Farewell South Florida

We cannot believe that our mission is just about over. The attached picture shows members of the Snapper Creek branch who gave Elder and Sister Black a send off with a cake, a nice picture and messages from them written in a journal. Sister Black was not feeling well today, so she was not able to be there. We have really enjoyed our assignment to the Snapper Creek branch. In our last posting on the blog, we mentioned the two waiters at Olive Garden who President and Sister Hale invited to have the missionaries over. One of them has been taught and has accepted a baptism date in early May. President Hale is going to baptize him. We have had a busy week teaching Daily Dose on Wednesday where there were 13 students (a record) and then training a sister from the Ft. Lauderdale ward and 4 missionaries assigned to the Ft. Lauderdale ward on Daily Dose English. We have had a long list of things to do (36). We ended up getting new tires, shocks, alignment and balancing as well as nitrogen in our tires. The Jeep has never run smoother. We did not want to take a chance coming across the country. All of our furniture was moved out on Saturday except our bed, a card table and two folding chairs. It echo's in our apartment. Tomorrow morning we will be meeting with our landlord, shipping off our bed, finishing packing, doing the Data Base Reporting, taking our keys, phone, etc. to the Mission Office, saying our goodbyes, packing up the Jeep and doing a few more things before heading to Orlando.

Amazingly Wonderful Week

We have had an amazingly wonderful week. We had a group of 8 missionaries to lunch on Thursday and then trained them in Daily Dose. Brother and Sister Nelson came for the training. We are trying to revitalize the Daily Dose English program. The Nelson's changed Daily Dose lessons to Wednesday evenings and they had 7 students last week. We also did apartment inspections to the Hollywood and Miami Beach zones. On Saturday evening, we got together for a farewell party with the other couple missionaries including the Hogges, Holdstocks, Welchs, Collins and Blacks. We are departing the Mission on Monday, April 19th and the Holdstocks will be departing May 1st. We had a wonderful meal, the departing missionaries expressed their feelings, we visited and played a fun game of Pictionary. On Sunday, Sister Black and I spoke at the Snapper Creek Branch Sacrament meeting. Sister Black spoke on Sacrifice and Elder Black spoke on the Resurrection. After Sacrament meeting, we went to a missionary apartment to pick up some things to deliver to another apartment. It was raining very hard. When the missionary ran to our car with the things, we just tossed them in the back set and headed for the other apartment. When we got to the apartment, Elder Black grabbed the things and put them by the front door and we drove home. When we got home we discovered a bike helmet in the back seat also soon found out that Elder Black had also grabbed his missionary back pack and had left it at the missionary apartment. So, guess what, we ended up driving back to the apartment and then back home. It was a long day.

On Monday night we had a wonderful meal at Brother and Sister Nelsons. Today, we had our final interview with President Hale. It was quite special and he was very gracious and complimentary towards us and our efforts in the mission. He then gave us each a priesthood blessing which we will never forget. We also went to dinner with President and Sister Hale. Two of the waiters saw our name tags and started to talk to us and before the evening was over they gave President Hale their phone numbers and they agreed to have the missionaries contact them. We love President and Sister Hale so much and they are experiencing a flood of emotions now as their son prepares for his mission and their daughter prepares for her marriage. We have been so blessed and appreciate all the wonderful experiences we have had on our mission.

Address Correction for Homecoming Address

The correct address for our mission homecoming talks is 6300 So. 700 W, May 16th, at 12:50. All are welcome to attend.

An Exciting Week for President and Sister Hales and Conference Week

We have had a busy and exciting week. Our Mission President's daughter Heather got engaged while her boyfriend and his family were in Key West on a little vacation and then their son, Tanner, received his Mission Call to El Salvador. Check out the Florida Ft. Lauderdale Mission Blog at: http://floridaftlauderdalemissionnews.blogspot.com/ . They will both leave for Salt Lake City on May 4th. This has been a life changing week for President Hale as we clearly remember as these wonderful events occurred in our lives.

We also were amazed at the wonderful General Conference and the messages which were so pertinent to our time. As President Monson was giving his masterful talk on the Resurrection, in the back of Elder Black's mind was the fact that he will be giving a talk at the Snapper Creek branch this coming Sunday on the Resurrection. Sister Black will be talking about Sacrifice. Elder Black spent one day securing an apartment in Ft. Lauderdale for the upcoming Transfer. Two days were spent with apartment inspection. After the morning session of conference on Sunday, we picked up a missionary at his apartment and drove him to his new area. The list of things to do before we leave is growing each day as we prepare to finish our mission.

For your information, we will be speaking in our home ward, the Murray 29th ward at 6300 So. 700 W on Sunday, May 16th at 12:50 pm.

A week filled with variety

This week has been filled with a variety of activities, including the start of a new round of apartment inspections. This time our new Senior Service Missionary couple, the Collins, came with us to be trained and get to know the missionaries. The Collins are from Georgia (instead of Alabama) and they got flooded out last year and have moved to Florida to be close to a family member. They are very friendly and will do a great job. Elder Black also helped out in the Mission Office again with automobile issues. A new couple will arrive a few days after we leave and he will be taking over the automobiles. We took Sister Dosher to lunch at Jaxson's and gave her a copy of "The Continuous Atonement" by Brad Wilcox and she gave us a framed saying that was quite touching and expressed her appreciation for our help. We also were invited to eat dinner at a restaurant owned by one of our Daily Dose students family. It was very authentic Mexican food and something we have never experienced. She also loaded us up with additional food to take home. On Saturday, we went back to a clothing store she runs and Sister Black purchased a blouse and a night gown. She loaded us up again with some more food to take home before we left. Raquel is very sweet and is making good progress learning English.

Nature's Beauty

We have had a wonderful week with Zone Conference with Elder and Sister Gibbons and President and Sister Hale. The Spirit was very strong and our emotions were high as we realized this was our last Zone Conference and the last time to be with such a large group of our missionaries. Later in the week, the Senior Couples got to spend some time with Elder and Sister Gibbons and they thanked us for our service and willingness to put other part of our life, such as family and missed baptisms and baby blessings, aside to serve the Lord and promised us some wonderful blessings for doing so. We also participated in an Office Meeting on Friday. We made two trips up to the north part of our mission to secure an apartment and to work on a serious apartment problem. On Sunday, we enjoyed being with the young adults. They are a lot of fun.

On Saturday, we took some time to celebrate our 44th wedding anniversary by going to an Orchid Society garden and green house. It was very impressive and we wanted to share just a few of the pictures we took. We also drove down the 1A1 highway along the beach areas and Elder Black went out on a large bridge over the port channel and watched 6 cruise shipped launched in less than one hour. It was quite a sight. We then went out to eat. This coming Friday we will start another round of apartment inspections. A new service mission couple, Elder and Sister Collins, will be going with us to be trained on apartment inspections. There home was flooded in Alabama and they moved to Florida to be close to some of their family and decided to serve a 1 year mission. We also have another couple, Elder and Sister Martin, who will be here just after we leave. We feel better now about leaving and are sure thing will keep progressing along.

Finishers

This was a wonderful week with Elder Black taking a group of departing missionaries to the temple and that evening enjoying the Finishers Dinner and Testimony Meeting. We really enjoyed hearing from the departing missionaries and to be able to express our feelings about the wonderful mission experiences we have been blessed with and how it has changed our lives for the better. We love President and Sister Hale and appreciate the choice opportunities we have been given to serve.

Tomorrow, we are blessed to attend our Zone Conference in Coral Springs where Elder Gibbons of the Seventy and his wife will greet and talk to the missionaries. Elder Black will start inspecting cars at 8 am and the conference starts at 9 am. On Wednesday, the conference will at the Flagler building (where the Reflections of Christ exhibit was held-remember Steve). On Thursday, Elder and Sister Gibbons will meet separately with the Senior Missionaries at the Mission Office. We are really looking forward to this week.

The warm weather is back and we are enjoying it a great deal.

Oasis of the Seas

Our week included several trips to various parts of the mission to exchange new cars with older cars that we need to get ready to sell. It was fun being with the missionaries. In one of the exchanges, we gave an Elders car to some Sisters. Later in the day, Elder Black received a call from the Sisters complaining about how dirty it was and how much work they had to put into getting it clean. They insisted that I let the Elders know, which I did. While we were in Homestead, we got to stop at Roberts is Here and get some fresh fruit shakes (Strawberry Passion and Banana Passion). Elder Black helped out in the Mission Office about every day last week and is starting to get on top of some of the auto issues. He also worked on a special report for President Hale. On Saturday evening about 4:30 pm, we drove to the end of a State Park near the mouth of the channel leading into Port Everglades and watched 5 cruise ships leave port. The first one to leave was the Oasis of the Sea (the worlds biggest cruise ship). It makes all of the others look small. The attached photos show the ship from front to back as it came out of the channel. Within about one hour, all 5 ships cruised off. As they would get to one point in the channel, they would blow their horns and the people on board would cheer. We also watched a pelican diving for fish close by. Afterwards, we stopped by Jaxsons for some ice cream and drove home along the 1A1 highway.

On Sunday, the young man, Jordan Collie, who was baptized last week was confirmed. He brought a friend with him who is interested in the church and we passed on the information to the missionaries. Also, Elder Black got to participate in the priesthood ordination of Peter Ramos who was baptized several weeks ago. The fast and testimony meeting was special with many of the young adults and Sister Black bearing their testimonies. After church, we waited for about two hours for President Hale who was attending a baptism at the Kendall ward. He interviewed us for our temple recommends. Elder Black will be driving a group of missionaries to the Orlando Temple this week on Wednesday. We cannot believe how fast time is going by.

Have Jeep Will Travel

We made perhaps our last trip to Homestead and Key West on Tuesday. At Key West, we did a gospel study, apartment inspection, took Elder Jensen and Elder Kelly (see photo in their little apartment) out to lunch and then headed back home. We were able to get out of the Keys before dark and that really helped. The weather was perfect and the scenery was spectacular. After arriving in Key West, our check engine light came on so on Wednesday Elder Black spend the morning at a tune up place. A coil they had installed just 3 weeks ago must have been defective. They replaced it at no charge. Thursday and Friday, Elder Black spent the day in the Mission Office helping out Elder Holdstock with automobile issues. On Saturday, we bought food and attended a combined Snapper Creek and Miami Beach YSA barbeque at a beach near the end of Key Biscayne Island (southeast) of Miami. There was a great turnout (see photo). Elder Hogge and Elder Black also got to go inside a light house near the beach (see photos).

There was another baptism at the YSA branch after church. The missionaries are also teaching quite a few YSA age investigators. Elder Black gave a talk in Sacrament meeting on "Inviting Others to Come Unto Christ". The emphasis of the talk was to encourage the YSA members to invite their family, friends, neighbors and associated to attend church on March 21st (which happens to be our wedding anniversary). This should be a wonderful opportunity to help people get acquainted with the church and to feel the Spirit in our meetings. A recent convert spoke at Sacrament meeting before Elder Black and he was so nervous, but did a great job. We are loving every minute our assignment in the Snapper Creek branch.

A Full Week and More Blessings

It was a full week with three Zone Conferences that the Senior Couples were heavily involved with. Sister Black was not feeling well all week. For the three days, Elder Black was involved in car inspections, meetings, a trip to the store each day for hamburgers and all the trimmings, set up, barbeque, cleanup, etc. and then about 3 1/2 hours of directing activities. On the third day at the grocery store, I told Elder and Sister Holdstock that it felt like Groundhog Day (the movie). The activity I was in charge of turned out to be the most challenging. Two 4' x 4' platforms about 8 inches off the ground were set 7' apart. Eight or nine missionaries all started on one platform and by using three boards 6', 5' and 3' long, they needed to go from one platform to the other without them or the boards touching the ground. If they did touch the ground, they had to start over. Once they and the boards got over to the other platform, then the platforms were separated to 9' apart and they tried again to go from one to the other. It took a lot of planning, team work and inginuity. Unfortunately, there was a few scraps and bruises, but everyone had a good time. The theme of the conference was on unity within the mission and companionships. We also had a birthday cake and ice cream for the 50th anniversary of our mission. On Friday, Sister Joseph and her newborn baby attended the conference and she bore her testimony in Creole and Elder Olsen interpreted. Her husband is the Mission President in Haiti.

About the middle of the week Elder Black got a call from the Sister missionaries who told him that their investigator, Peter Ramon, who had attended the Snapper Creek branch last week was ready to be baptized on Saturday and that he had asked if Elder Black would baptize him. It was really an amazing experience and after his baptism we wrapped our arms around each other as tears streamed down his face. Elder Black also got to stand in the circle on Sunday when he was confirmed a member and was given the gift of the Holy Ghost. We also had a new investigator attend and Peter and Veniese and the new investigator attended the Gospel Principles class taught by Elder Black.

A Perfect Sunday

This past Sunday was about as perfect a day as we could ever hope for. We had a new investigator attend church and he was quite amazing. Last week, he attended the Homestead ward and the missionaries there taught him a first lesson and set up a baptismal date. This week he came to the Snapper Creek branch and the Sister Missionaries were their to introduce him to Elder Black. I then introduced him to several people and we sat together during Sacrament meeting. Each speaker did a wonderful job and he was quite moved by the Spirit that was there. I introduced him to the branch president and we attended Gospel Principles class together. He answered a question by the instructor and she thought he was a member because it was just perfect. The lesson was very well done in Sunday School and then we attended Priesthood meeting together and everyone greeting him warmly. After the class we went down to the Branch Presidents office to see if they had a triple combination, because the investigators had heard scriptures quoted from the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price and wondered if he could get a copy to study. The Branch President did not have one, but he gave him a copy of Preach My Gospel. The Branch President mentioned that the important thing is not to try to learn everything available, but to seek and receive a witness of the Holy Ghost that the things he learns about are true. He said that he had already received that witness. We were able to get a triple combination from the Mission Office this afternoon. Anyway, it was a perfect Sunday.

We are looking forward to Zone Conference this week. We will be involved all three days. Elder Black will be inspecting cars in the morning with two others Senior Missionaries, we will be going to the store each day to pick up hamburgers and all the trimming for a barbeque and then in the afternoon we will be conducting an activity to help build unity within companionships and the mission. There are five fun activities planned that will tax the missionaries resources to work together and accomplish some difficult, but fun tasks. This year is the 50th anniversary of the Florida Ft. Lauderdale mission and this conference will be the beginning of the celebration and great things that are anticipated to happen to the mission during this Jubilee Year. Then on Saturday we will be traveling to Homestead and Key West to finish up our apartment inspections in the southern part of the mission. In April, we will inspect in the north again prior to our departure. We are enjoying every minute of our mission experience and appreciate this choice opportunity in our lives.

A More Normal Week

We had a more normal week with teaching Daily Dose while the Nelson's are in Chile, doing a special report for President Hale, apartment inspections, visiting a good member who needed some encouragement and being with the YSA branch. We also had a wonderful training conference with Brother Watson from the Missionary Training Center. He showed us some segments from a new Preach My Gospel video they are working on and it was very inspiring. As always, we enjoyed bring with the missionaries and the wonderful YSA branch members. Sister Black did a good job teaching the Gospel Principles class on the principle of agency. We brought two dishes to the pot luck on Sunday and it was a good thing because there was not a lot of food brought. Afterwards, there was suppose to be a fireside, but there was a mix up and the speakers did not show up. The YSA members were not phased. Many of them traveled up to the Plantation Building where there was another YSA fireside going on. It was a good thing for us since we were able to drive home while it was still light. This afternoon, we went down to a park next to the mouth of the channel into Port Everglades and watched three cruise ships depart out of port. It was fun waving at the passengers and seeing the excitement. We then drove back through the beach area in Ft. Lauderdale and they were dismantling the set up for a huge rock concert they had which was associated with the Super Bowl over the weekend.

Funny times in Florida

We have had an interesting day and have laughed until we could hardly breath. The Assistants and Elder Parry were coming to our apartment at 12:30 pm today to have lunch and then get some training on the Data Base Reporting program. We hurried up and cleaned the apartment and then ran to the store about 10:30 am. Before we left the apartment, the internet stopped working and it was raining hard, so Elder Black told Sister Black that the internet is down and it is raining, it certainly can't get worse than this. When we came out of the store with our groceries, our back right tire was completely flat. Then the comedy really began. We loaded the groceries in the back seat so we could get the tire out of the back, but then realized that the jack was under the back seat. After shuffling the groceries, we got the lug wrench and the rod to turn the jack, but there was no handle to rotate it. We shuffled the groceries again and got the jack out from the other back seat, but still was missing the handle to rotate the rod and jack. So being the engineer, Elder Black found a pin off of our trailer hitch and used it and the tire iron to rotate the rod and jack and finally got the car part way off the ground. In the process of trying to get the lug nuts off, the car skidded off the jack and the jack got wedged under the car. Of course, all this time it was pouring rain and Sister Black was trying to hold two umbrellas, but Elder Black was getting soaked. The next move was to call a roadside service outfit and the first truck that came couldn't lift the car high enough and so a second truck was called with a bigger jack and a large block of wood. I was so happy to give them $50 and we made it home at 12:15 pm just in time to cook up the hamburgers and everything was ready for the Elders when they arrived. We had purchased some valentine cards for the kids and I put them under my shirt to keep them dry and promptly forgot about them. After a while, I pulled them out and a few hours later Sister Black noticed one of them was missing. It had worked its way down into my pants. When I fished out the final card, we just totally cracked up. We may need some professional help by the time we get home.

During the earlier part of the week, we went to the Transfer Meeting and 8 new missionaries arrived. We also helped with the Finishers dinner that evening. We made two trips to look for apartments and Elder Black helped Sister Dosher move to a new apartment, along with the High Priest group leader and Elders quorum president from the Coconut Creek ward. We also attended Stake Conference in the Miami South Stake and on Sunday there was a satellite broadcast from Salt Lake City and the speakers were Elder Gibbons from the Seventy who is over the southeast US, Sister Dalton, Elder L. Tom Perry and President Eyring. It was a wonderful conference. Next week, we have a man coming from the MTC to train us on Preach My Gospel and the we have apartment inspections later in the week.

Fun Time in Miami

On preparation day which was Tuesday last week, we spent several hours at a place called Bayside Market and Marina just east of downtown Miami. It was a pleasant day starting in the high 60's and ending in the mid-70's. We looked around a number of shops, got some nachos and went on an 1 1/2 hour boat ride around Biscayne Bay. We got to see a large cruise ship and a large container freighter being unloaded by a huge crane and the skyline of the skyscrapers in Miami was impressive. We even saw a dolphin in the water. They also cruised around several man-made islands with homes of the rich and famous. We got a place at the back of the boat and really enjoyed the sunshine. We then drove home along the 1A1 highway and got so see the ocean.

We also had fun at a luncheon with President and Sister Hale and two of the Hale children and all 5 of the Senior Couples. We had a fun visit and also talked about some upcoming events that the Senior Couples will help out with, including, the Finishers dinner, the upcoming Zone Conferences and some special training from the MTC on Preach My Gospel. President Hale also told us a very interesting story about our Area Authority Seventy who had previously served as a Mission President in Africa and while out in a remote area their Jeep hit a large pot hole and skidded on its side. His arm was between the side of the Jeep and the ground and all the flesh was removed from one side of his arm. The nearest facility was about one hour away. The doctor who treated him saw his name tag and asked him if he was a member of the LDS church. He then explained that all of the medical equipment he was using had been donated by the the LDS church. Our Area Seventy acknowledged it as a tender mercy from the Lord and the reason he still has his arm, although it is still very deformed.

In addition to the fun, we did a lot of the same things i.e. apartment inspections on Saturday, Daily Dose, Chapel Cards and Elder Black worked a lot on the computer. President Hale mention about all the church is doing in Haiti. He said that the church had chartered every available cargo plane in the West to transport relief supplies. We were told by some of our Creole speaking missionaries that all of the chapels in Haiti survived the earthquake, but very few other churches are standing. Some of our missionaries will be helping load cargo planes. A large number of Haitian orphans have been placed in the South Florida area. The local stakes filled a large shipping container this week and they were able to direct it to the church leaders in Haiti. There have been so many wonderful stories that we have been hearing about the generosity of people. One set of missionaries said that a Jewish man had chartered a plane to evacuate a family. When they got here, he came to the Elders and said that his plate was too full and would they find a place for the refugee family to live. The bishop in the ward was willing to rent the family an apartment at the Church's expense. Out of these tragedies come many opportunities when people's hearts are changed.

Special Surprise for Elder Black

We had mentioned before about the YSA investigator who started learning about the church on a chat line to the Missionary Training Center. After the missionaries at the MTC taught her, they gave a referral to the Miami 4th South Elders and they continued to teacher. She attended the Miami 4th ward for three weeks and then started attending the Snapper Creek YSA Branch. We got quite close to her and always sat next to her and introduced her to several of the other Branch members. She had asked Elder Hirschi to baptize her on Saturday, but the Branch President wanted someone from the Branch to baptize her. So on Wednesday, they explained to her that she could have anyone from the Branch baptize her and she said she wanted Elder Black to baptize her. The attached picture shows from left to right Elder Zubia, Elder Black, Veniese Lawrence and Elder Hirschi just prior to the baptismal service. This was something I will never forget. Everything went well and Veniese was very happy. On Sunday, Elder Black also got to stand in the circle when Veniese was confirmed a member of the church and was given the gift of the Holy Ghost.

This week has been sad as we heard of the tragedy in Haite. Ten of our missionaries speak Creole and work with the Haitian investigators and they were so concerned and asked President Hale if somehow they could help out. After Veniese's baptism, she mention that the hospital she works at had 150 Haitians in their emergency room the night before. Apparently, many of them are being air lifted into the Miami area. Elder Black sent an e-mail to President Hale to make him aware of the situation at the hospitals and the possible opportunity for our missionaries to interpret for those being treated. Veniese also mentioned that there is some concern about diseases that the health care personal might be exposed to i.e. Tuberculosis, etc. The wards and branches have been collecting donations for the relief effort and they will be collected on Tuesday.

On Friday and Saturday, we did 8 apartment inspections and delivered a lot of media supplies. We will finish up this months inspections next Saturday with three inspections in the North Miami area.

Shivering in Florida

This past week or so has been bone chilling cold "Florida style". The cold temperature (35 to 40 deg F) and high humidity mixed with a little wind can make it biting cold. However, I don't think we will get to much sympathy from you back home. It is suppose to get up into the high 70's next week.

We started up the apartment inspections again this past week. We are doing the northern half of the mission this time. We did 5 on Friday and 4 on Saturday and have 15 left to go. We are also doing a gospel discussion on being steady and steadfast. These are the scripture references we are using: Alma 38:2, D & C 84:60-62, Ether 12:4, 2 Nephi 31:20 and Mosiah 5:15. On Sunday, Sister Black was sick so I went to the Snapper Creek and was able to help an investigator, Veniese, who is preparing for baptism next Saturday, a young man just coming back to church and another potential investigator who indicated he was very impressed with the meetings and spirit that was there and would like to know more about the church. They had a pot luck dinner after church and most of the YSA branch stayed. They then went out visiting other branch members and came back to the church to see a CES fireside. I have been fighting a cold and did not stay for the visiting or the fireside.

Happy New Year

We hope you all had a wonderful New Years celebration. We had a fun New Years Eve party with the other Senior Couples. We started at 5:30 pm and figured no one would last past 10:30 pm, but we started playing a Pictionary game and it lasted until midnight. We did a little celebrating and went home tired but happy. We have been working on a number of projects this week. We drove to Homestead on Tuesday and met with the missionaries and did some YSA follow-up training. We also went to a large fruit stand south of Homestead called "Roberts in Here" and had a Cherry Key Lime and a Strawberry Passion Fruit shake. We also delivered a bunch of Christmas packages to the missionaries. We got to be with an investigator at the Snapper Creek branch on Sunday and she invited us to her baptism on January 16th. She is so excited about the church and wants to know everything she can about the gospel. Elder Black got to teach the Gospel Principles class on Sunday on the Priesthood. Next week, the Branch is having a pot luck dinner after church, will go visiting members for two hours and then come back for a fireside where Elder Bednar will be the CES speaking. At the fast and testimony meeting, we really felt the spirit and we believe Veniese, the investigator, was quite moved by the wonderful spirit that was there. We are grateful for all our many blessings and wish you all a very joyous New Year.