From Dad 6/1
Good morning family,
It has been a good week. Thanks for your letters. We have about worn mom’s socks off this week. Every once in a while we find we are not quite as young as we used to be. We love the work. We love you more.
It was good to hear from Zach through his family. Email is awesome! We are excited to hear more each week. The second half of our mission will be the most fun and one reason is being able to feel what Zach is feeling and doing.
Dana is a very special young lady. What courage this young person has! What Chris has felt and shared in being a friend is what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about. There is no thought of personal reward.
As mom mentioned we met with Petra on Thursday. We have had some concerns where she was heading. Things seemed so surfacy and almost too polite. How she was dressed for our appointments was becoming a concern. Things were almost too casual. She has felt a strong desire to find a male companion and husband for life. She called earlier in the week and asked us about the Episcopalian Church and what we knew. She had been emailing someone in Roy, Utah who used to be a member of the Church who was now Episcopalian. When we arrived for our appointment again things were very surfacy and polite. After an opening prayer we asked permission to discuss a little more about some of the differences she would come to know as she become better acquainted with other people and their different Christian beliefs in general. Hesitantly she gave us permission. We began by mentioning one of the issues facing churches today is the level of acceptance of homosexuals and the support of their lifestyle. She stopped us cold and went on to explain the doctor she works for performs surgery to change men’s voices to that of a woman’s. She said how sympathetic she was to these people and how they suffer and that this was a closed subject about which she would not discuss. What to do next. Do we wish her well and walk away?
The Spirit said, start at the beginning again. We asked: “Do you believe we have a Father in Heaven?” She confirmed. We asked again: “Do you believe Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and the Son of God?” She confirmed again and began to relax her rigid facial expressions. An hour later we were once again on the same page. She knew homosexuals are always welcome in our midst. They will never be asked to leave just because of their chosen lifestyle. Petra agreed and supported the idea these people are ill and hurting. We explained that that is what the gospel of Jesus Christ is for. It is to heal people who want to be healed and to love those who have not yet felt the desire for healing from a troubled life no matter the source of their troubles. She also agreed some blessings available through the Church would be unavailable to practicing homosexuals as these blessings are also unavailable to those practicing other addictions as well. We felt reconnected and that once again we were pursuing the same course in life. Together our desire is to work toward keeping the commandments of our Father in Heaven and to learn what He would have us do with our lives.
Yesterday morning Petra called and asked if we had read Elder Scott’s talk in conference on prayer? She was so impressed by it Thursday evening she had read it three times before she went to bed. She also asked us about what she needed to do to receive her Patriarchal Blessing. It is always good to see how she will work through challenges and turn them into stepping stones instead of letting them become stumbling blocks.
Monday is “hump day”. The time is flying by. It is a feeling of excitement and sadness. We will miss the families we have known here but nothing is more exciting than to know we will see everyone in the family and once again to do things together. We are truly blessed. WE are grateful families truly can be together forever. Otherwise life would just be too hard. Poor mom, she hacks and coughs just like someone else I know. She is so embarrassed by it she won’t turn loose of hardly any of it. She just lets it recycle. It has to be allergies or something. I wouldn’t wish this dilemma on anyone! We are quite a pair. I think she is hoping when we are home again and we are for the most part in a dryer climate most of this will “dry up and blow away”.
You all have a great week. We love each and every one of you with all of our hearts.
Love always,
Dad
It has been a good week. Thanks for your letters. We have about worn mom’s socks off this week. Every once in a while we find we are not quite as young as we used to be. We love the work. We love you more.
It was good to hear from Zach through his family. Email is awesome! We are excited to hear more each week. The second half of our mission will be the most fun and one reason is being able to feel what Zach is feeling and doing.
Dana is a very special young lady. What courage this young person has! What Chris has felt and shared in being a friend is what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about. There is no thought of personal reward.
As mom mentioned we met with Petra on Thursday. We have had some concerns where she was heading. Things seemed so surfacy and almost too polite. How she was dressed for our appointments was becoming a concern. Things were almost too casual. She has felt a strong desire to find a male companion and husband for life. She called earlier in the week and asked us about the Episcopalian Church and what we knew. She had been emailing someone in Roy, Utah who used to be a member of the Church who was now Episcopalian. When we arrived for our appointment again things were very surfacy and polite. After an opening prayer we asked permission to discuss a little more about some of the differences she would come to know as she become better acquainted with other people and their different Christian beliefs in general. Hesitantly she gave us permission. We began by mentioning one of the issues facing churches today is the level of acceptance of homosexuals and the support of their lifestyle. She stopped us cold and went on to explain the doctor she works for performs surgery to change men’s voices to that of a woman’s. She said how sympathetic she was to these people and how they suffer and that this was a closed subject about which she would not discuss. What to do next. Do we wish her well and walk away?
The Spirit said, start at the beginning again. We asked: “Do you believe we have a Father in Heaven?” She confirmed. We asked again: “Do you believe Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and the Son of God?” She confirmed again and began to relax her rigid facial expressions. An hour later we were once again on the same page. She knew homosexuals are always welcome in our midst. They will never be asked to leave just because of their chosen lifestyle. Petra agreed and supported the idea these people are ill and hurting. We explained that that is what the gospel of Jesus Christ is for. It is to heal people who want to be healed and to love those who have not yet felt the desire for healing from a troubled life no matter the source of their troubles. She also agreed some blessings available through the Church would be unavailable to practicing homosexuals as these blessings are also unavailable to those practicing other addictions as well. We felt reconnected and that once again we were pursuing the same course in life. Together our desire is to work toward keeping the commandments of our Father in Heaven and to learn what He would have us do with our lives.
Yesterday morning Petra called and asked if we had read Elder Scott’s talk in conference on prayer? She was so impressed by it Thursday evening she had read it three times before she went to bed. She also asked us about what she needed to do to receive her Patriarchal Blessing. It is always good to see how she will work through challenges and turn them into stepping stones instead of letting them become stumbling blocks.
Monday is “hump day”. The time is flying by. It is a feeling of excitement and sadness. We will miss the families we have known here but nothing is more exciting than to know we will see everyone in the family and once again to do things together. We are truly blessed. WE are grateful families truly can be together forever. Otherwise life would just be too hard. Poor mom, she hacks and coughs just like someone else I know. She is so embarrassed by it she won’t turn loose of hardly any of it. She just lets it recycle. It has to be allergies or something. I wouldn’t wish this dilemma on anyone! We are quite a pair. I think she is hoping when we are home again and we are for the most part in a dryer climate most of this will “dry up and blow away”.
You all have a great week. We love each and every one of you with all of our hearts.
Love always,
Dad
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