Down here in the bible belt we have been endeared to the phrases . . . ya'll and ya'll ya'll which means more than five people. We will miss the southern drall and the common phrase that many say as you leave a check out line, "have a blessed day".
We gave talks today in church and said our good-byes in a formal way. My talk was entitled Sin Resistant Families and dad's was The Ways of the Lord. If you want copies like some people in our ward did just let us know. Dad still has such a good way of talking from the years of stake president talks. He really talks from his heart and in his dad way, not flowery or hard to understand just simple truths with questions that he admitts he has and then he answers them in his talk. I think that the simple convert saints like the way he teaches. I know he has made a great impression with our eternal investigator Buster DeLaney. Buster liked to just argue every thing the missionaries said but since we have been coming there his attitude has changed and he listens to dad. And he doesn't take such a defensive attitude anymore. In fact sometimes when we hear him tell us what he believes we are hearing some of our beliefs in his understanding. We gave them our last gospel principle lesson on Wednesday. It is sad to leave and not knowwhat is going to happen to these people. But we know that the Lord will help the work if they are to have more He will make it happen. We just have to wait on the Lord and his timing for everything.
We have had many of the ward members tell us that it will be hard to have us leave. We didn't think we had done that much for the ward but they have been very gracious in their compliments to us. So many have told us that the ward is different since we came. Some have said we know more people than they do and they have lived in the ward for a long time. We have felt a need to serve and teach and to get to know the families of the ward. There are many families but then there are alot of single older adults. We have supported the empty nest FHE by inviting the older single adults. I think that has helped our ward get closer to each other. Getting the married older to look out for the older singles. We had the young families come and do a FHE lesson for the empty nest FHE so they could get to know us and we them. This has helped the familes know the older people of the ward. We just have been guided by the Holy Ghost in our efforts and tried to obey the spirits directions.
We are surprised that it is going to be hard to leave. but we also know that the Lord does not want us to serve a mission forever. We need to come home and take what we have learned and help the missionary work at home And just so you know all we do is missionary work. We are all investigators and all are being converted everyday. Our children our the most important of our missionary work. We are looking forward to coming home and seeing our children and grandchildren. We are excited that we will have Rob and Megan's family so close that we can drive to see them and just do a weekend visit. That is quite a blessing since we us have had children scattered. We just hope that someday Susan will see a need to be closer. In the mean time we will be patient and let the Lord take care of our concerns.
Our next week includes a trip to Nashville where we have to get the car checked out before we make the long trip across the country. While they have the car we are going to the temple and we are meeting Christine Sirrine, she is driving over from Memphis to see us. She will also go to the temple with us. So we do that on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then we have a dinner with the office on Friday and then on the next Monday just before we leave we are doing a breakfast with office and mission president's wife. The day before we leave we are taking the car out to be transported to the west on a trailer. Then we will pack up the Tesla that night go to the office the next day and help serve lunch to the MLC missionaries. We then will come back and check out of our apartment the maintance office wants dad to come in and say good bye before we leave. Dad has been their advocate as he has always put a good word in for them. We have had our apartments painted on the outside these past few months. Dad visits and talks to the painters most do not speak english but he decided that they needed doughnuts and so he bought three dozen doughnuts and took them to the apartment office for them. He is always thinking of the little guys that work hard but don't get much credit for the work they do.
We had some cooler weather this past week and last night had a hurricane like rain storm where the wind blew and it rained sideways. Lots of thunder and lightening and we though we might lose power but did not. It was quite the rain storm. It reminded us of Michigan and it's rain storms, the kind that rattle the windows and light up the room.
We are looking forward to seeing you again and hugging and kissing your little faces off. Not sure what we will do after that but somehow we will find a place to fit in again.
Love Mom, Grandma, Sister Christensen
ps I don't have many pictures except we did some inspections so we take pictures of the missionaries when they get what we call celestial housing. these are some of the good cleaners of the mission.
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