First District Council

Our first Wednesday here we kept really busy.  We learned more technology (now on Facebook Chat), learned procedures and how to decipher acronyms.  Our District Leader is Elder Rollin.  He and his wife have mentored us all week long.  They are from Canada and will be done with a two year mission here in April.  More wonderful people!

Our District consists of two Senior Couples and a set of Sister Missionaries.  They all serve in a Branch 50 minute drive away called Petoskey.  We took turns planning a lesson and teaching each other and giving suggestions about teaching more effectively.  It's a learning process to know how to follow each other's words, sometimes having to change the direction of the lesson and always bearing testimony, extending invitation to action and promising the Lord's blessings if they do.  You should have seen Elder Gibbons.  He stays so quiet and then all the sudden when he speaks, people listen.  He reminded the four others (who were pretending to be inactive members of the Church and not attending because they didn't feel welcome or treated kindly) that the Savior suffered unfair treatment as well.  The Spirit was there in an instant.  The Sisters expressed how powerful that moment was.  Such amazing experiences!

The only day it's been cold here was Wednesday, the day we had to go out for our first District Council.

The agenda for the meeting.  We had to learn what all the abbreviations mean.

Elder Gibbons, Sister Gibbons, Sister Rollin, Elder Rollin, 

Sister Radmall and Sister Froelich

Our email from March 4th...

Today marks the end of our first complete week of being in "the field."  What a blessed and wonderful week. We have already met so many people and now keep a detailed list of who, when, where and what we learned.  Feeling the Lord's love for His children when we meet anyone is powerful.  So many more people to meet!  Speaking of meeting others... we invite you to look around your neighborhood and find someone to smile at, talk to, and help brighten their day.  Everyone can benefit from an act of kindness.  "Scatter sunshine all along the way "  Scatter His sunshine.

We attended our small Branch Church meetings yesterday.  There were about 25 people and 3 of them were just visiting a family member for this week.  The meetinghouse chapel is small with stackable chairs that get moved when the room needs to double as a cultural hall for an activity.  The people are wonderfully simple, live in humble circumstances, and very friendly.  It was obvious the word got out that a new Senior Missionary Couple was headed to Cheboygan and it was almost uncomfortable to see and feel how truly excited they were to have someone new here.  There will be an abundance of opportunities to love and serve.

We have already had our own tender mercies and miracles happen.  You know, the ones where you feel you aren't doing anything special, but the Lord steps in and through the spirit touches someone's heart and they desire a change in their lives.  So grateful and humbled to have experienced it first hand.  We are promised that if we just love and open our mouths, He takes care of the rest.  Can I share an example?

We visited a hospital about 45 minutes away in a beautiful little town called Petoskey. We went to meet our Branch Elders Quorum President who was having some health issues.  We also were told of a man, not of our faith, who has been talking with the missionaries and asking questions, who was in the hospital as well.  Really nice and interesting man.  As we were getting ready to leave, his wife came in.  We briefly met and spoke and then excused ourselves.  Well yesterday, she came into our Sacrament Meeting arriving a bit late and sat in a chair in the back next to our Relief Society President.  Long story short, she stood up to bear her testimony at the pulpit and referred to our visit to her husband saying she instantly felt the spirit when she met us.  She said she wants to be part of a community that takes care of one another.  We absolutely take no credit for anything, but are so grateful to know her and to be able to answer both of their questions going forward as they desire.  If we can in any way help them feel God's love for them, we would be amazed.  God is good and He wants to be part of each of our lives.  We may get distracted and forget him, but He never forgets us.