June 27, 2021- Guess It's Time For An Update!

Hi Everyone,

It has been good being able to talk with you and Facetime and see your faces and know that you are doing well.

We are doing well and staying busy. We have had zone conferences for the past 2 weeks and those are busy days. We travel. Conferences are held in NH close to the Massachusetts border, Vermont at the Joseph Smith Birthplace and Maine.

We prepare food. We deliver supplies. We check cars. We take pictures. We take time to interact with the missionaries. It's not hard to stay busy. If we get those tasks done in a timely fashion then we get the chance to sit in on a little of their training. By the time we return from those days, we are pretty tired and glad to have a day in between that one and the next one. They are now done until after the next round of transfers. Transfers middle of July, Zone conferences first 2 weeks in August.

During zone conference the missionaries who are leaving share a testimony (Golden Truth) with their zone. A couple of my favorite thoughts were these -----

Choose To Thrive!

And...this is not your mission for God, this is God's mission for You. I thought those were good thoughts for adjusting missionaries -ie.- ME

The office dynamic continues to evolve. There are some who are willing to help in any way and others who are only concerned about elevating themselves above everyone else. I have decided the most fitting nickname for one guy is Wormtail - just like Peter Pettigrew, he will throw anyone under the bus, if he thinks it will get him noticed. He likes to talk a lot about how everyone should do their job and he can't even get a handle on his own. He can make the days very tedious sometimes. That's when dad and the other elder go for a drink and some of us take a walk.

We just have to learn to implement this-

and move forward!!

Out of the office we do our best to explore the area. We have been to a Shaker Colony -(they were people with strange ideas, but made nice furniture), another baseball game, to the beach to check out the sand sculptures, shopping in Maine and to an island off the coast in NH. Definitely want to go back there. It was a great find- beach, lighthouses, picnic areas, off the beaten path.

On Sundays, we try to visit different wards around the mission. We are not assigned to a specific place so we drive 30 minutes or so and see what's happening in those areas and get a chance to see different sets of missionaries as well.

We love hearing from each of you. Love knowing what's going on in your lifes to keep you busy. Please stay in touch in any way -- all the ways!!! Send pictures to the Skylight! It's alway fun to come home and see the notification that we have new pictures to view.

Hope you are enjoying your summer. With vacations, new jobs, moves, and new adventures I know you are busy. Keep us updated.

Love you all,

Mom

Life these past weeks has been pretty hectic. The Follow-up Training and 3 Zone Conferences have involved much planning, long days, and special experiences. For me it meant preparing to inspect all or most of the vehicles in the mission—I think we looked at about 95% of those that are assigned. The proportion is about 30/40/30% between the 3 ZC’s. I’ve deputized the other two Office Elders to assist—we did two of three inspections with the effort divided between the three of us, but for the first it was only Elder Bredthauer and I. Our task is to complete the inspections before lunch, which is when I speak to the missionaries that are attending that conference. We’ve got to hustle if we want to eat, get cleaned up, and be ready to share our results.

I’ve been highlighting must do’s, like getting new tires, and general observations, such as missing insurance and registration documents, logs not up to date, and general cleanliness. Pretty routine. But these inspections haven’t been done consistently for over a year, and some cars are in rough shape. The word seemed to get around that we had some nice gift cards as prizes—McD’s, Subway and Chick Fil A, and by the third ZC there was some good improvement. We also streamlined our process and didn’t have to cut things short. Its a work in progress, and a real workout for me.

These conferences are new experiences for us, and we haven’t been able to participate in much other than just before or after lunch. One special part is the Golden Truth’s session—departing Sisters and Elders share the core truths that they’ve come to know, what they’ve held firm to as they’ve served, and words of wisdom to share with those remaining in the field. One of my favorites was vertical vs horizontal growth—never compare yourself with your fellow servants—you versus me, or me versus you. Compare yourself against yourself yesterday, today and tomorrow.

I’m struck by the wisdom and maturity of these young missionaries. On one hand they can be typical late teenagers—flirty, goofy, prone to ignore some rules. On the other they are articulate, intense and seasoned, and so much better prepared to improve their homes, wards, and communities. They come out with variable levels of testimonies and confidence, and are leaving with tons of talent, energy and new abilities.

Mom will elaborate on some of our extra-curricular experiences, but one of my favorites was New Castle Island, off the shore of NH. It includes a short stretch of beach, views of two light houses, a quiet park with plenty of places to picnic and watch the surf, and an old coastal artillery station built in the late 1890’s, with updates around WWI. It’s a place we’ll go back to.

We also drove over to Hampton Beach to see the Sand Sculpture competition. Amazing professional level work—see the pix. Me, I liked listening to the Visitors—a trio of old geezers playing 60’s and 70’s rock music while Mom and Sister Blackham shopped (and they do lots of that). Fun to watch all the older couples and singles that got up to dance. And Dance. And Dance.

It was great to talk and hear from all on Father’s Day. We appreciate your prayers, notes and pictures—more is better! These last two months have flown by, and we realize that, while every day has challenges and we are still growing in our effectiveness, we are constantly reassured we are in the right place doing the right things.

Love,

Dad.