16-22
Feb 2020
February
16th just might have been our busiest Sunday ever. It isn’t always true, but Sunday is generally
a day that we turn from our regular mission assignments to participation in our
Pagedale Branch. This is refreshing, and
usually we have a somewhat more personal morning, getting to church by 10 a.m.
and our ministering is ending by 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Not this Sunday. We were invited to participate in Ward
Council, which had a missionary focus this week beginning at 8 a.m. Then we spoke in Sacrament Meeting, our first
Sunday address since our short talks in the MTC in early December. We were privileged to speak about President
Nelson’s concluding questions from October Conference: How would my life be different if I didn’t
have knowledge gained from the Book of Mormon?
And, how have events following the First Vision made a difference to
me? What inspiring topics. We loved exploring our thoughts on these
questions, and had lots to share. It’s a
good thing, because in Pagedale, the Sacrament service goes fast, leaving 40-45
minutes for the two speakers.
After
our ministering visits to members becoming fast friends, plus some detective
work searching out lost members, we had Elder and Sister Thomson over for
dinner. They are serving in a CES
capacity, teaching institute, helping with other YSA activities, and seeking
out single adults that are not actively participating. By their own description, they have a
challenge in little structure and few deadlines. It is clear that not all senior missions are
the same. I am grateful for ours, even
if it feels overwhelming at times.
Monday
February 17th was a day in the office, but not like other days. The Church wants and audit report from the
missions every year, just like it gets from all other Church units. But unlike a stake, there are no called
mission auditors. Missions rely on
stakes answering the call for an audit.
And unlike many units of the Church, there is A LOT of spending and many
transactions to look at. The Ericksons
tried mightily to get an auditor in the office before they left, without
success. Which meant that the rookie
office staff had to respond to questions and document requests for 2019 with
very little knowledge of things. But we
muddled through. Our auditor was a
Boeing operations auditor by profession, so he was quite proficient and
kind. He even helped us ferret out some
information we could not find ourselves, reducing somewhat the exceptions in
the audit findings. Housing generated no
exceptions, which is to say, Elder Erickson was a very capable housing
coordinator.
Tuesday
was a half day in the office and then just a complete change of pace for the
rest of the day. I picked up Taz and
Tammy Murray from the airport and brought them to the office to meet folks and
see our digs. Then the four of us headed
out to the St Louis Arch, the smallest National Park in the country. And yes, we rode the capsules, much like an
enclosed ferris wheel, to the top of the arch were we walked the last two
flights or so of stairs to the top. The
top is an arched platform looking out through a series of smallish horizontal
panel windows, both east over the Mississippi towards Illinios, and West over
the city of St Louis. The sky was only
partly cloudy so the views were spectacular.
We didn’t stay up top too long for those with fear of heights and
claustrophobia. Surprisingly, I didn’t
feel that, but was exhilarated by the experience. Beneath the arch is a great underground
museum not only about the arch itself, but with the great symbolism it
represents. Although Missouri is a
pretty conservative place, St Louis itself has long been quite tolerant,
perhaps partly by necessity, with the original Spanish settlers, followed by
French, the English, and the Americans lastly, including a very large
population of immigrants that came up the Mississippi from New Orleans in the
mid-nineteenth century to outfit for treks west. It has been a melting pot for sure. The museum has quite a bit of information
about the Mormon Migration, much of which came through St Louis (including the
Hatfields!). The museum has a 1840
edition of the Book of Mormon prominently on display. We were too late for a tour, but we also saw
the historic courthouse in the vicinity of the Arch were the infamous Dred
Scott trials were held, also in the mid-nineteenth century, a black mark on the
American judiciary, not overruled until the adoption of the Fourteenth
Amendment following the Civil War.
Then
we went to dinner with the Taiclets, long time friends, fellow students, and
business partners of the Murrays who live in St Louis. They were part of the Murray candy business
and actually lived in Salt Lake for a number of years when they were operating
the business. They are delightful people
and we hope to see them again a time or two while we are here. We went to a Jim Gaffigan stand up comedy
show, which as a Christmas present from their kids, was real impetus for them
getting out here. We ended the evening
with a stunning light show on the beautiful old train station lobby ceiling,
where reputedly every soldier from west of the Mississippi came through on the
way to Europe for the World Wars.
On
Wednesday the 19th I met Richard Lindmark, an older member in south
St Louis, whose son was transferred to Florida and had no need for his washer
and dryer. He had called the mission
office the week before and asked if the mission could use the equipment. The timing seemed providential a few days before I had been out to St
Charles and concluded that the washer pump was no good. But I was unsuccessful in finding a
repairman. Then RaDene called with the
message, which I promptly returned, accepting the generous offer. On this day we made the trip down to pick up
the equipment, and met Bro Lindmark. He
seemed jovial enough, but I could tell life was not altogether easy for
him. His wife passed away two months ago
of Alzheimer’s disease. He was tending a
grandson that apparently had been expelled from school. And now his son was moving away. His home was modest, to put it
generously. In all, I was grateful for
the widower’s mite. And the Elders in St
Charles could now wash their clothes!
Lucky for us, the Murrays and Taiclets invited us out for dinner one
more time that night. It was so good to
see old friends, and make new ones.
On
Thursday, I made a trip out to O’Fallon, Missouri, to replace an old
refrigerator handle. The sisters had
been using their fingers to pry the fridge open for who knows how long. I got the make and model number and with a
little more detective work, bought a very good looking “used” replacement and
needed bolts on Amazon for less than $20, when new was about $60. I think the real issue was a to me
undetectable paint flaw. The sisters
made me feel like a hero. You now know
that the modern supply chain is the real hero.
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