San Carlos Week 5-Great Words of Wisdom

 This is our schedule every week--so even if I don’t mention one of these events, it still happened:

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
10:00 Church Feed the Elders 4:00 ARP in Globe and take anyone who wants a ride (only every other Sunday)	6:00 Singles FHE in Globe Take branch members who want a ride 3rd Monday is Senior Missionary FHE in Mesa	5:30 ARP here 7:00 Relief Society	Zone Conference in Mesa every 6 weeks 7:30 pm Seminary	10:30 District Mtg. in Globe  5:30 Detention Center - Teach the juveniles 6:30 Teach the men	Clean the church today or Saturday depending on our schedule

At seminary this week Grandma Curley dropped in (and brought three extra kids--her other grandkids that happened to be with her).  Sister Curley is grandmother to seven of our 10 seminary kids. I think it helped improve behavior. Teshane and Tameron (brothers) got haircuts and I thought we had new students!!  I had never seen Teshane’s face since he had long hair he wore covering his face and always had his head down. Kinda funny. They ate ALL the loaves of bread we brought for refreshments.  

I got a call Thursday afternoon from Brother Lupe telling me he had black bananas and would sure like some banana bread.  I said, “Do you want me to make you some banana bread?” Brother Lupe, “If you want to.” I am not sure at that point I could have said I didn’t want to.  He got three loaves and I gave one loaf to the missionaries.     

Friday night we were invited to an 'Evening with Bednar' for all seminary instructors worldwide.  The stake presidency furnished a delicious Mexican dinner and desserts before the broadcast began.  Besides us, there was a sister who teaches early morning seminary in Globe and her regular substitute, and that’s all besides the stake president, the second counselor, and their wives (so oodles of food).  Bednar’s presentation was great. My takeaways: We as members seem to have this idea that personal revelation only comes after we follow a checklist of things to do first. He said that as confirmed members of the church, we have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost and personal revelation should be happening constantly if we are trying to be good people.  He said the question is not: how do I get it?, the question should be: what did I do to make it stop? Those thoughts, feelings, and impressions are always there for us if we are listening for them. The setting was informal and he allowed questions from the audience. He kept asking, “What are you hearing that isn’t being said?” The impressions that come to our mind while someone else is talking, whether related to the topic they are speaking about or not, are the revelations we need to pay attention to.  That is the Holy Ghost doing his job. I decided that is going to be my focus on this mission: What am I hearing that isn’t being said?  He also encouraged us to get a cheap copy of the Book of Mormon and go through it and mark all the passages that deal with “eyes to see” and “ears to hear.”

After the broadcast, we drove to Mesa to spend the night in a hotel.  NO earplugs! A king-size bed! We got up Saturday morning and attended the Gilbert Temple.  It is a big temple and beautiful. Next, we had a mission conference in Mesa with President Ballard and Elder Ochoa.  We took a picture with ALL the Mesa missionaries and President Ballard and then they shook everyone’s hand. My takeaways:  talk to more people wherever you find them. He suggested talking to 10 new people every day. KNOW Chapter 3 in Preach My Gospel--you don’t have to know the whole book--just Chapter 3 inside and out.  If you first obtain the word then you can declare the word, and knowing the word makes you a better “finder” of people to teach.  When asked, “What works every time?” His answer was, “Nothing! Except YOU...if you have a smile.” Conversion happens because of what they feel, not what they know.  Have a good attitude and be enthusiastic.  Teach gently, carefully, and with understanding.  President Ballard has a funny sense of humor and is a good storyteller.  Today was a great day!

     

Still chasing that red bird.  I bought a new Chromebook because my Mac had a meltdown and when it starts up, the icon above my name is a red bird.  How did it know?

I don't know why these pictures are
coming in so small.  Every week
I encounter a new issue when it
comes to inserting pictures.

The Gilbert Temple with a close up of the front windows.  You see this motif throughout.

Driving back from Mesa last night we had a beautiful full moon to watch the whole way.

Opposite the moon, we had this beautiful sunset.

Sadly we have to say goodbye to Elder Gold from Alberta, Canada.  On Tuesday's transfer, he moves down to the valley.

Tonight's beautiful sunset once we returned to San Carlos from ARP in Globe.