Exhausting JOY!

 Talofa!

President Purcell has a saying that he tells the missionaries often when he meets with them.  It goes "Obedience in the morning, diligence in the afternoon,miracles in the evening, exhausting joy at night." I'm learning in my missionary service what it feels like to have "exhausting joy at night!"  The days start really early--usually out the door by 6:00-6;15 AM for our morning exercise, then by the time we get home there's already a few messages on WhatsApp from missionaries with medical and housing issues so we just start right in on figuring out how to take care of those needs.  Elder G. runs around all day taking care of housing problems and I go to the office to do charting, checking inventory of medicines and supplies in the clinic, seeing missionaries in person or answering calls and texts throughout the day.  Sometimes I go with Elder G. so he can drive me to the MQ of a sick missionary or to the pharmacy or grocery store, or to help fix things.  On Saturdays we try to make it to a baptism that's in an area where we are going to be working.. During the evenings we try to fit in laundry, housework, dinner, a temple session, feed office missionaries, study, catch up on paperwork, or mingle with missionaries.   It wears us out a little physically, but it's more mental/emotional exhaustion than physical.  It kind of feels like we have 200 of our own children to worry about and try to care for.  We love them and want to help them be comfortable and healthy while they are serving.  When they don't feel well, we try to come up with ways to make them feel better.  When we do make them feel better or fix their MQ problems, it makes us feel good--So that's what JOYFUL EXHAUSTION is, I guess!  

Last week was especially busy. We started out the week with MLC (Mission Leadership Council)meetings and activities on Monday and Tuesday..  Monday morning we all went on a hike in the pouring rain. Then we had a training meeting during the afternoon.  On Tuesday morning, we got up early and fixed breakfast for the whole MLC which they ate after attending a temple session.  We cooked bacon, eggs, and pancakes for around 45 Elders and Sisters. Then more meetings until around 1:00pm. We made plans to go to the far side of the island on Wednesday afternoon to deliver the monthly needs to the MQ's in that zone and stay over at the Aga Reef resort so we could drive back a different way on Thursday and deliver needs to another zone on our way home.  It took us longer to get there than we thought, so it was almost dark when we got there.  It was kinda windy and stormy so we just sat outside for a while and watched the storm on the ocean.  Then we ate dinner at the restaurant there. The room was nice and the air conditioning worked great so we slept really well!  Thursday morning we got up, went for a little run/walk and had breakfast omelettes before heading back.  Next time we do that, we're going to make sure we leave earlier in the day so we can get there to enjoy daylight at the beach and make it worth our money for the overnight stay!  Friday was a catchup day for me at the office and we took time to attend the temple Friday evening so that was nice.  Saturday was a crazy busy day!  Tons of missionaries were sick with stomach viruses and sore throats!  We were in the Landcruiser for most of the day checking on missionaries and delivering medicines and MQ monthly needs. We caught a baptism at 4:00, stopped at a few more mission quarters and then got home around 6:30 to take the Office Elders, AP's and STL's to dinner. They all decided they wanted to eat at the mission home so they could play UNO so we ordered take-out from a chinese restaurant and brought it back to the mission home to eat. We had some fun conversation at dinner. They all wanted to know about our home and family so we showed them pictures from our phones and found our house and property on google earth for them to see.  We discovered they've updated google earth pretty recently because you could see the pickleball court and they were impressed that we had one of those at our place!  We visited with Elder Chu Ling (one of the AP's) for quite awhile and he told us about how he made his decision to come on a mission when he was 24 years old.  He had been going down a very different path but he said that his parent's unconditional love and support during that time when he was making the wrong decisions and doing the wrong things is what made him wake up and realize he needed to change his direction in life if he wanted to be with his family forever. He said his girlfriend encouraged him to go on a mission too even though she was catholic.  She knew he needed to go and serve others instead of thinking only of himself. He's 26 years old now.  We have a few of those older missionaries in the mission.

Four more Senior Couples have arrived over the last 2 weeks.  The Strobel's from Idaho Falls, The Hainer's from Washington, the Bell's from California, and the Bott's from Ogden. At the English speaking Ward Sacrament meeting, the Missionary couples took up two whole rows!  And we were not even sitting by them. The Mission Leaders are struggling to find housing for all of them. There's been more Seniors come to the mission this month than young Elders and Sisters. HaHa! They are calling it the "Rasband effect". But we had already started our mission papers before we even heard him give that conference talk so we can't say that was what brought us on a mission.  We always knew we should serve a mission after retirement.  We are happy to be giving service to the Lord by serving his people and missionaries.  It's one way to show our gratitude for all we have been blessed with!  We miss you all alot!  

Pictures this week: hike with MLC group, Aga Reef room welcome (remind you of anything, Bayli?) morning walk scenery,