Little miracles

Sister Stanford reading her notes on family names

Elder Lovell & Sister Stanford working on her family history

Sister Scott preparing another delicious meal for us!

There are times when little things happen that later you realize what a big blessing it was.  We've been working many weeks with Sister Stanford helping her do family history on the computer.  Just a little note, she has macular degeneration which limits her ability to read the computer screen. She has been taking classes on a computer program for the blind which enables her seeing abilities.  We have struggled with the PAF program and her e-mail as when we enlarge the screen to 400%, we lose the middle section of the screen.  We purchased a projector which Elder Lovell uses for his Family History Class and she loves it! We go to her home most Thursdays to help her and there are times when we wonder if we just go for the visit and the wonderful food Sister Scott (her mother) cooks for us. I was trying to figure out how to make the monitor brighter on my laptop when I ran across a place to enable a magnifier. I didn't try it out until we got there so it was an adventure trying to figure out how it worked. The discovery of how it worked was amazing and it was so much fun seeing her ability to add names into PAF and read her e-mail without much problem. I visited with her instructor and told him what we discovered, and he was excited to try it so he could teach it. Today  I asked Sister Stanford if she has used the magnifier since then and she said it is wonderful - it has given her a greater opportunity to use her computer!  It really is kind of fun to play with it.



We have another member, Bro. Moody, who has sight problems.  (He's the one who ate Thanksgiving dinner with us) Sister Stanford has been helping us get information and applications so we can assist him in getting the tools to enable him to see more and receive talking books, etc.  This will be especially nice when we can order the audio scriptures, church magazines, etc.

We love our mission!

Another blessing is enjoying the Lord's workmanship in
nature. They tell us we have seen nothing yet! South
Carolina is a beautiful place!

Being senior missionaries serving in a branch is a wonderful experience.  It is filled with hopes, discouragement, spiritual uplifting moments, late night calls, fun, adventure, discovering bugs we have never seen - experiencing their bites, miles and miles, patience, great food, interesting food, friendships, lengthening our stride, feeling old, feeling young, realizing you have limits, pushing those limits, appreciation for family and friends, receiving testimony of the Lord's work in small, simple ways, loving the people, loving the work, finding strengths you didn't know you have, recognizing weaknesses and with the Lord's help, making these weaknesses strong, learning from and working with the young Elders (here they call them the Little Boys), learning to cook all over again, learning a new language with many different dialects, realizing how blessed we are temporally and spiritually, teaching, learning, experiencing a new culture, respecting their culture, listening - they love to talk, watching people grow as they exercise their faith, serving, praying, studying. All this in just a few short months.  When you wonder if you're really doing any good, all it takes is an investigator who is very quiet, standing on the sidewalk as he bares witness of feeling the promptings of the spirit, listing the blessings they have had since they have been involved with the church, with tears in his eyes tell you he loves you, takes your hands and asks you to pray right there, then give you a hug when it's done; watching the look on a member's face when she is able to play her first song on the keyboard; having a sister in a wheelchair thank you for not forgetting her and getting her back to church; taking members to the temple after they've been away for a long time or going for the first time, watching them be sealed to their living parents and to their deceased parents; helping members discover their grandparents; feeling the spirit guide you as you teach.

We send our love to our family and all our friends. Thank you for your support and prayers! Wish you were here! : )