Who are you praying for?

Dear Family and Loved Ones,

It is not possible that another week has come and gone!  It has been a great week and we are excited to share some of the highlights.

Tuesday we went to the Newport Beach Temple (which by the way is BEAUTIFUL) with three of our Elders who finish their missions tomorrow.  It is a chance for them to prepare to make their last week in the mission their very best.  It was a great experience to spend time with these seasoned Elders, as they talked about the things they have learned and the ways they have grown over the past two years.  

It was particularly meaningful to participate in the temple prayer circle and to pray for the missionaries, especially now, knowing who those missionaries are.  It really caused me to think a lot during this past week about who it is we are praying for when we ask our Heavenly Father to "bless the missionaries". Your prayers are for the missionary who just found out that he lost his brother in an accident, or an Elder who's mother is fighting cancer.  Your prayers are for a Sister, or an Elder who are the only members of the church in their family and who never get a letter from home.  Your prayers are for the Elders and Sisters who are ridiculed and abused, usually verbally but sometimes physically.  Your prayers are for the missionary who's testimony is fragile, for the one who is discouraged, sick, or depressed.  You are praying for missionaries who know their message is true and who feel frustrated when no one seems to be listening.  

The list could go on and on - keep praying - they need your prayers and faith.  President Monson promised that as we pray for our missionaries miracles can happen.  I believe that, they are happening, we see it every day. So, keep praying and remember who you are praying for.

One of the highlights of this week was attending an amazing baptism in one of our Spanish speaking branches.  There was great support from the members of the branch with about 40 in attendance.  The two sisters who were baptized were well prepared and so thrilled. Several members shared their testimonies and memories of their baptisms, nearly everyone in the room was a convert. Ben and Mari have been such great sports, they said the were able to understand quite a bit of what was said (the service was of course in Spanish.  Ben especially loves singing the hymns in Spanish.  

We are looking forward to a very busy week - missionaries going and coming and four days of Zone Leader training!

We love you all!
The Long Beach Buberts