Welcome, Welcome Is Thy Dawning

It is a little after 10 p.m. and the temperature just hit 32 degrees and heading down to 29 by morning. That is not remarkable considering many of you live in areas where it hardly gets above that for weeks! And everyone here says that January and February are - in general - bitter cold.  The wind is what gets you....combined with the humidity.  There is also the idea that snow is predicted for tomorrow and the next day.

I have always held to the idea that the best thing about snow is being indoors warm and toasty looking out!  Unfortunately this week we will be out a lot.  That is OK.  After having lived in a desert for over 40 years now, I find that I have acclimated very well to this climate and am very happy to be experiencing winter in all its glory.

In Church today we had three speakers.  The first was one of our YSAs.  He is about 21 and has a beautiful head of deep auburn-colored hair and a beard of the same color.  He is on the quiet side as a rule, but today he spoke for fifteen minutes entirely without notes.  I am sure that since it was his own story he told, it was easier than other topics.

At age 17 his kidneys shut down and he was put in the hospital.  He described the feelings he had.  He reached a point where he had no strength, not even to turn his head from side to side.  He just lay in bed waiting for the end.  His mother spent the better part of her time with him for over a month there in the hospital.  She told me (after the meeting) that the doctors had given up on him and told her that he was dying and that there was nothing anyone could do for him.

The entire stake fasted for him, and his father and grandfather gave him a blessing.  He was told in the blessing that his kidneys would begin to function and that he would be well and live a normal life.  Within days of that, that is exactly what happened.  The doctors were baffled but released him soon after that.

Recovery was made at home, but by the time he was beginning to get back to normal, he had already missed much school.  The outcome of the story was that his life is going in a different direction than it might have gone had he been well throughout his life.  He actually said that he recognized the blessings and growth that had come to him because of those experiences, and that he was grateful that he was on the path he is on now.

The other speaker talked about what a gift repentance is.  He told of being 8 years old and breaking a window with a ball.  He ran and hid and eventually his father found him.  The father said, "What's this about a broken window?"  The boy at first denied it and then began to cry.  He confessed what he had done.  The father confirmed his love for the boy, and stated that the window could be repaired, but was concerned about the lie.

Secure in his father's love, the boy vowed to never again lie.  (I wish I could state it how he stated it) Then the father said, "Then you will do something no one else has ever done."  What followed from his dad was a beautiful lesson about the power of repentance to make us better...something we all have need of every day of our lives if we want to be better individuals.  It was both comforting and inspiring.

The third was a young woman from Chile who is married to a Dane.  She gave a beautiful talk about getting comfortable in the situations we are placed in.  What was interesting about her talk was that it was in Spanish...beautiful Spanish.  She would say a couple of sentences, and then her husband standing to her side repeated it in Danish, and then Anna -sitting in the back of the chapel - translated into English which came over the headphones to me.

Anna works for the Church in the translation department, and translates for the Liahona.  So it is a real bonus that she is in our little branch.  SK toughs it out and listens on his own.  He hears and understands more Danish than I do, but he also misses some.  I should try harder to follow his example, but I love to hear everything, and Anna is superb.

One thing I have found interesting is that when a speaker gets to a scripture that Anna is familiar with, there is suddenly a smooth reciting of the scripture....no halting to listen before speaking.  I have heard that is how Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon.  He would go along speaking slowly as he translated, and then would suddenly come to familiar words like Isaiah or New Testament verses, and would speed through them.

Our two sweet young elders have been gently shepherding an investigator to church now for several weeks.  He is an older man, gray-haired and looking much worn down by life.  A friend leaned over to me and said, "Have you seen how his countenance is changing?"  I looked and it was true!  He is looking brighter, happier and more alive.  I  know the Gospel does that to people, but I also think being in the company of those two cute young men would make anyone happier.

The rest of the day has been spent in just relaxing and studying....and skyping.  We are so incredibly blessed to see and hear our children grandchildren every so often.  It helps us stay connected, but it always makes me long to reach out to hug them.  I have been reading about the first missionaries in Denmark....gone from home for 2 and 3 years back in the 1850's.  Letters took weeks, if not months to reach their destination and then so much more time to receive a response.

We are truly blessed.