The Beginning of February

Today was a hard day. The stake president of the stake we've been with the longest is being released next week and he has been one of the best stake presidents we have ever known. We have become very attached. We learned today that he is also moving to San Diego so that makes it doubly hard. Then on top of that we have Sister Johnson leaving this week so our hearts are quite shredded today.

However, all was not sadness. We got a phone call from a man we have taught most of our mission. He was in sad shape when we met him—recovering alcoholic, in a back brace, and very poor health. He is now going to the temple to be endowed the first part of March and is being sealed to his wife. He doesn't even look like the same man we first started to teach. We saw him ordained an elder last fall.

We attended a stake fireside last Friday night where the speaker was F. Enzio Busche. He gave many instructions we will use in our teaching. He maintains that love and fear cannot exist together. Therefore, if we approach people with love we can help them overcome their fear of returning to the church. We have seen many people who admit they need to return but just can't overcome the inertia that binds them. They are afraid. If we can bring the Love of God to them, they can release their fears.

Moving the Sisters Johnson and Latu wasn't a problem with our truck. In fact, even though it was from one stake to another, it was within walking distance (if you don't count the very steep, long hill). The new place will be very good and the couple are wonderful who live there.

Sunday we met with a couple, the Oswalds, in the new stake who want to help us. They prayed when they were looking for an apartment, that they would find a place where they could do missionary work. They are both returned missionaries and wanted to continue to serve. They have two cute, small boys. We spent about an hour with them and discussed several families in the apartment complex. We are going with the wife tomorrow to call on a few people.

We attended a ward correlation meeting today and talked about the mission process. They promised to have some contacts for us soon. We know this is a wonderful stake. We are told that often. We just feel there is much to do and our time is growing too short. We are trying to be patient but we wish the wards would hurry a little. We have volunteered to speak in sacrament meetings but have had no takers yet. At least at the stake correlation meeting Thursday there were a couple of ward mission leaders that supported the idea of meeting more often together to correlate rather than us going to each of their homes one at a time to meet with them. So far the stake meeting has just been a time for someone to stand up in front and talk about missionary work but with no talking among the ward mission leaders. They don't see much value in attending when the only time they can talk to missionaries is if they can quickly catch them after the meeting.

It's interesting how things work in different stakes. We have now been in four different stakes but this is the first time we have encountered a stake that doesn't value missionary work or at least doesn't value it in stake correlation meetings. Missionary work can't be a once a month effort.