MISSIONARY EPISTLE 9/18/16

ELDER AND SISTER ELKINGTON

Monday started with a flurry – we got up at 6:00 AM and cooked 4 pounds of bacon, which we then delivered to a park in Winchester Hills, where we teamed with Sister Hansen in providing a breakfast for the Zone.  The Zone missionaries had breakfast and then a morning of Frisbee and other activities.  After the breakfast we returned home to prepare food for the Heritage Park Branch family home evening at Anasazi Valley.  When we picked the children up from the Shivwits Reservation, their grandfather was visiting from Arizona.  He followed Elder Elkington outside and said, “What do I need to do to be baptized?”  Elder Elkington had met him in January and he had said he was studying with the missionaries in another area and was within 3 days of being baptized.  So Elder Elkington said, “I thought you were baptized.”  He said he had a family emergency that took him away before he could be baptized.  So Elder Elkington called the elders and set an appointment for him to be taught the next day.  We have been picking him up and bringing him to our home to be taught with the elders.  We have assisted in teaching him on 4 days this week.  In addition he came to Church today and attended the Sunday school class taught by Elder Elkington.  The lesson was on baptism.  During the lesson he asked Elder Elkington if he would baptize him next Saturday.

Backing up a few days – the man indicated he did not have any Sunday clothes to wear to Church.  He had left his Sunday clothes (If he has any) in Arizona when he came to Utah.  Elder Elkington went through his closet and found a pair of pants and a shirt that were like new, but no longer fit Elder Elkington. (It’s amazing how much clothes shrink in size over a couple of years!)  These were given to the man along with a pair of dress shoes and a tie and a pair of socks.  He was one of the sharpest dressed men in Church!  We have agreed to give him a ride to a doctors appointment tomorrow and, since his birthday is today, we told him we will bring a birthday cake to the branch family home evening tomorrow if he will come.  He said he will – so Costco bakery, here we come. (It will need to serve all who come to family home evening so we won’t attempt to bake this one.)

We (Sister Elkington) baked and decorated a birthday cake for a 7 year old girl on the reservation on Tuesday – confetti cake with pink icing sprinkled with confetti.

We had to split up to take people to Church.  Elder Elkington picked up the grandfather at 12:15 PM to take him to the Church building for a lesson with the elders before Sacrament meeting.  Sister Elkington picked up 3 children at 12:35 PM and took them to Sacrament Meeting.  Then, after church meetings Sister Elkington took the children home while Elder Elkington went to the Santa Clara Stake Missionary Coordination Meeting.  Did someone say there are meetings involved with missionary service and Church membership?

We give the Native American children tablets to write in during sacrament meeting so they can make notes of things they hear or think.  One 11 yr. old boy wrote “Prayer is important, because it might be true.” We hope to help him build on that tentative statement to where he can say, “I know it is true.”

In addition we called on a family at the request of the branch president and Sister Elkington assessed their needs and filled out a Bishop’s Order for them.

We are very busy – and we love it!