We are excited to start our new Washington Federal Way blog for family and friends of our amazing missionaries. We plan to include news and events, spiritual experiences, and random items of interest. I am Sister Nydegger, Referral Secretary for our mission office. You can reach me with comments or questions at
1986449@ldschurch.org
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President and Sister Rasmussen, Sister and Elder Young and
Elder and Sister Nydegger |
We are so thankful to Elder and Sister Young for their incredible service as our vehicle coordinator and referral secretary. Everything ran so smoothly under their direction! They are loved by all, and will be dearly missed. Replacing the Youngs are the Nydeggers - Elder Nydegger will be the new vehicle coordinator, and Sister Nydegger will be the new referral secretary. We are so happy to be serving in the best mission in the church! We look forward to helping our missionaries bring others to Jesus Christ.
Message from Sister Rasmussen:
President Rasmussen and I are so happy to be in the Washington Federal Way Mission. We felt at home here from the day we opened our call. We have spent some time in this area as we have friends on Mercer Island. We arrived on June 30th and spent a couple of hours with President and Sister Eaton before taking over. We are getting our feet on the ground but still have much to learn. The time has gone by quickly as we have completed the first round of most of the major mission activities: Mission Leadership Council, "Meet the President" tour of the mission where we met every missionary the first week, Interviews, Mission Devotional, Transfers and Zone Conference. The next experience we are awaiting is the visit from a general authority and that will be in November.
Zone Conference:
We had our first Zone Conference a couple of weeks ago. It is always good to get valuable information and reminders from Elder and Sister Draney who serve as our nurse and health specialists. They keep us safe and healthy so we can teach repentance and baptize converts. Elder Draney gave us great tips for emotional and mental well being while Sister Draney taught us how to keep our bodies happy. She had great tips for us when we get sick.
Elder Young reminded us of safe driving practices like the 4 second rule when following a car and the plea to wax our cars because a "clean car always runs better". The companionship in each zone who has the cleanest car (as judged by the office Elders) get the "Golden Plates award". That includes a license plate cover with "Golden Plates Award" on their car and the real prize of 100 extra miles.
Sister Rasmussen taught about not being too self-critical and relying on your companion, district leaders and zone leaders to help you when you are struggling. They often have had the same struggles in the mission and can make suggestions to help you. We talked about the tasks required to keep a clean apartment. We like to call this "candy for cleaning". If you have completed a certain task then you received a mini candy bar. Some Elders and Sisters really cleaned up and others will hopefully do better next time. After a couple of conferences we could predict who would stand up as the tasks were announced. It seems some Elders don't have much of a clue when it comes to bathrooms and dusting. We would all laugh when the question was asked, "Who cleaned their bathroom in the last week?" and all the Sisters stood up but no Elders. There may have been 3 Elders who dusted within the last week in the entire mission. In addition to the bathrooms and dusting the other tasks they were asked about were if they had cleaned out the fridge in the last two weeks, changed your sheets in the last two weeks, swept your floor in the last week, done your laundry in the last week, mopped or vacuumed in the last week, left no dishes in your sink that day and made your bed that day.
President Rasmussen taught about working with Stakes and Wards. The role of missionaries in ward council and with the bishop were discussed with an emphasis on working with members. Our goal in this mission is to always ask the ward and stake leaders as well as members, "What can we do to help you with your missionary work?" Missionaries can help ward members be more comfortable discussing the gospel with friends and family by teaching them some of our techniques.
Every missionary was given a booklet from the church entitled "Safeguards for Using Technology". It teaches life lessons on how to stay safe on mobile devices and computers. (No, they did not come with iPads - which was the first question they asked! We don't know when that will happen, if ever. They are still in the pilot stage.) These are lessons all of us need to learn when we live in the world of technology. We must learn to stay safe in the cyber world.
The Stake Relief Society served a delicious lunch. We are blessed to have nine strong Stakes in our Federal Way Mission that serve the missionaries with cheerful hearts. After lunch President Rasmussen discussed Spencer W. Kimball's teachings on Faith Precedes the Miracle. We watched a video talk by Bishop Waddell which taught the Lord's pattern in the gospel. It is Faith, Repentance, Baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost. It is stated in our missionary purpose which is to Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. You can't have a complete repentance without faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement. You can't become a member of the church without baptism. It must be after you have developed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Only then can you have a true repentance. Then we practiced teaching repentance by first teaching faith. We hope building this faith in our converts first will bring complete repentance and a true conversion that leads to baptism.
One of the best parts of Zone Conference is when we get to hear testimonies from those who will depart home before the next conference. It is always so faith building to hear their thoughts about their missions. We will miss each and every one of them but pray for their continued success as they return and move forward in their lives.
Temple Trip: We have recently added a new activity for the departing missionaries before they return home after successfully completing their missions. All departing missionaries along with President and Sister Rasmussen and President and Sister Layman (1st counselor in the mission presidency) attended a session in the Seattle Temple. On Saturday morning President and Sister Rasmussen began at 6:00 a.m. picking up missionaries in the south part of the mission and drove north with the twelve passenger van, stopping to pick up 10 missionaries before heading to the temple. It was a great experience to be together in the temple. Missionaries have been able to attend one time a year so this was a special day for them. We were spiritually fed as we continue to learn with each session we are able to attend.
Thank you for your support of your missionaries as they diligently serve the Lord with all their heart, might, mind and strength. The positive letters they receive from home buoy them up. Letters from missionaries are a great way to build the testimonies of family members at home. Your spiritual letters to them can be a source of testimony building for them too. Keep them coming!
Just for Fun!
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Recipe of the month from Elder Bryson Duncan - He brought these treats to Zone Training in the Enumclaw Zone this month - YUM!
Elder Duncan's Delectable Delights:
1 cup light corn syrup (Karo)
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 bag of chocolate chips
8 cups of rice crispy or special K cereal
Bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil. Once to a boil take it off the heat and stir in the peanut butter. Blend well. Pour over the cereal and stir until it is evenly coated. Pour into a well greased or sprayed 9"x13" pan. Put the chocolate ships in a glass or microwavable bowl. Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler over low heat until just melted. If you don't have a double boiler you can melt them in the microwave on POWER LEVEL 2 --- NO HIGHER --- for 2 minutes. Stir it and put it in on POWER LEVEL 2 for 2 more minutes * Repeat at 1 minute intervals until they are almost melted. Continue to stir them well until they are completely melted. Pour over the cereal and spread evenly. Let cool. Cut into squares. May be individually wrapped in waxed paper for freshness. Enjoy!
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