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.

Christmas Florida Style

We had a quiet Christmas, but were also able to do some service when our friend ran out of gas. We have been quite subdued since we learned about the passing of Sister Black's mother, Alice and appreciate our family who attended the funeral and gave support to the family. We have been greatly blessed to have such a wonderful posterity. We enjoyed reading all the wonderful Christmas cards and newsletter and appreciated all the packages from our family and friends back home.

On Sunday, we got to sit by a new investigator who attended the Snapper Creek branch. She started learning about the church 3 weeks ago and was taught all the missionary lessons by missionaries at the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Provo. She first started chatting with them and was then taught over the phone. She has several months of schooling left and she will be a registered nurse. Elder Black also taught the Elder's quorum lesson on Sunday from the Ensign. It was quite interesting that Elder Black chose a lesson on "The Love of God" by President Uchtdorf from General Conference to teach the Elder's quorum and the person who taught the Relief Society also chose to teach the same lesson. Earlier in the week, we did some training at the Miami Zone and then delivered a bunch of Christmas packages not only there by also to missionaries in the Hialeah, Miami Beach and Hollywood Zones. We felt a little like Santa making his rounds.

We will be having a New Year's eve party at Elder and Sister Welch's apartment on Thursday. We are going to see who can stay awake past 10 pm.

Spiritual Week

This past week was full of spiritual experiences. On Wednesday, Elder Black drove 11 departing missionaries to the Orlando Temple. It was wonderful to see their excitement and to see many tears shed as they sought confirmation from the Lord that their offering was accepted by Him. Look at the attached photos and see what a wonderful light they are to the world. On the trip back from Orlando, they started asking a bunch of questions of Elder Black about his life's experiences and how Sister Black and he were able to work together and overcome our challenges in raising a family and balancing work, church and family. On a few questions, I just had to honestly admit that didn't remember, but that Sister Black would know. When we got back, we had a nice dinner and then was able to hear the testimonies of the departing missionaries.

On Saturday, we had our Mission Christmas Conference where the whole mission came together. The missionaries had prepared many beautiful Christmas songs, President and Sister Hale talked to us and then Brad Wilcox, a professor from BYU and noted author and speaker, talked to us about how these wonderful Elders and Sister were not only children of God who had been held back in the pre-existence until these latter days, but that they had the promised birthright through their lineage in the House of Israel and a double portion of God's blessings to be able to proclaim the gospel with power and authority and bring souls unto the Savior. He is a very dynamic and funny speaker, but also taught some wonderful things to encourage and fortify us in our efforts. He and President Hale had been missionary companions in Chile and Brad Wilcox had been a Mission President in that same mission.

On Sunday, Sister Black and I, were speakers at a Snapper Creek YSA branch fireside. It was a neat experience and very interactive. The subject was on Patriarchal Blessings and living close to the Spirit. We are looking forward for Christmas. A family who has been learning English has invited us over to their house on Christmas eve. Their celebration goes to midnight, but I don't think we will make it until then.

The Week Before Christmas

We have been busy most of the week doing apartment inspections and gospel discussions with each group of missionaries. We are so impressed with the thoughtful responses and inputs we received from the missionaries during the gospel discussions. We read the following four scriptures and discussed what it means to "Wait Upon the Lord". Isaiah 40:31 (the scripture on our missionary plaque), D & C 133:45-46, Lamentations 3:25-26 and D & C 98: 2. We also had an opportunity to spread some Christmas cheer to someone we have been working with and who is facing many challenges. She now has a glimmer of hope. It helped us get into the Christmas spirit. We went to a party with the other Senior Missionaries Saturday evening and got to share thoughts on Christmas and enjoyed laughing and listened to a touching Christmas story. Elder Black also attended a baptism of a Young Single Adult sister on Sunday. Tomorrow, Elder Black will get up at 3:30 am and meet 11 missionaries at the Plantation Building and drive them to the Orlando Temple. Sister Black will stay home and help prepare for the Finishers dinner that afternoon. We will try to arrive back to the Mission Home at 5:30 pm for the dinner and testimony meeting with the departing missionaries. This is a group of extraordinarily great missionaries, including Elder Stuart, our Assistant to the President, who has such great faith and Sister Fiala who talks to everyone she comes in contact with about the gospel. We love this wonderful missionary experience and appreciate the Lord's blessing on us.