Service, Missionary Transfer and Visits

All the missionaries in our district were rallied to help paint a fence for a member’s mother and mow and clean up her yard.  It was a fun time for all of us in the early morning in April before it got too hot.  We missionaries are supposed to do service for people every week and it is good for us to get out and fix up or clean up people’s yards.  We all enjoyed it.

Three elders were painting the back side of this member's mother's fence.

It has also been a very busy time lately in our missionary work.  A big part of this last three weeks in May and beginning of June we have been doing service for a family.  We’ve been helping the grandmother and great-grandmother of a large family in the ward to clean out, move furniture, paint, and get their house ready for their grandchilren to come back.  The parents have been put in jail for endangering their children with such a messy house, and the children were put in foster care. 

“Let all things be done in cleanliness before me.”             (D&C 42:41)

But the extended family is rallying and it looks like the grandmother will soon have custody of the children until the parents can get out and build a better life for their whole family.  What a marvelous blessing the Atonement is to all of us.

In the picture below from left to right seated are Elder Behrmann, Elder Mendez, Elder Carlson, Elder Howlett, Sister Howlett, Elder Contreras, and Elder Silva on the floor.  Elder Morgan, Elder Smart and Elder Neff are standing behind from left to right.  Actually Elder Smart who is standing in the middle is squatting down because he is pretending to be a child, but he is taller than all the missionaries there.

Our missionary district in March and April has been another really great group of elders with us.  We have so enjoyed working with them the last 2 months.  The missionary work here in Garden City has been greatly enhanced with these caring elders.  Our district leader, Elder Morgan (who was finishing his mission and going home) and his fun companion Elder Mendez (who was transferred out), have been very good leaders for us.  Elder Carlson and Elder Contreras have also done so much to touch the hearts of the Spanish-speaking people but were transferred out the next transfer, Elder Silva and Elder Behrmann were such great elders here, but they only spoke English and were “flushed out” this transfer and we will no longer have elders who only speak English serving here in Garden City. 

Elder Smart and Elder Neff were working hard in La Mar, Colorado but they were also part of our Missionary district, and Elder Neff also finished his mission and went home.  Of course, our Zone Leaders, Elder Franklin and Elder Toolson have been great examples to us of good leaders and super missionaries.  All the missionaries in Garden City now speak and teach in English and Spanish.  It is a great asset to be able to speak both languages here.  We wish we could do so.

Drew Lewis, Elder Howlett, Sister Howlett and Shane Murphy are standing here outside our apartment building.  It was so good to have them here for a coupld of days!

What a terrific treat we had on Memorial Day week-end when two of our previous Zone Leaders, who are now returned missionaries, came to Garden City to visit many of the people here.  Shane Murphy and Drew Lewis traveled here from their universities in Provo, Utah and Palo Alto, California respectively.  It was a special treat to have them here.  They even got some less-actives to come to church when they were here visiting.  Drew will be married to his sweetheart on 23 June 2012 in the Oakland Temple, and then shortly thereafter will travel with her to his choice of Law school where he will study to become a lawyer.  Shane is at BYU where he is studying business and is searching for his "helpmeet".  A third past Zone Leader also came that week-end.  Elder Kuhlman traveled here also with his father to enjoy seeing people here and especially one lovely woman, Jessica Macias, whom he is very interested in now.  It was special to see all three of these RMs help in passing the sacrament on that Sunday.  May they all be blessed in their righteous endeavors.

The new elders with the Howlett's at Gill and Michelle Asebedo's back yard.  From left to right are:  Elder Howlett, Elder Jesmer, Elder Ault, Sister Howlett, Addie Martinez, Gill (seated), Michelle, Elder Larson (who was waiting for his visa to go to Argentina to serve a mission) and Elder Buys.

Now we have four new missionaries serving in our district.  Elder Ault is our new District Leader and is from American Fork, Utah.  Elder Larson was his companion, but he was a “visa waiter” and just received his visa to go to his mission in Argentina, so he was taken back to the mission home to be able to leave for his assignment.  Our Zone Leaders, Elder Franklin and Elder Toolson took him to Colorado Springs so he could leave for Argentina.  They will come back with Elder Ault’s new companion later in the week. Just after these new elders arrived in Garden City, one of the special recent converts, Gill Asebedo and his wife Michelle, hosted a dinner so he could meet the new missionaries, read scriptures with them and feed us all a delicious Kentucky Fried Chicken dinner.  It was fun to meet with all the missionaries and have them meet our friends, the Asebedos and their foster daughter, Addie Martinez.  Two of the elders who were transferred out were teaching the missionary discussions to Addie and their replacements will carry on.                            

                It’s great to be serving!

So, along with continuing to find and visit many less-active members of the ward and do Home Teaching with several of them, we keep very busy.  It is a good feeling to be busy in the Lord’s work.  We feel it an honor to serve!