home we discovered that Lorene lost her pearl necklace.  After a couple of trips to the Security Office we left not knowing whether it would show up.  Calls on Friday were fruitless.  However, a call to St George on Saturday boosted Lorene's spirits as it has been found and is currently waiting in a safe.

Friday we headed up to Cove Fort about 75 miles from here with three of our grandchildren in tow.  Arriving about 60 minutes later to discover we were a week too early.  To take advantage of our trip up north we stopped in Beaver to visit a friend from San Bernardino that we have not seen in over a year.  While visiting we received a text from our daughter with a picture of a car remote with the key missing from the case.  Seems the key had fallen out of the case and would cost $175 to replace.  We hurried back to Cedar City to join the search for the lost key, and lo and behold I discovered behind the tire of a car in the parking lot where it had fallen.  Rushing to the locksmith I was able to get it fixed for $30.

Earlier we discovered one of our children was having major issues that seemed to be unsolvable.  It seems the harder we try to prepare ourselves for our mission, the more problems keep popping up.  This problem has taken some time to be addressed by those directly involved and at least for this moment there seems to be a path that can lessen the friction.

As we strive to be more patient we find that our problems are in deed solvable and are reminded that there is someone who loves us to help us see that there are always better days ahead.

The last week has found me on line doing some research.  Most of the research has been reading blogs from others who either are serving, or have served, full time Senior Couple Missions.  It has been very rewarding in reading of their experiences and helps increase my desire and excitement about going.   Reading about others' experiences is a great way to figure out what we might expect and how we can best serve.

We have now received our instructions from our actual Mission and have been assigned a local Branch (congregation) to attend.  It is across the street from where we will be living and is made up of other missionaries who will be serving in the same Mission.  One interesting side note is that also within this particular Branch are several young elders who are also serving in our Mission.  We have already been given the name of one of these young elders who is  a friend of a couple we know in our Ward in Arizona.  Once we get to the Mission we will also receive two weeks of training before we receive our assigned work place.  I try not to get my hopes up too high as to what area I would like to be assigned so that I don't jinx the assignment. 

Five weeks from now we will begin our training at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT for five days.  It seems like it is so far away before we start and I fear once we start that our eighteen months will go by so fast and we won't be ready to go home.  Time is precious and I think as we get older we can either find ways to use our time in a productive and meaningful way, or we can waste it and be sorry that we haven't made the world a little better place.   Hopefully, through this mission and other endeavors, we will be in the former group.

Preparing to go on a full time Senior Couples Mission is like getting ready to get baptized, or getting married, or a hundred other major events in your life resulting in a myriad of problems, or setbacks or other feelings of doubt or other issues.  Now that we have made the major decision to serve a Mission and our making our preparations to go for an extended period of time.  We have had our share of these problems ranging from packing and moving out of one home mostly by ourselves so that it could be rented, to having to work diligently at being more patient with one another, to children who continue to struggle with their own problems which recently have increased, to spending a week with about 25 family members for a long anticipated vacation, to having a two year old jump off a table and break his elbow.

Lest you think that we are complaining about all these things, in actuality they become a testament we are doing the right thing by going to serve a Mission.  These problems are best described as minor and for our learning.  We expect to have a great time serving, but we know that all of our problems won't magically go away.  However, we also know that our family and friends and new friends and those whom we will be serving will be blessed because we have made the decision to serve.  Like only gets better when we find joy in serving others.