Ghana and Urdu

We were at the West Gate Sunday, Mom went to "Music and the Spoken Word", while I greeted people at the Gate.  The Choir program was special for Memorial Day, the Air Force Band was here to join the Choir.  I was able to hear some of the songs from out side of the building, most of the program was Patriotic in nature.  Mom said the program was really good.

I was talking with a black man from Ghana who had been on the square for the last two days.  He told me that he was asking for the lessons and was going to be baptized into the Church.  He had a friend in Ghana who was a member and had gone to his friends ward several times and that he also had been able to visit the Temple in Ghana.  Visiting the Square and hearing the Testimonies of the Sisters had been enough to make him decide to be baptized.  

I was at the North Visitors Center today when a lady wanted to know if her friend could take a tour of the Square in "Urdu."  I had no idea what language that was so I enquired and found that it is the Language that is spoken in Pakistan.  We have a Sister that had just arrived on the square from that country who could do it.  I am always in awe of the Sister Missionaries we have here.  We also found that we know have a Sister who speaks "Mong", the language of the Tribal peoples of the mountains of "Laos".   

I have been Painting the house so it will be as nice as can be.  Our lease on the apartment will be up the end of August so we will have to return home or buy another house?  

sorry story

We had a sad experience the other day when we were serving in the North Visitors Center at "God's plan for his family", which is on the upper level just past the Statue of Christ.  He was just sitting there very depressed, no one else was around so we sat next to him and asked him if we could help him.  He said that he had gone from the high point of his life to the lowest and did not know what to do or where to go.  

His story is this.  He came home from his mission early because he was convinced that he was Gay.  He told his mother, She was devastated.  He is still living at home and trying to go to school.  He said that he was on top of the world when he was in the MTC.  He since has tried to live what he thought he was by dating some "men", and found that he was repulsed by the experience.  He is not what he thought he was.  He told us that while at High School, that he and three friends though that it would be cool to be Gay, because of all of the stories about diversity and accepting  the Gay life style. He had convinced himself that it would be a great way to express his Independence and get attention. He had convinced himself that it was true. 

Now he is as low as he can be.  He has found that he gave up the greatest thing, and now is lost.

We  told him to talk to his Bishop and that he may be able to get counseling from LDS social services, that he can come back to be the person that he is really is. 

 We can be too excepting of what is not right.  We should be able to accept people but not sinful behavior.  I hope that our society will not continue go at is in in making "Good, bad and Bad good".

We had a group come on the Square from Assua Pacific College, their Choir, eighty one young men.  They were on tour and wanted to come here to see Temple Square and sing in the Tabernacle.  They were given permission and stood around the inside of the building and sang some songs.  I talked to several of them and they said that it was the highlight of their trip.  They had performed an the Cristal Chapel and Cathedrals in the West, but this impromptu singing was the best.

Mom's arm is getting better but it will take some time.  Life in the mission field is good. 

      

Mothers Day and Breaking Mission Rules

                                                         Mothers Day

     There are "Rules" that are to be kept on our Mission so I am sorry have to say that Mom broke one.  We are not allowed to take trips while we are 

on our mission.  She has a really sore arm. 

     We were home in Sandy  and were preparing the house for everyone to come over for a barbecue.  I went to the store to get some water treatment for the ponds. and she was home alone pulling up some weeds when she stepped back and "TOOK a TRIP" over a sprinkler.  She fell on some some logs that we had placed next to the old peach tree for decoration and dislocated her elbow. 

     She was unable to get up because she could not push with her lift arm.  So she was laying on the ground.  Kathy was in to her yard next door and was able to come and help Mom up. Marty called her on her cell phone and she answered by yelling "Help".   Marty took her to the emergency room at the Alta View Hospital.

     The doctors were able to reset the dislocation but the x-rays show a small bone chip.  We are going to take her to see a bone doctor to make sure that everything will be all right.  She is doing well with very little pain.

     We had a very good Mothers Day in spite of the troubles. 

                                                       Welfare Square

  

     We have the assignment of being on Welfare Square on Mondays.  It is a great place to visit and take a tour.  There is the Bishop's Store House, Bakery, Transient Services Office, Employment Center, Cannery, Dry Pack, Desert Industries, and Milk Processing and Cheese Creamery.  It takes a hour for a Tour and to see everything.  

     There was a couple come in from Lehi.  They said they were from Mississippi, that they had been at New Orleans when they were reallocated to Utah due to the Hurricane.  They were staying here and have joined the Church.  We were talking about the problems with the Hurricane when they said the Church was there with a big tent where they were passing our boxes of food that was good for one week.  I thought that was cool as part of the tour is showing the place where the emergency food is boxed.  

    It is so great to be here where we can be proud of all of our church is doing for good in the world

Films and Plays

Our assignment of working with the Sister Missionaries in the sports program is over.  We feel sad, it was a great time to get to know them better.  We had the above picture taken.  

Ben was in the Jr High School play, "Annie".  He had the part of "Sandy" the dog.  Ben had a great time, he is a real ham.  Most of the Family attended the event.  Melody's family, Todd and Shelly, Bruce and Tara, and Elder and Sister Glad.  It was really great to spent time with the family.

We were serving at the West Gate today when there a Bus pulled up to the gate.  I was preparing to receive them as a bus tour group, when I noted that there were some camera people coming out of the Bus.  The Church is producing a film to be used to advertise Temple Square on Buses  and Airline flights.  They were in the process of filming a Tour Group coming to Temple Square and the Sister Missionaries taking them on a Tour.  There were some actor Sister Missionaries with them, the real thing is much better.

 

Mom was "VERY" interested in what was going on.  She was very excited to find the actor who played the part of Brigham Young in the movie "Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Restoration". She had been in  Nauvoo and watched that being filmed.  He was directing the film. 

We went to our home in Sandy, Wednesday to get it ready for spring, planting flowers in the front flower bed and laying our our vegetable garden.  I planted some Tomatoes, Zucchini and Cucumbers.  We are planing on going home in the summer on our "P" day to get some fresh vegetables, also the home would look too empty if there no flowers in the front. 

There must be some sick pigs up in Park City.  They have closed all of the Schools and there was no Sacrament Meetings to day because of Swine Flu.  There has been nine possible cases and one that has been diagnosed as such.  I feel that all of this is overblown, or at least I hope so because we have so many people from all over the world come here to Temple Square.

We now have only seven months left on our mission, time is going too fast.