Gospel Keys

Here’s an important skill for moving!  When we discovered the needed house key was not on the key ring we brought, Elder Ellestad was the MVP (and right size)!

This week is another big moving week.  We went to Auberry in the foothills of Yosemite Park area at the northeast edge of the mission (lots of curves on those roads) this morning to empty a senior apartment, then took the load down to Porterville at the far southeast of the mission.  We went today to dodge rain storms that will be around the rest of the week.  Driving a pickup and pulling a trailer is not our idea of fun when it is raining.  Getting upholstered or wooden furniture wet is a thing to avoid too.  We’ll have to make a second trip to Auberry later in the week to collect items that are unneeded in Porterville and wouldn’t fit in the covered trailer.  We are so glad for the missionaries who come to help us load and unload, even on their Preparation Day, on which they clean, do laundry, write emails, and do any sight-seeing they can manage.  They are always quick to agree no matter what we ask them to do.  We are so glad that we know a lot of them now and enjoy lunch together after or before moves when possible.

The past week we have had perfect California weather – cool, but not chilly, mornings; warm, but not hot, afternoons; plenty of sunshine.  Great!  The newest color of flowering trees is the vivid lavender-pink of CA redbuds along with something that is deep violet.  Really spectacular!

Last week was a transfer week with five missionaries going home and four coming in.  Those sorts of numbers are not uncommon in the spring apparently.  It is certainly more manageable than it was in the fall.  I suppose it could be more fun for the missionaries to be part of a large group, but calm and quiet is fine with us.  Len especially enjoys counseling with the departing ones who hope for medical careers and seek his advice.  The four newcomers are all from the south – Florida, Virginia, Texas, and Alabama.  I guess that might help them deal with the upcoming summer heat – and the reality of cockroaches here.

One of the missionaries who left was a convert from northern Minnesota.  Five years ago he was a clerk in a convenience store where missionaries used to come in and buy snacks.  One night they left and then felt they needed to go back and invite him to learn more about Jesus Christ.  The young man was not religious and really not interested, so he did all he could to avoid them from then on, but finally they saw him again and took the opportunity to ask him to read a short passage of Christ’s words aloud.  That short connection with the scriptures spoke to him so powerfully that when they asked him if he would continue to learn, he said, “Yes.  I know it is true.”  So he went on from there and just completed two years here extending that invitation to others.  I always thought he looked older than the others.  He applied for his mission just before he turned 26, which is the cut off for young missionaries so now he is actually 28.  He has lots of new goals for the rest of his life and we wish him well.

Q: Why did the auditor cross the road? A: To get to the Fresno Mission office!

  

The biggest new thing this week was that we survived the annual mission office audit!  The CPA who did the work is a local church member who mostly audits hospitals.  He was very friendly and also efficient.  He hoped to accomplish the whole process in about three hours. He stopped by the office Monday at six.  Len had stacks of paperwork laid out on the conference table in the President’s office.  He had read about audits and gathered up most of what would be needed.  Within an hour all the random selections in various categories had been made, including ten random apartments about which I supplied documents. 

Len and I spent Tuesday locating all the supporting documents to prove accuracy and answer questions about each random choice.  When Brother Jackson returned about 2:45, all was ready and we actually completed short of his time frame, save for one category where there had been uncertainty on Monday about what needed to be included in the paperwork from which random choices would be made.  Len called church headquarters and got a good answer so they made the final choices and finished up in 15 minutes Monday.  During Len’s call, the person who was explaining what needed to be done said that the audit we were undergoing was not a finance audit, but rather a process audit.  That information took some of the pressure off everyone. We each learned a thing or two going through the process.  It was reassuring to know that we do understand the jobs we are doing.  The other outcome was a strong hope never to go through a finance audit with someone sitting across the table telling us we have to produce receipts for all expenditures a few years back.  That is definitely nightmare worthy terror!

So now Len has begun to sort the paperwork for our own taxes.  Our mail forwarding has not been perfect for the last few weeks so hopefully we will not have trouble coming up with what we need.  He actually was able to locate a couple of 1099 forms that were missing by searching online last night.  We certainly appreciate having reliable people who have helped us prepare for April 15^th for many years.

We bit the bullet and raked up the leaves from the very large tree that shades our back yard.  It was very slow to let all leaves drop and we didn’t want to do that chore more than once.  It actually only took about an hour since the backyard is fenced, and not much larger than the tree’s canopy, making the leaves deep but the area contained.  That should cover most of the yard work remaining while we are here.  The flowerbeds look cheerful with lots of bright yellow flowers -- probably some weed that is new to us, but they suit us fine for now.

 Sister Clark recently gave a short but memorable talk in Stake Conference.  She began by telling how much she loved getting invitations – to parties, to dinner, a night out, whatever.  Then she told about Jesus Christ’s invitations: She used scripture, such as Matthew 11:28-30 (KJV) 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.  And He invited the apostles to join Him, as well as invitations to “Learn of me”, “Follow me”, etc.  She concluded that all who RSVP can come to know Him, have greater joy, and be able to live with Him one day.  It was a choice little talk and also one that stuck in my mind.

Wishing you a great week,

Love from Len and Kit

He Shall Have Music Wherever He Goes...

February 25th Saturday afternoon walk in Fresno.  Within the next couple of weeks many people will take a drive (a couple of hours) on the ‘Blossom Trail’.  It is a route that goes past many orchards in the height of spring bloom.  We are so glad we had meetings around the mission this week so we could get an idea of the glory of spring in CA Central Valley. Rosebushes are putting out lots of new leaves and the snapdragons and pinks that were planted in our apartment complex for winter color are bushing out, with various colored poppies now blooming too.  There are yellow and orange wildflowers in the ditches along the highway. A good season to be in Fresno!

When we were preparing to move to Scottsdale, we made several trips to AZ and while there, attended our new ward. One time there was a special music number where the men were called up from the congregation and sang in unison a hymn they had never rehearsed. We were shocked. Shortly after we moved into the ward, Len was asked to provide a men’s quartet special music number – “unison would be fine”. Of course they rehearsed and they had four-part harmony. The ward members thought it was great and the men loved being part of it too. In a few months the ward music chair asked the men to sing once a month and more voices were added as a 3-4 part men’s choir. It was wonderful!

When we moved and changed wards, Len was called as choir director and had men’s choir and women’s choir numbers as well as entire group pieces. It was no surprise that when he helped Sister Clark prepare the men for their parts in special mission choir numbers for December and January, he also laid the groundwork for future men’s choir numbers. He had the elders run through a beautiful hymn at the end of practice and invited Sister Clark to come listen to their “audition” so she’d know what he had in mind.

This week we had zone conferences in Porterville, Fresno, and Merced. In each case, Len had a men’s choir practice for 30 – 45 minutes before the meeting began, a 4-part men’s choir number ‘Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy’. He had done his homework. He kept track of all the elders who had sung in Dec/Jan and talked to every new elder that entered the mission to find the ones who liked to sing. Len invited President Clark to sing baritone with him in the group and got a commitment. He texted invitations to all the known singers and talked it up at every apartment we visited and to elders who came into the mission office. He made calls to be sure the strongest singers would be there to lead their section, and supplied music to those who wanted to practice on their own. He asked President Clark to put invitations and reminders in his weekly mission letter. Time-wise, the rehearsal was the small part of the project.

Everything worked out very well. The performances varied, but were all really good. The first group was largest, with the strongest high tenor section, the second group was fervent and most powerful on the deep bass of this hymn, and the last group had a sweet sound and was stellar on the double pianissimo final chorus. The hymn’s message applies perfectly to missionary labors and serving others.

Let The Lower Lights Be Burning

In the mid 1800s Philip Paul Bliss was directing the singing for a series of services being conducted by the well-known preacher Dwight L. Moody. As he closed his message, Moody told the story of a boat that was trying to reach a harbor amid a treacherous storm. The ship’s captain could see the lighthouse, but the lower lights had gone out. The captain attempted to land anyway, but missed the channel and crashed the boat into the rocks, losing many lives to a watery grave. The message of the hymn is, “The Master will take care of the great lighthouse; let us keep the lower lights burning.” That was all Phillip Bliss needed to write one of his best-known hymns, “Let the Lower Lights Be Burning.”

          Brightly Beams our Father’s Mercy OR Let the Lower Lights Be Burning

          Brightly beams our Father’s mercy from His lighthouse evermore;
          But to us He gives the keeping of the lights along the shore.

          Chorus: Let the lower lights be burning; Send a gleam across the wave!
          Some poor fainting, struggling seaman you may rescue, you may save.

          Dark the night of sin has settled; loud the angry billows roar;
          Eager eyes are watching, longing for the lights along the shore.

          Trim your feeble lamp, my brother! Some poor sailor, tempest tossed,
          Trying now to make the harbor, in the darkness may be lost.

Lots of love from Len and Kit

Weathering Life's Storms

Soaking in the beauty

This year, spring in Fresno began on Valentine’s Day.  I say that because it is when we first saw trees in blossom.  Most of the trees flowering this week are white. We had three wonderful sunny days between rains in this “wettest in 100 years” winter season.  As we left the office one of those late afternoons, a pair of zone leaders were sitting in the bed of their truck beneath one of the glorious trees abloom in our parking lot.  It was deeply peaceful as they quietly waited for others while soaking in the beauty of the fading light.

After the terrific sunshine break, we are back to forecasts of daily rain for more cloudy and rainy days, with occasional sunny respites.  The moisture is such a great blessing to a parched state, but it is too much of a good thing in some areas by now.   Fresno seems to be all right for the most part, although as I was putting in an order for electrical service, the woman with whom I spoke said she had unwittingly driven into a puddle that turned out to be “three feet deep” resulting in totaling her car from water damage.  A Fresno native, she kept repeating, “This never happens in Fresno!”

The main effect on us at the moment is making plans and counterplans for getting all our supplies to the three zone conferences next week.  We may have intermittent showers rather than steady rain some days, but we can’t count on putting stuff in the open pickup for hours.  Life is full of challenges and opportunities . . .

Last week in Relief Society our lesson included a discussion of the question, “What habits and behaviors help you look forward with optimism in spite of day to day challenges?”  Of course, scriptural passages about “being of good cheer”, prayer, righteous living, service, etc. made up a large part of the conversation.  There were also shared experiences that offered pragmatic helps.  Here are several ideas I liked: 

The teacher said that in her youth she learned a quote by Robert Louis Stevenson, “There is no duty we more underrate than the duty of being happy.”  For a significant period of her marriage, her husband was troubled by mood swings and depression, which ultimately abated.  During the hard years she remembered the RLS quote and accepted being happy as her duty. “My kids deserve a happy mother and they’re going to have a happy mother!”  She worked at it and learned to be even-tempered in spite of her husband’s difficulties.  She is a very upbeat person and no doubt her determination to be that way has been a great blessing to her entire family and contributed much to her successful marriage.

Practice gratitude: The more we give thanks for what we have, the more aware we become of our own rich blessings. Some women spoke of keeping gratefulness journals which helped them feel joy.

We can only be happy when our actions are on the same level as our beliefs.  So if we believe one thing but do another, we will not be happy.  “No one can serve two masters . . .”

Flat Stanley

We had a visitor show up for the past couple of weeks.  Flat Stanley.  If you don’t know him, Google his name or look him up in Wikipedia and you will see he’s famous.  He was very easy to have around; doesn’t say much and eats even less.  He was always amenable to go anywhere we wanted.  However, it did take time to show him this area and what we do as missionaries.  (Hence this blog post covers two weeks.)  Stanley travels first class by U.S. Postal Service and is on his way back to Colorado.

Wishing you a happy week!

With love from Len and Kit

Unexpected Blessings

I want to tell you about another missionary who serves here.  His story is truly unique.   His family lived in Serbia and the father earned enough money for them to come to the United States for a family vacation when the boy was between ten and twelve years old.  His mother was pregnant, but still considered safe for travel.  Nevertheless, while they were in the U.S. she gave birth.  The baby was born with a serious condition that was treatable in the U.S., but not in Serbia.  The baby’s problem was repaired, but the doctors told the family that the baby needed to stay in America for seven years before returning to Serbia.  Suddenly the vacation changed to immigration.  Somehow some members of our church became involved in helping them.  Shelter and other necessities of life were provided.  The father got a job of some sort and the children went to school.  The family began to participate in the church of the people who helped them through their trial.  Over time they understood and believed the gospel and joined.  So now the Elder is one of our most gregarious missionaries and a brother has also served a mission.  The father stopped by the mission office last week to drop off packages for his son.  The family does not live in California, but somehow his work brought him this direction.  One could see that the son will look much like his father in process of time.  The dad’s expansive smile was impossible to resist.  We felt privileged to meet him.  He did not ask to see his son.  He only chuckled to himself, no doubt thinking how surprised the young man would be to receive some Serbian food and whatever other treasures were in those heavy boxes. 

We emptied two apartments this week.  The rain is back so Len identified a three-hour window Friday morning when we could load up an apartment in the Fresno area and get it unloaded into the storage before it started sprinkling.  That was really trusting the weathermen!  It worked perfectly. 

The second apartment was scheduled for Monday, but with rain predicted for the next five days, we decided to go Saturday – on our preparation day.  It was a beautiful sunny day (save for heavy fog for half an hour where we went as slow as 30mph for awhile) and we were glad to have that chore done.  The apartment was rather difficult to clean and the two Elders (young male missionaries) who agreed to help us were fantastic.  Working together made what promised to be dreary work into a fun morning.

The elders face cleaning out the refrigerator.  True heroes!