We live near Amy who has not been active for 1+ years, at least. We have called her, gone to visit, left cookies, spoke to her in the morning when she goes to work, hung juice on her door and even wrote her a letter. One night she stuck her head out the door and said, "You know what, really this is overkill"! So, we totally backed off and were sad to do it because she was very lonely. Well, a couple of week ago she had a 20 hour surgery that did not go extremely well. She had a friend come up from Texas to be with her for a couple of days and our Bishop gave the friend 'The Sisters' names and numbers to call if she needed help. The friend called and we went and helped her move furniture and assemble a couch before she brought Amy home from the hospital. I think the friend remarked to Amy of how "proud and too independent she had been as she lets no one help her". Well, last week Sue Frame, my daughter, texted asking for info about some speech therapy questions and I did not know the answer. So, I called Amy who is a Speech Therapist and she was so incredibly kind as she spoke and gave me information, telling me to call her any time I need some help. She even thanked us for the juice and card we had left and told us the date of another upcoming surgery. I guess what I am sharing is that all of us need to be loved and each in a different way. But, we must never give up on one another realizing that The Savior never gives up on any of us!!
This was another hard week of knocking doors without much success so we are going to have to do something different. I think I said before that if we need to have better success we must change what we are doing and do it in a different way. I realize how much effort it takes for the Elders and Sisters to daily knock doors, and not always have success, but they never stop trying and because of their efforts many lives are bless to come to know God.
We went to visit Brother Grenniger this week and had a couple from the ward come and be with us as fellow shippers, especially since we can't go to a man's home without anyone else. He is about 80 and is just such a gentle and wonderful man. He had a stroke a few years ago and is able to speak very little....usually using the words of just yes and no. Anyway, our message was about the Love of Jesus Christ and we used The Mormon Message, "Rescued by Christ". This is just beautiful and as tears rolled down his checks our hearts were so touched to able to again be instruments in the hand of The Lord to help others feel His love. When we finished we had a song, A Child's Prayer and then prayer. We also served root beer floats. We left all the fixins on the front steps and laughed with each other about what the neighbors thought when they watched these 'two little ole ladies' on a doorstep 'pouring and scooping ' something into cups. Great Experience!!!
Friday morning we were called to be at the Stake Center at 8:00 promptly for Zone Meeting in the High Council Room. President Choi was also there to have interviews with all of the missionaries. This is really a wonderful experience to sit at the feet of a General Authority who is also your Mission President and listen and receive words of counsel and love. Mine was the first interview and then I went to an interview with Sister Choi. This experience the first 15 minutes of the meeting with the Choi's was priceless. I immediately went back to the room and jotted down as many thoughts I could remember so I could put them in my journal and not forget them.
The meeting continued with the Mission Vehicle Coordinator telling us about the automobiles. Each car the church buys costs $18,000 and after 2 years of driving it usually sells for $10,000. He reminded all the Elders and Sisters that to pay for these cars, the money has come from $180,000 earnings...from your grandma's, neighbors, parents and those that have very, very little financial blessings. He reminded all to drive with care showing respect for the blessings of even having a car. We then had training from our Zone Leaders, Elder Stringham and Wohlgemuth about the blessings of teaching families, we role-played and learned. President and Sister Wood told us that the missionaries in our Zone, and those that will come bringing new members, would provide the music for the New Member Fireside on March 23. The Presidency decided to rotate it to a different stake center each month hoping to improve involvement of Ward Members in the lives of new members. We practiced a couple of songs. President and Sister Miller taught of efforts we can all improve on in becoming better missionaries and also focused on finding families to teach the gospel to. We were reminded that 27 investigators are required for 1 baptism. That is a great amount of work and the missionaries can not do it by themselves. We need ward members to be involved with referrals and friend shipping as investigators come to church or are baptized. President Choi closed our meeting by 'having fun with the Spirit' and also teaching of the importance of all having a 'change of heart' in all we do. We studied D&C 64:29,30,34 and he also impressed each of us with his message of High Expectations.
This really is a wonderful work to be involved in! As wesee the happiness in the eyes and hearts of those
that are becoming active or are being baptized, we know their Heavenly Father is even more pleased that His Children are making choices that bless their lives with happiness and help them grow. I don't know if many remember that about 25 years ago when I was working in the Stake YW, we gave each girl in the stake a 'seedling' of a blue spruce pine tree. We encouraged them to plant this 'fragile' seedling in their yard and as it grew to compare the growth of their own 'fragile' testimonies with that of the tree. It was very visible and would be a constant reminder to all of us to study and be obedient and to serve to feed our individual testimony for growth. Well, our pine tree in Orem is humongous...having to be trimmed much because the base is so large. And I wonder, how am I doing with my testimony? I saw this tree at the cemetery as we were walking and my thoughts returned to home and my tree and my testimony. I am continually feeding my own testimony, not to be compared with anyone else, but this tree caused me to think.
I want my children and grandchildren and Mom to know how much I love the work I am doing.
I Love my Heavenly Father and I often feel Him close to me. My Patriarchal Blessing is a great reminder to me of His promised blessings and His love.
I miss Jerry so much because our plan was to go on a mission together but I have learned that by 'small and simple things'...'through hard times'....we can grow and improve and step up and do more than we think is possible.
God be with each of you and bless you in all you do. Again I say, take time to look for the miracles in your lives and record them so you and your family will not forget that our God is a God of miracles and that they continue daily.
Talk to you next week!!
Love, Sister Frame
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