This week in our Zone Conference there was a strong focus on aligning our thoughts and actions to our missionary purpose. For full-time missionaries that purpose is:
“Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.”
For service missionaries it is:
“Our purpose is to help others come unto Christ by serving them as the Savior would. We serve voluntarily in charitable organizations, Church functions, and within the community. We will minister in His name to the one, just as He did, expressing His loving kindness.”
Vivian and I love these purposes and we recite them each morning. At Zone Conference it was wonderful to hear President Tolman, with his strong background in leadership and building organizations, teach us to better understand how important it is to live and work to a purpose. Among other things we talked about the mission statements of various organizations and contrasted them with ours I just noted and that of the Lord (Moses 1:39). In all this I was struck again by how truth can be manifest through many different sources: religion, business, medicine, politics, psychology, science, law, technology, or almost any other domain.
With that in mind, here are just a few of the things we have been doing to try to live to our purpose. With all our amazing guest bloggers it has been almost three weeks since we have written, so buckle up while we catch up!
Thailand
After the last of the family flew away, it was our turn. Early on New Year’s Day we headed for the airport and a relatively quick flight to Bangkok. Over the course of four days Vivian had many individual sessions with missionaries whom she had only met previously via video. Doing so was really valuable in evaluating their progress, both good and concerning. We were also able to meet dozens of other missionaries from the two missions, do a presentation in a mission devotional on the topic of healthy relationships, serve five times in the temple, connect with two sets of fabulous mission leaders, and scratch the surface (barely) in exploring Bangkok. The church complex there is remarkable – a true “temple square” of Southeast Asia. It brings together the temple, missions, MTC, short- and longer-term housing, country office, local congregations, visitor services, family history, and much more. We hope to return with a group of our Singapore YSA as some receive their temple endowment!
In Sickness and In Health
We have been so blessed on our missions with generally good health…but occasionally we get reminders of living in a mortal world. We will never know if it was a virus or something she ate in Bangkok, but Vivian had a very uncomfortable week after we returned. She spent much more time than she would have liked near the bathroom, even missing church one day. She was still able to hold her missionary sessions and others meetings but after it dragged on a few days we finally dragged her into a nearby urgent care center. They were able to get her rehydrated and on some other helpful medication, and she’s now back in full form. We celebrated with a trip to Shake Shack.
Finding Strength in the Lord: Emotional Resilience
In the Singapore mission because of zone conferences and transfers it takes about 15 weeks to get through 10 weeks of sessions. We are now starting our fourth (and the sixth overall) group of missionaries in this course. Each has been a powerful experience for us and the missionaries. We have seen them learn and use skills that are helping them personally and in their current interactions with others. We also know they will help them in their future relationships.
Beyond Singapore we are now halfway through our two groups in New Delhi mission. With larger differences in language and their starting place with the concepts of emotional resilience, we are having a different but equally rewarding experience in these classes. Vivian facilitates one group and I do so with the other, and this last week the topic was “Understanding Sadness and Depression”. Over the course of a single hour we saw real lights turn on for them. They had many insightful comments in the class and in response to our mid-course survey.
In the next few weeks we will start two groups in Pakistan, looking to finish up the class before we finish up our mission. With these missionaries both the language and starting place on emotions will be an even bigger difference. But Vivian recently taught them at a mission devotional and we are confident that they also will learn great things from the Spirit through this inspired curriculum.
Meanwhile our son back home recently had a wonderful experience facilitating this same course each Sunday night in his home for a group of teenage young men. It has been great talking through it with him and having him share the value it has been for them.
Institute Changeover
I absolutely love teaching Institute! These fourteen-week terms just fly by, whether it was New Testament over last summer or Presidents of the Church this last fall. Before launching into our next full term I was asked to teach a two-week workshop called “Choices for Eternity”. We had twenty participants and it was a very engaging and thought-provoking class.
This next (and sadly, final) term for me will be teaching the class “The Eternal Family”. Institute will also see the launch of a concurrent 14-week Missionary Preparation course. Through strong participation in Institute and a five-week Sunday School course we have seen real momentum build for this additional offering. It will be held at the same time and building, so although I won’t be able to teach, I am thrilled to see the program bring on some great teachers and touch even more students. It will also be fun seeing the students gather after the two classes to socialize.
Zone Conference
I’ll end where I began: this week’s Zone Conference. This upcoming transfer is much smaller than other recent ones, but the three that are leaving (one sister and our office couple Elder and Sister Ferris) are truly mighty missionaries. They are among those we have known and worked closely with during our entire missions. It was beautiful to hear their testimonies and contemplate their influence for good here and in the future.
At the same time the mission welcomed Elder and Sister Shurtz as the new office couple. They landed in Malaysia Saturday afternoon and were on a plane for Singapore and a busy week of Zone Conference at 7AM the next morning. They are diving right in and are really great to work with.
The available senior couples had a delightful evening Thursday going out. Elders and Sisters Ferris, Ang, Shurtz and Foley took a double-decker bus through town to the temple site, walked up to Haw Par Villa, took a train to Botanic Gardens, and then a bus to a nice Italian East/West fusion restaurant back by the church. The weather, company, and seeing some temple progress were all delightful!
That’s the rundown for now. We love you! And we love your notes, comments, and prayers. Thank you for all your support.
Photos