Good News!

We had two children of a family going to the temple. They needed to have their missionary papers processed in order to go to the temple and both be sealed to their parents and take out their own endowments. We learned yesterday that they had been assigned a mission and so could do all this! That was exciting and they processed the papers very quickly!

Also, Tanzania, is technically bilingual with official languages of English and Swahili and so the language of the church is English. But the reality is they are taught English in schools as I was taught German--- and we both speak it with the same fluency. So it's been hard to grow the church there. People would love to join, but can't speak English well enough. There is a great advantage to English as there are so many resources available in that language and there's no problem with translation errors. However, it really limits people's ability to join. We just learned that people can now be taught in Swahili in Tanzania. That's GREAT NEWS!

The Nature of God

At Christmas time it seems appropriate to ponder on the nature of God. Who is God? What does he look like? What are his attributes? Why is it important to know what he is like?

Why do we care? Why is it important to know the nature of God?

John 17:3 says, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” So if we want Eternal Life, we need to know God. We need to know who he is, what he’s like, and what attributes he has. The attributes are especially important when we read Matthew 5:48 (or 3 Nephi 12:48). It says, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” So we have a commandment to be perfect. And the example we are to follow is that set by Heavenly Father. How can we follow that example when we don’t know what it is? We can’t be saved in ignorance. The Lord says people are destroyed because of lack of knowledge about him. ( Hosea 4:6).

Also, when we know who God is, we better understand our relationship to him. Genesis 1:26 says, “…let us make man in our own image, after our likeness…” So we know we look like God. We are theomorphic beings. Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” When Joseph Smith had his vision he saw God the Father and his son Jesus Christ and saw that they were two distinct personages and they had glorified bodies similar to our own (Joseph Smith History 1:17). God is our creator and also our Father. 1Timothy 1:2 says, “Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Why does it matter that God is the father of our spirits? Look at Matthew 7: 11 “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” I remember one person saying how different it felt as he changed from praying to an unfathomable universal God to praying to his Heavenly Father. Suddenly God seemed to him more real, more personal, more caring. Indeed the Scriptures say he is a God who cares for each person. Even a sparrow doesn't fall without God being aware (Matthew 10:29).

So God is caring about everyone. What are some of his other attributes?

He’s the same yesterday, today, forever—unchanging (Psalms 102:27)

He is giving and unselfish (healing the sick and such)

He sacrifices himself for the good of others (the Atonement)

He does not lift himself up above others (John 13:14)

He is humble, teachable and obedient to the will of the Father (John 8:28)

He is loving (John 15:10, 1 John 5:2)

He is merciful (Deut 5:10)

He invites all to come unto him, to know him, and to be saved by him (2 Nephi 26:33, Moroni 10:32)

God is intelligence; he has all knowledge (1Sam 2:3, Psalms 147:5, Matt 16:30, 2Nephi 2:9)

God is just and tells the truth (Deut 32:4, John 5:30, Ether3:12)

God tells us who he is (Isaiah 11:9, Alma 9:12)

He tells us what he wants of us (Amos 3:7, Heb 8:10, 2 Nephi 9:25, D&C 1)

He is all powerful (Jer 32:17, Luke 1:37, 1Nephi 7:12)

He is the source of all good things: love, peace, hope, patience, faith, kindness, generosity, gratitude, comfort, happiness and so on. “…. all good things which are good cometh of God… That which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, everything which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.” (Moroni 7:12-13)

So what does knowing the nature of God mean to us?

1. It sets the example of how we should live and what we should strive to become. We want to make these attributes of love and kindness and caring and sacrifice and knowledge become our own. When people around us say—go here, go there. This is good, no this is what you should do—we have a firm guidance and direction. We have a sure course to follow.

2. When we know God is our loving Father and wants only good for us, we can trust him. We can have faith that as we pray and ask, God will grant that which is good for us. When we are going through hard times, we can have faith that God is there with us. Alma 7:11-12 says he took all the pains and infirmities, and weaknesses of each one of us on Him so that he would know how to help us in our times of trials. Because we trust in his love and care we can know that “all these things [trials] will be for thy good and give thee experience.” (D&C 122:7) He is all powerful. When he says he will fight our battles for us—he can and he will.

3. Because God has all knowledge, we know He knows what is best for us. God has given us commandments as a guide to happiness. He knows as we do these things we will be happy. Wickedness never was happiness. You can’t do wrong and feel right. So because God loves us, he shows us the way to find happiness, peace, and joy. Because he is a God of Truth, we can trust what he says.

Because I know these things, I have peace. I trust the Lord that his commandments will bring happiness. They have in my life. I have found his strength and help in overcoming adversity. I have felt him lift my burdens. I have found his inspiration and knowledge as I’ve tried to follow him and learn new things. I’ve felt his love and blessings as I’ve tried to gain his attributes of being kind and loving and patient and doing good to all people. I know he has lifted me beyond my own abilities many times. I know he has protected me and preserved me—especially here in Kenya as we’ve traveled these roads. As I have come to know the nature of God I have been blessed, blessed, blessed. And I am grateful.

Triple Hurdle 2. Christmas

We returned from Nakuru with a day to prep. We got dropped back into real life with some serious branch concerns: a single mom without food. Relatives snatching children because they didn’t like the parent’s beliefs. Amidst the phone calls and such we made pies (starting from the pumpkin off the vine.) And we made some sugar and gingerbread cookie dough with the help of the missionaries. And I sewed a few more of the dolls. Sewing on a treadle machine is not bad. Sewing on a treadle machine where the tension is wrong and the thread keeps breaking is bad. I NEED to get it fixed.

The Busia missionaries arrived and brought our turkey with them. He spent the night in the back yard.

We have a very small refrigerator so we had to clean it out before we could have a place for him. We drank the juice and used up the tortillas. We evicted the leftovers that claimed squatter’s rights. We pulled out jams, cheese, water jugs and other “nice to keep cool” things. And we did have room for the important things: pies and turkey!

Thursday the six missionaries came for breakfast. Then we got to work. The missionaries turned and stuffed the dolls. They clipped out balls from soft foam. They rolled and cut and baked cookies. We weren't sure what Elder B's mom would say about him hanging around with dolls. Or maybe he's just all dolled up. He's definately having a ball. We sent the missionaries off to find lunch and rejoined at 1pm to take the things to an orphanage. We’d never been there, but one of our members, George, works there. I was surprised at how upscale it was. The buildings were attractive and the children had plenty of toys and nice cribs. The number of workers to baby ratio was very good. The orphanage takes abandoned babies and raises them or adopts them out. They have several facilities all over Kenya, and this one mostly does birth to 3, with about 10 disabled children between 3 and 10. It made our home made toys appear a bit shabby, but we suggested they might find a less fortunate place to share them. And they were very appreciative about what we brought.

We took a tour of the orphanage and then it was feeding time. What fun! It was nice to hold babies! It was really fun for me, and gradually the missionaries joined in and helped out. We finished about 3:30 and headed home for last minute gift wrapping and skyping of children.

Christmas day I got up early to start with the fixings. The dinner was a mix of American and African. We had turkey. Our butcher said we should stuff it with vegetables. I had onions, so we cut small ones in half and stuffed them in. Rebecca (bless her heart!) sent a brown in bag and that was most helpful. I did potatoes in the crock pot. And cut up pineapple and had shredded carrot salad. Once that was done we watched a video with the missionaries. Then we opened gifts. They had fun with the gift exchange—stealing from others (I guess that commandment was waived for Christmas) and laughing at the fun things they got—a wind up bunny, an African hat, flexible snowman, etc. They each got a letter of appreciation from another missionary. And they got a DVD about the mission from the Mission President. Of course THAT had to go in to the DVD player. They loved watching it and seeing all their previous missionary companions!

Good thing. The turkey that was supposed to cook in 3.5 hours in the brown in bag actually took closer to 5. Maybe it was because the bird took up most of the oven. Or maybe because the oven shuts off when the timer goes off… and it did for an unknown period of time. It was easy in that the last things that needed to be done: mash the potatoes, carve the turkey, and make fried cabbage all happened in the last half hour and we had lots of help. The elders really enjoyed the meal and were very appreciative.The turkey was delicious and moist. The fork only bent a little… and I avow it’s due to the weakness of the forks. Fragile things. The turkey—it was fine! And a good meal was had by all. After the missionaries left we cleaned up, deboned the turkey, and collapsed. Oh yes, we also opened the presents to each other. Which of course we both knew about as we’d been present during the shopping…but… What a surprise! That’s one advantage of a forgetful memory!

Here is our faithful little tree.These were good days. Different than a home Christmas, but good, none the less.

Triple Hurdle-- 1. Nakuru

In horse jumping, sometimes you have three jumps in a row. You have maybe a stride or two before the next jump. It's exhilarating, fun, and you choose to do it, but it's still work. You look forward to it coming and you rejoice that you've successfully mastered it... or at least survived it.

We have had many things coming at once. But the three biggies are Nakuru couples event, Christmas, and the Johannesburg Temple Trip.

On Monday December 2o we drove to Lake Nakuru for the couples gathering. It was SO fun to get together with all the other senior missionary couples. There were 12 of us including the Mission President and his wife. What great people they all are. We had a gift exchange that was wild! But Tom ended up with the Skippy Peanut butter! So it was a successful night for him! Chocolate chips and wood carvings were other sought after gifts.

This blog is about Lake Nakuru and the Couples gathering. We loved it! Here we are with the new Public Affairs couple, Elder and Sister J.

Here is our sober and respectable Mission President (the arm waving one) with his waving wife, and Elder and Sister N. They are sorting through the tons of stuff brought to be shared. We took back half a ton-- mosquito nets, missionary gift packages, the curriculum for two branches for the next year, etc.
Here are our Kitale friends, the B's. They trusted us enough to drive with us on the roads shown below.
Our Eldoret friends, the L's, enjoying a great meal.
The lake area was dryer this time, but still lovely. (those are zebras.)As is Elder Fox's perchance, we took many of the "roads less traveled" including some

I would rather have not taken. This one is benign... even beguiling. But beware of the gullies, rocks, and disappearing road ahead. And who knows where you'll come out?
We stopped at Baboon Lookout. And look out! A baboon visited our truck.
We had a great time watching them play.
And Tom took lots of pictures of the little ones monkeying around on the sign.
Of course the birds were fantastic. Unfortunately, many of my photos of them were less than fantastic. But Tom got some great ones. We tried many times to get the pelicans in flight. There were hundreds of pelicans and flamingos. Ah, the giraffes! These are Rothschild giraffes. We saw a dozen or more at one time. They are so graceful, but they also hide surprisingly well.
And Lions! This group decided to camp by a tree after walking past the front gate of the Lodge. So all the couples had a chance to go and visit them. I think they were slightly disgusted by the attention. However, they looked like they would like to have been very attentive to us... if we would just get out of the car and come a little closer.
This time we saw both white and black Rhinos. This mother and babe were right by the lake.
And Elder Fox was enamored by this zebra foal who resided near the lodge gate. Each time we went in or out, we looked for it.
At the end of our stay, we went to an orphanage to visit the children. It was at Eldama Ravine just north-west of Nakuru. Here they are singing to welcome us. One of the missionary couples had met the Pentecostal Bishop who was a patron of it. We had a good time visiting with and playing with the orphans and the other children who had been invited to the event. I love how they care for one another.We arrived home late Wednesday afternoon, Dec 22. One hurdle happily achieved.

Fish

Fish

When Elder and Sister G came to visit, we were standing by the open gate and a woman came by. When people come with things to sell, I’m always more open than when they come asking for a handout. She was selling tilapia fillets. Were they fresh? She didn’t understand that question, but they came from Bondo and likely were, and they were reasonably priced. So I bought a kilo. Well, a hefting-it-in-the-hand kind of kilo.

We had dinner planned that night… and I was just a little hesitant to use Elder and Sister G as guinea pigs in case the fish was not great. And I thought, Gee. I don’t know how to cook fish! But now I had this fish and I had to do something soon.

So I remember my mama cooking it with lemons sliced to cut down on the smell. I put some lemon essential oil into the water and put in the fish and added some basil and tarragon and steamed it. And by golly, it was GOOD! The flavor was very mild. E. Fox liked it. Of course he uses fish as a method of eating tartar sauce in the same way ice cream is a vehicle for eating chocolate sauce. And the kitchen didn’t smell at all. I wish now I’d gotten her contact. But I expect she will stop by the gate again since we bought from her.

Tender Mercies

I’ve been feeling especially blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord.

* Our internet has been very iffy the last few days. I needed to call our property manager at his request. I’d tried calling last night and the wireless modem was too weak to sustain the call. It was like calling people in Africa: Hello! Can you hear me? I can’t hear you. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? You’re coming through broken. I can hardly hear you. By now my decibels will cause hearing loss and every living thing has retreated from the area. I CAN HEAR YOU. CAN YOU HEAR ME???? Click. Alas. No.

But the next morning, I thought I’d try the first thing in the morning. And the Internet was up and I got through and we had a good conversation. And just as we were finishing up, the line went dead. So we were blessed with that short window to call.

* Our property management wanted to talk over the phone… usually not too good of a sign. Indeed, we’d lost both tenants from one of our duplexes. But, miracle of miracles, he has two new tenants: one lined up and the other already moved in. These are good tenants from other properties he manages so he knows their rental history, and they are accustomed to that area of town. So I think they will stay a long time in those units. He said, December/January is a terrible time to rent, we just got incredibly lucky. No. Not luck. The mercies of the Lord.

* Today we had our branch Christmas activity. It’s during the hot, dry season and so being on the top floor under a metal roof was a bit toasty. But we were blessed with the wisp of a breeze that would flutter through periodically and cool it off. We had about 150 people at the activity. That was a great turn out. Some were members we haven’t seen for a long time… or ever, and some were serious investigators. We had a baptism, watched the Saturday afternoon session of General conference, had some entertainment by some of the youth, and a very tasty lunch. After lunch, some played football and volleyball, some cleaned the church.

* And we’ve gotten packages from home and feel loved.

A great week

I’ve been remiss in writing, so maybe you’ll have a few blog posts in a short time… or maybe not. We’ve been pretty busy.

Travel to Kitale
Thursday December 9th (Happy birthday Dad) we drove to Kitale. There are several roads to Kitale with the shortest distance wise being the longest timewise. However, there was a woman in Kakamega who really wanted us to come and visit her, so we went the bump…pothole… bump… Kakamega road. It was worth the bumps. She was a delightful woman with thoughtful questions and a strong desire to learn. She plans to travel the 50km or so to come to church here in Kisumu. She’s influential in Kakamega, having taught secretaries employed in the government and businesses. So we had a good visit and moved on.

Once again, we were charmed by the scenery and the people and succumbed to taking more photos. Elder Fox’s favorite is of the children. Me, probably of the markets and the scenery.
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Seminary Program
We stayed with Elder and Sister B. in Kitale. They had planned a fantastic end of year activity for the seminary students. Oh my! So much work and so many details planned out. And so many uncertainties. This was their first event like this. How much had the students learned? Would they like this activity? Would they participate. The answers were: They’d learned a lot. And they LOVED the activities!

The students gathered about 9am. We had a little difficulty with registration. The “A through K” they didn’t quite get. Especially since they don’t usually use their last name. They’re more likely to use their middle name, or the names shift position. And seldom do they have a family name. But they all got signed in and got a colored scarf.

They were divided into groups with a “Captain Moroni” as their leader. Each group went with the Moroni dressed in their colors. The day began with some wonderful motivational speakers talking about being obedient, preparing to go to the temple and go on missions. Read the scriptures. Pray.

Then they had a Book of Mormon Quiz. This year’s course of study was the Book of Mormon. And the theme for the event was from 1Nephi 3:7 “… I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded…” After the quiz the groups had 15 minutes to prepare a skit on a Book of Mormon story. They had some simple costumes to help them get into the spirit of the thing. And they did a good job. My group was the Green Group. You see Nephi in the red with Laman and Lemuel with drapery capes saying Nephi can’t build a ship, while the other members of the “cast” are busy working on building the ship. We had awesome wives wailing and begging to have Nephi released when his brothers tied him on the ship.

Elder Fox’s group was the Red group. He thought his group gave the best performance of Nephi and his brothers going to get the Plates of Brass from Labon. Here Nephi is offering up all their treasure to Labon in exchange for the plates. Nehpi was very convincing in his acting as were the brothers, “I’m not going! You are asking too hard things!”

For lunch each person got their own loaf of bread, a bottle of pop, and a banana. They were delighted with the food and there wasn’t much bread left over. In the afternoon, they rotated through games: volleyball, and sack races.

The circle game of “How do you Like your Neighbor” took a little to learn but was enjoyed as they raced from seat to seat.
And they learned three dances: The chicken dance, the Hokey-Pokey, and the Bunny Hop. Even the mamas who came to help with lunch giggled and laughed as they “put your left hip in… and you shake it all about.”

The last event was a testimony meeting where the youth shared how joining the church and coming to seminary had changed their lives. I spoke with one young man who was looking into the church. He was enjoying himself at the activity and at the testimony meeting spoke of getting baptized.
It was an awesome day! We so enjoyed the company of Elder and Sister B. The next morning we wandered through their outdoor market and I stocked up on veggies I needed for the weekend. We drove home on Saturday and prepared for our Sacrament meeting which was on Seminary and Institute. Their certificates were handed out that day.

We also have a new Relief Society President and new Primary President and counselors. So we trained them a little bit. Did some Choir practice. Learned the Choir is singing at the Branch Christmas Activity this Saturday. We currently have more enthusiasm than harmony. But that’s okay. So many of the songs are totally new to our branch. As we sing the songs in Choir, at least some of the members learn the songs.

This week it seems we’ve been crazy busy. Still don’t ask me what all we’ve done. Elder Fox has had some good opportunities to do some training. I wrote up an article about the Seminary activity that I will submit to the S.E Africa section of the Liahona, and maybe the New Era. I’m trying to collect information for an article on senior missionaries. It is such a rewarding thing to do, and yet I wonder if some people don’t let fear stop them from experiencing the blessings of a mission. We grow to love people and rejoice in their successes—when they are strengthened and overcome difficulties. And we mourn with their sorrows—sickness, death, job loss. So many times as we visit we hear, “I was in such a difficult spot. Then I joined the church. Now things are so much better.” They are small and big miracles—better health, being able to pay off the bride dowry, hope for a better future, a pick up in work, not going hungry any more. What else can one do that will bring blessings like that?

Wednesday Elder and Sister G. came to visit. They went to Mbita today to hopefully resolve a well issue. They will continue on to Busia to look into other water projects there. We always love to have people visit. But we likely talk far too much.

We are being blessed. We rejoice in the celebration of the Savior’s Birth.

Holes, roosters, and reports

Holes
We returned from our time in Nairobi Joyful to find water. Alas, our joy was short-lived. A mear trickle. A drop. A crabby husband. Fortunately also an effective husband. He called the water company and the next day we got to experience our version of Holes. They said if we connected to a main line, we would get more steady water. And that line was supposed to be... here... or is it here?
They dug down maybe 5 feet and found a sewer line. Nope. Won't work. So they went to the street and traced the line back to the house. Along the way, they found that-- or some other water lines-- a little too closely, and ended up patching a few other lines along the way.
So for two days, we stayed pretty close to home. We fed the diggers lunch and brought them water. We had this irrational hope that SOON they would be done. Thursday we had WATER! WAHOO! And great pressure... well, the best we've ever had. It filled our tank in 2 hours instead of 8. Then no water for days.... then some.... and for the last few days, I think we've had city water for the majority of the days. We have hope things are better-- for things yet unseen.


Roosters
Amidst training and visiting in Kisumu, we went out to visit a member up country. We got a little cocky. The roads had been improving and we thought, no problem! We can go and see him. An hour out. An hour there, an hour back. Should work. We whizzed along the new road making good time.... til we saw that fateful mound of dirt across the road and the sign: Diversion, "Serem" and a small arrow. We headed up a country road. That sign was the last one we saw. We saw forks in the road like this:

The faint-hearted might have stopped and asked for directions. But we knew Serem was just past that mountain... or was it that one? I did pull out the compass. We did have several discussions. Not heated ones. Definitely not. No really.


After a good hour just on the diversion we finally came to a paved road, guessed correctly which paved road it was and turned the correct direction on it. We were able to visit our friend and see the house he is constructing and his mother's posha mill (grinds maize to flour.) We also admired this rooster. If you think you've got a bad hair day.... he always looks like this.

Like the wise men, we returned home by another route. We appreciated the flexibility of African time, as people graciously allowed us to push back other appointments.

Reports

I have been delving into the computer and accessing hitherto unknown parts of ldsces.org and cstar-- programs for Institute and Seminary. Institute holds religious classes for 18-30 year olds. Seminary--classes for 14-18 year olds. This is year end and so we've been encouraging those who are lacking a few classes to do make up work so they can get a certificate of completion for the course. I've discovered a few students who are not on the rolls. And I've found how to put them into the system, but only kinda, sorta, maybe found out how to attach them to a class.

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I've accessed the help line and made new friends as I've gleaned how to print off certificates. The silly things have to be shrunk a bit to fit our paper... which I learned after printing far too many.

What is exciting is that I KNOW these people. I was thinking back to January of this year when I was enrolling these students. They were just names. I was totally dependent on some wonderful branch members to point out the students, collect them to be instructed on the Seminary manuals, and then released to scatter to the winds to actually do the home study course. Now I know who they are and I know which families they belong to.

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And with Institute, we've had a wonderful year! In the beginning, the scriptures were unfamiliar to the students. Our method of teaching with question and thoughtful discussion and searching the scriptures was met with blank stares. Now we have great discussions. The students are reading with understanding. When one understands what the Lord wants of them, it's so much easier to DO it. Our institute students are putting down deep roots into the gospel. I love teaching that class!

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Face lift

We went to Busia on Saturday December 4th to teach the World Wide broadcast about the new church handbook. It is unfortunate that we don't have enough handbooks for everyone, but the principles contained in them are powerful and the role model of an effective ward counsel was impressively taught. (on video... not by us.)

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We also talked of the temple trip coming up in January for three families in Busia. There are 16 people going from Busia, and one sister from Kitale, and a family of 3 from Eldoret. We have not met the sister and family from Eldoret that we will be shepherding to the Johannesburg Temple in South Africa. We're still trying to collect the errant passport, yellow fever shot card, visa application, etc. And a few of the young adults need to have missionary applications submitted in order to go. Some of them have been working on these applications since early this year. And the deadline we imposed for the end of November has come and gone. But we have faith it will all work in the Lord's way. Now we move on to: do they have suitcases? How will they get to Nairobi? What is the schedule once they get to the temple? Akk. It's getting close!

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The new chapel (rented building) for Busia had been under construction for a while. The facade on the upper story were they meet was bland concrete-- unpainted. When we arrived this time, such was not the case. It was a bit of a surprise. And if you look closely, you'll see that even the sign for the church got a bit of the red and white on it.

On our drive back from Busia, we could tell it was the dry season. Typically clouds billow and cover the sky in the late afternoon. This time, the sky was just a dusty blue with a hint of thin gray at the edges to suggest clouds. The sunset was not a riot of color but a watercolor blend of pinks and oranges in a halo around the sun.

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Christmas!

One of our new elders plays the piano! He asked about starting a choir. So we've been singing after church. How fun it is to sing the carols of Christmas. We have some Christmas CD's we play in the car, too. It may be 85 degrees outside and a dusty brown or a lush green. No tree. No decorations. But we are celebrating the Savior's Birth. Life is good.

I hope they call me on a Mission…

At the Couples conference several of us discussed: Is there anything else we could do—any other calling-- that would be as meaningful as this? Hands down, the answer was NO. The amazing sense is that we’re helping lives to change, we’re pioneering a new area, we are blessing people in a way that could not happen any other way. This is not said in any sense of bragging, it’s said with an urgent appeal for you to consider: Will you go on a Mission? If you are 19-25, single and worthy, will you go now? If you are a couple with grown kids and retired- will you go now? If you are a couple and not retired—will you make plans and prepare to go?

“…the field IS ripe and ready to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might…bringeth salvation to his soul.” And her soul, too.

What is stopping you from going? Fears about health. Fears about finances. Fears about leaving family. Faith casts out fear. Trust the Lord. Sure stuff happens. It happens if you are there or not. But the Lord can take better care of your family than you can. If you prayerfully go to his with your concerns about finances or health or family, he will help you with them. A way is made if you are faithful and determined.

Many missionaries have commented on how their families have gone through trials, but been vastly blessed while on their mission. Surgeries that went well. Wayward children returned and happily married. And with blogs and skype and email, you’re not all that far from family even on the other side of the world.

At the Couples conference we watched as Elder and Sister P. teared up each time they spoke of going home. They leave in December.

Our fabulous PEF couple, Elder and Sister F. leave in February.Our powerful couple in Mombasa where he’s acted as branch president and increased the branch from less than 30 to over 90 leaves in March.

Elder and Sister B who have driven the winding hills of Kulinga and shepherded four, going on 5 branches is leaving in April. Here they are with a family they took to the temple in Johannesburg, S. Africa.We, who assist and oversee two branches in Western Kenya, leave in May.
Elder and Sister B, who have supported and strengthened the three branches in Dar Es Salam and all the outlying branches in Tanzania leave in June. Elder B also acts as counselor to the Mission President. AND THERE ARE FEW COUPLES COMING IN TO REPLACE US! WHO WILL CONTINUE THE WORK?

One definition of missionaries are those who leave their families for a short time so others can be with their families for eternity.

Each of these couples quietly and humbly left their homes, their families, their hobbies, their doctors, their dogs—and just went. They learned, they grew, they stretched and did things they didn’t know they could do. And the joy is great. The satisfaction is immeasurable. The warm and heart-rending experiences can only be understood by others who have served missions.

This is one of my favorite scriptures! I love being blessed in ALL things, both temporal and spiritual.

“And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God that spoken it.” Mosiah 2:41