62nd & 63rd Weeks—November 12-25, 2012

Dale and Coles at the Visitors Center

Cliff, Ruth, Ridge, Charity, Connie, Dale
Cienna, Cheyenne
in front of the Christus at the
Los Angeles Temple Visitors Center

The sisters had the grandkids close their eyes and choose a Book of Mormon
off a shelf that had all the Books of Mormon written in various languages.
After they chose the book, they scanned the book and it would show them
on the screen where in the world that Book of Mormon would be read.
 They suggested that perhaps some day they might
possibly be called to that mission. Thus Charity could
possibly be called to Serbia someday.

Ridge might be called to Guatemala.

Cienna might be called to the Ukraine.

Cheyenne might go to Russia.

The Coles and us at the space exhibits at the Science Center
prior to seeing the Endeavor.

Connie, Dale Ridge, Charity, Cliff, Ruth
Cienna, Cheyenne front of the Endeavor
at the Science Center in Los Angeles, California.

Charity, Ruth, Cheyenne Shopping at The Alley in downtown L.A.

Charity loved the name of this clothing store.

Cienna loaded down with packages, purses, and jackets.

Cienna, Charity, Ruth, Cliff at Santa Monica Beach.

Cheyenne enjoying the waves at the ocean.

Ridge digging a huge hole in the sand

Coles warming up in the hot tub at our apartment complex.

          The past two weeks have been very busy with inspections, Visitor’s Center, company (which we love to see), and trying to do some of our work in the wards.  We can see our mission end fast approaching and lots of things we want to do before the end.

          My daughter, Jennifer, asked us to share a mission experience she could use in sharing time in primary.  I thought those of you with small children might enjoy having a copy, so we are sharing it with you below:

Missionary Experience for Sharing Time in Primary

          If we could tell you something you could do that would BLESS YOU EVERYDAY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, would you want to know what it is and would you do it?  President Hinckley said that if you serve a mission that you would be blessed every day for the rest of your life.  So prepare now to go on a mission.  We firmly believe this is true.

          When we first arrived in the mission field, the second family we met was the Olazava Family.  The bishop of the 6^th ward told us to visit them.  We met Hna. Victoria Olazava and her son Miguel who were recently baptized.  Elder Petersen had found a list of scriptures from the Book of Mormon that had Jesus or Jesus Christ in them.  Using this list we started reading about Christ’s teachings in the Book of Mormon with her.  We had met with her twice and on the second meeting we met her husband, Jaime Olazava.  He had met and had the lessons twice with the missionaries and was not interested in joining the church.  He knew Hna. Olazava did not drink coffee or tea anymore and he said, “You are crazy!” One Sunday morning he told Hna. Olzava he wanted to take everyone out to eat for breakfast.  She and Miguel said they couldn’t do that on Sunday and besides that they needed to go to church and Jaime said, “You are crazy!”  One Sunday he invited Miguel to go to visit his older brother who lived 2 hours away.  Miguel said he couldn’t go because he needed to go to church.  Jaime said, “You are crazy!” Miguel did say if you will wait to go until after church, I will go with you and so they went.  One Sunday morning he decided to ask his family to go to breakfast before church.  It was fast Sunday.  They explained to him that on fast Sunday you don’t eat two meals and you take the money you would have spent on those two meals and give it to the bishop to help those who are in need.  If he would give them what he would have spent on breakfast, they would give it to the bishop!  Jaime said, “You are crazy!”

          We asked him if he would like to read about Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon.  He said, yes, he would like to do that so we started reading with Jaime out of the Book of Mormon about Jesus Christ and his teachings.  Most of the teachings in the Book of Mormon are about faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end.  For months and months we met with Jaime every week.  As we prayed, read, and studied the Book of Mormon with him, some seeds of testimony began to grow.  We taught him how to pray.  Slowly and surely he gained a testimony of the Book of Mormon.  As his testimony grew he came to know Joseph Smith was a prophet and he came to know the church was true.  He then gained a testimony that President Thomas S. Monson is a prophet by reading the conference talks in the Liahona.  One of the highlights of our mission was when Elder Petersen baptized Jaime a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Now Hno. and Hna. Olazava want to be missionaries and want to teach others about the church!  Jaime wants all of his family to join the church.  He is a faithful member.  Hna. Olazava is the Relief Society President. He know longer says, “You are crazy!”

          One of our greatest moments in our mission is when we went to the temple with Victoria Olazava for the first time.  She told us she prayed for months that an older couple would come to teach her husband.  We are so thankful that we are here! That was one of our greatest experiences.

          One of the greatest blessings of our mission has been to work with these wonderful Latino people.  Our testimonies of the Book of Mormon have grown so much as we have seen how reading the Book of Mormon has changed the lives of these people.  The church is true and our Heavenly Father needs many, many more missionaries.  He wants you to prepare now to serve a mission someday.

 

 

Mission Work

          The past week we had a great visit with the Coles.  They arrived Sunday afternoon, November 18.  We had Sunday dinner in which we served one of the Shuman’s favorite dishes from Georgia.  It has potatoes, corn on the cob, sausage, and shrimp in it.  You serve it by pouring it all right on the table!  The kids thought Grandpa Dale had lost it when he dumped it all on the table. (Sorry, but I forgot to take a picture of it!)  Following dinner we went to the Visitors Center.  The sisters did a great job talking to the family. 

          The next day they left on a cruise and we did some missionary work, inspections, and worked at the visitors center, and had Thanksgiving.  We spent Thanksgiving day from 9-3 at the Visitors Center.  Actually we left the house at 7 a.m. to be at the training session at 8:00 before the center opened.  Elder Shakespear is a very spiritual, loving man.  We have loved getting acquainted with him and his wife.  They are from Brigham City. She was a Durfee and grew up in Almo, Idaho.  Anyway he talked about teaching investigators how to recognize the spirit.  It was a training session that really touched us.

          Sister Shakespear, Sister Grover, and I prepared a dinner for the Visitors Center sisters that day.  They were so excited and appreciative.  It was fun to do that for them.  Sister Shakespear baked a Turkey, stuffing, gravy, and rolls.  Sister Grover did yams, and a salad, we all did part of a relish tray.  I made 6 pies.  It turned out very nice.

          That evening Maria Guzman invited us to her house for dinner.  She had invited a few friends, and family.  They served a very nice thanksgiving dinner.  It was great fun.  Hna. Tejada brought a 500 piece puzzle. Working on it helped to pass the time while Hna Guzman finished cooking dinner—we didn’t get it together though.  At dinner I sat by Hna. Guzman’s brother.  He spoke good English and had a great sense of humor.  He told us there was a Mormon church a block from where he lives and he has had feelings that he should go to that church.  They are from El Salvador.  His older brother is a member there and of course, Sister Guzman is a member.  He said he never feels like he should go to the Catholic Church but he always has feelings he should go to the ward building by him.  While Dale went out to the car to get a pass along card to receive a free video about the birth of Christ, I gave him a Mormon.org card and explained that to him.  He again told me about all these feelings he has had lately.  He has shared them with his wife and she feels they should act on them.  Elder Shakespear’s training was fresh on my mind, so I told him that was the spirit communicating with him.  He said, he thought that too but he thanked me for telling him that it is the spirit.  There was a great feeling there.  We encouraged him to go to that ward.  We were going to give him a Book of Mormon but he said he had one so we encouraged him to read it!

          The Coles returned from their cruise Friday morning and we went to the Science Center and to see the space shuttle, Endeavor.  Everyone seemed to enjoy being there.  Afterwards we went to Memi’s, a French Restaurant in Glendale, and then we came home and played games.  Saturday morning Ruth, Charity, Cienna, and I went to The Alley to shop and Dale, Cliff, Ridge, and Cheyenne went to the La Brea Tar Pits.  We met back home for Tacos and then went to the beach.  Unfortunately it was quite cold but the kids still loved it.  We came back to our apartment and the Coles warmed up in the hot tubs and did a little swimming in the pool while I fixed a chile & baked potatoe dinner.  Following dinner we watched the DVD Joy to the World and they went to their hotel to get ready to leave for Bountiful at 6 a.m. the next morning.  We enjoyed their visit so much.  Thank you!