Dear Family and Loved Ones,
To say the least this past week is a bit of a blur – we were very busy and it seems like we won’t be slowing down any time soon.
Tuesday we went to the Newport Beach Temple with our four missionaries who finish their missions this transfer, three Elders and one Sister. They are a great group of missionaries and are so diverse in their abilities and personalities yet they have each been great servants of our Heavenly Father. We discovered that one of our Cambodian members has a little Chinese food restaurant near the mission office and we have been Mo’s best customers ever since! We took our missionaries there to pick up some food following our temple trip then took our food to the mission office so we could visit while we ate. We had fun hearing about our missionary’s plans for when they return home and reading our silly fortunes from our fortune cookies. One of the Elder’s fortune was that he will “soon go on a long journey”, he returns to Georgia tomorrow so I guess his fortune was accurate :)
Ted is carrying a very heavy load! Putting together transfers was a big challenge because we receive 29 missionaries tomorrow including eight visa waiters and a reassigned Elder we just found out about this morning. Many new areas need to be opened so each missionary will have a place to serve. Somehow he was able to get everything ready to go in time to make leadership calls Wednesday night.
Thursday we drove to Newport Beach for our mission president’s seminar. We picked up two mission presidents and their wives at the airport on our way. We started the seminar with a delicious dinner Thursday night. We were outside near a very loud fountain which made conversation a challenge but it was beautiful and we enjoyed visiting.
Friday morning we began our meetings at 8:00 a.m. Elder Maynes, Elder Schwitzer and Elder Aidukaitis are the 70’s (general authorities) who supervise our area. Elder Perry was there as well! He spoke to us first and said that the Apostles are attending all of the mission president’s seminars. He joked that they were checking up on the Seventy to make sure they aren’t leading us astray. He then told us they are attending the seminars because they recognize this as an historic time in missionary work and they feel a need to impress on all of us how critical it is for these wonderful, new young missionaries to have a positive experience as they serve.
Here is a little bit of what Elder Perry shared with us: The change in the age when missionaries can serve is a revelation from God, it’s not by chance. The Lord was not pleased with our pace and He wants us to step it up. He said Mitt Romney’s run for President was instrumental in getting the Church in the spotlight. Elder Perry told us we would be astounded at the number of media and church leaders (from other denominations) who contacted Church headquarters to learn more about the Church. He had many opportunities to visit with Pastors, Catholic Church leaders, etc. Elder Perry said that their interactions have been wonderful and that though we don’t agree on doctrine we are all working together to insure religious freedom and to preserve the moral standards we all believe in.
Elder Perry said that the greatest missionary on earth is the Book of Mormon! He showed us an amazing video clip from Elder Nelson who explained how the Book of Mormon is the instrument Heavenly Father prepared for the gathering of Israel. Elder Perry joked, “How would you like to sit by that (referring to the very brilliant Elder Nelson) every week?”
He shared many other miracles that have all been put in place to prepare for this new era. He said, “It is time to teach the doctrine and oh how the world needs it!”
We had some additional training and then a delicious lunch. Following lunch Elder Perry shared his testimony before leaving to get to his next assignment. He is so energetic and spry - it’s hard to believe he is 90 years old! Elder Perry told us our missions are going through a dramatic change. We cannot do this alone, we need to rely on the Stakes of Zion, the ward mission leaders (according to him the fourth most important calling in the ward), the Elder’s quorums, etc. Elder Perry said it is up to each ward to keep our missionaries busy and to help train them. We are on the same team as our members.
Elder Perry said, “The Lord sounded the trump, we have never been in a better place to spread His work. Go forth with vitality and interest. He is hastening the work!”
Elder Perry finished by sharing his powerful witness that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is not led by man – it is directed by our Savior Jesus Christ.
The rest of our seminar was wonderful, we enjoyed great food, uplifting conversations with our fellow mission presidents and their wives (from California and Hawaii) and were taught powerfully. Since it was our last seminar we were invited to share our testimonies along with the other four couples who will also be finishing their missions in July. It was a special experience to hear from them and to see how much we have all grown over these past three years.
We had our departure fireside last night. The music and testimonies were excellent. Tonight is our departure dinner and tomorrow morning Ted’s alarm will go off at 4:45 a.m so he can see our missionaries off at the airport. We will welcome in our newest missionaries a few hours later. As always we need your prayers!
We love and appreciate each of you!
The Long Beach Buberts
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