Dear Family and Loved Ones,
The past week was a whirlwind. Our trainers from the MTC (Missionary Training Center) arrived on Monday morning. Brother Craig Hill and Brother Spencer Christensen are both full time employees of the Missionary Department. Brother Hill is the Director of Finance for the Missionary Department, Brother Christensen is the Director of Operations of the MTC. To say the least we were a bit intimidated at the thought of spending three days with these two men. Upon meeting Brother Hill and Brother Christensen any fear we had was quickly replaced with a feeling of calm. They love missionary work, they each served missions, Brother Hill to Colombia (he was there at the same time I was living there as an exchange student) and Brother Christensen to Guayaquil, Ecuador! They both served as mission presidents, Brother Hill in Argentina and Brother Christensen in McAllen, Texas.
Monday and Tuesday were spent talking about our mission here in Long Beach. We were able to ask them questions and they shared ideas, scriptures and experiences that were very helpful. Monday night we each went out with a different missionary companionship to work. Everyone had a great experience and Brother Hill and Brother Christensen were very impressed with our Elders.
One of the most helpful activities was going over a survey that our missionaries filled out a couple of months ago. The survey asked the missionaries many questions about safety, mission rules, their concerns and feelings about their mission experience. It was great to see that most responses were very positive and also helpful to learn about some of the things we can do to strengthen our mission and our missionaries.
Wednesday Brother Hill and Brother Christensen joined us at the mission office for ZLC (Zone Leader Council). It was a great day - Ted taught the Doctrine of Christ, we had pizza delivered for lunch and watched a DVD about vehicle safety. We ended by having the Elders ask our trainers any question - these two men know everything about missionary work! It was a lot of fun. We concluded by evaluating the time we had spent together and they let us know that they are available to answer any questions we might have in the future.
New Zone Leaders, District Leaders and Trainers met on Friday morning for instructions about their new assignments. These missionaries make all the difference in how well the mission functions. We are blessed with outstanding leaders!
Ted had interviews Thursday, Friday and Saturday (He had already had four days of interview the week before). After a day of talking for hours he returns home without a voice. Interviews happen every other transfer. Each missionary has a chance to visit with their Mission President, most interviews are about 10 minutes long. Each zone is assigned a day and each companionship a time for their interview which is held at one of the church buildings in their zone. The zones have anywhere from 14 to 26 missionaries and there are seven zones - no wonder Ted looses his voice. It may seem like a lot of time and effort but it is a highlight for the missionary and for Ted to have that one on one time together.
Saturday night we went to the Stake Conference for the Cypress Stake. The Stake President, President Wynder is married to our dear friend Cathy Davis' sister. It is always fun to see Sister Wynder, she looks so familiar (just like Cathy) and is warm and welcoming. We are usually asked to speak at conferences and I have to say that the frequency of talking is helping me loose my fear. I don't know that I will ever love to speak in public but at least I no longer feel like I am going to die. Of course Ted is always amazing and never seems to worry about speaking.
Sunday we had Stake Conference in the Whittier Stake. The Whittier Stake is the furthest away from the mission home but we still only had to drive about 30 minutes to get to the Stake Center (we are soooooo spoiled!). Whittier is up against the mountains, there are plenty of hills and the missionaries who ride bikes in that zone are in very good shape. The Conference was wonderful. Some of the highlights were a 18 year old boy who talked about preparing to be a husband and a father and a talk by a new member who was baptized just over three months ago. This sister is Hispanic and was concerned that her English wasn't perfect but she did a great job expressing how the Gospel has changed her life. She said my neighbor asked me, "what happened to you, you have a light in your face, you are glowing". She said I told her, "it's the Espiritu Santo" (the Holy Ghost), her friend says she would like to know more. The sister's husband was recently baptized too, she said, "I love what being a member of the Church has done for us, my husband is so much nicer to me and he even does the dishes now".
Elder Reynolds, the Area Authority Seventy was the concluding speaker. Elder Reynolds gave a great talk about the importance of just being good. He said too often we are waiting for more knowledge or something else to change in our life before we live the Gospel. Elder Reynolds said, "if you want to be good, then do good". We become what we are doing. Elder Scott taught at our recent General Conference, "I have personally verified that concepts like faith, prayer, love, and humility hold no great significance and produce no miracles until they become a living part of us through our own experience, aided by the sweet prompting of the Holy Spirit. In early life I found that I could learn gospel teachings intellectually and, through the power of reason and analysis, recognize that they were of significant value. But their enormous power and ability to stretch me beyond the limits of my imagination and capacity did not become reality until patient, consistent practice allowed the Holy Spirit to distill and expand their meaning in my heart. I found that while I was sincerely serving others, God forged my personal character. He engendered a growing capacity to recognize the direction of the Spirit. The genius of the gospel plan is that by doing those things the Lord counsels us to do, we are given every understanding and every capacity necessary to provide peace and rich fulfillment in this life. Likewise, we gain the preparation necessary for eternal happiness in the presence of the Lord". By consistently making good choices we will become "good".
This week is transfer week which means we have two missionaries leaving, seven arriving, new companionships and many other exciting changes. The work keeps moving forward!
We love you all,
The Long Beach Buberts
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