Priesthood Power

 I am very grateful that God has restored to the earth the power to act in His name through His priesthood. As we serve our mission, we are surrounded by this power on a daily basis - but never was it more evident than Sunday, February 19.  Our oldest grandson, Adam, was given the Melchizedek Priesthood and ordained to the office of an Elder by his father, our son Rob.  Our other three sons were able to join in the ordination. It was the sweetest blessing to see them standing together in a circle, united in their desire to serve. The only thing that would have been better is if Neil had been able to join as well, but through the miracle of modern technology, we were able to watch without leaving our mission responsibilities. Which is good, because that very afternoon, Neil was called upon to use his priesthood to administer to a visitor to the YSA ward who suddenly became ill and needed to drive 5 hours to get home that afternoon.  The bishop and Neil anointed and blessed her and she made it to her home safely.  

Missionaries have many opportunities to bless the lives of others through the administration of their priesthood power.  First and foremost is the authority and power to baptize people into Christ's own church.  Our district was blessed with three baptisms in February - which means three more people have entered the gate and started down the covenant path to return to live with our Father in Heaven.

Gia

Saida

Susan

The priesthood was used again for each newly baptized person to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, in the same manner that the Holy Ghost was given in Christ's early church (Acts 19:2-6).  

We have been focused on the temple this month, with two trips to the Manhattan temple for new members to make the baptism-white-to-temple-white connection. We were also blessed with the opportunity to teach a member of the YSA ward the temple preparation lessons as he begins to prepare to serve a mission. The temple is the ultimate manifestation of the power of the priesthood on the earth - We love it there!  And to help more ward members prepare to do ordinances for their ancestors, we have increased our Family Search Workshops to twice a month and moved them to right after church.  We have also been able to help several members individually with their personal family histories - the spirit of Elijah is working in the Stamford Ward!

Our mission president believes that recreation and socialization are important to spiritual well-being, and we would have to agree.  The senior couples in our mission met to celebrate Valentine's Day with a fun dinner party.  We have come to love each of the incredible couples with whom we serve and have learned so much from them.  And we have learned to love each other better.

Couples left-to-right: Aagards, Shileys (in back), Engstroms, Rigbys, Duncans, Nebekers, Andersons, Packers, Humphries, Hunsakers, Littles, Driggs, Eastons, Robertsons, Preeces

Which brings me to the end of the month.  On February 28, cancer claimed the life of my dear friend Debbie Morimoto.  She was an exceptional woman and we were friends and walking buddies for decades.  She never expected anything for herself but was always the one to step in and help others in big ways.  She served in the Girl Scouts, the Church, as a band parent, and as the volunteer dance studio photographer for years; but she also served individuals in every way she could think of.  She loved this planet we live on - loved traveling it, photographing it, and teaching about its geography. She was deeply loved and will be deeply missed. I am so grateful to know that her spirit lives on and we will see each other again someday.