The End Has Come

 Well, we didn’t do a very good job of posting here. But here we are at the end of our mission. We are filled with gratitude for the opportunity we had to witness first hand all the good that comes from organized religion and the prophetic vision and inspired guidance that is able to feed the masses and help individuals, one by one, experience the joy of moving forward in their lives. We’ve been participants in both efforts. It has been an honor to represent Jesus Christ and participate in His work.  We assisted in 26 Humanitarian Donations of goods and cash from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, tens of thousands fed in Northern New Mexico. We worked with dozens of job seekers even though the Employment Center was not even officially open for business. We weren’t always successful because many that we worked with had more than employment needs, needs that had to be addressed before becoming job ready.  But we did witness some miracles in that process. On two different occasions, an employer walk into our center at the very time were working with job seekers. Three of them are now employed with that company. We met some of the finest people on earth as we interacted with other senior missionaries, Church leaders, and most especially employees and volunteers at organizations that serve the most vulnerable segment of the population. We’ve gained an increased awareness of what it means to be a minister in God’s Kingdom. We’ve had opportunities to share vision and tools for inspired ministering in various Church settings. We were able to experience Native American culture up close and personal. We made some wonderful friends in various Pueblos and Tribes and experienced many of their “Feast Days”.  And one of the best side benefits, was the opportunity to explore ancient Native cultural sites. If we weren’t busy with some aspect of our missionary work, Elder Pack made sure we were busy exploring New Mexico. 

 

We have to put a plug in here for senior missions. There is a huge need and a wonderful opportunity to participate in something bigger than self.  We know that the New Mexico Albuquerque Mission is looking for missionaries to support local leaders in reaching out to the ones who need a friend. Employment Services in the Church is always looking for missionaries to serve from home and as an employment missionary there is excellent training!  The Church’s employment website has recently moved to a new and improved platform with easier access for job seekers. It has also improved the way employers can post job openings, which then provides a great place to go to find a better job. There are amazing workshops to improve job search skills and an opportunity for personalized assistance.  We’d love to help anyone who is interested, navigate the site. The web address is employment.churchofjesuschrist.org.

 

We are looking forward to seeing you all again. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is led by a living prophet and twelve apostles, with seventies assisting just the same as the organization that Christ set up when He walked the earth. He gave those men special authority to do His work and He has given special authority to these men today. He is unchanging, the same yesterday, today and forever. 

Senior missionaries at a farewell party for the Fullers

The Gathering of Nations Pow Wow

Chaco Canyon with the other senior missionaries

Chaco Canyon

Old Laguna Pueblo

At the crest of Sandia Peak right after a snow storm 

Pistachio country

New Mexico has beautiful sunsets!

This balloon landed in the field right next to our apartment.

Taos Pueblo finally opened to the public after the pandemic so we were able to go visit.

Our friendly roadrunner. We saw him frequently on our morning walks.

Lunch at Rancho de Chimayó with our cousins, 

We met them for the first time after we got here.

Sparky's - best hamburger in New Mexico!

Getting ready for our hot air balloon ride

The view from the sky.  It was a great ride!

We even got a certificate to prove it. 

Tram ride to the top of Sandia Peak

Hiking to the Kiwanis Cabin on Sandia Peak

The view from the top of Sandia Peak

Succeed in School training for the Laguna Acoma Branch

 and the To'hajiilee Branch

Sister Pack's office space at the Employment Services Center

This is where we went to work everyday. 

On one of the hikes in Petroglyph National Monument.

It's not all peaches and cream. But the miracle is this didn't slow Sister Pack down at all .

 It didn't hurt to walk even with the injury

Keeping in shape. We often saw balloons in the sky on our morning exercise route.

Our front door.

Balloon Fiesta

This post was started last October but is just now getting posted. Sorry about that! 😁 

We've been looking forward to the big event here in Albuquerque, the Balloon Fiesta. It ended today so we spent a couple of afternoon and evenings at the park. We have had beautiful weather in Albuquerque all up until this last week. It was cloudy and stormy every day except the first day last Saturday, so many days the big balloon events were canceled. It was disappointing. But we did manage to experience some of the events. We watched the first day from a parking lot not far from out apartment. We went Thursday afternoon and saw the chain saw carving but the "Special Shapes Glowdeo" was canceled because of wind. It even started to rain and many people left. We stuck it out and were rewarded with being able to watch an amazing "Aerial Light Show" - hundreds maybe thousands of drones  creating shapes of all colors. It was beautiful. That was followed by fireworks. Because the Glowdeo was canceled, our ticket was honored for another session. We decided to give it another try on Friday afternoon/evening. The weather was great for the first 3 hours. The Special Shapes Glowdeo got going for a few minutes. Then out of no where a down pour began, the balloons deflated and people started running for cover. It was a mass exit of thousands of people. There was even some lightning which initiated an emergency evacuation. You can imagine what the traffic was like when everyone tried to leave at exactly the same moment. We were soaked when we made it back to our car. But we are glad we went in spite of the rain. 

 

  

Past News: March 13, 2022

 I'm catching up a bit since we didn't post for so long. Our weeks have been super busy. This post is for activities in the first week of March. We’ve been spending a lot of time training for our employment responsibilities. We’re supposed to be able to help job seekers in the Albuquerque area and other areas in the Southwest. Luckily there hadn’t been many needing our help as of March but we've started to get busier. The Church has a pretty amazing website for anyone who needs help with job search skills. There are live zoom meetings with trained experts. They include help with resume writing, preparing for interviews, finding job leads. There is an Ask an Expert open forum, an Active Job Search group, and a group for those interested in starting a side business. If anyone is interested in checking out the website, it is employment.churchofjesuschrist.org. It's a pretty great website. If you follow the advice given, you will shorten your job search! 

One of the tender mercies I've received happened as I was out for a walk one morning in March. I was  walking past the row of garages in front of our apartment. There was a lady who has been working on cleaning out her garage for the last week. As I walked past, she came up to me and asked if I could use a small desk.  Then she added “that has a sewing machine in it”. She said she just wanted to get rid of it and be done cleaning out the garage.The sewing machine aspect caught my attention! I have been trying to figure out how I could get some mending and alterations done on some of my clothes. I wondered if  maybe I should see about buying a cheap sewing machine, or should I find a tailor, is there a place that rents sewing machines? I could go to one of the other senior missionaries and use hers but that wasn’t likely to happen before she went home. Anyway, this seemed to me to be an answer to a prayer. It’s a 1960 vintage Singer so I’ve had to figure out how it works. The drawers of the cabinet were full of sewing supplies and attachments for the machine. I continue to be amazed with all the blessings that come each day.

 

Past News: February 26, 2022

There is never enough time in our days! One things we are involved in is Humanitarian Donations from the Church. We are the representatives of the Church here in Albuquerque in the process that organizations go through to receive Humanitarian Donations from the Church. It has been eye opening to see all that the Church does to help alleviate need. AND there are so many amazing people and organizations who help the down trodden. It is such a blessing to meet them and witness all that they do!

We met with one organization to learn how the Church could assist as Afghan refugees arrive in Albuquerque. This was the beginning of a new grant for them. After we met with them, we got to work to figure out how much money would be involved. We then submitted the recommendation to our boss in SLC. It went up the chain and received approval. Now we are in the process of fulfilling it. There is cash involved and items from the Bishops’ Storehouse. We have worked with an organization that helps asylum seekers as they arrive here from El Paso, TX. We have ongoing involvement in the re-application of many other donation requests from other entities.  There is so much that the Church does just here in ABQ and multiply that by every city in the world and it is mind boggling! Our boss in Salt Lake City has been involved in a project to bring water and electricity to a Navajo reservation town in Utah. We are always looking for more opportunities to help here in our area. 

Another project we have been exploring and would like to get going is a project to video the oldest members of the Native American Pueblos and Reservations to record their stories before they are lost forever. Knowing who you are and the stories of your past help a person to face the challenges of life – strengthens emotional resilience and self-reliance. So that is part of the reason for our effort. Along those lines, Shelley has been able to create a family tree for one member of a Pueblo close by. 

 

We have visited several of the Native American communities. (I think it was one of our trips on a back road to one of them that did a number on our car. :-[ ) We've been invited to speak in several of the Native American units of the Church - their membership is so small that they welcome anyone they can get to speak :-) . When we went to speak in Alamo, a Navajo branch of the Church, the branch president invited us to his home for a late lunch after. Alamo is 2 ½ hours from ABQ so it was a welcome invitation.  His home is on a huge ranch. What an amazing place! It was a gathering place for ancient inhabitants. There is a huge rock outcrop on the property, probably 150 feet high, called Council Rock. It reminded us of King Benjamin’s gathering place where the people gathered to be taught. It is obvious that this was a going place in the past. The family has found hundreds of artifacts, including the stones for grinding corn, arrowheads, pieces of pottery and tools. It is located on a spring of water and there are tall trees all around (not that common in some parts of New Mexico). It is a beautiful place. We were blown away by it all.

 

Succeed In School Training

We haven't been very good about writing in our blog. I finally figured out how to get back in after so many months of being AWOL, so I will try to be more regular about posting.  Our weeks are always full to the brim and we are having wonderful blessings and opportunities. 

This last week we had visitors from Church Headquarters.  Two Seminary and Institute employees and a member of the Priesthood and Family Committee came to Albuquerque to train on a tool that has been approved for use on the Native American lands. It's called "Succeed in School". We have been working with a set of sister missionaries assigned to two of the Native American units in our mission as they learn how to use this tool to bless the people in these areas, Our Mission President and the Stake President over these areas joined in the training. It's actually a resource that can be accessed by anyone on the Gospel Library app under Life Help > Education.  But because it is being used on Native American lands, we can get this kind of support from Church Headquarters for implementing it here. It is exciting to be a part of this pioneering effort. 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has so many wonderful resources to bless the lives of God's children. The Lord and His Church are concerned about all aspects of our lives and thus have created resources to assist us in overcoming life's challenges. Being able to care for and overcome our own challenges allows us to reach out in love to serve others.  We can then better keep the second great commandment to love our neighbor as ourself.

 

A Visit From Elder Neil L. Anderson

We have had an amazing two days of feasting. We have been blessed with a mission tour by Elder Neil L. Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Pieper, President of the Southwest Area and Elder Vest, Area Seventy for our area. The big take away for me is the importance of a firm foundation of faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ, for ourselves and for our families. Our testimony of the Savior and His divinity and ability to atone for the sins of all the world will be our biggest test in the future. This was a big part of Elder Anderson’s message. He counseled us to start preparing now by spending time building our relationship with Christ first by studying very thoroughly the New Testament along with our study of the Book of Mormon. He invited us to start with 5 scriptures about Christ from the New Testament that you really believe and then memorize them. The 2nd thing is to keep a great love for the Book of Mormon because it testifies of Jesus Christ. It is full of amazing sermons about His atonement. He then invited us to find 5 scriptures in the Book of Mormon as well and memorize them. With efforts to memorize, our faith will be elevated. 

Elder Anderson warned us that we are going to have to do things we haven’t had to do before in order to stay strong and not slide off the path. We are living in a time that will require of all of us to build strong faith in Christ so that whatever surrounds us won’t pull us off the path. We need to be “converted to the Lord and united to the Church” (3 Nephi 28:23;)

This message of the importance of faith in Jesus Christ was reiterated by each of the speakers. 

Elder Vest spoke about an experience he and his wife had teaching an activity age group of children about the Atonement of Jesus Christ from Preach My Gospel pages 51 – 52. They then had them teach it to each other. Most of them had a very difficult time doing it. The same was true of the missionaries that came into his mission when he presided in the New York Syracuse Mission. They didn't know very much about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He asked the question: What do we and our children know most about? Do we know about Star Wars, Harry Potter, or Pokemon more than about Jesus Christ? Why is it important? Why does it matter? Because without Him we have and are nothing. And because every good thing comes from Him. Another reason is found in Helaman 5:12 "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.” This passionate love of Jesus Christ will protect us. 

He quoted from this scripture in Deuteronomy 6:7 “And thou shalt teach [the Lord’s words] diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” He gave a modern adaptation of that scripture: Thou shalt teach these things when thou drivest in the car, when thou eatest dinner, when thou art on social media. (he gave examples of normal and natural ways to do this - not preachy) He also quoted President Russell M. Nelson from last General Conference who said, “With frightening speed, a testimony that is not nourished daily “by the good word of God” can crumble. Thus, the antidote to Satan’s scheme is clear: we need daily experiences worshiping the Lord and studying His gospel. I plead with you to let God prevail in your life. Give Him a fair share of your time. As you do, notice what happens to your positive spiritual momentum.” (President Russell M. Nelson, "The Power of Spiritual Momentum", General Conference, April 2022)

Our Testimony is that Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. Without Him we would be doomed to misery. He is the source of all that is good and light and true. We are so blessed to be serving in His kingdom.

New Mexico Packs Blog Post 9

We've been busy every day. There is never enough time in the day! But I can't always explain all that keeps us busy. One thing is Humanitarian Donations. We are the representatives of the Church here in Albuquerque in the process that organizations go through to receive donations from the Church. It has been eye opening to see all that the Church does to help alleviate need. We met with Lutheran Family Services to learn how the Church could assist as Afghan refugees arrive in Albuquerque. This was the beginning of a new grant for them. After we met with them, we got to work to figure out how much money would be involved. We then submitted the recommendation to our boss in SLC. It went up the chain and received approval. Now we are in the process of fulfilling it. There is cash involved and items from the Bishops' Storehouse. We are also involved in the re-application of 4 or 5 other donation requests from other entities. There is so much that the Church does just here in ABQ and multiply that by every city in the world and it is amazing! Our boss has been involved in a project to bring water and electricity to a Navajo reservation town in Utah. We are looking for more opportunities to help here in our area. 

Another project we have been exploring and would like to get going is a project to video the oldest members of the Native American Pueblos and Reservations to record their stories before they are lost forever. Knowing who you are and the stories of your past help a person to face the challenges of life – strengthens emotional resilience. So that is part of the reason for our effort. 

 

We have visited several of the Native American communities. (I think it was one of our trips on a back road to one of them that did our car in. :-[ ) We were invited to speak in Alamo, a Navajo branch of the Church. The branch president invited us to his home for a late lunch after. Alamo is 2 ½ hours from ABQ so it was a welcome invitation.  His home is on a ranch owned by his father-in-law. His wife grew up there. What an amazing place! It was a gathering place for ancient inhabitants. There was a huge rock outcrop, probably 150 feet high, called Council Rock. It reminded us of King Benjamin's gathering place where the people gathered to be taught. It is obvious that this was a going place in the past. The family has found hundreds of artifacts, including the stones for grinding corn, arrowheads, pieces of pottery and tools. It is located on a spring of water and there are tall trees all around (not that common in this part of New Mexico). It is a beautiful place. We were blown away by it all.

                                       Native American Dancers from a New Mexico Pueblo

                                          at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Albuquerque

We also had the opportunity to attend the meetings of the Swahili Branch of the Church here in ABQ. That was an amazing experience too! It's a small group but growing. There had been a baptism the day before so the lady was confirmed in church. It was all done by the Swahili members. There is a set of elders in the branch who, even though they received no MTC training in Swahili, were translating on the fly from Swahili to English and the other way around depending on who was speaking. They have picked it up after getting here and they were doing a great job. Talk about the Gift of Tongues! It was humbling to be there, the Spirit was strong.

 

We prepared and presented some training to Stake leaders in one stake and we are going to present in the Santa Fe Stake next Saturday in a leadership meeting associated with their Stake Conference. Preparing for those things takes time. We are trying to enlarge the vision of what Welfare and Self-Reliance is and how it can bless the lives of members and non-members. It includes but is way more than running self-reliance groups. I believe it is where the rubber meets the road in helping people change their circumstances and overcome the things that hold them back. I like to think that it is building Zion people prepared to meet the Savior.

 

Oh yes, one more thing. We had a fun visit from our daughter-in-law, Jessica's parents, Jim and Marilyn Barry, who are on a temple tour since they have been called to be the temple president and matron of the Provo Temple starting in September.. 

 

Well this is certainly long enough but I was trying to catch up on some of the exciting things we are experiencing. It is amazing how the Lord prepares the way for us – so many tender mercies.