Opposition in All Things....

The week before transfers is always a full and challenging week.  There are so many positive things that happen and then there comes the adversity and challenges that test the time.  We had a couple of companionships that were struggling.  After prayerful consideration over several days it was very clear the adversary was creating contention and friction that could not be corrected by talking or asking for personal change.  I felt impressed to trade companions within two companionships and suddenly there was so much more light in all four that it was apparent the Lord had put the pieces where they need to go. There is opposition to this work by the adversary.  We bring light, joy, and happiness to people's lives and that makes the adversary work harder in opposition.

Yesterday, we attended the baptism of a sweet young lady.  She was attending a convention in Shanghai when she met a young man from Korea.  His parents are actually serving in our mission as a senior couple companionship.  He saw on her wrist a tattoo in Latin that said something to the effect of "I will do God's will".  He asked her some questions about her experience with religion.  She said she was struggling to find truth in the various religions. She believed in Christ, but couldn't settle.  He shared the story of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and then gave her name to two lovely young missionaries in our mission.  She returned from China and met with the missionaries.  Two weeks later she was baptized and we got to be a part of it. What a joy!

While visiting two of our missionaries Terri had the opportunity to get more pictures with the local flora... We get more pleasure in being with and chatting with these missionaries than you can realize.  They are so strong.  Those who have been out for a long time are a great strength to those just starting.

In another situation, a man in one of the wards here had talked to his sister about the joy he found in the gospel and invited her to visit with the missionaries.  She was resistant for quite a while, but after discussions with some of our sister missionaries she found great peace and happiness and light in their message.  In her prayers she found answers she was seeking.  Here she is with the brother and with many loved ones.

Of course in all our travels we continue to see new and interesting things we love to share.  For our granddaughters, we found a traveling advertisement of one their favorite things:

We found this past Saturday morning an adventuresome physically challenged octogenarian who had places to go and places to see.  You can see him at the stop light, the starting line and then a flash after when the light changed.  Traffic certainly doesn't frighten him!

Occasionally, we see people walking around an area in what look like hospital pajamas and look to see if there is a nearby hospital.  They don't all have the large "H" on them like back home.  On one nice afternoon drive we found someone that decided their hospital room wasn't comfortable and decided a walk in the busy streets was more what she wanted to do.  Nothing slows some people!

During a quiet walk in the local park on Saturday morning, our typical preparation day, we found a large number of local bird houses which we were taking pictures of.  A very kind man asked if we wanted to have our picture, we agreed and stood to take the picture.  Immediately his young son, who we've never met, jumped into the picture.  He'll likely never see the picture since I wasn't quick enough to give the blog link to the father where he could see his son forever enshrined in fame.

In our area we found a street that brought a lift to me.  I am a cowboy at heart having been born in Wyoming.  We had to get this one. Unfortunately, traffic was moving too quickly to get a better angle.

More flora... Terri loves the angel trumpets.  She wants one to go with the Lantana tree on the roof.

Finally, we always have to capture our mission assistants, those missionaries we work the closest with to keep track of everything going on, in compromising situations.  They had found some ingredients and wanted some guidance on making cookies.  Terri needed to provide some loving assistance to make things work out correctly.  They have to dress the part...

Once again, it's been a quick week.  Thank you for your support and love.  Transfers happen this week, we have 18 new missionaries coming in and 12 leaving, we'll be pretty busy and hopefully we'll have lots of photo opportunities.  Stay tuned.........