February 23, 2015

Believe it or not we hit our year mark tomorrow.  It doesn’t seem possible but it is true.  We are so thankful we didn’t decide to just serve for a year.  There is still so much we want to try and accomplish.  We haven’t given up on any of the less actives we have been working with.

One of the men we have been working with for several months who had been excommunicated but was trying to come back passed away suddenly on Saturday.    We were really hoping that his family would mend their fences and come together to make the decisions of what to do but it has just become another battle with no winner.  It is so sad to see a family so torn apart over the wrongs they felt were done to them by the other members of the family. 

Our district is facing a major upheaval.  Three of our missionaries finish their missions next week and one area is being shut down because of the drop in number of missionaries.  We also learned that our mission is losing 13 cars because of the falling numbers.  We know it is because of the evening out since the age change but just losing one set of missionaries makes our district seem so small.  We are anxious to meet our new missionaries though and new blood is always good for any area.  I am continually amazed at the caliber of missionaries we have in our zone.  They truly love the Lord and serving Him.  I am stressed for this week’s district meeting as we have been asked to do the training on how we can lead our less actives to the temple( our mission vision is “Leading God’s children to the temple).  We are also to teach on how to get the members to be a part of it all.  We can do everything in our power but if the people don’t feel the love from the branch members we don’t know how successful we will be.  We continually try to include the branch members in our visits and sometimes are successful.  I have learned just how essential we as active members are to the missionary work.  It is just as important to help those who have fallen away to remember the spirit they felt when they first gained their testimony as it is to teach new investigators.  I don’t know about all missions but we have six things we strive to do as missionaries every day.  That is find, teach, baptize, retain, activate and serve and do all six every day.  If we work on each of these every day we will bring souls to Christ and help them get to the temple.  It is not always easy and as a senior couple we focus more on the retention, activation and service than the others as we try to find and help the 100 members of our branch who are currently lost from the fold.  We are each so necessary in this work.

We love each of you and pray you will each catch the vision of hastening the work in your wards or branches, homes, work or wherever you may go.

Love

Elder and Sister Fullmer

Mom and Dad  etc.

Congratulations Sister Hawkins and Elder and Sister Yearsley in finishing your missions and “returning with honor.”