FAMILY REUNION

March 6, 2016

FAMILY REUNION

RYAN SMITH

Our nephew Ryan lives in Springfield, Missouri. When we found out that we would be coming to the Missouri, Independence mission we were excited about the possibility of seeing him and his family. Unfortunately, Springfield is in another mission, about 3 hours away. It usually takes an act of Congress to leave the mission, so we were worried that it might not be able to visit with him while we were here. And then we recently found out that Ryan and his family are moving to Denver at the end of this month, which increased our desire to see him.  We decided to seek permission from President Vest to travel outside the mission, knowing that it might be years before we might see them again. 
When we first arrived in the mission field, I asked President Vest under what circumstances he allows a missionary to leave the mission. He said that permission is typically granted only for 'ordinances' or funerals. And even then, he has to usually run it by a member of the Seventy who oversees this mission. It sounded like a lot of red tape to me. I emailed him last week, explaining what was going on, and within a few minutes he emailed me back with the words: 'Request approved'. We were thrilled
It was so wonderful to visit with Ryan's family. Ryan grew up in Utah, so we didn't see him as much as I would have like to as he was growing up.  However, when I was called to be scoutmaster, I made sure that he was invited to come along on all our summer trips, especially since he and Matthew were the same age. The Narrows, Shadow Lake, Mt. Ritter, Yellowstone, Havasupai, Mt. Whitney to name a few. I've never seen anyone hike like Ryan. Interestingly enough, he and Steven Mahkorn served together on their missions in El Salvador. 
As a side note, Ryan probably saved half the troop from certain death close to the summit of Mt. Ritter. I had accidentally dislodged a huge 500 lb. boulder above them in a narrow ravine. It careened down this narrow chute where the entire troop was gathered at the bottom. Ryan was above the boys and heard the boulder crashing down and yelled to everyone to get out of the way. Without his warning, that boulder would have smashed through 12 of the boys like a bowling ball hitting a strike. I still have nightmares about that. The Lord protected us with Ryan's help. 

TROOP 203 

Narrows hike (Ryan on left in blue shorts)

Laura Lake (Ryan, Matthew and Michael  Kekauoha) 

Ryan and Alyse have two beautiful kids, Peyton and Ashton. We hope that we need to get permission to leave the mission field again soon, this time for an 'ordinance'.

Ashton and Peyton

Cheddars restaurant

Alyse and Ryan

STILL SMALL VOICE

One of Dad's favorite quotes (and mine) from General Conference was spoken by Bishop Keith McMullen in the 1996 April Conference. He said:

"The Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead, sent forth by God to reveal all needful things. He teaches and testifies with divine power and clarity. His witness may go unheard or unheeded, forsaken or denied, but it is never misunderstood. 'The Holy Ghost is a revelator'. That which is received of him has a more powerful effect upon the soul than anything else received in any other way. A millennium of experience through sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, and all the powers of the universe combined cannot approach the sublime and complete experience of one brief moment under the influence of the Holy Ghost."

From time to time on our mission we have felt the unmistakable 'still small voice' that emanates from the Holy Ghost. Recently, Bishop Miller let us know that he had signed the patriarchal blessing recommendation for a recent convert. We had the distinct impression that we should visit with this dear sister and help her understand and prepare for this wonderful experience. After meeting with sister Hernandez, we were again prompted by the Spirit to ask her if she would like us to drive her to the patriarch's home since it was a distance from where she lived and her English was very limited. We could sense a huge feeling of relief in her voice as she accepted our offer. This was all so new to her and she was quite nervous. There are so many 'new' things that a recent convert has to learn about and understand. Often we who are long time members of the Church take these things for granted and assume that recent converts understand and accept them like we do. Receiving a patriarchal blessing is just one of the many things that is unique to God's true church and it can be hard for new members to completely comprehend the purpose and significance of such a blessing. 
We picked sister Hernandez up after church and drove her to the patriarch's home. When we arrived, Robyn remained in the car and I walked her to the door to make sure we were at the right address. When the patriarch opened the door, I explained that my wife and I would wait for her in the car. The patriarch thought for a moment and then said, "Please, bring your wife and come in." I was very surprised, because normally only close family members such as parents are permitted to be with someone when they receive their blessing.
Brother Ovard, the patriarch, was so kind and gracious with sister Hernandez and us. As we sat in his living room, I thought of how much he reminded me of my father who also served as a patriarch. Dad gave James and Matthew their blessings.  I also thought of brother White who gave me my patriarchal blessing, of brother Jones and brother Morgan who gave Christopher and Amy their blessings. All these men were spiritual giants. 
It was a very sacred experience to be in the presence of such a man, as he received direct inspiration from our Father in Heaven.
We are so grateful that we felt the promptings of the Holy Ghost and acted upon them.

We continue to enjoy teaching the Marriage and Family Relations class during Sunday School. Today we had 8 couples attend. One of the sisters who had been attending the class by herself was able to bring her non-member husband today. I think this was the first time he had ever come to a church meeting. Another couple brought their inactive son and his non-member wife with them also. The Gospel has so much to offer. Hopefully we can be the means to help them understand this and have a desire to investigate further the teachings and blessings that membership in the church offers.

And then today, Robyn was given a new assignment in the ward. The bishop extended the call her to be the ward emergency preparedness chairperson. In Relief Society, she surveyed the sisters about their food storage. She wanted to get a feel for the needs of the families here. Only one sister raised her hand when she asked them who had any emergency food set aside. Obviously, there is a big need in this ward to become better prepared. 

BOILED PEANUTS

Being from the South, Robyn's mom introduced her kids to boiled peanuts, a real southern delicacy. It became a family favorite of ours over the years. Up until recently, it was very hard to find them in stores in Southern California. On a recent trip to Walmart here in Missouri, we found a well stocked supply. Wanting to pass the tradition on to the next generation, we wrapped up a can and gave it to Kaui for her birthday on Sunday. Unfortunately, it seems that Noah was the only one in the family that truly appreciated the taste. I doubt boiled peanuts will be added to their emergency year supply of food anytime soon.

Birthday girl

'Heavenly Cake'