13 March 2016

13 MARCH 2016

ELDER AND SISTER ELKINGTON

What a privilege it is to be a missionary and wear a missionary name tag in the Utah St George Mission.  People are always greeting us and expressing love and support.  On Saturday evening we stopped at Lin’s Grocery Store for some last minute groceries.  As we went in the store, a young woman came rushing up to Sister Elkington and hugged her while exclaiming, “I love missionaries – I just got released from my mission last night and had to take my name tag off. I already miss it so much!”

Three of Sister “M’s” grandchildren lost their mother in January.  They worried that no one would provide clothing and shoes for them. We assured them they would not go in need.  This week the Branch President gave us a Bishop’s Order to the Deseret Industries to obtain clothing for these children (Two girls ages 7& 10 and one boy age 11).  It took hours trying to help each child get what they needed/wanted (not always the same). But the service provided was meaningful.

This week we took two of the boys from the Shivwits Reservation to the Heritage Park Branch garden to plant some seeds and to help fix the fence to make it rabbit-proof. That may be an oxymoron – I’m not sure there is such a thing as a rabbit-proof fence!

We made our weekly trip to the Purgatory Correctional Facility to give “T” a ride to his anger management class.  He is struggling with his living arrangements, and needs to find an apartment.  On the bright side - he obtained a recommend for a Patriarchal Blessing.  We told him we would be happy to take him for his Patriarchal Blessing.  It is a privilege we would not miss!  “T” is a priority in our lives right now – we want to ensure he has a support system that will enable him to be successful in his goal to transform his life to “live in the light.” We gave him a slightly used leather bound quad set of scriptures – he was thrilled!

We invited the missionaries in our district to have a breakfast district meeting in our home.  This took place on Wednesday.  It took a lot of effort, but it was worth it.  We love these young missionaries and the senior couples. We want to do all we can to buoy them up and support them.

On Friday we had two of the boys from the Reservation to our home to make home-made pizza.  They have been asking for a cooking class since we had the girls to one.  It was a great success and we showed a video to them on the last week of Jesus’ life.  This led to a great discussion on the atonement and the resurrection.  They want to see a follow up video on the resurrection.

Sister Elkington’s daughter, Nicole, sent us bags of clothing for children.  We have been sorting through them to determine which items will fit which of the children on the Reservation.  Some of the clothing is new and still carries the store price tag.  We have already given some to one of the girls –she is so thrilled with the clothes. We gave her a ride to Church and then fed her and gave her some clothes.

We are not thrilled to be going on daylight saving time - what we need is night saving time so we can get some more sleep!  In spite of the hectic schedule, we love the work – it is a privilege to be in the service of Our Father in Heaven and His children!