Dear Family and Loved Ones,
We spent most of the week getting Ted back on his feet. He was so sick we canceled our tune-up (training for new missionaries) and his interviews. He was able to work on letters, transfers and phone calls and ended up having a very productive week. Most importantly he is feeling a lot better but still needs to be careful to not overdue. Thanks for all of your prayers, we are so grateful that he didn’t end up with anything worse and is improving.
Ben and Mari had a busy week since it was the end of their semester at Los Al High School. They had some big projects due and are getting ready for finals which are this week. Mari had her school dance show Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We were all grateful she didn’t pick up Ted’s cold and was able to participate. Last year on the way to dress rehearsal she tripped and sprained her ankle. The sprain was very severe, not only was she not able to be in the show she had to withdraw from dance the next semester and spent the next two months in a boot. Needless to say the dance show was very important to Mari, she was so happy to be able to perform and she did GREAT!
Thursday I got a phone call from Sister Choi (her husband is Elder Choi of the Seventy). She is so sweet and was calling because she was concerned about my migraines. I had to miss an adult session stake conference meeting a couple of weeks ago when they were visiting one of the stakes in our mission because of a headache. She gave me some great advice which I will try, at least most of it – I’m not too sure about the acupuncture :) I asked her if they had any idea what their new assignment would be (the Seventy usually get their assignments in April), she changed the subject. Saturday I saw in the Church News that Elder Choi has been called as a mission president – no wonder she avoided my question! They are very special and will do a wonderful job wherever they are assigned. Assignments will be made in the next two weeks so we will know very soon who will take our place here in Long Beach!
Saturday we learned some very sad news from Utah. Our son John and his wife Sam lost some very dear friends in a car accident. The young couple, the baby she was carrying (and due to deliver in a week) and their five dogs were all killed. It is a reminder to all of us to make the most of the time we have with our loved ones and to be prepared to return to our Heavenly Father. That’s what missionary work is all about – sharing Heavenly Father’s plan with any of His children who will listen so they can be prepared when they leave this life. We are praying for all involved.
Ted was able to complete his assignment for our Stake Conference at the leadership session Saturday. He said it went really, really well. He invited some of the missionaries from our stake to participate in a role play of the ideal ward council. They all did a great job! There was a positive response from those who attended and hopefully it will help them in their assignments to look for ways to share the Gospel and reach out to those who are struggling.
Sunday was our adult session of conference. It’s always nice to attend to our home stake conference! We didn’t have an assignment but we were asked to sit on the stand. I really love looking out over the audience and seeing the many people we have come to know and love. I was feeling very comfortable until we were called on to share our testimonies at the last minute. I had just told a new convert before her talk, “you don’t need to worry, you are among friends. Everyone is pulling for you.” Somehow the advice is easier to give than it is to follow :) Ted did a great job talking about how God will place people in our paths who He has prepared to hear the Gospel and He will also direct us to be in the right place at the right time.
Sunday night we had a farewell gathering with all of our senior couples, the mission home was blessed with the presence of thirteen angels! We took a few minutes to visit and express our gratitude to the two couples who are completing their missions in the next few days and then enjoyed some Marie Calendar’s pie and ice cream. When we arrived in Long Beach we had one senior couple working in the mission office. They were amazing and had such a great influence on our young missionaries we hoped to have more called to serve with us. Over the past two years our numbers of seniors and the variety of their assignments have all grown. Each has been a blessing and an answer to a need. Often we didn’t even know we had a need but the Lord knowing beforehand what circumstances would be coming has directed the perfect missionaries to our Long Beach Mission. We have been blessed by their faith, goodness, diligence, endurance, patience, charity and willingness to serve! The senior couples we served with in Ecuador were such an important part of our missions and remained faithful examples to us. We know these angels are having an equally profound effect on our young missionaries. We love and appreciate our angels and are so grateful to know them and to serve with them!
Elder Hales taught, “Couple missionaries are role models and examples of strength to full-time missionaries and to priesthood and auxiliary leaders throughout the world. I express my gratitude for all these and the thousands of others who are serving in so many capacities, contributing millions of hours in service to their fellow man.”
“My brothers and sisters, if you have felt stirrings to engage in this work, however quiet those feelings may be, do not procrastinate the day of your service. Now is the time to prepare; now is the time to be called, the time to sacrifice. Now is the time to share your gifts and talents, and now is the time to receive God’s blessings for you and your family. “There is a constant need for more couple missionaries,” President Gordon B. Hinckley has said. As this work rolls forward, that need is increasing. Let us, in our richest years of experience, maturity, wisdom, and most of all, our faith, rise to meet that need as only we can.”
“We, above all, have special reason to do so. From our life’s experience we can look back and recognize the goodness of our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, to us and our families.”
We love each of you!
The Long Beach Buberts
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