October 28, 2015 - Wednesday in Nauvoo

As the regular readers already know, Wednesdays are our P-day, and temple day, here in Nauvoo.  And, we take the opportunity to grocery shop as well, so today has been a typical Preparation-day.  It was cold and windy with intermittent rain, but what a beautiful Fall day in Nauvoo!

Tonight I just want to address an issue that is dear to our hearts, both mom and me, that sustains us here in the mission field.  In reality, we should not even be here serving this mission.  The timing was off at the deli, the grandchildren were such a big part of our lives.  We have missed 4 precious baptisms and will miss another one on Saturday.  We have missed the births of two more precious grandchildren and our arms are aching to hold them and cuddle them.  We have missed family dinners, walks around the housing areas in Rigby and in Fruit Heights, and let's not even think about holidays!

And so many family members and friends have been so supportive of us being here in the first place.  There have been so many sacrifices on the part of family members and wonderful friends who have extended financial support and words of encouragement.  We are so humbled by those many expressions of love and caring for two senior missionaries.  And how could we have possibly gotten to this point in our lives without those missionaries, and friends and teachers who taught us the Gospel and nurtured us along the way? 

It is difficult to express how much we love and appreciate each one of you, for your sacrifices on our behalf!  We know that we could not be here without your prayers and words of faith and encouragement in the comments from the blog, and your notes and your text messages, so thank you!

Let it be known that we are working hard to be worthy of all your sacrifices for us.  In every assignment, we are trying to be better and to do better, and we are trying to be encouraging to all of those around us who are serving with us.  As Section 4 of the Doctrine and Covenants says, we are "thrusting in our sickles" with all of our might, mind and strength and we know we have so much farther to go to qualify for your love and prayers.

In a few instances we know, to some degree, about how hard you are working to keep the home lights burning.  So many of your efforts are not readily seen by mom and me, but we are so very grateful for all that you are doing for these two missionaries of the Church!  We are motivated to be a little better beginning today and into the tomorrows as we move forward in this service.  We just wanted you to know that we know, perhaps only to a small degree, of your love and your prayers and your support and your challenges.  We feel that love every day when we get down or discouraged and that means so much to us!

My grandpa Sykes once explained to me why he loved football.  I loved my grandpa and can remember his strong arms of support around me as a preteen and a somewhat wandering kid.  He told me that the game of football was his absolute favorite game because it was the sport where you could be knocked down and, on your own, get up and get back in the game.  Perhaps a mission is somewhat similar to playing football...  There are times that things are going so smoothly that you have to pinch yourself to see if you are really awake.  And there are times that you can let the Adversary get the best of you when things stop going so smoothly....  Come to think of it, that is a good definition of life!

We just need to keep playing hard and follow the Optimist Creed where it says; "talk health, happiness and prosperity to every one you meet, and, be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind".  Words of wisdom to follow and 'ponderize' as we travel through this life together.... and isn't is great that we can travel together??

I think it is...

Perhaps the bottom line is not about us, but how best we can serve our kind and loving Father in Heaven.  His work needs to be done by those who love Him and are willing to serve Him.  And the example of Jesus Christ is our standard to follow in these the last days.  And with that commitment to serve Him, it is the combined efforts of all of us working together to help each other rise to our full potential. 

And those are some of my thoughts on this wonderful day here in Nauvoo.  Thank you for checking in with us tonight!