Twenty Fifth Week

Salt Lake Temple Square Mission
November 24, 2013

This week was filled with music!  “The Bells on Temple Square” concert was presented and we were able to attend.  I had tried to sign up for tickets online but was unsuccessful and so at the Organ Recital I met up with one of the participants in the Bell Choir.  She graciously gave me some tickets, so we were able to go.  Many people were there and it was lovely, but we really prefer the Tabernacle Choir and its performances.  Also, we went to another event that was interfaith in nature.  Mark Burnett (producer of “Survivor” and “The Voice”) and his wife Roma Downey (star of “Touched By An Angel”) are greatly involved with the Christian movement and Bible study.  They were there reading scriptures and various choirs throughout the community participated.  Elder D. Todd Christofferson also participated and gave some opening remarks.  The concert was to reinforce the concept of daily Bible study and Christian values.  We so appreciate those that are faith oriented and Mark Burnett and Roma Downey who make good movies and films.  They are currently the producers of a new movie coming in the spring entitled “Son of God.”



Cesar

We also had an opportunity to go to a missionary devotional where Cesar spoke.  He is absolutely amazing to us and his commitment to the Gospel.  It was a very faith promoting fireside with newly converted young men participating, including Cesar.  He has such a strong testimony of the Gospel and we are so proud of him.  Today, he returned to Temple Square with great news, his bishop called him to be a ward missionary!  Just think, one month ago he was a non-member.



The Village in Africa

We continue to search for another individual to teach.  As we mentioned before, we go to the Call Center and get on LDS chat there.  It is really an interesting experience for us because most often people are not sincere and just plugging in various questions for us to answer with no real interest in the Church.  However, there is one missionary, Sister George on Temple Square, who had a different story.  She met a man from Africa on chat and began to teach him.  He was converted to the Church but lived in a small village there.  He went to a larger city within the country and was given Books of Mormon to take home with him.  He went back to his village gave out the Books of Mormon and converted all that lived there.  Now a branch is being organized in that area.  You have to weed out many to find the one!  What an amazing story.

 

This week we did write a letter to Tressa in hopes that she would respond to us.  However, several days have gone by and still there is no response from her.  We know that all missionaries have these experiences of losing golden contacts, but for us it is a tragedy because she was embracing everything we said.  Hopefully the spirit will convey to her the need to repent and be baptized.  She is always in our prayers.

Because we are celebrating Thanksgiving with the sisters, we went to April’s house for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner.   Ken’s mother was there visiting because little Derek had his tonsils out this week and she was helping April.  Also, Ken picked up Becky so she could be with us too.   We had our traditional dinner, with turkey and all the trimmings.  Thanksgiving is really not Thanksgiving without some of the usual fixings.  This next Thursday we will have a Thanksgiving to remember because two hundred people will be attending (all the sisters and senior couples).  There will be much to write on this subject after the event.



"Music and the Spoken Word"
Sisters who are leaving the Mission
In attendance was President Monson


 



Our Zone on a Sunday morning at the South Visitor's Center

One last word…….We went to “Music and the Spoken Word” today as usual but today President Monson was in attendance.  What a thrill to be near a Prophet of God.  We are just sooooo lucky to be serving in such a special place!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Twenty Fourth Week

Salt Lake Temple Square Mission
November 17, 2013

Our good brother in the gospel - Cesar

What a wonderful week this has been for us.  On Saturday Cesar was baptized!  The baptism took place in the evening and I was given the opportunity to give a talk on the Holy Ghost.  Interestingly, I felt he would ask me to speak on the Holy Ghost but he didn’t ask me until the day before.  I had to scurry to prepare the talk.  Two sister missionaries came with us because they have been working with Cesar’s mother on learning more about the Gospel.  She speaks Spanish and the sisters could communicate to her where we can’t.  We have hopes that she will accept the Gospel too because Cesar is certainly a fine example to her.  His whole family attended the baptism and they were very supportive.  On Sunday, we went to his new ward and Taggart confirmed him.  Through Taggart the Lord gave him a wonderful blessing.  If we don’t have another baptism this mission will have been worth it because we found Cesar.  He bore his testimony and it was so powerful especially for a newly converted member.  He will have a great influence on so many.  The next day he sent a text to us expressing his appreciation and support and love.  We certainly want to keep him in our lives.



Our beautiful Sisters!!!

On Tuesday the sisters presented in the Assembly Hall a musical fireside.  What talent we have in this mission!  The Assembly Hall was packed to full capacity and the presentation was received by a standing ovation.  The spirit was so strong and I truly believe there was an extra measure of help from Heavenly Father given to those girls because they exceeded their expectations.  But, I am glad it is behind us because the sisters were so tired after so many early morning practices.

An amazing musical number!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dress Rehearsal for "Savior of the World"

 

We also had a wonderful opportunity to go to the dress rehearsal for “Savior of the World”, a presentation in the Little Theatre at the Conference Center.  We have seen it several times before, but it never gets old.  Especially at this time of year, it is important to reflect on Christ’s birth and resurrection as presented in this drama.  As we contemplated what we had seen it is our desire, like those in this presentation, to really rejoice in Christ’s life and resurrection.  We have hopes that our neighbors the Kaschmeders will come this holiday season and enjoy it with Becky.

We continue to reach out to Tressa, but she is not communicating with us.  She has a testimony of the Gospel but is in an awkward circumstance that needs to change.  We hope against hope that we will hear from her soon.

Sister Frost in front of the Beehive House

As the holidays approach our schedule and the sisters becomes more packed with various activities.  With Thanksgiving approaching soon and Christmas not far behind, it will be crazy for the next few weeks.  We can’t wait for the lights to be turned on the day after Thanksgiving.  They are already testing them here and there and they are spectacular!  As we have mentioned many times before this is a four month process to put up the lights and displays.  We can’t wait for the final product. 

 

 

 

 

Twenty Third Week

Salt Lake Temple Square Mission
November 10, 2013

A Beautiful Fall Day

What a beautiful day, sunshine and blue skies.  Earlier this week it snowed for the first time and temperatures dipped into the twenties and now warmth and sweater weather again.  We wonder how long this will last.  The sisters eager to wear their fall/winter clothes broke out their boots, scarfs and coats this week.  About March they will be very anxious to be wearing springlike clothes again.

 

We went home for P-day this week.  Dentists and doctors occupied our time while we were there.   Also, we were anxious to bring back Christmas items to decorate our little apartment.  It will be quite different this year without a full-fledged Christmas in our home, but we have Temple Square with all its decorations and beauty.  In fact, this week they finished stringing the lights on all the trees and starting putting up poinsettias around the visitor’s centers.  Also two very large lighted trees were installed on the grounds.  We think sometimes that all of this is premature but really Thanksgiving is around the corner.



Our District within our Zone

We were asked to speak in our zone this week.  Our topic was “Our Missionary Calling.”  It was decided that we would bring back our missionary call letter from home and read it.  Actually it was quite emotional for us to do so.  I think sometimes we don’t realize that we truly are representatives of Jesus Christ.  As such, we have certain responsibilities to uphold.  I think each day we are asking ourselves if we are doing enough.  Hopefully, we instilled within the sisters a desire to again reread their call and take it to heart.

Cesar in the Tabernacle

The excitement this week was teaching Cesar twice.  Again, as was mentioned before, he is an amazing young man.  He is constantly teaching us.  Tonight we were to talk about tithing and one question we asked of him was if he knew anything about tithing.  This one question triggered a whole discourse from him.  All we had to do was to say “amen” to what he said.  He is going to be baptized this next Saturday and be confirmed on Sunday.  He asked Taggart to do the confirming which is really an honor for him.  He is also having such an impact on his family.  Each night he teaches his mother about the gospel and actually she defended the Church at her Catholic services when a priest was out of line saying something derogatory about the Church.  We have hopes that because of his influence she and others in the family will eventually join the Church.

Our Beautiful Tablernace

We had an interesting experience at the Organ Recital on Wednesday.  As the recital begins we don’t allow anyone to come into the Tabernacle until after a number is completed.  The guests need to stay in the Observation Room.  On Wednesday four men came into the Observation Room and I told them they could not enter the Tabernacle until after the first number.  As I looked at the faces of the gentlemen, I realized I knew one of them but couldn’t place him.  Taggart came to the rescue and knew that it was Rick Santorum, a Republican Presidential Candidate, who had run against Mitt Romney.  Taggart talked with him for a moment and thanked him for his high standards.  He told Taggart that he was working with the Church in a media capacity with an organization he belongs to.  He shook our hands and went on his way.  Quite exciting!

Practice in the Assembly Hall

We are again terribly busy.  The sisters have been practicing for months to put on a musical fireside in the Assembly Hall coming up this Tuesday.  So, for the past several days we have been getting up very early to run through all their numbers.  There is such great musical talent among the sisters, so it should be a wonderful program.  Cesar and the local missionaries will be attending so we look forward to that.  We all will be singing one number “Called to Serve” while holding our countries flags.  It is quite emotional for me, so I hope I don’t cry. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Twenty Second Week

Salt Lake Temple Square Mission
November 3, 2013

We are already in November and the holidays are fast approaching.   In our senior couple’s meeting this week we were correlating all the activities for November and December and we will be busy every moment.  Consequently there will be very few P-days.  We are finding that the time is going by so quickly and soon we will be one third way through our mission.  So, we must remember to make every moment count.

As was mentioned last week, Elder Oakes came to see us on Monday along with his wife.  They both shared the pulpit and bantered back and forth with each other and to us.  He oftentimes seems so stern and stiff when addressing us in conference, but on this day he really opened up, joked and was so natural.  They shared their testimonies of the Gospel along with answering questions the sisters had.  One thing that really stood out in our minds is when he told us to testify of what you know and don’t worry about what you don’t know.  Just have faith!  At the end of the meeting he shook all the sister’s hands.  When we approached him, Taggart reminded him that he had come to his office when he finished his Ph.D. at BYU and thanked him for his great education.  (He was President of BYU at that time.)  He appreciated that memory and was grateful for his time at that institution.

Sister Frost with her cousin Paul

 

 I also had the opportunity this week to go to the temple for my aunt, Dona, who is my dad’s sister.  My cousin, Paul, had asked her children if it would be all right to do this work for her and they consented.  Anyway, Paul was there and we were able to talk and get reacquainted.  I am hopeful that Dona will accept this ordinance because it would be wonderful to have a united family in the Gospel.  For myself, I felt a warm feeling emanating through my body during the endowment.  Hopefully this was a sign that she would accept this work.

 

 

 



Our Beautiful Sisters on Halloween

The Howells (Office Couple), Curtises, & Frosts

This week was Halloween and we had quite the party for the sisters.  Temple Square was closed at 5:00 PM and the sisters gathered together for dinner and a movie.  During the week I made nine dozen cookies for them along with other full time and part time senior couples.  They really eat a lot of food!  As we were cleaning up after the dinner some of the sisters just wanted to talk rather than go to the movie, so we got an opportunity to answer questions from them.  With so many of the questions we reminded them of Elder Oakes advice, testify of what you do know and don’t worry about what you don’t know.  Many of these sisters want to know the mysteries.  At some point we may be able to understand the mysteries, but not at this time.

 

 

 

 



Sister Frost in the Beehive House

 

 

Temple Square is gearing up for Christmas.  The lights are almost completely distributed on the trees and they are starting to decorate the buildings.  As we went to the Beehive House on Friday the Christmas tree was being decorated and looking so beautiful!  It will be fun to see all the Christmas beauty around us for these next two months.  As for ourselves, we will bring one of our small trees to our apartment and decorate it.  It wouldn’t be Christmas without a tree and lights.

 

 

 

We are concerned about Tressa.  We know that she wants to be baptized, but needs to repent and this is a stumbling block for her.  She is constantly in our thoughts and prayers, but we still have hope that everything will be resolved in her behalf.   Cesar is still going strong.  We had a discussion with him and the elders this last week and of course it was wonderful.  He is embracing all that is taught and wants to learn more and more.  In fact, he is so enthusiastic about everything that he is teaching us, sharing with us what he studies, views or feels.  It is a delight to have someone so excited about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and want to live its teachings.





Twenty First Week

Salt Lake Temple Square Mission
October 27, 2013

 

Today is our daughter Heather’s birthday.  We miss being with her but hopefully someday we can celebrate her birthday all together.  We did sing a rousing “Happy Birthday to You” over the phone.  Speaking of birthdays we celebrated April’s birthday on Monday.  Becky hadn’t been to her home for ages and so we brought her down on our P-day and got to see our little Alec and Scooter (Derek).  It is amazing to us how time marches on because we so remember our little girls and their birthday celebrations while they were at home.

 

 
We were able to go to the Temple this week with Sister Yedigaryan from Armenia.  She was completing her mission and wanted to do temple work for two family members, her grandfather and uncle. Elder Frost was baptized and confirmed for her grandfather and uncle. It was a very special experience to be with her and see the joy as these two loved ones were baptized, confirmed and endowed.   We went to lunch afterward and then said goodbye to a very dear sister who we probably will never see again.  It is very difficult, especially for those sisters who live so far away, to say goodbye because over the course of these five months we have grown to love them.

 

 

Sister Gillette and Sisters at a Leadership Conference

 

Also this week a Leadership Conference was held and we were asked to attend.  It was a very uplifting few hours for us and again we are amazed with the caliber of these sisters.  They taught us and had some inspiring things to say.  As always we go away feeling that today’s missionaries are so well prepared to serve the Lord at this time.  The work is indeed hastening forward.

President Gillette at the Leadership Conference

 

A very large group of Seventh Day Adventists came to the Square on Saturday.  Taggart had arranged with Public Affairs a very special tour for them.   Zone leaders were the missionaries guiding them around along with a PR person and a senior missionary.  They were very curious and had a lot of questions.  It was amazing to me how similar some of our beliefs are with theirs.  Anyway, Taggart was able to take a group of about twenty after the regular tour on an extended two hour tour.  He had a very good experience with these folks and many wanted to learn more.

We had another discussion with Tressa on Tuesday.  She needed to vent about a few things and so we just listened.  She is still very excited about the Gospel but needs to put her life in order.  We just hope that this happens because she so wants to be baptized.  Also, we again saw Cesar on the Square.  It is so enthusiastic about the Church and just wants to learn more and more.  He says his favorite place is Temple Square now and he brought his parents with him.  He so wants them to be accepting of his decision to be baptized and hopes they might have a desire to learn more.  We also got to go to his home today and teach a lesson to him with the local missionaries.  It was amazing to hear him testify of the things he knows to be true.  Truly he is a “golden” contact.  Our plan is to be a part of other discussions with him up to his baptism.

Fall Evening on Temple Square

 

The excitement tomorrow will be that Elder Dallin H. Oakes will be coming to speak to the sisters.  As I have said many times, we really are spoiled to have General Authorities visit our mission so often.  However, I have to admit that we all work very hard.  In fact, this week we worked so many hours beyond what was expected of us that we were exhausted by the weekend.  But, it is all worth it!