Sister is my Name, Churchwork is my Game

Sister is my Name, Churchwork is my Game

January 25, 2015

     We live across the hall from four young sister missionaries. They are sharing one apartment with one teensy bathroom. Brings back memories on Paloma, right Girls? Six of you upstairs. Anyway, in one darling set is a quiet, shy, slender new sister from Utah. She arrived here this month. The other night we heard a gutwrenching scream and scuffling in their apartment. My elder told me to check on them. I pounded on the door. It was only Sister Jex huddled in a blanket because this same quiet, shy, slender new Sister Powell scared her. I told new Sister Powell that she reminds me so much of my granddaughter, Mattie. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree. "My name's Maddie, too!" So, see, I have made another friend in Missouri.
     Now, I make new files for all new missionaries. I make three pictures of them for our mission boards. I type several lists for the president and office with all missionaries coming and going. I love to study a missionary's before-mission photo and make up stories about their lives when I see where they are coming to us from.I feel like I know them when they get off the plane. BUT the minute they step off that plane, I forget their first name. Sister or Elder is their name and Churchwork is their game.
     There is other Church "lingo" out here. Ever notice that Mormons tend to speak in secret code? Mutual... Relief Society... year's supply....steak center - aka stake center. Girls, you know my story that your dad lived by the steak house in Flagstaff when I met him in college. Tricia and I drove by The Steak House looking for his house one day. There was only a motel and a tire store by it. Come to find out, those Flagstaff Saints called their stake center building the stakehouse. That was news to me.
    Missouri Independence Mission has codewords for jobs for Senior Missionaries. Here are some of them:

FM -  Physical Facilities Management workers do tons of landscaping, maintaining of buildings, and cut birdnests from trees. See the birdnest below. Delivered to me by the FM Workers. Man, they work hard.
WASS - Women's Auxiliary Support Sisters. Kind of sounds like a singing group. It is not. Senior Single Sisters who beat the bushes looking for less active church sisters. Bread makers. Soup Kitchen Workers. The list of their jobs goes on and on. Man, they work hard.
VC - Visitor Center Couples who serve and support all the young Sisters who serve in our mission's two Visitor Centers. I envy them somewhat because their P-Day is always on the young sisters' P-Day so they get to hang around quite a bit with the younger crowd. P-Day is another codeword meaning Preparation Day. A Get Your Wash Done, Clean Your Apartment Day. Then, take a field trip somewhere if there is time. Man, they work hard.
MLS - Member Leadership Support couples are stationed in a ward or branch to do ANYTHING asked of them. They have to be creative finding ways to get in doors of the less active or nonmembers. Man, they work hard.
AP - Assistants to the President. Typically consists of two bright, go-getter elders who are capable of running a Fortune 500 company or even the United States government. We have two that we have learned to love and laugh with. We went with them today to the All Souls Unitarian Church in downtown Kansas City and listened as they gave a presentation to the youth group on what our church believes. Now, mind you, the Unitarians are more of a Feel Good Club, as far as I could see. Anything goes. The Bible may be used at Christmas when they talk about a Jesus being born. One week's service may begin with prayer. Next week, meditation. All are welcome. Anything goes. Two weeks ago, the congregation held their first Same-Sex Union Ceremony after Kansa City declared it's legality.  Their Youth Leader told us she considers herself an Agnostic, Humanist. The one thing they all have in common is the rule to be nice and do good to all men. I do like that, Today, questions were fired at our young elders. Answers were given using The Family Proclamation, The Restoration of Jesus Christ pamphlet, and scripture. Man, they work hard.
     This is just the tip of the iceburg. I'm still wondering if it's a zone or district conference I am scheduling. Who can get on IMOS, who cannot. The list goes on and on. But, I do know this - For now, Sister is my name and churchwork is my game. Pray for me.

Love,
Sister Seaman

To be or Not to be....

     Do you know why you never leave a door half-way open?  Because someone will inevitably run into it. We must commit. Open or closed? Halfway doors can be dangerous. Do you know why you will generally spit out luke-warm water when you drink it, expecting it to be cold?  Because it doesn't taste or feel good in your mouth. In the scriptures, the Lord says if we are halfway committed like lukewarm water, he will spew us out of his mouth.
     Yesterday my senior companion and I went on a field trip.  We drove first to Richmond, MO, about a 25 minute drive WestNorthWest from Independence.  We had heard that there was a cementary there that had some memorable people buried there.  We found a small Mormon Cemetary with a large monument in the Northwest corner that was erected in 1911 by the church to commemorate the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon (see picture below).  It is erected over the grave of Oliver Cowdry, an early church member, apostle, member of the First Presidency of the Church, excommunicated member and rebaptised member.  He had some rough times.  But even when he was out of the church he never recanted his testimony of seeing the Gold Plates.  He did not go west with the Saints as his health was bad and he died sometime later.  Several yards to the south is the gravesite of David Whitmer.  Who also was an early church member, apostle, member of the First Presidency, excommunicated member and who never rejoined the church. But he too, never recanted his testimony of seeing the Gold Plates. Mary Whitmer even saw the plates.  There are several members of the Whitmer family buried there.  All early church members, all either quit or were excommunicated. As far as I know, they all stayed in Missouri and did not go west. 
     The trouble seemed to start over money, pride, persecution or succession of leadership in the church. Or maybe a little of all of the above.  It must have been a huge burden to carry when nobody believed you.
     It is easy to judge them in 2015.  It is easy to decide that they just couldn't stay the course. They must have been weak.  After doing a little study, I will reserve any judgement and let the Lord handle it.  I am not sure I would have done any better under the threat of death and persecution.  But it sure makes you think about whether "to be or not to be...." that is the question.
     Speaking of staying the course, we drove on to Gallitin and Jamesport (4 miles south of  Adam-ondi-Amen.)  Amish country. The Amish still drive horse and buggy (see pictures below.)  There are big signs on the highway to "share the road" with them.  They have stayed pretty much the way they were when the started the church many years ago.  They have not changed with the times. They have stayed the course, maybe a little too much so. They don't use electricity, or cars or trucks, no phones, no large mirrors, no buttons ( very plain clothes with pins in place of buttons.)  For some reason, they can use propane, which seems a bit odd, but they seem to be very good people even if a little odd.
     Getting back to the trip, we also think we were at least close to the Haun's Mill site.  It is not marked anymore and difficult to find.  We also stopped at an Amish store and a Junk Store, just for fun.  Sister Seaman had a good time as she bought a bird cage and other junk.
     Well, the bottom line is stay the course no matter what. Lukewarm won't work. You must decide " to be."

Sincerely,
Elder Seaman




Elbert's Big and Tall in Gallitin- Who knew?

Three Witness' Monument



The Birdnest

Amish Carriage

Jacob Whitmer's Headstone
was the best preserved

Blessings......January 18, 2015

Blessings....

January 18, 2015

     Our baby daughter, Caitlin, turned 29 yesterday. Probably in honor of her older age, she was asked to talk in church today about the blessings of her mom and dad serving a mission. When she told me this bit of information, I couldn't help but think of what blessings have come our way. All week it was on my mind. But, on Wednesday of this week, if my elder would have turned that Toyota wheel a bit more to the west, I might have have told him to step on it and that we were burning daylight.  It took a conversation with my brother and sister-in-law, Ted and Lorraine, to help me stay the course.
     Lorraine has been fighting a valiant battle against cancer for several months now. It has humbled me to the core to watch them both go through the process. All she wants us to do is "pray for her". Anytime I hear her sweet voice, I hang up and cry; say a prayer and then, decide I can do what piddly things are asked of me. 
     We drove out to Far West this afternoon after church. It was so quiet and lonely there. All we could hear were birds and a dog howling down the road. Hard to believe that for a short time there were 5,000 people living there. There was no sign of a thriving community. It was named Far West because it was literally the farthest western settlement in the United States at that time. Those Saints were not the beneficiaries of any of the promised blessings made on that hallowed spot.
     As for me, I climb in the truck each morning and go to work in the mission office. Blessings of serving you may ask? I can't begin to say.  Too many. I feel a love for those early Saints who tried to make a go here under the direction of the Lord. I also feel a deeper love for my family and friends back home. Each day we pray that our family will feel the blessing of us serving. We are doing this for them. My friend, Brother Moss, is in our ward at home. He told me when we left that he was going to "still be there and even be better". He is taking his darling wife, Tracy, to the temple this coming Saturday. Those people are better missionaries than I will ever be out here in Missouri! Our ward would never know who would show up on Sunday on the Moss row. Brother Moss was baptised just a year ago.  Isn't that something? Isn't that just wonderful?
     So, I just feel so blessed to be part of this wonderful gospel plan and be a part of so many people's lives. I learn so much. Ted and Lorraine, I say, you will never know how much I have learned about strength, courage, and true love all rolled together. Moss' , you have shown and taught me how to make mighty changes. These early Saints have taught me to not give up. Ever.
    Blessings of serving? Way too many to count.

My love tonight,
Sister Seaman

Just Wondering.....

     I am reading a training manual for missionaries serving in the Historic Liberty Jail.  It is a fairly detailed description of the events that took place here and near here of the Church members and leaders and of how things happened to them.  I have often wondered why many of the prophesies that were made in this place never came to pass and why the saints just seemed to fail so miserably.
     One of the first questions I wondered about was why the local residents came to despise the saints.  And why so quickly.  From what I can gather, there were some serious problems in the leadership.  They did not do the things the prophet ask them to do.  If fact, they were outright disobedient in many things.  Even to the point of of committing criminal acts.  For their actions, they were excommunicated from the church. They then leveled false but very damaging and believable accusations at the saints and church which got the whole church eventually booted from Missouri.  Even an extermination order was signed by the Governor.  It boiled down to disobediance.
     The second question I had was why the temples that had sites dedicated for them were never completed.  After visiting Far West today I know why.  When the Lord directed that temples be built, all hell broke lose.  The enemies of the Church did all they could to keep those temples from completion.  The Lord told the church leadership that when the enemies and persecution of the church were so great that the work could not continue, that the commandments to build the temples were withdrawn.  Consequently, the Temple sites at Independence and Far West are dedicated sites but do not have temples on them.  The persecution in Far West was so bad, that the town of 5000 people left at one time for Illinois.  The buildings were almost imediately razed and the land returned to farm land, just as it is today.
     So, after my wondering, I have concluded that disobedience gets you nowhere and progression stops.  And that is collectively as a church and individually.  The Lord cannot bless us when we are disobedient.  The objective of our earthly experiences is to learn to bend our will to His.  Those experiences are not necessarily fun and we better be paying attention.
Sincerely,
Elder Seaman
    

Steamboat Arabia Museum in downtown Kansas City.  With
our friends, Elder and Sister Garret from Thatcher, AZ and Bob
Hawley who owns the place.  He and sons worked for 20 years to
 bring this Museum to life. He found the ship in a corn field
 40 feet down,The freight on this ship was preserved in the mud
 for 130 years.  You can still eat the bottled food. See the original
paddle-wheel in background, 28' high. It is real interesting.

Selfie of Sister and Elder Seaman at Far West Temple Site.
The guy in front always has a big nose.

RLDS Church across the road from Far West Temple Site built
in 1907.  No other buildings here.  Kind of lonesome.

Sister Seaman's favorite shirt front and center.

Partly Cloudy......Partly Sunny




January 11, 2015

     When a person comes from Arizona and the weatherman here reports that one day it will be partly cloudy and the next day will be partly sunny, that person from Arizona may wonder which one of those days to look forward to - the partly cloudy Tuesday or the partly sunny Wednesday? That sums up the weather here. Partly cloudy and partly sunny with a stiff breeze in from the north. Brrrrrr.....
      Since I am such a sun loving, fairweather type of gal, I have to look for other activities to make me smile, or better yet,  laugh. This week, it is Elder Carlson. He and Sister Carlson are serving in our mission office. This is their fourth mission. They live here in Missouri. Sister Carlson is the sweetest lady I have ever met. She is so quiet and reserved and  takes care of phones for all the missionaries in the mission. Elder Carlson is titled the "Fleet Manager".  He has a desk in my elder's big office. That desk looks like a bomb went off day in and day out. It hasn't changed a lick since we got here. When I place important papers on his desk, I always kind of begin to shake not quite knowing where to place it so he will find the latest news about the mission.
     Elder Carlson can't hear well. It is my goal each day to make him chuckle a bit or at least smile. I go yelling in there each day with a cheery greeting or a smarty pants comment just to get a rise out of him. He looks up and studies me, processes my comments, and takes it from there. It is a good moment for me when he likes my joke. I especially love it when he laughs and joins in with my silly plans to hide my elder's soda. Oh, he thinks that is funny.
     The office was quiet one morning this week. I can hear him in on his phone.  Since he can't hear well, he speaks loudly and has those poor missionaries on speaker phone so he gets every word of their response. He proceeded to contact five sets of missionaries and yell into the phone that they did not get their mileage report in on time and, so, he was taking three days of car privleges away from them. I could hear mumbled replies of, "Ok, Elder Carlson, thanks for calling." Man, I'm glad the Lord isn't counting my miles. The thing about my friend, Elder Carlson, is he says he loves to serve missions. Then, in his next breath, he wonders how he is supposed to get everything done or why in the world those missionaries can't keep air in their tires.
     I have decided that the majority of seniors who serve missions are quite serious souls. They love to study the scriptures, work hard, and ponder the meaning of life. Sometimes, I just want to cut loose a bit and take everyone out for recess break to get some fresh air.  No one falls for it so I quietly sneak into my friend, Elder Carlson's office, around lunch on those partly cloudy/partly sunny days and tell him I am going for a walk and I will be back soon. He thinks about it a minute, smiles, and tells me it is too cold to do that so I better be quick about it. I always let him know when I get back. If I word it just right, the old guy will give me a smile and then turn around to that desk of his to get back to managing the fleet.  

Love you all,

Sister Seaman

New Arrivals....

     They report to the Mission President tomorrow morning at 11:00.  They are senior couples coming in from the MTC this past week.  One set from Utah and one from Georgia.  They don't know it yet, but they are being assigned to the outer reaches.  One couple will be in Harrisonville, MO to do MLS (member leadership support,)  The other one is being assigned to a YSA (young single adult) branch out in Shawnee, KS.  My assignment is to get them decent housing for nothing right in the center of their assigned area, nice, comfortable furniture for nothing, and do it within a weeks time frame.  President Vest did not tell me where they were going until last week.  Consequently, I have spent lots of time in Harrisonville and Shawnee since last Friday.
     Harrisonville is a small town about 40 minutes south of the Mission Office.  Shawnee is about 40 minutes Southwest of the the Mission Office.  It is about 40 minutes between the two towns. For the past three days I have driven that circle once every day.  Delivering furniture or signing leases or dropping stuff off to other missionaries along the way.  I take furniture from vacant apartments and the storage facility (irreverently called the Bat Cave)  that we have for furniture under the Stake Center here in Independence.  And if need be, we buy used furniture first and new furniture second.  The apartments become a blend of old, new and a mish-mash of colors.  The mission handbook for the housing coordinator actually says to buy used furniture.  It is a trick to buy good used stuff that doesn't smell like smoke or body parts or isn't falling apart but it does save the church thousands of dollars.
   All of the above is an introduction to the story I am about to tell you.  I have used my P-days (preparation day or day-off is Saturday) as work days since we arrived because of the demand.  Yesterday was another one of those days.  I took Sister Seaman with me.  She likes to go with me and I love her company.  It can be lonely traveling the bush country of Missouri.  Anyway, I loaded the trailor with 3 washing machines and 3 dryers and a chest of drawers.  I buy the washers and dryers at a new/used appliance store.  They re-build them there and it is a BIG place full of all kinds of used stuff that smells like smoke and cats.  We headed for DeSoto, Kansas (10 miles further than Shawnee), where a new area was opened for missionaries last week.  We dropped off a chest of drawers and a washer/dryer combo.  The missionaries weren't there, so I had to do the hauling and the install.  The dolly is my best friend.  Next stop, Harrisonville, where we dropped off a washer/dryer combo in the new apartment where the missionaries from Georgia will live starting tomorrow.  I did manage to get missionaries to help me move the washer/dryer upstairs.  We bought them lunch because they hadn't eaten.  They often skip meals because they  spend their money on something else.  Had to switch out the dresser there because Sister Seaman said it was unacceptable.  It was.  Had to buy a new one there.  Next stop was in Blue Springs MO.  Washer to a set of Elders.  I hauled the new one in the house and the old one out.  I did the hook-up while the elders watched.  I was getting frustrated by this time.  It was 4:00pm and I had missed the dead line for delivering a dryer to some Sisters in the same area.  I called them and they said that they were at an appointment and couldn't come back to let me in.  I hung up and started for home.  I didn't get far when I decided that I would call back and see if I could get a key  from them, wherever they were, so I could finish.  No answer.  Headed for home.  Phone rings, it's them.  Did they miss a call?  Yes they missed a call, and  it was too late I was already headed for home.  Maybe next time.  Maybe next time?  At that point, I would not have driven anywhere for them.  I was so frustrated.
    My dear sweet companion is telling me not to be angry, after all I was late.  And that was my Saturday.  I had to do some serious thinking about it.  As the evening went by,  my dear sweet companion thought I was mad at her.  I wasn't.  Just frustrated that I had failed which depresses me.
     Today is a new day and I have resolved a few things.  One of them is this.  The missionaries are here to preach the gospel, not spend all day waiting for an old man to deliver a washer or dryer as important as that can be.  The missionaries are very young and inexperienced.  They are expected to act like mature adults and preach the gospel.  They are really just kids.  I did not help them much.  I am asking for forgiveness and I will do better next time.  This is the Lord's work and it is a miracle every single day.  What a great life.

Sincerely,

Elder Seaman

Lights at the Visitors Center will
 come down soon. Too dang cold to worry about now.

    

We've got mail!

    
    

Love notes from Show Low

Look at all this mail!

A New Year Begins

January 4, 2015

     The Christmas tree is down. Our Pandora channels have changed. The new year has begun. I know that all our dear ones in Show Low have enjoyed a fullblown winter. What a wonderful thing!  Our Ethan turned 14 on Christmas Eve. I always think of the whole world celebrating his birth on that night. He was born on an early Sunday morning. Oh, his eyes were so alert! If he could have talked, we would have learned some really interesting things about where he just came from.  What a tale of travel it would have been! This year I am a little sorry that the youth in the stake didn't get to see him at his first stake dance due to the snow on New Year's Eve.
     I have gained such an appreciation for missionaries in the field this week. They don't stop. The work goes forward. The ones that have been in to the office have talked about skyping with their families. Many said it was "weird". That is because they are so engrossed in the Lord's work that they lose touch with the mundane things of the world back home. Yesterday, I got to ride again with my elder to the far reaches of the mission looking for apartments for missionaries. The air was oh, so cold and the sky was oh, so dreary all day. (Please notice below my state atlas and the blanket that our McKenzie made for us.I so love having both of them in that gray mission van.) I can't help but wonder about a new senior couple coming in from Georgia to open up a new town that has a few less active members.  They're inactive partly because they all have to drive to a chapel many miles away from their homes. The mission couples who are called to be  member support in struggling, way-out-of-the-way wards and branches can lead lonely lives as they beat the bushes. I so admire them.
     I always look for any historical site to pull into on our travels. Seems like we are drawn to cemetaries. There are some beautiful ones in this state. We saw Jim Bridger's monument yesterday. Talk about a lonely life. He made lots of quiet trips from here to the big wide open west. I want to meet him someday. Was the beauty and majesty of this beautiful world enough to keep him plowing ahead? I want to know what makes people like that tick. I would be depressed without my elder by my side to jabber with. What makes old people pack up their house in warm, beautiful Georgia (he reported to my elder on the phone that it is warm) and come out to a lonely little town in Missouri to find and activate members? I hope we can answer that one. The gospel of Jesus Christ is all that matters in all of our travels wherever they may take us.
     In less than five years, our Ethan will be traveling again to a new, lonely place to share what he knows about the gospel of Jesus Christ to anyone who will listen.  And they will.  He will skype his family at Christmas. His mom will cry.  Then, he will hang up and he will say, "that was weird," and go back to work.

My love,

Sister Seaman

Rambling Thoughts...

     The Missouri Independence Mission baptised approximately 485 people in the 2014 year.  The goal was 500.  So close and yet so far away.  But the work is growing here and seems to be on the upswing.  I am sure the new goal will be far larger than last year. I have heard about the creation of new wards in some of the stakes the mission covers.  The odd thing about the mission right now is that the number of missionaries is shrinking.  We are sending home more than  we are getting in the next few transfers.  We are getting more sisters than elders in the transfer this week. 
     Did you know that a temple has been built and is operating in Jackson County Missouri?  Can you imagine that? Jackson County kicked us out 160 + years ago. They tarred and feathered us. They burned our newspaper offices and smashed our printing presses.  They burned our houses to the ground. They murdered our people. They imprisoned our church leaders. But today a new Kansas City Temple is operating in Jackson County Missouri.  I don't think it will be the last temple to be built in this county.  When the 63 acre temple lot was dedicated at Independence, Joseph Smith's plans were to build 24 temples on the temple lot.  There were going to serve as Libraries, School, Church Administrative Offices, chapels, etc.  It was to be the center place of Zion.  The headquarters of the Church on this continent.  It has not happened yet.  I walk and work on these sacred grounds everyday and wonder when it will happen. and how it will happen.  Many things will have to change.
     Sister Seaman mentioned that we see a lot of cemetaries.  The Washinton Cemetary is a beautiful, old, big one.  It is just a few blocks from here.  She and I drove through it and wondered at all the old gravesites and crypts. We came across a rather large, ornate one that holds the remains of four of the Nelson family.  Mr. Nelson lived in the last half of the 18th century and died in the first half of the 19th century.  Mr. Nelson, his wife and daughter and her husband are interred there.  He must have been very wealthy (His personal wealth was estimated to be over $ 6 million when he died in 1915.)  The sign in front said he started and eventually built the Kansas City Star newpaper company.  He was supposed to have had a lot to do with all the parks, streams, walkways that adorn Kansas City.  They are beautiful.  I can tell you that he didn't take anything with him even though his final resting place is beautiful and must have been very expensive even in 1915.  He would have been far better off finding God instead.  Maybe he still will.  He must have loved his wife and daughter.  Maybe he will love them enough to accept the gospel and have all saving ordinances done so they can be together forever and not just laying side-by-side in an old, beautiful, cold, empty crypt.

Love,

Elder Seaman

Our Mission Travel Tools
 

The Nelson Family Resting Place



Jim Bridger's Monument

 

Christmas in the mission field

December 29, 2014

     We got a text from our Linds earlier in the week. She talked about our first Christmas away from home as being unforgettable. She was right! This has been the best, most unforgettable week of our mission! My two little pictures posted below explain it all.
     Our office has all worked together this whole month to make sure each missionary gets "Christmas".  Sister Black, our called and chosen Mail Lady from Panguitch Utah, keeps a thorough list of packages going in and out of the office. On a dime, she can tell you if Sister Villanueva or Elder Edgington or any other missionary in the field will be having Christmas. We would often get calls from some mother in Idaho or some other foreign country wanting to know where her missionary's package had ended up. All of these packages seen below were one day of the process. Multiply that by 280 missionaries in our mission .Sister Black or one of her other helpers, which could be me on any given day,  would mark and note the package on her list. We would get all old addresses and postage lines blacked out. She would NEVER let any of the rest of us mess with her making proper new address labels to be slapped on the packages. It is a fine science. Then, get out of her way because she had to race to the post office to stand in line. Her husband is the finance secretary for the mission. When she said GO, his pen stopped in midair writing all those checks and his coat was on. Besides being a man who can quote the Gettysburg Address from beginning to end, he does exactly what his wife wants him to do. We enlisted all the district leaders to make sure we knew who would not receive Christmas. It has been an eye opener to me to see families who send their son or daughter out and that is ALL they can do. We experienced the sweet project, at home in Show Low, of the McCaleb girls as they got together two sets of clothing for sister missionaries. There are truly families who give their all to send their missionary out to spread the joy of the gospel.
     As the days drew closer to Christmas, our president's office turned into Santa's workshop. We shopped, sorted, and wrapped gifts for those on our "list". When any of us had a spare moment we got to decide who gets what and then, get it all together just like a loving mother from home would do if she could. On Christmas Eve day, after all zone leaders had been contacted to meet one of us in a parking lot in their area to collect the last minute packages for EVERYONE in the mission,  we closed the office and hit the road, each car taking a section of the mission to deliver to. Unforgettable.
     The other picture shows cards from home from our loved ones. That means ALL our loved ones. There were many days in the month of December when my elder would bring the mail in and we would shed tears just looking at return addresses of Christmas cards mailed to us! We were humbled by so many kindnesses sent our way. Thank you sounds kind of hollow, but.....thank you.
    Our Christmas day started with 26 young sisters and that many Senior missionaries for breakfast and devotional at the visitor center, lunch with two elders who skyped and facetimed their families in our little apartment, and finally, dinner with the two AP's and some more senior missionaries in our apartment building. We have never been busier. We loved it. We have experienced the true joy of Christmas on both ends. Giving and receiving. ALL because of the Gift of Him. Unforgettable.

HOME....

     Christmas came and went this year in a blur.  It was great and I am so glad that we were so busy.  There are a few traditions in the field that I am grateful for.  One of them is eating Christmas Breakfast at the Visitors Center.  That was very nice.  The other is playing Santa Claus for missionaries.  I had one experience that I would like to share.
      Elders Crow and Garrett (other senior missionaries)  and I gathered up presents and we headed for the southern reaches of the mission.  When we arrived in Warrensburg, we met the Zone Leaders and some sister missionaries and delivered the packages.  This was two days before Christmas.  One of the sisters was from Tonga.  There happened to be a small package from HOME for her. The only one she got. That gal was so excited, she was hugging that package and jumping around screaming and yelling things we didn't understand, crying all the time.  I will not soon forget that remarkable feeling I had.  It was knowing that someone remembered this dear sister and probably at significant cost (the postage was probably more valuable than the contents), for Christmas.  I think to the Sister, it was a piece of HOME that was so overwelming.  They come from the islands from poor families who cannot afford to send them.  They literally come with the clothes on their backs so to speak.  They cannot speak the english language very well. The American culture is so different.  They are so homesick.  They have great faith but they get down a little at times.  Can you imagine the feelings they have when they get something from home.  HOME sweet HOME.
      I am so grateful for the gifts that came in the mail to Sister Seaman and me this year.  The arrival of each one brought those tender feelings about HOME.   Gift giving is the best (#He is the Gift), but this year, watching the receiving was right up there.  Can we all remember the lonely, the left-out, the not-so-popular, the far-away all the time.  May God grant us the wisdom to take care of all who come into our paths and let us give them a reminder of HOME even if it is with just kindness.

    
  
    


Packages at the Mission Home



We'll sing for a key.  They locked
 themselves out of their apartment.
 

Christmas kindness from Loved Ones

Macy and Cash, this one's for you

December 21, 2014
 
     Macy and Cash, Happy Birthday to you! Macy, you are thirteen today. Your parents' first adventure with a teen-ager in their house. I always tell you this.....I will tell you again.....do they know how lucky they are to have you?  I was there when you were born. I knew you were such a gift to your mother who a few years years before had given a beautiful daughter to another family who could not do that for themselves. I drove away from that hospital after seeing your birth and sobbed in gratitude.  The Lord always makes things right when we try to do things right like your mom did. Your mom met your dad and because of that wonderful union, here you are! You were our most precious blessing to help heal us all. Our best Christmas gift that year.
     We went to another beautiful Christmas program at the Independence Visitors Center on Friday night. A group of bell ringers. And boy, could they ring those bells! All music reminds me of you because you love it so much. You could sing the whole song that Ariel sang on Little Mermaid almost before you could speak in whole sentences. After the program, I asked the sister missionaries that were around to please let me take their picture for my granddaughters. One is from Mexico, one from Virginia. One came here from Washington while others came by way of Utah. I always look at these young sisters in this mission, and there are a lot of them because of the two visitors centers close by, and wonder which one of my granddaughters may serve a mission someday. These sisters are all so happy and willing to do what is asked of them. One of them has curls like you do. She says she never liked it while she was growing up. Now that she is serving here on a mission, it is extra curly with the humidity. For us Arizona people, that is wet air. All the time. Winter and summer. It is something to see, Macy....Anyway, she has decided she loves her curls now. I have told her about you and your beautiful curls. You are so lucky! I can picture any of my beautiful granddaughters serving a mission.  Can you picture that? Our Kortney, McKenzie, Mattie (your joined-at the hip cousin), Brookie, Chloe, Livi, Sailor, Ellie, Mikael, or Avy. Maybe one of them will decide to serve.
     Cash, you are nine tomorrow. I cannot believe your mom and dad have been married long enough to have a son that old! I was there when you were born also. Where did that shock of red hair come from? You are so unique! The one and only Seaman grandchild with red hair! I credit your birth for your mom's desire to have the gospel back in her life. And your dad wanting to do the same thing. He is such a good man.  They took you to the temple to be sealed when you were a baby. A great day! Do you see the picture of your papa and Elder Dyer below. I met that young elder the first week we were here. When he walked up to me, I immediately teared up. I loved him from that minute and told him why. He can play the piano. He is a district leader. He is knowledgeable in the gospel. He is bright. He reminds me of you. I always tell him about you. Everytime I see him, I see you in another nine years or so serving the Lord. Just like all your other Seaman boy cousins....Ethan, Kyson, Noah, Ezra, Teag, Zane, Max, Jett, and Elijah. So, Happy Birhtday to our two Arizona Christmas babies. What a great time of year to be born. It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Love you all,

Sister Seaman

Keeping a clean house...

     We left yesterday about 9:30am and got home at 4:30pm.  We drove 30 miles to pick up an Elder and his companion, who had driven 50 miles from their assigned area, and then we all  drove another 25 miles to an apartment where the Elder used to live. He and his old companion had lived in the apartment until his companion got sent home and he had to leave the apartment to live with another companionship.  He left the place in a terrible mess three weeks ago.  Food rotting in the table dishes unwashed, floors need attention, bathroom hadn't been cleaned in at least the time any Elders had been living there. Bad news. The landlady had called me and wondered what happened to the Elders because she hadn't seen them in about month. She had opened the door to the apartment and got mad and called me. She said it was not like our Elders to do such things, they had always been so nice to her.  So much for setting the example.  She was worried about cockroaches and other things.  I said I would take care of it.
  
  I cleaned the kitchen and dining area.  Sister Seaman wouldn't even come in while I was doing that.  She finally came in and helped with the vacuuming.  The Elders had disappeared up stairs.  They were going throught the missionary materials they had found upstairs.  I was getting insulted.  President Vest, the Mission President, had sent me to take the Elder to clean the apartment. Not me.  Not Sister Seaman.  I finally told the Elder to clean the bathroom.  He was insulted. I waited.  It took him a long time just to clean the tub.
    
     When we let them off at their car in Odessa, MO., I had my speech already.  I think it fell on deaf ears.  It then dawned on me who I was dealing with.  An 18 year-old missionary who apparently had not been taught to clean up after himself.  I am now on a mission to educate young missionaries and their mothers about the vitures of keeping it clean.  And so my girls, I have 21 potential missionaries in this family and they ought to know how to keep it clean. You can not expect to feel inspired when you live like a pig.  You will smell, look and sound like a pig to a person investigating our religion. 

     Now that that is off my mind, Sister Seaman and I were the Christmas program today in our assigned ward.  Remember, the one with all the Samoans.  There were no choirs of heavenly hosts, no special program, just a special (beautiful) piano solo and us.  We didn't realize we were really all there was until we saw the program.  It turned out alright.  The Counselor conducting the meeting said something in broken English and tears, about Sister Seaman speeking with fire.  They are so kind to us.  They treat us with very real respect.  I don't really know why.  We certainly don't deserve it, but they are very loving and good people.  Especially the Bishop. I cry listening to him give the announcements.  You have to see it to believe it.

Anyway, keep it clean and and have a very Merry Christmas.  We miss you all so much, especially this Christmas week.  We love you.

Elder Seaman

VC Sister Missionaries

Red-headed Elder Dryer

Back of Red-headed Elder Dyer

 

At What Price?

    
    Brother Atwood, who my Elder replaced, is long gone. On our way to Walmart early Saturday morning to buy yet another houseful of items to stock a new apartment for missionaries, I spotted this sign. Now, not only did Elder Atwood like to eat at lots of places, he got great pleasure in noting and commenting on the price of gas whenever I got to ride around with them in the gray mission van. I couldn't help think that he would have been so happy to see Casey's sign. Man, that price was cheap. But we all know we can't count on the price of gas to make us happy on a daily basis.
     We had a couple come in from Thatcher, AZ this week. They are here for just six months. As we had our get-to-know you dinner for them on Monday night, we heard their story. A little over two years ago they were serving  a mission in Oregon. They were involved in a horrible accident when a logging truck lost control in a canyon and dumped the logs on them. They were both severely injured with Brother Garrett ending up in a coma for over a month. His prognosis was grim at best and had two strokes to boot. He had to learn to sit, eat, stand, talk, walk, etc. all over again. He now has disabilities that he will deal with the rest of his life. She drives for them. She takes care of business for them. She cares for him. Why are they here? Because they wanted to "finish" a mission. I am in awe of them. My thought was, haven't you already paid a price?
     We had an All-Mission conference this week. Over 280 missionaries trying to squeeze on risers for a group shot after a morning of training and lunch. Three hours of afternoon Christmas singing from each zone. Throughout the day, I kept my eye on as many of the 17 "newbies" as I could find. These are the ones that came here from the MTC the day before Thanksgiving.  Honestly, one or two still carry that "deer-in-headlight" look. I understand. Others were hard to recognize as they have blended in so well and seem so happy. Actually, the whole chapel was just "happy" that afternoon as they sang for each other. I couldn't help but think of the price they all have paid to come to Independence, MO. to preach the gospel.
     Our Independence Visitors Center is hosting Christmas programs on the weekends in December. Last night, we heard from the Bountiful Quartet. It was Christmas hymns played on violins and a cello for the Mormons by  four members of The Remnant of The Church of Jesus Christ. There was a time in the program when the audience sang carols as the foursome played them so beautifully on their instruments. One song was a Christmas hymn they sing in their church to the old tune of "If You Could Hie To Kolob".  Man, that got me whispering like a kid to my elder! That is one of my favorite hymns! And it has Christmas words, also! All he wanted was to be left alone to just sing the darn thing. But it made me think so much of our doctinally correct version.

   The works of God continue,

          And worlds and lives abound;

     Improvement and progression

                                                               Have one eternal round....  

 

    The price we pay to serve in the Missouri Independence Mission office is small when I look at the big picture. I miss my little darlings from home  at least six or seven times a day. I love young Arizona elders like long lost friends. (I have not met any young AZ sisters yet)  But, everyday, I am more thankful for this opportunity to spend time with my elder serving. I can't measure the cost by wordly standards because I just know I feel kinda like a rich girl on those days when I get to walk right smack dab where Joseph and Emma walked right here in Independence, MO.

 

Sister Seaman

 

 

Not much to say....

     Sister Seaman said it all this week and I feel a little down tonight.  My stress level is up and I'll tell you why.   I wake up way too early and worry about furniture and Elders and Sisters and leases and estate sales.  The furniture I bought at the estate sale this week all smells like cig smoke.  Yuck. I haven't taught one temple prep class yet.  We tried to clean the church yesterday but nobody showed up and we couldn't get in.  I thought maybe the Samoans were running on Polynesian Time, but no,  turns out that the elders quorum plays basketball at 5:00 on Sat. morning, but the gym was decorated for a Ward Party and they couldn't play so they cleaned the building and were all through by 7:00.  We missed it all.  They ask to speak in church next Sunday.  Dang. 

 

  But tomorrow it all starts over again.  It is a little something like the movie "Ground Hog Day."  New Senior couple arrives tonight.  Their apartment is not ready because I thought they were coming in next week.  I will be scrambling for a couple of days.  Oh well.

 

Now, let me tell you what is important and why all this stuff doesn't matter.  I know that we are here in Missouri to serve.  And serve we will.  If I don't do anything else I will know when we leave that we did all we could to make things better and we helped further the work.  I carry pass-along cards with me now because when people see us in our suits and name tags they are very  curious and it will present opportunities. (I haven't passed any out yet so...) I am trying to be bolder about what we have in our lives that is so important and sacred.  It makes all the difference to know.  And I know. If I could just get people to listen.  It will happen someday and I will report it from Missouri.

 

As a side note, I think I told you about all the "separatist" churchs here.  I have included photos of several of them.  It is so interesting and they are all within a mile radius.

 

Cheap Gas on 23rd Street

This is what a person comes home to when the Apt Bld
they live in is full of old RS Presidents.
Totally plastic. Red balls and candy cane reindeer really
add to the season.
 

 





    

Church of Jesus Christ Temple Lot



Church of Jesus Christ Restoration Branch

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Remnant Branch

RLDS now Community of Christ Stone Chapel.
It is beautiful.