Dear Cousins,

This is just a copy/paste of a letter I sent to mi familia extended.  I hope it makes sense for the most part.  I'm way too tired to worry about it if it doesn't :)


Querido familia,

First, I finally met KH--sister of the wonderful MaryAnn. (She is the matron of the LA Temple)

 Second, I read the riot act to the zone leaders about not acting like missionaries and felt distinctly Oscar W-ish.  Which is odd since I have never met the man but not so odd seeing as how this is his old mission.

Third, boy am I tired.  Not as tired as Ken, mind you but tired nonetheless.  We just finished speaking to the "youth" session of a stake conference.  Much more fun than just the few minutes you get in the general session. (they keep the youth there after general, feed them lunch and then have an hour meeting) We used the theme of Know Before You Go.  I compared them to investigators.  I explained that to join the church an investigator is required to do something unique in the world.  They tried to guess (baptism? Have faith? Etc) but the answer is to join the church you are required to have a  revelation.  You must know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, the Book of Mormon is the world of God and the Church is true.  They need to know that too, so how do you find that out.  Well, you need to pray, read the Book of Mormon and go to Church (sacrament meeting).  Which is why their parents are hopefully having family prayer, family scripture study and dragging them to church.  Ken spoke more about the Hastening of the work and the changes that are coming from the new age requirement. 

We currently have 190 missionaries and we will have 250.  Theoretically, a young man could graduate from highs school.  Go straight to the MTC and (if he is called to his native language) be in the field 12 days later.  Kind of makes you think.  The new youth curriculum is really set up to help this and the topics it covers are the same ones all investigators learn.  Hopefully mutual will change--especially for the YM.  More MTC and less NBA, if you get my drift.

The last three weeks have been crazy!  First there were interviews, then transfers and then Elder Don Clarke came for a mission tour.  On top of all that, Ken and the area seventy are meeting with all of the stake presidents, bishops, bishoprics, ward mission leaders and high councilors over mission work in all 10 stakes.  They will be done by tonight.  Our area seventy (Elder Jerry Garns) and Ken feel very strongly that they need to present together so everyone catches the vision that missionary work is a combined effort of members and missionaries.  They are presenting a template that the wards are welcome to use for their ward mission plans.  So if any of you ward mission leaders want a copy, let me know.  It is straight out of Handbook 2 but formatted so it is easy to see and measure.  Ken says too many ward mission plans are nicely framed statements on the importance of missionary work. 

It was also follow-up new missionary training week.  Historically, this mission has had a new missionary get off the plane and then spend the next 4 hours filling out paperwork, watching  driving safety videos, etc.  It made for a stressful and tedious arrival. So this time we picked them up at the airport, took them to a nearby stake center, assigned them a zone leader/assistant/awesome sister as an afternoon companion and sent them out to find someone to teach. It was awesome.  They did the scariest part of missionary work an hour after landing and had a good experience.  We did only the paperwork/office stuff that HAD to be done right away.  The next day they met their new companions and off they went.  A week later they came back for actual, new missionary training.  It was so much better than getting off the plane, terrified, and just doing non-missionary things while waiting for their interviews.  Now they can get interviewed and proselyte and by the time of the transfer meeting feel like actual missionaries.

 The kids are still adjusting.  And by that I mean that it isn't as horrible as it was but it isn't good yet.  Interestingly enough, they love to come to stake conferences with us.  So it is always nice to have them there--the only time we go to church as a family (of course we don't actually sit together, but hey, it's the same meeting!)

 We have put up the tree and tried without success to figure out how the decorations in the garage are supposed to be set up.  We brought our own ornaments and Christmas Lego village so that is nice and home like. 

That is all my fried brain can think of at the moment.

 Love,

Dianna

Have You Ever Played Clue with a Mystery Writer?

Hooray! The cousins came for Thanksgiving.  Stephanie and Brian, et al (ok not all al, Amy and Shauna partied in St George) came down from the north to celebrate with us.  It was so much fun to have them here.

We did touristy things, cooked a billion calories worth of food and laughed until our faces hurt.  Literally hurt.  The  laugh-fests included, but are not limited to, reading out loud the rejected  Breaking Dawn screenplay (we read them all, tears running down our cheeks), watching the family favorite Clue, and our own great wittiness.  A good time was had by all.  Or at least most of us, Ken had some crises pop up and so spent most of Thanksgiving bashing his head against the wall.

Since we watched Clue, of course we had to play Clue.  We have Master Detective Clue which has more rooms and suspects and so we busted out the notebooks and began accusing.  Unlike the standard Clue game, Master Detective Clue gives you a whole sheet of paper so you can take notes as well as make check marks.  I never know what notes I am supposed to be taking--I'm more of a kamikaze player.  Rebecca take detailed notes and always solves it more quickly.  Stephanie, who has written five mystery/suspense novels was fiendishly writing.  Are you curious what kind of notes a mystery writer takes?  I was.  So in true criminal fashion I stole her notes and present them to you.

2:56 pm
Someone here is a killer...it is giving me the creeps.  What evil lurks behind these friendly smiles? I am starting to suspect that the killer is ________________ (trails off to blood/ink spatters)

3:04 pm
Tempers are rising. The tension and uncertainty are affecting all of us. I don't know how long we can endure this before someone cracks under the pressure.

3:09 pm
Matthew looks so innocent with his large blue eyes. What better disguise for a murderer? Or is he as innocent as he seems? I hate how this murder makes me suspect everyone of this most heinous crime! Oh the angst!

3:14 pm
I am growing increasingly suspicious of Rebecca. Her brilliant, devious mind and innocent smile could conceal an evil genius. But did she harbor a grudge against Mr. Body?

So there you have it.  While the rest of us were trying to roll the dice into the conservatory, Stephanie was watching us for clues.  For the record, Mrs Peacock did it in the trophy room, with the lead pipe. (Leading Matthew/Mr Green to say, "I told you I didn't do it!")

Matthew's Baptism

Matthew was baptized by his brother, Thomas, on November 4, 2012 at the McBean Building.  The building is actually irrelevant, I just like saying "McBean."

Matthew was born two days before Thomas's eighth birthday.  In fact, he came home from the hospital on Thomas's birthday and we said he was an extra birthday present.  Thomas took us seriously and has loved and cared for Matthew ever since.  Matthew's first public outing was to Thomas's baptism (which was a giant stake baptism that lasted over two hours--not recommended for newborns).

Now, eight years later, it was Matthew's turn.  Thomas and Matthew met with Bishop Larkins and got the thumbs up.  Thomas's first act as a Priest was to baptize his brother.  He did a great job.  He spoke clearly and confidently and got Matthew all the way under.  It was a wonderful thing. Ken confirmed and gave him a wonderful blessing. 

Grandpa Hall gave a great talk, Katie played the piano, very nice people from the ward helped out with special musical numbers and it was a very nice service. 

Plus, what a great experience for the velcro brothers.

Anxiously Engaged

(These are my notes that I use for new missionary orientation.  Since I have had time to post anything recently, I thought I would share this.  We have a lot of missionaries that deal with anxiety issues--well they all do to some extent, but some really struggle.  The point is that the Lord really has set up His program to help the missionary as well as those he/she serves.)

Doctrine and Covenants 58:27   Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness

·         We are anxiously engaged in a Good Cause, we have chosen to be here and as missionaries we will bring to pass much righteousness.

·         Another definition of Anxiously also can apply to missionaries (especially new missionaries)

·         All new missionaries experience anxiety, some more than others

·         Preach My Gospel and the Missionary Handbook are set up to help alleviate anxiety.  Whether or not you are comfortable speaking with people, whether or not you have a lot of gospel knowledge or very little, Preach My Gospel is set up to help.

1.  Schedule

            The missionary schedule (up at 6:30, etc) is something you can rely on for your whole mission.  You can count on it.  Missionary work can be a bit unpredictable at times but you can count on your schedule.   

2. Study

            Preach My Gospel has hundreds of activities and questions to help you become a missionary who can teach with power and authority.  To learn how to study do the activities in Chapter 2.  To become more Christlike, do the activities in Chapter 6. 

·         Individual Study

            Every day you have an appointment with the Lord to learn His will for your investigators.  Studying the doctrines will lesson your anxiety about teaching.  Studying specifically for your investigators will let the Lord use you as His instrument.

·         Companion Study

            Together you approach the Lord and seek His will and help for the people you teach.  When you are unified the Holy Ghost can work through your efforts to bring souls unto Christ.

Part of companionship study is role playing.  Role playing is not pretending to be someone you are not.  Role playing is a revelatory time where the Lord can guide you in helping his children.  Take it seriously.  It also reduces anxiety because when it is time to teach the lesson you will have already taught it once, twice, three times. 

 

3.  Planner and Planning

            Every night and weekly you will plan out your day/week.  This is more than just scheduling.  You and your companion make plans to accomplish your goals and back-up plans for when things don’t work out.  You will not have to be worried or anxious about what to do—you will know what is coming and what you will be doing. 

4.  Service

            Nothing can help us forget our own troubles faster than serving others.  As missionaries we are always looking for ways to serve—both small ways and large ways.  Focus on others.  Your mission is a unique time in your life where you are always outwardly focused. 

5.  Companion

            You don’t have to do this by yourself.  The gospel is preached two by two for many reasons (second witness, different life experiences, safety, etc.). However, a major reason is to help and support each other.  As a new missionary your trainer can help you learn the joy of missionary work and answer questions.  You can help strengthen your companion’s testimony, share each other’s burdens and join together to love and teach your investigators.

6.  Your Name Tag

            Don’t be afraid to be a missionary.  There is no need to hide it or worry about speaking with everyone.  With your name tag on people will recognize you as a missionary.  They will expect you to greet and talk to them.  It is just what missionaries do.  Act like a missionary.  Your name tag also carries the name of Jesus Christ.  Act how He would have you act. It is His work and His gospel.  He will help you.

7.  Promises from the Lord

      “The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done” (History of the Church, 4:540).  We are part of this great work, and as we go forth boldly and nobly and sound it in every ear, we shall accomplish the purposes of God.

Surprise!

Yesterday in General Conference (gc.lds.org) President Monson announced that they have lowered the age missionaries can begin serving.  WE are so excited.  If a young man is prepared to serve, let's get him out without first spending a year unfocused and waiting.  And personally I predict a tripling of sister missionaries--19 is so much more convenient than 21.

I hope the Priest Quorum advisors and YM presidents take advantage of this new program to use some of  mutual time as mission prep (And Laurel/YW presidents, too). Preach My Gospel has hundreds of activities to use.  The Missionary Preparation manual is free online.  And for the YW presidents who simply cannot resist cute things to pass out, the new teeny tiny Preach My Gospel is just so cute!  Let's leave the sports to the stake sports program and kick mutual up a notch.  (Was that preachy enough?  Because I've got more :)

So excited!  It will be interesting to see how it all works during the next year as things transition.  Aren't you glad you are BYU President Samuelson?  Or the admissions director?  Good times!

Zone Conference: Having the Faith to Find

Zone Conferences seem a bazillion years ago, I do remember they were going on when school started and that, my friends, has taken over my life.  But I shall try and give you the gist of the message. 

Presidente Hall took the New Testament  story of Cornelius to illustrate that the Lord is preparing people to hear the gospel just as He is preparing us to teach the gospel.  There are so many people who the Lord has placed in our path so that we can bring them the fulness of the gospel. 

The Lord knows who is ready but we don't--it is a mystery to us.  But the mysteries of God can be revealed to us and then we will know where to go and what to say.  This takes a miracle.  Miracles come by faith.  More faith=more miracles.  So how do we get more faith? Glad you asked.

Preach My Gospel (page 116 for those of you playing at home) states:

          Your faith will increase through diligent study, prayer, dedicated service, and obedience
           to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and the commandments.

So there you have it--who doesn't need miracles in his or her life?  Five things you can do everyday to increase your faith and increase your miracles.

1. diligent study
2. prayer
3. service
4. obedience to promptings
5. obedience to the commandments

Of course the zone conference focused on these things in a missionary context, but it is just as applicable in non-mission life.  Sometimes we think faith is something that just happens or maybe is given to us.  The concept that we can take specific steps to increase our faith is powerful. 

The real fun has been post-conference.  Missionaries are calling and texting to say that they have put the faith building to the test and, "President, we found our Cornelius."  My favorite was the missionaries who felt directed to go down a street and found a man sitting on his front lawn reading the Book of Mormon.  Or maybe the sisters who knocked on the door and the man said, "what took you so long to find us--we've been reading the Book of Mormon, we're in Alma and we want to know how to be baptized."  It is so exciting to see all these miracles!

Again from page 116: Faith leads to action...When you have faith in Jesus Christ you trust the Lord enough to follow His commandments--even when you do not completely understand the reasons for them.  You accomplish what the Lord wants you to accomplish...You are able to do miracles...

So get moving, people!  The Church is true, miracles still happen and God loves all His children.  Even you :)

Happy Birthday to Me and Thank Heaven for Mr Nowak



Awesome cupcake posted on my facebook wall from my friend, Renon

Today is my birthday--woohoo!  We are celebrating by taking Thomas to the doctor, waiting for a package (not a birthday package).  Ken is really whooping it up with missionaries by interviewing from dawn to way past dusk.

What can I say, we're party animals.

The real present is that Thomas's school schedule is finally, finally settled.  Which is great since I think next week is mid-terms...  But we shall persevere.  Now if we could get him healthy so he can go back to school...

I keep trying to write about Zone Conferences, which were great, but that involves brain power so I am still working on that.

In the meantime, cake!