Now That's Success!

Cultural Diversity

Today as I sat in Fast and Testimony Meeting, I pondered on the call we received to serve as Member Leadership and Support Missionaries in San Diego.  People would ask what that meant and we could only reply that we would serve where and how our president would ask.  We assumed that meant to go into a ward and build it in whatever way might be needed.  Upon meeting with President Schmitt he mused in our presence that he felt prompted to send us to one of two wards.  Then he called the stake president on speaker phone and asked him which and he replied, "Send them to 4th Ward."  In a previous blog you saw a photo of the chapel, a beautiful space that inspires awe just being there.  I still find great joy in
listening to the organ each week, even though it could be played with much greater skill.  But now, as we enter and worship we see more than a space and hear more than a beautiful instrument.  In 3 weeks we have discovered the inner city and its people, especially those who in one way or another are identified with the church.  As the Lord has promised, as you lose your life in serving others, you are blessed.  We are just in the beginnings of losing our life and learning to love these souls, even those who aren't the least bit interested in our finding them or sharing the gospel with them.

The above picture is of a building on a large portion of one block, surrounded by flags of many nations.  It appears to be a cultural center for Asian people.  As we drove by there were many children running around the outside of the building but within the fencing.  Many if not most of the properties in this area are fenced, even our beautiful chapel which sits in a neighborhood of small homes, each one surrounded by wrought iron fencing with apartment buildings interspersed with most first floor windows and doors covered with security bars.  Nearby is a commercial building that is occupied by an agency that works to help Africans assimilate.  The diversity is palpable.

 This is one example of the little homes we find as we look for people.  Some are much smaller, some are in nicely restored neighborhoods, but all are tiny homes built about mid-century.
We don't know who lives here but they have received a letter introducing ourselves, explaining why we are writing to them, followed by some basic information about the restoration of the church, focusing on the role Oliver Cowdery played in the translation of the Book of Mormon and then a picture of our beautiful chapel inviting them to join us, with our meeting times.  We hope they will be enticed.  When we visit a home like this they usually don't have a phone or they have not responded to our calls.

One family of at least three generations in our ward lives in this home.  With no ability to contact them by phone we have struggled to visit.  Finally we caught a man at home who appeared to have not washed his body or clothes since he became an adult and obviously did not live by the Word of Wisdom.  He dismissed us quickly.  The gospel once blessed his life.

This past week one of our assignments was to inspect the apartments of 5 sets of missionaries.
When we turned in our reports, which were all very good (we have obedient missionaries) we drove around San Diego Mesa Community College.  The mission office occupies what was once the institute building across the street from the campus full of large buildings, set literally on a mesa.  Below is the entrance with what we assume is the administration building in the foreground.  Many of the buildings are set on the edge of the canyon which is to the left of this picture.  Obviously, the campus demographics have changed in such a way that an institute was no longer viable in that location.                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Mesa Community College

 If you were to turn around from taking this picture and look exactly opposite from the campus you would see the beautiful canyon in the picture below.  This is only one of many, many canyons all over the city.  Sometimes a freeway follows the bottom of a canyon, or as in this case a road.  Many times the canyons are steep and deep, untouched and covered with greenery.  Everything around here seems much more green than in the Los Angeles area, but maybe that is because it is winter.  Only time will tell.  With the rain we have enjoyed

all this day, things will definitely be greener for

awhile and ducks in creek by our property will

be very happy.

Now lest you think we never do missionary work, below is a picture of Elder Smith on the left and Elder Sheppard.  We are hoping when transfer calls come this week neither will be moved.   Because of their diligence, most of the success we have had can be attributed to their help.  They helped us find a single mom with three boys who has come to church with us and expresses sincere desires to turn her life back to gospel living.  We have met with and taught a single man and his young adult son because they thought he would appreciate a relationship with a senior couple. They came to church today.  He  has been inactive since he was 17.  Another woman we are meeting with is a single mom with 4 children and she came to church today.  Our Muslim Egyptian friend did not come today but we will meet with him Tuesday to teach him that God is not just a "force" but a God with body, parts and passions.  Before this week is over we will have given two Family Home Evening lessons to our little families with the single moms, hopefully have convinced our wonderful Egyptian friend that God is a being with whom we can talk and our friendly inactive that he wants to come to church regularly.  Our work is what our returned missionary boys term "real mission work", looking in strange places for missing people, rejoicing when they return.  One last happy story.  At the end of our list of people to find yesterday afternoon was a convert of a few months.  He hadn't been to our ward for about a month.  We found him home, happy to see us, warm and friendly and going to the older singles ward in the area.  As we visited we could tell he understands gospel principles and is happy to be a Latter-day Saint.  That news will make the elders  smiles even bigger.  Now that is success!