January 2025, Week 3

 *Today at church we sang Hymn 185, "Reverently and Meekly Now," for the Sacrament.  The final line says, "that thy Savoir I may be."  I thought it was a good reminder that the work of salvation from the Savoir has already been done for me.  He's now just waiting for me to allow Him to be my Savior.

*Our friend Eric Gundersen is a High Counselor, and he spoke to us about how when he was a new missionary, he noticed that his (already poor) eyesight was having problems.  He was in Taiwan, and he went to a doctor there who diagnosed him with a degenerative eye condition, that would ultimately result in blindness.  This was a big blow for him.  He was already having a tough time with his companion and learning the language, so he counseled with his mission president, who counseled with the mission department, and there was a phone call with all of them and him and his parents to determine what he should do--come home for treatment, or get treated there.  He said he was sitting on his kitchen floor on the phone waiting for their decision, and there was a lot of discussion and opinions, and ultimately, his dad said to him, "Do what you feel is right."  He didn't think he'd be the one that had to decide, but he thought he'd really like to try to finish his mission.  He went to another doctor in a different city, and the new doctor couldn't find any of the damage that the first doctor had found.  Eric said his eyes functioned properly for the rest of his mission and on to today.  Not all his problems were solved--he still had to wear thick glasses, and he still didn't get along well with his companion, and he still had to learn to communicate, but he was watched over and was able to do the work he needed to do.

*Romney Lamarche was giving his mission farewell talk.  He's a very outgoing young man, and the whole parking lot was full with cars, from our ward, the one before us, and all the extra people who came to wish him well.  He spoke about the light of Christ, and encouraged us to live the gospel courageously.

*To end we sang "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go, Dear Lord," which always reminds me of my friend Joe Alexander in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.  I've told my story about him before.  He will always be a hero to me, of one who not only loved this song, but lived this song to the fullest extent.

It was a delight.