Grow Old Along With Me ! The Best Is Yet To Be!

Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made:

Our times are in His hand
Who saith, “A whole I planned,
Youth shows but half; 
trust God: see all, nor be afraid!”

[Rabbi Ben Ezra (1864), stanza 1 , Browning]

This last week I have been pondering over two of my favorite talks by Elder Holland because I have needed just a little more confidence. ('Remember Lots Wife' and Cast Not  Away Therefore Thy Confidences')  It is overwhelming thinking about all the needs of the country we are working  in and wonder how we will be able to know how to help most effectively. How will we guide and direct the members in the branches to learn their responsibilities without scaring or offending them. How will we be able to effectively communicate?How will we know who to trust in the humanitarian work we need to do? How can we best help this very over loaded mission president? How will we communicate with our loved ones?  All these things bring worry and These are the times I doubt and lose confidence.


As I read and listen  both talks I realize that the confidences that the scriptures refer to are the confiding in us the lord does when he makes it known that we are on his course.
Many many times John and I have had it confirmed to us by the Holy Ghost and by  the missionaries all around us that we are so needed.



I have also been surrounded by some pretty great women here who have at  times in their lives taken steps into the 'darkness' only to find again the brighter light that continues to lead them.  But it begins with taking the courageous step into the unknown .  These women I've met here have,  through this faith,been able to open doors for themselves that allow them opportunities to serve and bless many others.
They have been great examples to me .

There is so much great work going on in this area of West Africa ...all in behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ and teaching and reaching to his beloved African people.


And so the Poem 
'Grow  old along with me....
I realize doesnt just mean with   your friends or Spouse or family.
It means to grow old in our faith in the Lord.
As we do the things he asks us to do and serve in the capacities we discover within ourselves and just keep going forward one courageous step at a time we will realize ...The Best IS Yet TO Be.

This is what we are learning serving here. Every day is a learning experience and a blessing.

This is the second Saturday in Liberia. This week has flown by.
We go to our office a couple miles up the road and have been organizing it and getting the tiny details of being in Liberia taken care of.

As we are in our office the people just keep coming and coming. We end up visiting with people all day long and very little organizing done. But it has been good.

We have met many members and water contractors and site monitors from previous water projects. They will be very helpful in taking us around to the different projects we need to inspect.

 We have had people come in and present us with requests for help in their institutions around the area. 
These we stake and read through and go visit and decide if they are projects we will be able to help with.
 My spiritual story is about one of these proposals.
One in particular touched us very deeply.
A lady from The International Committee of the Red Cross came in and told us the conditions of the prisons in Liberia. This is her job with the Red Cross as a nurse she monitors the health and welfare of the prisoners.
The conditions in the 16 prisons in Liberia seem to be the same through out Liberia.
Many prisoners do not know when their day in court will be or if they will ever have one and are held in very humble conditions with very little food. In most cases,especially one in particular, the inmates are extremely in need of food.  We read a letter from her before telling us most of the conditions and the needs they have at the prisons. The prisoners are great distances from their families. They  only one bowl of rice a day. We also knew that reading material was high on their list...and a bar of soap for each prisoner. They were hoping we could satisfy their major immediate need by Christmas but we explained we had a process we needed to go through. One was to com eout to the Prison and view the conditions ourselves. They were most anxious for us to do this. We told them we would like to come before Christmas and that we did gather some reading material to take them as they mentioned that in the letter to us.
The mission office staff gathered materials that have been stored around the office and Distribution center that were outdated or a little warn.  We did have two boxes of  a Liahona that  we thought might also be of interest to them. 'Let me show you some of the reading material we found for them.'
I grabbed two of the Liahonas out of the box and gave one to each woman.
When their eyes caught the image on the cover it was just quiet for a second and then both said ...'This is just what they need. They all need this even the ones who are unable to read.'
 At the moment they said that the spirit came into our office so strong it was difficult to talk.
I just bore testimony to them that these prisoners re all Gods children and that Jesus loves them very much. They are praying asking for God to find  and to help them.  I knew it was true. 
We all just sat their looking at the magazine. This was the front of the magazine with a Piece of frosted velum over the cover. It was a special edition Ensign just about Jesus Christ.







Today We visited our two branches we are going to start helping. Mainly with the branch clerk and counselors for donations.
but we also will sit in on the branch meetings and just observe and be there if they have questions.
 we start at 9 am and finish at 3:30.
It was wonderful. We were able to hear a blind man read to us from a Braille book of Mormon. My smart husband bore testimony to them that this is evidence to each of them who heard it that the book of Mormon is being taken to all nations and tribes and people in EVERY language.
It started many discussions in the other classes.
Relief society was so much fun in one of the branches.
Well funin both but in one the sister were really fun. They wanted me to tell them how Relief Society was in my  home in the US.
I told them it was just like here....and I listed the same characteristics that every group of Relief Society  has. It was fun.

 In one relief society they were teaching daughters of our kingdom and the women were going on and on about where a woman should take her place in the home.

The Relief Society President....av ery humble lady stood and bore her testimony to her relief society about the value of women and the gospel and serving other in Relief Society.
Wow! The spirit radiated from her and i just started to cry and my heart was so full. IT was the greatest spiritual experience I had since I arrived....or one of the many.

We are tired tonight. Still trying to figure out how to keep enough money on my phone so at christmas we can call our kids.

I do seem to have tons of Data but cant get the time right.
Hope your holidays are shaping up.