Blessings, some Edible

Our attendance at Zone conference last week was a blessing, it always is. President Jones focused on Faith in his training. It was the most important thing we were “re-taught” that day. (repetition right!) The note I wrote to myself was that our investigators and less active members need less reasoning and more faith. It’s not that we don’t talk about or teach the importance of faith but we are to the point, with most of them, that the next step they need to take must be theirs. (I don't care where you are in your life, this truth about the function of faith applies to all people in all their good and positive endeavors. That next step into the unknown, relying solely on God, will be your next and most important step of all.) Thank the Lord for inspired leadership.

Our new Branch President, Les Nishida from Green Bay, is making quick progress in his ability to determine and meet the needs of the branch. We met with him and his counselors for over two hours where we commented on a list he requested from us of families and individuals in the branch we felt would benefit most from a visit. As we have gotten to know the less active members over the last year, a common complaint was the “perceived” uncaring attitude of the branch leaders. A charge that was not true. We also feel that some individuals need to be reminded of their covenants, which only their called leaders can effectively do. A change in leadership is often a very good thing.

It is wonderful to see the atonement work in the lives of the newly faithful and repentant members. It is one of the choicest blessings of a mission. Six months ago when we began visiting a less active brother he was still pretty bitter about his ex-wife whose mental illness, in his thinking, caused them to break up. A couple of months later he said he felt the need to forgive her and was working to do so as well as encouraging their children to do the same. Last week as we met with him, as we have done each of the previous twenty plus weeks, he said, “I’ve been such an ass!” (As Sister Johnson was right there he quickly turned to her and said, “donkey”) “I can’t imagine the stress and pain my wife was going through and I didn’t even stay by her side to help her” That is the blessing of the Lord’s atonement on full display. We are grateful to Him that, perhaps, we were a small catalyst in the process.

Conference was "awesome", to coin a phrase. And I am not just talking about the cinnamon rolls either. The rolls (pic) were assembled with love, flour, water, sugar, cinnamon, yeast and a few raisins; but mostly love.  How do I know that. These heavenly rolls were made from scratch by arthritic hands (no mixer was brought to the mission) plus when I tried to give some away I was sternly "advised" that they were for no one else but us. Oh, the sacrifices a mission requires.

In addition to deliciousness that never gets old this assemblage of goodness
would definitely qualify as art...culinary art. 

We especially enjoyed Elder Bednar's comments near the end of conference where he contrasted and compared Testimony and Conversion and explained beautifully the source of the challenges we face daily.

Never sick and tired of all of the beauty that surrounds us,

Fatter Grandpa and Grandma Johnson