Glimpses Of Mission Life

When I thought we were leaving this mission in September, I had decided that I needed to make sure that I have photos of some of the daily "going ons" in our daily mission life.  So, despite the fact that we aren't leaving until February 23, 2023 (We got the official email this weekend.), I decided to capture every day moments--

Our mission office in on the 3rd floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building on the east side of the building.

Gary and Jena using their badges to open the mission office door---have I mentioned that they have a spread of candy and granola bars on the secretary's desk?  My favorite is the York patties which I never buy but enjoy once in a while (Scott was our York patty lover!)

While the Temple Square plaza is under construction, we head down to the lower level where I took the photo of a photo hanging on the wall there of the JSMB at night.

Then we turn the corner and head through the back hallways--security pass needed....

and through the dock...

which takes you into the Church Office Building parking lot and then to the tunnel to the Church History Library.  It is a bit of maze until you are used to it.

I went up to the 3rd floor on day and stopped in to visit Sister Marianne Jones and look what she had posted on her cubicle wall---right in the middle of these row of women is my good friend, Laurie Hoer.  Laurie and her husband have just gotten back from their second mission to the Middle East where they served as humanitarian missionaries.  They are amazing.  I took this photo and sent it to Laurie and she loved it!  She said it was taken during their first mission which was to Egypt.

The caption is the best:  "The cream of the crop from the covenant keepers--the women who dared to serve in the Middle East/North Africa."  Sister Jones does oral histories with people from the Middle East and those who have served there doing humanitarian projects there.  As you can tell, she has fallen in love with that part of the world and the Saints who serve there.  She has some amazing stories to tell--but she can't tell them--because of safety issues, most of her oral histories will be restricted for 50-75 years.

I decided we needed a picture of a morning prayer meeting.  We meet on the 2nd floor in the Winter Quarters Room.  We also do it over Teams so that remote missionaries can take part.

Trying to get the whole room by taking a picture through the windows in the hallway--that is why there are green leaves in the reflection from outside.  But this is a perfect moment--Gary on the left getting the camera ready for the recordings and for the remote people to see the whole room, Sister Dixon managing the computer for the meeting, and Sister Young sitting at the piano playing to prelude.  We hold this meeting from 8:40-8:55 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Elder Dinger is conducting on this day....

And of course, Sister Hall the younger is leading the music.

And lastly, heading home in the July heat from work---Elder Hall looking cute with his suitcoat over his shoulder.

Uhm...no photos of me but trust me, I was there to enjoy these missionary moments, too!
 

Mission Life: Lunch and Sundaes

A gathering of missionaries who serve on Tuesday in the Nauvoo Room--on the lower level of the Church History Library--

See, Tosha, I put the tablecloth to good use!

When it is hot outside, an ice cream sundae with all of the toppings hits the spot!  Sister McClure decided to eat her sundae first before eating her lunch!  Fine with me--I am not her mom.
 

Love these missionaries (and one intern) who spent their lunch hour with us!  They are all in our zone.  We missed a couple of missionaries who joined us after the pictures were taken.

It is a very unique experience to serve in a place with some many senior missionaries!  We feel very grateful for this opportunity.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame--Old Timers style

Is there much better than watching a softball game on a hot day (but you are sitting in the shade)?

Monday evening we headed over to the Larry Miller Baseball Complex in Cottonwood Heights to watch Elder Mel Young play with his team of "over 75s".  They won...and they would have won without the 5 runs they were given at the beginning of the game because they were playing a team in the younger league--over 70!

I missed getting a photo of Mel at his first time at bat because he hit the first pitch and headed for his base.  I think he got on base each time he was at bat.

It was a fun evening.  You have to admire these men and their love of the game that they are still playing in their later years.  They are a little (or a lot) slower than they used to be and catching and throwing are a little more of an adventure but it is great.

Thanks, Elder Young, for inviting us!

Update on Ben

Last Monday was Ben's clinical.  The clinical was actually the best one he has had since being admitted in November 2020.  That was so nice.

Then he and I headed to lunch at a nearby Panda Express. Over the past several months, Ben has been struggling with delusions related to being in danger when he is outside.  He has been working hard with the help of staff and his doctor to get past this delusion because it is a big barrier to living outside of the hospital. Over the weekend before the clinical, he had had a couple of outside visits that went okay which he feels was related to an addition of another medication (which was the point of the medication) so that is good.  

He did much better when we went to Panda Express and was able to eat lunch in the restaurant and managed the walking back and forth much easier than the past several months.

He got this fortune in his "cookie":  You are headed in the right direction."  We decided that was a good one for him.

 

A photo to remind him that he can DO IT!

This has continued throughout the week and he reported that he has gone outside every day into their courtyard or walking around the hospital campus.  This is all good news because months ago, I bought tickets for him and I to attend the Josh Groban concert on this coming Wednesday at the Vivint Center in Salt Lake.  Ben liked Josh Groban when he was younger so I thought this was a good opportunity for us.  He is VERY nervous about many aspects of the concert, but we will just try and see if it works.  I didn't want him to feel like his whole life was dictated by his illness.

That is the good news of things.  We did have some concerning news as well related to Ben's health.  He had a CT scan done last Wednesday because of ongoing digestive problems--probably related to medication he must take--but they were trying to make sure.  It came back abnormal and now he has to have a colonoscopy.  We are hoping to get that scheduled this week.  I guess that could be good news if it leads to successful treatment.  It will be a busy week for him and us.