Separate Worlds

    For the full time missionaries in the church, they keep track of time differently than the rest of us. Their calendar is based on when new elders and sisters arrive, and those who've completed their mission depart, which is every six weeks. They call this important day in the mission a "transfer". Senior couples are asked to inspect their apartments and vehicles right before a transfer, and the mission president leads a zone conference during each six week period. 
    Cathy inspected apartments, and as a former maid at a hotel in Yosemite NP, she passed on some wisdom and tips how to keep their living space clean where the spirit can dwell. The bathrooms needed a lot of work, so she was able to make a real difference in their lives by correcting them as needed, but with love, doing her thankless assignment exceptionally well. 

    We attended our first zone conference yesterday, and it was another one of those eye opening experiences we've come to expect since we arrived here. We assumed zone conference was for everyone, including the senior couples, but we were the only ones which actively participated along with the young elders and sisters. We were able to meet our mission president and his wife for the first time, along with the missionary leaders. We were blessed to feel the spirit, get inspired instructions on how the mission was going to use Facebook effectively as a finding tool, and simply learn more about what is expected of the young elders and sisters - so we can understand what we need to do to help them succeed. 


    Unless we make a conscious effort otherwise, the young full time missionaries and the senior couple missionaries will operate like separate and distinct solar systems within the same universe. But it does not have to be this way, it's certainly not what we were taught at the MTC, because it's a cultural thing. Only if we take the initiative to go outside our own comfort zone, do more than the minimum or what is usually done, then we can grow and progress, and we will fulfill our calling as representatives of Jesus Christ.  The simple rule of thumb we use every day in all we're trying to do is from Moroni 7:16, "every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God."  

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