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| Had some adventurous walks to work in the frigid cold |
There are even Christmas Lights on the giant cranes! Its scary to think of how they would get them out to the ends up there - It was wonderful the day after Thanksgiving to see all the lights on. Because so much is closed by construction they have done more in other places - in front of the Church History Library for example. I don't recall there still being so many trees still having leaves last year, it changes the look. In front of the Beehive house they have lights that are mostly warm white with scattered warm red ones and it sort of looks like glowing fruit trees.
Durk has gotten more and more opportunities to do interpreting or translating - he has helped a mental health advisor with assessments and reports and the replies from South Americans as well has assisting the Peruvian and Mexican sisters in the mission. He really enjoys it. Sometimes the front desk will call back and say they have no idea what someone needs just that they don't speak English, even the Global Services has called and he's taken over helping someone. Now he is helping Sister Newman with her Spanish learning in preparation for working at the Mexico MTC, where she will start her next mission in the spring, after a short break when this one ends.
General Mission news; Bonds are going to serve in the temple in Portugal next, Sister McInelly is getting married instead of going to Samoa (at first she called it off because he wouldn't go with her but then changed her mind - she had her call but then went to a class reunion where they reunited), the manager of Travel is moving to work on expanding Beehive clothing to support temple expansion (maybe the new one will find a way for them to do less "musical chairs" where the visa and travel agents keep changing which countries they work with).
Other mission thoughts: Don't know if I motioned this before, one week someone in testimony meeting said the closest they feel to Christ is while saying the sacrament prayers - and since it was still zoom days and the sacrament was last, you could tell the brethren had heard that and the prayers were extra meaningfully said. Really every week 'like having a general authority saying the sacrament prayers! They know what they are saying and they are speaking to our Heavenly Father, no reciting/rote/reading in this ward!
We also have some amazing music, I've never heard the flute like we have here, and there are many great singers and musicians (with an occasional painful exception who might need to retire from accompanying or performing)
The Christmas Social Round has begun - started with the Mission Department Lunch. Everyone together this year (covid was causing lots of cancelations and splitting into small groups last year) We had it on the 26th floor and I got to touch a keyboard for the first time in 16 months to play for the singing, with Sharon leading the music. (I managed to run through them the afternoon before and in the morning using the little electric piano in the big conference room where the executive directors meet). Elder Nash gave the message and he and Dave Wiedman worked out a gift for everyone - so now we have letter from a general authority that came with -
Durk's sister came to town from Idaho to visit the Kristkindle market at This is the Place Heritage Park and we got to go to lunch and visit (Jackie and Chad) after freezing our toes off helping at the swap meet. We had some very happy customers who took a lot of stuff off our hands. When all you have is your suitcases to go to India and your visa doesn't come and you are waiting in winter in SLC with a very minimally supplied apartment, a bunch of apartment stuff and some long-sleeved shirts are pretty handy. Sister Matson in the group we eat lunch with on the second floor works with seniors who have delays - if the visa hasn't come before the MTC they often can get it delayered, but if the people have sold or rented their house and have no where to wait, they do the MTC and come join our mission for a while. I think since covid the whole visa process continues to change more than usual so even though calls and assignments allow time for visas, you never know for sure until it happens.
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| It took ten minutes to do our entire decorating. We have since received several ornaments from people in the office, which will be great reminders of the mission and friends here in future years. |
Mission Devotional - Discovery Zone, the "Disneyland" of family history. Workers there dress casually and have first names and hometowns on their tags. They are the "Face" of the library, and for many, the face of the church. It does take rigorous training to be able to help people. They do 8-hour shifts including Saturdays and most holidays (they do get another day off). About 60-70 total work there, half are service missionaries who live at home and work 8-30 hours a week, about 30 percent full-time missionaries and 20 percent volunteers.
There is a way to take an old ancestor photo and link to a story and it will "animate" the photo and have the person tell their story! One sister who spoke had moved to Argentina and lived there for years - they had a way to Americans to have an American bank account in dollars with helped a lot against inflation until one day the government confiscated all t he money in all hose accounts. They also lived in Venezuela 8 years and El Salvador - with all the violence, kidnappings, etc they didn't feel safe but often saw the fruits of conversion around them. Now she helps the Spanish-speakers who come looking for help with tracing their families, of which there are very many.
Always those from the Family Search Library speak of "Elijah moments" and how magical it is to see someone's family tree populate as soon as they put in a name that links to information already in the system. One said they had helped guests from over 31 countries already in the in two months here, they never stop coming! Many don't know what draws them here, a spark is ignited somehow, a prompting in their hotel room, a colleague from work or someone in family mentions something and they come.
One showed an old stereoscope, which was used to a bit like 3-d glasses today - you put two photos down and looked through and saw a solidity and clarity and depth that wasn't there before - this is like viewing others through the lense of the Spirit. Often people who come in suddenly see connection of the human family. The workers watch the joy as people discover, and love how no one needs to knock on door but just welcome those who come - often scared or nervous and unsure why or what they will do but they leave with joy.
We were given tickets to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional as a special thanks for those who helped the interpreting department and just minutes later the mission president announced they had tickets for the mission :) The bigger news was that after being disappointed that no one got tickets to the Christmas Concert with the Tabernacle Choir and being even more disappointed when they announce David Suchet as their guest actor, someone managed to get tickets for the mission and we got to go! We were up on the highest balcony so it wasn't much different than TV. but it's nice that we got to attend in person once. I can't imagine how many thousands of people request tickets! And when you see it next year on TV, we are one of those little sparks of light in the audience with phones on when they asked us to shine them. I did look pretty cool on the big screens. And Sir David did an amazing job reciting Luke 2.
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| we could see President Oaks and Elder Cook come in way down there.... |
Way too late in the day we found a great Chinese Restaurant just 15-20 minutes away! We would have likely gone once a month if we'd found it a year ago. Apparently our past search for "near us" gave us things farther south but not north so it took a recommendation from Sister Hansen who is fairly recent addition near us in the office. She helps with those who go home for mental/emotional health reasons - everyone gets checked on to make sure they get help.
Dave DeLaMare, one of the IFRs, had his last day - he figures during their tenure at the Philippines MTC they will deal with 5,000-7,000 young missionaries. Two very experienced subs are being full-time volunteers for him and Fernando for now.
Then we got the goodies round! everyone in the office and mission seemed to be giving out goodies and we had to tell Glen we had a whole bagful we could share so he doesn't need to buy any Christmas candy - chocolates, caramels, fudge, popcorn, chocolate covered sunflower seeds, toffee, cookies, and more. We did have a break with a lovely round of homemade sourdough bread from one of the IFRS and then we had several people give ornaments which filled our tiny tree and will be great souvenirs of the mission.
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| We got to go to Ogden three times in two or three weeks - Isaacs's school Christmas Choir (accompanied beautifully by Megan), their piano recital (Megan's student's recital) where Isaac was one of the top pianists, and Glen's barbershop chorus which was very entertaining. This is definitely one of the perks of this mission. We also go to Bethany's often and have her over here for dinner. |
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Occasionally we hear of mission miracles - Health crises that the locals didn't realize were critical, accidents where pedestrian elders following all the rules where hit but recovered, tec. Prayers for missionaries' protection do work! Why not always, you may ask when someone dies? agency still has to be there -
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| The TIPS group went This is the Place Heritage Park for the "Candlelight Tour" which wasn't a tour at all but walking around in the dark and cold in crowds but the carolers were extremely good, the cookies too. |
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| Zone Christmas Dinner and Branch Christmas Social were in the same spot - the Zone got to have professional entertainment thanks to the Nichol's, but the Branch had a better menu :) |
Zone Devotional - small and simple ways to become like and follow Christ -
Love - all God's children, they took their kids to help at an orphanage in Ecuador
Listen - blind YM passing sacrament with father behind holding shoulders and whispering guidance
Learn - Bednar we are here to learn how to learn, McKay application of knowledge to build character
Lift - the load from the burdened, to lift self lift someone else
Lead - Eyring - your power will be multiplied many times by the Lord, Kim B Clark His light shinces through us
McKay - no one great thing brings eternal life but many little things
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| I never realized it had lights! Still doesn't look like it will get done before we go home, I really thought we'd see one thing actually completed. Last year there were very few people in the office or who knew us, this year people all over the place were bringing us goodies. We took Bethany up to Ogden Christmas morning and went to Church with Glen's family   |
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