Week of September 11, 2016

Sunday we attended the blessing of our new granddaughter. Our son-in-law gave her a beautiful blessing and there was a good spirit there. Afterward we had a lovely breakfast and a good visit. When we returned home we caught the last part of our regional conference. In the afternoon we went home teaching to the Shurtz family and Sister Reeves. All leave in October, so we will be getting new assignments after that. I will miss the Shurtz. They are some of the first people we met at the MTC in our group and we have very much enjoyed their friendship.

Happy Grandma and Darling Baby!!

Monday we had a staff meeting in the morning to discuss our Capstone classes for missionaries going home. I think it will work well. I spent the afternoon doing research. I was able to get some help from our Finnish sister. In the evening we had our Hail and Farewell dinner. There are so many missionaries going home in the next two months it is unreal. I think we only had about 9 or 10 new ones and probably around 40 going home. It was sad to see so many good friends standing with those leaving.

Tuesday we had our first Capstone class. We will meet with everyone on Tuesday morning then split into two groups the rest of the week. We had about 60 people this morning. Ted taught two classes and did well. We finished early so we raced to the temple for the noon session. After the session we attended mission conference. The weather has turned cool and I am enjoying it being cooler than it has been.

Wednesday I did some research when I wasn’t helping missionaries. I didn’t have to teach, but the classes really don’t need a lot of help for most of the work. I have been trying to unravel a several generational family and I’m trying to get it done before our Finnish missionary leaves. She looked at a couple of things for me during breaks—she is such a sweet lady.

Thursday I taught Partners in Capstone. It went well except the class was so full and the clip-on microphone wouldn’t pick up my voice so I had to talk really loud to be heard over the rumble of voices. I wasn’t sure I would make it in the afternoon, but the class was smaller and I was able to use a laser-pointer to point to things on the screen so I could stand at the podium. It is sad to me to see so many of my friends from our group in the audience, Elder and Sister Aromaa from Finland, Elder Wheatley (my new-found cousin), and missionaries we have trained as new missionaries all getting ready to leave in the next few weeks.

Friday as we left our apartment I discovered we had a voice mail from Elder Barber asking me to call as soon as possible. The missionary that was supposed to teach had called him around 7 am to say she was taking her husband to the hospital and would not be there to teach. He wanted me to teach the Sourcing class. Fortunately, I had the class outline in the packet for the missionaries and I’d taught it a couple of times so I was able to step in and do it. I think it went well. We had some real beginners in the class and Sourcing is definitely an Intermediate class so we had some struggles. We ended with a video by Elder Renlund quoting a scripture from Ezekial about the waters running out from under the doors of the temple and increasing as they go. We used this to introduce the Find, Take, Teach session next month. I had invited a couple of sisters who had been in the class last month to share their experiences. It was an amazing experience and the Spirit was so strong it was hard for me to talk. It was a very positive way to end the week.

The other trainer arrived during lunch. Her husband was home and doing well—actually he had gone back to the temple to finish his shift and thank the people who had helped him. She was a little shaken but she taught in the afternoon. It was a totally different class. We closed with the same video and a couple of testimonials that were amazing.

After class I visited with our Finnish missionary for a bit. She was trying to help me find a family that has eluded me. She told me that she thought I was a very Finnish American. She said I was humble and reserved like the Finns. It was much better the way she said it all, but I was flattered by the compliment. I will truly miss her and her help but also her friendship. She is a real sweetheart.

In the evening I attended a meeting for an international dinner we are having at Relief Society. I am on the committee for France and will be making the dessert. One of the sisters had a bunch of frozen fruit in her freezer that she wasn’t going to be able to use before she goes home, so that will save us a few dollars.

Saturday we got together with our zone for a potluck at the home of one of the Church Service Missionaries that has finished her mission. It was really fun visiting with everyone on a more social note.