It is already Sept. 6 but still 99 degrees today. I want to start our blog with one of the thoughts from Psalms 103:12. "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us." Through the atonement of Jesus Christ all can be saved. A great quote from Elder Holland which I am learning from: "We must master this thought…..God is for us. We and all others have the freedom to make choices, including stupid, cruel, or evil ones. Because of this, He can be against things we do and things that others do for us. He will always be against sin, abuse and error…..but even then he has the divine ability to separate His opposition to the sin from his unyielding love for the sinner."
 |
| A dad taking his two kids to the first day of a new school year |
 |
| A beautiful house in the neighborhood |
A highlight of the week was Zone Conference in Marseilles. Another senior sister and I made chili with all the toppings for lunch - raw onions, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, avocado, and sour cream. We had homemade zucchini bread and orange bread with sliced nectarines and whipped cream on the side for dessert. We now have 6 zones in the Lyon Mission but they are half the size they used to be. It is much easier to cook for 35 than 70.
I always learn from Pres. and Sr. Schow’s presentations. He elaborated on an idea from Elder Renlund about encouraging ward members to be more involved in the work. Members feel guilty because they are not doing enough, or they think finding and teaching is for full time missionaries and the member responsibility ends with a referral, or they just don’t know what to do. How can we bless them? How can we help? The suggestion was that the ward council develop a menu of missionary opportunities, from something as simple as praying for them, to finding and teaching with them, to supporting new converts. The menu could consist of many choices and members could pick what they felt comfortable doing. Everyone could do something.
 |
| A duet by two angelic voices... |
 |
| accompanied by Soeur Rasmussen |
Sr. Schow emphasized the majesty of the plan of salvation in a unique way. She started with an identity map of what I know about myself in the pre-existence: I listened to Satan and Jesus. Satan wanted to force me to follow. He wanted to thwart my becoming more like the Father. He wanted the power and all the glory. He thought he was smartest. He wanted the Father’s plan to fail. Jesus wanted to follow the plan of the Father. I would have the agency to choose. If I made stupid, cruel, or bad choices, Jesus would cover me through his sinless life and atonement, if I would choose to change. He would do this because he loved the Father and he loved me. I chose to follow Jesus and defend him. I wanted the chance to learn and to become with His help.
Tom: Two contrasting approaches were on display this week. I monitor missionaries' health experiences in the MTC as they are reported in medical notes. One young missionary developed severe anxiety, something completely new for them. Counseling in the MTC was not sufficient, and a decision was made to return home and be treated. Another missionary has been in the field for 3 months and is struggling to keep up with expectations due to severe leg pains that they had prior to the MTC but that flared again in the MTC. Here is a quote from the notes: "Expresses confidence in ability to manage walking during upcoming trip... Denies symptoms are severe enough to cause limping or prevent walking 5-7 miles per day. Confirms [they are] ok to go on the trip and does not feel the need to postpone it for more aggressive treatment." There is a 50:50 chance this missionary will have to return home. We will do all we can to keep them here and functional. However, from my perspective, it would always be better for the missionary to not arrive in the mission with problems. There are so many other challenges for new missionaries that will help them grow without adding a physical or mental illness challenge. If you know of any prospective missionary who is downplaying the magnitude of a problem so they can get to the field sooner, it would be better to help them get "tuned up" as much as possible before taking on the physical and spiritual challenge of inviting everyone they meet to Come Unto Christ.
 |
| Behold the vineyards are purple, ready for the ... |
 |
| ..mechanical harvesters. |
No comments:
Post a Comment