The Good the Bad and the Wonderful

Yesterday at Brighams' house Darolyne taught two ladies from Las Vegas they were very receptive to the things being taught and left with a Book of Mormon and a commitment to read it. Then last night the heavens finally opened here in the desert and it rained buckets with thunder and lightning. There was quite a bit of flooding around town, we were spared. They say it rained an inch and a half in just a couple of hours. Then today Darolyne woke up with vertigo. She did go to work and threw up twice, so I took her home and went back to the Visitor Center for the rest of our shift. She took an anti dizzy pill and has rested all day. I gave her a blessing and pray she gets better. Tomorrow is our prep day and I hope we don't spend it at home. We have less than 6 weeks to go on our mission. Tonight Collette brought Darolyne some cookies and then the Clarks' brought over home made pie. So we are sure blessed with great friends. Jim and Collette also gave us two dinners at Chuck a Rama....Yum When we bought this home the people before us were rock hounds. They had petrified wood all over the yard, which is a quarter of and acre. They are legal pieces they got with permits up at the Hurricane fault. Anyway all this time I have been trying to organize them. Also I have added 7 plants consisting of 3 trees and four bushes which are all desert flowering. This is a very lovely home we are truly blessed in our old age to have such a nice place. Soon though we will go home and have to work hard to get our Orem home back in shape. I do appreciate KC for helping to keep it up.

Golden

Today Darolyne and I was at the Tabernacle. It was a slow day then people started to come. at the end of the day I had three non member tours. Each tour I was able to teach about the Book of Mormon and our Church and place a Book of Mormon in each case. The first case was a mother and daughter, 60 and 30   years of age from California. They were very receptive and took a Book of Mormon. Then a man from Texas who just thought he would fly to St. George and see Zions Canyon came in because he had time and was interested to see the Tabernacle. He spent a lot of time there and wanted to know all about our Church, he left with the Book and all the other literature that we had. He could be Golden. Then 3 people from the Netherlands came and spoke some English. They were also interested in the Church and our beliefs. I introduced them to the Book of Mormon and they wanted one in German. This was a good day. Darolyne and I have so many experiences with people it just doesn't seem like it is real. We have met and taught thousands of people each while we have been on this mission. Un real and many of them have been Golden. Tonight we did our month end dinner with the Sr. Missionaries, it was Kaonas' turn to choose a place to eat. So we went to the Honolulu Grill. All Hawaiin food. Yum

Carry On

Every day brings different challenges to us. We serve when we are tired. when we are weary, when we are discouraged, when we are worried about things back at home. How do we overcome this discouragement? Discouragement is of the Evil one. We  pray; we read our scriptures; we serve to the best of our abilities; we rely on the Lord for our help to carry on. Today Darolyne taught two young girls from Iowa, they were in there early 20s, they came here to go to the Canyons. They were touched by the spirit as she took them through Brighams' house. She was able to place the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smiths' testimony with them and they seemed quite receptive. I taught a friend from Orem John Aldrich and a lot of his friends. John just opened up a branch of his First Colony Mortgage Company here in St. George. As we serve, at the end of the day we are happy we came on our mission. We have the courage to get up and do it all over again. we have 6 weeks left and in a way we are feeling sad about leaving, yet we would like to go home and see our family.

Missionary Life 101

Yesterday at the Visitors Center we spent 6 hours teaching those who came in and wanted to learn. A girl from Nagono, Japan came in she was here on an exchange student basis for a couple of weeks. She was about17 years old. I think Nagono is in Daryks' mission. We talked about our Church, she was not a Bh

uddist or a Christian. But she was interested. I gave her a Book of Mormon in Japanese.She said she would read sit.  Then after our shift we went home to bed. Got up a 6 a.m. and went to a Transfer Meeting where the Sisters are moved to different parts of  the mission. Only a few get transferred. This happens every 6 weeks. Some are transferred home like today Sister Duval will be going home to Toronto. She has been an outstanding missionary. Next Transfer meeting guess who goes home....Me. Then we went and served at Brighams' home.It rained an inch today. There was flooding over in Washington. Probably the best rainstorm I have seen since I have been here. Remember though we are in a drought in St. George. Then we went out eat at  In and Out Burger then went home and read scriptures watched Americas Got Talent then I blogged and will go to bed. We have read the Book of Mormon twice since we have been on our Mission also the Doctrine and Covenants once. We are reading the Book of Mormon together now for the third time.

Days like this Just Happen,or The True Church is on The Earth

Beautiful day at the Tabernacle. First of all I gave a tour to a Grandmother from Gilbert, Arizona and her two grand kids that live here in St. George. When I showed them the All Seeing Eye of God. I told them that it represents the Father in Heaven is always watching out for us, he wants us to be happy. This one boy a little blonde with great big horned rim glasses about 8 years old just look up to me and said my Father in Heaven loves me in a way that melted my heart...from the mouths of babes.. He was simply feeling what some of us old folks forgot to feel. To be submissive, meek like a little child. That is what our Savior asked of us. That moment brought the spirit in and my eyes started to water. Then a little later my last group of the day 8 members and this one gentleman about 50 years old who was not a member but just moved here and is getting a home. I didn't mean to focus on him but I could tell that I was telling things I usually don't tell the members. After the tour this man asked for everything Book of Mormon, Testimony of Joseph Smith, The Living Christ, Geneology primer, pamphlet on Temples, etc. Then he asked me where he could go to our Church tomorrow. I let him know and then off he went. Don't get those everyday. Then the Cranneys' came in, our neighbors Bill and Connie. They moved away years ago and have been on 4 missions since we have seen them. Two of them were in Africa one in Nigeria. They don't let American missionaries in Nigeria anymore. They just bought a second home down here in St. George.

A Couple of Artists

The famed Mormon artist Al Rounds put up an exhibit at the Visitor Center the other night and gave us a fireside talk about them. Very inspirational. I got a picture of Darolyne with him along with Sister Lubbert from Iowa. Then I took a picture of the temple at night. I also gave a Book of Mormon in French to a couple from Paris. Sister Garcia who speaks French did most of the work but this couple was really impressed with the feeling they were having in the visitor center. The spirit is strong at our Sites.

Party Mission Style

We had our August Party to say good bye to the Youngs who are now through with their mission. So sad. Our party was at the Pelican Hills clubhouse. It was a Sixties party. My job was to bring the music. I downloaded the Stroll. We all did the stroll, hula hoops bubble gum blowing contest etc. great fun. Pictures are from the party. I have one picture of the Tree of Life. It sits outside the Visitor Center where I  work when I am there. It is a Chinese Pistachio but to me it looks like the tree of life that is told about in the Book of Mormon.Also today our friends from Orem the Andrus' stopped by on there way back from California. Deena Millecam came over to see Darolyne she is an old friend from Vernal. Darolnes' Patriarchal Blessing told her that wherever she went she would have many friends, something like that. It has been true she makes friends wherever she has been. People love to be around her and she doesn't care what station in life they are or what origin she goes out of her way to make friends.

The Beginning of the End

You know none of us know the day that we will leave this earth but we will. But I know the end day of my Mission. It will be in 2 Months from today. I am sad that I can see that it will end. This has been a tough and hard time in my life. Though not too far from my home in Orem I might as well be in China because my life has centered around a radius of about 15 miles here in St. George and my time has been about 80 percent missionary work..However as they say this has been the best time of my life. I have been reintroduced in a very spiritual way to my Savior in whom I am in the service of. I have met thousands of people from all over the earth and so many of them whether a member of the Church or not are searching for what once they know to be true. I have been in the presence of angels, I have felt the spirit of  the Holy Ghost as I have served others. I have fallen deeply in love with my wife, whom I am sealed for all time and eternity with. We are truly companions in the Lord. I have met the great spiritual saints of the earth in my fellow missionaries. I know I will cherish my friendship with them for all my life......The last couple of days I have served at Brighams' and the Tabernacle I was able to give 2 Books of Mormon to a middle aged couple from London, England. That was an exciting moment for me. I met today a man from Edmonton, a family from Calgary and a family from Mexican Hat, Alberta.. This all one after another. I love Canada, it is my second home. I miss going up there to visit Darolynes' family and seeing that beautiful land. I haven't been there for 3 summers. Many great memories there. I didn't mean to steal Darolyne away from there but it  happened. We love St. George it has a different beauty all of its' own. We have a home here and invite all to come and visit us. I miss my family I love them dearly each one of them give me such pride and I love to be around all of them. I miss my home in Orem I can't even think what it was like. I know I didn't like the winters though. Well I will quit rambling. God lives, He is my Father, like Sister Arwitti said God is a Mormon. Mark it, it is true.