R: Elder Larson at Einsiedeln; LM: photo of ceiling inside cathedral; RM: another monument for a saint.


R: Another monument for a saint.







FEBRUARY 1, 2009 SUNDAY

Today was a great Sunday. We started out with Missionary Correlation Council and discussed all the good things that are happening in missionary work. Elders E&E reported they had a good meeting with Darletta and that she would be coming to Church today. They also had another investigator they said would be here. Elders P&M met a man on the way to Church who they said would be at Church also. In Priesthood meeting the long awaited New FamilySearch program was introduced. This program will make it a whole lot easier and also avoid duplicating the ordinance work as has been a problem in the past. As soon as the temple session is completed, the ordinace will be recorded on the FamilySearch database so everyone doing research will know it’s been done and won’t do it again and again. After Priesthood meeting Diana went to the Investigator’s class while I sat in on the Gospel Doctrine class for a few minutes. Elder Middleton and I left the meeting to go to the bus stop and meet Sister Mettler who was coming for Fast and Testimony Meeting. She wasn’t on the bus she was supposed to be on nor was she on the one after. We waited in the cold for twenty minutes and decided maybe she wasn’t coming. We walked back to the Church to warm up and then Elder Evans and I walked back for the next bus. She still wasn’t on that one either. Naeide’s apartment is just thirty feet away from the stop so we thought maybe she had gone there. We rang at Naeide’s door, but got no answer. We were a little apprehensive about ringing Naeide’s bell because of what happened in Relief Society to her.

The ward puts out a newsletter once a month and includes a page introducing new members to the ward. In the January issues a page was devoted to Naeide because she was newly baptized. The person who writes the newsletter omitted that Naeide had a son which upset Naeide. She talked to the sister and the reply she got back was, “If you’d bring your son to Church, then we’d know you had one.” Not very nice, especially to a new member. The newsletter also lists all the birthdays for the month and in the February issue, Naeide’s birthday was omitted. She mentioned to us last week when the February issue came out, that she was upset about being ignored or omitted. She asked why was she baptized if she couldn’t be included. She said the next Sunday, which was today, she was going to get up in front of the congregation and announce she had a son and when her birthday is. Evidently she talked to the member responsible for the newsletter in RS and got her feelings hurt again. She went home from RS crying. And this is why we were apprehensive about ringing her doorbell, not knowing exactly what to expect. But alas, no one answered the door so we went back to Church having not found Sister Mettler or been able to talk to Naeide.

Sitting in the middle we didn’t notice either Sister Mettler or Naeide had arrived for Fast and Testimony Meeting. The first thing we knew was when Naeide walked up the aisle to the podium. We thought, “oh oh, what now?” We needn’t have worried. She bore a wonderful testimony and related her conversion story. She mentioned those who were instrumental in helping her with her conversion including her “angels,” Elder E&E and us. She also mentioned that Sister Mettler was there and that her “angels” had found Sister Mettler and now she was coming to Church too. She also announced that today was the first time she had paid her tithing and gave the envelop to the Bishop in front of everybody. After the meeting, she told us she hoped the Bishop understood she did it in front of everybody to be an example and to inspire others to pay their tithing. We don’t think of ourselves as angels, but we are grateful that the Lord can use us in small ways to help other people make covenants and return to activity. Naeide is a great example to us. She said, while she was home, she made the decision to not allow the actions of other people to affect her testimony or her activity in the Church. She brushed off her tears, put a smile on her face and came back to Church. In her testimony she did mention she had a son, but said nothing about her birthday. The investigators, the missionaries mentioned this morning, also came and were warmly greeted before and after the meetings by the saints.

About 3:00 this afternoon I was watching a church interview on the internet and all of a sudden a pop-up window appeared that said Brad Mottishaw wanted to talk to us on SKYPE, an internet phone service that provides video and sound for free. I closed out of everything and hit the skype button on the desk top and up popped the skype window. At first we made connection from our side and Brad could hear us, but we couldn’t hear him. He was able to communicate through writing, but eventually things were worked out so we could both hear and see each other. Technology is just amazing. We we’re able to carry on a live face-to-face conversation in real time with Brad, Drayson and Rees. We know little Nathan wanted to talk to us, but, of course, he can’t talk yet. So he was satisfied to just look cute and mess with the headphones to make it a little difficult for others to talk. Roxsan was still at Church with Mayleah so we made an appointment to call again at 8:30 pm our time. Brad was home because the kids were home with the flu or a cold or something.

We went to the fireside at 6:00, but the guest speaker evidently got confused or something happened and she didn’t come. The missionaries are resourceful so rather than cancel the meeting to which many members came to give support to the newly baptized member, Jonah, a young man who has turned in his mission papers, related his conversion story. After he was done, Elder Pine gave a talk on his conversion and preparation before coming on his mission. Everyone who was there, including an investigator, were spiritually fed. At the end of the meeting Elders P&M said they hadn’t had their hot chocolate today and so Sister Larson invited them over for a nightcap. At 8:30 we called Roxsan on SKYPE and it worked like a charm, and it’s all for free. What a deal! We got to talk again with the grandkids and Roxsan. We also introduced Elders P&M to them and they encouraged May, Rees and Dray to go on a mission. The missionaries left about 9:30, but as they were leaving, they said they were out of toilet paper and could they have a roll. They said they thought they might need it before they could get to a store and buy some. We thought we were through for the night, but we recieved a call from Elder Larsson who is going home Thursday asking if he could borrow our digital scales for a few days to be able to weigh his luggage for his trip home. We’ll make arrangements to get it to him tomorrow during our chocolate factory trip. And now we hope it’s good night.