This is from Nov 10, 2015

Last week was a really good one for us.  We had lots of service opportunities, a convert baptism that we attended, and several very nice visits with members - and the soon to be member family whose baptism we attended.

Service opportunities abounded.  On Thursday October 29 - it’s been a few days since we wrote - we went with the young missionaries to the Echoing Hope Ranch to help with some work there.  This ranch is a facility for youth with special needs.  A few even live on the property.  Our assignment was to haul gravel from the pile - AKA Rockpile - to the top of  a hill (1/4 mile long) and fill up chuck holes.  Elder Dilworth and some others actually did this hauling with a wheelbarrow - see photo below - but most of the hauling was done with a pickup truck.  Thats why we have them, right?  Anyway, we were once again amazed at the energy of these young missionaries.  They really keep us going.  We’re grateful to get to work with them and learn with them.  The sisters - Brown and Inman - came and worked too.

The Huachuca Ward also had a ward temple trip on Saturday (31 October) to the Gila Valley Temple.  The weather was so perfect it reminded me of Idaho or Utah in early September, only with less grass.  This makes the third new temple Mom and I have been able to attend on our mission (the others were Provo while at the MTC, and Mesa with the serviceman’s group on September.  Your keen sense of detail will tell you that the Mesa Temple isn’t in our mission boundaries.  But one of the perks of being a senior missionary is that we have a lot of discretion about what we do and when we do it.  A friend who also served a senior mission told us his mission president told him to “Not do anything stupid.”  That covers most of the rules.

We had a great sacrament/fast meeting with the group on Sunday (1 November).  It is particularly inspiring to hear these young men - and women - bear their testimony and speak or administer the sacrament while wearing the uniform.  One can really feel the Spirit as well as the spirit of military service.  I think we sent a picture of this a few weeks ago so I won’t put another one in this time.

Tuesday (3 November) we did our regular volunteer shift at the turn around point.  This isn’t the coolest thing we do, but every time I think we could be better engaged, a family or  - usually - a young wife comes in to get some things for her family who really need the items.  So it is a blessing to them and I just have to keep reminding myself this isn't about me.  And it is a good opportunity to interact with the post chaplains, who are in overall charge of this facility.

Wednesdays are usually occupied with district meetings, where we train on how to be better missionaries.  The district - or zone - leaders do all the training and they do a great job.  But since last week was Zone Conference Week in the mission, we did service on Wednesday instead.  This service was to assist at the Arizona Food Bank and distribute the food to whose who needed it.  And my observation tells me there was a lot of need.  The distribution was from the back of a semi truck at a nearby park.  I handed out bottles of Dad’s Creme Soda.  Never thought that was a necessity, but nobody was turning it down.  Elder Dillworth, one of the Zone Leaders, was kind of in charge of our part of the project.  He even had a special hat to designate his leadershipness.  The photo doesn’t do the hat justice - it’s covered with gold glitter and is all sparkly.  We will probably do this service about once a month.

Zone Conference was Thursday.  This was my first one since I was a young missionary.  They’re a lot different from 45 years ago.  President Passey talked about attributes of Christ, but he related it mostly to goals in order to achieve our purpose - see Preach My Gospel, page 138.  Each missionary sets his or her own goals, but the mission supplies standards of excellence to help us achieve our purpose and set inspired goals.  Goals take faith - do we trust the Lord to help us achieve the goals He would have us perform in His work?  Sister Passey gave an excellent presentation on effective study, and how we should use our evening planning session to also plan our study for the next day.    For missionaries, and maybe for everyone, we study the Gospel to help others come unto Christ, not just to show what WE have learned.  When we focus our study on the investigator, we ask “What is the next ordinance THEY need?”  Then we plan our study and teaching to help them get there.  For must of us, having already been baptized, the next ordinance is the sacrament.  So the task becomes what we need to do to be prepared for that experience.  The AP’s trained us on how to ask inspired questions that move the discussion to the desired end and engage the investigator.

One of the young Elders in the Zone is an Elder Hale.   He and Mom/Marie are 2nd cousins once removed - or something like that.  It was really fun for her to go through the “chart” and be related to all the same family people.

Mom’s the cute one.

Thursday night we had dinner with a family form a ward we don’t regularly attend.  But they are members and we had met the husband  two weeks ago when he came to speak in our Sacrament meeting with the high counsellor.  He serves in the bishopric of his ward.  He’s been a member about 6-7 years.  Really interesting story.  He met his wife at a restaurant where she was working as a waitress,  It was love at first sight, apparently for both of them.  They got married a few months later - he still wasn’t a member - and then he deployed to the Middle East for 6 months.  A really fun family and people we could really bond with.  Her Dad actually graduated from the same HS that Marie/Mom did.

Friday was the highlight of our week.  We went to visit a family on post named Whitworth.  They were scheduled to be baptized on Saturday.  We had a wonderful time.  Our intent was to only spend 30 minutes, but we finally left 1 1/2 hours later.  Sister Whitworth made contact with a member family who owns a doTerra business here in Sierra Vista.  From first contact to baptism was one month.  Then she learned she had been blessed in a ward in California, when she was about 5 months old.  So the Lord had really been preparing this family for the Gospel.  They are moving to Korea with the Army in about 6 months.  They will be a great asset to any church unit they meet with.  Brother Whitworth was awarded the Purple Heart as the result of an IED (car bomb) in Iraq.  As I said. really cool people and those who we’ll remember all our lives.  Missionaries have those kinds of things.  The baptism was awesome - very spiritual and a definite highlight of the week.

Sunday our stake participated in a regional stake conference broadcast.  We heard from Elder Lynn G Robbins of the Presidency of the Seventy.  He talked about simplifying our lives - decluttering.  He quoted Don Aslett on the topic.  He also quoted Buzz Lightyear “To infinity and beyond.”  The question became “What is sufficient for my needs.”  Then get rid of the rest.  Throw away some of the apps on your phone and use it for actually talking to people.  Sister Reeves from the Relief Society General Presidency talked about repentance.  That’s how we qualify for the Atonement and Eternal Life.  Elder Corbridge of the Seventy posed the question that Jesus asked some of his disciples when others were being critical of Jesus.  “Will ye also go away?”  The four basic questions that are essential for us to answer here are 1( Is there a God, and is He our Father; 2) Is Jesus His Son and the Savior of the world; 3)was Joseph Smith the prophet of the Restoration; 4) Is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints the Lord’s kingdom on earth today?  Once we have an answer - see Moroni 10:4-5 - then everything else can wait.  Elder Dallin Oakes presided and was the concluding speaker.  He said a number of important things, but the main message I (as in Dad) got was to commit yourself to put the Lord first in your life.  Don’t wrestle between two opinions - Choose between the Lord’s way and the world’s way.  I recommend his book on this topic.  It’s called The Lord’s Way.