Dear Family and Loved Ones,
We have been experiencing some very cold (by Southern California standards) weather the past five days – of course when we see the weather for Utah and Idaho online we can’t feel too sorry for ourselves :) Warmer weather is predicted for this week which we are looking forward to. We have found out that we are real wimps and are going to have a big adjustment next winter when we will be living with REALLY cold temperatures.
This was a very busy week for Ted, he started interviewing each missionary. He interviews a zone each day which is anywhere from fourteen to twenty-four missionaries. It will take another two weeks to finish the interviews. He also had stake missionary coordination meetings in the evenings and was able to meet with about half of the stake presidents in our mission – he’ll finish the other half this week.
By Friday Ted was feeling sick with a very bad cold. He is very congested and has a sore throat and cough. It was a blessing for him to have the weekend to try to recuperate. Saturday Ted decided that even though he wasn’t feeling his best he would spend a couple of hours in front of the transfer boards at the mission office seeking some inspiration about who will train and where we should place the many missionaries who will arrive in the next three months. Six hours later I started to worry about Ted since I didn’t expect him to be gone so long. I sent him a text to make sure he was alright. He responded, “Yes thanks.” It wasn’t until he got home an hour later that he told me he was working on transfers during those many hours and had made a lot of progress. I’m grateful he’s willing and able to take the time necessary to make sure our missionaries are in the right place!
Ben went to the Winter Formal for the High School Saturday night. One of his friends asked if he would take her. I don’t think he had any idea how expensive high school dances are here. The tickets just to go to the dance (which was held at the Long Beach Convention Center) were $120 – they each paid half :) It was a formal dance so he rented a tux which he looked great in! Of course he bought her a corsage and they each contributed money towards the dinner at one of the girls in their group’s house and a limo! He had a good time and we were grateful that he and his date chose not to go to the after party which is when most of the kids drink.
We were scheduled to speak in Stake Conference in Whittier Stake but thankfully President Devereaux (Ted’s counselor) and his wife were willing to take our places so Ted was able to rest today while reading missionary letters. Please keep him in your prayers – he has a very busy week and it would be nice if he has a voice for all of the interviews he has scheduled for this week.
We are doing our best to get the members in each of our stakes excited about all of the new missionaries coming. Many of the stakes are really coming through and have already found housing in their homes for our Elders and Sisters. We are so grateful for their sacrifices and know they will be blessed for being willing to take care of the Lord’s servants.
Each time our stake conferences come around I usually put together a talk and give some version of it whenever we are called on to speak. These are some of the thoughts I plan to share during this conference season: During the last general conference an historic announcement was made by our Prophet, President Monson. The age of eligibility for serving a mission was lowered to 18 for our Elders and to 19 for sisters. Many eager and faithful young men and women have responded to the call from a prophet. Missionary applications have risen by more than 400%. This surge of missionaries arriving in each mission is also a call to each of us to pledge faith equal to that of these young missionaries and support this great cause.
From Mormon Times, “The decision to drop everything is not easy for any young man or woman in the Church. Nevertheless, the response to the 6 October announcement remains enthusiastic as unprecedented numbers of young men and women continue to fill out missionary applications.”
“I've never seen anything affect a generation of young people like what President Monson announced the Saturday morning of general conference,” says Elder David F. Evans, executive director of the Church’s Missionary Department and member of the Seventy. “What we're seeing is just an absolute overwhelming response from this generation to the invitation of the Lord and His prophet to rise up and go and serve your fellow man and preach the gospel.”
From Mormon Times, “In the weeks following the missionary age announcement, the Church reported that missionary applications had increased dramatically (from 700 applications per week to 4,000), with women comprising more than half of the applicants. While the number of post-announcement applications is still double what it has been in the past, the total number of men and women who have applied since October is now about equal. Prior to the announcement, approximately 15 percent of missionaries were young women.”
Elder Ballard said: “As we raise the level of expectation for the performance of our missionaries, we must also raise the level of expectation for the performance of all of the members of the Church in fulfilling our missionary duties. We need your help, brothers and sisters, to support and assist our missionaries in finding and baptizing many more of our Heavenly Father’s children. We need you to watch over, protect, and inspire the missionaries, who are servants of the Lord. If the standard is to be raised, it is raised for all of us. We must be more faithful. We must be more spiritually in tune. We must prepare ourselves to assist the missionaries in finding those of our Heavenly Father’s children who will embrace the message of the Restoration.”
We thank each of you for your love, prayers and support!
Love,
The Long Beach Buberts
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