Well, That Went By Fast

 What, you are asking, went by so fast? Well, a couple of things went by fast this week. 

First, the week seemed to speed by. Mission transfers took place on Tuesday when 27 new missionaries were placed with their trainers and other missionaries were transferred to new areas with new companions and new assignments. We were asked to take luggage from two apartments and drive it to the Woodside building where everyone was to gather. It was quite an experience, with cheering, hugging, welcoming, training, and overall good will and enthusiasm. We were so busy trying to figure out what we were supposed to do and where we were supposed to be, that neither of us thought to take pictures. 😞 We experienced transfers in Sweden, but our numbers were less than half of the missionaries here in New York. 

The rest of the week flew by as we participated in several Zoom and Google Meet meetings. Soon, it was Saturday and we were watching the sessions of General Conference. For us, it begins at noon, so I had to fight off the temptation to nod off as the afternoon went on.

It was a rainy day, so we could keep the blinds open

Olivia would have you believe I was drowsy - not so!

That was the second thing that seemed to just fly past - General Conference. There were some memorable one-liners, but there were several talks that just seemed to be teasers for doctrine that must be studied more deeply. I also noted several on my notes that referred to Self Reliance topics that we are dealing with and that would be a resource to leaders, facilitators and participants.

What was the other thing that just seemed to fly by? Oh yes, 50 years! On September 29, 1973 we celebrated our 1st anniversary. We just kept doing it until they added up to 50. I remember how old my grandparents seemed to be on their 50th, my parents were not much younger. Why are we so young for ours? We (at least I) was not young when we got married. I guess it's all perspective; they didn't feel any older than we, I suspect.

We celebrated by taking some of the day to remember the past. We went to lunch at a local Italian restaurant that is well appointed and has a good reputation. We went for lunch because we had meetings in the evening.

We were the only patrons at lunchtime, so the waiter gave us a lot of attention. When we were ready to leave Olivia asked if he would take our picture, and he was happy to comply. She then told him that today was special as it was our 50th anniversary. He acted shocked that anyone could stay together that long. He congratulated us, then sprinted out of the room. We left, and as we walked down the sidewalk, we heard shouting. We turned to see him waving for us to come back. "I have cake for you," he shouted in his Romanian accent. He even put a candle in the cake and took another picture. It was very good cake. Olivia especially liked it because it saved money on dessert. You can take the family out of Scotland, but...

Look who remembered our anniversary!

With a special message, just for us.

We actually celebrated our anniversary in July with the entire family, because we knew we would be gone for the actual event.

We arranged to get matching shirts. I gave mine a subtitle based on an old film that has become an Anderson cult classic.

With all the family

With the grandchildren

The high point was being presented with this quilt. Each of the our children, including the men, embroidered at least 3 blocks (some did several more). We brought it with us and visit with it often.

We have been so impressed with how well the work is going among the missionaries. Our responsibilities don't allow us a lot of contact with the young missionaries, but we do join our district each Wednesday, and the mission Zoom meeting each Sunday night.

Our district: Us, Elder Aguirre (left for home this week) Elder Bedell, Elder Rosas, and Elder Christiansen

In September, they had 125 baptisms and over 1,000 nonmembers attend church, including Conference. We asked the missionaries about their teaching methods and found that they seldom, almost never, go to a home to teach. There is not enough time to do that and get to everyone they have to teach that day. They do it over their phones, for the most part. Often, they have the contacts meet them at the church, so they can finish and get to the next meeting efficiently. So a contact's attending church is a big deal for them. How quickly things have changed in just 5 years!

We are quickly learning to get around in this big, crowded, noisy city. We love the work we are involved in and we are so blessed to know some of the most wonderful people we have ever met. 

We hope you are all well, happy and filled with the gratitude of knowing from whence our blessings come.