Each baptism is special

We had a special baptism this past weekend!

Julian has read the Book of Mormon, Gospel Principles manual, and is on the Doctrine & Covenants right now.  He was an investigator for two months and is now the newest member of our Branch!

 Julian is retired and has a set income.  His wife is younger and she still works.  This is important because Julian pays a set amount of the bills and his wife pays the rest. Julian's wife is Catholic and isn't interested in joining the church-yet.  So when the principle of tithing came up Julian was sad.  He wanted to pay his tithing and obey all of God's commandments.  But after paying his share of the bills he only had $4 a month left. He wrote it all out for everyone to see.  He didn't know what to do.

As missionaries we tried real hard to teach this principle, along with faith. Julian said he had faith, but he didn't have money.  Finally, he talked to his wife about this. And a miracle happened.  His wife agreed to pay more of the bills so he could pay tithing.  She said, "I will do this for God and because Julian loves this church so much."

Julian's wife and daughters and two friends came to his baptism!  We served refreshments after for fellowshipping and they stayed to talk with the members and missionaries for another hour and a half!  It was a wonderful answer to prayers and faith.

The previous day we took three sisters to the Temple for our first Relief Society temple day.  One of the sisters hadn't been able to go for over a year because her car can't make it.  Another hadn't gone for almost that long. We discovered that to pick them up, go to the Temple, and come straight home takes six hours!
We were so spoiled living close to a Temple in Pleasant Grove!  It was a great experience though.

Pictures of Yosemite park and Tammy's visit

It was fun having Tammy here for a couple of days. We also took her on our missionary appointments and showed her off to our Spanish branch members. She could talk with them! They loved her.

Tammy came to visit and we went to see the giant sequoia trees. They are magnificent!

Grapes for the Welfare Farm

A carload of missionaries heading for the church welfare vineyard. Notice they are still clean and refreshed. The second picture shows the grapes they cut drying on the trays. The next picture shows five very dirty and tired missionaries. ...Yes, they are holding each other up. It took twenty Branch members five hours to harvest this row of grapes. And there are hundreds of rows on eighty acres for wards to harvest.

(4 photos)

Glen and all of the other Elders and members and their families went to give service on the grape welfare farm at harvest time.  It was HOT and backbreaking work and a labor of love for the Lord and his people.  You need to get under the plants to cut the bunches of grapes just so.  Then you lay them out on trays which are really papers.  They dry right there where they lay.  In two weeks you turn them over and as they dry they become raisins!  Then they are passed out through the Bishop's Storehouse.  Simple and beautiful.

Tammy came to visit

Tammy came to visit for the Labor day week-end!
The first night we took her to do a family night with us to a less active/part member family.  The visit went over really well.  The mother wanted to see Johnny Lingo because of the old memories it brought back to her from when she was active in the church as a teenager.  Tammy brought the movie with her for us.
Then we played "colors" which the children had fun with. And we served rice krispies treats which they Really enjoyed!  They are looking forward to the next family night with us.

We also took Tammy on our visits to less actives and she met Pedro.  His wife is working out of town so he really appreciated the visit and Glen could give him a lesson and leave a prayer there for him.

It was my turn to teach the Relief Society lesson Sunday-in Spanish of course.  I taught about prayer because the sisters here were confused on using Christ's name throughout their praying instead of praying to Heavenly Father and also about the difference of praying for group things in public and personal things in private. Also I used the lesson as an example of not having to try to cover all of a manual lesson or conference talk in one class time.  Rather, pick a concept and develop that. I think it worked out alright. The members here might not know as much as elsewhere but they are humble and accepting when they are taught. And they are all willing to pray and teach lessons in class!

It was fast Sunday and Tammy bore her testimony in Spanish and everyone loved having her there. She visited with the four Elder missionaries now assigned to our branch with us and they enjoyed that.

It wasn't all work and no play however.  We swam in the pool three of the days and took her to Yosemite Park and also to see the giant sequoia trees.  They were truly amazing and we rode around looking at them in an open air shuttle that made it even more fun. We also made it to the Cheese Factory for Tammy's birthday.

On the way back from taking Tammy to the airport we stopped at a farmer's market where Glen passed out three referral cards to some good people.  We also visited a less active/part member family and gave them a lesson on faith and the mustard seed except we used sequoia trees!  It went over real well. And then we gave two missionaries a ride to see the Mitchells because the missionary's bike had a flat.

It is always good to get back into a routine of missionary work and it is so rewarding and feels so great!

A Prayer for Protection

Doug Brinley, a couples therapist and author of a dozen books, is a Senior Missionary here with us. When he and his wife were set apart as missionaries to go to Hawaii a few years ago, his Stake President said that they would become closer as a couple and more in love.

When they were called last year to come to the Calif. Fresno mission his Stake President gave him when he set him apart, "a blessing for protection".

Yep.  That's our mission!  Elder Pack and I have already had a man try to scam us with the "I have an inheritance coming in November and just need some money until then.  I'll pay you back" scam.

We have seen drug deals happening and even had to report one that was hurting an investigating family.  (Luckily no one has come to break our knee caps on that one yet.)

One young missionary told the mission President that everyone here had tatoos, piercings, just living together without being married, was on drugs or selling them, or was a criminal or gay.

So what are missionaries to do?  Love them.  Teach them.  Invite them to come unto Christ.  The Gospel is for everyone and can help anyone. One successful missionary says whenever he talks to someone he just imagines them standing there in white clothes preparing for the Temple and then he teaches them. 

And the Lord protects us if we listen.  As the scriptures teach us:  Them that be with us are more than those that be with them. I have felt the Lord's protection here and I am grateful.  With the Lord on our side we go about doing His work.

Be careful what you pray for!

Be careful what you pray for because you just might get it!  Today is Sunday and Elder Pack and I are exhausted.  All of our prayers for the branch came true today.  That means the Mitchell family came to church and Elder Pack took them to the English speaking ward's Sacrament meeting and got them to their respective classes. Then he substituted for a primary teacher there that went to talk to the Mitchells about something their family was concerned about.  But he had to get a substitute for the substitute too because he had to go pick up another investigating family for the Spanish branch meetings.

That left Sis. Pack going to Correlation meeting alone to bring many items to the Branch President that needed his attention. And she had to read the Relief Society Declaration to the class in Sunday School.  Everything in Spanish of course.

In Relief Society all the chairs were full!  So exciting.  And then we had Sacrament meeting where we had "brother investigators" come with their families! There were 46 people there which isn't a record number, but did we mention all the men?!

After, Sis. Pack helped with commodity orders while Elder Pack helped the Branch clerk update the member records for the Branch.  He also went with the President to teach him how to give a live temple recommend to a sister who is going for her own endowment now that she has  completed the Temple preparation class!

It was a great Sunday but without the Lord's help it is difficult to cope with all the blessings He is sending.
Thankfully, he is sending us help all day, every day. And that is an answer to our prayers.

What is the Worst that can happen?

What is the Worst that can happen to us in our missionary work?  The investigator can say no.  They don't want lessons, they don't want visits, they don't want what we have to offer.

On the other hand, what is the Best that can happen?  Ah-- blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see  God through you. They will recognize the truths they were taught in their Heavenly Father's  home. They will be baptized, sealed as families, and have eternal blessings.

 What is that worth to us when we are tired and discouraged and dissapointed? Remember President Hinckley felt that way once and then made a covenant with Heavenly Father "I will lose myself in your service."  Isaiah had no converts recorded in the scriptures and yet Christ himself quoted him.When the Savior took his First Presidency with him to the Garden of Gethsemane they couldn't stay awake for him.  They missed an opportunity but went on to lead his church.

If you want to know who you are, figure out who you were.  What did the Lord see in you before and what does he see in you now. Were we afraid to talk to everyone about Christ and the Plan of Salvation in heaven? Did we worry that people would think we were weird? Were we afraid they would say no?

 What if Christ was almost obedient? Almost committed? Almost willing and successful in his part of the plan? I'm sure that in our premortal life we were exactly obedient, committed, and focused. Now it is time to do our part here.

Satan is satisfied if we do good things that distract us from doing great things. Step up and ask if someone would like to hear about the restored gospel here on the earth today.  What is the worst that can happen?