Elder & Sister Knowles

Transfer 16 Week 3  Oct. 31-Nov 6 Week B5

  “The code is more what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules.”

Preaching:  “We stand at the crossroads each minute, each hour, each day, making choices.  

 We choose the thoughts we allow ourselves to think, the passions we allow ourselves to feel, and the actions we allow ourselves to perform.

Each choice is made in the context of whatever value system we’ve selected to govern our lives.

In selecting that value system, we are, in a very real way, making the most important choice we will ever make.

Those who believe there is one God who made all things and who governs the world by His Providence will make many choices different from those who do not.

Those who hold in reverence that Being who gave them life and worship Him through adoration, prayer and thanksgiving will make choices different from those who do not.

Those who believe that mankind are all of a family and that the most acceptable service of God is doing good to man will make many choices different from those who do not.

Those who believe in a future state in which all that is wrong here will be made right will make many choices different from those who do not.

Those who subscribe to the morals of Jesus will make many choices different from those who do not.

Since the foundation of all happiness is thinking rightly, and since correct action is dependent upon correct opinion, we cannot be too careful in choosing the value system we allow to govern our thoughts and actions.

And to know that God governs in the affairs of men, that he hears and answers prayers, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, is indeed a powerful regulator of human conduct.”  Guess who said this?                                                             

Halloween party with missionaries

Monday:  Happy Halloween!  It was a down pour this morning walking Princes Joy to school and getting Eldrex on the bus.  We probably don’t need to help, but when Princes Joy asks if we are coming down it’s hard to say no.  We wish all of you could meet her.  Joyce Johnson called and needed us to come over.  She has to find a new apartment by the end of the month.  It’s a long story.  We talked to her and now we will be helping her get moved.  Joyce (Knowles) wanted to make a visit to Sister Munson about primary.  She is the new teacher and will take Joyce’s place.  We made a visit with her and hope the change will go well with the twins and Princes Joy.  They are pretty attached to Joyce.  In the evening we went to a zone Halloween party with all the missionaries.  The President allowed them to get together so they wouldn’t be out on Halloween.  It was fun.  We watched the young ones play basketball and volleyball, while some of us played Banana grams (thanks Sister Chamberlain!) and then we played “Exploding Kitten.”   

Tuesday:  We attended our district meeting in the morning after picking up the Maple Heights missionaries.  The zone leaders don’t give us much notice to pick up so we were a bit late.  Joyce has a bad cold so we stayed in the rest of the day.  It’s easy to get sick when you seem to be wet all the time.  It was needed to catch up on a few things anyway.

Ric and Eldrex

Wednesday: We found out that October was a record month for rain fall.  Not hard to believe it since we always seem to be carrying on umbrella lately. We worked at Northwest Harvest in the morning. Joyce is still coughing a lot, so she ended up going out and sitting in the pick-up to crochet. (Helping Eldrex and walking Princes Joy to school every morning in the pouring rain is not helping her cold.)  We boxed potatoes and squash.  It was hard work.  After the service project, we took the Tiffany Park missionaries to lunch, Sister Young and Leavitt.  We checked on a few apartments before picking up Joyce J. We spent most of the afternoon with her looking at apartments.  We have been trying to teach her to pray and read the Book of Mormon so she can get some Divine help in finding an apartment .  There is not much out there in her price range and not a lot in any price range. In between checking the score on the World Series, we attended the Bishops meeting. (Art was not the only one there that was interested in the score.)  We also got some good news from Karen, (another tender mercy) that will change our plans for going home.  Don’t worry, it’s not a date change.

Thursday:  Since Eldrex has an appointment today, we didn’t need to help get him on the bus.  He stayed home from school.  Just our luck, we didn’t need to walk  to the Acostas in the morning and there is no rain, lots of sun shine today.  We attended W.W. in the morning then home to get ready for Joyce to go to the hospital with Estrella and Eldrex. The van came early again so we had to run to the Acostas.  Joyce rode to the hospital and Art walked to U-Haul to change the reservation we have there, then came home and worked on the picture books for the Acostas and Karen plus put in a few change of addresses.  Joyce had a long trip with the wait at the hospital and traffic coming home.  Joyce Johnson came over in the evening so she could get some help filling out forms.  Therefore, we missed the missionary meeting.  When she left, the Spanish Elders ended up coming over because all their appointments had canceled and they stayed way too late.  We visited and visited and then we ended up telling them they had to go home…

Friday:  We walked to the Acostas and put Eldrex on the bus.  Another reason we do this is so Ric can sleep.  He works nights.  Princes Joy stayed home from school for her doctors appointment. She is getting her shots for school.  We went to institute, but had to leave early so we could get back in time for the doctors appointment.  Joyce stayed with Princes Joy and Estrella.  Art went home since the wait was so long there, three hours.  The doctors office is only a block away from our apartment, but even though we brought all the school shot records, they had to call and verify the records from the Philippines.  Nancy, Natalie, Lillie,and Kaleb came and  visited us in the late afternoon.  We all went out to eat at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant just down the street from us.  Joyce was happy to see someone from her family.  We did have a good time. Kaleb showed us his Karate moves for his competition and Lily did her “cartwheels” for us.  They are very cute!

Saturday click day:  (the 5th)  We are learning all this missionary vocabulary now it is time to go home.  We just got the transfers, interviews and zone conferences figured out and President Rasmusson is changing the schedule.  The rain is back after our two days of sunshine.  We decided to take the twins, and Michele shopping one last time since it was raining.  Estrella and Princes Joy are sick so we took them some medicine.  Princes Joy came shopping even though she didn’t feel well.  The girls shopped while Art sat in the food court and listened to a book.  We ate lunch in the mall before going home.  We didn’t have much time at home before we started again.  Michele needed a ride to work, so we took her to work and did some grocery shopping. We found out we are feeding Skyway A on Sunday as well as having our last homemade pizza party with all the Acostas. After shopping, we picked up the Elder Sisters to go to the Rasmusson’s for our going home dinner. We were invited to the birthday party at the Green house, for Carlito, when we dropped the twins off, but we already had the dinner with the Rasmusson’s.  It poured rain all night long.  It made the trip to the Rasmusson’s exciting in the rain and dark. 

Lots of wonderful salad and good soups!   They gave us this cool picture.  It was our good-by dinner even though we still have a few weeks left.  November is a busy month  for the President with Zone conference, Elder Gay’s visit, Thanksgiving, and transfers at the end of the month. Sister Rasmussen had invited all the senior missionaries, so there were a lot of people there.  Everyone had to tell something about ourselves at the end of the evening.  It was great fun.  

Sunday:  We enjoyed the extra hour of sleep after the late night.  Only four people to pick up for church, Rachel was one of them, happy day!  It ended up being a busy day.  Art taught Gospel Principles and Joyce had Sister Munson teach for the first time in her class.  They had all the regulars (Ruth, Rubi, Princes Joy, Donni, Lehi, Hyrum, Gideon, and Eldrex, two new girls (Brianna and Dana) that have moved in and three investigators  (Equality, Rudi and ?) so it was a room full, plus, Estrella and Richel came in with Eldrex.  Thank goodness Michelle, Beverlyn and Joyce were there to help out because all the boys are real rowdy, well except Eldrex in his wheel chair.  Sister Munson was overwhelmed at the end of class and asked Joyce what to do.  All she could think of to say was , “Welcome to my world.” 

The Bishop looked in, saw the crowd, with his wife teaching and said, “ I’m going to get an ear full when we get home.”   After church we had the Acostas plus Skyway A over for dinner.  We made sixteen homemade pizzas on flat bread, salad and cake.   Only one and a half little pizza pieces left over. It was a full house. It’s always good when Jenefer and Irma come so they can be around the missionaries.  We hope we have them coming to church next week for the primary program.  We told Irma to invite her grandkids to sing with the twins, Princes Joy and Eldrex.  After dinner the kids wanted to go up on the roof and then to the park.  The missionaries had given us a message before they left.  Irma and Jenefer also left but not before the missionary message.  We keep praying for them.  Jenefer knows the difference the church has made with her kids, but still has not much interest.  The missionaries challenged her to have prayer as a family.  Jenefer has told Joshua, her son, that he must start requesting Sunday’s off so he can attend at least Sacrament Meeting!  A small miracle, and we will take it!  Eleazar bore his testimony in sacrament meeting,  another tender mercy, or miracle, or both.  Eleazar and Estrella will be the ones that hold that family together.  Thomas Johnson was also at church so we visited with him a bit.  Joyce J. is planning on moving this Saturday so time will tell how that goes with her and Thomas.  She apparently has not told him yet that she is moving.  He is home from North Dakota because the work is slow there in the oil fields.  Thomas sends his money to Africa and leaves Joyce Johnson to fend for herself.  All they do is fight.  Gideon was in primary and was a tiny bit better behaved, but it is slow progress.  It was another good week with lots of tender mercies. The package with all the fish and lifesavers from Josh, Rachel and family was a big hit, (we know it was more Rachel than Josh). We will definitely “Keep swimming!”  (especially with all this rain!!!

 Love Joyce and Art

P.S. Benjamin Franklin