The Fourth Article of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

"We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ: second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost."

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Thanksgiving break....

Well, the days are flying by quickly. We've recently had snow that stuck to the ground - but quickly went away - and the trees are all pretty much bare.

It is Thanksgiving Break, and most of the students are away for the holiday. We were very appreciative that President and Sister Hess invited us for Thanksgiving dinner with them at the Mission Home. They just arrived in July and are very busy. We, and all the other missionaries, really appreciate all that they do.


















President and Sister Hess


Also present at the dinner were Elder and Sister Jensen. They are the "Office couple" and take care of all the details. Also very busy all of the time....

Elder and Sister Jensen


















Below are Elders Dehart and Ransley. They are the two Assistants to the President, and they are truly inspirational, not to mention fantastic missionaries and leaders....or if I might use a familiar missionary term...AWESOME!


Below is Archie, a very recent convert to the church. He is an MSU student from Shanghai and truly a wonderful person.


















A week ago we went to the Lansing "Light Parade" and lighting of the Christmas tree at the state capitol. It was VERY cold but really spectactular, with the capitol lights on, the big tree being lit and fireworks going off all at the same time. There were thousands of people flocking to see the show....



And here's our own modest contribution...our apartment Christmas Tree!





































Sunday, November 13, 2011

Time Seems to Be Flying By!

Time really is flying by for us. Sometimes I wonder what happened to summer. Most of the trees are bare now and it even snowed a little last week. We have noticed that the weather is very unpredictable here in Michigan and this fall we have really experienced it. We so enjoy working with the young people here and it has been a special treat to watch from the sidelines their growth in the gospel, their growth in leadership and talents, and their relationships and friendships enlarge, some flourishing to engagements and then marriage. We love teaching them and just hanging out with these amazing young people discussing the gospel and various aspects of their developing lives.

Our young elders and sisters are wonderful here and work so hard. We had another baptism a week ago. Archie, as he likes to be called, was baptised. He is from China and I have to say there is something very special about him. I believe he will be a great leader someday.

It didn't take us long to figure out that MSU football is real big here and we decided that we needed to experience an MSU football game while we were here. Our sweet daughter Heather, who loves football, came for a visit and so this was the perfect time to head to the game. For weeks now on our Saturday morning walks we had observed all the tailgate parties, the flags on cars, and the hoards of people heading towards the Spartan Stadium. Having Heather visit for a few days was wonderful!!!




There are hundreds of tailgate parties over nearly every space of ground leading up to Spartan Stadium. They really know how to celebrate football here at MSU.




View from our seats in Spartan Stadium.



Spartie himself



For Family Night, the University Ward had a Halloween Party at the Institute.Some of our special people.






















Alli Ryan organized the party.



A tasty picture from Friday Forum lunch.



Fall wouldn't be fall with our pumpkin bars for Friday Forum lunch.



Friday Forum







Our hangout at the Institute



Our friend Roy just received his mission call to serve in the Brazil Sao Paulo Interlagos Mission.