Lots of rain this past week, the rivers and creeks around here are running high and muddy. But when the sun does come out everything looks so sparkling clean and beautiful. Our little patio garden and tiny front flower beds are looking good, too. It's been a little rough since I (Janie) have not been feeling well all week. I've had a bad cough, congestion, weepy eyes, and tiredness. We're thinking it may be allergies - pollen level is unusually high in this area this year. I've never had allergies before, but it's a new environment with lots to get used to so maybe that's it. I am trying an OTC allergy medicine and am feeling much better today. We'll see. Anyway didn't do as much as we should have last week, but we still had a few miracles.
I did drive my neighbor JeriLee to several appointments last week. Her little baby Corinna is so cute. On Monday we made a trip to Wal-Mart and "happened" to run in to a less-active ward member who said we could come visit her the next day, we were happy about that. On Tuesday we made the drive to her home and had a good visit. As a bonus, after we had been there a while her 18-year-old son and older daughter arrived - we had been trying to get in to see them also, so it was great to get to chat with all of them. We also helped at the nursing home a couple nights and Wayne sang there Friday night. We taught a lesson on Home Teaching and Visiting Teaching to John and Audrey, they are excited to get going (and asked when they would get name badges like we have....). Today we started teaching a temple prep class too.
On Tuesday night I was making phone calls to set up appointments. I called Cathy S, a lady we first met a couple weeks ago as we searched the ward list to find the lost and forgotten. Wayne had finally found an accurate address for her so we stopped by. Anyway, when I called this time she invited us to visit on Friday. When we arrived she was so glad to see us and told us how much our last visit had meant to her. She said that she had told her mother, who lives in a different area, that we had come to see her. Her mother is an active member and she then revealed to her daughter that she had been praying for her and praying that someone from the church would visit her. She encouraged Cathy to keep meeting with us and Cathy said that she intended to. Cathy said that even my call on Tuesday to set up an appointment had brightened a difficult day she was having and that she sure was happy we had come to see her. Wayne and I pray daily that we will be instruments in the Lord's hand and that we will be where He needs us to be - it's nice to hear that we can be the answer to a mother's prayer and find someone that really needed us to come...
Happy Birthday tomorrow to Angie!! We love you and miss you. We think you are amazing to balance so much in your life!
Now I'll turn the writing over to Elder Orton:
Thanks. I think she does so much better.
This week-end I missed a fun event. My sibling reunion at Mark and Annettes' in Ogden. I would have loved to be there with you but am glad to be here also.
We would have missed another great event. We had a 3 mission meeting in the stake center next to the DC temple. Presided over by Elder Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve. Elder Clayton of the Seventy was there also along with a new member of the Seventy, Elder Wong. There were about 700 missionaries there and it was an inspirational meeting. What do you think Elder Ballard was sent here to tell us way out here? He told us we needed to talk to more people, be bold, strengthen the wards and baptize more of God's children.
Sometimes it is not what is said that you remember but how you felt and what you "heard". He told us that the Lord is definitely hastening His work. Also Satan is hastening his work! So I heard this: Where does that leave us if we just continue to do what we did last year or the year before? If we don't do differently we will be left behind in the hastening. We need to evaluate what we have been doing and then formulate what we need to do next so that we can be a help. We need to talk to more people about the gospel, we need to live the gospel better and be better at keeping our covenants. We can do it. All of us!
We did get a lot of comfort from Elder Ballard's apostolic blessing as he closed. It was that our families would be blessed for our being here in the service of the Lord. If we can do something that will bring joy to our families, that is what we want to do. Especially if it will help you walk in truth. As John said in 3rd John 4: "I (we) have no greater joy than to hear that my (our) children walk in truth."
Farewell for now, we love you all!
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