I don't know this post got moved -- it should be before the MTC and my farewell -- oh well you get it!!!!
I've been on my mission for seven weeks and am just now getting a blog made. It seems so hard to set one up, but I will endure and figure it out -- this is when I need the help from my kids to steer me along. I have decided to toughen it out and figure it out. So I will now recap my days and weeks since I left my family and loved ones. It all began on Sept. 20 when I had my meeting in the Bountiful 7th ward. It was a beautiful day with many family and friends there. It was a special day for me -- my heart was overflowing with love for my little family; KC and Megan, Navy and Jensen, Braden and Andrea and Christy. I was happy to have my mom there and some of my sisters. I had some cousins and friends drive a distance to be there with me. It was heart warming for sure. A highlight of my meeting was to have Sheri (my sweet convert from my mission days in Ohio) be there with me and to sing a solo called Gethsemane. She was amazing and sang with her love for her Savior. I was pretty darn proud to have her there and to tell everyone that she was one of my converts. I love her and love Tammy - another convert -- we have stayed in touch for all these years and I am reaping the blessings and rewards of serving a mission. They have and are blessing my life in so many ways and I am so grateful for what they teach me.
I am going to include some of my talk here so that if I lose it I can come here and reflect on it.
I am sure that we are all familiar with the story of Charly, we have either read the novel or watched the movie. Charly is a sophisticated girl from New York who comes to Utah to visit her family. She meets Sam who is a traditional return missionary - he's kind of a serious guy. Sam introduces Charly to the gospel and eventually baptizes her. After her baptism Carly and Sam are standing in front of the Christus in the North Visitors Center on Temple Square. She says "I have never felt this way before - you BELIEVE it is true right? And he says,"NO, I KNOW it is!"
What a blessig it is in our lives to build upon our testimonies so that we can go from believing that the gospel is true to knowing that it is. We must go forth and find those Charly's in the world who are searching for a belief in our Savior and his teachings. I am so grateful that I have been called once again to be a part of this great work as a full-time missionary.
At 21 I was called to serve in the Ohio Columbus Mission - this mission changed my life as I learned to memorize scriptures and discussions, as I learned to teach and bear witness of our Savior. It taught me how to overcome the hard trying times and to rejoice in the happy ones. It changed me as I met wonderful missionaries who also taught me so much, as I met incredible people in the wards, stakes and those searching for the truth. Let me tell you about two of them: Tammy and Sheri
Tammy over the years of her teen life was searching for the truth. She attended a church meeting with one of her friends as a young teenager and never forgot the bold and impressive handshake that she got from a brother in the ward. Years later, after her moter died she remembered that hand shake. She was desirous to find the truth and went searching for this same church. She looked in the phone book directory and found the address to a meeting house for the LDS Church.. She attended that ward, told them that she wanted the missionaries and gave her contact information to them. It was sent to the mission office and Sis. Hekking and I were given her referral. What a blessing this was to me -- I gained such a love for Tammy, I was concerned for her trials and wanted to take them all away. But behind all those trials she had a amazing will to heal and to serve and to find a new path. WE taught her the gospel, had the Elders give her numerous blessings, stayed by her side and within a few weeks she was baptized as a new member. I watched over the years as her belief in the gospel and her love for the Savior grew. Her belief turned into a true knowledge of the gospel and the truth set her free. She served a mission of her own in North Carolina. Tammy married Jim in the temple and they are raising an amazing family in the gospel and she teaches me much every time I see her. (I didn't share all of this in my talk, I just wanted to reflect and write more of this story here in this blog.)
Sheri - she was a young, vibrant teenager - she has an addicting personality - she loves everyone and she loves her Savior and is BOLD in expressing it. Sheri was much like Joseph Smith - she desired to find the true church. She was Catholic and knew in her heart that there was more. She searched and she persevered - going from one church to another and seeking for what felt right in her heart. She finally was introduced to the missionaries. My companion and I weren't her first set of missionaries, she had many - not because she didn't believe, but because she was young and respected the permission of her parents. Sis. Duavachelle and I continued to teach her - she already knew so much and continued to teach me as well. She had a testimony of her own. We also taught her sister Beth and was able to witness her baptism, but Sheri had not yet gained permission from her father. I didn't witness her baptism, but she is my convert - she says so and so do I. She and I had a bond the minute we met and the magic between us converted her and I both. My testimony grew so much while I served in Newark. Sheri eventually joined the church, she married her best friend who is also a convert. They have and are still raising a wonderful family and the Lord has brought them to Wellsville, Utah. We have reunited in our friendship and love. Her husband serves as a Bishop. (I didn't share all of this story either.)
Tammy and Sheri already had the gospel written in their hearts, they just didn't know it yet - it took friends, missionaries, the scriptures, testimonies, prayers,faith and attending church to come to a belief of what they were searching for. We must go forth and find the Tammy and Sheri's -- those who need some help to unlock what's already in their hearts. Tammy and Sheri have changed my life forever - these two ladies KNOW that the church is true and they live the gospel every day of their lives. It warms my heart and reminds me how grateful I am that I was able to be a part of their conversion.
Elder Henry B. Erying has said: "If you trust God enough to listen to His message... (in every sermon, song and prayer in your church meetings...you will find it. And if you then go and do what He would have you do, your power to trust Him will grow, and in time you will be overwhelmed with gratitude to find that He has come to trust you." The Lord has put his trust in me to serve a mission and I have been called to serve in the Nebraska Omaha mission.
This brings me to the assigned topic of today - perseverance. Elder Faust says that perseverance is demonstrated by those who keep going when the going gets tough, who don't give up even when others say, "it can't be done". Success is usually earned by persevering and not becoming discouraged when we encounter challenges. The Lord has blessed his church and its members in remarkable ways because of his faithfulness and perseverance.
The Lord gave the pioneers an overwhelming assignment of perseverance - a trial of their faith and commitment. They had to flee their beloved Nauvoo without completed preparations. They had to move forward with faith and perseverance.
One such pioneer who was guided by the "fire of the covenant" and perseverance was Stillman Pond. He and his family were among the last to leave Nauvoo in September 1946. Without adequate preparation for their trek, they were left without proper food, clothing, and shelter. Their trek across Iowa to Winter Quarters was fraught with almost unimaginable suffering and heartache.
Snow came early to the Iowa territory that year, making travel extremely difficult. Weakened from trudging through the deep snow, Stillman's pregnant wife Maria, who had already been afflicted with consumption, then contracted malaria. She, along with every member of her family suffered greatly from their sickness. Bowed down with grief and aching from the pain and fever of malaria, Maria could no longer walk. Amidst those grim circumstances she gave birth to twin boys who were named Joseph and Hyrum. They both died only a few days later. The deaths of these children coming acorss the plains from Nauvoo to Winter Quarters were only the beginning of the sacrifice and trials of Stillman Pond.
With all the members of the Pond family sick with Malaria, Stillman led his family and arrived at Winter Quarters on October 16, 1846. During the winter there the Pond family continued to suffer. In the space of five days, three more children died. A sixth died a few weeks later. Having survived the heartache of burying all of her children, the hardships of the trek across Iowa, and the hunger and privations of a long, hard winter, Stillman's beloved wife,Maria, finally succumbed to her sicknesses on May 17 at Winter Quarters. Yes despite all this Stillman Pond journeyed onward in the pioneer company led by Elder John Taylor, arriving in the Salt Lake Valley in the early fall of 1847. His testimony of the gospel, his faith in the Lord, and the fire of the covenant that burned in his sould gave him the strength to go on. "I am perfectly satisfied with the authorities of the Church - and consider it my indispensable duty to give heed to all things" (I have all references on my computer - taken from BYU speeches).
These early pioneers and the thousands upon thousands of others who followed in the months, years and decades after 1847 were guided and strengthed by their testimonies of the restored gospel.
Winter Quarters became one of the places of refuge for the tired, discouraged pioneers. This was a place to stop for a season, to rebuild and renew, to plant crops, sing and dance and prepare for their trek west. They persevered and moved forward, they watched loved ones die, were hungry and cold, yet they never gave up. This is where their fathers, husband and sons had to leave with the Mormon Battalion. Their faith gave them the will to persevere toward Zion.
Winter Quarters is the place where I have been called to serve. It is a sacred place and a place where I will be able to feel the spirits of some of my ancestors who lived there or a time. It will be a place of refuge for me to learn and grow. It will be a place for me to stop for a season and renew and rebuild and prepare myself for the next step in my life. I am grateful.
Talked about my little family - our trials and perseverance. They learned at a young age how to move forward and make things work through hard work and prayer. There were many nights where my heart was broken and I didn't know how I would provide for the needs of my little ones, but I continued to pray, serve, exercise faith and the Lord kept his promises to me. We were always blessed and always experienced yet another miracle. With them my joy is full
Spoke of gratitude for each one including my mother, family and friends
My father taught me to never end a talk with out a scripture - here is my scripture for the day.
2 Nephi 32:5 which reads; "For behold again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show you all things what ye shall do."
I have come to love the hymns and have had the blessings of playing the organ in the Bountiful Temple since it's Open House. I have been taught by the, I have memorized their words, I have been blessed and comforted by them. In closing I would to share with you the 3rd verse of one of my favorite hymns: AS NOW WE TAKE THE SACRAMENT
As now we praise they name with song, the blessings of this day. Will linger in our thankful hearts and silently we pray. For courage to accept thy will to listen and obey. We love thee Lord, our hearts are full, We'll walk they chosen way.
Testimony
My sweet Uncle Bob died the weekend of my farewell talk. I was soooo sad and knew that I couldn't and wouldn't miss his funeral. I would be in the MTC by then. So I called the MTC and they gave me permission to attend his funeral. I would leave after classes on Tuesday and return after the funeral and viewing. I was so grateful and I am so glad too. Aunt Arvil called me to play a piano solo at his funeral. This is a time when I am so grateful that I had a very appropriate solo already learned. It would just need some brushing up. I had learned a beautiful solo arrangement of "Abide with Me" -- and I was confident to play it. I love Aunt Arvil and Uncle Bob and feel so blessed that I took time to visit them often and get to know them. They are very special to me. Here is a picture of Uncle Bob at my Uncle Evans funeral -- just three weeks before his death. I am so grateful that all this happened before I left. I would have been very sad to have missed the opportunity honor them at their funerals.
My mom, Velma, Scott and Susie, Alice, Arvil and BOB
my mom and I had Uncle Bob's funeral - I was an official Sister Missionary
KC and I at the cemetery
