Epilog

We were really surprised to see a welcome home sign, since we wouldn't be moving in for a couple more weeks. Nice to have been missed.

Our granddaughters kept wanting to be a part of the missionary action. No one minded. I wanted all of them close.

It was so good to have some of our missionary couples at our "home coming."

So many wonderful missionaries! So many great pictures! I wish there was room for more. Special thanks to our children and other family for all their help, love and support during the years we served and during this day of missionary enthusiasm. We will love you all forever!

Our travel home was made better by a stop in Bend, Oregon which included another visit with President and Sister Rau. They had gone WAY over the top (as others had) and had bought us a gift--a beautifully framed photo of Mt. Bachelor. It is a treasure that I plan to hang in my office. It will remind us of the beauty of central Oregon. We also saw the Burns Elders one more time. We met up with the Watsons in Nampa, Idaho and caravanned home with them. When we hit the SLC area, we saw the first real traffic we had seen in three years and felt that dry Utah heat. We longed just a little for Oregon’s cooler weather and rural areas with no traffic. We went to Sister Macdonald’s parents’ home and as I was unpacking our car I saw two elders ride by on their bikes (in Utah no less.) I said hi and they asked if I could use some help unloading. They asked where I had come from. I told them I was returning from a mission, and they asked when. I told them I had just pulled in. As they brought suitcases into the house they opened the door and hollered out “Sister Macdonald, where would you like these things put?” She was surprised to see missionaries helping. We felt it was a tender mercy that let us know we were being looked after.

On the Wednesday evening that we arrived in Utah, we were invited to our daughter’s home and enjoyed a meal with her family and our other children in the area. On Saturday we got together again with all of our family in Utah. One of our six year old granddaughters told me that this was “the best day ever”. It was wonderful to feel of their love for us and each other. We were so pleased to see them all.

It has been good to see friends and family and to start getting settled back into life. On the first Sunday we went to church, one of the congregational hymns was the Battle Hymn of the Republic, which is the melody we use for our mission song. It was hard not to sing the OEM song. Our life is evolving, and the Lord continues to show us many tender mercies. We ran into the Pykes in Costco. They served in California at the same time we served in Oregon. We enjoyed exchanging memories with them. The Dyches who served in Portland came by and we went to Salt Lake City together to thank those who had helped us in Missionary Medical and our IFR. Then we went to lunch and had a great visit.

On the 17th of July we were blessed to be able to speak in our former home ward. In attendance were about 150 of our missionaries, many parents of current and former missionaries, President and Sister Fugal, as well as many family and friends. We felt the Spirit with us as we tried to teach the doctrine of Christ and the importance of the one. Afterwards we gathered at Sister Macdonald’s parents’ home and enjoyed visiting with many loved ones. It was especially great to see the missionaries enjoy being together again.

On the 20th of July we visited with the MTC Presidency and I was called to serve in one of the many branch presidencies they have there. On July 28th we went to the airport and visited with our missionaries who were returning home to the Utah area. It was great to see so many of them in one place, as going to their homecomings is difficult given our new calling. We have also been to several wedding receptions.

And so on goes our lives. We are thrilled to be home and to be with our family who mean so much to us as well as our many Utah friends. There will always be a place in our hearts for our missionaries and our many friends in Oregon.

Two Days Ending June 28, 2011 - See you all later

Off to our new life. (Scream!!!) Unbelievable? Where did the time go? Keep in touch and we'll see all of you some time in the (near) future.

The Youngs have arrived and we already love them. They seem so excited to start this race, and I know they will run fast and do a fantastic job. I can tell that President Young is an optimist, because when I saw his things unpacked last week I saw he brought his golf clubs. I hope he lets us all know how often he gets to use them. ;-)

It is hard for us to believe that this three year sprint is coming to the end. Those who know me well know that I am not much of a writer, for I am a bit like Nephi in that “neither am I mighty in writing.” After one year of posting almost every week I was about ready to quit as I had convinced myself that I was way too busy and that not too many people were really all that interested in this anyway. After talking with Ashlee, my oldest son’s wife, about this, she told me that she could put a counter on the web site and we could see how many people were visiting the site. We were amazed at how many of you have been following. Each of you has been my inspiration to continue writing. Thanks to all of you I gained the determination I needed to continue, and now we have a pretty decent record of our wonderful experiences and journeys through Oregon. Thanks to Sister Macdonald we have a lot of photos to go with those writings. If that counter hadn’t shown us that we had followers I am afraid I may have quit, and we wouldn’t have this record. I think that happens many times in our individual lives, when we think we should quit something because it is hard, we look back and see we have others following us. Then we gain the strength we need to continue on. We know that not only would we be hurt if we quit, but so would those who are following.

We envision posting again after our homecoming talk next month. Then we think we will fade off into the sunset. It has been a great run and we believe we have fought a good fight, we have finished our course, and we have kept the faith. Thanks for your interest in this great work.


Love,
President and Sister Macdonald

Week Ending June 26, 2011 Week # 1

Pictures of Sweet Creek Falls near Mapleton. We took a few minutes to hike one more time to this beautiful place we have come to love. This year it is especially spectacular because of all the spring rain and snow.




This is the drive into the missionary apartment in Florence. It was an unusually sunny day making the drive look much lighter than is usually does. Isn't is great?!




This is the bridge in Florence. I love the view from here, showing the dunes, the pines and the beautiful old pillars of the bridge.

This week we received an email from one of my sisters who said, “I have been so excited for you to come home. However, I just read your last few blog entries and started feeling a little sad as I realized what sweet associations you have to leave behind. You both continue to be in my prayers. I hope the bitterness of goodbye is compensated for by the happy reunions!” In an effort to be fair to all of our family, friends, and former missionaries back home please know we are very excited to come home and see all of you. However, it will be more than a little difficult to leave this all behind.

Speaking of family we saw several of them this week. On Tuesday afternoon my youngest sister, her husband and some of their family stopped by the house on their way to Portland for a family member’s wedding (other side of the family). On Friday we saw Sister Macdonald’s oldest brother, his wife and most of their family. They were staying out on the coast for a family reunion. One of their sons lives in Newport. We even met a friend of President and Sister Young who was in town for a day on Wednesday and wanted to see what the mission home looked like. We enjoyed seeing all of them.

One day last week as I was working out in the morning, I had a distinct impression that I should cancel our zone leaders’ council that was to be held on Tuesday, and replace it with a conference call. As I discussed this with Sister Macdonald, she quickly raised the concern that many of the zone leaders were really looking forward to coming. We both knew this was true, but we also knew where the promptings had come from. We also thought of the Youngs coming and we knew they planned to hold a zone leaders’ council a week or so after they arrived. We didn’t want to create any conflict in any of our zone leaders’ minds. I mentioned this to my assistants and they both felt good about the revised plan. Last Saturday we held a brief conference call with all of the zone leaders and told them of the change. They were supportive of the conference call instead of getting together, and I asked them to come prepared to share what they had accomplished on the Monday they would have spent traveling to the meeting in Eugene. On Tuesday they all reported on the good they had accomplished on that “found day”. We held a productive meeting over the phone for just over two hours. It felt great to follow the prompting I had received and still accomplish what we needed to by conference call.

Wednesday the movers arrived and packed up the things we needed to send home with them. We had spent several previous days organizing and sorting the things we wanted them to take, and the things we would be packing in the car to come home. On Friday the movers delivered the Young’s belonging to the house. These activities have had a sobering impact on us, and have certainly highlighted the fact that we really are leaving.

We had another round of dinners with friends we will be leaving behind and others have stopped by to wish us well. We broke bread with the Lymans, the Bergshoeffs, the Barnes, the Salisburys, the Bennions, the Lowarys, and we will be with the Smiths tomorrow. We had a good time with all of them and enjoyed reflecting on many pleasant times working together.

Week Ending June 19, 2011 Week # 6

Summer brings large incoming groups of missionaries and we are grateful for them. They look like another fantastic bunch. We will really miss getting to know them and see them grow.

An overcast but beautiful day at the Portland Temple. We had a wonderful day!




The Watsons next to a redwood in the Jedediah Smith State Park




Couldn't resist taking this picture in Crescent City near the lighthouse.

On Monday evening we were invited to the Lathen’s home, the stake president in Salem, to attend a barbecue. They also invited all of the missionaries in their stake. It was nice to get a chance to see them and his presidency again. It was with mixed feelings that we saw our wonderful missionaries again. It was kind of tough to say goodbye to them after just finishing with zone conferences last week and having said our goodbyes there.

Tuesday we officially welcomed in 21 new missionaries (that included one who came in last Thursday and one who will be serving with us for a few months from the Monmouth Stake.) It was great to greet them and to express our love for them. We also offered them love from the Youngs that they had asked me to pass on to the missionaries. The sister who was suppose to be coming had injured her knee in the MTC and will be delayed a couple of weeks. We were able to quickly scramble and find a few young women who could fill in from a few days to a week so that we wouldn’t have to double up on some areas for a while. We are grateful for these young women and their stake presidents who were able to move so quickly to help us, especially with such short notice.

Wednesday we had the privilege of attending the Portland Temple with our departing missionaries for the last time. Elder Johnson, who was one of our missionaries going home, has a brother serving in the Kennewick Mission who has been out 7 months. I was able to arrange with his mission president for him to attend the temple at the same time so they could see each other before our Elder Johnson returned home. It was again fun to be with these home bound missionaries in the temple then later in the day to participate with them in their final testimony meeting as missionaries, and realize it was our final one as well.

Thursday we tried to send off our remaining sixteen departing missionaries, but airplane problems forced two of them to stay over until Friday. Those missionaries who ended up staying (Elders Mullenax and Wilkes) and their families were great and so understanding. Those missionaries went right to work going on exchanges with other missionaries and working hard to the very end. I always knew those two were great missionaries, but that day they had another chance to prove how good they really were!

On Sunday we were invited to speak at two sessions of stake conference in the Coos Bay Stake. We took the opportunity to head out on Friday and travel to Brookings, where Elder and Sister Higginbotham are serving. We were able to enjoy an evening with them and stay in their home (which is the nicest missionary apartment in the mission thanks to some generous members who rent them a nice home for less than a small apartment.) This gave us an opportunity to say goodbye to them and enjoy the beautiful Southern Oregon Coast for the last time on Friday and Saturday. The Watsons came with us for the weekend and we enjoyed our time seeing the scenery with them. We also saw all of the missionaries of the Pacific Zone who were at the stake conference. My first speaking engagement to members of the church in the mission was to the young men of the Coos Bay Stake in July of 2008, and our last speaking engagement was to that same stake. Somehow that seems to complete the circle of our mission.

Week Ending June 12, 2011 Week # 5

Elder Campbell was hoping to win at Rock-Paper-Scissors before finishing his mission. A dream come true. He sure did cut it close!

It was such a wonderful feeling to have all my missionaries around me. I was so surprised when they handed me a big bouquet of flowers picked out by the elders! Oh how I love my missionaries! and this happened at all three zone conferences.

Our two elders serving out in Burns get a little bored being WAY out there on there own. These ties (which look great on film) are made of Starburst wrappers, folded and interlocked, many, many hundreds of them.




One stake did a luau luncheon for us. We didn't lack for food or fun, but then we never do.

Here is our broken and dislocated ankle. He is recovering quickly. The two behind him are his partners in crime or maybe I should say partners in injury.

Here's another group picture of the missionaries giving us our book of letters and my flowers. What a great bunch of missionaries!

Elder Jensen, one proud winner of Rock-Paper-Scissors. It was a fierce battle.

Elder Fiatoa was yet another winner who battled valiantly for first place.

Temple, Roseburg, Grants Pass and Klamath Falls Zones meeting in Central Point for Zone Conference. It was a beautiful day for a picture in front of the Medford Temple next door to the chapel.

Corvallis and Capital Zones meeting in Lebanon for Zone Conference. It was a cold and rainy day, but we had a great time being together just the same.

Cascade and Pacific Zones are two of the zones that met in Eugene for Zone Conference.

Eugene Zone also met in Eugene and again it was a beautiful day, making it difficult to come inside for meetings.

This week was our week for zone conferences. We held them on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday in Medford, Corvallis and Eugene respectively. One of my counselors started each of the conferences with a doctrinally based talk, and ended with counsel to be fearlessly loyal to President and Sister Young. When President Smith spoke in Medford he said that he and Sister Smith have grown close to Sister Macdonald and me. He also said that in accordance with church policy he is automatically released when we leave, and if he is privileged to be asked to work with President Young, his loyalty will immediately shift to President Young. That is what I would want him to do. Of course I confirmed that. Sister Macdonald said that early in our mission she committed to herself that in her final zone conference she wanted to do two things: 1. To teach doctrine, and 2. To not cry. She did wonderfully at both of her goals. My assistants did a great job in teaching and in role plays about the need to increase our faith to bind the Lord in our efforts. They taught that as missionaries teach members by the Spirit, members will have a greater desire to have the gospel shared with their friends and family. They also spoke about all the Savior did for us, and that he paid the price for everyone. I am sure we will see more miracles in this mission as our missionaries apply these principles in their efforts.

I had assigned each missionary to come prepared to give a short talk on one of the April Conference addresses that was important to them. After hearing from 5 to 6 missionaries at each zone conference, I reviewed a variety of scriptures showing how the mission can change our lives. I encouraged the missionaries to be faithful and to do their best. I shared a quote from Steve Prefontaine, the famous University of Oregon track star, who said, “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” I also quoted my favorite poem to them, “The Man in the Glass”. I ended my remarks with the fact that Maori people (100,000 or so live in Australia where I served my mission) have no word for goodbye, but rather use the word “sewl,” pronounced like we would say seal, which means see you all later. In the first zone conference we held this week, we sang the closing song, “God Be With You ‘til We Meet Again.” The missionaries spontaneously turned to face us at the side of the chapel which allowed us to face them as we sang to each other. It was such a generous and heartfelt effort on their part, and I am sure the assistants used their influence to make sure the same thing happened at the other two zone conferences.

At all three of the zone conferences we had one last round of competition to determine the masters of rock-paper-scissors during lunch. It was fun and not totally distractive. The missionaries presented us with a book filled with personal letters from each of the missionaries who chose to participate, and they gave Sister Macdonald a bouquet of flowers from the missionaries. She still hung to her commitment and didn’t cry, but was deeply touched by their thoughtfulness.

On Wednesday evening following the Corvallis Zone conference we hustled back home and got ready to have 68 priests and laurels from the Corvallis Stake in our home for a fireside. They along with their 15 leaders made for a tight fit, but it was fun to be with these good young people and answer some of their questions about what it will be like for them to be missionaries and how they can best prepare.

On Friday evening we enjoyed a dinner at the Cryer home in Santa Clara. On Sunday we were privileged to speak at the Eugene Stake conference, and that evening we attended another open house arranged by several good people here in Eugene. We enjoyed this additonal round of goodbyes with some of our good Oregon friends.

Week Ending June 5, 2011 Week # 4

If you look closely, the score board says, "Time to Baptize" and that it is. Just ask any missionary in the OEM, "What time is it?" They won't even hesitate when they give their answer. They are truly focused on their purpose, bringing souls to Christ.

We don't usually see the wild turkeys around this time of year, but this one was posed, ready for a picture.


There is an LDS Chapel in Klamath Falls that has the Articles of Faith on the front of the building. This picture doesn't do it justice. It really does look spectacular.

Last week one of the elders asked if his (Springfield) district could come to our home for a barbecue on their P-day on June 6. I told them they could use the house, but we were going to be gone that day. He then made it clear they wanted to do a barbecue for us before we left, but that they wouldn’t have money to buy the food until after the first of the month. Once we understood, we invited them to the house on March 30 and we provided the food. We were thrilled that they wanted to come over and we had a good time with all of them. It is good to associate with young people who are so filled with goodness and who are doing a great work. Their enthusiasm is contagious.

This week was another one that required us to call upon the Lord for the health and well being of our missionaries. An elder had an emergency appendectomy in the wee hours of Friday morning. Also our own beloved Elder Watson, a senior missionary serving in the office from our home stake, had to have surgery later that same day to remove some kidney stones that he has painfully been trying to pass for quite a while. We are happy to report that they are both doing much better, and that the missionaries reported on last week are also doing much better.

I am sure that Sister Macdonald will post the picture that I am referring to, but another zone showed their enthusiasm for the work by having their picture taken together. This time it is inside the OSU Football Stadium with a doctored-up score board displaying a very missionary-minded message. When I commented on the photos and how much I liked them Elder Jestes, one of the zone leaders in the Corvallis Zone simply said: “All in all it was fun and it is an outward expression of our inward commitment.” That statement showed me how well they understand their purpose.

We have 22 new missionaries coming in this next transfer and I had set apart a couple of days to work on their assignments with my assistants, as I had anticipated it would take a while to determine where everyone would go. It was fun to witness, for the last time, the Lord’s hand in making the needed transfers known to me. We finished all of the preliminary transfer decisions in the first day. While I often make a change or two after this, it all happened so smoothly and quickly. I know the Lord directed this transfer and the decisions made in the previous 25 transfers that I have been blessed to be a part of.

On Saturday and Sunday we were invited to attend stake conference in the Medford Stake. Elder Quentin Cook of the Twelve presided there, and Elder Devn Cornish of the Seventy attended as well. It was good to be there with those good men and with so many people in that stake that we have come to know over the years. In fact, as we were driving down the I-5 for this last time I took the time to really enjoy the beauty of the lush green that we have come to love. We know Utah is beautiful in so many ways, but we will miss the abundant vegetation that we see so much of here.

On Sunday afternoon we enjoyed dinner at the Wright’s home. They had Elder Matt Petersen (who returned home last summer) and his family too. They were in town to go through the temple with someone he had taught. Later that evening the Idiarts hosted an open house and gave us a chance to say good bye to some people from the Roseburg, Grants Pass, Medford and Central Point Stakes. It was a wonderful day and evening spent with people who have become very dear to us.

Week Ending May 29, 2011 Week # 3

Oregon scenery as we travel.

The hillsides along the coast are covered with flowers. It was a beautiful day!

During the last couple of weeks we have had several reasons to call upon our Heavenly Father in mighty prayer in behalf of some of our missionaries and/or their families and friends. We had a senior sister diagnosed with cancer that required the couple to go home so she could receive treatment. As they were making hurried preparations to leave, they seemed to be more concerned about leaving their area without another couple to replace them than they were about their own well being. We had an elder who needed shoulder surgery, another who dislocated his ankle and broke his leg while playing basketball and needed surgery right away that required nine screws and a plate. Another couple of missionaries received sprained ankles while playing basketball. I would like to outlaw basketball. We have an elder serving here from Joplin Missouri whose mother’s home was leveled during the tornado there and she lost all her worldly posessions. However, her life was spared. Another one of our elders had his best friend from home, serving a mission in Chile, die of a heart attack while out jogging. In each of these cases the Lord sustained our missionaries and their families. We have been able to visit with each of these missionaries, and in some cases I have been able to give a blessing before their surgery. We also have talked with their families and found them in good spirits in spite of the significant challenges they were experiencing. I am grateful for a loving God who hears our prayers and cares for us and our wonderful missionaries.

This week we visited with our missionaries in the Corvallis, Salem, Eugene, and Coos Bay Zones. As we did last week, we focused on chapters 2 and 3 of Ether and enjoyed additional insights from all of the missionaries in these zones. The opportunity that we have to visit with these good young people regularly will certainly be one of the things we will miss the most in the years to come.

This week we received letters from the First Presidency, the Quorum and the Twelve, and the executive director of the missionary department thanking us for our service and extending our release. Our missionaries often tell us how they don’t like it when the office sends them information about their travel home, or calls them to clarify something about their return home, as it makes them face the reality. In the past we have always told them that these inquiries are normal and that they need to plan on returning and not feel bad about it. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, we know a little more about what they were saying and how they felt.

In the more calm moments that come every now and then, we are taking time to try and prepare information that we hope will help the Youngs have as smooth an entry into this assignment as possible. I am sure we will end up missing several things we should have included, but we hope what we have prepared for them will be useful to them when they arrive. We are also 100% convinced that they will do spectacular regardless of what we do or don’t do.

Week Ending May 22, 2011 Week # 2

President and Sister Stewart, in Klamath Falls, have been a great support to our missionaries and missionary work. We will miss working with them!

One last picture of the Temple Zone in front of the Medford Temple. It was chilly, but the sun was shining so everyone gets outside to enjoy it even if just for a picture.

This week we started with our final round of interviews with the missionaries in the southern and eastern parts of the mission. It was surreal for us to make this trip, but the Spirit was strong and we knew it was important for us to visit with these good missionaries. We could feel that we were helping them along their path to be better missionaries and better people. Prior to holding interviews we studied Ether chapters 2&3 with the missionaries in the various zones we visited. We focused on the different ways the Lord answers our prayers and gives us counsel. Although we have read and studied these chapters many times before in our personal studies and with departing missionaries, we gained many new insights as we counseled together with these good missionaries of ours.

It was also a week full of many “last suppers.” We enjoyed dining with President & Sister Lathen from Salem on Monday along with their daughter and her husband, with President & Sister Morris in Medford on Tuesday, with President & Sister Stewart (along with all of the Klamath Falls missionaries) on Wednesday, with Presidents & Sisters Rau and Palmer on Thursday, with the recently released Presidents & Sisters Perdue and Wright from the Redmond Stake on Friday, and with our Eugene Ward Bishop & Sister Salisbury on Saturday. We also had lunch with the Grants Pass Stake presidency and the missionaries in that zone on Tuesday. Each one of these meals and the related visiting was full of pleasant memories and gratitude for the good people in these areas as well as our missionaries that we have come to know and love. Because each meal was so good, it was also followed with some time on the elliptical and/or the tread mill to try and work off those extra calories.

On Sunday we had Presidents & Sisters Smith and Lowary over to our home for dinner prior to our presidency meeting. While the brethren and I held what we envision to be our last presidency meeting, the sisters enjoyed a wonderful visit. I am grateful for the sage counsel of these good men over these years, and for the counsel previously given to me by President Stewart, a former member of the mission presidency. We are better people for having known and interacted with them.

Still later on Sunday evening we had Larry & Pam Marriott, whom I had done some work with years ago, who now live in Grants Pass, stop by. Larry had come up to us after a stake conference last February where we had spoken and reintroduced himself. We were pleased that they ended up having the time to stop by and say hello. The gospel and our interactions within it sure can make the world seem like a small place.

Week Ending May 15, 2011 Week # 1

This time someone was pushed right out of the frame. The camera can only do so much. Can you tell that President and I were tired? The elders say they are tired, but look at them!

Our Zone Leaders are wonderful. They are so full of desire to do the Lord's work the Lord's way. They are hard workers with great big hearts.

We started Zone Leaders Council on Monday afternoon with a few discussions. I tried to set the tone of the meeting by having us read together Section 135 of the Doctrine and Covenants. After we read and discussed this section I reminded the missionaries that the Book of Mormon cost the best blood of the 19th century. As we discussed the significance of that fact, we all knew that we needed to recommit ourselves to doing all we could to bring the people of Oregon the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Even with this serious discussion I knew we needed some diversion so we arranged for a barbeque that evening which President and Sister Lowary (my counselor and his wife) were kind enough to help Sister Macdonald prepare. Since all the missionaries had taken some of their preparation day in traveling to Eugene for our council, we enjoyed playing an hour of basketball after dinner.

Tuesday morning we continued our council and there was a sweet spirit at the meeting. I ended the meeting by reading Alma 31: 30-38, modifying it by replacing our mission’s name and our missionaries as leaders in appropriate places in the verses. Although we felt like we had started something that could improve the mission, there still seemed to be something missing. That night Sister Macdonald had a distinctive feeling that the missing piece was that missionaries had replaced baptism as their most important focus by a series of other “things.” She had noticed that instead of discussing who they were teaching at breaks at zone conferences and even zone leaders’ council, they were discussing their morning schedule and how much they were exercising, and that they were eating healthy, etc. While we are grateful that our missionaries are keeping the morning schedule by getting up on time and working out as they should, it shouldn’t replace our key focus of teaching and baptizing.

Missionaries at home may remember that we use to answer the question of “What time is it?” by replying “It’s time to baptize!” We reinitiated that practice this week. While this may seem a bit childish to some, we have seen that even by focusing on this for only a few days it has already reminded many of their purpose and has lifted the spirits of missionaries throughout the mission. We believe that as everyone recommits themselves to their purpose as missionaries, we will see better results.

This week we had some friends from Utah, Dave and Connie Slaughter, come for a short visit. We enjoyed renewing our association with them and showing them a few of the sites we have come to love here in Oregon. We had wanted to get back to Silver Falls State Park one more time and take the longer hike past 10 waterfalls. Their visit prompted us to do that. Again we are so grateful for the many friends and family members who have made the effort to come and see us and this beautiful place we have called home for the past three years.

On Sunday evening we were invited to dinner at the home of the Moss family in Corvallis. He serves as a high councilor over missionary work. Afterwards I attended a coordinating meeting in that stake and spoke at a priesthood leadership meeting there as well. While I was doing that Sister Macdonald went on exchanges with the sister missionaries serving in the Corvallis area.

Week Ending May 8, 2011 Week # 6

The Salem Zone dressed in their baptism clothing and went to the beach to make a statement. I love it!

Our new missionaries were welcomed with teasing sunshine. We haven't seen a day like this in F-O-R-E-V-E-R!

Two beautiful days in a row! What is going on?! Will it last? Of course not. However, in true Oregon spirit we will enjoy every second of it. It was a glorious day at the temple.



We had a wonderful time out to dinner and visiting with the Morgans, Dyches, and Brinkerhoffs one last time. We have enjoyed the opportunity to serve with them.

On Monday I took the opportunity to drive to Redmond the missionaries who were being transferred out that way. I also brought the missionaries who were leaving the Redmond area back to Eugene. It was fun to be with these good missionaries in an informal way during our drive and visit with them as we traveled. We also stopped by Sahalie Falls both coming and going and enjoyed seeing that beautiful site. I renewed my appreciation of the good members of the church who regularly use their time and efforts to transport missionaries far distances every transfer and sometimes in inclement weather.

I forgot to mention that last week during our leadership training I again asked each missionary to be the first one up this last Sunday in their respective wards and be the first ones to bear their testimony. I suggested that their testimony should take just a few minutes and consist of thanking the members for all they do for them, expressing their love for their companions, and testifying of Jesus Christ. As I have been reading their letters this week I often heard what a positive experience this was for them and for the meetings they attended. Many reported that the whole meeting seemed to be more focused on the bearing of true testimony. I had given them this challenge twice before (once about a year ago and once just over two years ago) and each time had received similar positive feedback. I hope that members and missionaries alike were reminded of the importance of bearing pure testimony.

This week I asked Elder Christensen, one of my assistants, to go on an exchange with each of the five companionships in the Klamath Falls Zone. This zone is the most remote of all of the zones in our mission and I felt impressed that there was a need for some hands-on teaching in each area in that zone. It turned out to be a very positive experience for each companionship there. Elder Christensen came back with greater insights as to things we could do to improve our teaching in more remote areas of the mission.

This transfer week also provided, as it always does, the excitement of having new missionaries arriving in the field, the reward of taking great returning missionaries to the temple in Portland, and a few tears as we said goodbye to these great young men at the airport. We also held a conference call with the trainers before their new companions arrived in the field from the MTC and one with the trainers and the new missionaries a couple of days after they arrived. It was good to get at least a light touch with each one of them and explain the importance of this great work and their role in it.

On Saturday evening, Elder Brinkerhoff, our Area Seventy, took us, the Dyches (the Portland Mission President), and his executive secretary and their wives out to dinner. It was fun to be with them for one last time. He was gracious as he thanked us for the service we had rendered during our time here in Oregon. He gave us both a picture book of Oregon and he had the stake presidents in our respective areas write a brief note in the book. This is a gift we will cherish.

This Sunday was Mother’s Day, and Sister Macdonald received a text from almost every missionary in the field wishing her a happy day. In church the sacrament meeting was about the atonement, so no mothers went home feeling guilty that they weren’t as good as the mothers that are often spoken of on that day. This ward has one smart bishop don’t you think?

Week Ending May 1, 2011 Week # 5

Our last four assistants were all together so we took a picture! Why not?

Lunch is always a highlight. The relief society sisters are so good to the missionaries!

Some of our sisters enjoying lunch. Look at the great center pieces!

The elders are so good to let me take their picture when they'd rather be eating.

This bunch wanted their picture taken.

We even had fancy flavor packets for our water bottles.

As you know new instructions were given to mission presidents last summer about how to train missionaries, including teaching a set of lessons called The Fundamentals of Preach My Gospel. In connection with these instructions there was a major shift planned for how missionaries in the MTC would be taught prior to arriving in the mission field. It was anticipated that this new curriculum would begin being taught in the MTC in May of 2011. At that time we charted a course that would have us teach these lessons often enough that all of our missionaries could have a complete understanding of these principles before we left (June 2011). This last week we once again gathered all the missionaries, rather than just leaders, to attend a series of leadership training sessions in Albany, Eugene and Medford on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday respectively. We taught again how revelation can be received through reading the Book of Mormon, and through church attendance. This was taught both from the perspective of the missionaries and their investigators.

In an effort to teach the same principle many different times and in many different ways, I assigned some of our best teaching missionaries who are not going home for about a year to teach these principle in each of our meetings. When I assigned these missionaries to teach I asked them to vary from the outlined lessons, but teach the principles included in those lessons in a different way. As Sister Macdonald and I participated in each of these classes and in role plays within them we were impressed with how well these teachers did, and also what good students all of the other missionaries were. I am sure that many, who were not assigned to teach this time, would have done a great job teaching as well. Although the date has shifted and this curriculum will now not begin being taught in the MTC until August 2011, I think the Youngs will be able to come to Eugene and find missionaries who know these principles very well.

In addition to teaching these lessons at three different locations, Sister Macdonald, President Lowary, two of our stake presidents and I had the opportunity to teach in each of these groups. I also asked several missionaries in each session tell how their efforts in their missionary work had improved by making a personal commitment to become low maintenance and high yield missionaries. We were pleased with the spirit in each of these meetings and enjoyed being with all of our missionaries again this week.

This weekend I attended the last of my coordinating council meetings. We held one in Medford on Saturday and one in Eugene on Sunday. Although we will see most of these stake presidents again, it was somewhat surreal to know that this is another one of our significant “lasts” here in Oregon.