A Change of Mission Presidents

        Last Friday, President & Sister Keyes came into the office for some last minute good byes and some final business.  We had bagels & other munchies to eat for them and Elders who came by.  This is Sister Keyes eating as we sat and visited.  President Keyes was finishing interviews in the office.  She has mixed emotions of going home, but also anxious to see her children, grandchildren, and her parents who are still living.  They left for Utah on Saturday.

        This is President & Sister Keyes, our Mission President.  I work as his secretary and he is absolutely a wonderful and spiritual giant.  We will miss them, but have totally enjoyed knowing them both.  This is in the office where we take pictures of the incoming missionaries.  I take the pictures.  So, I have to practice more and take good ones.

        This is our new President Vest and his wife, Sister Vest.  They arrived the same day that President Keyes and his wife left.  They had a few hours to transfer stuff and information.  The mantle has passed and President Vest is also a great man.  I feel so privileged to work under both of them.  The Vests are from Texas.  He has been a CEO of Kimberly Clark and in Mission Presidencies and Temple Presidency before.  They are both ready and anxious to get to work.  His philosophy is: Preach My Gospel, delegation, obedience (the key to personal revelation) and considering every individual as children of God and our brothers and sisters.

        This is one of the missionaries that came in the office that day.  His name is Elder Sanger.  So, I asked him if he was related to a Dan Sanger (Cheryl Nebeker's husband.)  He said, "Yes, he's my uncle."  I said, "well, I'm his aunt."   Then, of course, we had to talk.  Small world!  He's serving here in Missouri.

Some special people & our work

        These are the AP's.  Elder Moss & Elder Alvey.  They are absolutely fine young men.  They are outgoing and help us so much with our jobs.  They also have great and happy personalities.  They are like sons to us.

        This is a new member of our ward in Riverview.  He is Bede Azuka from Nigeria.  He heard about the church in Nigeria, but didn't take the time to learn about it.  Then, he went to school in the Ukraine.  It was there he kept thinking about the church and couldn't get it out of his mine.  He started to read the Book of Mormon and study.  His testimony is so strong.  He said, "nothing else matters when you know what is true.  You just have to give everything else up.  It's the only thing that is important."  He was so fun and happy when he bore this testimony.  We're grateful to have him in the ward.

        This is Elder Butz, Elder Fisihetau, Elder Maaelopa, & Elder Kaafi.  They were in the office yesterday and I just wanted a picture of some our foreign missionaries.  Elder Butz felt a little out of place, being from Highland, Utah.   Elder Fisihetau is from Utah, I'm not sure his nationality.  But, Elder Maaelopa is from Samoa and Elder Kaafi is from Tonga.  They are all great!!!!

        This is Brother Merchan from our Riverview Ward.  His wife is at boot camp.  So he needed help doing his home teaching.  We went with him to visit Sister Suzanne Milne, our Gospel Doctrine teacher.  She is moving to SLC to go to school and get her doctorate.  Great people.

        This is Sister Atwood with Pam Winters.  We met Pam last year.  We have taken her to work each weekend.  She used to work two jobs and still raise her son.  She is such a wonderful person and we just love her.

        This is Elder Atwood, hard at work figuring out where to put the next apartment in.  Yesterday, he had to drive across the mission and furnish two apartments he rented for the missionaries.  I was surprised the missionaries and him got it all loaded.  He is in charge of over 100 apartments.

        Sister Atwood is hard at work at her desk, where she spends most of her time these days.  She is here to help the President of the Mission have an easier job.  She takes care of all travel arrangements for all the missionaries, the Calendars, the History, Correspondence with parents, Packets, notebooks, and folders for each missionary, the Zone Conference Luncheons, and lots of questions from people who call everyday.  She is even learning more computer skills than she thought possible.

        We love you all and hope you enjoy reading any of these things.  Put comments in and we'll answer questions or write different things.  Our mission is wonderful, very busy, and We love the missionaries and especially the Gospel.  We are so blessed to have a knowledge of it and how we are supposed to live our lives.  God is so gracious and patient with us.  But, we must chose.  Time is important.  He will never force us; just plead with us and wait.  "Now, is the time to prepare to meet God, Behold the day of this life is the day to perform your labor."  May we all choose right.

Great Weekend

        Friday night, the VC had Susan Easton Black & George Durrant speak for a fireside evening.  They have both lost their spouse and were married last year.  They were each great as usual.  She has taught at BYU for 38 years and has a superb knowledge concerning Joseph Smith.  She spoke on the history of Nauvoo.  He has taught at UVU and institutes, written books, and has tapes which inspire millions with his humor and zeal for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Elder Atwood credits him for helping him get active in the church years ago.  He also performed the marriage of Joe Buck & Kati.  I think Jeff had her as a professor of History when he attended BYU.

        The top picture is the garden and yard of the historic Vaile Mansion here in Independence, MO.  It was owned by the Vaile family from eastern US who came to Independence to build a showplace on the western front.  They built it in the early 1880's.  It is fantastic, inside and out.  It is still a showplace.

        Elder Atwood is standing in front of it, showing the size and beauty of it.  We were here Saturday to participate in the annual Strawberry Day Festival where they have numerous booths set up around the yards, selling their wares.  Of course, they sell strawberries and Elder Atwood loved the desserts.  The Vaile Society keep up the mansion and use the money from the Festival to help.

        We took a tour through the mansion and were pleased.  It is all decorated and furnished in European style, (French) because Mrs. Vaile liked the style so well.  It cost $150, 000 to build it then.  It's worth over 8 million now.  It has 35 rooms, 14 fireplaces, bathtubs, and rooms for quests and servants.  It was so fun going through it.  The ceiling here has several layers of trim, just like originally.

        This is a cupboard with a crawl through for the butler.  It is between the dining room and the kitchen.  They also had closets in the bedrooms.  Closets cost more in taxes, but Mr Vaile didn't care about that.  He made his fortune with Government contracts for servicing the mail routes to the west, especially the Santa Fe Trail.

        Here are the booths.  There were many more, completely around the mansion.

        The missionaries in Independence were here to set up the main booths and to take down after the Festival was over.  They were a great help and the people of the community surely appreciate them coming.  There were ten Elders, but here is a picture of some.  Elders Fisihetau, Simonsen (ASL) Christensen, Crowton, and Nyholm.

        Two of the VC sisters attended also.  They even helped a little.  But here, they are enjoying the strawberry shortcake available for all.  Sister Jacobs is from Cedar Hills and knows the Fife family.  Sister Forbush is from Rexburg and a great pianist and singer.  We love all the missionaries!

       We ended the weekend with Stake Conference.  Saturday session included these missionaries here and many others attending the Independence Stake who each stood and told why they loved the members of the stake.  The Theme was on Missionary Work and it was great to hear one line from each of them.
        Sunday morning the Theme was on Keeping our Covenants.  President & Sister Keyes spoke for the last time in the stake because they are changing Mission Presidents the end of this month.  He always bears such a powerful testimony of Joseph Smith, Book of Mormon, President Monson, and the Savior Jesus Christ.  He truly knows that He lives and guides this church.

        President Cato concluded the Conference with his always powerful testimony.  He truly loves every member of the stake.  They know him and love him.  His friendly personality is matched by his strong testimony of Zion and it's place in the future.  He knows the Savior is coming!  He admonished us to prepare ourselves to meet Him!  He promised us that he would not fail us, nor fail his loving parents; that he prays everyday to give his whole heart and soul to this work.  He said, "we are battling Satan, who has filled the world with deceptions and evils that are threatening the spiritual lives of our brothers and sisters.  We must save one soul at a time.  That is our responsibility.  Nothing else matters than living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

New Apartment--New Jobs

        Yes, we have moved up the street and across the way to 207 East Sea Avenue.  It is much nicer and all six apartments in this building are rented for Senior Couples serving missions by the church.  It is nice to have the association of these couples.  We were alone, now we're by others.  We have FHE each Monday evening together taking turns.  Our turn is next Monday.

        Here is Sister Atwood moving some of her things into the apartment six-plex.  It was certainly an easy move since we don't have much to move.  It is furnished, so we really only have our clothes and personal items.  We did move our Queen Bed, because Elder Atwood is now in charge of Housing and we wanted to keep it.  Older people need good beds!

        This is our living room, much bigger than before and even decorated with lovely pictures and two recliner chairs.  We are really fortunate.  We are on the top floor so we can get unwanted exercise.

        This is down the hall with a lovely picture of Moroni burying the plates.  The two bedrooms are at the end of the hall.  We use one for sleeping and the other as a study.  We do have a queen bed in the study in case someone comes to visit.

        We now work in the office.  We still attend our little Riverview Ward, but can't do the visits as much.  We are grateful for the experiences there, because it helps us appreciate all the hard working missionaries.  We also have met many choice people.  In the office we work with these three other couples.  Elder & Sister Haws are in charge of Finance and Baptisms & Mailing.  Elder and Sister Lillywhite (training us) are in charge of Secretary & Housing.  Elder & Sister Rasmussen are in charge of Cars & Medical.  We are now taking the Lillywhites place.  They left two days ago to return to their place near Logan, Utah.

   
        This is Elder Atwood and Elder Lillywhite.  They are great friends.  He is such a worker.  He always runs to do things.  His age hasn't slowed him down at all!

        This is the Lillywhites together.  She has trained my well.  She was an excellent secretary.  I have still much to learn.  It is a huge job and many and varied responsibilities.  Now, I'm alone and working harder than I think I ever have.  But, I really enjoy the work!  I always wanted to be a secretary and never have been.  Now I've jumped into the fire!
        We love all of you and the gospel and Our Savior more than we can ever explain.  This is a special place in history (past, present, and future.)  I just hope we will all give to the Lord our Heart and Strength.  When He comes, we really want to meet Him and be like Him.  He gives us so many chances and opportunities.  But, our choice is clear and the time to make that choice is NOW!
        Love, Elder & Sister Atwood

Temple Day for Zone Conference

          Here we are at a Zone Conference at lunch time.  We had half of our missionaries on this day and half the day before.  This is Elder Kiene and Santa Cruz, two of the missionaries that worked with us in Riverview Ward.  They have both been transferred, but it was nice to see them here.

        This is President Keyes and his wife (in red).  They are sitting by President Hepworth and his wife, the first councilor.  He spoke on families and the importance of being sealed as families in the temple.  Then, we walked across the street to the Kansas City Temple where all of us went through an endowment session.  It was a most wonderful day!

       
         This is Sister Jarman.  She twisted her ankle and had to be on crutches.  She didn't want to be on crutches going to the temple.  But, sometimes you just have to bear the consequences.

This is Sister Atwood, Sister & Elder Butler, Elder & Sister Angel, Sister & Elder Brenchley, just some of the Senior Missionaries serving in the Missouri Independence Mission.

President's Devotional Fireside

We had our bi-monthly Devotional Fireside at the Historic Liberty Jail tonight.  The first Sunday of the month, we meet at the Visitor's Center and the third week we meet here at the Historic Liberty Jail.  Recent converts bear their testimonies and Sister & President Keyes speak to us.

        Here is a random picture of some of the people attending.  Most of these are the Sisters serving in the mission.  Sister Keyes is the sweet lady in pink.  President Keyes is talking in the background.  They have only 6 weeks left before Mission Presidents change.  They have and are still doing an incredibly wonderful job for all of us here.

        This is Barbara.  She joined the church one year ago.  She went to visit a quilting friend in Oklahoma who just happened to be Mormon.  So, she attended church with her.  That was all it took.  She felt like she was, "coming home."  Her friend told her to contact the missionaries when she returned home.  But, she was too shy and uncertain.  Then, when Sister Erickson and her companion passed by her home, she couldn't get them into her home fast enough.  She just wanted to know more and more.  She is still learning as much as she can, while she serves as her Ward Missionary, Visiting Teacher Supervisor, and does lots of Indexing.  She is getting ready to go to the Temple for her Endowments.  The Gospel has given her so much to live for and enjoy.

        This is Jessica with her three daughters.  Her mother was born into the church but not active.  Jessica began searching for a church where she could bring up her daughters in good religious beliefs.  Then, the missionaries came to her mother's home to teach her again the doctrines of the church.  Jessica wasn't really interested, but as her daughters began to ask questions about Jesus, she began to listen.  Her mother is now active and Jessica was baptized a month ago.  She says, "it is where I belong."  The most important thing to her is to teach her daughters the right pathway back to their Heavenly Father.

        These three young men weren't bearing testimony.  They are here for the summer working for Vivint, installing alarm systems.  But, Elder Haines on the left, was a missionary who served here under President Keyes a year ago.  It was great to see him back.  He attended the Riverview Ward where we attend.  It was the last area he served in.  All three of them are returned missionaries.  Three of our own sons worked for Vivint also.




        We ended with a powerful Testimony from President Keyes.  He talked about testimonies and said many important things about their power to affect others and ourselves.  He mentioned a story of when he served in this same mission 40 or so years ago.  He and his companion entered the home of a scripturally well read man.  The man listened politely and then said, "I have studied extensively and have come to the conclusion that if the church was restored again to the earth, it would have to have these points."  He proceeded to list and tell each point the church would have to have to be TRUE. At each point, Elder Keyes and his companion said, "yes, our church has that."  Finally, he said, "it has to also have direct Priesthood Authority from Jesus Christ himself."  At that point, Elder Keyes's companion, pulled out his Line Of Authority paper and showed him his direct line to Jesus Christ.  The man was astounded.  He joined.  It was a wonderful testimony of how TRUE the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is.  It is absolutely the Church  that Jesus Christ came personally to the earth to restore.  It is His Church!  I know this as sure as I live.  I'm blessed to be a member.

Another Baptism in Riverview Ward

        This is Michelle & Tony Davidson.  They were married in the church last week by Bishop Munger.  They have been taught the Missionary Lessons and have a strong desire now to go to the temple.  They are working together for that goal.

        This is Elder Kiene who baptized Tony.  Several of the missionaries had been involved with the teaching of this family, including the two sister missionaries.  In fact, the whole ward has been very helpful in fellowshipping them.  Elder Kiene was one of the first missionaries we worked with and was able to come back to the area to baptize Tony.

        These three missionaries are now serving in our area:  Elder Huston and Elder Elwood, both from Arizona, Daniel, who was just baptized last week, and Elder Brasseaux from Utah.  Daniel was at this baptism and was ordained to the Priesthood on Sunday.  He was so excited to be ordained.  The Young Men in the ward are very good to fellowship him.

        This is the Tollefson family with Elder & Sister Atwood.   Sister Tollefson is the Choir Director and the Seminary Instructor.  Brother Tollefson is the Ward Clerk and just passed his Medical Tests to become a Doctor.  They are a great asset to the ward and we love them.  The baby is Krista, and she looks just like our grandson, Bowen Atwood.  So, we're right at home.