Written October 17^th, 2021

"Dessert for dinner"

 

 This is what 115 missionary-sized pieces of chocolate cake looks like

The week before last was very busy with transfers, missionaries being released, and a large group of new missionaries arriving.  This past week was perhaps even busier as we prepared for a “mission tour” by Elder Pingree of the Seventy from Salt Lake City.  It was a great experience.  We had 2 days of zone conferences where he inspired and trained the missionaries.

Elder Pingree share an experience he had early in his tenure as a General Authority.  He said he was in the church administration building eating lunch at a table by himself when Pres. Nelson came over and asked if he could sit with him.  He thought to himself, “what question do you ask the Prophet?” so Elder Pingree said, “What is it like being the prophet?”  President Nelson’s response was fascinating.  He said, “I just didn’t know….the revelation is constant!”  He said It usually begins at about 2:00 am and lasts until 4:00 am.”  We’ve heard before that Pres. Nelson keeps a pad of paper next to his bed so can write down the impressions he receives.

Hearing that reminds me that the restoration of the gospel continues today.  The restoration wasn’t just an “event” that happened in 1830.  How grateful we should be to have a prophet on earth today, to teach and lead us, like the prophets of old.  We have seen many prophetic changes in our lifetime, especially recently!

Elder Pingree admonished the missionaries to do three things:

1.       Write down your “miracle experiences” from the day into your journal each evening.

2.       Try to share those miracle experiences with others as you visit or teach them.

3.       Create a list of scriptures relating to miracles.

Interestingly, this mission has already been doing that – our Sunday “Miracle Meetings” are one of the highlights of our week.

He used the term “micro-betterments” as it pertains to our own individual progress.  Just try each day to be a little better.  He said we should “be all in” as it pertains to the gospel and do what is asked of us.

Dried floral arrangement

 Liz was especially busy in getting ready for this visit.  She started working several weeks ago to organize a catered lunch for each of the two days of conferences, plus a catered dinner for a special meeting for the senior missionaries and Elder Pingree and his wife, and finally a light lunch on Friday for the Pingrees, Watsons and a few others.  In addition, she made dried floral arrangements for the chapel, plus center pieces for all the lunch tables, at President and Sister Watson’s request. 

Table center piece

 Half the missionaries come into Riverside on Wednesday, and the other half on Thursday.  115 missionaries on Wednesday and 130 on Thursday. Liz had to select the caterer, menu, prices, etc.  About a week before, she gave a final headcount.  The lunch caterer asked for a deposit which she provided.

 Wednesday was flawless.  Just the right amount of food for those hungry missionaries.  Thursday, the caterer ran out of food.  Their order showed only 115 meals, even though Liz’s confirmation email showed 130 for that second day.  No worries.  All the missionaries were fed, but some of the senior missionaries had to hunt down something to eat.  No biggie.

 

Half the mission.  Sister and Elder Pingree are on the half-court line

After cleaning up on Thursday, Liz and I went up to the President’s home at 4:30 to help get setup for dinner there at 6:00.  We got the tables set and had a few minutes to visit with the Watsons while we waited for the food to arrive.  We got a little carried away visiting and realized at 5:55 that the food had not arrived.  Liz called only to find out they were not bringing any food.  They had tried to contact Liz on Wednesday and Thursday, while she was so busy with the other luncheons that she missed both of their calls.  Liz had called them about a week before, at their request, to confirm the head count, menu, location, etc.  She asked if they wanted a deposit and was told no, they didn’t need one.  But when Liz called, they said they didn’t have a credit card to guarantee the meal, and they often make the dinners, and the client is a no show.  Anyway, just as we learned they were not coming, up drives Elder Pingree with his wife.  We had to confess that there would be no dinner.  Everyone was so kind and gracious after realizing there was no time to implement a Plan B.  Liz and I had brought dessert, so the Watson’s pulled out some rolls and sliced watermelon, and we put out the desserts which everyone ate.  I think the Pingrees were almost relieved!  They travel frequently and people want to put on nice meals for them, so it ends up being more food than normal for them.

 It is Sunday evening, and we will be attending the mission-wide “Miracle Meeting” where missionaries can share some of the miracles, they have experienced this past week.  It’s the best 30 minutes we spend each week.  I wish the members could hear these faithful missionaries as they go about finding and teaching.  Earlier today, we Zoomed into a church meeting where one of our missionaries was giving his homecoming report.  In his talk, he told of a time just before going home where he and his companion felt they needed to go to an apartment complex but didn’t know who it was they were looking for.  They arrived and found there were 70 doors they could knock on. They hesitated for a moment, and both focused on a specific door and knocked on it.  The guy who opened the door greeted them, “Elders!”.  This person had talked with the missionaries before, and he invited them in.  I’m not sure how the story ends, but you knew they were led to that door.  We hear of stories like this every week and we know they are little miracles.

 At the Saturday evening session of our Stake Conference, we heard from an area authority.  He told a similar story of his daughter who was serving a mission in Brazil. She and her companion had a referral to see a family.  The address was quite a distance, and they didn’t have cars or bikes, so they had to walk to the location.  It was a 2-hour walk.  To make matters worse it started to rain…hard. They arrived at the address soaked to the bone.   When they got there, they signaled at the gate (equivalent to ringing the doorbell while standing on the sidewalk) and even though someone looked out the window at them, no one would come and let them in.  After trying for 20 minutes…. still in the rain…they turned around and walked the 2 hours back home.  When they got back to their apartment, it was 8:50pm.  The missionaries are supposed to finding and teaching until 9:00.  Wanting to be 100% obedient, they knelt in the stairway and asked for direction of where they should go for the next 10 minutes.  They had the impression they should go to the bus stop, which was a block and a half away.  They went to the bus stop and as they approached, a guy standing at the stop turned and looked at them.  He then started walking towards them, which made them nervous until he said, “are you Mormon missionaries?”  He and his family had been taught and were ready to be baptized.  When the pandemic hit, and everything shut down, he said they would go to the church buildings, and no one was there for months.  They couldn’t find any missionaries because they had been sent home.  The family had a great desire to be baptized and were so excited to find these sister missionaries. They were soon baptized and are preparing to go to the temple.

Miracles come in all shapes and sizes.  Many, we don’t recognize as miracles until years later – but we know they are happening, and they play a huge part in moving the work forward.  Heavenly Father loves all his children and wants each of them to have the blessing of the restored gospel in their lives. We feel privileged to be able to witness the miracles occurring here in the California Riverside Mission.