June 19 - July 31, 2012 UPDATE

A blog.  Today it was slog through a blog.  My admiration for all those who have faithfully blogged is growing.  So now this has become the Once a Transfer blog.  Yes, still on the phone:  President Wilkey finding and of course, eating wild blackberries, along one of the many wooded walking paths in the area. We can have fantastic quick "preparation hour"--a walk in the woods after a 10 minute, or less, drive. (Call: Nothing serious this time, just a call to arrange an interview)      Sister Wilkey in Portsmouth, Maine by the now-forgotten-the-name-of lighthouse (Call: A missionary was reporting on an upcoming shoulder surgery.)      We enjoyed an entire preparation day with the Blain and Heidi family.

We admit it, we loved the hugs
from the grandchildren 

 .
Yes,  we are tired. Okay. 
Exhausted.

The Source

 The small building on the left located in Poland Springs, Maine, is called The Source.

Granted that the water is pure and from a spring.

We invite others to the source of living water, the Savior Jesus Christ.  Have you looked at the Bible Videos?  This one uses incredible imagery with water.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EjIlhu-yuTI

Christlike Attributes

Vision - Missionaries who are becoming like Christ

As a mission we have dedicated some daily personal study time to the study of the four Gospels in the New Testament looking for ways we can emulate the Savior. We desire to develop Christlike attributes, the gifts from God, “one action and decision at a time.” (Preach My Gospel, 123) help each of us fulfill our purpose as a missionary and throughout our lives.

We have chosen many of these photos from those of the Blain and Heidi Wilkey family who visited us in early July (JOYFUL!)  Indeed, we must "[become] a saint through the atonement of Christ...and [become] as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."  Mosiah 3:19

FAITH

Christian is holding one of the few existing
 original copies of the Book of Mormon,
 another witness of Jesus Christ.
  This copy is in the Dartmouth College Library.


One of our deepest sorrows and greatest
challenges is the illness of missionaries that
necessitates that they return home for treatment.
We always hope for their recovery and for
their return to the mission.

“…faith will increase through diligent study, prayer, dedicated service…”  (Preach My Gospel, 116)

    HOPE “Hope is the anchor of our souls…”  James E. Faust  (Preach My Gospel, 117)

This rock carving is called HOPE
and was made by a man
whose brother is fighting cancer.

CHARITY

“Charity, the pure love of Christ, leads to action.”  It motivates each of us to “look for opportunities to serve others” and give of ourselves.  (Preach My Gospel, 118)

A father striving to emulate the Savior

Love in family so completely shown in the love of mother and son

    

VIRTUE

How sweet it is!

“[Virtue] is a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards.” (Preach My Gospel, 118)

Looking for 'treasures'  sea glass and shells below Fort Constitution.
But the best treasure was in the shared family experiences
"Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly"  Doctrine and Covenants 121:45

Christian is becoming a confident pianist.
We need pianists!! Keep practicing.

Addy is teaching Lauren, a very willing student
At Camp Joseph

KNOWLEDGE
“Seek learning, even by study and also by faith”  Doctrine and Covenants 88:118

Christian and Heidi have discovered their own "fan" of ancestors.
They are appreciating the patient labor of many who have preserved and recorded genealogical records.   createfan.com is a fun experience in finding your ancestors.

PATIENCE

Elder Neibergull is updating the area book,
 a work of patience that will greatly
bless missionaries and leaders.

“Patience is the capacity to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without becoming angry, frustrated, or anxious.”  (Preach My Gospel, 120)

  

Lia, four months-meeting her for the first time.
 She earns her nickname, Smiles

HUMILITY

“[Humility] includes gratitude for [the Lord’s] blessings and acknowledgement of…constant need for His divine help."  (Preach My Gospel, 120)

DILIGENCE

“Diligence is steady, consistent, earnest, and energetic effort …”  (Preach My Gospel, 121)

Lauren age four!!

Lauren by herself made not one but some rocks cairns
Along the Marginal Way, Ogunquit, Maine

 OBEDIENCE

Jackson sits in front of a portrait
 of the prophet Joseph.

“When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, then …God will endow you with power.”  Ezra Taft Benson

Following exactly--
We were instructed to walk in the blue line
 on the way to Fort Constitution
 which is located on a Coast Guard Base

In Family Home Evening -a lesson taught by elders Sommerfeldt and Esplin--Lauren blindfolded
 was instructed to avoid all the crocodiles.
Addy was giving her instructions.  As we are obedient to a prophet's voice, we can avoid spiritual crocodiles.

ONE by ONE

The Savior ministered to others one by one.

One favorite two by two experience we have--though it is too rare--
is to have  join missionaries for their weekly planning.
 We appreciate the way Elders Barfuss and Mitchell plan to reach goals

While a companionship waited for their interviews--every three months--with President Wilkey, Sister Wilkey had the privilege to help the waiting companionship to go onto familysearch.org and to feel the strong pull of the "Spirit of Elijah," the Holy Ghost witnessing of the importance and joy of families. Elders Baker and Johnson look for their ancestors.

Elder Simkins of Enterprise, Utah is loving the people
 and the area of coastal Ellsworth, Maine

Elder Wikan just entered the mission,
leaving Hurricane, Utah

The new missionaries arrive exhausted from the Missionary Training Center.  Elder Sommerfeldt, an Assistant, is showing Elder Brown a map of the Mission.

Elder and Sister Davis-
Didn't we say it before:
 we love senior missionaries
-- bring many talents to the Mission,
 including the arranging of flowers.

Sharing, teaching, serving--one companionship in Ascutney, Elders Rogers and Thorn to one couple

A very rare exception--a baptism in a lake
Baptism by immersion even as the Savior
was baptized is one by one

“Leadership assignments must never be viewed as a way to obtain personal recognition or advancement, but rather as opportunities to serve others, to develop greater love and to learn”  Missionary Handbook, 55

Meeting the new missionaries at the airport

“As goes the training of new missionaries, so goes the mission.” (Jeffrey R. Holland) For the recent transfer—the fewest missionaries coming in during the year—President Wilkey first chose the trainers, the mission leaders who set the tone for the new missionaries’ entire experience.   The president sometimes helps the district leaders understand the nature of their responsibility—to nurture, to teach, to encourage each missionary within that district—by helping them realize they must minister as the Savior, one by one.

Four small districts from the coastal regions of Maine met for Interview Day.

Zone Leaders pictured below maintain responsibility for the overall direction of their zone.

Break at lunch.  Time for shoe shines

And time for making menus and grocery lists.
Yes, the NHMM missionaries do have to learn to cook for themselves, on a budget.

Elder Esplin

Elders Adams and Sommerfeldt waiting for President to finish a phone call

Assistants lift and strengthen the president and do a whole lot of organizing, planning and carrying out of plans.  All are essential!

Gratitude - Attitude Adjustment

 graphic from lds.org/Words of the Prophet 

On our morning walk, we played "The Gratitude Game."  This is The Game: in rapid fire one then the other we share what we were grateful for.  Today for instance: a safe trip home from Maine, the wonderful members of the Topsham Ward, the new people we met in our walks and talks at Poland Springs, the flowering bushes, seeing red squirrels up close, eating high bush blueberries from the bush, the deer along side the road as we walked, being given words to speak in Sacrament Meeting...

"We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude...someone has said that 'gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all others. . .'" President Thomas S. Monson. October Conference. 2010.

Frogs from the size of your pinky nail
 to a large man's fist and they make sounds
 from pings to musical oompa pa

The numbers of birds here are endless

Kiwi Raspberries are amazing and they grow in bushes taller that President Wilkey
 that Brother Smith cuts to 14 inches in the fall.

 

blueberries.  Umm umm Good.  Shared by Brother Smith in Topsham

Wonderful ward members in Topsham

Signs

"used to convey an idea, a desire, information, or a command"  online dictionary

Street signs, road markers, advertisements, license plates – because we travel a great deal, we have gotten into the habit of looking for signs. We don't miss billboards along side the highways!! A companionship of missionaries has supplied us with some of these signs.

 As Representatives of Jesus Christ, we invite others to make and keep covenants.  "A covenant is a binding and solemn agreement between God and man... Keeping covenants brings blessings in this life and exaltation in the life to come."  Preach My Gospel, 63

Gratefully a large number of those the missionaries teach and who make and keep covenants are
  friends and neighbors referred to the missionaries

Keep on the Lord's side of the line!  On the "right'eous side
--President Wilkey's constant plea to the missionaries.

We're noticing lots of licenses that express the driver's desires.

A drive on New England's winding roads, you'll find every imaginable street name
.  We've had fun watching for the names of family members.There is a saying in the  Mission Home,
"We leave our families for two years so that others can be with their families for eternity."

Blain and Heidi brought their family for a glorious week.
 Jackson found his favorite sign.

• Pickleball is a relatively new racquet sport which combines elements of badminton, tennis, and table tennis. The sport is played on a court with the same dimensions as a badminton court. The net is lower than most other racquet sports allowing for faster play. ...