Go Forth With Faith

Almost a year ago, while Don and I were on vacation, we decided to attend the Los Angeles Temple, where we were married. Without any previous conversation about the subject, I mentioned to him on the way out of the temple, after the session, that I had felt inspired during the session that we should serve another mission. His response was, "So did I."  We were both surprised, to say the least, that we had received the same feeling, but that day we decided to check the missionary website online when we got home and see what might be possible. We began to fill out our papers.

As most everyone knows, our hearts were set on returning to England. Yet, from the very beginning of this mission, we have seen over and over again that Anaheim was place we were meant to serve. It began as we were driving to Los Angeles, when I had the distinct impression and message come to me that this mission was being given to us as a blessing, and it certainly has been just that.

While serving this mission, we have experienced many tender mercies and miracles, from healing to protection to guidance and inspiration. We have experienced divine intervention - even miracles - in ours and our family's lives. We have accomplished the work we were sent here to do, and we feel blessed to have had the privilege. In addition, we've made about 200 new friends when you add up all the missionaries and ward members and other people we have gotten to know and come to love. We care deeply about each of them and hope our paths will cross again in the coming months and years.

We have loved living and serving in California, where there is so much cultural and ethnic diversity. The California Anaheim Mission, which includes Anaheim, Garden Grove, Orange, Santa Ana, Stanton, Tustin, Yorba Linda, Fullerton, Placentia, Brea and La Habra, is only about 20 miles wide in geography, but it is densely populated with about 750,00 people. There is a large Hispanic population, as well as many from Korea, Japan, China, the Pacific Islands, and elsewhere. Come July, the size of the mission will nearly double when the Anaheim and Long Beach missions merge - bringing even more cultures and languages into the mix. Each culture adds something unique and beautiful to the vibrant, colorful fabric of Southern California. Everyone knows how congested the traffic is here and how many people are crowded into this part of California, but when you get to know people and their stories one-on-one, there is so much you can learn about life!

It has been a privilege to wear these - and similar - name tags for 3 years of our lives. (Actually, 5 1/2 years for Don.)  They have been a daily reminder to us of our desire to serve others and make a positive difference in the world. The world is increasingly difficult to navigate and many people are struggling. We have our own set of problems and challenges to face, but serving others often magically lightens our own burdens.  There are so many ways to serve, no matter where we live or what our circumstances are.  Serving doesn't have to come by assignment. It can be done in the simplest of ways. It brings growth and blessings - both to the giver and the receiver. Now, as this mission (likely our last) comes to a close, our biggest desire is to continue to go forward with faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ, and do what we can to make the world a better place. 

Newport Beach Temple

Departing missionaries' temple trip

With President and Sister Golden

How I Feel About the Savior

Since this will likely be my last blog post before we return home, and especially since today is Easter Sunday, I want to express how I feel about Jesus Christ.  I am certain that words will be inadequate, but I want to try to describe the feelings of my heart. 

I love Jesus Christ.  He is my Savior, and the Savior of the world.  I have felt His love and companionship throughout my life. There are many ways to come to understand His presence and influence: reading about Him in the scriptures, praying, and serving others. Certainly, serving full-time missions has brought me closer to the Savior.  He has given me hope, faith, and encouragement. His example and teachings, His love and compassion, and the incomprehensible atonement and sacrifice He endured for my sins and weaknesses, and those of every other person, give me purpose and strong motivation to follow Him. 

He has given me many second chances in life – to live, to love, and to serve. It has been 23 years since a brain aneurysm nearly took my life, and every day since then has been a bonus for me.  I deeply appreciate the rich blessings of good health and life itself. These have been wonderful years -- nearly a third of my life -- and I am so thankful for the extra time I’ve had to grow closer to Pat, to watch our children marry and raise families, to enjoy life, serve others, and complete missions after retirement.  Beyond physical blessings, I am also grateful for the second chances I’ve had to learn and repent, to improve my life, and to feel the joy of forgiveness that only the Savior can provide through His love and mercy.

Jesus Christ has lifted me from discouragement, changed failures into successes, and turned personal weaknesses into strengths. He has blessed me and our family in ways we could not have anticipated, and led us along marvelous paths we might never have known or taken had we not made sacred covenants to try and follow Him.

I have ultimate faith in the Savior – that He atoned for all who will repent, and gave His life that all will be resurrected and live again after this life.  The Apostle Paul taught:  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.  (1 Cor.15:22)   Jesus declared the cleansing power of the atonement when stating:  Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. (Isaiah 1:18).  These scriptures are true. They describe the miracle of the resurrection and atonement of Jesus Christ, which is our reason for celebrating Easter.

I love the book Believing Christ, by Stephen Robinson, who said we should do more than believe in Christ; we should trust Him and believe His words.  As our advocate with the Father, Christ has said: 

Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; …Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life. (D&C 45:4-5)

Referring to you, or to me, if we seek Him, Christ can say to the Father, “I’ve paid for this one, this one is mine.”     The following is a poem from Believing Christ:

But why would you do this for me?

Because I love you.

But it doesn't seem fair.
That’s right. It’s not fair at all – it’s merciful.

It is, after all, a gift.

But how can I possible deserve such a gift?

Don’t be silly. You can’t. You don’t.

This gift is offered because I love you, and because I want to help you,

Not because I owe it to you.

But how can I ever repay you?

There you go again. Don’t you get it yet?

You can’t repay me, not you or all the billions like you.

Gifts of this magnitude can never be repaid.

For what I’ve done out of love for you, you can only love me back,

And seek to become what I am, a Giver of good gifts.

I understand fully that we are saved by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, not by anything we think we might do to merit His blessings.  We don’t earn blessings, but gratefully receive those that come.  Just knowing that He loved me enough to suffer and die for me, makes me love Him with a desire to obey His teachings and love others as He has loved me. 

It is because of our love for the Savior and gratitude for the blessings we have received that Pat and I decided to serve another mission.  We have worked hard, learned much, and felt great peace and satisfaction.  We have missed our family and friends, whom we love dearly and who are great examples to us. We love and admire the missionaries and people we have met.  As always seems to be the case, we have once again received more than we have given.  

--Don                                                                                                             

Stop and Smell the Roses

It seems that everything is blooming around here! During the past several weeks, the hillsides have been covered with wildflowers in the most spectacular "Superbloom" the state of California has seen in many years. Major traffic jams (above and beyond the normal daily snarls and backups) have been created by hundreds of thousands of people traveling to view vast horizons covered in California poppies, wild mustard plants and lupine. 

While we haven't had the time to travel to see the Superbloom, even our drives on the local freeways as we have been out inspecting missionary apartments have been breathtaking. We've had a splendid look at foothills covered in wildflowers and neighborhoods fill with blossoming trees, bushes and flowers. We've been basking in the beauty all around us. In fact, as I was taking a photo at one of the apartment complexes we visited last week, a resident came along and advised us to "stop and smell the roses!" Just a moment spent taking in the beauty of nature can change your entire day.

None of my photos do the beauty justice, but here are a few of the sights we've seen:

The Anaheim Hills

Bougainvillea

Roses alongside a busy highway.

At our Mission Office

Hibiscus

Bottle brush plant

Poppies

Pink Camellias

Statice

Mustard plant blooms along Pacific Coast Highway

California poppies

Caught in the act of stealing a ripe avocado
near our Mission Office.

As our time here in Anaheim is quickly drawing to a close, we are realizing how very much we are going to miss all the experiences we have grown to love so much -- and especially, the missionaries. It's amazing how much they've changed our lives in the six short months we've had to get to know them. We are wishing we could stay longer.

Missions can provide such perspective! Consecrated service and new experiences bring a change of purpose, a change of scenery, often a new culture, language, food, and habits. Missions broaden understanding and round out your life in a way few things can. 

This week we had a great opportunity to reflect on past missionary experiences . One of our sister missionaries, who was with us in the London Temple Visitors' Centre for her entire 18 month mission, went out of her way to fly to Los Angeles for the day and visit us. She and her husband and two children live in their native France and were in Utah for General Conference. We hadn't seen her in over five years. We got permission from our mission president to take a day off  to be with her - and we had the most wonderful time together! 

Pat and Virginie in Santa Monica

                                         

Pat, Virginie, and Don

Missions, and life, can get so busy that we can get swallowed up in our responsibilities, tasks, and to-do lists. Life goes by so fast. It's been nice to stop and smell the roses these past few weeks.

--Pat--

Better Than Christmas!

Saturday morning, April 6th, 9:50 a.m.:  I realize that I am feeling more excited about the start of General Conference in a few minutes than I feel when I wake up on Christmas morning! I realize that I've been looking forward to it for weeks now with the same eager anticipation usually reserved for Christmas. I can hardly wait to hear the words of the prophets and apostles. I feel like the guy on the desert, army crawling toward a mirage - only this isn't a mirage, it's living water and it will quench my thirst for faith, hope and new perspective.

We are watching Conference on an old couch in our missionary apartment. Our screen is a little monitor on top of a missionary desk because we don't have a TV.  It's all we need, though, because we are GRATEFUL to be able to stream all the sessions of Conference - both sight and sound. A computer, IPad, or phone, an HDMI (or other) cord, and ChurchofJesusChrist.org on the Internet are all anyone needs to listen to General Conference anywhere in the world. And we can replay any talk we want to hear again in any language we choose (!) within a few hours after it has been given. 

What a joyous blessing this is! When I was a child, I remember when the Sunday morning session of General Conference was broadcast on television in Los Angeles for the very first time. It seemed like a miracle to be getting a live broadcast of one session all the way from the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City.

Our General Conference broadcast.

Now, it's Sunday night and General Conference has ended. Could it be over so soon? I feel strengthened and filled with hope and love and new insights and understanding. I feel deeply nourished by the Spirit and the truth of what I have been taught this weekend. I am no longer thirsty, though there is a longing inside of me for more. But wait! I can access the words I have heard over and over, as often as I want to! I can listen to them while I am driving. I can listen to them on my IPad in the morning as I am getting ready for the day. I can read them in the middle of the night when I can't sleep. Computers, phones, and other devices, as well as the magazine that will come in a few weeks - the words of the prophets and the scriptures are all there, day and night, anytime I choose to read or listen, any time I need another drink, and I will. 

The world is getting more confusing and complicated. We are being told that the time is hastening toward the Second Coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I don't know if I will live to see that time, but I do know that we have been counseled to stand in holy places and be not moved. I am so very grateful for Church leaders who pay the price to learn the Lord's will for us and teach us how to face the times in which we are living. They speak the truth. Praise be to God for the scriptures and for living prophets and apostles and others who have spoken to us this weekend and given us inspired instruction and counsel and guidance for our individual circumstances. Their messages have been tailored for such a time as this. How will I take advantage of these divine messages during the coming six months? How will you?

General Conference comes not once a year, like Christmas, but twice. Unlike Christmas, there is no wrapping paper to throw away, no buyer's remorse, no unused gift to store in a closet. Unlike Christmas, General Conference can be lived over and over, as often as we desire. General Conference is the gift that keeps on giving.

We had a wonderful breakfast with our friends, the Wildes, this week!
It was great to see them when they came to drop off a package
at our Mission Office. Their granddaughter is one of our
sister missionaries in the California Anaheim Mission. 

The Rhines, Simpsons, and Carpenters -
the three senior couples working in the Mission Office
at the California Anaheim Mission.

          --Pat--

California Angels

Since we live just across the street from Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Pat and I took advantage of our location Monday night and walked over to take in an exhibition baseball game between the California Angels and the LA Dodgers. It was a beautiful evening, a tight game, a lot of hits, and a close final score with the Dodgers winning 8-7.

The view of Angel Stadium from our apartment complex.

We enjoyed our night with the California Angels, some of which are exciting players with enormous salaries, but in this post I would like to tell you about some more humble and very different angels we have met while serving in Anaheim.  The first two angels we met as we arrived were President and Sister Golden, who have welcomed and befriended us since the first day of our mission. We have been invited to their home several times for dinner, and they are always humble, kind, and gracious. They are also firm and effective leaders in working with us and the other missionaries. Missionaries and members alike respect them for their love and leadership.

Several ward members from home have also been angels to us. We received two amazing care packages from our neighbors, the Jensens, at times when they were much needed and appreciated.
Pat's ministering sisters have kept in close touch with her through letters and cards.  The Phillips have sent emails and letters of encouragement as well as copies of the Church News which we share with everyone in the mission office. And our old friend and new neighbor, Jill, has provided peace of mind by checking on our home regularly and keeping us informed of conditions there. Texts from angel friends have lifted our spirits and let us know we aren't forgotten!

Soon after we arrived, our Anaheim 4th Ward Bishop Gonzales and his family extended love by taking us out to a delicious authentic Mexican dinner. At Christmastime, some angel mothers of missionaries sent each of the mission office couples jars of home-made almond cherry jam and a large bag of homegrown pecans. What a treat from two families we have never met! In early March, our friends from Draper, the Lintons, texted us that they were coming to Anaheim and then took us to out for dinner. And just this weekend, our mission office friends/co-missionaries, the Rhines, generously offered to bring in a delicious dinner for us when Pat was flat with a kidney infection. It's always surprising how much a little kindness can lift your spirits.

We couldn't talk about the help of angels without mentioning the support we have felt from our five daughters, their husbands, and our grandchildren. They send emails, texts, and numerous pictures on Instagram and our family Telegraph website. We also enjoy Skype and Facetime with them nearly every week.  They've sent Christmas and Valentine packages, birthday cards, and been so positive and supportive of our mission. We are so grateful for them and anxious to see them again!

The baseball Angels were wonderful, but not as important or awesome as the other angels in our lives. We have appreciated every kind act of love and service. 

--Don--

Countdown Mode

OK, I'm not going to lie. What's the point of writing about your experiences if you don't tell the truth? So here's the truth:  I am officially in countdown mode. (Just me, Pat, speaking here:  Don isn't there yet:)

It started last Tuesday when the new transfer began. We received five great new missionaries that day, and it made me sad to realize that it will be the last set of new missionaries we will get to welcome to the California Anaheim Mission. The next group will arrive after we leave. The elders and sisters are the heart and soul of our work here, and we have absolutely loved getting to know these great young men and young women. They are an inspiration to us!

Elders at work.

Some of our super sisters.

Lunch break at new missionary training  this week.

The biggest reason for the onset of this countdown, though, also occurred Tuesday when our newest little granddaughter, Lucy, was born to Josh and Emily. We are so excited that she is safely here and all is well, but this is the first time we haven't been around to snuggle a newborn grandbaby.  Not much of a sacrifice, I'm sure, because we'll be home in less than 6 weeks, but a sacrifice nonetheless! Purely selfish, of course.

I know. I know. As far as historic missionary sacrifices go, this is about a 1 on a scale of 1-10. It looks like they're all doing just great without us - and not only are Amy and Colin right next door (yes, the two families moved into adjoining houses last fall), but both Janet and Kristen were able to go to the hospital and meet Lucy shortly after she was born. Thankfully, the other grandparents have come from Alaska to stay and help out for a couple of weeks, too. That makes it a lot easier!

Lucy is here!

Home from the hospital

Also Tuesday, after we finished our day at the mission office, we had a happy surprise. Jenn and Iain and four of their six kids were stuck overnight on a layover at the Los Angeles airport. We were able to drive up to see them at their hotel and have dinner at our favorite In and Out Burger on Sepulveda Blvd., next to the airport. We had such a fun evening! All four of the kids have grown sooo much!

Colin accompanied the BYU ROTC to a Drill Competition
near Manhattan Beach

Besides a quick visit from Colin in February, they are our only immediate family to come to Southern California since we've been here - and even though it was only for a few hours, it was wonderful to see them!

Bella and Finn at the hotel.

Abby, Brooklyn and Don and Finn

Planes flew overhead while we ate our burgers

The week passed so fast, and today (Saturday) we had an awesome opportunity to drive to Redlands with Elder and Sister Rhines from the Mission Office and attend a session at the temple. Most of the drive was along the foothills east of Los Angeles where the wildflowers are truly going wild this year. We haven't had the time to go out and see any of the spectacular "Superbloom" going on in California this spring, but the hillsides we saw today were covered in mustard seed blooms and lupine. It was food for the soul!

With the Rhines at the Redlands Temple

Well, the days are flying by now and we know from experience that each week after the halfway mark of a mission seems to go faster and faster, so I'm going to focus on making the most of every day that we have left. It's such a conundrum. While I'm here, I'm dreaming about returning home, and the minute we return home, I will be so very sad that our time on this mission is over! I guess that's as good a reason as any to enjoy every day.

--Pat--

Conference Is Coming!

General Conference has always been a special time for me, but somehow the older I get, the more I look forward to the inspiration and promptings I need and feel from listening to Conference.

When I was a young teenager, living in Berkeley, our family would gather with another family or two in the ward to watch Conference on Sunday morning. At first, it was because we didn’t have a television in our home, and later it was for the sociality of watching Conference with other ward members. We couldn’t get the Sunday afternoon or Saturday sessions of Conference on television. 

I recall going often with my father and brother, Paul, to listen to live audio broadcasts of Priesthood sessions on Saturday evenings at the Oakland Interstake Center. Years later, these Priesthood sessions were broadcast through direct satellite to stake centers across the world. For many years I attended these sessions alone, until I could attend with sons-in-law and eventually grandsons. Those times have been very special for me.  

During my mission in Switzerland, I remember listening one time to audio recordings of conference at the ward chapel in Basel. I really appreciated hearing the voices of the prophets at that time when I was so far from home and family.

When Pat and I were a young married couple living in Torrance, California, and our older children were very young, we got baby sitters and took the weekend off to take short trips where we could listen to Saturday and Sunday Conference sessions without interruption. One time we went north to Santa Barbara, and another time we drove south to San Diego.

For ten years I was fortunate to be a volunteer Institute teacher at the University of Utah and later at the Jordan campus of Salt Lake Community College. My favorite class was Teachings of the Living Prophets. Each semester the students gave oral reports on the lives of these 15 apostles and prophets, and then we discussed the most recent General Conference talks and how they applied in the lives of class members. During these classes I came to appreciate the Conference talks more than ever before.

I learned that when any of us have important questions and concerns in life, if we will write down our concerns, and pray earnestly and listen carefully to the Conference talks, take notes and ponder what is being said, we can usually find answers to the specific questions that matter most to us. The same approach can also be applied to reading the scriptures, but when living prophets are speaking to us in our day, I know we are richly blessed when we listen to them. 

While serving in England, we and many missionaries and local members listened to delayed broadcasts of Conference in our Visitor’s Centre at the London Temple. Often we had technical difficulties which made it hard to hear all the broadcasts, but we persisted and were always grateful for what we heard.

Before coming on this mission to Anaheim, Pat and I served two years as Guest Service Missionaries at the Conference Center and Temple Square in Salt Lake City. In addition to participating in many other special events, we attended each session of General Conference in the Conference Center for two years. While we were busy hosting and couldn’t concentrate on every talk, the privilege of being there to witness and hear the words of prophets and apostles in person left a lasting impression on our hearts. We will forever be grateful for that special opportunity.

Lately, it seems that so many new changes and policies have been announced at General Conference that we wonder what is coming next.  I want to be tuned in and not miss anything, but, in truth, I don’t need new announcements or new teachings at Conference.  As I gain experience and perspective in life, I just want to better understand, appreciate, and try to live the important truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ that I have received and know to be true. This April 6^th and 7^th, I will once again look forward to hearing the words of living prophets.  I am deeply grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ.             --Don--

The First Presidency and Twelve Apostles in Rome, March 2019