First Month as Missionaries: still waiting to leave for Africa

Hello all,

We've been full-time missionaries for 4 weeks now. We are still in Utah, patiently waiting for our visas and travel plans to be issued for Africa. We were really hoping to be there by now, but it looks like February at the soonest. We heard our visas were approved in Zimbabwe on Dec. 20th, but the church hasn't received them back yet. We hope and pray it will be soon!

We have enjoyed doing several online training sessions with the Pecks, directors over temple construction missionaries and currently helping to complete the restoration of the Salt Lake Temple. We have a monthly Microsoft Teams meeting with all the worldwide temple construction missionaries. It's pretty cool, we can ask questions and learn from each other. We also visited with Elder Kurt and Sister Roberta Barraclough, temple construction missionaries at the Smithfield, Utah temple. The Barracloughs are from Ogden and have been kind to show us some of the expectations and tips of their weekly reports and historical records on the temple. We appreciate their tutelage! We were able to take the workers some donuts to show our appreciation for their work on our new future Cache Valley temple.

As full-time missionaries, we've tried to do daily service and attend the temple more often. Weekly we attend the Logan temple but have had the privilege of going to the Jordan River (to see my niece sealed) and Star Valley temples. We recently had the privilege of going to the Star Valley temple in Afton, Wyoming on Friday, Jan. 13th. We had the amazing opportunity of completing work for some of my pilgrim ancestors, Samuel Pratt 1670 and Mary Pratt 1771, from the British American colonies. Bruce really wanted to check out a small temple, about the same square footage (16,000 sq. ft.) as the one in Zimbabwe, we'll be assisting with. The Star Valley temple was beautiful with amazing stained glass artwork on the second floor. The flower motif is the "fireweed" which blooms after a fire in the Wyoming mountains.  What a wonderful analogy of how we are perfected and blossom after we've gone through and endured our trials and tribulations.  Because of its small size, there is only one of each kind of room, i.e. ordinance and sealing room, so the journey through the ordinances is very symbolic with smooth transitions.

We stayed in some fun cabin AirBnb's in Afton, Wyoming, and Lava Hotsprings, Idaho. It was a nice weekend to relax and enjoy our companionship and study. I got to ride moose! We still continue to have fun together and laugh. 

Afton, Wyoming: famous antler arch (Jan. 13-14, 2023)

Ian and Rachel with their children, Rocky and Rigby officially moved into our home on Dec. 26th. They've got our home and kitchen so organized. My pantry, cupboards, and spices have never been so neatly arranged! Bruce and I were watching T.V. and noticed now we have surround sound!  Ian's taking on the Airbnb and utility accounts. He has everything in Excel, organized in an orderly manner. No wonder he is Ph.D. bound!  We've loved sharing our home and having grandchildren here. It's been really fun and enjoyable for us. 

Ian, Rocky, and Rigby Anderson; we love getting our daily hugs and kisses!

We've loved being able to watch some of our beautiful grandchildren every week and enjoy the cutest toddlers in the world. They are so fun and like sponges in everything they learn and repeat. My heart melts every time I hear them call me "grandma".

Best buddies, Max and Rocky, two-year-old grandsons

Playing hide and seek and making forts with Aria

Rigby and Grandma "selfie"; I love watching this sweet baby!

Too much fun playing with Rocky's construction trucks and "diggers"!

I went to lunch with some amazing friends, all managers/leaders in the women's and newborn services at Logan Regional Hospital. These ladies really give their all to ensuring the best possible care and experiences for their patients. I love their friendship and untiring dedication to the nursing field. I've loved retirement, but do miss my dear friends and attending deliveries to see the amazing miracle of life every day.

Margo Christensen, Lactation; Kelly Clark, NICU; Holly Duncan, Mother/Baby, postpartum; Georgette White, L&D/Director, and myself, previous NICU manager. Jan. 13th, celebrating Kelly and Georgette's birthdays.

Bruce has been very good to write our mission president weekly and summarizing our week as missionaries. He's been a great companion, as always!  I feel closer to the scriptures as we prioritize studying them daily, marking them, and reading "Preach my gospel." There is real power in wearing the "badge" daily too. I feel like I need to be on my best behavior! I find myself trying to be more patient and friendly to strangers in stores etc. I try to be more loving and forgiving to family and friends.  I am a representative of Jesus Christ and follow his example. The more I study, I realize the gospel is really mainly about LOVE. I wish everyone could know how much God loves us and knows each of us individually.

We watched the best documentary called "Mully" in Kena, Africa. He saves thousands of orphans and street children. Wow, what a true example of Christ-like love and faith. I place him in the category of Mother Teresa and Father Gregory Boyle, some of our heroes. It was cool to watch and give us hope we can help in a small way to bring blessings to the African people too.

Here's a quick review of our missionary calling:

Temple Construction: We will be able to work on the actual construction site; wearing a hard hat and jeans; helping to fellowship the local workers. I’ve always loved photography, and I’ll be able to take time-lapse photos of the temple construction progress. We’ll also write bi-weekly reports of the progress and spiritual experience we encounter. Before the dedication, we will compile a 20-page history, which will be placed in the cornerstone of the temple.  Bruce has construction experience, and he will assist in counseling and overseeing the safety and quality of the site as an assistant foreman/supervisor. We will also have a small trailer, which will act as a visitor center and office. We can hold devotionals and cottage meetings there, besides feeding the crew. We look forward to serving the people of Africa and helping bring the blessings of the temple to them.

 “Every temple construction is unique and has a wealth of special experiences that need to be recorded as a witness of the hand of the Lord in bringing to pass his marvelous plan.”

Pres. Nelson mentioned in General Conference this October, “With the dedication of each new temple, additional Godly power comes into the world to strengthen us and counteract the intensifying efforts of the adversary."

Isn’t it wonderful that over 300 temples are planned, in construction, or operating worldwide currently?  Sixteen of these temples are in Africa, including 3 new temples in the Congo. Africa is currently the fastest-growing country for new members of our church. Over the past 10 years, church membership has grown 121%. We are grateful to assist in building a temple; I believe everyone needs the blessings of the temple with the sealing power to bind our families for eternity.