Bitter And The Sweet

Notice how life is intertwined with the bitter and the sweet.  The week of June 5 through June 11th was one of those weeks.  

The "bitter" parts relate mostly to others that we care and love who are facing challenges in their lives.  Our hearts ache for them and we try to do what small things we can do to ease their burdens or at least hope that our prayers and love count for something.  These are private stories and not mine to tell but it added a weight to the week that normally I don't feel day to day.

Unfortunately, I can't magically (or any other way) fix things.  And while I say that is "unfortunately," I know that really it is fortunate that I can't make the heartaches of others go away.  All of this is part of the stuff that life is made of---we have to get through it the best we can day by day and LEARN and DO the best we can to be more like the people our Heavenly Father and Savior are helping us to become.

But the week was filled with the "SWEET" as well:

Sunday, June 5th, we met with our bishop, Bishop Brad Allen, to do our interviews for our second mission.  We are still waiting for the "exception" to take Jena but he wanted to go ahead and meet with us so that part is done. 

Look what we found on our Barber Acres Mission Board:

Jena got her own plaque!

Our scripture is D&C 123:17

We actually used the same photo for our second missionary application but I will have to get another one done before our second mission for our next plaque.  It doesn't see right to have the same photo on both.

On Monday, due to unforeseen circumstances, I ended up listening to the Mission Devotional on my phone.  Elder LeGrand Curtis, the current Church Historian and General Authority, and his wife spoke.  They did an awesome job.

The next day, he spoke again at a Church History Dept. Devotional for Elder Curtis.  He is be made "emertis" at the end of July so they held a special devotional at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building Chapel with a reception afterwards.  Not only did Elder and Sister Curtis speak, Elder Kyle McKay who will become the next Church Historian spoke and Elder Neil A. Anderson as well.  Elder Anderson spoke about some of my favorite verses in the Doctrine and Covenants 64:33-34. 

Wherefore, be not ^aweary in ^bwell-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of ^csmall things proceedeth that which is great.

Behold, the Lord ^arequireth the ^bheart and a ^cwilling mind; and the willing and ^dobedient shall ^eeat the good of the land of Zion in these last days.

He reminded all that the "small things" we do for the Lord are building the kingdom. He shared a few other things often connected to these scriptures stressing the importance of the heart and a willing mind.  However, he made a comment about what it means to "eat the good of the land of Zion."  He indicated that it was to receive knowledge and revelation---that is the good of the land of Zion.  I loved that!  In so many ways, that sums it up perfectly--how grateful I am for the impact of revelation in my life--whether personal or to the whole Church and world.  It is such a great blessing of life on this earth.

Hannah, Jena, and Paulee
They are interns on the US/Canada team

And then-we had a zone social that even which was definitely sweet but deserves its own post so it will follow this one.

The next day, we packed up and headed to Logan to do an oral history with the Bachmans who served in the California Roseville Mission.  We had an amazing afternoon with them including dinner which they provided for us.  These experiences are truly SWEET Squared!  We are so lucky.

Sister Bachman sharing the map of the mission at the time of their service.

And the week continued---hard things, sweet zone devotionals; tears and smiles; virtual hugs across the miles and in-person.

We got a new missionary-- Sister Sheryl Slaughter!  She is amazing and delightful!  We can't wait to get to know her better.

A slice of the bitter was a rapid rash on my legs--I have had it before but not as bad or for as long and it looked different than the past.  Since I am around so many people, we decided to get it checked out on Friday evening- It has a fancy name.  The doctor ran a bunch of blood tests and decided that when it comes back I need to see a blood doctor but they were able to rule out some possible things.  It cleared up after about a week.

And on Saturday of that week, we all visited with Ben and he was able to go to McDonalds and eat with us inside!  First time since arriving at the hospital in November 2020.

And as we were leaving the McDonalds, in came 4 elders--so Gary bought them lunch!

And that was our week---wrapped in a blend of hard and good; pain and joy; despair/worry and fun.  You probably have weeks like this too.