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.