Week Nineteen…The Weekend Was Really Keen!

Another week done. Wow! Here are the things we learned this week.

Monday was a great day in the library. We had fun working on our country training as well as getting to help some people with their family history, but I also learned about what everyone here in the library calls an “Elijah Moment”. There was a patron that came into the library looking for a certain microfilm. He said he had looked exactly where it should be as well as in our overflow area and it wasn’t there. He also mentioned that he had been into the library last Friday and couldn’t find it then. I was talking to our zone leader, but I suddenly felt the need to go search for the film. So I jumped up and went first to where it was supposed to be filed. Voila, there it was! But when I brought it back both he and my zone leader pointed out that I had gone to the wrong spot, where there was a 1 added to the number at the beginning. Ugh. So I took it back and went to the correct spot…no film. I decided to look at possible spots where someone may have misfiled it. Patrons aren’t supposed to refile their films for this very reason, they often put them in the wrong location, but I thought maybe someone trying to help did that and just got it wrong. Well, I struck out. Every place I could imagine that they may have messed up I tried and couldn’t find the film. So I went back to the patron to let him know I had failed and to say sorry. As I sat down the thought came to me that perhaps the individual who had filed the film did the exact wrong thing that I had done, but in the overflow area. Maybe they put the film in the drawer where it had films starting with a 1, but it didn’t have a 1 in the front. So I went to that drawer and tada, it was there. Pretty cool. Little thoughts and nudges to help me find it. Elijah Moment. 

That night we had a mission devotional with Sister Bonnie Cordon, the current General Young Women’s President (although she was released in the last general conference effective August 1st). She talked about how God plans for people to be in a certain place at a certain time and for events to happen exactly when and how He needs them to happen to ensure His overall plan is accomplished. I learned that during the beginnings of WWII when the whole world was focused on war, our Heavenly Father was focused on sending to earth some men and women that would be leading the Church today…Elder and Sister Holland and Elder and Sister Cook, etc. She

went on to talk about how we were sent to the earth at this precise time so that we would be here to do exactly what we are doing right now. Very inspiring. I believe she is right, we are all meant to be here right now. 

I had gone over alone to the COB to workout, since Mom didn’t feel like working out, so afterwards I headed down to the devotional in the COB auditorium and was looking for mom to join me. But she never came. Right when the devotional was starting I received a text from her where I learned that she planned to watch the fireside with Sister Henkel, who had just gotten home from the hospital after her knee replacement surgery. So she watched with her in her apartment and I sat with Elder Watson, who was in our MTC group, in the COB auditorium. After the fireside I walked back to the apartment with Elder Henkel and we went to his apartment and we all spent about an hour chatting about their future plans.

Tuesday was a pretty ordinary day. I rode Emigrant Canyon on my road bike and Mom walked City Creek Canyon. We then went into work in the library and really didn’t do or learn anything new that I can remember.

Wednesday we went early to the Jordan River Temple where Mom had signed us up for back-to-back sealing sessions. We learned that you are limited on the number of sealings you can do in a session, but you aren’t limited to the number of sessions you can sign up for. So we did two sessions and it worked out perfectly to get all of the people whose names we had brought sealed. It was a very productive morning. Afterwards we did some shopping and got our car washed, then got home just in time to walk over to the COB to have lunch with John Campbell. There we learned that John has been studying about the second coming of the Savior and he made an interesting discovery in a verse in the Book of Mormon. In 1 Nephi 21:9 it says, That thou mayest say to the prisoners: Go forth; to them that sit in darkness: Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. John pointed out that this is talking about what has been termed “the three-fold mission of the Church”; 1) To redeem the dead (set the prisoners free), 2) To proclaim the gospel (bring light to those that sit in darkness), and 3) To perfect the saints (feed and nurture the saints). Kind of cool to learn something from your former student. After lunch we spent time getting ready for our trip to Southern California that was coming up on Friday and working on some things for the library.

Thursday we were floor leads for our whole shift and then came home and decided to go to the gym to workout. Mom found Sister Henkel heading out to walk to get some exercise in so we decided to walk together over to the COB. Sister Henkel couldn’t make it that far of course, so she jumped in her wheelchair that Elder Henkel was pushing and he pushed her the rest of the way to the COB. I did my normal workout and then we headed back to the apartment. I volunteered to push Sister Henkel on the way back and I learned that I still have the same desires to scare the crud out of the person I am pushing in the wheelchair. I used to do that to my Mom all the time when I pushed her around, heading towards objects like I was going to run her into them, or letting her go to roll down a hill freestyle then running to catch her before she got going to fast. I always would get a “David!” yell out of my Mom and I succeeded in getting a few out of Sister Henkel. We cut through the Conference Center on the way home so Mom could give out candy to the Sister Missionaries and we learned there that

we had left Sister Henkel’s crutches in the COB gym. So I ran back to pick those up then waited for Mom and the Henkels to come pick me up in their car to go out for Jamba Juice. After that we went to drop off some things for the Henkels and Elder Henkel decided to drive by the new, one and only, Jack in the Box restaurant being built in Salt Lake City to see its progress. Well there were cars in the parking lot and lights on in the restaurant so he decided he needed a taco, his favorite thing from their store. So we drove in and learned that they weren’t open for business yet, they were just training new employees. Bummer. But now tacos were in our brain so we drove next door to Taco Time and got some tacos. Yum.

Friday we walked down to the Trax station on North Temple and rode it out to the airport. We learned that we as missionaries can ride the Trax for free and it also made it so that we didn’t have to have anyone drive us to the airport or have to park our car there and pay for parking. We flew down to Ontario, CA and rented a car there and drove down to Murrieta where we were able to attend Chris’ graduation from residency ceremony. He has passed his boards and completed his residency and is a full-fledged doctor. He will start his new job on July 1st there in Murrieta working for a company that does palliative care. We are very proud of him and Julie and all the work they have done.

On Saturday we went out to breakfast for Chris’ birthday and then dropped the kids off at their house because we learned that Julie had set up a bunch of appointments to go look at houses for them to hopefully buy. We went with them because we are hoping they can find one with some sort of in-law or next-gen suite that we can stay in when we are tired of the winter weather in Bellingham. We looked at a ton of homes and learned that the first one was probably the best one for them and us. So they are putting an offer in on it tomorrow. Fingers crossed for them, everyone!

Today we went to church with Chris and Julie and their kids and I was able to be part of Tyler’s baby blessing. I learned that Chris had invited half the elders quorum to participate in the blessing, well maybe not half, but it was a very large circle. He gave Tyler and very nice blessing and Tyler cooperated by being very quiet and calm. Julie found this great outfit for him to be blessed in and he was getting tons of “awwwwwwws” from everyone that saw him. 

After church we came home and celebrated Father’s Day for Chris, because we learned that he has to work next Sunday…part of the final hours he has to put in for his residency. Chris got a new stethoscope and a case for his new work phone. I learned that they got a gift for me as well. I opened it up and found these gems.

Paka socks! Very cool. They are actually made from alpaca wool and are very soft and comfy. The tag claims they are great for hiking and activities like that. I think I just wear them for normal day to day stuff. 

We had a great naan bread and kabob chicken and rice meal for dinner with German chocolate cake, left over from yesterday’s birthday celebration, and rocky road ice cream. I am sufficiently full. I have learned that I really can’t resist eating ice cream, even when I am full and don’t really need it. It’s just too good. I’m sure that is surprising to all of you, right?! 

Well, it is after 10 and I need to get up before 4am to get to our early 6am flight tomorrow. That is what we learned this week.

Love you all.

BE GOOD!

Mom and Dad

PS if there are errors it’s because I didn’t take the time to proofread.