Olecranon Bursitis and a Shirt Cake

 Why is it starting to feel like members are distancing themselves from us – oh right it’s because they know we are leaving “soon”. It happened at our recent Branch Conference, while it was great to see and visit with many of our stake friends, including the presidency, it was both good and odd to hear many thank-yous for the good job we have done for the branch.  It was a great spiritual feast nonetheless. Maybe we are just being too sensitive? Perhaps it isn’t just the missionaries who need to adjust to an upcoming change but the members also. It’s not a big deal, just an interesting observation; it’s only the second time it has happened to me in 50 years.

 It doesn’t look like we will be baptizing Bob Peters before we go but young Akasha Carlson and her brother are still on for June we hope. We haven’t given up on Bob but something is making him more determined than ever to stay “dry”. He has felt the Spirit on numerous occasions in our presence. We only hope he won’t chose to remain just one of the “honorable men of the earth”. 

 Dealing with some minor health irritations this week. I (Elder Johnson) had to have a cavity filled which was pretty routine if you don't mind giant needles molesting your mouth or part of your gum being cut away so the dentist can have an easy shot at filling the hole the sweets I have eaten caused. I also came down with Olecranon Bursitis. It is not painful just always in the way. It can be drained, but for now I am just watching to see if it will resolve itself. 

Not my Olecranon Bursitis but one that looks similar.

We enjoyed a fantastic pot-luck at church yesterday. It was President Nishida's 60th birthday. He is an Hawaiian hence the aloha-shirt cake. Pretty clever, huh.

President Nishida, the Aloha-shirt cake and cake baker
extraordinaire Sister Klatt

 We continue to receive many blessings from the Lord; we are finding and inviting more less-active members all of the time. It is great to witness these miracles as the Spirit moves these wandering sheep gently back into the fold. I remind all who listen that the big advantage in working with the less-actives is they already have had the Gift of the Holy Ghost bestowed upon them and when these members do any positive thing in the direction of returning to activity they receive an immediate witness from the Spirit who testifies to them of the truthfulness of their choice.

We supported a Single Adult FHE/party that went much better than expected.

Mimi Madsen, Bob Erickson and Sister Johnson enjoying some of the great food at the party.

Elders Dusterhoft and Christensen doing what, arguably, what missionaries do best.

Elder Dusterhoft and Dennis Klingman. Br. Klingman is giving the lesson he prepared.

Bob Erickson, Bill Matson, Mimi Madsen and Rich Matson waiting patiently for the action to start.

This activity was completely organized by the branch, something that probably would not have happened a year ago. It was held in the home of Dennis Klingman who has made giant strides back into activity. This is one of the blessings referred to in the previous paragraph. We had three singles, the missionaries a sister, and an old married couple...us. We promoted it on Facebook along with other meetings and events arranged by the branch leadership. Facebook is a great resource for a spread out branch like this one. In addition to using Facebook many wards back home are pretty much run using texting apps. We know the youth are way into it; this requires the adult leaders to master it as well. More to learn – sigh. ASIG*

On the backside of the learning curve,

Elder and Sister Johnson

*And So It Goes for the less tech savvy among us (I had to look-it-up myself)