Week B35  April 4-10

                             Thanks for the visit!

Preaching:   The sobering thought about the 10 virgins is that 50% of the members of the church that are betrothed to the Lord do not have enough oil in their lamps to meet the Savior.  We learned that you can tell a lot about what a person worships by what they do or do not do on Sunday. Elder Bednar said that the oil is the stuff you do to fill your lamps with.  “Go ye out to meet Him” shows  the action to do it and go out of Babylon.  We need to let our light shine, that others may see our good works as we read the scriptures daily, attend our Sabbath Day Meetings, say our heartfelt prayers and give service to those we come in contact with.  Don’t give up.  If life were fair, none of us would be good enough to be saved.  It is only by the enabling power of the atonement that we can get back to our Father in Heaven and gain exaltation.  How thankful we are for this Easter Season!  Let us all have humble hearts! 

Monday:   It was our p-day so went spent it with Josh and Rachel and the kids in Seattle.  We drove to the Space Needle and we bought a city pass so we could go with them and see the sites.  The Space needle was pretty cool.  The view was incredible and we got some fun pictures.  We had been by it many times but never to the top so it was worth the trip.  Next stop was the Chihuly Glass Museum next door.  This was also nice.  The glass displays are very colorful and in each room we picked out our favorite pieces.  We were also to listen to two talks about glass making.  The museum is inside and outside, so when we went outside, we got to watch a demonstration of glass making, how they got glass out of the fire, shaped it, blew it, shaped it some more, blew it some more, cut it, and then cooled it.  Incredible!  By now it is time for lunch so we made our way to Pikes Market and found a place to eat.  It is a long walk so the kids got to experience downtown Seattle with all of the buildings and  different people.  On the way home we had some of the going home traffic but missed most of it by taking the longer back roads.  This put us going by Seward Park so we stopped there for a while and let the kids play and see all the cherry trees in blossom.  We stayed home for our FHE and watched “ Once I was a Beehive”. Pretty good show if you haven’t seen it.  It was a busy day so we tried to get to bed early, before 10:00 anyway.

Tuesday:  We had zone training from 10:00 to 1:00. Josh and family went to the American Girl Doll store.  When we all got together we went to the Museum of Flight.  It was very good but Elayna got sick so Rachel and her went home.  They closed at 5:00 so we didn’t get to see everything we wanted.  There is our reason to go back.  After getting home we made supper and had a visit from,Tesloach and his friend, Groberg.  Groberg is from is from the islands so we wondered where is name came from because the family are all members of the church and they go to the Tongan Branch.  We think that President Groberg’s mission was to Tonga.  The two boys stayed and ate supper with us.  Casey Smith stopped in and was dressed in his camouflage gear, getting home from work, so the boys wanted pictures taken with him.  We tried to tell everyone that Elayna was sick, but no one seemed to care and every one just had a good visit.    

Wednesday: We went to Northwest Harvest and Josh’s family went to the Aquarium.  We boxed pasta with the Sister Missionaries.  After the service we rode the light rail to Seattle to meet the kids.  Our next stop was the Harbor Tour.  It was pretty fun, with a lot of good history of Seattle.  This was the same one AnJ and Beau did when they were here last year.    By now it is traffic time so we slowly made our way to the Ballard Locks for a visit there.  Elayna was feeling sick again, so Rachel stayed with Elayna in the van while we went to the locks and the fish ladder.  Josh left the lights on so the battery was dead when we were ready to go home.  He did find someone with cables and they got us going again.  We were tired so we got take out from a Vietnamese Restaurant that we like and ate at home.  The Bishops meeting was cancelled, happy day, so we called it a day and went to bed. 

Thursday:  We got a late start for the morning.  Everyone is a bit tired.  The Zoo was our planned stop for the day, it was a gorgeous day, so half of Seattle was there.  Parking was a mess and the zoo was crowded.  It is a really nice zoo and we had a good time.  The kids really enjoyed all the animals, especially the bears and the otters.  We stopped for lunch by the zoo, at a little sandwich shop.  It was kind of a yuppy place and the food was good.  Josh was going to head home tonight until it got too late so we went back to the Flight Museum (free Thursday) with the other half of Seattle.  This time we were able to see the planes that are outside and walk through an old Air Force One plane.  We got to see the World War 1 planes and some other things  that we had missed the first time; and Rachel and Elayna were able to see the museum this time.  After a late supper it was time for bed.  We did skip our Thursday missionary meeting.

Friday:  Everyone was up early so Josh’s family could get an early start (sorry to see them leave) and we had institute to go to.  It has been a fun week with them here so now we can maybe survive the next few months.  Institute was good as usual. After we made a run to get Joyce some make-up and to lunch.   We all had interviews with President and Sister Eaton in the afternoon.  We visit with both of them and the sisters visit each one separately. We had a good visit about some coming events they have for us and Pres. Eaton is going to ask running the ARP class outside of a church building from someone a little higher up.  It was our last interview with them before they go home.  We dropped off the sisters and went to Joyce Johnson’s home to read with her.  She is doing great with reading the Book of Mormon on her own.  We  read about Gideon because that is her first son’s name and wanted to read the story in the Old Testament. Eric is walking now so that was fun to see.  There’s not much improvement with the marriage situation.  We were going to do something with Ruth and Rubi but it was to late so we stopped in and made plans for Saturday with them.

Saturday:  Pres. Anderson invited us to a meeting where the Renton Stake is being used to pilot a new program in the states.  It is on self reliance and has been used in other countries and is now being tried in the USA.   A leader from Salt Lake was here to train us and get is going in our stake.  We think we were invited because Pres. Eaton wanted us to go and maybe we can use the program mission wide.  It was a good meeting and we are excited to try and get it going in the Skyway Ward, as well as help where the stake may use us.  After the meeting we picked up Ruth, Rubi and Princes Joy and rode the train to the aquarium and the Big Wheel plus lunch.  This is what came from the planning on Friday.  We all had a great time.  They loved the touching area of anemomes, starfish, cucumbers, and etc. They loved all the fish, the seals, and otters!  It was fun to take them.  We had to hurry and ride the Great Wheel.  There was a huge line, but we did get home in time to make our snickers salad and be to Joshua Acosta’s birthday party by almost 5:00.  (The girls insisted that we stop and make a Snicker Salad to take with us so  we were a few minutes late.)  No problem.  We had all kinds of Filipino food.  First time for goat and probably the last, we hope.  We were pretty happy about going because Jenifer is the one who invited us.  Baby steps.

Sunday:  We picked up Karen, JoAnna, Ruth and Rubi for church.  Tesloach was supposed to come, but he was a no show.  Joyce taught primary and Art taught Gospel Principles.  There was a bit of a mix up so most of his class went into Gospel Doctrine.  (Art ran JoAnnna to the bus stop and they thought he had left).  Joyce’s class keeps growing, as Sunshine invites her Filipino friends to attend.  So we had Ruth, Rubi, Princes Joy, Donni, Jaida, Estrella, Reymark, Sunshine and her friend.  Also, Brother Jackson came in with Reymark, since he is his Priesthood leader, and Evelyn Kemp came in because she is our new achievement day leader and wants to get better acquainted with the girls.  After church we had Karen over for lunch and then Karen and Joyce went to Seward Park and walked.  Art stayed home.  He is still fighting the sore throat and earaches.  The rest of the evening was kind of lazy.  Thanks for calling us, Jared and Emily; and Jacob and Lara!  We also got to talk to Dad.  That has been our week.  It was a big boost having Josh, Rachel, Maddox, Elayna and Haley here.  Love you all, Joyce and Art 

                                                                             Week B36  March 28-April 3

                 Good-by to Elder and Sister Benson

Preaching:  A connection is a relationship or link between ideas, people, things, or events, and the scriptures are full of connections. Consider the relationship between the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ (see Mosiah 15:1–9); between mercy and grace (see 2 Nephi 9:8); between clean hands and a pure heart (see Psalm 24:4); between a broken heart and a contrite spirit (see 3 Nephi 9:20); between the wheat and the tares (see D&C 101:65); between knowledge and intelligence (see D&C 130:18–19); between justification and sanctification (see D&C 20:30–31); between sheep and goats (see Matthew 25:32–33); between immortality and eternal life (see Moses 1:39); and countless others. Prayerfully identifying, learning about, and pondering such connections—the similarities and differences, for example—is a primary source of living water and yields inspired insights and treasures of hidden knowledge

Renton Zone Transfer 11 Week 3

Monday p-day:  Our plan was to drive to Mt. Vernon and see the tulips until Sister Chamberlain called to get permission and we were told “no.”  Also, today we received word that we can’t do an ARP class at the Women’s Clinic.  At least we tried.  Our next plan was to go shopping at the mall.This time we didn’t ask for permission, we just went.  Sister Chamberlain wanted to see if she could get a massage on her neck so it was mostly for medical reasons that we went there.

We did do some shopping and ate lunch there.  In the evening we took Diane, Debra and Margarita to FHE.  Karen didn’t want to go and Art spent most of the time in the pick-up.  He is still having earaches and a sore throat, but he won’t go to the urgent care again.  The weather has turned very nice after a few days of rain and this week is supposed to be sunny and warm.   Opening day at Safeco Field is in ten day.  Maybe spring is here finally.  

Tuesday:  The Bensons turned their apartment over to the new couple today.  They plan on visiting family in Vancouver, and Elder Benson is attending a  piano conference next week in Seattle, then they will go back to Utah.  It’s encouraging to know that couples do eventually go home.  We had District meeting at 10:30. President and Sister Eaton were there for part of it.  We talked a lot about using members when teaching.  This is a big problem in Skyway since there are not many options of available members.  Most of the time it ends up being us. The Elders try other members but we are their backup so we get to teach with them most of the time.  We really enjoy this.   Art did consent to try the urgent care one more time and see a different doctor.  After waiting most of the afternoon it was just a waste of time.  At least we know it’s not strep throat. Skyway A needed us to teach with them so we met them at the church then drove to Crescent Point (Murder Central) for the lesson.  Nobody answered even though we could hear them inside.  This is the second time this lady has not shown for the lesson with us.   Maybe time to drop her we think. The apartment does have a cool view of Mt.Rainier and valley where most of the mission is. It was a very clear sunny day so the view was worth the visit.  We did get to visit Rayven and set up a ride with her for achievement day tomorrow.  After a quick stop at Sam’s for some meds for Art, we headed to the Acostas.  They had called earlier and we couldn’t quite understand what they needed so we stopped in, plus Joyce wanted to see the baby.  The school had set up an appointment for Friday, with them and Estrella wanted Joyce to go with her.  We are busy on Friday so we will try to reschedule tomorrow.  

Wednesday:  We are finally back to Northwest Harvest after being away for two weeks.  They had us work with a group of school kids boxing pasta.  We had to hurry and leave there and drive to Puyallup so we could get some bikes from the mission.  They are trying to clean up all the apartments before the new mission president comes.  All the extra bikes are going to the D.I. so we took two of them.  They are also going to close some areas so they want the apartments clean for when they close them.  The mission is down from a high of 212 missionaries to around 160 and more going home than coming out the next few months.  We went to lunch with the Elder Sisters then came home.  While all this was happening we were trying to sort out rides for achievement  day tonight, Skyway A wanted us to teach  Friday with them, Skyway B wanted to stop by our place and JoAnna wanted a ride to institute tonight.  We think we got it all worked out, Skyway A cancelled, Joanna is trying to see if she can ride the bus and we took care of Skyway B when we got home, and everybody is covered for achievement day.  JoAnna is taking her friend with her who is interested in the church so we feel bad we couldn’t help her, but we were already committed with achievement day rides.  Achievement days went great.  7 girls showed up plus Reymark and Eleazar.  The boys played basketball while the girls baked cookies and planned.  Bro. David was there so he took Reymark and Eleazar to young men’s for a bit then came back and played basketball with them so maybe they will start coming on Wednesday night.  After we got home we got a call from Julie Heier and a nice letter from Sarah Funk.  It was a nice ending of a busy day.  

Thursday:  Most of the morning we ran errands and did some shopping for Sunday.  Karen wanted to walk at Seward Park so we did that after lunch.  We were all set to take Michele, Richel, Sun Shine, JoAnna and her friend to the institute by the U.of W.   JoAnna  and Sun Shine had to work late, Richel and Michele cancelled.  We didn’t know that Michele had cancelled so we were able to talk her into going with us when we went to pick her up.  We rode the light rail to the U. of W. then walked to the institute.  It was a beautiful evening.  The lesson was on church history, so not the best for Michele.  We were almost glad the others didn’t come.  They are all recent converts so church history is not the most exciting thing for them. Michele and Joyce had a good visit so it worked out okay.  Hopefully we can try again.

Friday:    We had to drive through all the ash and lava from Mount Rainier erupting on our way to institute class in the morning, (April Fools). The new couple that took the Bensons place was there so we got to meet them.  We invited all the usual group to lunch but nobody else could come.  Not much happened after we got home.  We had gotten some parts for the bikes and Joyce has a project she is working so that was most of the rest of our day.  Art is still having trouble with his throat and ears so staying in was a good option.  

Saturday:  We spent the morning at the Stake Center watching conference.  Between sessions we went to lunch with the Elder Sisters and the Sisters from the employment office.  Sister Stucki is going home on Thursday.  At lunch the employment sisters were telling us that they were going to the tulip festival after conference.  Sister Beck was not to happy about that.  They are not under the same rules as we are.  They cover the whole Puget Sound area so they have a lot more freedom, plus the person over them has told them to see the sights.  After conference we waited for Joshua’s family to arrive.  They got here just as Art needed to go meet with Skyway A for a lesson.  Another no show.  The third time with this person.

Sunday:  Conference most of the day.  We did pick up Karen and an investigator (Margo Sanchez), for the Spanish Sisters.  Between sessions we and the Elder Sisters fed the missionaries and everyone else who stayed at the church, plus we took a zone picture since everyone was there.  The Elders and Sisters sang to us to tell us thank you for lunch!  It was awesome!  After conference we planned what to do the next few days with Josh’s family, we colored eggs, and we celebrated Josh’s birthday. 

Sunday: We all went to the Stake Center in Renton for General Conference.  In between sessions we fed the missionaries and several families that were there.  After we just came  home and relaxed.   We had an investigator for the Spanish Sisters that we gave a ride to, plus Karen.   It is so nice having Josh and Rachel’s family with us.  Love you all Art and Joyce 

                Week B37  March 21-27

                              Hello to baby Nathalia Bacus Acosta

Preaching:  Spring:  season of new life.  Christ’s birthday, the lamb of God, is in early April.  Spring is a type of new birth.  There are beautiful flowering trees and flowers.  There are buds on the trees.  The spring is when Christ went into the Garden of Gethsemane and suffered for our sins.  It is when He was crucified on the cross. Spring was when He rose from the tomb and was resurrected, so that we, to may live again and have new life after we die.   Our Body and Spirit will be reunited, never to be separated again after our resurrection.   We will rise again.  We will live again.   We have rebirth because of the resurrection and through the atonement.  Our Savior is our advocate with the Father.  Jesus Christ speaks on our behalf when we make mistakes.  This is possible through the atonement.  He took on himself our sins, our shortcomings, our pain, and our suffering.  This gives us faith and hope, the assurance in our Savior.  Where ever the Savior is, we want to be.   Let us remember Him as we celebrate spring and the re birth of life.        

Monday:  Today is a work day because of transfers.  Diane Nardi called and wanted Joyce to come visit with her.  We rode the train to Mount Baker Station then walked to Diane’s place.  She is having a hard time with the church and also is fighting depression.  We had a good visit and just let her talk.  This is the first time she has told us why she is having a problem with the church.  (gay issue)  She is going to let us start teaching her the lessons as if she were a new investigator.  We never get to teach since we always let the Elders do it.  It will be fun for us.  We will get to plan and teach just like real missionaries.  We took Diane, Karen, Margarita and Joyce and Eric Johnson to FHE.  It was a car load!  We listened to a talk by Elder Holland, so was the perfect lesson for Diane.

Tuesday:  We needed to have Eldrex at the Seattle Children’s Hospital at 10:00 for his MRI.  He needed to be put under to have it, so we waited a lot.  After he was recovered from the sedation, we took him fro for a neuro evaluation. His next appointment wasn’t until 5:00 so we took a late lunch.  During lunch, Mary Ann called and said she was in labor so we rescheduled the 5:00 appointment and drove home. We did take the back roads so we could show the Acostas some of the spring flowers that are coming out. Our plan was to go knock on some doors until we stopped at the Acostas to drop off some things and ended up staying so Joyce could help Estrella fill out some Home Health Forms for Eldrex.  Mary Ann wasn’t have labor pains, just back pain. It was not much of a p-day.

Wednesday:  This morning it was real labor pains and Mary Ann wanted us to take her to the hospital.  We hurried and got ready hoping she hadn’t waited too long before she called us.  Michelle and Estrella went with us.  We had District meeting so we got Mary Ann checked in and went to our meeting.  This is the first week of this transfer and we are in a new District so we had lots of new elders to meet and names to learn.  We hoped we would miss the role playing by being late, but they waited for us to start the meeting.  After a stop at home we took lunch to Joyce and Eric Johnson.  It is Eric’s birthday today, he is one year old.  (We remember back last year at this time, we were having a baby shower for Joyce.)  Anyway, we stopped at Chipotle for some food and took some presents over as well  Things are tough with Joyce and Thomas, so Joyce is so appreciative of anything and everything we do.   After spending time with Joyce, we went back to the hospital.  Turns out we had plenty of time as no baby yet, but  Eldrex had a 5:00 doctors appointment at Holly Park Clinic and they missed the last one, so had to keep this appointment.  Estrella wanted us to take him so she could stay with Mary Ann.  Art gave Mary Ann a blessing and then we took

Joshua Acosta home. Michelle had asked him to come to the hospital but he didn’t know why and he didn’t want to stay. We got things lined up for Eldrex’s appointment.  Richel went with us so we would at least have a family member with us.  The appointment was just a check up, so it went fine.  Karen’s graduation was at 6:30 and Diane Nardi was meeting us there so we had to divide up.  Joyce went with Diane to save seats for the graduation, and Art took Eldrex and Richel home.  Art got to the graduation one minute before it started.  Graduation at the Hope Mission is interesting, lots of singing this time.  The dessert bar afterwards is always good.  We took Diane home and by now it is too late for our Bishop’s meeting and no baby yet so we called it a day and went home.  The Elders and Sisters have 9:00 curfew, but we were out passed that!  Skyway A had wanted us to teach with them earlier but we couldn’t fit it in.

Thursday:  After our busy day yesterday, today we had only one appointment and it ended up rescheduling for Saturday.  Mary Ann did have her baby around 3:00 am so we made a visit to the hospital and did some much needed grocery shopping.  Joyce is happy.  She got to hold the baby while Art watched Mission Impossible on the TV. We went to supper at Cafe Rio to end the day.  The Skyway B elders came over to use the computer.  Hopefully the slow day will help Art’s cold.  

Friday:  The Bensons are getting ready to go home so we met at Denny’s for a farewell breakfast, plus they needed the pick-up to haul their boxes to their pod.  They are renting a pod to ship there things home in.  We were the only ones who ended up going to help.  We made two trips with the pickup to the pod.  It’s had to imagine they have that much stuff to take home to Bountiful.  They do have a bigger apartment than we do, so they have had more room to store things.  After we finished, it was such a nice day we decided to ride the train to the U. of W. campus with Karen and show her the cherry blossoms.  They just extended the light rail from Westlake to the campus this week.  Art got us lost but we did find the baseball field and a cool trail to walk.  After asking for directions we found the campus and were able to see the quad.  The blossoms are about done so we are glad we made it here today.  Joyce and Karen tried to go into the library but were just a few minutes past closing time.  It is supposed to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the U.S. We ran into two Elders from the Seattle Mission who were working on the campus.  They are having good success with Asian people.   Skyway B needed us at 7:00 so we hurried home and we were just pulling out of the parking garage when we got word from the elders that the appointment cancelled.  That was okay with us because we were tired from all the moving and walking we had done.  The Bensons live on the second floor so we were up and down a few stairs today.  We do feel bad for the elders because they work so hard and nobody seems to progress.  The elders teach a lot of first lessons then people start to cancel appointments.

Saturday:  It was a knock on doors day.  Joyce made phone calls before we left to invite sisters to the Women’s Broadcast tonight.  Not a bad day of finding people home. Four members no longer live at the address we have, two not home, but a neighbor came over because she thought we were stealing the mail and after we made friends with her, she confirmed that the lady we were looking for did live there and she helped us find an address we were having trouble finding so it worked out well.  There was one address that we couldn’t find.  We also checked on a recent convert that hasn’t been to church in a while and he (Tesloach) is letting us pick him up tomorrow for church.  Skyway B came over and used the computer to check for referrals.  Joyce picked up Karen and went to the Women’s Broadcast.  It was such a good broadcast!  The music was incredible and she loved the talks on service and serving the refugees.  We have a few of those here:)  They have put in a homeless shelter a block from us and we have noticed since then that there are a lot more people that ask for money in the Safeway parking lot.  

Sunday:  Happy Easter!  Tesloach canceled for church.  He said his dad wanted to take him to an Easter party.   We had two that went to church with us, Karen and JoAnna.  It was a combined missionary report and fast Sunday testimony meeting.  It was a wonderful meeting centered around the atonement.  None of the Acostas were there, so Joyce’s Primary class was very small.  We need to check on all the Acostas.   We think they didn’t come because of MaryAnn just having baby Nathalia on Thursday.  After church we had Skyway B, Elder Sisters, Karen and Joanna over for dinner, crock pot ham and potatoes, Yummy!  In the evening, several of the kids face timed us and we got to tell Dad and Mom Happy Easter.  

Love you all Sister and Elder Knowles

                Week B38   Mar. 14-20

Being a missionary is like being a catcher. We have to handle what every is thrown at         you

Preaching:  The introduction to the Book of Mormon states that a person can get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than any other book.  Here is our question for you.  What are some of the precepts you have been taught from the Book of Mormon?   Let us know.

Monday p-day:  Lara left last night and Jake and Mariah left this morning so our place is quiet and boring now.  We left when Jake did only we didn’t head home.  We picked up Estrella, Eldrex, and Reymark and drove to the Settle Children's Hospital.  Eldrex had an appointment for physical therapy.  Art stayed in the pickup and listened to a book while they all went into the hospital.  Art wasn’t sure if he would be able find a place to park and that he would just have to drive around until they were done, but he found one close by.  They had some good news for Eldrex, he gets a better wheelchair and a new walker.  They measured and ordered both for him, but will take three months to bet here.  With the new wheel chair, they are putting some things on the wheels to get him to try to use his left arm more, but he was doing a great job compensating by dragging his arm to get the wheel chair to go straight.  He was very cute with the walker and was really trying to kick a ball.  Next week on p-day we take him back for an MRI and a neuro evaluation.  On the way home we stopped and had lunch at our favorite fish place and again the man we wanted to talk to wasn’t there.  The rain and cold are back today plus a few personal colds.  In the evening we made our usual pickups for FHE. We drop off one load of ladies, and then go get Margarita when she gets off work.  Not much excitement there, except for a little questionable preaching, but not a real big turnout. 

Tuesday:   Our district meeting was the first thing in the morning.  They did change our time so it wouldn’t conflict with English.  This is the last week before transfers, so we took a picture of our district after doing role plays.  Sister Goodman goes home on Monday so we know that our district will have some changes. The Literary Council wants us to teach in the mornings or evenings for the next semester and we are busy in the mornings and evenings.  We can’t change, so we guess we are done with English for a while.  This is the last week for English class this semester.  The English class went well.  Joyce taught Sarah and Art played “Don’t Eat Pete” with her kids, (thanks Rachel for the idea).  Sara thought they were eating too much candy so we played “Go Fish”.  Sara’s husband, Abraham, stopped by so we were able to meet him.  After English we came home and ate lunch and Art got ready to go Home Teaching with one of the members who needed a companion.  They went to three widow ladies and he didn’t get home until after ten.  In between visits he was getting calls from Skyway B and the Benson Hill Elders because they needed him to go with them.  Sometimes you just can’t cover everything.  Joyce rode Karens bike to the Acosta’s to give Eldrex a birthday present and have a little party and then helped Karen with her Orca card so we were both busy. 

Wednesday:  Instead of Northwest Harvest we went to a special training meeting about companion study.  We are still not very good at this, but will keep trying. The Elder Sisters rode with us to the Federal Way Stake Center.  The four north Zones met together so we were able to see a lot of the missionaries that we have gotten to know. Elder Tavo goes home on Monday so it was fun to get to say good-by and take a picture with him.  The meeting was excellent.  Scripture study, especially, the Book of Mormon, is a passion of the Eaton’s.  They got a commitment from all there that we would study everyday for ever.  It was pretty special to sing “Scripture Power” with a room full of missionaries.  One of those tender mercy of being here.  After the meeting we all met Diane Nardi and took her to lunch.  On the way home we passed a bunch of police cars and a Swat Team walking down the road all armed and with dogs. It is a fairly common site in Skyway.  We will have to check the news to see what was going on.   It was in the area we never go into at night if we can avoid it.  Rex is sick so he is not flying here so we cancelled the plane tickets and filled out all the forms for the refund.  Art is also sick.  Renee Smith came over and Joyce ran her to the store for a few things.  She is sick, too.  The Skyway B Elders came over to use the computer and check for referrals.  They have permission to do that everyday with Easter coming up and the new #Hallelujah program.  #Hallelujah is a great video for you to watch.  We highly recommend it!  We also needed to coordinate some times for a few appointments they need us for.  

Sister Chamberlain, Knowles, Elder Knowles, Rodarte and Tavo

Thursday:  Art is still under the weather so we tried to stay in as much as we could.  We had our last English class with Sara today and she wasn’t very happy about that.  They have booked the room for something else so the English class will be in the morning or evening, which we can’t teach.  Sara was not to happy at all.  She wants Joyce to be her teacher.  Sara’s birthday is next week so we took a cake with lots of fruit on it and had a little party.  Her twins were there so Art entertains them while Joyce teaches, then we sang “Happy Birthday” and ate the cake.  We had a teaching appointment at our place at 5:30 but they never showed up.  We were on our way to a baptism when the Elders called to see if we could take the no show family with us.  We picked them up and made it just in time to see the baptism.  The R.S. room was packed so we waited out in the hall.  The Tiffany Park Ward always has a good turn out for baptisms and the investigator has been taking the lessons for a long time so she is well know in the ward.  She has been waiting for her mom to give her permission to be baptized.  We couldn’t attend the missionary meeting since we needed to take the family home after the baptism. (so sad) 

Friday institute:  We had our last class until April.  We needed to go do service at the Salvation Army after class so we didn’t dress up for institute, or get to go to lunch with the Bensons.  The Salvation Army always calls the missionaries when they need something done well.  The major in charge paid a nice compliment to us today.  He told Joyce that he trusts the missionaries to do anything and it will be well done.  He said he could leave if he had to, and the job would be completed and everything would still be there.  The service was with the Sister Missionaries packing up the toys left over from Christmas.  The Elders worked last week and we were just doing the final clean up.  About three hours worth total.  Sister Beck needed to get something to eat after two hours, so Joyce took the Elder Sisters to eat and Art stayed with the younger sisters until Joyce came back, which was just as we were done.  Our 4:30 appointment with Skyway B cancelled so we stayed home the rest of the day.  Joyce wrapped up some toys, blankets, and clothes that the man in charge of the Salvation Army let her have.  They are for the Acostas.

Saturday:  We had kept today open so when Dale Johansen offered to take us to see some sites we jumped at the chance.  Dale is a member of the ward that Art likes to discuss politics and church doctrine with.  He is a liberal Democrat, along with most of Seattle and he has a great knowledge of Seattle history.  We had a great time with Bro. Johansen.  We drove along Lake Washington Blvd to the UW campus.  The  cherry trees are all in bloom on the Quad and lots of people we there walking around.  We even saw a wedding.  It really is a beautiful campus with lots of old buildings.  He wanted to show us the library but it was closed.  Out next stop was at the Ballard Locks.  Joyce really loved them.  We stopped for lunch and had a good visit. Bro. Johansen never married and lives alone so we’re sure he enjoyed the day.   All good things must end as we had a 6:00 appointment we needed to get ready for plus we were just a bit north of I90.  We made a phone call and a text to remind Angel and her kids of the appointment but got no response and they were a no show.  This is the third time so the Elders are getting discouraged.  Art is still sick or getting sicker so we stayed in the rest of the night.

Salvation Army Service

Sunday:  The big debate was if Art should go to church or stay home.  He just doesn’t want to get anyone else sick.  We compromised, Joyce went to church and Art went to an urgent care.   The doctor said it wasn’t pick eye or a cold, just allergies.  Not too sure about this but at least Art went.  He did say the treatment is the same, wait a week or so and it will clear up.  Church was good.  Karen was the only one riding with us. No green house Acostas, even though they got home from the Philippines Saturday, and just a few Holly house Acostas.  There is a lot of sickness going around.  Karen came over and fixed us lunch then Art rested (doctors orders) and Joyce took Karen to an urgent care/ER for some help with her feet and something to help her stop smoking.  Allison, AnJanell and Jake face timed from Allison’s house and Josh face timed us just as Joyce was getting home. We don’t know what Jared’s problem was. We did send the kids money for postage thinking maybe the expense of postage is why we haven't gotten a package in a long time.

Elder Fuller and Brice

Love Joyce and Art

                  Week B39   Mar. 7-13

                  Nobody cares what you do until you don’t do it

Preaching:  “Jesus said several times, “Come, follow me.” His was a program of “do what I do,” rather than “do what I say.” His innate brilliance would have permitted him to put on a dazzling display, but that would have left his followers far behind. He walked and worked with those he was to serve. His was not a long-distance leadership. He was not afraid of close friendships; he was not afraid that proximity to him would disappoint his followers. The leaven of true leadership cannot lift others unless we are with and serve those to be led.” 

― Spencer W. Kimball

Monday p-day:  The Elder Sisters had us over for a breakfast of donuts and hot chocolate.  It was cold and raining but we decided to drive to Puyallup anyway. There is supposed to be a big daffodil festival in April and we were told to go now to see all the daffodils.  All we found was a park with a few flower.  We tried another spot that turned out to just be an empty field.  The drive was fun and it is Sister Larson's last day with us, so no problem. Now we have a reason to go back in April.  Sister Beck arrived at the sisters apartment just as we did, but we didn’t stay to meet her.  We will do that tomorrow after she has had time to unpack.  All the Elder Sisters are eating with the Eaton's tonight so we won’t see them at FHE.  The rest of the day we did laundry and shopping until time for FHE.  May have been a short nap sometime in there. We picked up the usual group, Karen, Debra and Margarita for FHE.  There was not a really big group but it was nice.  Jake called on the way home with a surprise for us so Joyce is happy because Jacob, and Mariah are going to fly in Wednesday morning.  Lara’s 91 year old grandmother past away in the Pasco, Washington.  Lara will fly in Friday morning.  After the morning rain stopped it turned into a pretty nice day.

Tuesday:  We had Zone Training from 10:00 to 1:00 so we moved the English class back on hour.  No problem.  The training was about working with members. We were able to meet Sister Beck.  After the meeting we took a Zone Picture since it is transfers in two weeks and this is the last time we will all be together. Joyce taught English to Sara while Art tried to entertain her two kids.  She is having a rough time so we showed her the new Easter video the church has.  Kind of different to show an Easter video to a lady dressed as a Muslim, but she claims to be Christian and she did enjoy it.  Not sure how much she understood it since she doesn’t understand English but she got the hallelujah part.  We ran to the Elder Sisters to help Sister Beck set up her internet.  Now that you have stopped laughing, you need to know that we did it, we think.  Wal-mart was our next stop to pick up some presents for Maryann’s baby and her birthday.  Sara wants to knit a scarf so we got her some knitting needles and yarn.  After supper we walked to the Acostas to deliver the presents and let Estrella know about the doctors appointment we set up for Eldrex.  Joyce is the scheduler since she can speak English.  No rain today just a cold wind.

Wednesday:  We had to divide up to cover everything.  Art picked up the Elder Sister early and then drove to Auburn to get a set of Sister Missionaries.  They needed to drop their car at the Chevy dealers to get some work done.  Then they all went back to Kent and worked at Northwest Harvest for two hours.  Joyce rode the train to the airport to meet Jake and Mariah.  After picking up Jake and Mariah they all went into Seattle and shopped.   Art took the missionaries back to Auburn after the service project to get their car, by way of Trotters for lunch.  The dealership didn’t have the part so they had to leave the car and Art took them back to Renton.  He was going to leave them at their apartment until they realized they didn’t have keys to the apartment.  The Elder Sisters volunteered to drive them back to Auburn to get their keys,  All this was done in the pouring rain.  Finally we all got back together just in time to go with Skyway B and teach Princes Joy.  They had another appointment they wanted us to attend but we already had a commitment. We left the Acosta’s and picked up Joanna and drove to Auburn (third time today) so she could attend the rebroadcast with Elder Holland (#Face2face).   We didn’t mind because now we got to attend also (it was for young single adults).  Joanna enjoyed it so hopefully she will want to keep going.  That would mean we would drive her each week and we would miss the Wednesday meeting with the Bishop, but get to attend the institute class.  Missionary meeting with the bishop vs institute class.  We think we come out on top.  We talk about the same things on Thursday night with the Ward Mission Leader so we don’t miss much and the Elder Sister always cover for us.  It was hard to leave Jacob and Mariah, but they survived without us.    

Thursday:  We didn’t do much in the morning, just some phone calls to confer some appointments and do some needed business.  Our taxes are finished and being sent to us to sign and send in.  We had English  at 1:00.  We were expecting another student but she didn’t show and Sara didn’t bring her kids so not much for Art to do.  Joyce is a much better teacher so she does all the teaching.  It rained hard most of the day so we were unable to walk.  At 3:00 we were going to teach with Skyway A at our place.  Art and Jake went to pick up the investigator, but his mother answered the door and just yelled at Art and told him never to call or come back again or she would call the police.  We found out later that she did the same thing to the Elders and the father found them later and apologized for this wife’s behavior.  She is a crazy lady.  Her son is 25 so he can do what he wants.  He has already been to church and really liked it.  The father is Jehovah Witness  and she does the same thing to his missionaries if they come over.  Short story is that we didn’t have the lesson at 3:00. At 6:30 the Elders came over for a lesson we had confirmed  earlier that never showed up.  0 for 2 when it comes to lessons today.  In the evening we went to our missionary meeting which was pretty good for a change.  We may have to start up the ARP meeting again, but we will only do it if we have more support from the ward and those who attend are more committed.  Time will tell.  We have enjoyed having Jake and Mariah here, but poor Mariah has had a cold and cough.

Friday:  Lara flew in early this morning so we went to the airport to meet her.  Danny and Galen met us at our place then we all rode the train into Seattle for lunch.  The weather was beautiful until we went into Seattle, then rain.  They all wanted good Clam Chowder so we found this little place by Pikes Market and ate there.  Only problem was the long line then we had to sit outside under umbrellas to eat.  We had some protection from the rain but not much.  After Jake, Lara Mariah, Danny and Galen left for the viewing, we got ready for our 5:00 dinner with Karen until she cancelled. She was going to bring another lady from Hope Place. This allowed us to go with Skyway A (to murder central, Crescent Point) for a lesson.  It was a no show or answer the door.  We are beginning to thing we are a jinx.  The Elders did try another apartment  so we could meet these investigators, with the same results. Since we were out and about we filled up with gas and did some grocery shopping.  In the evening we took Princes Joy to the church for her baptism interview along with Reymark and Eleazar, so they could play basketball.  Karen also came with us so her and Joyce could work on her homework from Hope Place.  It was pretty interesting, about Isaiah and Hosea.  We did find out from Skyway B (they were doing the interview) that the no show appointment was asleep on the couch when we knocked and embarrassed that she didn’t answer.  She has quit smoking and drinking since the last lesson and is excited to keep learning about the gospel, along with the rest of her family.  That was good news.  

Saturday:  Karen wanted to walk between the rain storms. The sun was shining when we picked here up but it was cloudy when we finished, but no rain.  We walked around Seward park. After the walk, we went to lunch  at PCC in Columbia City.  We picked up Reymark, Eleazar and Karen for Princes Joy’s baptism.  We were there early, but Estrella, Princes Joy, and Sunshine barely made it for Princes Joy’s baptism.  We were a little worried.  Joyce helped Sunshine with a baptism activity talk  on Baptism, since Princes Joy doesn’t understand English real well and then Joyce talked a little and we sang about  the Holy Ghost.  The baptism went well with a good ward turn out.  The fund raiser for the young men/women followed so we spent some time setting it up.  They had a silent auction and a live auction which costed us lots, $75.00 for an apple pie.  It was a lot of fun and everyone seemed to have a good time plus there was good food and  they made lots of money.   The Acostas all had to stay for the ward party since we were their way home .

Sunday:  We had a good day at church.  Karen was the only one that rode with us.  We did have a car full going home.  Karen, Reymark, Eleazar, Princes Joy, and Clarine, plus us, so it was a bit crowded.  Art confirmed Princes Joy which was special for him.  Eleazar blessed the sacrament today for his first time and we were so happy.  Sister Sanchez (the one we go to the temple with) was one of the speakers.  She did a great job.  After their Sunday School class, Eleazar and Reymark always come to Joyce’s Primary Class.  Joshua and Ruth and Rubi are still in the Philippines, so after they get back, Brother Munson will start having them have a lesson with him for Priesthood Meeting, since Joshua will be there.  It was fun, we had our Book of Mormon lesson and marked scriptures, then started an Easter activity including reading Easter Scriptures. After church and getting everyone home we ate lunch with Karen, Jake, Lara, and Mariah.  The apple pie was pretty good.   Jake and Lara had been to Lara’s grandmother’s the funeral on Saturday and Lara is flying out tonight, Sunday, at midnight to get back to Pittsburg and back to school.   Jacob and Maria will drive Lara’s parent’s car home tomorrow and they will get to stay for a week at our home!   Galen and Debbie, Lara’s parents, are so excited to get to see Mariah for a week!  One more week in the books  Love Joyce and Art

                                                                                                                                                      Week B40 Feb.29-Mar. 6             

     “Devoted disciples of Jesus Christ always have been and  always will be valiant missionaries”     David A Bednar

Preaching:  Pres. Ezra Taft Benson taught:  "It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called “the words of life” (D&C 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance."

Monday p-day?????:  Rain, rain go away.  By the time we went out it did go away and was a pretty nice day.  We missed the bus again for Eldrex, but we did walk Estrella to the school for her English class.  We ran into Angel at the school and visited with her for a bit.  Skyway B is teaching her two kids and we are trying to get her back to church.  We left there and walked to the Filipino Center to check on the visa registration, but nothing is scheduled yet.  On the way back home we stopped at the  women's clinic that we had helped with and Joyce visited with Tara for a while.  They are going to be moving soon and will need more help.  She would also like us to start an ARP class in their building.  We will have to see what Social Services has to say.  There is such a need to have those types of social services close to a bus route and in this part of town.  We’re just not sure if we have the time.  She even talked about doing a parenting class.  In the evening we transported Debra and Margarita to FHE.  Margarita wasn’t off work until 7:00 so we made several trips back and forth. We do like to help Margarita whenever we can because she is such a hard worker and is always so thankful to us. She walks to and from church every Sunday, rain or shine, and she lives quite far from the church.  She is cute, she says, “Well, at least going home it is mostly downhill.”  We ran everybody home after FHE then made a stop at the R.S. Pres. home for a Bishops order we need to pick up tomorrow. We did manage to get most of the laundry done, make some soup, and Joyce got her hair cut, in between the visits and FHE.  Next Monday we are going to plan a road trip (with the phones turned off) so we can get away and have a real p-day.  

Tuesday District meetings:  We had a very confusing morning.  Our meeting has been starting at 10:30, it was changed to 12:00 and they forgot to tell us.  We got a call from the Zone Leaders about Northwest Harvest.  Somehow we became the go to people  between Northwest Harvest and the missionaries. They want us to serve there more and President Eaton approved it.  In fact Katie (the volunteer coordinator) is the ones who asked him if the missionaries could serve there more often.  After a few e-mails back and forth we got it worked out, we hope.  We had to leave our meeting early to go and teach English.  We tried to cancel, but Sara doesn’t understand enough English to get the message so we went and taught her.  Joyce worked with Sara and Art helped another man who came in looking for help to fill out some papers.  He had just passed his citizenship test and was on his way to the swearing in ceremony.  The building we should have been is was locked so we were in a different building which put Art in a place where he could help this man.  Heaven Father loves all his children and helps them out when they need it.  Sara and Joyce played “Go Fish” for the lesson.  Sara is still learning letters and sounds.  She wants us to help her find a job now, we think.  After the lesson we drove to the Bishops Storehouse to pick up an order.  They had closed, (we thought they were open longer and we did get into rush hour traffic) but they were there for a meeting so they let us fill the order.  Another tender mercy.  We had Karen with us and she missed her dinner time so we took her out to dinner.  We just got home in time to meet with the Elders (Skyway B) and go over the ward roster.  We only got six sheets done so we are going to divide it up and just give them a list to visit.  Lots of wind, rain and cold, plus a little hail today.

Wednesday:  Northwest Harvest today with the Sisters packaging rice.  It was a workout.  We changed out clothes and drove to Kent for a meeting with President McKinney.  There is a new couple in the mission.  Elder and Sister Draney from Star Valley, WY.  Emily, they know your parents and he said he either taught you or coached you!  After the meeting we did our usual lunch with everyone.  There is a new Cafe Rio in Kent.  We took the Elder Sisters home and then did some shopping and finally got Art’s prescriptions filled, (most of them).  The Skyway B Elders came over and we made a visit in our building, but there was a “Do not Disturb” sign on the door so we didn’t knock.  We were going to take Joanna to Auburn until she canceled because of too much homework.  That was okay with us because we were tired.  We did some companion studying, which we are lacks in and then called it a day.  

Thursday:  Karen needed us to help her with a bus pass early in the morning. We taught Sara English and played “GO FISH” again along with making up chains for words for her to read. We get words from her on subjects she knows about, and then teach her to sound out the words.   Art was going to play “Don’t Eat Pete” with her kids, but they stayed home.  Sara did ask if she could take some candy home to them.  (Tuesday we gave her Tootsie Pops for her kids).  After the lesson we (Joyce) read the Book of Mormon with Joyce Johnson.  Joyce is so sincere in her reading and our discussions, as she cannot go to church every Sunday because of work.  She is worried about a lot of things, but reading and studying seems to give her peace.  We rode the bus to the NAAM to have a tour for ward members and a meeting to discuss how to use the museum and family history center for a missionary tool.  We only had six come, but we didn’t expect a lot and we had wonderful tour, with a lot of insight from ward members that have grown up in Seattle.  Thank goodness for the Elder Sisters, they gave us a ride home so we didn’t have to ride the bus home.

Friday:  We had a very good institute class and went to lunch afterwards.  Joyce worked on a project she is doing and Art worked on a project he is doing.  The Elders did come by to use our key to check on an investigator so we gave them the ward info that Art has done so far.

Saturday:  Joyce spent the day with Karen at a R.S. Birthday Party Meeting in Bellevue.   It was awesome and some notes are included at the end of the letter.  The woman who founded Mothers Without Borders was the keynote speaker on service, and then we worked on service projects until the luncheon.  You would not believe her optimism with all the trials she has gone through just this year alone!  Art worked on the ward roster, (it’s done!), fixed lunch for the Skyway B Elders and went teaching with them.  After Joyce got home we walked down to the Acostas to check on rides for church tomorrow.  The Bensons stopped by to visit and the Elders came back over to use our key for an appointment they had.  We also received a positive text from one of our friends from the Filipino Center about coming to dinner and getting a Book of Mormon.  We had almost given up, so that was exciting. Now that the roster is done we will start knocking on doors next week.   Between us and Skyway B we should have our half of the ward done soon.  Spring is here in Seattle so it will be nice to get out and see all the blossoms, just hope it doesn’t start raining.

Sunday:  We got an early start so we could get everyone picked up and still get to church on time.  All the Holly House Acosta’s came to church except Mary Ann, she may be going into labor.  This was Eldrex’s first time ever at church and he did great.  We had Eldrex, Estrella, Princes Joy and the wheel chair with us and the rest went with Sun Shine and they also had Ivar with them.  Ivar is a young man we have worked with before, who is starting to come back some.  We still picked up Karen and Debra so we had a car full.  During class, Sunshine, Richel, Ivar, Remark, and Eleazar all wanted to come into Joyce’s Primary lesson, so Brother Munson and Brother Jackson joined them again.  Brother Munson said that when Joshua and the twins get back from the Philippines, he will start having Priesthood lessons with them.  But for now, it is fun having them in class to listen to Book of Mormon lessons and mark scriptures with Princes Joy, Donni, and Eldrex.  Margarita wanted a ride home so the Elder Sisters took Debra home for us.  Several investigator were at church.  One family, that Skyway B is teaching, came the second hour for Primary but couldn’t find Joyce’s class, so they left.  Next week Art is going to sit in the foyer during Sunday School so that won’t happen again.  Its hard to believe somebody didn’t help them.   After church we came home and waited for the kids to call.  Thank heaven for face time. We are trying to make plans for tomorrow because it’s Sister Larson’s last day as Sister Beck is coming sometime tomorrow.  We want to do something fun with Sister Larson, plus go out to lunch one last time.  After several nice days in a row, the rain, cold and wind were back this morning, but by afternoon the sun was shining.

                                               Joyce’s notes from Saturday:

The Voice of Love, not Fear:  by Sister Kathy Miner  

  When people are scared, they dig in their heels and won’t go any farther.  They cannot see what is ahead because of fear of the unknown. They are comfortable in their own circumstances, even if it is a better life ahead, they are afraid to try.  Satan wants us to live in that fear and insecurity.  But, our Savior will always meet us at the point of our affliction and take us in His arms, and whisper, through the Spirit, “I’ve got this.”  …”Our Savior has our backs!”   This power of love will be the force to welcome in His Second Coming.  We must have love for our brothers and our sisters.  

Satan wants us to be insecure and whispers words of insecurity to our minds.  He tells us to think, “I don’t know how to do this.  I have nothing to offer.”  Satan wants us to see weakness in others and wants us to criticize others as we find faults.  That way fear and insecurity can have hold on us.  

It is hard to follow Celestial Road Signs in a Telestial World, but we can do it as we understand that love and fear are two opposing forces.  It started with the War in Heaven and is still God versus Satan.  This life is our school where we must learn, grow and make choices based on our love of the Savior and His atonement for us.  

Light is more powerful than darkness.  We have only 90 seconds to choose to get rid of the unwanted dark houseguests of Negativity, Fear, and Insecurity.  In this 90 seconds, you have the power to change darkness for powerful light.  Get rid of dark, negative thoughts when they come into your mind.  We are children of light, children of our Heavenly Father. He knows us by name and the world is desperate for our light, hope, love, compassion, and empathy.  If you think that your effort is too small, you cannot help those in the world that desperately need you.  Have faith that Heavenly Father knows you and He will put people in your path to help you.  Heavenly Father will also put you in people’s paths to help them.  Then, you can share love, peace, joy, gratitude, patience, grace, wisdom, courage, forgiveness and strength with them that need you.  

Know that you are enough.  Crowd out thoughts of insecurity with love.   Sowing contention is not hard and is what Satan wants.  Sowing love is Christlike.   Know that you are surrounded by people who love you and whom you love.  

Hope all is well and have a good week.  We Love You, Joyce and Art