Enjoy the Journey

August 9, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

We had a great week in Long Beach!  We even saw some sunshine.  The weather continues to be perfect, marine layer in the morning, warm but not hot with cool ocean breezes.  This is a golfers paradise.

We enjoyed a wonderful visit from two of our great cousins, Nika Titmus and Sam Howard.  They were great guests and so easy to please, they kept Ben and Mari entertained. The highlight of their visit was a trip to Dodger Stadium for "Mormon Night". Wow!  It was the first Major League baseball game for us (the Buberts).  We loved the stadium and the crowd.  It was fun to share the event with family and our new friends from our Stake here (there were actually 4,000 members of the Church from 10 Stakes).  Unfortunately the Dodgers didn't score a single run - there were some great plays and it was a memorable evening.

Ted has been very busy with missionary training.  The information that was taught to the Zone Leaders two weeks ago is now being taught by the Zone Leaders to their districts.  Ted and the Assistants go to as many of the training meetings as they can to offer support.  They are finding that the Zone Leaders are doing a fantastic job and the information is getting to the districts.

One assignment we will have while on our mission is to speak in Stake Conference.  This weekend two of our seven Stakes (with seven Stakes there will be 14 conferences each year)  held conferences.  We went to the Whittier Stake for the Saturday night session and to the Long Beach East Stake for the Sunday session.  It was amazing to see so many faithful members of the church in each Stake.  

Both Stakes have wonderful Stake Presidents.  Each are unique with their own gifts.  Pres. Marco from Whittier is very loving.  His wife is suffering from cancer and his testimony of the Plan of Salvation and the blessings of the Gospel were so sincere and powerful.  President Ahlstrom, from Long Beach East Stake is fun and relates well to the youth.  He shared some insights about driving the road to Hana on the island of Maui.  Before they left to vacation on Maui they read some reviews about making the drive . The road is an eight hour drive from Kahului to Hana.  Many of the reviews said that the many twists and turns (over 600) and bridges (more than 40 with most being one way) made the drive tiresome and not worth the time and effort.  They decided to make the drive anyway and were delighted by the lush vegetation, the numerous waterfalls and the beautiful vistas.  President Ahlstrom made the comparison to our journey in life. Too often we get discouraged when obstacles come our way, or when we face a detour, or a roadblock. He suggested that the Lord wants us to enjoy the journey and to understand that we should never let ourselves become too overwhelmed by our challenges that we can't find the beauty of our mortal life, the greatest of those joys are found in the simplicity of the Gospel and with our families and friends.  President Ahlstrom ended with a quote from President Hinckley, "life is just like an old time rail journey . . . delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed.  The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

We continue to be ever grateful to each of you for your faith, love and support.  We realize more and more that you are all a part of our mission and we literally would not be here without your willingness to help us.

We love you all!
The Long Beach Buberts