Much has happened this week. Elder and Sister Gowans made it to our mission Tuesday Evening. It was so good to see them. Their apartment is in our complex so we are neighbors. Elder Berry spent the day at their apartment waiting on a furniture delivery. It finally arrived after 5PM then Elder Berry started frantically assembling it before the Gowans arrived but didn't make it. Although it rained hard all day when the Gowans arrived it was like a ray of sun was shinning through. No the furniture wasn't finished but with Elder Gowans help the job was quickly finished.
Welcome Elder and Sister Gowans
They woke up in Knoxville, Tennessee Tuesday morning, drove to Columbia, South Carolina to the mission home, interviewed and had lunch with the Mission President and wife, then drove to Augusta, Georgia. Their assignment is Grovetown Ward and Military Relations at Fort Gordon. Wednesday morning they were at Zone Conference with smiles and ready to get to work.
Elder and Sister Holm
We always enjoy Zone Conference. The Elders got started at 9AM but the Seniors don't arrive until 10AM. The Conference goes until 4PM with a lunch break. The North Augusta Ward provided the lunch and it was delicious. To show our appreciation the Missionaries all stood and sung to them Armies of Helaman. The Sisters expressed their joy at having the opportunity of serving the Missionaries. It brings tears to the eyes to see how happy and dedicated these sisters are in serving so hard by preparing, serving and cleaning up after all these missionaries without pay but serve because they love the Lord and love his missionaries. They radiated love for us. Many topics were discussed and we received much training. Sister Holms did some training on etiquette, table manners and that sort of thing. The Zone Leaders and Assistants to the President gave training and we did lots of role playing. We were encouraged to use the Book of Mormon more in our approach and to answer questions. The theme of the meeting was to encourage everyone to repent and be obedient in order to be more effective missionaries. We were encouraged to be "The Fourth Missionary." We were given a handout which describes the four types of missionaries. The first missionary is disobedient and does what he wants to do and doesn't last a full mission. The second missionary is disobedient, he does what he wants to do , he is dishonest, his frame of mind is to do what he wants without getting caught, but he serves entire mission. The third missionary is obedient and worthy, does his duty, serves faithfully, but withholds his heart, does what the Lord wants, but he wants to do what he wants to do, measures success by comparison, and his frame of mind is to not cross the line. The third missionary does great good but is not changed by mission. The fourth missionary is obedient and worthy, total surrender, consecrates himself, charity, disciple of Christ, measures success from within, his dominant desire is to do what the Lord wants him to do, and frame of mind is faith in Christ, to do what Jesus would do.The fourth missionary does great good, gains great knowledge and benefits immensely and is changed by mission. Although we are a senior couple we know we can strive to become a fourth missionary couple. As we served the remainder of the week we strived to become the fourth missionary and will continue to do so for the remainder of this mission. We will study harder, use the Book of Mormon as we visit families, and seek out Heavenly Father's children who have gone astray.
One of the highlights of our week was a visit on Monday from Elder Berry's sister, Ann, and her husband, Conrad, from Atlanta, Georgia. Even though it was short we had a great visit. Today at church I talked to a young married girl named Kinsey. She is from Atlanta and her husband is going to school in Augusta. She grew up in Elder Berry's sister Marys ward and knows all her family well. It's a small world in the church. We hope when Kinsey returns home for a visit with her family she will report to Elder Berry's sister and family that we are "the fourth missionary couple."
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