Our Missionaries Come in All Sizes!

Meet Elder Hawkins and Hermana Melindez, two of our awesome missionaries.

Our First Week

We have finished our first week in the Madrid temple. It was a difficult, and an amazing week.  We work seven hour shifts without a break.  This last week we worked mornings which means we get up at 5:30, and you all know I am not a morning person.  However, we managed to get to bed fairly early, which is a real change, and I did amazingly well, especially with jet-lag. We work really hard, as this temple is short handed in the extreme.  The local workers are not known for their promptness, or for letting people know when they cannot be here.   A stake in Portugal was here this last week but they did not bring the assigned workers with them.  I have been so impressed how just a handful of sisters are able to get the work done.  I have struggled because of my lack of language.  Most of the sisters are able to do the ordinances in all four languages (Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian) and some can do it in Russian. I feel pretty inadequate.  I am, however, able now to perform the ordinances in Spanish.  I'm slow, but others say my pronunciation is impeccable. I owe that to Greg.  He has drilled me for months on my pronunciation, and he is extremely picky about it.  I was feeling a little agrivated at him, but now I am so grateful he drilled me so hard.  I just wish he had drilled me as hard on my vocabulary.

The temple work here is so much more complicated. As I said before, we are very short handed.  There have been between 8 and 15 women, at the most.  In Boise we had about 45 women doing the same amount of work.  So we run all day trying to cover all the bases.  The temple is about twice the size of Boise, so that is a lot of running.  It is also mentally exhausting because we can have patrons speaking 4 or more languages in the same sessions.  I am so beat by the end of the day just because I am so tired of trying to communicate with people whose language I don't know. The temple also has to be much more flexible than I am used to.  

This week a large group of people from Portugal came and stayed in the hostel here for the whole week.  Apparently they come one to four times a year.  They go to the temple every day, all day long.  They do one session after another after another, and any other ordinances they can fit in.  There are so many who are in very poor health, and yet they insist on being in the temple every day.  I assisted an elderly lady who had cancer and will surely not live much longer.  She was blind from her chemo, she was bald and looked so tired and weak.  She was the sweetest woman, and it made me feel really bad for not appreciating the temple enough when it was so easy for me to go.  These people do not make excuses.  One woman had to be taken to the hospital after spending 8 hours or more in the temple.  One of the other workers said she thought she was suffering from heart failure.  I'm told many come from so far away and there are many handicapped who continue to serve with all their strength.  I love these people so much.

I have never been kissed by so many people in my whole life.  Most of them are complete strangers, but they are the huggingest, kissingest, people in the world. Almost everyone who enters the temple wants to hug and kiss me when they come and hug and kiss me when they go.  My first Sunday in church a young teenage boy greeted me with a kiss on each cheek.  That's something you don't see at home.

The temple president and his wife are the kindest nicest people I have ever met.  I have never felt so loved and appreciated. I am very sad that they will be going home in October or November. When President Tenney set us apart as ordinance workers he gave us the most beautiful blessings we have ever had.  I felt very overcome, and even Greg was crying.  That alone was worth the trip over.  The other counselors and their wives are also very loving and kind.  One of the couples is French, and the other are Spaniards. The French, the Payas, speak English, and I am very grateful. The Somozas do not speak English. He will be our next temple president. I'm a little worried about the language barrier. 

 I thought I knew enough Spanish to get by, but I was never so wrong.  I can put a few sentences together if I think about it, but I cannot understand a word these people say.  There are so many versions of Spanish, and many of them don't sound the least bit familiar.  Besides that, these people did not read the text book I did, and they don't ask the questions they are supposed to ask so I can give them the correct answer.  They have minds of their own, and never ask the questions I know the answer to.  Go figure!  I thought they would be better prepared for my arrival. (Just kidding.)

The other missionaries are great.  There are 7 American couples.  We work with 3 of them on our shift. The others are on the other shift, so I haven't gotten to know them nearly as well, but they are very friendly and have been quite welcoming to us.  I am so grateful to have a few English speaking people I can turn to when I am really in need.  There is a very sweet single sister in her 80s on our shift.  This is her third mission.  She is amazing and has helped me so much.  Then there is Anna Mancini.  We met on the first day we reported in Salt Lake.  We had been asked to meet her that morning and help her find her way and try to make her feel less stressed.  She is 70 years old, and a very interesting lady.  She speaks 5 languages fluently.  She was born in Italy, and lived there until she was 8 years old.  Then her family moved to Brazil where she learned Portuguese. She also lived in Barcalona studying art, and in Paris, where she learned French and Spanish.  She also lived in Japan for 10 years but did not learn Japanese.  She now lives in San Diego, CA, and speaks very good English.  We have become close friends, and I love her dearly.  She loves to cook and is excellent at it.  She had us over for dinner today and prepared a beautiful meal.  I'm afraid she is going to want to feed us every Sunday, and I feel guilty.  I have not yet learned how to shop for groceries here, and don't have the facilities I'm used to, so our meals are very simple and usually cold.

We have not seen much of the city yet.  We have mostly been trying to get settled into our apartment, and find the things we need to be comfortable. I am having a little trouble with all the walking.  It is so much work to get anywhere that by the time we arrive we are exhausted, especially if we go after a shift.  Most of our outings away from the complex will be on Mondays when the temple is closed.  Tomorrow we plan on taking the hop-on-hop-off bus around the city, and maybe going to the Prado if we are not too tired.  Anna is going with us.  Saturday night the couples that are on our shift went out to dinner together.  They chose TGI Fridays, and I was thrilled to know there was one here.  The area where the restaurant is, was so beautiful that I am anxious to go there on our own with my camera. The architecture here is amazing!  I love the "old world!"  We just don't have this kind of history and architecture in the states.  Everyone has been talking about the trips they took over the two week break when the temple was closed.  They all had amazing trips.  We have a good long list of places we need to see.  I hope we get to at least a few of them.

We miss our family, we are over worked, we don't have the creature comforts we are used to, and I am lost without speaking Spanish, but we have never been happier.  We are so privileged to be here.  We are so grateful for this opportunity and so grateful for the gospel in our lives.  We feel the blessings constantly.  We are so grateful for our family and for our friends who have been so supportive. 

Our 480 square feet of Living

Kitchen/living room/dining room 

Outside apartment and Tristake Center

Bedroom 

View at end of hall

Bathroom

View out living room window

Hallway of missionary apartments

Our front door

It has been a busy weekend getting settled into our apartment. Shopping isn't easy without a car. We have been to so many stores to find the things we need and then we have to haul it all home in our arms.  We finally got this nifty shopping cart. We have walked so many miles sice we arrived.  We have taken the subway and the bus system, but haven't had success finding a few things. We will keep looking. My Spanish is terrible!  I can't understand a thing. Three hours of church was torture when I did not understand anything.  Greg tried to translate for me, but since he doesn't know how to whisper, I had to shut him down. Tomorrow will be our first day in the temple. I can't wait to see inside. 

Training

We have had a wonderful 3 days.  There was nothing new, but it was a great spiritual high anyway.  Everyone has been so kind to us.  The trainers were fantastic.  We loved them so much.  Brother and Sister Walker.  He was a former mission president, a former president of the Salt Lake Temple,  and the former  president of the England MTC in Preston. He is the sweetest man ever and had so many wonderful stories to tell us.  She is oldest daughter of President Hinckley.  She was so much fun and had all kinds of great stories about the prophet that husband just kept pulling them out of her.  She seemed a little reluctant to talk about him, and was worried that we would grow tired of her personal stories, but we couldn't get enough.  

Over lunch one day I asked her to tell me the story of how she and her husband met.  They were both widowed, and had no plans to remarry.  His daughter went to her and begged her to go out to dinner with her dad.  It was a really cute story.  Then he told the story of trying to get an appointment to see her dad, the prophet and ask for her hand in marriage.  When he asked to talk to the prophet church security was at his side immediately insisting to know what he wanted.  He was embarrassed when he finally had to tell them what he wanted.  The head of security said, "Well, why didn't you say so!"  We were all laughing so hard.  

Today her gave us a tour of the temple, and it is amazing.  Since they are not allowed to give tours of the temple we called it a "walk about."  This temple is 260,000 square feet!  They perform 5500 marriages a year.  Do the math on that!  They have 3500 ordinance workers.  It is the most complex temple in the world. It is an amazing system they run there.  They have their own water well, and supply, and their own generators.  They have wood working shops and all kinds of other crafts down below for repairing and maintaining the temple.  We saw the room where Talmage lived in the temple while he wrote “Jesus The Christ.”  the whole experience was so great.  We hated for the 3 days to end.  But we are excited to fly out in the morning.  Not excited about the trip, but excited about the landing.  

Sunday June 15, 2014

We are now in Salt Lake and staying in the beautiful Radison Hotel.  We report tomorrow morning at 8:00 am to the Salt Lake Temple. This has been an amazing week as we prepared to leave.

Last Sunday we had our farewell, and open house, and were set apart as missionaries by President Ahlquist, a very great man.  We were supported by so many family members and good friends.  I was so touched by all those who took the time to be with us on this very special occasion. Before the president set us apart, he took the time to have all those attending say anything they would like.  As each person spoke my heart was so full of love and appreciation for each of them, and gratitude over my privilege to know them.  

The week has been busy as we were finishing our packing, and taking care of last minute business. We are so blessed to have my sweet sister Lynn and her husband Gordon stay in our home while we are gone. Lynn is handling our banking, mail, and other business, which we appreciate more than we can say.  We have no children living in the state, and it would have been difficult to manage everything without her.  I was able to have several "Sister Dates" with Mary and Lynn.  I love them both so much and so appreciate all the love, and support I get from them. It was very hard to say goodbye.  It was also very hard to say goodbye to my mother.  

Our Utah kids and grand kids met us in Salt Lake last night and had dinner with us.  We celebrated Fathers Day together at that time.  It was awesome to see them and get one last hug from each one.  The ones who live in California and Connecticut we had to say farewell to in April.  It already seems so long since we saw them last. We are blessed with such an wonderful family and we will miss them all.

Today we attended church at the JSM building. It was very nice and we felt a strong spirit there. Afterwards we walked around Temple Square and enjoyed the beauty there and the special spirit on that sacred ground.  We met a young sister missionary from Spain and we had a fun conversation. 

We are so grateful to be called as missionaries. It has been our dream all of our married lives to serve as missionaries someday.  Someday is finally here.  We couldn't be more excited or happy.  We are grateful for everyone who made it possible. We love The Lord and feel honored to serve Him.

Mission Calls

Madrid Countdown

For those of you who have inquired, here's what we will be doing BEFORE we leave for Madrid on Thursday June 19: We have only 3 days of training in the Salt Lake Temple beginning on Monday the 16th.

We will be trained in the administration of the Temple and it's operation. We do not attend the MTC

(Missionary Training Center). We fly to Madrid on June 19. We will be living in the apartments for Temple missionaries just 50 meters from the Temple entrance. I have posted a few photos of the Temple and apartments located on the temple "square" in Madrid. Con amor! Elder and Sister Waite

Setting Apart

The new missionaries!

With President Alquist.

With the children who were there.

The family there for the setting apart.

Liz's Farewell Talk 6/8/2014

Good morning Brothers and Sisters. I am really excited for this day to finally arrive. We have planned our mission for over 43 years, and received our call over 7 months ago. We are very excited that we will be serving in Madrid Spain in the Madrid Temple. We will be serving in the sacred house of the Lord 5 days a week, feeling that very special spirit that is always present, and serving our brothers and sisters from Spain, Portugal, France and Italy who are assigned to the Madrid Temple. It is the largest temple in Europe, and has the 3^rd largest temple square in the world, with Salt Lake, and Los Angles in first and second. We will be living on temple square and walking a meer 50 yards to work each day. We are also grateful for family and friends who have made the effort to be with us today. Four of our eight children are here from Utah and Texas, and we are very touched by their sacrifice to show their support. We love them very much.

I have a few thoughts that I want to share with you today. God's plan for us has always impressed me. It is very simple. I can remember my father teaching me this principle when I was a little girl, as he was also very impressed, as a convert, that Our Heavenly Father loved us so much. My favorite scripture is 2^nd Nephi chapter 2 verses 24-25 "But Behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy."

Joseph Smith said, "Happiness is the object and design of our exsistance; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue that path that leads to it...."

Every parent wants their children to be happy. It is our primary goal. We understand that certain rules and principles are neccesary for happiness to be gained and maintained. We do our best to steer them in the direction that has the best potential for sustained happiness.

I want to talk about the 3 principles that I believe must be practised in order to be happy. The first is Gratitude.

Joseph F Smith said, "The grateful man sees so much in the world to be thankful for, and with him the good outweighs the evil. Love overpowers jealousy, and light drives darkness out of his life. Pride destroys our gratitude and sets up selfishness in its place. How much happier we are in the presence of a grateful and loving soul, and how careful we should be to cultivate, through the medium of a prayerful life, a thankful attitude toward God and man!"

D&C 59:7 reads, "Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things …."

Does God need our gratitude? Is Heavenly Father dependent on our grateful hearts? Does it make him wiser or more powerful? If not, why are we commanded to be grateful?

Joseph Smith, gave us the answer when he stated, "As God has designed our happiness- and the happiness of all his creatures, he never has – he never will institute an ordinance or give a commandment to his people that is not calculated in its nature to promote that happiness which he has designed."

Preseident Monson said, "Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God's love. To express gratitude is gracious and honorable, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven."

The second principle is Forgiveness.

I think we all understand the need to be forgiven. There is no one here who has not offended God or man. But what I want to talk about is the need to forgive others. This is an essential part of happiness.

Mathew 18:21-22 reads, Then Peter came to him and said, Lord how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say unto thee, until seventy times seven.

Often the one who offends us either does not know, or does not care, need or want our forgiveness. There can be offenses so much greater and horrible and out of proportion to anything you have ever done to another, so why is it so important to forgive? D&C 64:9 reads," He that forgiveth not his brothers trespasses standith condemed before the Lord, for it remainith in him the greater sin."

How could this be the greater sin? Because what we are actually saying is that we reject the atonement. It wasn't enough, it wasn't sufficient. There needs to be a greater price to pay. It is our acceptance of the attonement that ultimately saves us. It is easy for us to accept the fact that we can be forgiven through the attonement, but often we don't see how the attonement also satisfies our demand for justice against others, to fulfill our rights to restitution. It not only heals us from the guilt we suffer when we sin, but it also heals us from the sins and hurts of others. We may think that justice is far away. However, we can see the happy results of forgivness here and now. Happiness is the reward we receive now. Anger, resentment and hurt do nothing to punish the perpetrator. It is like drinking poison, and expecting the offender to die. Resentment, and anger is like a poison. It destroys our ability to be happy.

There are two sides to the attonement. We cant have faith in only one side. We must have faith in His power to save us from our sins, and, the power to pay the price for the sins of others. As forgiving others is a commandment, I remind you again what Joseph Smith said about commandments. God, "never has –He never will institute an ordinance or give a commandment to his people that is not calculated in its nature to promote that happiness which he has designed."

Now the last principle is LOVE.

In Mark 12 we read, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength; this is the first commandment."

Why would God command us to love Him? Well, he answers that. The Lord said, "These things I have spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."

That confirms what Joseph Smith said about commandments being designed for our happiness.

So how do we "Love the Lord"? John 14:15 reads. "If ye love me, keep my commandments." That seems pretty cut and dry. If we love him we keep his commandments, and if we keep his commandments they are designed for our happiness.

There is a much loved poem by Joy Allison, entitled:

Which Loved Best

 I love you Mother said little John

Then, forgetting his work, his cap went on.

And he was off to the garden swing

And left her the water and wood to bring.

 

I love you Mother said rosy Nell

I love you better than tongue can tell

Then she teased and pouted for half the day

till her mother rejoiced when she went to play

 

I love you Mother said little Nan

Today I'll help you all I can,

How glad I am that school doesn't keep

So she rocked the babe till it fell asleep.

 

Then, stepping softly, she fetched the broom,

And swept the floor, and tidied the room

Busy and happy all day was she,

Helpful and happy as child could be

 

I love you Mother, again they said,

Three little  childcren going to bed;

How do you think that mother guessed

Which of them really loved her best.

My mother parodied this poem once using the names of her children and using their typical behavior patterns. I have to say I did not come off looking good. I can't remember who loved her best, but it obviously was not me.

Awhile back I attended another ward in another stake where a talented speaker also pinned a parody of the famous poem. It went like this:

 

I love thee Lord, Prayed "Good-Time" Lars

Then he cheated on taxes and cheated at cards

He drove the car at double the limit

And cursed the cop who caught him in it

He kicked the dog, who yelped and ran

Then berated his wife like a "Manly" man

 

I love thee Lord, prayed Gracie Mae

Then got on-line for most of the day

She spread the news, and some of it true

About her friends and neighbors too. 

She was way too tired to help next door

While Martha Jane lay on the floor

"That's nervy," she thought, to call on me,

As if my time were cheap and free."

 

I love thee Lord prayed humble Dwayne

As he contemplated the Savior's pain,

His selfless effort to bless all men

And raise them up with him again

 

I love thee Lord, I can do more

Then he volunteered, and fed the poor

He helped the widows and fatherless

And looked all day for others to  bless

 

He home-taught early then went again,

He helped to load a moving van

He went to the Temple for Grandpa Flannery

Then later he served at the Regional Cannery

 

He saved his best for fam-i-ly

Tossed the ball and climbed the tree

He did the dishes, and bathed the kids

Read scriptures, prayed, and tucked in beds

He listened with interest as his WIFE,

Recounted the ups and downs of life

He hugged her tight and reassured

His deepest love and support for her

 

I love thee Lord, again they said,

As each one knelt beside the bed;

How do you think the Lord will judge

Which of them really truly loved?

We love God by careing about the problems He cares about. We love God by caring about our neighbor. We love God by trying to be like Him. We love God by learning everything He taught and striving to live those principles that were designed for our happiness.

I would like to leave you with my testimony:

I know that God lives. I know this in all that I am surounded with; this incredible world that he created; the spirit that I feel when he comforts me, inspires me, and teaches me; the miracles that I have experienced in my life, and the tender mercies that He that he has shown me.

I believe with all my heart in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the instrument that God has given us, the support we need, the strength that it gives us to continue to grow in the gospel, and encourages us to follow the Savior.

I am so grateful for the scriptures. Through the words of God we are able to know what is expected of us. They lift me when I am discouraged, and inspire me for loftier goals. They humble me and teach me to love. They bring me joy.

I love the temple. I love the spirit I feel when I am there. I love the beautiful ordinances that I have been given, and the promises that are given, and the truth it teaches. The love I feel in the house of the Lord is not found in its quality and quantity anywhere else.

I am so grateful to be allowed to serve in this capacity, To stand on Holy ground every day, To be constantly assured of the love of God.

I believe in the attonement. I believe in its power. I believe that because of the attonement all mankind may be saved. Through the attonement we may all realize the purpose of our creation.

I am grateful for parents who believed, and gave me the strenth to also believe. I know that my sisters and brother and neices will be here to help my sweet mother. We have not been seperated for very long for these past 33 years she has been widowed. This seperation will be difficult for her, and I ask your prayers and friendship in her behalf. I love her with all my heart.

I love the companion I will be serving with. He is such a blessing to me. I love all of my family and will miss them dearly, but I also know, and have been promised, that our service will bring special blessings to all of them. Please be aware of the blessings that come into your life and recognize God's love for you.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen