Dear Family,
The sun came out in our part of the
Philippines this week and we had no rain for three days straight. The sun came out in our personal mission,
too, and the week was peaceful and blissfully uneventful. Dad emergency transferred one companionship
of sisters after a recent convert (married) declared his love to one of them,
but they are safe and working in another zone now. We had the best Mission Leadership Council
ever on Thursday, with the mission leaders really counseling and making suggestions
about how to improve their leadership and the mission. We have some great missionaries and some
especially amazing sisters.
The mission is doing well. Dad's assistants have baptized every week for
seven weeks and today had 23 investigators at church, so they are leading by
example. Sister Morris is ruling with an iron hand and hounding the
missionaries if they don't get their Baptismal Records in on Monday. Since Dad
assigned this responsibility to her, people have actually had their names
recorded on the records of the Church (a process we neglected for awhile, out
of ignorance.) The Ogdens have lost some
of the deer-in-the-headlight look, and are really trying hard to learn
everything about the office, and the former office elders are very, very happy
to back to doing missionary work full-time.
Dad spent the Sunday in the Baliwag
district interviewing prospective missionaries, temple recommend hopefuls,
meeting with missionaries and the mission presidency and then spoke at a
missionary fireside in Fairview stake on the way back. The senior missionaries came to dinner
tonight and didn't eat nearly as much as the young missionaries do--plus they
each brought something to contribute to the meal. Sadly, we are losing our Australian couple
tomorrow due to possible lymphoma, so we are down from 14 to 8 seniors. Please send any prospective senior
missionaries our way!
I've observed a lot of imperfections and
even some serious flaws in leaders of the Church. I'm pretty sure members have detected
problems in me. None of us asked for our
callings. Being a mission leader has
increased my love for this scripture from Mormon:
Condemn
me not because of mine aimperfection, neither my father, because of his
imperfection, neither them who have written before him; but rather give thanks
unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may
learn to be more wise than we have been.
My parents used to tell us that we should
be better than they were -- that each generation should improve. While I haven't been able to improve on my
mom, you should each be able to improve on us--be more wise than we have
been. We are so thankful for each of
you, for your love, support and prayers.
Please, please, keep them coming!!
And thanks to those of you who had time to talk to us this week.
Love,
Mom
PS:
Subject line was just to get Hannah to actually read my letter -- she admitted
she usually only has time to look at the photos!
Baptism of two beautiful girls yesterday (well, actually three--8-year old baptized by her Dad, too)
Hannah and Dallin visiting Coy (Dallin is photographer)
Photo of cousins going to temple with Sabina --sent by Louise
Missionaries showing Dad their amazing Book of Mormon box-carrying backpack
Visit from a returned missionary and her sister
District meeting--sharing by Elder Cantillo (100% Filipino, but American--always getting asked, "Why do you talk so funny?")
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