“You are gorgeous!”

I can’t let Liz out of my sight.  This is the second time that someone has “hit” on her. The first was while we were in LA at the French consulate, and I was sitting right there!  The man was elderly, pushing a walker, and was on oxygen.  I wasn’t too worried.  He came right up to her toe to toe and told her she had beautiful eyes.  We had a good laugh after he slowly shuffled off.

Unlike the “junior” missionaries who must be always with their companion, seniors are allowed to run errands and do things by themselves.  Last week Liz was walking into a store near the office by herself. As she entered the store, another elderly man who hadn’t aged too well, spread his arms out wide as she approached and said, “You are gorgeous!”  Liz just rolled her eyes, and kept walking, and said to herself, “ya, right!”  You’ll have to read to the end to see how this story turns out. (cliff hanger.) 

We’ve had an eventful few weeks.  The day before Thanksgiving, there was an all-mission conference!  The mission president and his recently called counselors were able to speak to the missionaries and do some training.  Liz had to figure out how to feed all 225 people who were there.  The stakes usually help us, but this was the day before Thanksgiving!  With the president’s permission, I asked that all of our vehicles be brought to the conference to be inspected.  (They are to be inspected every 6 weeks, and the mission president asked that I not inspect them when we had a General Authority here for the last multi-zone conference.)  The nice thing about having all the cars in one location is I can fix the problems that I can’t otherwise fix.  For example, two cars had incorrect registrations in their glovebox.  We got that taken care of.  Another car’s registration was months past due, but I couldn’t figure out why.  It was newer, and still had the temporary plates.  The plates had arrived according to everyone I had talked to at the DMV and the dealership.  Then, the day before the mission conference, the housing coordinators were cleaning out an apartment and found an envelop with the license plates!  He brought them to the office and some of the inspector-helpers attached them to the car.  That problem had been eating at me for many months.  One mystery solved.

Immediately following the mission conference, we hit the road for Gilbert, AZ to spend the 4-day Thanksgiving weekend with our daughter Christine, and to attend Christine’s daughter’s baptism.  As a bonus, we were able to attend my brother-in-law’s birthday celebration.  A second bonus; we were able to play pickleball!  (There are no courts in Riverside!)

The 80th birthday celebration was a surprise for my brother-in-law.  There were 30+ people there, several of whom I had not seen for many years.  It was good to be with extended family!  The gathering  was held at my sister and new husband’s home.  We were able to attend their sealing in June, but didn’t have an opportunity to visit with him at that time.  It was good to spend some time visiting with him, Sandra, my other sister, Jeanette and the 80^th year old, Marc.

Just a few weeks ago, Sandra and Wendell (new husband) were called to serve a mission right there in Mesa!  They will be working in the office.  Wendell will take care of the finances and phones, and Sandra will be the mission secretary and help with the travel.  Liz does the travel for our mission, so I’m sure they will have some war stories to swap.  We have already been sharing how each mission does things, trying to figure out if there is a better way.

Wendell and Sandra Jones, Liz and me.  It's not often that siblings get to wear missionary name tags in the same picture!

The next day was Cate’s baptism.  Her sister, Evie (6 almost 7), was asked by Cate to lead the music and to offer the prayer.  She is often shy when it comes to praying when we are there at the dinner table.  I didn’t know she was going to do either of those things until it was announced at the baptism. She stood up there  and did a great job of keeping the beat, and her prayer was heartfelt.  I wish I could have taken a picture.

Liz was asked to speak about baptism, and I spoke about the holy ghost.  Cate had invited several of her friends and many neighbors, so the room was filled to capacity and extra chairs were brought in.  I was glad Cate was setting the example for Evie to follow in a little over a year from now.

Cate with her parents, Ted and Christine.

Liz’s sister, Patricia, is an artist. She likes to paint all sorts of things, from vegetables, to people and even the Gilbert temple (which she gave to my sister as a wedding gift in June).  Liz had shown Patricia a picture of Evie taken a few years ago as she was eating an ice cream cone and had a sizable percentage of the ice cream covering her face.  Patricia took the picture and painted it, and submitted it to an art gallery in Vancouver, more to be supportive of the gallery and local artists than anything else.  When we told Cate and Evie about it…that her picture was on display in an art gallery, she thought about it and said, “I’m famous!”  Then she said that we needed to send Patricia a picture of Cate so she can be famous too!

Unless you are part of the family, only a few of you will remember John “Maeser” Anderson from when he and his brothers and mother, Sandra, lived in Vancouver.  Maeser has his own family and has been serving in some very responsible callings in the church.  He was at the birthday celebration, and we had a few minutes to visit.  He told me he was speaking in a ward on Sunday at the same time Liz and I would be driving home.  We asked if it would be streamed and if we could have the link.  He said yes to all, so while driving home, we listened to his talk.  It was the best high counselor talk I have heard in a very long time!  His testimony of the Savior was powerful and the scriptures and stories he shared were right on the mark.  I was so pleased that we were able to hear him speak.  I had heard from others that he was a powerful speaker, but now I know for myself.  Great talk, Maeser!

We were able to listen to another returned missionary’s talk while driving home from Gilbert that Sunday. These returned missionaries have great experiences to share that many of the youth need to hear.  If there are youth trying to decide if they should serve a mission, just have them listen to these returning missionaries.  Hopefully, that will help them make the decision that can change the direction of their life!  We listened to two talks this morning from two elders we had worked closely with in the mission office.  Great jobs, both of them.

We have 4 new senior missionaries arriving over the next little while.  The first couple arrived last weekend.  They are from Utah, have already served missions in Ireland and Vienna.  They will be working with the Young Single Adult ward.  We had them over for dinner last Sunday along with the other three senior missionary couples so we can get to know them.

The other 3 new couples will be coming in January and February.  One will be taking our place when we leave in April.  Not that it takes 3 couples to take our place because we are so good at what we do, but because there is another couple in the office who will be leaving at the same time we leave.  Liz and I both need to begin putting our notes and instructions together.  We always thought that by the time we really figured out how to do our jobs, it would be time to go home.  That is coming true.

Let me finish where I began with the man who gave Liz such a compliment.  After walking past him, Liz did her shopping and wheeled her cart up to the check out counter, right behind the gentleman.  He was paying and talking to the cashier and then suddenly said while feeling his pockets, “Where are my glasses?  I can’t see anything without my glasses!”  Liz noticed that he was not wearing them when she entered the store.

This Christmas will be a little different being away from family. We will miss them fiercely.  But we take comfort in their love and support of us while we serve.  They have been very supportive, even when it has been hard for them.

At this time of year, let us reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.  May we all focus on the many blessings we have, and try to comprehend all that the Savior has done, and continues to do for us.  He lives, and made it possible for all of us to be resurrected and united as families throughout the eternities.

This is video, Mary Did You Know was made by the ASL missionaries in the California Riverside Mission.  (It's 3 minutes long.  Unmute your speakers.)  I hope you will enjoy it.