Welcome to Temple Square

Today we worked at the West Gate entrance of Temple Square. It was such a busy day! We welcomed 10 or 11 motorcoach (large bus)tours on the afternoon shift. There were a total of 15 all day, 11 of them were Chinese. A total of 795 people entered T SQ on the west side today.
We are so surprised and delighted by the foreign visitors here. They seem very appreciative of the their experience. Soon most of the motorcoaches will show a promotional video produced by the Church that is all fast shots of T Sq and follows a visitor all over as she is led by 2 Sister missionaries. It is very fast paced and really bouncy and full of energy. Two ladies who had seen it on their bus today came right at closing time to make sure they knew what time they could get a tour tomorrow. Many Sisters spoke of the good tours they took today. When we work at this location Tim always welcomes the foreign tour groups. He speaks in English and often they do not understand, but they always clap when he finishes. Today the Chinese Sister missionaries asked if I would join him as he does the welcome because they were getting the wrong impression. Some thought that he might be a man with many wives as the Sisters were always standing near as they waited to lead the tour. We cleared that up today!
What fun.....

How Sweet It Is!

We have had a great week, but not without struggles. It was our week to contact people on Temple Square. That means we approach people and ask them if we can show them Temple Square and tell them about the history, buildings and some basic beliefs of the Church. Many people agree to join us, others decline. We met a nice couple from the Southeast US on Monday. They loved hearing about all three and at the end of the tour accepted our invitation to learn more about the Church and have a Book of Mormon delivered to their home by the missionaries. They loved the feeling on Temple Square (and so do we). Wednesday evening we went to the Humanitarian Center to accompany the Sisters on a tour. It is so wonderful to see how the Church helps the poor and how many opportunities we all have to help. Many people prepare different kits, clean used clothing, homemade quilts to be distributed throughout the world. Others donate money. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is usually the first on the scene of a natural disaster. We love sharing this with those who come here.
It is sad to see opposition to the Church here. Even the most sacred things in our Temples are mocked by a few standing on street corners. We are sad to see such disrespect and irreverance.
On the opposite note, many attend the temples regularly with sincere intent to bless the lives of others and to strengthen their families. They out-number the naysayers. It is a blessing to work in the shadow of the Salt Lake Temple.
Love to all
mk

Nothing Better than the Sabbath

A true friend checks your blog for 7 months even when there is nothing there. Thanks Kristi. Today was a great Sacrament meeting. The speakers during each transfer are chosen from the list of departing Sisters and couples. On fast Sunday they come up as prompted by the Spirit. We often hear from 20 Sisters on that day, each speaks about 3 minutes. All this starts at 7:30 and ends at 8:40 am. We are then off to our assignment, which today was the historic Beehive House. We greeted visitors from Ireland, England, Germany, Italy, Russia, TX, VA, FL, UT, CA, OR, IL, OH.........etc. How interesting this is. Some ask questions with a sincere intent to know. "Why were the early Mormons driven from their homes so many times? The answer lies in the great faith they had in the restoration of God's Church and in their belief in a modern day Prophet of God. Surely it would not have been their peaceful lifestyle, their industrious habits, their desire for self-improvement nor their efforts to help one another. We seek those same habits and qualities today in ourselves and in our families but do not have to face the same kind of opposition. We are grateful for that.
Tim and I are contacting on Temple Square this week. We have the privilege of greeting and escorting guests around The Square while we tell them accounts of the courageous pioneers, info about the buildings and a little of the doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Could there be a better job?
We love and appreciate our friends and family.........
MK

Where have you been?

After many months of no entry on the blog, I wonder if anyone even remembers me. Just in case there is one faithful follower out there I will write tonight. Tim and I have learned so much in the last 9 months. Most of the growth and learning has been in the personal category. Some of the challenges have been big, others small. The experience here is without comparison. We have known joy, fear, sadness, hope, faith, peace, love, growth, comfort, sadness, giddiness, discouragement, happiness. We have looked forward to our last day and we have wished it would never come. To be honest, it has been the best decison we could have made; we love being here.
This transfer we are assigned to take guests on tours. We move around on Temple Square and greet and invite people to join us on a visit of the Square. Typically 2 people join us. We tell them about the Mormon pioneers and their great struggles and joy. We tell them how the knowledge of their Savior's love and sustaining strength helped them to push ahead against all odds. Their greatest hope was to "find the place which God prepared, far away in the West. Where none should come to hurt or make afraid". How their courage has strengthen! Their great faith and obedience to a Prophet's voice led them to safety and has given us courage to accept and conquer our trials.
We have been blessed. We are grateful and happy.
MK and Tim