Written by Carter

We passed last Sunday afternoon, with a missionary (and his wife and their two children) who served with Ashton in Fiji. He told us some experiences involving Ashton. As I see these young men Ashton’s age, I mentally picture what it would be like to have Ashton also married with two children. At times like this, the promise by President Howard W. Hunter brings me indescribable peace: “No blessing, including that of eternal marriage [marriage that exists after death] and an eternal family, will be denied to any worthy individual. While it may take somewhat longer—perhaps even beyond this mortal life—for some to achieve this blessing, it will not be denied.” Only the One Perfect Judge — Jesus Christ — can determine whether Ashton is deemed “worthy,” but I trust His perfect justice and His perfect mercy. It will be OK. There is peace in Christ. True peace is only in Christ. I’m grateful for the opportunity to choose to accept “…the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, [which keeps my heart and mind] through Christ Jesus.”   

I’m reading a book about a father whose 18-year-old son died of a sudden illness in 1991. This quote from his book touched my heart: “Still to this day, people who knew Denny will come up to us and share stories about him. It always warms our hearts when someone takes the time to share a memory about him.” If I could “coach” those who don’t know what to say to a grieving parent, when possible, this is always a “winner” for me. You might see tears from the parent. Some of the tears will be from missing their beloved child…but some of the tears might be of pure gratitude for your Christlike act of helping the parent know that their loved one has not been forgotten. We watched the Pixar movie, “Coco” last week…and I cried…like I did the other two times I watched it. I understand it’s “just a movie,” but it reminded me of the importance of remembering our deceased loved ones. We will see them alive again when they are resurrected…but until we pass from this life, our memories of them can be such a sweet delight!   

At my sister, Janice’s, recommendation, we watched the movie “Out of Liberty,” which depicts the months-long imprisonment of Joseph Smith in the Liberty Jail in Missouri. Our 3rd-great-grandfather, Alexander McRae, was in that jail with him. I thought the movie did a good job of depicting the integrity of the jailer and how he protected them from the mobs who wanted to kill the captives. I am grateful to stand (or at least sit) on the shoulders of giants who paved the way so I can enjoy the blessings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Now…to stay true so I can pass that torch/baton to the next generation!

Some of the missionaries in the islands have not been able to return home (even when they have completed their assigned time of 18-24 months) because there are no flights leaving those countries and/or they are not allowed to return to their home country. The mission president of three such US missionaries encouraged them to enroll in online BYU classes. They will attend classes in the morning, then proselyte in the afternoon…until they can return home.

I previously mentioned a man in the islands with a benign brain tumor. He was not able to get into New Zealand, but (long story) was able to get into the US. It sounds like they are taking good care of him there.            

In closing, I affirm that, under the direction of the Father and the Son, heavenly messengers came to instruct Joseph Smith and re-establish the church of Jesus Christ. The resurrected John the Baptist restored the authority to baptize by immersion for the remission of sins. Three of the original twelve Apostles—Peter, James, and John—restored the apostleship and keys of priesthood authority. Others came as well, including Elijah, who restored the authority to join families together forever in eternal relationships that transcend death. What a blessing to know that these authorities have been restored by God to the earth once more!

At church today, none of the speakers showed up including the high council speaker. That has never happened before. The program is usually planned and goes well. Bishop asked the Elders, Carter and me to bear our testimonies. Then he and the one counselor who was there spoke. They both told some interesting stories.

The counselor grew up in Samoa. He said that growing up in Samoa was hard for kids because if they did anything wrong they got hit and sometimes beat up by their parents. He liked volleyball and really wanted to try out for the volleyball team after school. But he also had the responsibility of cooking their family’s dinner, especially the taro. So he ran home and cooked the taro quickly. There’s a rule in their family that if they don’t have any meat to eat with the taro then there needs to be some coconut cream to eat with it. He knew there was no coconut cream and he knew he would be in trouble, but really wanted to get back to try out for volleyball. He was feeling good after the tryouts because he did well but when he got home, his brother told him that mom & dad were waiting for him. He said the next thing he remembers is waking up in the hospital and heard his mom crying at his bedside. He had been beaten up before but never this bad. He joined the church when he was 14 and loved going to the church school because the teachers there were not allowed to hit the students. He said he still loves his parents because they were doing the best they could with what they knew. He went on a mission and loves bringing his family up in the gospel of Jesus Christ that teaches us to treat each other with love, patience and kindness.

Bishop Kau grew up in Tonga. He said as a child going to school he never ate lunch. They got up in the morning and ate what was left over from the meal the night before. There was no food to take for lunch and he didn’t eat anything until dinner that night. He told us that now he gets up at 5:00 am to go to work. His wife is still sleeping but there is a lunch waiting for him to take to work… he cried when he told us about the lunch. He also told about how his father would make him take notes when they were at stake conference. When something was said that his father wanted to remember, he would tell him to write it down. He said he felt like his dad’s secretary and didn’t like doing it but he wanted to obey his father. On the way home his father would ask him about what he wrote down and they would talk about it on the 1.5 hour walk back to their village. He appreciates having to do that now.

It turned out to be a wonderful sacrament meeting. Those 2 men are good, kind men. I appreciate their leadership in our ward. The bishop admonished us to take just 5 minutes a day to pray, go read a few verses in the scriptures and do something kind for someone else. Just 5 minutes. We can all take 5 minutes.

After our trip to Queenstown I’ve had this thought: 

I’ve never really liked taking pictures of landscapes.  I used to think that there needs to be an actual person in the picture to make it memorable and relevant. But after living in New Zealand and especially now that I’ve been to parts of the South Island, I’ve changed my thinking on that. 

I now see my Creator. 

These pictures are only taken with my phone. But even so… He’s there. I see Him. I feel Him. He is the Artist, the Sculptor, the Landscape Designer of this breathtaking beauty. 

Oceans of Love,    Faye

Sunday – Happy Birthday to Jacob on the 18th! Our baby is 26. I’m glad he was born. He is a great caboose for our family.

We are down in the South Island, staying in Queenstown. Our work is light and now is a good time to travel. We’re here for a few reasons: to celebrate our anniversary, and to visit one of Ashton’s fellow missionaries who served with him in Fiji. It’s a working vacation too. Carter still gets calls and I still work on missionary recommendations in the evenings.

Ashton served with Jershon Wihongi who is from Auckland, New Zealand. He now lives on the South Island in Dunedin and is at the university there in pre-dental studies. He is one person I wanted to visit when we came to New Zealand. I messaged him to tell him we were coming down and it turns out he and his family were going to be in Queenstown the same time as us! We were prepared to make the drive to Dunedin, but glad we didn’t have to. We spent a lot of our Sunday with his little family. I was happy to know that he was as excited to see us as we were to see him. When he first found out about Ashton’s death, he sent me all the pictures from his mission that had Ashton in them. It was such a blessing at the time and was so kind of him to do that. We first met and sat by his family at church this morning and then they later came to our AirBnB. We ate an early dinner together and chatted until it got dark. We talked about how it WAS NOT a coincidence that we were both in Queenstown at the same time. He was happy to talk about the 2 months he spent serving with Ashton on the island of Taveuni, and we were happy to listen. It’s a great day whenever we get to see a missionary from Fiji who served with Ashton. His wife, who’s name is Oshan, (pronounced “ocean”) and children are the sweetest. When we first met at church, I was fighting back my emotions sitting next to them. But I prayed to feel at peace. The Lord blessed me and I did have a joyful day with his family. 

I was touched by a story told at church today. The high council speaker said that when he got to the chapel early this morning, he was told they might have to cancel meetings for today because the pipes were frozen. The toilets would not flush. He said, with some emotion, that he talked to God and told him, “I have six days in the week do to all my work but I only have one day to take the sacrament and renew my covenants. Please let us renew our covenants today.” He then went into the kitchen, turned on the sink and the water was running when it wasn’t earlier. He called it a miracle. I believe in miracles and am so happy this little branch received one today. He also said, “You make history every time you walk in the door of this chapel. Your children are watching you.” 

I recognized one of the missionaries there who has only been on his mission for 6 weeks. I remembered his picture from his recommendation I had reviewed a few months ago. The other missionary had returned from his mission in Mexico because of Covid. He had been there for a year and his Spanish was good. He was reassigned to the Wellington mission. He and Carter talked together in Spanish. He was happy to speak that language again.

The little chapel is a house they have renovated into a chapel. It’s small and gets lots of visitors like us on Sundays. The Dunedin stake is huge and covers lots of territory. When stake visitors come to visit the Queenstown branch they come with their family and stay Saturday night at a hotel. It’s a 3 1/2 hour drive from Dunedin.

Monday – This morning Elder Wihongi messaged me, “Wish we had more time with you both, thank you for being able to meet with us and make us some yummy food. Such a blessing that we were able to meet. Love you both very much.” 

MADE. MY. DAY.

Candace had just sent me a beautiful song from a virtual choir that she sang in. Rubi had just sent a picture of their family visiting with Jacob & Gracia. All three combined really got to me and I lost it for while. Lot’s of tears came. I love and miss our children & grandchildren and I didn’t realize how much I love and need to hear from the Fiji missionaries who served with Ashton. I melts my heart to know that Elder Wihongi really wanted to meet us too and that he was so warm and loving to us. The Lord really blessed me yesterday to be able to feel peaceful, but today…. I’m letting loose and I really need to. I had a good cry this morning and then tonight again as I finish writing. This is part of the healing we came for. I can’t help but think that it must have been a hard thing for those missionaries too when they were told that Ashton died.

Sam Abplanalp, one of the missionaries Ashton trained, is coming to do a rotation with Ralph and Phil in Sierra Vista in Oct-Nov. Wish I could be there to help him with whatever he needs. But Candace and Ralph will be able to help him out. He needs a place to stay while he’s there. He was in the hospital with Dengue Fever in Fiji when Pres. Klingler came and told him that Ashton had died. Sam told us he was low anyway from his illness and that was the lowest point in his mission finding out that Ashton died by suicide. He’s another one who has been very kind to us. When it gets closer to us traveling to Fiji, he’s going to give us some pointers on how to best travel to Taveuni and where to stay on the island.

It’s good to see those guys moving forward in their life and careers. Ashton would most likely be in medical school. He wanted to be a radiologist. I know he will get the opportunity to finish his earthly life and have a family someday.

Sending Oceans of Love………..Faye

Written by Carter

The area medical advisor in Australia is going home the end of July. His replacement is from the US and can’t get into the country until who knows when. He will cover as much as he can via phone and email from the US. He and I went through the MTC and medical training together before we went to Peru (he went to South Africa)…so we know each other! Our wives and we got to be very good friends during that short time. I look forward to working with him!

I participated in a video call originating from Salt Lake City with several mission presidents going to our area and the Philippines. I look forward to working with these new couples.

On Thursday, we flew to Queenstown, a beautiful city among the mountains on the South Island of New Zealand. Faye and I will celebrate our 37th wedding anniversary on August 4…so this trip is an early celebration. I’m grateful to be married to my best friend!    On Saturday, we went on a guided tour of Milford Sound, including a boat cruise where the bow touched a waterfall. We also went on a helicopter ride that landed on a glacier! As we drank in the beauty of the day, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for my Creator! What amazing and beautiful handiworks He has made! Words don’t do it justice! Pictures don’t, either, but that’s the best we can do.

New Zealand has the only high-mountain parrot, a kea. We saw several on our trip. It supposedly has the largest brain-to-body weight ratio of any bird. Our guide said it has the intelligence of a 4-year-old human. I thought I was clever when I asked, “Is that a boy or a girl 4-year-old?” I’m pretty sure there is a difference!

We attended the branch meetings here in Queenstown in the morning. It’s wonderful to have “family” wherever we go in the world…having the same lessons with the same doctrine, taught by the same Holy Ghost.

I’m reading a book written by the father of an 18-year-old boy who died of an unexpected illness. This quote rings true for me: “Sorrow shared is sorrow halved.” I don’t know why, but I have found that to be true for me. The person I’m sharing with doesn’t need to “fix” me or have “just the right thing” to say; just listening with love is enough. More than enough.

I gained some profound insights as I listened to this week’s Come Follow Me lesson on the Talking Scripture podcast (Episode 61):

1. Comparing my testimony to a growing tree, I have fed it over my lifetime…with prayer, scripture study, repentance, forgiving, serving…and now my testimony is feeding me! I love that thought!
2. A quote from C.S. Lewis’s “A Grief Observed,” “You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you. It is easy to say you believe a rope to be strong and sound as long as you are merely using it to cord a box. But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a precipice. Wouldn’t you then first discover how much you really trusted it?… Bridge-players tell me that there must be some money on the game ‘or else people won’t take it seriously.’ Apparently it’s like that. Your bid – for God or no God, for a good God or the Cosmic Sadist, for eternal life or nonentity – will not be serious if nothing much is staked on it. And you will never discover how serious it was until the stakes are raised horribly high, until you find that you are playing not for counters or for sixpences but for every penny you have in the world. Nothing less will shake a man – or at any rate a man like me – out of his merely verbal thinking and his merely notional beliefs. He has to be knocked silly before he comes to his senses. Only torture will bring out the truth. Only under torture does he discover it himself.” From that, I’m reminded to feel gratitude for the trials of life that have forced me to examine and challenge my beliefs, sending my roots deep into the foundation of Christ. Only in Him can I have a foundation that I can trust in all things and in all times and places. Always.

Some may find it hard to believe that I sometimes struggle with my weight…but I do. I don’t have a lot of “science” to back this up, but something I’ve tried lately is to weigh myself every morning. If I’m over my target weight, I postpone breakfast until noon…trying to fit a “reasonable” amount of calories between noon and 6 pm. I’ve started asking myself when I have the munchies in the evening, “Will this taste better now than breakfast will taste in the morning?” Sometimes that helps me forego that evening treat…because I really like breakfast!

I’ve become interested in the stories of my ancestors who were the first ones to join the Church in their families. Last week I read of Grandpa Esker’s conversion from an interview with Grandma Amy by Jamie Sue Richey. It was entered on FamilySearch by Ester Daley in 2013. It was wonderful to read those memories. I’m grateful for the faithfulness of my ancestors, who have helped me enjoy the blessings I have today.

For some reason, I was thinking this week about the blessings that have come to my life because of my decision to serve a mission as a young man. I’m grateful for parents who helped instill the importance of missions early…and they “walked the talk” by serving a mission themselves. I thought of the two years of schooling that was postponed because of my mission. However, I was a so much better student after my mission than I was before. I was so much more mature (more than just two years of chronological age “more mature”). I was so much more focused, driven and dedicated. Making that decision to serve others (instead of just thinking about myself) opened so many doors and options for me. So many of the blessings and opportunities I enjoy even now I can trace back to my decision to serve a mission as a young man. Choosing to serve a mission was definitely the best decision I could have made for my life. The other hingepoint decision for me was choosing to marry Faye in the temple. It’s a reminder that I can never get ahead of the Lord: He blesses me while I’m serving Him…AND He blesses me for serving Him!

In the vision where God, the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph Smith, Joseph learned that, following the death of the original apostles, Christ’s New Testament church was lost from the earth. Joseph would be instrumental in its return. I’m grateful to know that the same Church that existed during Christ’s lifetime exists on the earth today, as well: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Written by Carter

Last Sunday, we played games with some other senior missionaries and with a neighbor from the apartment building that they invited. We had a nice time. I’m grateful for good friends and for new friends.    

We celebrated the 4th of July with the other senior missionaries at the area office on Monday. Faye planned a patriotic music program that went well. It reminded me how humbly grateful I am to be an American! Then we ate ice cream sundaes. This is the first time we’ve all met together since the lockdown. It was good to be together in person again.

Do you remember the missionary I wrote about accompanying home shortly after arriving in New Zealand? They were very emotionally/mentally ill at that time. I’ve been asking their former mission president (and wife) regularly for updates on them. I’m grateful to report that they are miraculously doing much better! They seem to be quite functional now! What a blessing!

On Thursday, I participated in a mission health council (to discuss the mental and physical health of missionaries in that mission) with the new Auckland Mission president, President Parr, and his wife. I look forward to working closely with them.

Yesterday, Faye and I took the bus downtown, where we ate lunch in the revolving restaurant at Sky City that is 52 floors up on top of the building. The bus rides were very quick and easy. We rode home on the top level of a double-decker bus. Faye is a very thoughtful grandmother: we were sitting in the front seat when she noticed two little girls a couple rows back with their father. She asked them if they’d like to sit up front so they could see. They were wide-eyed and nodded their heads “yes.” The father was grateful. When they got off, Faye commented to me what a great dad he was, complete with carrying their pink unicorn backpack! There were two teenage girls sitting in front across the aisle from us. When we gave up our seats to the little girls, they asked us if we’d like their seats? We declined, but it was a nice gesture to offer and was a reminder of how “contagious” kindness can be. I’d like to ride the bus more…just to get more familiar with the city without stressing about traffic, missing the turnoff, etc. The food at the restaurant was very good and reasonably-priced. We had a beautiful view of the city as we ate. What a wonderful day it was!

Here’s a quote I love from Tommy Newberry’s Joy Challenge: “My true self worth is based only on what God says about me…and not on what I do or how I feel about myself. I am an original masterpiece — handcrafted by the Creator of the universe!” Profound! 

A favorite quote from ComeuntoChrist.org: “He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.” (Isaiah 40:29) “It does not take much living to find out that life almost never turns out the way you planned it. Adversity and affliction come to everyone. … We all need to repent, to recognize weaknesses, and more fully come unto Christ. … But as we do, we will discover God-given strengths that we may not have otherwise known.”—Ellen W. Smoot   

I had this thought this week: There is a God, Who loves me enough that He has given me commandments, which help me know the path home to His presence. However, He also respects my agency; He allows me to choose whether to follow those commandments or not. My choice to obey or disobey determines my current and future blessings, but does not separate me from His love.

For “Come, Follow Me” Sunday school lessons this week, I have been reading and learning about Korihor and the Zoramites, people who taught false doctrines. I’m grateful for the Book of Mormon, which exposes the doctrines of the devil that are so prevalent today. (Notice the plural form of the word “doctrines” because they change depending on circumstances and how people want to live their lives.) These doctrines are so compelling because they appeal to our carnal or natural man. The Book of Mormon places these false doctrines directly before or after the correct, pure doctrine of Christ. (Notice the singular form of the word “doctrine” because Christ’s doctrine does not change.) How do I “Hear Him” (my Savior, Jesus Christ)? One of the clearest ways for me is through the Book of Mormon. I have learned many things throughout my medical career about the human body, how to help it heal, how to keep it healthy, how to treat chronic conditions, etc. Some of the things I have learned have profoundly influenced how I treat patients. However, nothing I have learned in medicine is more important to me than my knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. He is my Savior and Redeemer. And nothing has helped me to know that more clearly than the Book of Mormon.

I wondered to myself how many times I’ve read the Book of Mormon. Since about 1986 (when President Benson emphasized its daily study), I’ve read at least one verse in the Book of Mormon every day…lacking around 10 days during that time when I just plain forgot. Most days I have read at least 1-2 pages per day. That’s 34 years, or 12,410 days. There are 531 pages in the Book of Mormon. At 1-2 pages per day, I have read the Book of Mormon at least 23-46 times since 1986. I say this because I know there are some who wonder if the Book of Mormon is true…and that’s OK. Questions are good, because that’s how you find answers. The important thing is to take those questions to the One True Source of Truth…God Himself. As I have read the Book of Mormon, tried to apply its teachings and prayed to God about its truthfulness, I solemnly proclaim that I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I don’t know everything, but I do know that with all my heart. If you need someone to lean on until you can find out for yourself, lean on me…but keep working on finding out for yourself. I can’t give you that knowledge; only God can.    

In humility, I declare, that in answer to Joseph Smith’s spring 1820 prayer in the woods, God, the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to him and inaugurated the “restitution of all things” as foretold in the Bible. I believe that and know that to be true, also with all my heart.

July 8, 2020 – Wednesday

It has been raining on and off most of the day. You know how in some movies you can tell when it’s fake rain, like Singing in the Rain? Sometimes the rain looks like that here, but it’s definitely not fake rain. It must be constant rush hour traffic up in the cloudy skies of Auckland because it will rain hard and fast for 2 minutes, then the sun comes out for 5 minutes, then cloudy again, then rainy. But just a sprinkle or a misty rain. The weather is super unpredictable by the minute. I find myself quite often thanking Heavenly Father for all the rain. This Arizona girl is loving it!

There are beans soaking on the stove and I have been making applesauce. Apples are in season and I found some really good Pink Lady apples. They are my favorite for applesauce. 

While washing and cutting up apples, I’m listening to Elder Anderson’s talk “Spiritually Defining Memories.” It’s the talk we will be discussing in our Sisters Scripture Study tomorrow. I’m remembering an experience I had with prayer and the Book of Mormon from when I was a teenager that I feel I should write down and share.

In high school, our seminary teacher asked us to find out for ourselves if the Book of Mormon was true. I remember hearing about the “burning in the bosom” that could happen when praying to get an answer and I wanted to feel that. Over a few months time, I prayed quite a few times what I felt were sincere prayers. But never got a burning or what I felt was an answer. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to feel. I don’t know how many times I prayed but finally I got my first ever experience when the Spirit spoke to me and the distinct thought came to my mind, “You already know”.  I then realized the I DID already know. I knew that God knew I knew it too. I haven’t ever felt a need to pray about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon since then.

We are told that we all have one or more spiritual gifts and I have always wondered what mine was. I had hoped that I had one but never really knew. It wasn’t until maybe 8-10 years ago when I was secretary in the YW that the YW president, Jeanine Tracy,  told me I had the gift of “Faith to Believe.” I had no idea, but after much thought and reflection, I realized that maybe I do have that gift. I do not have a big need to pray and get my own answer when we get a new prophet. I just know he’s the one. That story above of praying about the Book of Mormon is another example. Ever since she told me that, I have felt a little more confident in my faith and in my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That was a very kind thing for her to tell me. I may not ever have known. I hope I get the chance someday to point out a spiritual gift for someone else. That was a great blessing for me.

I’m looking out the window, smelling the apples cooking in the crockpot and hey……IT’S RAINING AGAIN!!! ️

Sending Oceans of Love…. Faye

Written by Faye.

Still here…. still busy, but with different things than I thought I would be busy with. Some missionary applications are still coming in from the islands and some from New Zealand but they don’t take that much of my time. The sister I work with who gets the list of mission calls tells me that right now missionaries are getting calls to their own islands and countries.

Quite often during the day I am wearing my apron in our little kitchen cooking or baking something. Cooking anything used to be a real chore after Ashton died. I couldn’t wrap my brain around cooking. But my love of it is coming back! Carter asked me to make another chocolate cake. I didn’t want to make another one because who needs chocolate cake EVERY DAY? No one does! But then a friend helped me realize THAT’S HIS COMFORT FOOD… and then I totally understood. I got it! MY comfort food is anything involving corn tortillas. I get it! His is chocolate and mine is Mexican food. My mom made lots of Mexican food when I was young. We have been eating tostadas a lot and now I’m finding new enchilada recipes. Tonight we are having taco salad. There’s a store here that sells imported food from the US, with some Mexican food ingredients. I can get some really good corn tortillas. They don’t have good chili powder though. I’m still trying to find some chili powder. 

I never would have thought that the highlight of my week serving a mission would be what I was cooking! But times are weird right now and that truly has been the highlight. I want to document it. It’s Saturday and there’s some shredded Mexican beef in the crock pot right now. I finished making that chocolate cake, it’s been cooling on the counter and I just poured the chocolate ganache over it. Carter has been licking up the chocolate that dripped on the counter. I had fun making it and he is already having fun eating it. It’s so interesting … the things that make us happy these days! Just for the record… after the initial slice which we will have tonight….Carter puts it in the freezer and eats a sliver every day after dinner. That’s so Carter. I eat some too, but not every day like he does. 

It’s winter here and one thing nice about our apartment is that the bathrooms have heated floors. There’s a switch on the wall that turns on the heated floor. Kinda nice. We keep it on all winter. There’s no central heating. We just have little heaters that we plug in the wall, but we don’t use ours very often. We are on the sunny side of the building and the sun does a good job shining in between the cloudiness and rain.

We are having our 4th of July celebration on Monday the 6th with the senior missionaries. We’ve been asked to be in charge of the program. Carter will be the MC. We’re having a patriotic sing-a-long. One of the missionaries working in the Auckland mission office who used to be in the Air Force is speaking to us and I’m showing 2 of my favorite acapella groups singing some great patriotic songs. Then we will be having ice cream sundaes with all the toppings. This is my favorite Star Spangled Banner that will be played at the beginning:

Happy July 4th! I love my country even though it’s struggling right now. I know it’s the land God chose for the restoration of His church. I know who wins in the end and I’m so grateful I can trust God and His plan for our country and my life.

And…. Happy Birthday to our oldest grandchild Hannah, our 4th of July baby! She’s 15! Wow!

Written by Carter

It was sure nice to see most of my siblings on our monthly Zoom call Monday! I love and miss my siblings and their families!

I strained my hamstring muscle several months ago and it’s still painful sometimes. I started going to “physio” (as they call it here). She seems to know her stuff; I’m optimistic it will improve.

Faye and I are planning a trip to New Zealand’s South Island in a couple of weeks for an anniversary trip. One of the places we plan to visit is Milford Sound, reportedly one of the most stunning places to visit on earth! We are excited!

For our monthly fast today, we are fasting in gratitude for the blessing of being married to one another. It is fun to think of the things we have learned together and the good experiences we have had over our married lifetime. We will celebrate 37 years August 4! Wow! I was recently making a list of my spiritual gifts…and I was reminded that Faye is one of my spiritual gifts! What a blessing she has been in my life!   

I came across this quote by Rabindranath Tagore: “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and learned that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” Love it!   

Another quote, by I’m not sure whom: “Someone has said that it is possible to listen a person’s soul into existence.”

I had a nice phone conversation with another physician I worked with in Whiteriver. It’s been 22 years since we’ve spoken. It’s amazing how quickly our friendship picked back up where it left off. It was so good to hear from him again!

I also had a nice video call with my Venezuelan “son” who is living in Peru. We talked about giving to others spontaneously and willingly. We also discussed how to receive answers to our prayers about the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon.

I found a barber I like near our home and office. We talked a little about The Book of Mormon that last time he cut my hair. I asked him if he’d like a copy and he said “yes,” so I gave that to him when he cut my hair this week. I love The Book of Mormon! As a companion scripture to the Bible, it serves as Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

I finished Tommy Newberry’s 40-Day Joy Challenge for the second time this week and decided to take it for the third time! It’s Biblically-based. I feel like I learn something new every day and every time I take it. I highly recommend it…and it’s free! One of the thoughts from the challenge is to pray and ask God to guide me through my desires; that what I want to do right now will be in alignment with His desires for me.

Last Sunday was a wonderful “Lord’s Day” for me. I tried to capture as much of that spirituality as I could so that I could replicate it as many times as I can. What a blessing a well-spent Sabbath day is!

I was reminded of this thought this week: “I am a stranger here on this earth. I am not a physical being having an occasional spiritual experience; I am a spiritual being having a mortal, temporal experience. This earth is merely my temporary home; Heaven is my real home!”

Two hundred years ago, on a beautiful spring morning in 1820, young Joseph Smith, seeking to know which church to join, went into the woods to pray near his home in upstate New York. He had questions regarding the salvation of his soul and trusted that God would direct him. I believe that with all my heart! I’m grateful for Joseph Smith’s integrity. I’m grateful for his parents and other ancestors, who taught him about God and the Bible. He had faith that he could take his questions to God and that God would somehow answer him.