Week 4

February 5, 2017

Dear Family,

Monday, I was able to get the newsletter out even though it was about 20 minutes past my 10:00 am deadline.  The reason to send it by 10:00 am is so the missionaries will get it when they are at a computer to write their families. One of the AP’s came to help me get President Hancock’s schedule changes into the newsletter.  The conclusion was it should just be sent as an attachment.

One of the Senior Sister missionaries heard that Sister DeWitt was admitted to the hospital on Saturday and operated on immediately. She wasn’t certain of the exact cause, but thought it must have been a bowel blockage because she was having so much trouble keeping food down. In addition, they removed a part of her bowel. I can’t imagine how awful that drive from Pocatello to Winslow AZ was with her being so ill. Thankfully, her son had flown up to drive her home.

Tuesday morning, I heard that the Senior missionaries didn’t get the newsletter.  I forgot that they are on their own mailing list not the regular IPM(that’s Idaho Pocatello Mission, an acronym I will use a lot in my letters during the next 18 months) missionary list. I found the proper list and corrected my mistake.

My biggest challenge of the week occurred when a Bishop of one of the Wards came to the office to find out why a new convert in his ward was not showing up on the Ward records yet.  He was baptized on Dec 17th which was before my time. Sister DeWitt was out of commission to call, but she had posted a phone number to call Salt Lake with questions about baptismal records. After calling Salt Lake and being told they didn’t have a record, I located the original form the missionaries had sent in, but I couldn’t find the print-out that comes like a receipt when the form is sent to Salt Lake.  So, I decided to just fill out the form again and send it in.  The Bishop went away happy because his new convert was already showing up on the ward list on his phone.  Now he could give him a calling in the Ward. Whew! Crisis passed!

When I had trouble finding referrals, after I had entered them in the computer, someone suggested I call Sister Walz in the Idaho Falls Mission who Sister DeWitt had trained prior the division of our mission.  She proved to be very helpful and I am comforted that there is someone to explain things to me.

One of the happiest things to happen this week was a call from the Idaho Falls Mission asking me to contact one of our missionaries that had taught a family in Idaho Falls last year before our mission was divided. I was to call the Elder and let him know that the parents in that family took out their endowments the night before and this morning they were going to be sealed together as a family.  I called the Elder who was obviously pleased. I thought of the plaque in the San Jose mission home that says something like “I will leave my family for two years, so other families can be together for eternity”.

When I sat down in the Chapel this morning and looked at my program, I was delighted to see there are about a dozen missionaries out serving from my new ward. Then I noticed that one Elder is serving in the Vanuatu Port Vila Mission. “Vanuatu is a mission all by itself!!!” I felt tears come in my eyes for joy! When Tam and I were serving our mission, Vanuatu was a far-off part of the Fiji Mission. Some of the special memories of our mission occurred on the islands of Vanuatu. I remember the “Family House Night” we shared with a village on the island of Ambae .  Ambae was the island where I looked out the window of our 20 seat plane, and said to Tam, “That must be an old airstrip from WWII that grass has grown over.” I no sooner said the words than the pilot spiraled down and landed on that grass field. Back to the Family House Night – That was the night that as honored guests we sat in front of everyone while we ate first. There was a table piled high with bread and I expected to see some little child come grab a piece. But the children all waited patiently until all the adults had eaten and they were allowed to go get their dinners.  That was hard for me to watch; it seemed so backward from the way I was used to letting the little ones have food first. After dinner, we gathered under a thatched roof for a lesson, and sang some hymns.  I remember feeling during the singing of “The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning” that the spirit was so strong that the thatched roof could be in danger. It is one my happy mission memories.

Another unforgettable night on our mission tour of Vanuatu was our trip to the island, Tanna.  We met with the saints in a place called Whitesand, that was were Tam got black sand in his shirt pockets from the fall out in the air from a nearby volcano. That night we were driven in the back of a pickup truck to a village higher up on the mountain.  It was dark when we arrived.  We were shown to a lovely thatched roof cottage by candlelight. Our only light in the cottage was from candles by our bedside.  How romantic I thought.  That is until we were just about asleep when a large bang startled us.  The volcano was spitting up rocks. And so, it continued through the night. Just when we were finally asleep, the big boom of the volcano would wake us up again.  Then in the morning light I could see the caterpillars that had fallen from our thatched roof and landed on our pillows.  Great memories!! Make me grateful for my cozy apartment with electricity, running water, and no caterpillars on the ceiling.

I am grateful that today is Fast Sunday, and I was able to bear my testimony of the Savior as an official missionary.  I do love the Savior and know that he is the great Creator that was willing to come to earth in humble circumstances to save us all.  I am eternally grateful he appeared with the Father to the boy Joseph Smith and organized his church for our day.  What a privilege it is to belong to Christ’s church.  How grateful I am for His resurrection and temple covenants that allow me to look forward to being with Tam and all of you throughout eternity. I love you all!! The Gospel is True!!

Love and hugs,

Grammie