It is hard to believe that it has been 3 weeks since my last email. Time just flies so fast and the days now seem so ordinary that it is hard to write. We still visit the less actives each month as well as doing lots of home and visiting teaching.
We really enjoyed watching nature unfold in our front yard the past 3 weeks. We noticed a killdeer that had a nest in our front yard which is just gravel. She would sit on her four eggs faithfully or stand beside them to shade them. It was so hard to even see her until we knew exactly where to look she blended in so well with the gravel. If we would notice that she wasn’t on her nest we would try and sneak out to see her eggs but she or the male were never far away and would start screeching and scolding us and try to lead us away. We studied up on this bird and learned that when the eggs hatch they don’t need to be fed like robins do or take time to develop because they incubate for two weeks longer than other birds and just come out and immediately start running and following their mother. Unfortunately for me the eggs all hatched while I was in Utah and I missed their first exploration outside their eggs. Evan took pictures and told me about it and it was fun to see them when I got home. They have long skinny legs and just run so fast. They were around for a few days but we can’t find them now and with the storms we have been having we don’t have any idea where they could be. It really was fascinating.
I had a wonderful but way too short time in Utah with my girls. We of course stayed up way too late, ate too much and talked and laughed a lot. One day I went to see my dentist and had a crown put on a broken tooth. It meant I also went to our house and had forgotten what a whirlwind we had left in. It could use some major tidying but will still be there when we get home. It was a rejuvenating 5 days even if it did wear me out to get back on those late flights.
We have had a great experience this past week. We took the Elders to visit some families about 20 miles away but no one was home so we stopped in to see a less active we catch occasionally. She was home and also asked her 15 year old daughter to come in and read with us. The daughter Alyssa has since read in the Book of Mormon and wants to know more. We had committed her to reading the introduction to the Book of Mormon before our return and she has since been texting the elders asking them lots of questions about what she has been reading. She is way past where we thought she would be. She is reading but doesn’t understand. It will be hard if she is the one prepared for the gospel because she is only 15 and lives so far out of town and doesn’t have a driver’s license but maybe this is what it will take to get her mother to come back. They did cancel our Sunday meeting because of father’s day but we are scheduled for tomorrow. We believe in miracles.
We have had some magnificent thunder and lightning storms the last few days. At 3:30 this morning the lightning seemed to strike right outside our bedroom window. We have had major tornado warnings but thankfully they have all passed us by. We seem to always be in another part of our area when the tornadoes are spotted in town. We saw pictures of a funnel cloud on our street but of course we were miles away. I guess all the prayers for the safety of the missionaries are really being fulfilled in our behalf.
I was feeling a little down one day wondering if we have really made any difference in this branch and was talking to the mother of the 4 young boys and she said we had made a huge difference for them because they had been able to go to the temple every month because we have been willing to tend their boys which they haven't been able to do for a long time. Not having any young women in our branch has limited them as to who they even knew to use for a babysitter. Others reassured me that the family history work we have been able to do has been a blessing for the branch so I guess we have been helping in some ways. Elder Fullmer did take a member who was less active for years to the temple a couple of weeks ago and did baptisms for the dead. He is trying to get ready for the temple in another few months so there has been some progress.
President Hardman called us in yesterday and asked me to unofficially be the Primary President. Many Sundays in the past year I have been filling in as the president had cancer and her daughter who is her caretaker were so often gone. Now they have moved to Utah so there really is no one else. Sydney is willing to do whatever I explain to her needs to be done but is still so new. We are working well together sharing responsibilities. We are thankful for being able to download the primary songs as our pianist only knows some of the songs and our boys really do love to sing. Sydney is learning right along with the boys and the primary lessons are just what she needs. It truly helps me as I prepare a lesson for a range of ages from 4 up to 20. She just soaks it all up like a sponge. I never thought I would spend as much time on a primary lesson as I used to spend on a Gospel Doctrine lesson.
We visited with a man who had his name taken off the records of the church probably 35 years ago. His wife is less active but we really enjoy their company. Elder Fullmer just ask him if he had ever thought about coming back to the church and he said that was the first time anyone had ever ask him. We spent the next 3 hours talking and discussing his questions. He said that science isn't answering his questions and he always thought religion wasn't. Sometimes it just takes being bold and asking. The gospel is true so what else matters. Don't be afraid to ask someone what they know and if they would like to know more. Remember D&C 123:12 "who are kept from the truth because they know not where to find it."
Love Elder and Sister Fullmer
Mom and Dad
Imagine how hard it would have been to see this momma bird standing on our porch looking into the gravel. You couldn't see the baby birds until I cropped the picture and inlarged them.
No comments:
Post a Comment