NEWS of the WEEK

Yesterday in an email a friend reminded me of a favorite scripture that strikes a cord with me this week. It is from Alma 37:37. I've included the verse before, 36: ". . . cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever. Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day."

I feel this scripture is a companion to our mission scripture, which is the Lord's promise that He will go before us, and protect us, and be with us always, that we need not fear, as we take His Hands, walk and follow Him, and are faithful and obedient and righteous.

Missions are opportunities to teach others, and to expand and build up the quality of our own efforts in Christ-like living and giving. Missions are also opportunities to grow, and to qualify ourselves for . . . among other things . . . more growth! Missions are challenges with blessings, . . . or vice versa.

The following is sort of a Stream-of-Consciousness series of thoughts that have come this morning, similar, I'm sure, to thoughts you and many others have considered .... I don't expect to be brilliant or even articulate, but perhaps just to think out loud, and to share, or to let the Spirit teach me more....

Is it possible that we don't take His outstretched Hands as often as we might? Do we remember to do so before the hard times? during the hard times, or only after? Do we invite Him to be with us during the good times, or only with an afterthought? Are we too immersed in the busy-ness of life, too much in the 'thick or thin' of our days? Can we pull ourselves back to seeing what is truly important in any situation?

Are we forced to our knees? [Not always a bad thing!] We all have our Liberty Jail moments . . . do we ask the Lord what He wants us to learn? AND would He please stay with us while we try? Are we preparing and nourishing and restocking our spiritual pantries with the Lord BEFORE we need to ask for His help? Are we willing to stretch and grow, or do we chafe or struggle alone? Are we accepting in our hearts? Do we block the Spirit, this precious gift from Father, that could bring us solutions, comfort, love and peace? Are we giving our whole selves over to Him?

As part of my office duties I organize the materials placed inside a white binder for new missionaries prior to our orientation. Interesting to me is that included in these materials is President Ezra Taft Benson's talk on Pride. And the exact same materials are given to Trainers of new missionaries. How much does pride influence and/or direct or fog or confuse our thinking, our views, our emotions? How often would the Lord want to clarify, clear, and let Light shine upon us?

My heart is extended to several people we know who have had difficult struggles recently, and two have had at the same time such wonderful answers to extended prayer, struggle and faith. For one, it's been one blow after another, with the end not in sight; for another, the question seems to be, This is a wonderful blessing and opportunity and I appreciate it,... BUT....how am I going to be able to accept it? For a third, it's been shock followed by fear and heartbreak.... And a fourth wonders Why Me? The older we get the more we come to comprehend that we need to appreciate the joys of a happy, healthy, blessed life, and also find the joys amongs the struggles and pain and sadness. I'm humbled by their strength, "guts"even, or true grit, in adversity; by their faith being employed first; by their seeking spiritual accompaniment even as they use all that they have; by no one giving up or giving in; by giving back even in the most draining of times.

Notes that may apply:

-- Act as if everything depends on you. Pray as if everything depends on the Lord.

-- Life is a marathon, not a sprint.

-- Managing our resources, including spiritual ones, enables us to reach out to others.

-- Consistency is the Key.

-- What can we give? What have we been given? What can we learn? Where can we go now?

-- Ask, and let the Lord show us the way and the means.

-- Couple patience with listening.

-- I relate to the story of the Tortoise & the Hare . . . , and add an Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin quote, "We will never make a journey of a thousand miles by fretting about how long it will take or how hard it will be. We make the journey by taking each day step by step and then repeating it again and again until we reach our destination.... Our Heavenly Father loves each one of us and understands that this process of climbing higher takes preparation, time, and commitment. He understands that we will make mistakes at times, that we will stumble, that we will become discouraged and perhaps even wish to give up and say to ourselves it is not worth the struggle.... We know it is worth the effort, for the prize, which is eternal life, is 'the greatest of all gifts of God.' [Mosiah 4:27] We don't have to be fast; we simply have to be steady and move in the right direction. We have to do the best we can, one step after another." [October 2001 General Conference]

NEWS of the WEEK

We've had a week full of blessings: Last weekend a family of four [Norra, her mother, her two sons] were baptized and confirmed members of the Church by Elder Gietz and Elder Monk, our two APs. What a special, spiritual experience it was for such faithful individuals. The youngest boy, Chris, received the Aaronic Priesthood this morning. Elder Gietz has been transferred, to spend his final 6 weeks in the missionfield instead of in the office. He is to be released on the 24th of November. Elder Monk is now senior AP and is training Elder Morley [from Coventry, England] to be the new AP. Sister Hawley has asked him to help her acquire a bit of an English accent! // All of our dinners for missionaries turned out extremely well. At the first and second, Sister Hawley asked the missionaries to share [a] what they are learning about Jesus Christ OR [b] what Jesus Christ is teaching them. A serious question, if ever there was one. Each gave a thoughtful, humble, instructive, inspirational answer. At our couples' FHE each couple shared travel experiences they'd had, and we felt that our view of the world was expanded and enhanced. We enjoyed having everyone over to our flat. // As the week began we knew we'd have to "put on our running shoes" and so we did! There was a lot to do, even for a smaller group of incoming missionaries. The mission president had new areas for the new missionaries, but he also opened 4 new areas around the mission and added companionships to another couple of areas that can handle additional missionaries. There was lots for Elder Hawley to do in the way of finding flats, adjusting finances, and so forth, and more for Sister Hawley to do in the ways of updating records for each area, printing new rosters and phone lists, etc.. One interesting thing: the mobile phones issued to each companionship STAY WITH THE FLAT. They do not move around with each transfer or stay with a specific missionary. The same is true for vehicles. It makes much more sense to attach them to the flat. Only when a flat is closed does the phone number and vehicle number change to match the move. // We received nine new missionaries and said farewell to five missionaries, four at the ends of their missionary service, and one due to health reasons where he needed to receive additional health care at home. He had served 3/4th of his mission and was given an honorable release. Elder Avanesyan is doing well learning English and we love having him in the office. His new companion is Elder Cardon, and both Elder Weibell and Elder Macias have also been transferred out of the office and back into the field. We will receive one more additional elder this coming Tuesday: Elder Boer, from Italy, who has been learning English at the Provo MTC. We look forward to meeting him and getting him started on his missionary service here in England. The photos we've enclosed with this posting are [1] Elder Monk, Elder Morley, and the Patch's during the last of the orientation meeting on Wednesday, the 14th of October; [2] Elder Weibell with his new companion, Elder Sheppard, and the Patch's; [3] Our group of new missionaries with the Patch's; and [4] Elder Gietz & Elder Monk with Norra and her family prior to their baptisms. The Hyde Park Ward came out to support these new members, and the mission came out to welcome our new missionaries. We have three sister missionaries, too. All nine new missionaries are so enthusiastic, and looked so excited and happy to be here! It's one of the very best experiences we have here at the ELM: greeting new missionaries. // This coming week looks to be much quieter -- this will allow Elder Hawley to catch up with paperwork, and Sister Hawley to finish the final batch of letters that will be sent home to the parents along with photos she took with their new trainers. Once that is done, Sister Hawley will be able to look for flats online and save Elder Hawley some time that way. There are two Spanish sister missionaries who need a flat in Bayswater, and a senior sister missionary who is going to need a 1-bedroom flat in the Chelsea area near both the office, the shopping, and a good bus line. We have no zone conferences this month -- they will start during the first week in November. The weather is getting progressively colder. Both E/S Hawley thought they were getting colds, but neither got really ill -- another blessing. // This coming week the president starts his monthly interviews--some missionaries come into the office, and the MP drives to other areas for these interviews. In two weeks we'll have our Hyde Park Stake Conference. // Yesterday Elder/Sister Hawley hopped on a bus and took a scenic ride around the heart of London, traveling along the Thames at some points and seeing places like Westminister Abbey and Cathedral, 10 Downing Street, Victoria Station and Trafalgar Square. It was a relaxing way to see the city, and we know now where we'd like to return. We are grateful to be missionaries, and grateful to see such a multi-cultural and historic city.