Goodbyes

The  goodbyes were difficult this week and a few tears here and there. We loved the missionaries and we loved the people of Ghana. We will never forget the last 12 months of our lives. It was almost like “Heaven” with the people…. It was  not a sacrifice for Jill and I….  it was a privilege !

Someday in the future…. We will all be equal from a  material standpoint…. No one better off than the other…..No rich, no poor…… all equal in the sight of God.  Of course, It will have to be in the “millennium”….. 

The period of time when the Savior  comes again to rule for 1000 years in peace and righteousness.

As members of the Church, we do not have to wait for the Millennium to begin living those principles. We can treat others with the same love, respect, and dignity that the Savior does. We can welcome those who feel different or alone. We can listen, serve, and seek to understand one another. As we do so, we help prepare the earth for the conditions that will exist during the Millennium. 

President Russell M. Nelson has taught that peacemaking and discipleship are essential in our day. When we choose kindness over judgment and unity over division, we become instruments in the Lord’s hands.

The Millennium gives us hope for a future world filled with peace and righteousness. It also reminds us of an important truth for today: every person is precious to God, and every person is invited to come unto Christ. 

The pictures below are about the last day of our mission… and a special trip we took.  All of the Zone Leaders  and Sister training leaders came to the mission office and said goodbye. I love these missionaries. 

As far as the special trip…..We worked pretty hard for 12 months… And because we were in Africa… We decided to fly to Kenya and go on Safari. So the rest of the pictures are from some of the animals in this beautiful world we saw in Kenya. It is a special place. And we kept seeing God‘s handiwork in everything that we saw. My particular favorite was the Cheetah. 

We fly home Tuesday. Our homecoming is Sunday. I’ve provided a Zoom link below for those who have inquired and for a few of my kids who will not be able to make it.

As I said before, this weekly Blog has been for me. It is like a “journal” of how I felt and who I saw and the people I served with over the last 12 months.  I will now be able to go back in the years to come and read about what it was like living in Ghana. The people are wonderful… And because of their friendliness, kindness, love, and their faith… Heavenly Father gave me a little “glimpse” of what it’ll be like some day in heaven.

All the zone leaders and sister training leaders came our last day to say goodbye

This was our last day playing pickleball

Ebenezer....... a great and faithful man that helped me out tremendously. He negotiated all the leases and paid the utilities

This was our last staff meeting...... the Nunez's are now on board.

Sister Johnson, Sister Archibald and Sister Langi

Elders Albrecht, Anderson, CID, and Mbala

Elders Kalubi, Ilunga, and Karen's

Sister Stambuli and Johnson

Sister Langi

We picked up 8 missionaries from the MTC as their flight to Kenya was cancelled. We got them bussed over to a hotel..... along with Jill and I

Now we are in Kenya for a few days..... before we fly back to California.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/34becd_b6b81af62d0b4137b1c4402adb93bf22/144p/mp4/file.mp4

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/34becd_512ecba26b3c466ab8b37cecee0d524c/720p/mp4/file.mp4

Outside our hotel room

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We saw these two one night while walking to dinner

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https://video.wixstatic.com/video/34becd_ed6a24523ab54902ab9527946b43ca19/720p/mp4/file.mp4

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/34becd_9f0b994614c74d8d8e71a2e74b85fbb4/720p/mp4/file.mp4

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/34becd_c5a22c8dbd604553a7e36d703580f8e5/144p/mp4/file.mp4

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/34becd_717583fedbd74b2faf135a4edc871f93/720p/mp4/file.mp4

Here is the Zoom link to watch our Homecoming Talks that will be given at our church next Sunday, June 14th at 10:00am PST.