Though I am not a very consistent contributor to my own blog, I did want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. For us this has been a time to ponder the great blessing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the indescribable sacrifice He made for each of us. We feel so fortunate to know that He died for us, not only taking our sins upon Him but also suffering all of our hurts and sorrows so that He could comfort us. We love the Book of Mormon for it teaches these things so clearly. ( http://www.mormon.org/ ) Our family means so much to us and we have missed them, but we have been happy and busy here serving and supporting the work of the Church. We have just a few months left before returning home. We have mixed feelings, but look forward to seeing you all.

Off to Ski-ville

We will be serving at the Family Tree Center in Park City for one week starting Sunday (tomorrow). We have had this assignment twice before and it is one of our favorites.There is an apartment in the same building for the senior couple which is quite comfortable. We will help people do introductory searches for their ancestors. If they need the experts, we send them down to Temple Square to the Church Family History Center. Today we saw Joe and Rachel McCullough. What a wonderful surprise for all of us. They did not know where we were exactly so were not looking for us.

We wish you a good week. We have seen miracles in the last 10 days. We are grateful to see the beautiful Salt Lake City Temple everyday. We think of our friends at home often and pray for your well-being. Thank you for your kind support.

(no skiing for us)

A Leap of Faith Needed

I had a great conversation with a couple (our age or a little younger) just after they watched the totally inspired movie, Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration. Their hearts were so open and yearning for answers to questions. They asked really good questions about prophets and revelation; about temples and families. Everything was so respectful; it was a pure joy to share my testimony and answer their questions. The explanations I was able to give were clear and easy for them to understand. He asked about my education, thinking that might be why I could speak in such a clear way. I said that it was certainly God who was helping them to understand and helping me to speak with clarity. They were still hesitant to have missionaries come to their home, but committed to let them in if they dropped by. You know who is in charge now. I know it will happen. The So. California missionaries who allow the Spirit to lead them to that house will have a very sweet experience! The only downside of this Mission is that we don't know the end of the story. We are often among the visitor's first contact with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . . . . . . . but what a privilege!

The Cold Shoulder

Yesterday we took a tour with 25-ish girl in a sun dress. She sounded slightly reluctant to take us up on our offer to show her around, but came any way. We went to the Christus first and she seemed to feel good about that. I asked her what her religious background was and she said it was Christian but now Buddist. We then went downstairs to talk to her about prophets, revelation and the restoration. I asked her if she knew about the OT prophets.She said, "I was raised Christian, I know about the OT." OK, on to the NT apostles. She already knew about that. "I want to learn about what I don't know". OK. "Well here we have a display about Joseph Smith and his experience. YOu can see a short video about it." That went well. She said, "This sounds like Christiantiy. How do Mormons connect with Christians?" "Well, we are Christians!" I said. "Just let me hear about the Book of Mormon, what about the weird stuff about that book?" OK. "Well this is an ancient record of .......and it comes with a promise that you can know if it is true" . We read Moroni 10:4-5. "Hey, I'm not interested in this hardcore conversion stuff! I just wanted to learn a little about the Mormon Church!" she turned and walked away without even a good-bye. Hmmmmmmmmm!!!!!! "ok see you later", we said shrugging our shoulders.

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