Happy September! We have our fall garland and gnomes out and life is good.
We started off the week with our Monday morning mission devotional and our zone presented. I got to give a brief introduction and then various zone members shared 3 to 4 minute messages about what they do and feel working their areas. Gary got to sing in a quartet and it went well. The whole presentation ended on time (most important) and everyone did a great job sharing the spirit of our diverse zone.
The rest of the day was interviews and then driving to Logan where we spent the night as I prepared for my colonoscopy the next day. Thank goodness those don't have to happen very often!
Tuesday we got home and got things ready for Wednesday interviews. We had great interviews, helped students try to solve their registration issues and then, most exciting, got to go to our first General Conference Choir rehearsal. Everyone was very excited and the majority showed up over half an hour early. We got to help get them all checked in and give them their music. One young service missionary was so cute. He said he couldn't check in because he had already turned his phone off so it wouldn't disrupt the rehearsal. We checked him in on our phones and let him through. There was just so much excitement to get started! The rehearsal was amazing. It is so fun to work with great choir conductors who know how to get choirs to sound amazing. We have lots of work to do, including memorizing all the music but it's going to be a fun month!
Thursday we went for a walk after the temple and it was almost cool enough for a sweater. It is always bittersweet when summer is winding down. It's been so hot that relief will be lovely but also, summer is so beautiful! We have loved how the flower gardens around Temple Square have filled in over the last few months.
The opposites are so fun in this bed
Overflowing with flowers
Friday night we went to the last Concert in the Park for the summer and it was a Polynesian family of musicians and dancers. The last thing they did was fire dance which was perfect since it was dark by then. It was a fun way to end the concert series for the summer.
Saturday we got to find out that our run of grandsons (6 in a row) will be ending. Blaine and Deanna did a gender reveal and it was all pink. We're all pretty excited for another girl in the family!
Today our Fast and Testimony meeting was just wonderful. One girl got up and talked about her journey out and then back into the church. A man who never really says much at all bore a beautiful testimony of the gospel and how it has helped him through so many challenges in his life as he moved from his home country, Sierra Leone, to several other places before ending up in Salt Lake. I listen to testimonies of people who have been through so many more challenges than I have and am just so impressed by their strength. Then I am reminded that their strength comes from the same place that I can receive strength and it is a wonderful, comforting thought to know that we are helped along every day by Jesus Christ. We love hearing the same types of stories from the students we talk to about how they have seen God's hand in their lives.
The reading we have been doing in Come Follow Me the past couple of weeks has been amazing as always. Helaman 5:12 is always a great reminder and worth many discussions. The stories of the Stripling Warriors always inspires and shows what undaunted faith can do. And then the story of Helaman's sons Nephi and Lehi show us how the power of God can change so many lives. When we put God's promises to the test, we always find that with Jesus Christ we can do anything, and that without him we are greatly handicapped. These students we talk with every day are figuring this out in their lives and are beginning to rely more on Jesus Christ and His gospel. We so love being part of this work!
We love you all!
Have a great week!
Elder and Sister Pack
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