OUR PURPOSE

The first thing we do in our weekly district meeting is stand and recite together our purpose as missionaries as stated in the first chapter of Preach My Gospel:

"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."

Earlier in the week we had received a photograph from some friends of ours from Argentina that reminded us of our purpose. It was taken at their family's Christmas party last month. Right before we reported to the MTC, Daniel and his wife had come up to visit us for a couple of weeks. During their visit, we talked about all the changes that had come into both our lives over the years and the blessings we had received as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I first met Daniel when I was serving in the Argentina South mission almost 45 years ago. He was fresh out of high school, a typical teenager with little direction in his life. He had recently noticed a copy of the Book of Mormon at a friend's house. Not knowing anything about it, he asked his friend if he could borrow it and brought it home. About a week later, missionaries knocked on his door. He happened to be taking a nap, but his mother knowing that he had a copy of the Book of Mormon, invited them to return later when he was awake. We were able to teach him the discussions and within a few weeks, Daniel was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church. 

Daniel (on the left) at high school graduation party - Rosario, Argentina - 1969

Christmas 2015 -  Rio Cuarto, Argentina

The Gospel of Jesus Christ changes and blesses lives. Robyn and I are so grateful to be serving in this great work. We know that there are many 'Daniels' in the Kaw River ward here and we hope to help them draw closer to the Savior.
We have about 15 families that the bishop has asked us to personally work with. Each one is different and so are their needs. We know that with the Lord's help, lives can be changed and families can be strengthened. We love this work. 

Last Monday evening we were invited to a dinner for all the senior missionaries in the Independence Mission hosted by President and Sister Vest. Most of the senior missionaries serve either at the Mission office, the Independence Visitors' Center or at one of the churches' historical sites in Missouri. There are approximately 20 senior couples and 8 senior sisters serving in the mission. This dinner is held every 6 weeks. The highlight of the dinner was the opportunity to hear the testimonies of those couples or sisters that will be leaving for home in the next 6 weeks. Everyone of them shed tears not only of joy but of sadness as they thought about their service here and how they will miss this great work. Robyn and I are already realizing that it will be hard to leave someday.

President and Sister Vest

Bishop Scott Miller

I have always said that our 'current' bishop is always the best bishop we've ever had. Bishop Scott Miller is no exception. It is such a pleasure to work with inspired priesthood leaders like him and feel of their spirit. He is among a number of members of the Kaw River ward that have been called out of their home wards to serve in Kaw River. Bishop Miller and his wife have served 3 stints in the ward. First as a counselor in the bishopric, then as the high councilor over the ward and now as the bishop. Sister Miller serves in the young women's presidency. When he was first called as a counselor in the bishopric, his children were young and did not want to go to a new ward and leave their friends. When he was released after a few years, the kids cried and cried and begged their folks to let them stay. They had truly came to love the members. He and his wife invited us to dinner last week and introduced us to the best barbecue joint in Kansas City, or so we have been told - Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que. So far I have to agree.

Saturday morning, all the full time missionaries in the stake teamed up with members from the ward to make visits to less actives. There was about 30 of us altogether. I was teamed up with Elder Anderson from Eagle Mountain, Utah. Robyn was teamed up with Perla Toraya from the ward. Each 'companionship' was able to visit about 5 families and to inquire about their welfare and invite them to church. With over 600+ members of record in the ward, there are not enough active home teachers to go around. We made a little dent in what needs to be done, but there is still a lot of work to do. Sometimes all it takes it for someone to show a little interest or concern.

Elder Anderson

Perla Toraya

As most of you know, Robyn is an animal lover. So it was no surprise that when we moved into our apartment, the first thing she wanted to shop for was a bird feeder and some birdseed. Since we could not bring the dog, birds would have to do. There was nothing in the cupboards or refrigerator, but we at least had 35 pounds of bird seed and a deluxe bird feeder that we hung right outside our living room window.  I'm sure the caution sign on the street right in front of our apartment had something to do with it.  

Every little sparrow in the neighborhood and a few beautiful red cardinals soon became regular visitors. We have not seen any geese yet - probably gone south for the winter. It seemed like almost every 2 or 3 days we were filling up the bird feeder. After only a few weeks, the 35 pound sack of bird seed was almost all gone.  At this rate, I soon realized that buying birdseed was going to create havoc with our budget. I could not believe that the little sparrows could eat their weight in birdseed everyday. So I decided to keep a close watch on what was going on to determine where all the birdseed was going. It didn't take long before I found the culprits. Game on squirrels. Your thievery will not be tolerated.

sparrows enjoying a quiet lunch

hungry sparrows and a soon to be skinnier squirrel