We never tire of the beauty here

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

DON'T GET IN THE WAY OF THE MISSIONARIES

It is amazing to observe the success of the young sister missionaries. They keep their message simple: our Heavenly Father's plan for our happiness and the restoration of the gospel. They witness that Jesus Christ is our Savior. They invite guests to suggest someone they know who would be helped by their message. Often people refer their friends or family members. The sisters bear testimony of the truth of their message and promise that the guest will be blessed as they act on an invitation to read the Book of Mormon and pray with real intent to know if it is a true record. They have touched many hearts and have blessed many lives. Usually the guests are very open to this appeal. They are usually positively influenced by the Sister's testimonies as they are very sincere. Sometimes a member of the Church visits Temple Square with the non-member or less active guest. For some reason the member feels that they need to run interference for the guest, often answering questions, changing subjects, or bringing up unrelated and distracting doctrinal questions. UGH! what is the problem here? The beautiful Spirit that attends the Sisters vanishes. I have been reminded of the times when I have been with the Sister missionaries when they were teaching in Muncie. I wonder if I offered some off the wall comment without thinking. I see the authority to teach which these Sisters have and I am learning to stand back and watch the Lord work through them.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

An Island of Peace

It is hard to explain the sweetness of working with the Sister Missionaries and the guests on Temple Square. There is a feeling of love for every person that enters the gates. Tim and I call Temple Square an island of peace. Many pass through, most add to the spirit here. It surprises me that there is a steady stream of visitors here at this non-holiday time. Our apartment is comfortable, warm and welcoming. We love leaving and we love coming home. I am sure there will never be another time in our lives when we will enjoy everyday as we do now. Today a German grandma came to the desk and began talking in German. I tried to explain that I did not understand her, but she had something to say and couldn't hold it in. I smiled and she knew I had no idea what she was saying; we both broke out laughing. That we understood! I had a great conversation with a Chinese couple who did speak English. There is always a wait when we request a native speaker for the guests. Sometimes we get a chance to talk to the guests while they are waiting. Today that was a highlight of my day as I was able to tell them of our message and witness of its truthfulness.

Friday, November 7, 2008

A Strange Day

Today we had a last minute change in schedule. Temple Square closed early due to a protest outside of the gates by gay/lesbian rights groups. They had come from California and elsewhere to indicate disapproval of the support that The Church gave to Proposition 8 in the Calif. election. The sucess of the hard work of Church members brought about a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman only. As we were serving in the north Visitor Center, at the north gate we could hear much of the comotion. There was concern over the safety of the Sister Missionaries so they were escorted home early by the Priesthood in a very inconspicuous way. Somehow this reminded me of an escape that Lot's family made from Sodom about 4,000 years ago. In spite of this, the peace and safety of Temple Square could still be felt by the relatively few visitors who braved the picket lines. What a wonderful place this is!. We are very blessed to be here. The Sister Missionaries are awesome. They have an amazing ability to bear testimony and to touch the hearts of the guests. Many people refer either themselves or friends or family for further contact. ........We were also able to attend the temple this morning--just a five minute walk from our apartment. This is almost heaven!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

typo

I guess it is a fitting end to the day that some of my message disappeared and turned a perfectly sensible sentence into something less than. I had to call Tim on the way to the salon to get the right address. In spite of Brigham Young's very wise setup of the city, I was turned around and confused.
By the way, each missionary couple on TSq is issued a huge dark blue umbrella. Sounds like we will be needing it tomorrow with snow coming. Tomorrow our assignment is the Family Search area in the Joseph Smith Building from 3 pm to 9 pm. This our first non-training day.

A Bad/Good Hair Day

Having just returned from Grandma's with a bushy head, I knew I had to find a "hair stylist" TODAY! Yellow pages say only 3 salons in downtown SLC and I have to find someone who styles bushes, aka curly. I found a classy salon just a few blocks from here which could take me today. Her name was Delenna and she loved to cut curly hair and would give a missionary discount. I took it. I knew that Heavenly Father would guide anyone who helps missionaries. I was right. Anyway, getting out of the apartment was the most difficult. Where was my missionary name badge that I have to wear when I go out? Oh there it is. It is one of those magetic attachment-kind which is usually easy to put on, but not today. It would have helped to have my glasses on, but I just kept working with it-blind, so to speak. Then I couldn't remember where my car keys were after being gone a week. (we have only lived here one week and there are lots of drawers in this place). OK I found what I needed to get out of the house. Now to the elevator, I push button for parking level B. No car in our assigned place........whoops, wrong level. Back to elevator, push A..I know that is ours. Right on! What is a pick-up truck doing parked right in back of the car? (classy salons don't like late clients, I bet. Ugh!) There is the driver, thank goodness. Away he goes. Ok now head out to 250 E 200 S. uhhhhhhh or is it 250way. Great! there is the green awning she said I couldn't miss. Well.......let's not go there. 10 minutes late but Delenna was glad to see me and we hit it off well. I was right Heavenly Father does bless those who help missionaries and I ended up with a decent cut. The manager walked by as we finished, complemented Delenna and me and then made a kind reference to our mission. "Oh, by the way, your tag is upside down". Ugh! so much for appearing competent, cool, calm and collected. That took care of the morning. Whew, it was time for a nap.

A Bad Hair Day