Sunday, June 11, 2017

Coming Home and first few weeks May 28 - June 11, 2017


Before leaving President and Sister Bench sent out a note that read:  Please share a word, thought or phrase that best describes an expression of kindness you have observed when serving with our departing temple missionaries:
We finally read ours on the plane coming home.  If left us with feelings of love for these great people we served with and were happy they had such nice things to say about us.  They follow:

Sister Lewis:  pleasant, Her efforts in baking every week and spending her "spare time ding it."  Working machine, Proverbs 31:26-28  26 "she openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. 28 "she looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness" 28 "Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and her", wise, tempered, sincere and caring, steady!, Calm and collected helpful and kind; dedicated, hard-working, great cook--always sharing,,never calls attention to herself, caring, wise confident; so kind and welcoming; She always looks nice, she always has a very pleasant and kind expression on her face.  This always makes others feel welcome and comfortable; love, love, love sister Lewis!  She has been an example to me in so many ways.  I am determined to be a better person because of her; her patience is an outstanding quality; Sister Lewis is unfailingly kind and helpful--always willing to share what ever burden you may have; Elder and Sister Lewis each managed to sere two missions in one year.  I doubt Ii will see any senior missionaries so lovingly and untiringly give of themselves in the service of the Savior as have they; serves over and above what is asked to do!; is aware of the sisters she is serving with and kindly helps them.  Always doing extra sessions (both); compassionate, dedicated and willing to do whatever is needed, deep faith in the Lord; unassuming and kind.

Elder Lewis: hard working and unselfish; energetic, focused on what needs to be done and never stops working for the Lord, committed to serve; willingly goes above and beyond what he is asked to do.  Always cleaning with the ward (both); what do you say about a person who serves more than asked!  Except I miss you!; give of themselves in service of the Savior as have they; such energy! whatever will we do without him!; He is always willing to help in any way; What a guy! always smiling, always hurrying to the next assignment; always busy and always happy to be serving others; He is the best example of how hard we a missionaries should work.  But, underneath that hard working exterior is a softness and tenderness admired by all; so full of energy; dignified, hard worker, always dependable.  He finds dignity in hard, hard work; delightful sense of humor; willing to help and share; deep devotion. attention to detail. vitality!' D&C 4:3, 5 3"Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work; 5 And faith, home, charity, and love, with an eye single to the Glory of God, qualify him for the work"; great smile; He is always positive, thanking yo for all you do and wishing us a good day or night; Helpful.

We feel very loved and appreciated.  We worked with the most wonderful people.
Sisters Grimley, Miroshiro, Nabors, Pres. Bean, Pres. & Sister Bench, Mumfords, Heidimans, Pres. & Sister Nixon, McKennas, Lewises, Holloways, Youngs, Sister Bean, Harrises


President & Sister Bench at 11 pm the night before leaving

Paul & President Mark Bench

A letter we received from President and Sister Bench on our return home:

May 15, 2017
Dear Elder and Sister Lewis,
The Manhattan New York Temple will never be the same without you both!

Your faithful service, willing spirits and dear friendship have become treasured gifts.  We are most grateful for your marvelous service!  What a blessing that you served so joyfully, encouraging and helping all with their service in all areas of the temple!

Your love, smiles, willingness to be flexible and versatile when plans changed by the hour if not by the minute during your shift were a huge blessing.  We cannot thank you enough.  Your volunteering to clean on Wednesdays when it was not your assignment will always stand out in my mind as a monument to your willingness to serve wherever, whenever, without being asked.  And no one ever cleaned as well or thoroughly as you.  I never needed to worry about the large bags' being put out; I knew you would do it. 

And of course, dear Sister Lewis prowess as a baker, a generous and prolific baker, will always be remembered with gratitude.

We will never underestimate the power of the Lewis' example to other temple missionaries, ordinance workers, coordinators, and patrons.  You set the standard wherever you served here.

How we would love to have you back for a second mission here !

Sincerely, 
President Mark and Dorothy Bench 

Our homecoming was held on May 28th in the River Ridge 9th Ward.  

Mar Jean's Talk:  Good  Morning Brothers and Sisters.  It is a pleasure to be back in your midst.  Maybe you are like me thinking, “What you are back already, didn’t you just leave” A year went by very quickly.  It has been a wonderful year of growth, service and more love for our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
In 2002   Temple Announced            A temple in NYC was announced.  The difficulties of the White Plains temple was set aside and it was time for NYC to have a temple in the heart of Manhattan.  In 2004 the dedication of that temple took place and it has been a blessing and oasis for the area ever since.  Pres. Hinckley and the brethren were inspired and received revelation on the location of this temple. 

 As you enter the temple you first see a beautiful mosaic of the Savior on the road to Emmaus.  You immediately know you are entering a holy place.
Luke 24:32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

We know the temple is the House of the Lord, it says so on the entrance.  Every day we have felt His spirit in the Manhattan Temple.  As we served there we gained a new heart and a new desire to serve with more love and make the experience of the patrons who entered know and feel they were in the House of the Lord.  We had people from all over the world enter thru it’s doors.  It always seemed such a blessing when people would come to NYC and make it a priority to visit the House of the Lord while they were there.

The Baptistry is a place where missionaries bring their new converts to feel the spirit of Elijah in their lives.  They come being the only member of their family but when they leave they have added those they dearly love to their gospel family. They are filled with joy.  They know they are not alone. We have two wonderful family history couples serving in the FHC right next door to the temple.  They are excellent genealogists and have helped many, including us, to get the spirit of Elijah in our lives and bring our own family members to the temple.

From the first floor you take an elevator to the 4th floor of the temple where you find the clothing rental, office and ordinance worker dressing rooms.  On the fifth floor you find the instruction rooms, celestial room, and dressing rooms.  On the sixth floor, you find two beautiful sealing rooms and marriage waiting area. 

A sweet experience we had on Thursday morning around 8:30 was to join a sealing session with Pres. Garff, a former Temple President, and now a coordinator on early morning Thursdays.  We once brought a family of ten children, four of whom had died as babies.   He had ten proxies around the altar sealing this wonderful family.  The joy we all felt was undeniable.

This temple is located in the middle of Manhattan where 2 to  4 million people live or come into the city each day.  The temple is a peaceful, sacred place, set apart from the cares and turmoil of the world. Because it is the Lord’s house, and because of the sacred work performed there, in the temple we can feel the Spirit abundantly and feel close to the Lord. There we receive personal revelation and spiritual strength to help us overcome our trials.

In the Manhattan Temple we had many local workers coming from all over the temple district.  Many come at a great sacrifice.  We have many young workers who are either working in the city or attending school.  When most people arrive at retirement they leave the area because it is so expensive to live there.  While we were there two temples opened, which took patrons from our temple district, the Hartford CN and Philadelphia Temples.  We were able to attend each open house and go back and do ordinances om these beautiful temples.

There are eight missionary couples and two single sisters who serve in the Manhattan Temple full time.  We had two shifts, morning and evening.  Generally the morning shift was 10 – 5 and the evening 3:30 – 10:30.  We served for three months and then switched.  We lived in the apartment building next to the temple.  We were very spoiled. 

The greatest part of any mission is the people we meet and serve with.  We served under two Temple Presidents and had three missions are in our temple district.  President Steven and Margory Bennion picked us up from the airport when we arrived.  They had served as President of Ricks College and NY North Mission before being called as President of the Temple.  President Mark and Dorothy Bench were the ones to send us home.  The Benches have been in the NY area for years and are well known and loved here.  Pres. Bench had a large part in the temple building as he was one of the Stake Presidents in the area.

Every ordinance worker we served with comes with a wonderful conversion story.  Our favorite question was “how did you find the Church or how did the Church find you?”

Sis Pratt is from South Africa.  She was a ballerina in her younger years.  This took her to Korea.  She was only there four months.  She had really hard time getting a work permit and was very discouraged.  She had a dream and saw a man.  She didn’t know what it meant but within the next week she saw this man.  It frightened her and she turned around and went home.  This happened several times until she finally talked to him.  He was American.  He gave her a card and invited her to church.  On Sunday she called for a taxi to take her to the address.  When she arrived she said, this can’t be a church, there is no cross but the driver told her she was at the right address. 

She went in and found a seat.  No one spoke to her and she couldn’t’ understand what was being said but she had a wonderful feeling and returned three more weeks before someone finally talked to her.  The Elder she had met was there and some other English members spoke to her and invited her to have the missionary lessons.  She then came to the states and is now a faithful family history worker, bringing thousands of names to the temple from her family and serving as an ordinance worker.  She was an inspiration to all of us.
 Another Sister, that I love, is a true New Yorker.  Her accent is so cute. 

Sis Loppolo, a single sister.  She grew up Catholic but was once in Las Vegas and saw the temple.  She had a wonderful feeling about it.  Her father died when she was young.  She had several dreams of him coming to her and bringing her a book.  When she held this book she would have the most wonderful feeling.  She didn’t think she could go into a Mormon church unless you were a member.  She thought I will just sneak in and no one will know.  She had seen many Mormon Ads on tv and always wanted a family like the ones she saw.  One day she saw an ad for the Bible and she called and they came the next day to deliver it.  She was a golden contact.  It has not been an easy road but she received her endowment and has continued strong and last year she began serving as an ordinance worker. And we had the privilege to serve beside her
One of the great blessings of this mission was that we were assigned to serve in the Kingsbridge 2 Ward on Sundays.  It is out in the Bronx and took about 45 minutes on two subways.  We would come up out of the subway and there was the Chapel.  Just steps away.  We were welcomed as soon as we walked in the doors.  Three Wards met in this building, two Spanish and one English.  It is here we saw Elder Sumsion every week for his first two transfers because he was assigned to the Spanish Ward.  Our Ward was a really diverse group of Saints.  Mostly converts and from all over the world.  Many were from Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Angola and all parts of Africa, Dominican Republic, Porter Rico and many native NYC people.  We loved them all.  They came from cultures so different from what we are use to but it is true, we are all brothers and Sisters.  They love the Lord and have gained new hearts as the missionaries have taught them of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  That it has again been restored to the earth with all the Priesthood blessings we need to return to Heavenly Father.  When we arrived we had two sets of sisters, three sets of Elders and about six months ago a senior couple, Elder & Sister Richards from Alpine arrived and serve full time in the Ward.  We got to know and love the missionaries since Brother Lewis served as ward mission leader for a short while.  We love our missionaries.  They are so courageous, loving and faithful.  In a recent Multiregional conference held in the East, Elder Gong of the Seventies told us “missionaries rely on the ward members to help them find people.  They have very long days when they are finding on their own.  He said instead of praying that the Lord will help the missionaries we should be praying that we will listen and act upon the promptings we receive from the Lord to find people He has prepared for them to teach. 

We were blessed in the temple to see the young missionaries come almost every week.  We were so grateful for them and their presidents.  Also the senior couples who are serving in the temple district in different callings would come and serve one day a week as ordinance workers.  It was a great blessing to them and to the temple. 

In November we had a refugee family of six move into our Ward.  They came from Angola.  The father had a cousin here who told him, “when you arrive, find the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” The Latumba family did.  The missionaries taught them and the mom, dad, and three children were baptized.  A month later they added a beautiful baby girl to their family.  They are so faithful and have faced many trials in trying to relocate. 

We had the privilege of teaching the Temple Preparation class to several members and see them prepare to come to the temple.  Frank, a gentleman in his 70’s received his endowment shortly after we arrived.  He now serves as HP group leader and is preparing to be sealed to his lovely wife, Gina.  Brother Woods, from Ghana area, was just last week sustained to become an Elder and he and his wife will be going to the temple very soon to receive his endowment and be sealed.  On Ward temple days we would invite those who came to come around the corner to our apartment and have dinner with us and the missionaries and their converts came for lunch whenever they came to the temple.  They bring such a sweet spirit with them. If you have not learned yet, let me tell you that there is no sweeter way to invite the spirit into your home than to have the missionaries there often.  We need them and they need us.

This mission has blessed our lives.  It has given us an opportunity to study and learn the gospel.  We have been able to serve and bless many of Heavenly Father’s children by helping them receive the ordinances of the temple.  We love the people we have met.
God is so amazing that even though we are not perfect, He's letting us contribute in building His kingdom on the earth again.

We love serving missions.  If you have not set this as a goal for you and your wife, I highly recommend it.  You will find no greater joy and you will be amazed how well the Lord takes care of your grandchildren while you are away.

Testimony


Paul's farewell talk to the missionaries:

       Great serving with you spiritual giants. Thank you for noticing my imperfections and helping me correct them. You have helped me become a better person, a better missionary, and especially a better temple worker to prepare us for our next mission. Savior taught D&C 95:1-Whom I love I also chasten. I am grateful for His love.     Everyone asks which mission or which shift did I like the best. The best mission or the best shift is the one that we were serving on that time. Sister Heideman said it better. She loves all of them.     The best shift was the one when everyone served together such as the Monday holiday shift and tonight when everyone is together  .We will miss each one of you but we will see many of you at the reunion at the Buchanan’s home Sept. 29, another reunion, or we will cross paths when we visit your temple.     I know that I am a child of God. I love Him and I know that He loves me. We love each one of you and thank you for loving us. It has been a privilege and pleasure serving the Lord in the Manhattan temple. Testimony Pres Bench, Nixon, Bean  Thank you.     Most important person to thank is my sweet  wife, Mar Jean. Elder Andersen,  spoke at a BYU Idaho devotional.    He encouraged the listeners to not be afraid to take a chance with someone who might not be an obvious choice. We look deeper and farther into who they are and who they will become. Thank you for helping me become your eternal companion. I love you.      Nephi also taught me what I can become. Nephi 1:1- he was highly favored of the Lord. 1 Nephi 17:35-Righteous Alma 48:20-Humble  1 Nephi 3:6-Not murmur Mosiah 10:13-more faithful in keeping the commandments for the Lord heard his prayers and answered them.     We will cherish the eternal friends we have met. Local workers, patrons, our Sunday Assignment in the Bronx.        May Heavenly Father continue to bless each  one of us with His choicest blessings as we continue  to learn and do His will.

Paul's Homecoming talk:  

I learned very early in my scripture reading to liken myself to the scriptures.  Before I was a member I first read about the hard hearted and stiff-necked people. Alma 13:27 taught me. And now my brethren (Paul), I wish from the inmost part of my heart, yea, with great anxiety even unto pain, that ye would hearken unto my words, and cast off your sins, and not procrastinate the day of your repentance.
D &C 39:10-Revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on my name, and you shall receive my spirit and a blessing so great as you never have known. I testify to you that that revelation was true then and is still in effect today.
As soon as I made the commitment to be baptized the Lord make it possible for me to resolve my issues that I had had for 18 years after we had been married.  D&C 130:21-And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated. This applied to me in tithing, the word of wisdom, and keeping the Sabbath day holy just to name a few. I knew with the Lord’s help that I would be 100% committed as a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Ezekiel 36:26-A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put with you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and DO THEM.  Key word was DO THEM.
The first thing I learned after my baptism was that I must never forget that I am a child of God. I love him and I know that He loves me. I wrote it in the scriptures so it would remind me every time I read the scriptures.
President Benson-I have read through tear dimmed eyes your sweet letter telling of your husband decision to prayerfully read the Book of Mormon. May Heavenly Father bless you and your family with His choicest blessings as you continue to learn and do His will.  CONTINUE TO LEARN AND DO HIS WILL
I was on the path and as I followed the direction of a prophet of God, President Benson, I would be blessed. And after President Benson, President Hunter, President Hinckley, and President Monson have given us great counsel to bless our lives.
Five months after I was baptized, I received my patriarchal blessing.  The Lord told me that I would serve missions. The key word was missions. My father in law told me that my stake mission would count and being a ward mission leader. But I knew that the Lord had other plans for my sweet wife and myself. In our stake in California many couples that returned from their missions were a great influence in our lives. We wanted to be like them. We hope that we will also be a good influence on some of you.
An 89 year old sister had received her patriarchal blessing and asked the patriarch why she had not received the gospel earlier in her life. He told her to wait until after her blessing to see if they had an answer. He told her that the missionary that was to teach her did not go on his mission so she had to wait for another missionary. I am grateful for the missionaries that taught me and I did not want that to happen to someone because I did not go on a mission.



I will find you my friend
There was this place called the pre-existence. Where we lived with our friends so dear
A council was called, And Plans were made, Free agency is why we're here
Our Savior said please find my lost sheep, And teach them and bring them home
I promised my Savior I'll find them, And teach them the way to go
 I'll go and find you my friend, I'll help you, Our Savior's plan is the way
Please accept me when I find you, And we'll be back with him someday

There were 41 dedicated temples in the world in 1989 when I was baptized. Today there are 156 operating temples, 2 under renovation, 13 under construction, 14 announced. Total 182
Our first mission was in the Palmyra temple for 18 months. The Savior appeared to the prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirkland temple.  D&C 110:10-This is the beginning of the blessing which shall be poured out upon the heads of my people.  I had already learned a blessing so great as you never have known. What a special blessing to serve in the Palmyra temple and to learn about the experiences the early saints endured.
Our testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the restoration grew as we served in that area. We are grateful for their faithfulness and dedication of the early saints and their example to us.
We then served in the Croatia, Slovenia, and Serbia mission for 18 months. We learned that the young people are the stall worth’s of the church with little family support. We were able to take a young single adult group to the Frankfort temple and 3 of them also received their patriarchal blessings. On the way home in the van Sister Lewis asked them how they felt about the conference. One young man said that he was able to set aside his prejudices and made new friends because of the gospel.
We then served in the Hong Kong temple for 18 months. People from all over Asia came to the temple to receive their blessings. People from mainland China came to Hong Kong to be taught by the missionaries then go back home to share it with their families. They made great sacrifices to attend the temple and stayed in temple housing for a week. It could be their only time to attend the temple.
Our mission here in the River Ridge Stake was a great blessing for us to get to know many people in the stake and help them receive essential ordinances that will bless their lives. Some of them are here today. Thank you for letting us be part of your lives.  We love and appreciated you.
Our mission to the Manhattan temple was a blessing not only for us but for our family.  Many visitors came to the temple from all over the world.  Many dedicated patrons and workers shared their experiences and conversion stories.  Two sisters were from India serving as ordinance workers.  The patrons and workers make great sacrifices getting to the temple.  We only had to walk 86 steps to the temple. We again learned that we do not have to be perfect to go to the temple.  We attend the temple so that we can learn how to become perfect like our Savior Jesus Christ.
The day before we left a family shared their conversion.  Wife was looking and found the gospel but her husband did not want to offend his parents. She was baptized and he was investigating. He did not want to tell his Mother but one day she called him and told him that when they were young the family tradition was Catholic so they went to that Church. Then she wanted them to learn about the bible so they went to the Baptist church. Last month she met some missionaries, and wanted to tell him about them.  She said they were Mormon missionaries.
He was baptized and went to California to baptize his Mother 2 weeks ago and came to the temple to do baptisms for his wife’s father and grandmother and grandfather and his grandmother and grandfather.
Thanks to my wife and her cousin that is serving a family history mission in St George and 2 couples serving in the Manhattan family history center we were both able to expand our family and participate in their temple ordinances.  One experience was very touching. We were able to seal our ancestors of 10 children to their parents at the altar at the same time. We are grateful for you temple and family history consultants. Bishop Jackson has a vision that will bless you and your families and those that you serve.
On a lighter side for some of you that are interested.  We went to a fireside that you may have read about in the Church news or may read about. We spoke directly and had our pictures taken with BYU coach Kalani Sitake and Ty Detmer, Tanner Mangum, and Corbin Kaufusi.  32 football players helped at a camp that Lavell Edwards had organized years ago when he and his wife served a mission in New York and participated at a humanitarian activity.
All of us are on the Lord’s errand in some way and we are entitled to his help. We have been called of God in our various callings and we will be blessed as we serve Him with all of our heart, might, mind and strength. As we continue to read the Book of Mormon and follow the direction of our prophet and other leaders we will be blessed personally and those that we serve will be blessed.
The one common thread about all of our missions were the people that we got to know and love. We come to know our Savior better and want to follow His example by being kind, loving, and charitable. Our grand daughter gave a talk in Jerome Idaho last Sunday. Each week she and her sister go to the temple to perform baptisms. She feels peace and joy in the temple and takes that peace and joy into the world.
I shared this with the temple missionaries when we left and I want each one of you to visualize me speaking directly to you.
It has been a great blessing serving with you spiritual giants. Thank you for noticing my imperfections and helping me correct them. Each one of you has helped me to become (become again) a better person, a better missionary, and a better temple ordinance worker that will help me prepare for our next mission.
Many people have asked me which shift or which mission I have liked that best. I always told them that I liked the mission or the shift that I was on at that time the best.  Then I heard one of our missionaries say that she loved them all. Well I did love one shift the best when all of the missionaries served together on the Monday holiday shift which will be tomorrow. I loved that shift because we were all together and I love this ward when we are all together as today. Tomorrow is Memorial day and the Book of Mormon refers to this special land.
1 Nephi 2:19-Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith and inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper and shall be led to a land of promise; yea even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands. Alma 43:47-And again the Lord has said that he shall defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion. We are grateful to those who have given their lives defending our freedoms.

In the June ensign, President Monson also taught us in the first presidency message for home teaching about called to the work. The prophet Joseph Smith called Heber G. Kimball as a missionary to England. Elder Kimball said, the moment I understood the will of my Heavenly Father, I felt a determination to go at all hazards, believing that He would support me by His almighty power and endow me with every qualification that I needed. Dedicated missionaries can bring about miracles in the mission field.
We have felt this promise on each one of our missions. D&C 84:88-I will go before your face. I will be on  your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you to bear you up.
Whether or not we serve as full time missionaries, each of us has the opportunity to share the gospel and serve those around us. Thank you for all of your dedicated service.
VISITING TEACHING MESSAGE-I am grateful for the strength of the priesthood power through keeping covenants that Elder Neil L. Andersen shared in the June Ensign visiting teaching message.
Elder Neil L. Andersen also talked at BYU Idaho devotional Feb 2017 and if you reverse the year to 71 my wife heard that same talk 46 years ago.  He told the listeners to not be afraid to take a chance on someone who may not be that obvious choice.  We must look deeper and farther into who they are and who they will become.  Sister Lewis, thank you for taking a chance on me and helping me to become your eternal companion. I love you.
Nephi in the Book of Mormon also taught me what I can become which you probably heard me teach before.  1 Nephi 1:1-I Nephi having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days. There are many references in the Book of Mormon about the people and Nephi being favored and highly favored of the Lord.  They were righteous, humble, did not murmur, and were more faithful in keeping the commandments therefore the Lord heard his prayers and answered them.  My wife found another reference since President Monson’s asking us to study and ponder the book of Mormon each day.
Alma 13:23-We are thus highly favored for we have these glad tiding declared unto us in all parts of our vineyard.
We are grateful for the eternal friendships that we have had on our mission to New York. The ward that we served in the Bronx was a special experience and we are looking forward to getting to know you before we leave again on our next mission.
I know that I am a Child of God. I love him and I know that He loves me. We love each one of you and thank you for loving us. We are looking forward to getting to know those that have moved in after we left.  Sister Lewis and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve in the Manhattan New York temple to bless the lives of those that we have served. I know that God lives. I know that Jesus is the Christ and that He walks the halls of His holy temple. KAYLEE PRES EYRING- IF YOU WALK WITH THE SAVIOR LONG ENOUGH, YOU WILL LEARN TO SEE EVERYONE AS A CHILD OF GOD WITH LIMITLESS POTENTIAL, REGARDLESS OF WHAT HIS OR HER PAST MAY HAVE BEEN.


I know that the prophet Joseph Smith did see Heavenly and His son Jesus Christ in the sacred grove and through the gift and power of god he translated the Book of Mormon that has blessed my life.  I know that President Thomas S. Monson is today’s prophet and as we follow his direction that we received at the priesthood session to follow the Savior’s example by being kind, loving, and charitable and in the Sunday session he told the world to prayerfully study and ponder the Book of Mormon each day we will be blessed. I am grateful for the priesthood and the opportunity that Sister Lewis and I had the opportunity to perform ordinances in the temple under the direction of the priesthood.
May Heavenly Father bless each one of us with His choicest blessings as we continue to learn and do His will. As we receive a new heart and fill our hearts with the gift of charity and rededicate ourselves in serving the Lord in our various capacities we will be blessed, those that we serve will be blessed, and our children, grandchildren and extended family members will be blessed.  In the name of Jesus Christ.amen
  
Sister Holly Brough from our home ward sent me a message about people, specifically about talking to everyone.  In the mission, we have to work hard not to pre-judge people by their looks.  She wrote a quote from Brother Lewis who cited Elder Anderson who originally said, "Take a chance on someone who may not be the obvious choice... Look further and deeper into who they are and who they will become."

That being said, we are all children of our Loving God.  Some of us have different talents, looks, and preferences, but deep down, we are all the same.  We all have the grand potential to become like our Heavenly Father is. Therefore, we should not judge based on looks.  We as missionaries, especially in places that aren't Utah, see people that look menacing or dangerous, but maybe they're the ones that need our message the most.  All of us, as members of the Church, have the same opportunity to share with everyone, no matter what they look like or how they act.

Today June 11 we gave our report to the high council.  It wasn't long but sweet.  There were two senior couples reporting, the Webbs and us and seven missionaries some returning and some going out.  We are happy to be back and spent a wonderful Sabbath starting with the High Council meeting, then sacrament in Highland for Dave and Deanna's farewell, excellent job by both.  They will be awesome mission presidents, our sacrament meeting, then taught our sweet 12 year old's, Abby Goff, Addi Harker, Angel Williams, Ella Whitehead and Brenner Tucker.  From there we went to Matthew Beech's homecoming.  This is a young man we met at the Jordan River Temple who was called on a baptism temple mission.  He completed 10,702 baptisms.  He is an amazing young special needs young man who has done a wonderful job.
Paul, Jack Woldberg, Mar Jean

Matthew Beech and Paul

It has been a wonderful year and we are so blessed of the Lord to be healthy enough to do what we do.  We love Him with all our hearts and desire to keep our covenants and be a forever family.



Monday, June 5, 2017

Week 53 May 9 - 16

Wednesday we went over to go on the 12;30 session.  It was a full session.  We had the missionaries there all day.  The clothing section was so busy.  We had left them a lot of laundry from Tuesday evening and then every session had missionaries on it so we were busy all day and evening.  We did get it all done by the end of the evening.

Thursday morning we got up and went over to do sealings with President Garff.  What a blessing and pleasure to serve with him.  He reminded us that in this sealing room we have love and affection.  He always invites the couples to kiss over the altar after the sealings.  We stayed after and watched some of the training films.  We especially loved the statement from President Wilford Woodruff.

"What greater calling can any one person have than to hold in his or her hand the power and authority to administer the ordinances of salvation, there is nothing equal to it."

Our goal is to have a new heart and a new spirit of the temple.  You open the portals of grace.  Follow the guidance of the Spirit.

What a fun day so far.  Left the temple, went to Trader Joe's where Paul got me some tulips for Mother's Day and then back to the temple to watch more training films.  Home and now waiting to go back to serve tonight.

Notes from Multi Regional Conference May 7, 2017

President Lindsey--Why we serve, then we love them more, opportunity to serve.
Elder Gong--feel his love and blessings.  Reach out to each other.  Covenant blessings are for all.  Those who give of their heart receive are blessed.
Sister Gordon--Primary Counselor-- we must maintain light for ourselves.  Elder Perry visited when she was a young girl.  feed the children.  I need my own light.
Elder Perkins--Seventy--We will come with great joy as we repent.  Enos because of thy faith in Christ.  Alma-you are my servant and shall have eternal life.  Don't procrastinate your baptism. A mighty change of heart.  Read the Book of Mormon.
Elder Oaks--132 Stakes in US and Canada.  Faith in Jesus Christ.  Just do your best.  Trust in the Lord.  Missionary rely on ward members to find more people.  invite-reach out and rescue  1. befriend, 2 listen 3  help feel God's love 4 feel confident and welcome them We can each know the truth for ourselves.  President Monson--Book of Mormon, prayer, scriptures, keep commandments, partake of the Sacrament.

Friday 12 attended the 2 pm session and then went to work.  A lovely evening.  Saturday we started cleaning.  Sister Bench brought us a new light vacuum and I started cleaning the floors and kitchen.  We are just about ready.  In the temple Paul and I officiated and followed the 7 o'clock session.  It was a very diverse session.  We had an own endowment, Brother Jeffries, going to Madrid Spain and son of our Stake President, several deaf patrons, so that required the closed caption, a couple of Spanish speakers, and English speakers.  A lovely spirit was present.  And also Bishop Mortinson, who plays Adam in the B film was there as the Bishop of the young man.

It was raining most of the day.  Paul went home afterwards to start the laundry and I stayed for a "Speak to Lift an evening of music and poetry" put on by the Mid Single Adults.  It was very good.  Such wonderful talent by these people.  I sat with Bryn, Margaret May and Sister Yeow.  Wonderful temple workers.

Friends from Church on our last Sunday.  These beautiful women were in their native costumes.
Sister Phillips 

Deserae and Sister Wright


Paul & Elder 
 Today is Mother's Day.  I have been thinking of the women who have blessed my life.  My own mother, Verletta, Paul's mother, Marge, Aliene, my Aunts, my friends, Mar Jean, Edwina and many others.  Also received wishes from Cecilia, Sue, Lesliann and friends from Hong Kong.  I am very blessed.  We are off to Church, another LAST and then we will have dinner with Bryn Bass, Kathy Nabors and Sister Miyashiro.  Kory called first today and sent me $50.  I love all my children.  I am again very blessed.
Sister Mirashiro, Bryn, MJ, Kathy Nabors
Bryn and I
We were able to take a few more pictures of the people we have grown to love and care for.  We said many goodbyes.  A great sacrament meeting with Brother Matthews and the Primary children singing and speaking.  Came home and had a lovely evening with Bryn, Sister Nabors and Sister Miroshiro.

Monday we continued finishing up our cleaning and then met the missionaries in the lobby to go to the 2nd best pizza place in NY.  A fun day with all of them.  Late Monday evening we went down to President and Sister Bench to take some pictures.

Tuesday morning we were up early 5:30 to finish up all the last minute things and close our suitcases.  Elder Harris, President and Sister Bench and Nixon came down to see us off.  We say goodbye to some of the best people in the world.
President & Sister Bench
What a great surprise we got when we disembarked the plane.  Kelly had gathered everyone together to greet us.  What a wonderful surprise.  Brought tears to my eyes.  We have the most wonderful family.  We are truly blessed.  That was my surprise, Paul's surprise was that Kelly took us all to Golden Corral for lunch.

Home looks much the same.  At 6:15 we went to the Stake Center where we met with President Kurt Soffe to be released.  Such a great man.  He released us and thanked us for our service.  He said he would send in our papers for another mission as soon as we were ready.  We stopped to see Bishop Jackson and Lowell Tripp on our way home.

Thursday morning we went into see Dr. Storz for our physical and give blood.  Thursday evening we left for Idaho Falls where we stayed with Laurna and Dick Lundberg.  Had a great visit with them and Friday morning went to the Idaho Falls Open House.  Such a beautiful temple.  We also saw Elaine Radford there.  She is working in the laundry.  From there we headed to Jerome to Kimberly's.  We stopped in Pocatello to see Staci and Adam's new home.

We went to Church in the Jerome 3rd Ward where Kaylee spoke, did a great job, went to Seminary graduation that evening.  Monday morning we drove to Kenniwick, WA to see Janet.  Had a good visit with her and back to Jerome Tuesday evening, a six hour drive.  Wednesday we went to Kimberly's kindergarten graduation where we found out everyone loves her, something we already knew.  That evening we joined Elaine and Leon Radford, Kimberly, Gary, Mallorie and Brayden for Kaylee's graduation from Jerome High School Class of 2017.  She was one of valedictorians and was the last to give her 2 minute speech.  So proud of her.  She received $3,000 in scholarships plus a tuition one from BYU Idaho.

It has been a whirlwind of a week.  It seems as though we were never gone and yet we left part of our hearts and love for the gospel in NYC.