Well, the waking up in the middle of the night for writing continues!
Here is the second try at preparing a homecoming talk. At the bottom of the page is a link where you can hear both of our homecoming talks. Dear One has a soft voice so you may have to fiddle with your volume, but it is worth the effort. He gave a wonderful inspiring talk. My talk comes through loud and clear after the hymn. I am sorry I don't know how to cut the mp3 into discreet parts so you could choose what part to hear but there you have it. A non-professional doing her best. Maybe my best will improve over time and experience...
We were presented with our missionary plaque at the beginning of Sacrament Meeting. I am so happy to have this in our home. It brings glorious memories.
This is the talk I wrote. Below it is the link to the talk I actually gave. There is a vast difference as you will see if you want to listen. The total length of the MP3 is about 45 minutes.
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Talk-
On 1
July 2017, 50 years and one week after I was baptized a member of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Bob and I received the letter we had been
anticipating for our 44 years together.
We were called to serve full-time as missionaries and assigned to the
Oregon Portland Mission as office specialists.
We did not really know what that meant but were confident the Heavenly
Father would not ask us to do something at which we would fail.
Nineteen
days after that letter arrived, we left our home in Thetford with our car
filled to the gunwales with the things we thought we would need for the next 18
months. We drove to Concord, NH and were set apart by our stake president then
continued on to our first stop in Connecticut.
We drove cross country then spent time with our Utah children, including
attending the baptism of one of our granddaughters before arriving at the
Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah where we learned and studied for
about two weeks. There were three other
office specialist couples in our group of 60-some senior couples who were
training that week. During the second
week at the MTC we received word that Bob was to be Housing Coordinator and I
was to be Mission Secretary…whatever those assignments meant!
We
soon learned.
As
housing coordinator Bob handled everything to do with more than 80 apartments,
including such things as moving beds and furniture in and out of second and
third floor apartments, signing leases, finding new apartments in specific
areas requested by the mission president.
He even opened a vacuum cleaner repair shop in the mission office. At
least it seemed that way sometimes. He
had as many as four or five vacuums in the office at one time. Most of the time the missionary sisters’ long
hair had clogged up the roller or filled the hose. Sometimes the bags were full and the
missionaries did not know how empty them.
These are things every young person should learn how to deal with—real
life skills!
For
myself, the words I said most often every day were: “Oregon Portland Mission, this is Sister
Crossett.” With those words a myriad of
issues came to my attention. Often these
calls were messages for the Housing Coordinator, for the Vehicle Coordinator,
or for the Finance Secretary or the Technology Missionary. Those were easily passed along if those
senior missionaries were in the office.
Sometimes I could handle the concern without passing along the
message…such as when missionaries wanted to change the designated driver of the
mission car. I just had to write up the
change and put it on the Vehicle Coordinator’s desk. A missionary might call to
ask if he or she could use a loaner phone or tablet since their phone or tablet
had been smashed when “something” had happened to it. Sometimes the missionary calling was a visa
waiter whose monthly money had not come in.
Sometimes there were calls about upcoming baptisms, or needs to change
interview schedules. In our mission, the
mission president interviewed every single missionary every single month. A huge undertaking but one that helped him
better help the missionary rise to his or her highest potential as a missionary.
Other
frequent calls came from community members who were looking for financial help
in one way or another. They did not know
who they were calling, just that the word “mission” was in the phone book. Since we were unequipped to give out rent
money or pay utility bills or other such things, I tried to locate a bishop in
geographical area from which the persons were calling as the bishops could
possibly help.
Phone
calls also came in requesting missionaries to go to local hospitals to give
blessings to injured or ill persons, both members of this church and
others. I had to find out which
missionary elders were serving in the area where the particular hospital was
located. Sometimes these hospitals were
in a different mission. As mission
secretary I always carried my cell phone with me and had it on and charged day
and night for emergency calls. One night
there was a call from a person whose relative was stuck in the Mexico City
airport because they had been mugged and lost all their money and their ticket
home to Oregon. I had to find the
correct mission president in Mexico City to assist this family. I was able to look up mission presidents in
the Church Directory then called the one who sounded the most like an English
speaker. He was not the correct one, but
he told me which mission to call. That
new mission president’s name was Alvarez, or something like that. How much English do you suppose he
spoke?! About as much as I spoke
Spanish! Not so great, but then, miracle
of miracles, he asked his wife to get on the telephone. She spoke perfect English and instantly
grasped the problem and promised to take care of it. And she did.
Often I did not learn the rest of the story with the calls I needed to
make, but in this case, she let me know the family had been housed and fed, and
were back at the airport waiting for their plane to Oregon.
Other
tasks I performed regularly were to create files for incoming missionaries, to
send out packets of information about the mission, and welcome letters from the
president. I also created a Devotional Calendar to assign office missionaries
to prepare a thought for our daily office devotional. Those devotionals were precious times sharing
together. I also wrote The Oregon Trail,
the monthly newsletter of mission doings that all the missionaries received. One more thing I did every Transfer (every
six weeks) was help prepare for the dinner at the mission home for the
departing missionaries, and prepare for the incoming missionaries by ordering a
bag supper and bedding for them, plus creating a checklist for the other senior
missionaries who helped at Transfers so we would not miss an essential task. May I say that all these things were not done
to perfection, for example, for the Devotional Calendar, I often scheduled seniors
to give the thoughts on days they were not going to be in the office. Those days we just had a prayer, or we
skipped the devotional. Not the best
days…
Some of
the best days in the mission were days when the mission office had visits from
the missionaries. We particularly loved
the monthly Mission Leadership Council days because all the zone leaders would
come into the office to pick up the supplies their zone needed for the next
month. We got to know them on a more
personal level. So sweet. Of course not all missionary visits were were
fun and games. Once President handed me paper
with a list of questions on it, asked me to duplicate it, and to give it to a
companionship that was going to be arriving in the office shortly. These questions were about they were doing
with some of the more basic mission rules.
When I saw it, I got a funny feeling.
When the first missionary came out of the office I could see that the
interview had not been a happy one.
After a bit I had the impression I should bring the missionary a glass
of water. Which I did. And then felt I
should ask one or two questions. Which I
also did. By the time the companion
returned the first missionary seemed to be on an even keel again. I have no idea of any specifics of the missionary
problem, but do know that the Holy Ghost helped me help that missionary.
Not
all phone interactions were happy ones.
The first time a call came in from a very angry man, very angry, I did
not know how to handle that man’s problem. I actually did the wrong thing,
which I won’t tell you about, but I did learn that it is important to just
listen, let the person vent, then assure them that we would do our best not to
have the same thing happen again.
Another time, actually two times, a person called about a Little Free
Library where missionaries were placing missionary tracts and Books of
Mormon. It turns out that NO religious
literature of any denomination is allowed in the Little Free Library. Once we got the word out to the missionaries
to stop doing it, I am confident they did stop.
At least we had not more phone calls about that particular pecadillo. Our missionaries are so enthusiastic and
anxious to serve that sometimes…
I
learned many things while serving with Bob as a full time missionary.
First
and foremost, I learned that God, our loving Heavenly Father, is totally aware
of each one of us and helps us according to our needs every single day. We could not have done the work without His
strengthening enlightening care. For
example, our first apartment was an upstairs apartment with seventeen stairs,
uncovered, with only one railing. The
first winter was a little rugged in that the stairs were sometimes icy and
scary. I never did fall down them, but
it was a concern. Just before our second
winter another missionary couple in our apartment complex had to go home for
surgery. We got to move into their
ground floor apartment. What a blessing
that was. Another experience where He
blessed me was when I needed to take the train to a store in central Portland
to pick up some flags. I was quite
nervous about this trip…when would I get off the train, how would I get to the
store, would it be too far to walk, what would the train ride be like? As it happens, I was prompted to put an app
on my phone with Portland street maps, the train schedules and routes, etc on it.
I had no problems at all on that trip, even though it took me nearly
three hours start to finish. Fortunately
there were other missionaries in the office who handled the phones in my absence…and
had very few calls to distract them from their own work!
Another
thing I learned is that personal goals are such a great idea. They are even better ideas if we create a
plan on how to achieve each of these goals.
I left Vermont with several personal goals. I worked hard hard hard every day, (we both
did) and came home to Vermont with all of these goals in exactly the same place
as when we left . Of course, they were
rather selfish goals: I planned to lose
a lot of weight (instead I gained 30 pounds—though by the time we left I had
lost twenty of that when I did have a plan!).
I wanted to complete the writing of my culinary memoir and give it to my
editor here in the ward so I could send it to a publisher by the end of the
mission. Not done. Another selfish goal was to learn to do
really good watercolor paintings. I did paint a few rather hokey paintings, but
not having a plan, and quite frankly, arriving back at the apartment at the end
of each day, I was so completely wiped out that I mostly just sat in a chair
building up energy to get into bed.
One
goal I had that I did accomplish because I had a plan was that every day I read
at least one chapter in the holy scriptures.
Often much more. That made me
happy. Now in the Gospel Library app on
our phones there is a Study Plans module where we can create a plan to
accomplish our particular scripture study goals. Such a help.
Part
of the planning to succeed in personal goals is to plan to work hard every day,
every single moment to accomplish the goals.
No slacking off. No breaks. I did
very well on the eating goals, for a few days but not consistently. Consistency would have brought a totally
different result. Fast food is a curse.
Another
important thing that I learned more completely is that the Holy Ghost helps us
will all our needs. So often I had
impressions that I should do something or even say particular words. When I acted immediately, good things
resulted.
For
an example, one Saturday we were at home
and I received a call requesting help in giving a blessing. I discovered that the missionary elders
assigned to that hospital were all away at a meeting at that time. I called
someone in the local ward but no one was home.
I had the impression that I should keep trying and finally multiple
calls later I was able to text back the brother with the number of someone who
could assist. A week later I received a text message telling me of the
outcome. This little six-week old boy
had had one lung collapsed and only about 1/3 of the other lung
functioning. He had been on a CPAP
machine to keep him breathing. When his
uncle texted me, the little baby was alert and laughing and had a healthy pink
skin color. So sweet to hear that. It made me realize how important it is to
listen to the Spirit and act on His promptings even if it is inconvenient. Also
how important to report back to people who make requests.
Several
times in scripture we read of someone, usually a father or grandfather, giving
counsel or blessings to his children and grandchildren before parting. Because this talk is both a homecoming as
well as a farewell talk, I would like to share a few words with you. Words that I have been trying to live by, my
whole life but more specifically this past two years. Please accept them as words of love, from
someone who cares for you very much. When our mission president asked us to
share our testimonies in the final zone conference we were in Portland I gave
some pretty similar messages to our wonderful missionaries.
1. Be kind always.
2. Work hard every day. Every single day.
3. Keep the commandments of our Father in Heaven.
Every one of those commandments is important. He gave them to bless your life.
4. Immerse yourself in the scriptures daily. Not
only will you learn scriptures stories and be strengthened by them, you will
receive personal revelation on how to run your own lives.
5. Counsel with the Lord in all your doings
(just another way to say, pray often) and He will direct you.
6. Don't eat the "king's food".
(Remember Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego). I did eat the king's food.
It was a really big mistake. Instead, eat the wonderful foods our Father in
Heaven has given us as delineated in Doctrine and Covenants 89, the Word of Wisdom.
7. Don't take another sip of those sugary, and
fake sugary, beverages that you love so much. They are poison and will wreck
your bodies. Instead, drink clean pure water, also a gift from Heavenly Father.
8. Serve others continually. In every way you
can. And remember, in the ways you can,
not how your sister or brother or neighbor serves, but how you can serve.
9. Share your testimony of God’s goodness to
others often.
10. Be consistent in doing these things and you
will be happy and lifted up at the last day.
I
have come to know more certainly that God is our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and guides us
always.
I
know that Jesus Christ, His only begotten son, is our savior and redeemer, who
gave his life as a ransom for us, that we might become perfected in Him and
return to live with them one day.
Abiding by His example will bless our lives and the lives of those
around us.
I know that the Holy Ghost will guide us in all things we need. As we listen to that still small voice and
act on the impressions that come to us, we can make a difference for good.
I know that Joseph Smith, the young farm boy, did actually see
Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in vision, and through him the gospel of Jesus
Christ was restored to the earth as it had been in the days when Jesus walked
the earth himself.
I know that Russel M. Nelson leads and guides the Church today
through the direction of Jesus Christ.
I know that one day we can sit down together in their presence
in heaven. I hope we all live on the
same street there.
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Homecoming Talk link. Just click on it and it should take you right to the beginning of our part of the program. I did have sense enough not to record the full program...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/sndj2vpc99t2obm/homecoming%20talk%20first%20try.mp3?dl=0
