8:19 am – just now waking up.
There had been no alarm making an unwelcome announcement that the day needed
to begin at 6:30 am or even earlier.
No phone rang with a missionary seeking an answer to a
question about his companion or one of their investigators or about his or her health.
The room still was dark. The hotel curtains wonderfully kept
the daylight on the outside of the window, rather than allowing it inside.
I guess that all of the people lined up in the lobby of the
mission home the previous afternoon, one or two of whom had tears in their eyes,
really did mean that our mission was completed and we were starting our trip
home.
So, as I lay on the bed in our hotel room in Hong Kong, I
reflected on the past three years.
I remember that one of my best friends, Cliff Potter,
remarked when he completed his service as a mission president, that it had been
the hardest thing he ever had done. I think I understand.
First, and perhaps foremost, in our memories will be the
missionaries. Though our mission was not particularly large in the number of
missionaries – we averaged about 75-80 missionaries at any one time over the
term of our service – there always seemed to be an issue which needed attention
or assistance. We loved watching them grow and learn how to be more effective
in the service of Heavenly Father. We loved helping them, correcting them, taking
care of their illnesses, and teaching them the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Prior to beginning our service, I had occasion to spend
several informal hours with one of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve.
Upon being told that my wife and I were going to preside over a mission, he
shared an insight that Preach My Gospel
was not really about converting non-members to the Gospel of Christ. Rather, it
was about converting missionaries, so that they could then figure out what to
teach investigators. Much of the training we conducted was directed toward
helping the missionaries gain a greater understanding of the scriptures and the
testimonies of Christ contained therein.
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| All of our missionaries, with President Russel M. Nelson and Sister Wendy Nelson, Elder and Sister Gong, Elder and Sister Funk, Elder and Sister William, at Hyderabad India |
As we began our service, we were also told that the success
of our mission would be measured by the testimonies of the children and
grandchildren of those missionaries who served with us. I tried always to keep
that in mind. I think we were effective in our efforts to help a testimony and
knowledge of the Savior, Jesus Christ, sink deep into the hearts and minds of
each missionary with whom we worked.
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| Outline for monthly missionary study plan, generated in our Mission Leadership Council |
I
know intellectually that not every missionary will be fully faithful and active
in the Gospel to the end of his or her life. We will continue to pray for all of them, and we look forward to
staying in touch with them for as long as we can.
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| Missionaries studying the scriptures during Zone Conference |
Second, we think of the many people who were baptized into
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during our time in India and
Sri Lanka.
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| Baptism of Shruti, attended by her parents, who are not members of our Church |
Occasionally we helped teach, sometimes I interviewed, and from time
to time we simply attended the baptism services.
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| Teaching a family with the missionaries |
I am fully persuaded that the
Lord of the Vineyard placed cuttings from the tame olive tree in the
“nethermost part of [His] vineyard, whithersoever [He] will[ed]” (Jacob
5:8-14), including in India. We were blessed to work among people of great
faith.
Consistent with ancient prophesy, our missionaries often
found “one of a city, and two of a family” and brought them to Zion. (Jeremiah
3:14).
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| Baptism conducted by our missionaries in Sri Lanka |
We especially were delighted when family members of our missionaries
were taught by other missionaries and elected to be baptized. What a wonderful
blessing to come from the service of a missionary – to see father or mother or
sibling embrace the same message he or she was sharing.
If I had one “do over”, it might be to spend more time with
the missionaries teaching non-members. The pressures of presiding over many
districts seemed to keep me from being with the missionaries as often as might
be enjoyed by presidents who have more compact or more developed missions.
Though I often wished we could have more new members, we take
satisfaction that during our time, enough people joined the Church to form
three or four good sized wards. Of course, the new members were spread across
more than 30 wards and branches, so we did not form that many wards, but we
were blessed to watch the Church grow significantly.
Third, we will remember the members of the Church with whom
we worked.
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| Member sister in Coimbatore who reminded us of the importance of following the Prophet |
When we arrived in India, the Church in our mission was divided
administratively into one stake and 6 districts. As mission president, I was
the presiding priesthood leader for the six districts. Consequently, we worked
with many of the district leaders to help them grow and develop their skills as
Church leaders.
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| Visakhapatnam District Presidency, with Elder Larry Wilson of the Area Presidency |
We were able to help the Bangalore District become the
Bengaluru India Stake. We also helped the Rajahmundry District be on the verge
of becoming the next stake in India. We pray that this will happen in the next
few months. Helping build Zion in this way was most fulfilling.
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| Bengaluru India Stake Presidency, with newly called Stake Patriarch |
The Indian members of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints simply are wonderful. They strive to live as sons and
daughters of our Heavenly Father. They are learning how to apply the teachings
of the Gospel to their long held family and cultural beliefs and traditions.
The result is a people who love God and want to reflect His teachings in their
lives.
We worked with many members to help them attend the temple. I
am grateful for the opportunity to interview a significant number of couples
for recommends to attend the temple and be sealed.
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| One of our missionaries, Sister Peddenti (second from left), being sealed to her husband and to her parents and brother |
There were of course, challenges. We traveled more and slept
less than is healthy. I estimate that over the course of our mission we took
more than 350 airplane flights. We probably spent 35-40% of the nights of our
mission in hotels. As a result of all of the hotel eating, we are bringing home
a few more pounds than we carried at the beginning of our mission. We conducted
more leadership training meetings than I can remember. It was a challenge to
always be effective. I guess the next decade or so of Church growth in India
will help us gauge whether we did any good.
We missed our family. Three grandchildren were born after we
left home. We look forward to meeting grandchildren who know us only as their “digital”
grandparents. We missed helping children when they had challenges in their
lives. There is only so much which can be done over Skype. Sometimes a touch or
just being in the same room is needed. We have missed that.
So, with a strong sense that our service has been acceptable
to Him who called us, we journey home. We already miss those with whom we
worked. We miss the wonderful countries of Sri Lanka and India. We miss the
people of both.
We are certain that the next few months will be a challenge
as we adjust to something other than “the hardest thing” we have ever done.
We are grateful we were deemed sufficiently acceptable to
the Lord to be asked to serve. We are equally grateful that we now have the
opportunity to rejoin our family.
P.S. We arrived yesterday back to Salt Lake City. At the airport were some of our children and grandchildren, along with my father. The length of the separation from our loved ones made the reunion most sweet. We traveled from the airport to a local Church, where we enjoyed a wonderful 4th of July picnic event with more of our family and friends. I think it has been about 7 years since we have been in the US for the 4th of July. We are so richly blessed to have been asked to serve, and then to have the support of our family and friends upon return. We never will forget this wonderful experience.
