Dec 5-11, 2021

 SUNDAY

We picked up our friend, Charles, for church again today. He lives in the Laveen ward boundaries so we want to help him get to know people there. Thankfully, he remembered Brother Bell, a counselor in the bishopric and was able to meet the Bishop. Elders and Sisters Kaufman, Thorson and Jones are all in the Laveen Ward and are anxious to fellowship Charles and Melony. We set a time for the sister missionaries to meet and teach them. We are excited to join them on Tuesday.

Kate Markham spoke in Stake Conference in Coppell and we were able to join via Zoom. I love technology!! She gave an amazing talk full of doctrine and testimony.

 

After our ward, we met with Brother Parson (WML), Brother Addison (EQP), Sister Cooley (RS), and Elders Tappen and Turley for the Missionary Coordination Meeting. Elders Tappen and Turley had prepared well and had a list of everyone they are teaching and how each organization can help. We are so impressed with the way these Elders lead by example.They had just trained at Zone Conferences last week about the MCM (or Huddle as it is sometimes called), and then immediately do exactly what they taught us all to do. We are motivated to help reach out to these people.

MONDAY

We spent time at the Giving Machines this morning and again in the afternoon. We love serving alongside the young Elders and Sisters and see their enthusiasm. We have not seen big crowds yet, but those who have helped in years past say the crowds do come.

Elder and Sister Glauser, Elder Hill, Elder Turner, Elder Gooch, Elder Curtis, Elder Elliot

Brother and Sister Ostler were released as missionaries here in the ATM just before we arrived and live in the Tempe Stake. They invited us to lunch and we talked about Family History and how we can use it to help others find their ancestors. We set a time for Tuesday to meet at the FH library and learn a little more.

We stopped at Costco and bought some cookies and candies to make holiday plates to take to the families we discussed on Sunday. We'll deliver them over the next couple days.

TUESDAY

Exercise (Doug at the gym, Marcia's walk the neighborhood)

Sunrise in Tempe

Study: Come Follow Me and Preach My Gospel and role play teaching the restoration

Join Elders Tappen and Turley for teaching appointment with Martin

Picked up lunch for Elders Tappen and Turley so they could get to District Council on time

District Council training to teach the Apostasy and Restoration

Rescheduled teaching appointment with Charles and Melony. Coordinated with Sisters Curry and Bell

Made flyer and plated cookies to deliver to new members and friends the Elders are teaching

Went to Office Depot to print flyers, Christa helped us and asked about the Church and our mission. We invited her to join us at Church on December 19 for the Christmas Sacrament Meeting and gave her a flyer with the details and our names and phone number. She will invite her mom to come with her.  We asked if she would like to hear from the missionaries and although she said she needed to talk with her boyfriend she gave us her number.  We will call at the end of the week and remind them of church.

Picked up a box to fill for the Navajo/Hopi Christmas Dinner Box Project. Went to the grocery store to buy the supplies listed for the box, wrapped the box in Christmas paper and filled it with the groceries.

A busy and fulfilling day. We love the opportunities to serve, teach, invite and testify of Jesus Christ.

WEDNESDAY

We were able to volunteer again at Ascend Food Bank. They do good work here in the area and have several dedicated volunteers, some come every day. Our fellow Senior missionaries, the Kaufman's and the Genther's were there as well and we took the opportunity to go out to lunch with them after finishing at Azsend.

We delivered the cookies and invitation to the Christmas Sacrament Meeting December 19 to Martin and Dalia, Raul and Noemi Miranda, Amy Yazzie, Mike and Amber Motes, Richella Thomas, Trudy Robbins, Richard Endfield and Angel and Laura Hernandez. It was so good to visit friends and to meet some new people.

We picked up Brianna Hamilton (she was baptized a couple weeks ago) and went with her to the Family History library where we met Bro. Shaeffer. He helped her get started with FamilySearch. She has some information about her grandparents and was so excited to find more. She wants to call her mom and grandmother to get more names and dates.  Her excitement is contagious!

THURSDAY

We had lunch with Bro Welker, a member of the Tempe Ward. He is a widower with three handicapped children in their 20's who live at home. It was good to spend some time with him. He has retired from his career as an attorney so he and Doug have things in common.

We met Elders Tappen and Matheson as they taught Martin again. He has been reading the Book of Mormon and praying (but not yet to know if it is true). He tells us every time we see him how much happier he is when he meets and talks with the missionaries. And his wife, Dalia, sees a change in him as well. We expect to see them at the Ward Christmas party on Saturday.

As we were scoping out an apartment complex to try to locate another member to deliver cookies to tonight --wanted to find the apartment in the daylight 😀-- Elder Glauser meets the maintenance man. He makes a new friend every day!

FRIDAY

Spent some time at the Giving Machines... we love being with the Elders and Sisters...and it's fun to watch people come to donate at the Machines!

    

Helped set up for our ward Christmas Activity tomorrow. Even though there are usually about 75 people at church each Sunday, they are expecting close to 200 at the activity. Several people from the ward were there to help. This is one way we can get to know the members of our ward. There are some good people here in the Tempe Ward.

Another way we are reaching out to our ward members is by setting appointments to visit in their homes and share a short message of the Restoration. We have been able to make some appointments for the next few days and are excited to begin.  We have felt strongly this is a revelatory prompting to serve our ward most effectively.  We love the spirit driven work.

SATURDAY

Our Zone huddle today focused on reaching our potential. Sometimes we think we have given our best effort and that is all we can do, but with a little stretching and through revelation through the Holy Ghost, we can understand better our divine potential and begin to see ourselves more as Heavenly Father sees us. As we pray each day to understand what the Lord needs us to do and then strive to listen and obey His still, small voice we are magnified and can accomplish more than we could ourselves. 

We practiced the lesson on the Restoration we want to share with our ward members. Even when practicing, the Spirit bears witness that the message is true-- that Joseph Smith really did see and speak with the Father and the Son, he translated the Book of Mormon through the power of God, that the Priesthood authority has been restored to the earth through Joseph Smith and there is a living prophet on the earth today with that same authority to speak the mind and will of the Lord. 

Heather Hales texted about an extra Holiday meal box she had and wanted to know if we know anyone that could use it. There is always a need in the Tempe Ward so we picked it up from her house on the way to our ward party. There were a lot of people at the ward party, but not nearly as many as anticipated, so there was a lot of extra food. We ended up bringing home the Yummy Potatoes we made and will take them to the two apartments of Elders who live in our complex. 

There was a Youth Devotional Broadcast with Elder and Sister Gong in connection with the Mesa Temple rededication tomorrow, so we stopped in after the ward party. The temple is a place where we learn more about the Plan of Salvation and the centrality of the Savior's Atonement to that Plan. We're grateful to be able to participate in the rededication and will attend one of the three dedicatory sessions. The Priesthood authority of God has been restored to the earth. We are privileged to live at this time when the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored and to be able to participate in the gathering of Israel, the greatest and most important work on the earth today as President Nelson has said.