Dear Family and Loved Ones,
We had a great but emotional week here in Long Beach. It seems to get harder to say goodbye to our missionaries who have completed their service. This transfer twelve amazing Elders returned to their family and friends. They served as leaders in the mission and were among those who welcomed us here one year ago. We expect great things from them (and all of our missionaries) in the future.
Tuesday two Elders arrived, one from New Zealand, the other from Samoa. They are already great missionaries – we told them that they have a lot of work to do since they are taking the place of the twelve Elders we just lost!
Thursday we celebrated our one year anniversary here in Long Beach. Ted, Ben, Mari and I decided to plan something special to commemorate the occasion. I was thinking we would go to one of the many tourist destinations in the area but Mari came up with a simple but appropriate activity, she suggested we recreate our first day in the mission. Perfect! We drove to the mission office and then to the former mission home (now vacant with a for sale sign in the front yard). The house was locked but we were able to get into the back yard, look through the MANY windows and sliding doors and enjoy the roses and flowers in the courtyard.
Last year after spending about two hours – definitely not enough time - with President and Sister Sexton we gave them a ride to the airport. It wasn’t until we said goodbye that we realized we weren’t really sure how to get back to the mission home. We were also hungry and had no idea where to find a place to eat. Fortunately we found our way to the Pacific Coast Highway and soon enjoyed lunch at the nearest In and Out Burger, so of course our anniversary lunch was celebrated at the same location. This time we were able to order some items from the “secret” menu and easily found our way back to the mission office, where we dropped Ted off for an afternoon of Temple recommend interviews.
At the recent dedication of a chapel in Cambridge Massachusetts President Eyring said, “Members of the Church will serve God better if they cherish sacred experiences in which they felt the Spirit testify truths of the Savior . . . memories are best cherished when they are recalled and acted on. The Lord gives us those testimonies to bless and reassure others, as well as ourselves”.
Here are just some of the many sacred experiences that we cherish from this past year:
1. A few short days at the Mission President’s Seminar at the MTC, where we were surrounded by Prophets, Apostles, General Authorities and hundreds of men and women who are willing to consecrate everything to the Lord. The Spirit was palpable and our memories of that sacred experience continue to reassure us that God will be with us in His Work.
2. Meeting our amazing missionaries and finding young men and young women who have willingly put their lives on hold, to share the Gospel message with all who will hear. They are energetic, full of faith, obedient and pure. They are a miracle!
3. Being surrounded by fabulous leaders and members of the Church who live here in our mission boundaries. They are wonderful examples of true Latter Day Saints. They love and feed our missionaries and find many ways to serve them.
4. Visits from Elder Perry, Elder Clayton, Elder Zwick, Elder Bowen and others. Their goodness, sincerity, knowledge and dedication are another evidence of the fact that this is the Savior’s work. They continue to lead and mentor us and we are grateful for all they do.
5. Seeing lives change, our children’s, our missionaries, those they teach and our own. Elder Hale told us that we can grow under any circumstance but in the mission our growth would be exponential – that has certainly been the case.
6. Knowing that our lives are forever changed. We have come to know and love our Savior even more deeply as we serve Him and guide the young men and young women he has called to represent Him here in the California, Long Beach Mission.
We love and appreciate you all,
The Long Beach Buberts
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