Dean Family and Friends,
Our week started with a blizzard in Denver and Vail so we had Train the Trainer on Tuesday in GJ—only two new missionaries but they are on fire! We had dinner with President Kennedy in Rifle on Tuesday and then had Stake Mission Council with the Zone Leaders. In Rifle we got word that the missionaries leaving Train the Trainer had been in an accident. The car (just out of the body shop on Friday) was totaled but the missionaries alright--the other driver was cited. The Lord sends guardian angels to watch over his missionaries. MLC (Mission Leadership Council) was in Avon on Wednesday.
The rest of the week we bought two new
mattresses and frames, picked up a repaired car from the shop, and went to ward
Mission Council. We delivered the replacement car in Montrose, sat in on
weekly planning, took the elders to lunch, bought and delivered a table and
chairs, met a landlord and turned in keys for a vacated apartment, and spent an
hour at a bank to reestablish a hacked account.
Saturday morning we went to a baptism for a
wonderful little boy, sat in on a lesson with the sisters, delivered the new
mattresses, sprayed for bugs, took the sisters to lunch, checked the Sheriff’s
Office FaceBook page for a wanted poster for their 6 pm appointment, went to
the park when the homeless are fed, and then another baptism!
Sunday we went to Steve's confirmation in our own ward.
There we learned that Dean and Kathleen Dalling's daughter lives in our ward
and was blessing her baby. Another daughter
is married to John Taylor, our Rexburg stake president's executive secretary,
and most of the Dalling family was at sacrament meeting. A happy surprise for
us! Baby Lily is a celestial baby—she was born without brain tissue (a stroke
in utero), and won’t progress physically in this life. At the Pear Park
ward we gave our talks on missionary work, attended Gospel Essentials, and then
went to the American Lutheran church for an interfaith discussion. Present were
two Buddhists, a Hindu, a home church minister, the Lutheran pastor, a
religious scientist minister, a retired pastor from the Vineyard, a Jewish
atheist, and three Mormons. For over two hours we shared beliefs and enjoyed a
respectful, cordial conversation. We focused on listening and understanding.
When we left, the Lutheran host told the Area Public Affairs Director, who
invited us, “I didn’t think Mormons would be open to an interfaith discussion.”
Sadly, often what we know or think about other faiths doesn't come from
personal interaction but from inaccurate information from the uninformed. The
Buddhist brother said his sister had converted and was serving a mission at the
bishop's storehouse (and they know Matt's aunt and uncle). We stay busy but we
have enjoyed watching some of the Olympics at night, so we do get to catch our
breath occasionally. Smile.
Our first call this morning was from Hiram with
the happy news he had been called as second counselor in the bishopric. Josh
spent an hour looking for flights and talking to a Delta agent. We leave
tomorrow so Josh can ordain Hiram a high priest. Their family will enjoy
blessings as their parents serve--Alanna is still YW president. We’ll be back
on Wednesday.
We were saddened this week to learn of the
passing of Iris Hoaglund. She was a grand lady. Thanks, Leon, for letting us
know. Another sorrow was learning that Porters in Rexburg is closing. Can’t
imagine Rexburg without the Ben Franklin store.
This is one of my favorite thoughts from all the
reading and studying we did to prepare our talks for today. It is from
President Oaks (October 2016): “Sharing the gospel is not a burden but a joy.
What we call ‘member missionary work’ is not a program but an attitude of love
and outreach to help those around us. . . evidence of our conversion and of how
we feel about the gospel in our own lives is our willingness to share it with
others.”
We’re looking forward to our unexpected trip
to Birmingham. Have a wonderful week. Sure do love ya, Karen/MOM
