We thought we were going to do two apartment inspections today, both in Sarasota. Unfortunately, I had picked up the wrong key from the mission office last week, so we only had the key to one of the apartments. As it turned out, the Elders were in the apartment anyway, even though it was after lunch. Their apartment was in good shape. It should have been. It was the apartment that we lived in while looking for our permanent apartment, and we left it in good condition.
We thought we would stop at the other apartment anyway just in case the Elders might be at home. However, as we arrived, we could see someone inside the apartment painting it. Apparently the Elders have moved to a new apartment, so it didn't matter that I had the wrong key. We knew they were going to move, but we didn't know they already had done so.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Not Much Action
We only had one appointment today, but it was an important one. Apparently, the Elders in the University Park Ward had offended some ward members by constantly asked them for referrals. So our appointment was to meet with the bishop to see if we could soothe the troubled waters.
We ended up with a 90 minute meeting with the bishop that I thought was quite positive. He was complementary of the Elders dedication and desire to find people to teach. He said that sometimes the missionaries are overly zealous but they are also young and lack some sensitivity that comes with experience. He asked how other wards are utilizing the missionaries. He clearly wants the ward members to be involved in missionary work, and we discussed some ways to do that. He is happy with the missionaries' efforts. We will attend the ward on Sunday and see how the ward members feel.
Today was Renee's birthday. I have been asking her to select a restaurant for a dinner both for her birthday and upcoming Mothers' Day. She said there wasn't anyplace in particular that she wanted to go, so she selected Steak and Shake, our new favorite hamburger place, for her birthday dinner.
We ended up with a 90 minute meeting with the bishop that I thought was quite positive. He was complementary of the Elders dedication and desire to find people to teach. He said that sometimes the missionaries are overly zealous but they are also young and lack some sensitivity that comes with experience. He asked how other wards are utilizing the missionaries. He clearly wants the ward members to be involved in missionary work, and we discussed some ways to do that. He is happy with the missionaries' efforts. We will attend the ward on Sunday and see how the ward members feel.
Today was Renee's birthday. I have been asking her to select a restaurant for a dinner both for her birthday and upcoming Mothers' Day. She said there wasn't anyplace in particular that she wanted to go, so she selected Steak and Shake, our new favorite hamburger place, for her birthday dinner.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
District Meetings
As usual on Tuesday, we attended district meetings. In the morning, we attended the meeting in Bradenton and then drove to Sebring for a meeting in the afternoon.
The training for this week was on not being lukewarm (Revelations 3:15-16). They were again trained on the need to develop Christlike attributes and to allow those to show through in their contacting and teaching. In both districts, the missionaries were to describe one or two attributes with examples that they see in their companions. It was an interesting exercise in complementing one's companion.
One the way back from Sebring, we stopped at the blueberry farm. We had a pleasant conversation with the owner as we purchased 5 pounds of blueberries and two bottles of fruit spread (blueberry and key lime). I gave him a pass along card for Because He Lives and also took a picture of his blueberry patch.
The training for this week was on not being lukewarm (Revelations 3:15-16). They were again trained on the need to develop Christlike attributes and to allow those to show through in their contacting and teaching. In both districts, the missionaries were to describe one or two attributes with examples that they see in their companions. It was an interesting exercise in complementing one's companion.
One the way back from Sebring, we stopped at the blueberry farm. We had a pleasant conversation with the owner as we purchased 5 pounds of blueberries and two bottles of fruit spread (blueberry and key lime). I gave him a pass along card for Because He Lives and also took a picture of his blueberry patch.
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| The BellaBlue Berry Farm |
Monday, May 4, 2015
Preparation Day
We decided to go to the beach before it gets too hot. We drove to Siesta Key Beach and were able to find a parking spot. I guess the key is to go in the morning, on a week day, after many of the snow birds have returned home. There were still a lot of people there, but the beach is very large.
The only problem was the wind was blowing, not hard but enough to blow the fine sand and cover shoes, towels, etc. We only planned on staying for a couple of hours so as to avoid getting sunburned. Fortunately our plan worked. We got a little pink even with sunscreen but not really burned. It was a pleasant experience, and we will do it again -- on a less windy day.
The only problem was the wind was blowing, not hard but enough to blow the fine sand and cover shoes, towels, etc. We only planned on staying for a couple of hours so as to avoid getting sunburned. Fortunately our plan worked. We got a little pink even with sunscreen but not really burned. It was a pleasant experience, and we will do it again -- on a less windy day.
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Arcadia Branch Visit
Arcadia is the last unit of the Sarasota Stake on our visit rotation. I saved the Arcadia Branch for the last because there are no missionaries assigned there. And I expected they would tell me about that. They did, but they weren't too upset about it, particularly when I told them the are other units without missionaries.
The branch is small but seems to have some strong members. Unfortunately, just not too many of them. The branch president is "imported" from Port Charlotte about a 45 minute drive to the south. Several of the other brethren have served as branch president in the past. There were only 38 in Sacrament Meeting, including us and a visiting family of five. The branch president was apologetic and indicated that two families who regularly attend were absent. He said they usually have over 40 in Sacrament Meeting.
We had 11 in our combined R.S./Priesthood class. We were able to present what we had prepared. After talking about using the pamphlets, we demonstrated how to share them with others. We divided them into groups of 2 and had them practice. One sister said he hated role playing and basically checked out. On the other hand, another sister came up to us afterwards and asked for additional copies of the pamphlets because she wants to share them with others.
After the meetings, the ward mission leader invited us to have lunch with him and his family and then gone on a missionary visit with him. A part-member family moved into his mother's neighborhood, and he has been working with them. The wife was sealed in the temple many years ago but was divorced. She has been inactive for the 27 years that she and her current husband have been married. He has had a variety of interesting experiences including attending a theology school in Scotland and serving as an Episcopal priest. He left that because he felt that his fellow priest were more interested in their careers than serving the members. He has received a copy of the Book of Mormon and has been reading it. While we visited, his wife said that she needs to get a "temple divorce" from her previous husband so that they can be sealed in the temple. I spoke a bit about the Restoration and left a pamphlet with him. I think he is genuinely interested in the Church, and she will continue to push him. He has already reduced his smoking and beer drinking without having received any formal lessons on the Word of Wisdom. If he continues to progress, we will need to figure out how to get some full-time missionaries to meet with them.
The branch is small but seems to have some strong members. Unfortunately, just not too many of them. The branch president is "imported" from Port Charlotte about a 45 minute drive to the south. Several of the other brethren have served as branch president in the past. There were only 38 in Sacrament Meeting, including us and a visiting family of five. The branch president was apologetic and indicated that two families who regularly attend were absent. He said they usually have over 40 in Sacrament Meeting.
We had 11 in our combined R.S./Priesthood class. We were able to present what we had prepared. After talking about using the pamphlets, we demonstrated how to share them with others. We divided them into groups of 2 and had them practice. One sister said he hated role playing and basically checked out. On the other hand, another sister came up to us afterwards and asked for additional copies of the pamphlets because she wants to share them with others.
After the meetings, the ward mission leader invited us to have lunch with him and his family and then gone on a missionary visit with him. A part-member family moved into his mother's neighborhood, and he has been working with them. The wife was sealed in the temple many years ago but was divorced. She has been inactive for the 27 years that she and her current husband have been married. He has had a variety of interesting experiences including attending a theology school in Scotland and serving as an Episcopal priest. He left that because he felt that his fellow priest were more interested in their careers than serving the members. He has received a copy of the Book of Mormon and has been reading it. While we visited, his wife said that she needs to get a "temple divorce" from her previous husband so that they can be sealed in the temple. I spoke a bit about the Restoration and left a pamphlet with him. I think he is genuinely interested in the Church, and she will continue to push him. He has already reduced his smoking and beer drinking without having received any formal lessons on the Word of Wisdom. If he continues to progress, we will need to figure out how to get some full-time missionaries to meet with them.
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| Early Mothers' Day cards presented to Renee by the Branch Mission Leader's children |
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Lesson Preparation
We didn't have any assignments for today which was good. We will be visiting the Arcadia Branch tomorrow, and the branch president has asked us to teach a lesson for the combined Relief Society and Priesthood meeting. Our plan is to have the members do some role-playing on giving a pamphlet to a neighbor or inactive member. We outlined our lesson and practiced the role playing ourselves so we could demonstrate how it might be done. I will be the inactive, and Renee will demonstrate giving me a pamphlet on the Plan of Salvation.
Friday, May 1, 2015
Missionary Leadership Council
Despite getting rained out last month, President Cusick decided to try holding the monthly Missionary Leadership Council (MLC) at the beach, specifically Fort DeSoto Park. The weather cooperated, and we had a good meeting. And the missionaries seemed to enjoy being at the beach. Actually most of the time, we were at the park adjacent to the beach in a roofed picnic area.
As part of the training, Pres. Cusick assigned us, the Healeys, Sis. Cusick, and the Assistants, to conduct a 12 minute training with the missionaries rotating between us. They were organized by zone, so we had the zone leaders and the sister training leaders in a group of four. Our assignment was to talk about iPad reviews and companionship inventory. We were supposed to have a role playing aspect to our discussion, but we found that we didn't have time for that. I introduced the Stop/Start/Continue framework for them to use in their companionship inventory sessions, and they seemed to like that.
After the formal training and dinner, we went to the beach. I think that Pres. Cusick had planned to present some additional instruction. However, the wind was blowing and it was hard to hear. So we sat on the beach and ate ice cream sandwiches which we had brought. We ended the meeting as the sun set and sent them back to their areas. All in all, I thought it was a good day with good training.
As part of the training, Pres. Cusick assigned us, the Healeys, Sis. Cusick, and the Assistants, to conduct a 12 minute training with the missionaries rotating between us. They were organized by zone, so we had the zone leaders and the sister training leaders in a group of four. Our assignment was to talk about iPad reviews and companionship inventory. We were supposed to have a role playing aspect to our discussion, but we found that we didn't have time for that. I introduced the Stop/Start/Continue framework for them to use in their companionship inventory sessions, and they seemed to like that.
After the formal training and dinner, we went to the beach. I think that Pres. Cusick had planned to present some additional instruction. However, the wind was blowing and it was hard to hear. So we sat on the beach and ate ice cream sandwiches which we had brought. We ended the meeting as the sun set and sent them back to their areas. All in all, I thought it was a good day with good training.
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| On the beach at the conclusion of the Mission Leadership Council. |
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