Missionary Work
Today was a missionary day for sure.
The young missionaries came for district meeting and lunch. Elder Hathaway, our district leader is prompt and always prepared (but then Elder Hill was always well prepared as well). He is a cute young man who loves basketball, and actually has a college basketball career to look forward to resuming when he is done here in England. February 9 marks 5 months on our mission, and I never cease to be impressed with the professional way these young missionaries handle these meetings.
They are reverent about what they do and they are committed, and they are obedient and happy. I know that they will draw upon these experiences in the England London Mission for the rest of their lives. Because they are diligent and have strong desires to serve an honorable mission, they each can testify about how they have grown, and how much genuine joy they feel, even through a great deal of rejection.
I think often of talks and testimonies I have heard in Gilbert by people who served 30 and 40 years ago on missions all over the world. It was a refining time for them, refining of their testimonies, refining their personalities, their temperament and their ability to interact with all kinds of people.
I fixed them shepherd's pie - kind of. Elder Greene is from Great Britain and when you say "shepherd's pie," any true Brit expects lamb and other seasonings. I made the base of the same recipe I used for meatloaf at Sunday's YSA meal. I mashed potatoes and put them on top, followed by a layer of sharp cheddar, because that is the only cheese I had. They loved it, including Elder Greene.
We got the kitchen cleaned up and then I studied. The lesson tomorrow night looms.
In the evening we went to the church with the elders, where YM and YW from both wards gathered for mutual. We had about 25 kids there and several leaders. The young sisters and elders taught - relating to the young people what it feels like to be a missionary, what they did to prepare, what they do on a normal day, how they deal with rejection, how they stop someone on the street to share a message, and what their hopes were before coming.
The Bishop closed the meeting by saying he believes that President Checketts sends his best missionaries to Oxford. I've met a lot of young missionaries, and they are overwhelmingly some of the finest people I've ever met. But Bishop is right. These kids in Oxford are exceptional.
Oxford is such a lovely place to serve, but the people we serve with, the missionaries and the ward members make it an exceptional place to be.
We are feeling profoundly blessed.
The young missionaries came for district meeting and lunch. Elder Hathaway, our district leader is prompt and always prepared (but then Elder Hill was always well prepared as well). He is a cute young man who loves basketball, and actually has a college basketball career to look forward to resuming when he is done here in England. February 9 marks 5 months on our mission, and I never cease to be impressed with the professional way these young missionaries handle these meetings.
They are reverent about what they do and they are committed, and they are obedient and happy. I know that they will draw upon these experiences in the England London Mission for the rest of their lives. Because they are diligent and have strong desires to serve an honorable mission, they each can testify about how they have grown, and how much genuine joy they feel, even through a great deal of rejection.
I think often of talks and testimonies I have heard in Gilbert by people who served 30 and 40 years ago on missions all over the world. It was a refining time for them, refining of their testimonies, refining their personalities, their temperament and their ability to interact with all kinds of people.
I fixed them shepherd's pie - kind of. Elder Greene is from Great Britain and when you say "shepherd's pie," any true Brit expects lamb and other seasonings. I made the base of the same recipe I used for meatloaf at Sunday's YSA meal. I mashed potatoes and put them on top, followed by a layer of sharp cheddar, because that is the only cheese I had. They loved it, including Elder Greene.
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| A moment of silence as everyone digs into the meal. Normally they are all conversing happily. |
We got the kitchen cleaned up and then I studied. The lesson tomorrow night looms.
In the evening we went to the church with the elders, where YM and YW from both wards gathered for mutual. We had about 25 kids there and several leaders. The young sisters and elders taught - relating to the young people what it feels like to be a missionary, what they did to prepare, what they do on a normal day, how they deal with rejection, how they stop someone on the street to share a message, and what their hopes were before coming.
The Bishop closed the meeting by saying he believes that President Checketts sends his best missionaries to Oxford. I've met a lot of young missionaries, and they are overwhelmingly some of the finest people I've ever met. But Bishop is right. These kids in Oxford are exceptional.
Oxford is such a lovely place to serve, but the people we serve with, the missionaries and the ward members make it an exceptional place to be.
We are feeling profoundly blessed.
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