JUNE 2014

Hi Friends and Family!
We miss you! I'm looking out the window at Oklahoma, but it feels like any peaceful Sabbath day.  I'm grateful that the Lord's Spirit can be anywhere.  I love Utah but I am going to tell you that Oklahoma has a huge piece of my heart-  I love the people here,  the beauty,  the missionaries, and the great blessing that allows me to be a missionary.  Here's our report of the week! 
Love you so much!!
Sister Shumway

Wednesday June 25, 2014

This is not my first journal entry for June, but I made a very silly mistake several days ago, and deleted the whole June file.  Oh well,  I guess I could have cried about it, but I don’t have time for that.  The days are flying by and each one is filled with beauty and miracles,  and challenges too.  But we are still here, and we are still working as hard as ever.

I have loved these last three days.  On Monday about noon, 18 wonderful youth from the Battlecreek 1^st Ward in Pleasant Grove Utah, drove into the mission home with their 6 great leaders.   Spencer and Tara live in that ward.  Spencer serves in the Young Men’s program, and he had come up with an idea that they could bring the youth in their ward on a “super activity”  to Oklahoma to serve a “mini mission” here.

They were in age- 14 to 18.  Two of them already have their mission calls.  One will leave in two weeks for his mission in Kansas-  they drove right through it to get here!

We treated them like any other incoming missionaries and fed them lunch, did some training, introduced them to their companions – our full time missionaries- and sent them out.  That scene made me cry.  Two of our grown Elders with 14 or 16 year old young men.  Our Elders threw their arms around them as if they’d always known them, and off they went to their areas.  Same thing with the sisters.  There were only 3 young women, but our sisters were hugging them as if they were best friends.

They spent the rest of Monday, all of Tuesday, and Wednesday morning working together.  They came in to the New Haven Building today-  our ward building-  and they were glowing!  President Shumway had promised them miracles and that is exactly what happened.  They could hardly wait to tell. 

It was a tender thing to watch the youth say goodbye to their new missionary friends.  We brought the youth to the mission home and had a special testimony meeting.  There were many tears.  They reported that their whole view of life has been changed, they saw poverty that they didn’t know existed, they didn’t know that they could love perfect strangers as they had, they felt the Spirit guide their actions and words,  they didn’t know missionary work was so challenging, but they are more committed than ever to serve missions, they know that God lives and the gospel is true.

One young man said he would have done anything, traveled any distance to have the experience they’d had.  I think the wonderful leaders of the Battlecreek 1^st ward can know that all the work, effort and sacrifice required to bring these youth here – was a success.

Our missionaries felt the same way.  I asked them if it distracted them from their work.  Every one said it was just the opposite.  It made them work harder, pray harder, and be exactly obedient so that they could be a great example to their young friends.

And there were incredible miracles.  Elder ____ and Elder ____, along with the young man who was working with them, were teaching a new member lesson to a recent convert.  They had decided to have it outside of the apartment building.  Two of our senior sisters-  Sister ____ and Sister ____  Here came a lady running-  East Indian.  She wanted to know if she and her husband could listen to what the missionaries were teaching to this new member.  They were so excited to hear the gospel and after the lesson invited the missionaries into their home and asked if they could donate to the church! 

who had introduced the gospel to this sister, were also there.

President Shumway and I are so grateful the Lord blessed us with this experience for our mission.  There was an incredible outpouring of the Spirit for everyone involved.  It’s interesting to me that the Lord can get so much done all at once-  bless the youth, our missionaries, and the many, many people who were touched by their testimonies.   It was a miracle week.  

Battlecreek 1st Ward youth and leaders-  All smiles after their Mini-mission! Honorary missionaries for the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Thursday June 26, 2014

A Happy Birthday to our sweet Bria and handsome Brigham!   Our two wonderful grandchildren-

two “Bs” born on the same day!

This was a day to try and regroup.  I was desperate to help Abby and Taylor with their online summer classes that have been so hard!   I don’t think we’ll ever do online again.   The programs won’t let them go back to study for the quizzes and tests, though they are able to take the quizzes over and over until their scores improve, but they can’t see what they missed!  So I went in to talk to the online teachers, and they were so very kind,  as the majority of the teachers in the Jenks School District have been-  so willing to try and make things work for their students.  I recognized their special and individualized help as a great blessing from Heavenly Father.  It’s hard to keep myself balanced as a mother and a “mission” mom.   There are days I just have to stop and really focus on Abby and Taylor, and I’m always grateful to the Lord for helping things work out.

This is such a wonderful place!  I wish you could all spend one summer day in Tulsa Oklahoma.  It is so green-  and pink and purple!  Lots of flowering trees and flowering bushes.   And so humid and hot!  I sat out in the back yard tonight on the phone, talking to a missionary, and the sky changed to pink and then gray, the cicadas starting singing their loud buzzing noise, the tree frogs (many of them!) start croaking, and the beautiful fireflies flew around me-  they look so unreal-  fluorescent green flashing off and on.  I love a summer night in Oklahoma!!

 And summer days!  I always see little critters on my walks!

And beautiful trees and flowers!

 And I've fallen in love with Oklahoma clouds!  They come down so low- they are so huge!  I'm always asking Abby in the passenger seat to lean out the window and snap another cloud for me!  

They are heaven's beautiful art work! 

 Was I right?  They are incredible!  Part of the joy I feel about being here.

Friday June 27, 2014

I’m still thinking about the wonderful days we had with the youth of the Battlecreek first ward, and I realized I didn’t tell you that on Tuesday (the 24^th), while the youth were out with their full-time missionaries, I took Tara with me to Muskogee and we spent about 4 hours teaching with the sister- missionaries there.  We went together- all four of us- to visit  a less active couple.  As we were teaching we thought we could hear a couple of dogs in the room next.  All of a sudden, the door burst open and ELEVEN dogs came jumping, leaping, running, licking and barking into the room!  Some of them jumped right into our laps!  It was like something from a Disney movie-  we were all laughing!  People out here love their animals!  This is not the first time I have taught a family with that many dogs-  one home had fifteen!

Then we split.  Tara went with one sister and I went with another.   I was so touched by one of our appointments with an 87 year old man-  just baptized two weeks ago!  Still very sharp in his mind, though he was having some trouble hearing us.

We taught him about family history and the temple.  His wife died a few years ago, and this humble man, sitting in a wheel chair, just cried to know that he could be united with his wife eternally.  We told him he still has important work to do and there was change in his demeanor as he thought about this-  he still has something to live for- something very important to accomplish.  He thinks that his sister-in-law is the one who should be baptized for his wife.  His sister-in-law is not a member!  But he dialed her number and handed the phone to Sister ____so that Sister _____ could invite her to listen to the missionaries-  and she said yes.   The Lord can use missionaries of all ages!

He reminded me so much of my Daddy-  kind and good.  I miss my Dad. 

Saturday June 28, 2014-  Happy Birthday Thomas!  Our Grandson!

You wish you could have been with me today to see Taylor perform in Suessical- the musical!  He had a leading role-  Horton the Elephant!   If you are not familiar with this musical you are probably smiling about that.  It was so great!  Taylor sang beautifully, and acted very well.  I was so proud of him.

This was a one week summer camp, so nothing like Tarzan that he performed in this spring at the school-  no costumes or beautiful sets-  pretty bare bones.  But so much fun!  

  

Abby made in on the Jenks Cheer Team but she is still recovering from her ACL surgery.  So she went to the Cheer Camp and sat and watched!  Hard for her, but she is recovering nicely, and her leg is getting stronger and stronger, so one of these days she'll be able to be up and at it!  I took a picture anyway!

President Shumway left very early to be 4 hours away for a baptism-  and then on to a Stake Conference in Missouri.  We felt it was important for me to be home for the kids this weekend so I stayed.

 I attended the Baptism of a wonderful young couple.  New members of our ward here-  so prepared to hear the gospel.  He was raised Lutheran and had begun to have doubts in the last year preparing him to recognize the gospel and join the church-  where he says he feels so happy and comfortable.  Many people say it feels like coming home.  It always touches my heart to see our missionaries dressed in white- ready to use their Priesthood to help someone make that first covenant.  These are the Zone Leaders for our Stake-   they are outstanding in every way!   I feel so proud of them- who they are-  and I know of the faith that has been required of them to bring someone to this point.

  Sunday June 29, 2014

I love Sunday-  the Lord’s day.  I feel His Spirit the minute I climb out of bed.  I love the reverent Sabbath Day feeling as I study the scriptures. 

Our traveling Sister Training Leaders pulled in this morning about 10:30.  They will be here for a day and then head back out to continue the important work they are doing of training every sister in the mission!  I am so grateful for them.  It is impossible for me to get out and see them all.

THE BEST THING OF ALL!!  Cabe and Jana, Preston, Carter, Ashton and Brigham-  arrived this afternoon to spend the week with us!  We are so excited to have them here!   They are going to get to do some missionary work with us and we will have some time to just enjoy them too.

That's all for this Oklahoma week

Monday Jan 20, 2014

What a day-  happy and sad!  Elder and Sister ______,  one of the best senior missionary couples in the church went home from the OTM today.   They came to the mission home and we had a farewell luncheon for them with the Senior Office Staff.  They served in _____ AR for 23 months-  the people there had parties for them and cried when they left.  I know I keep saying this- but I wish every older couple in the church could have heard the testimonies they shared with us today.  Sister _____ said she was so surprised that the people were so sad to see them go-  Elder and Sister _____ had wondered if they’d done much good.  Their influence will be felt for years, perhaps eternally, as families they helped to activate continue on their journey back to their Heavenly Father.   I was so sad to see them go. 

Today I was so excited!  Our missionaries are amazing!  After President Shumway presented his 5 “anchors” at our last broadcast, and we challenged them to climb the mountain,  President Shumway said he needed “pace setters”.  I think he knew what would happen!   One of our Zone Leaders set a goal to have his zone teach 300 lessons this last week!  That would have been amazing, but by the middle of the week he could see they were going to do better than that.  They taught 536 lessons last week!  They beat the last mission record (as far back as we can see) by over 200 lessons!!  He told President Shumway that today for their preparation day, all the missionaries in his zone were too tired for a zone activity.  They just needed to rest!  It’s absolutely incredible how blessed they were.  The Lord rewards desire and hard work.  And they weren’t the only zone that did  it!  Other zones heard what they were doing and set out to see how many they could do. 

It’s not all about the numbers-  it’s about hundreds of investigators that we hope will progess toward baptism, temple covenants, and eternal life.   We are so happy!

Tonight-  President Shumway and I and Abby and Taylor went to visit a family.  Their dear sweet daughter and sister died this week.  She was 27 years old-  a precious handicapped girl that could not communicate well, but sat by me in Sunday School and Relief Society and smiled and loved every minute of her time here.  And now- she can sing!

More specific information about the car crash the sisters were in on Friday.  This was my entry in the medical journal I have to turn in:

Medical Miracle:

Friday Jan 17^th-  The two sisters became frightened at night as they were driving on a dark country lane.  In their hurry to get out of that area,  they were going a bit too fast and rolled their car into a ditch which had a 50 drop on the side.  They were saved from falling down the cliff by a tree that caught their car and stopped it.  The sisters had to climb out the windows and across the top of the car to safety.  Then they walked down a dark country lane until they saw a house with lights on.  Some very kind people allowed them to come in and make a phone call.  Their cell phone had fallen down into their car and they were not able to locate it in all the confusion  of the accident.  Immediately, members began to come and help them and their zone leaders.  Their Bishop took them to the ER where Sister _______ had 5 stitches in her hand-  It hadn’t been cut on anything.  Her hand literally tore between two of her fingers as she tried to turn the steering wheel.  She’s going to have to go to a hand surgeon also.   The Zone Leaders and another kind member got the things out of their car and found someone to get the car back on the road. 

            Everyday we pray for the missionaries safety.  I KNOW they were protected.    If they had gone off the road on either side of the tree they may have been killed.

TUESDAY JAN 21, 2014

Miracles today!  I traveled to Pawhuska, OK early this morning  to go out with the Sister Training Leaders there.  I can’t say enough good about those two-  fabulous missionaries!   At every visit we made we felt the Spirit’s influence and saw miracles.   We visited with a lady who has been less active for many years-  so sad, because she had been endowed.   We read the sacrament prayer to her and talked about what it means to “remember”.   I asked her if she could remember the first day she spent in the temple and her eyes filled with tears.   We all felt the peace that comes from the truths we were talking about.  I don’t know if she’s ready to come back, but she is “remembering”.

 Some months ago when I visited this same area, all our appointments had fallen through and we had prayed to be directed to someone who would listen.  We drove up a hill past a woman on her porch and felt prompted to stop and talk with her.   We actually drove past her house and parked around the corner and walked back so she wouldn’t be so uncomfortable with us.  She came down off her porch, hung up with the person she was on the phone with and welcomed us to come up to the porch.  We had a wonderful lesson with her and she told the sisters they could come back.

Today-  the sisters told me they are still teaching her!  Oh that made me so happy!  Her teenage daughter is attending the Young Women’s activity night and this sister is reading the Book of Mormon with the Sisters.  Today she accepted an invitation to be baptized, on the conditions that she can continue to study and feel comfortable with it.   I know it will happen!  The Lord sent us there and she is ready and prepared to hear the gospel and make covenants. 

What a wonderful day for me!  Every effort we make is rewarded by the Lord-  He wants us to be successful as we serve Him and He makes everything possible.

Wednesday Jan 22, 2014

Traveled 3 and 1/2 hours to Ozark, MO, just south of Springfield to work with the two Sisters there.  We had dinner at Lamberts, Home of the Throwed Rolls- it's right in their area!  And the best thing about dinner was our waitress!  She was darling and she would love the missionaries to visit her.  She lives out of the Sister's area, but The Lord doesn't care about that.

Then we went out to work-  our first appointment cancelled- of course!  That's always an opportunity for a miracle, because you have to go looking for the someone The Lord wants you to talk to instead of the person that cancelled.  It's usually a great adventure- and it was!   We went to talk with a media referral.  A woman came out on the porch first- she talked to us and smiled and went to get her husband , who is a less active member.  He knew that the person who had referred him was his mother!  But he smiled and joked about it, and thought maybe it was time he came back to church.  He knew all the right "gospel" words so it was easy to see that he still has a testimony.  Then he prayed with us.  That always means something to me.  If a person will pray with us, they have desire, even if it is just a speck, it is there. 

Then we went to find a potential investigator that the sisters had met on the street some days earlier.  They thought they knew where she lived, but we went to the wrong door, hoorah!  Because a young man answered!  And he showed some interest in what we were saying and thought he would like the missionaries to come and visit him.  He didn't actually live there, he was visiting a friend.  He lives in Springfield, so again, it will be other missionaries,  but we were happy to have found him.

We walked across the street to visit an investigator that is making slow progress.  The sisters didn't have an appointment with her, but she let us in and we talked with her and her husband and son.  She has light in her eyes, in opposition to the darkness in her husband's.  It will be a challenge, but she can do it!

Last- an appointment with a dear older woman - less active- and her sick husband.  They have kids and grandkids living with them.  The poor woman was exhausted and she yawned over and over and talked about how hard things were and how tired she was.  The sisters taught a lesson about enduring to the end!  And then we felt strongly that we should sing to her!  We sang "I feel my Savior's love" and we saw the peace come into her face.  She hummed along on the last line, and we ALL felt the Savior's love and His Spirit come into the room. 

I'm sleeping in a hotel tonight without President Shumway- weird- here in Springfield and tomorrow I'll go out with the Sister Training Leaders.  I'm tired- but I have loved my day!

Thursday- Jan 23, 2014  another day of miracles in Springfield, finding and teaching with the Sisters.  We felt impresses to visit members and one of those members gave us a name that led us to a less active sister and her family.  She told us her story-  a difficult time- and cried as we bore out testimonies- she has one too!

Friday-  Jan 24, 2014

This day has hurt my heart.  We have several missionaries that are struggling with serious medical problems-  some serious enough that they may have to return home.  They don’t want to go, and we don’t want them to go, so we will pray for miracles.  I spent some hours at my computer and on the phone dealing with those concerns.  When I called to tell one mother about the serious medical problem her son has, she cried, and I cried.  We just want this to be such a great experience for all of them.   I have a great testimony of trusting the Lord and allowing Him to work it out.  It will be right and it will be ok, however it is.

Saturday -  Jan 25, 2014

President and I, Abby and Taylor had the wonderful privilege to attend the baptism of three young converts to the church- ages 14, 12 and 11.  They were 2 sisters and their brother- so precious dressed in white.  They listened carefully and quietly as the talks were given, they are serious about what they are doing.  I was so impressed that there were 8 or 10 youth from their new ward there to support them, and many other ward members.  One brother in the ward told us the missionaries are working with other members of that family.  Miracles!  I am so grateful the Lord allows our missionaries to find those who are ready and prepared. 

Sunday – Jan 26, 2014

President Shumway and I were up at 5am and traveled 2 and ½ hours north to Pittsburg Kansas.  What a wonderful ward!  We love the dear saints in our mission!  We spoke in their sacrament meeting,  then spoke to their youth, then spoke to their Primary, then gave a presentation the 3^rd hour.  It was so much fun!   Their Bishop-  an outstanding leader-  invited us to his home after the meetings for lunch with the young single adults of his ward.   Four of those young people are new converts- baptized in the last year!  This ward is very missionary minded and they have done great things.  Those new converts gave us a short message- together.  It was very touching.   I’m so grateful to get to hear the touching stories of new converts.  The Lord is absolutely directing them to find the gospel.

Traveled on to Joplin to pick up the sister missionary who cut her hand in the car accident.  We are bringing her in to Tulsa.  Tomorrow I will take her to a hand surgeon and we’ll see what can be done. 

Another 2 hour drive-  I drove while President slept and Sister __________ tried to keep me awake.  I was so sleepy!  Arrived home about 5 pm.  A new Senior couple had already arrived.  They went to church at the New Haven ward and followed Abby and Taylor back to the mission home.  Abby and I had tried to get most of Sunday dinner prepared yesterday, so there just a few things to do, but Abby had done them all-  bless her!   So we sat down to dinner with our assistants, office staff, the new senior couple and Abby and Taylor.  Enjoyable dinner and a lesson from the assistants afterwards.

Abby and Taylor went to bed and we gave Elder and Sister ______________ a little training before they went to bed.  I’m off to bed myself-  tomorrow starts transfer week and we have so much to do to get ready.

And that's the end of that wonderful week!

 Hi dear ones!  

It's still January - right?  You'd think it was here-  soooo cold and snowy!  In Oklahoma!  Today it was 21 degrees- it's supposed to be 64 on Sat.  

"Saturday is a special day"!

Monday Jan 13, 2014

A meeting with our assistants-  calendaring and planning.  Then I spent the next hours doing some missionary medical work- lots of phone calls and recording.  And then trying to catch up with some other records.  One of my two wonderful assistants came to help-    I could not keep up without their help! 

I don't get full days to do this very often, so I really take advantage of it when I have the time. 

Tonight-  Abby had her tumbling class early and then we had Family Home Evening.  Taylor is so tired every night.  He's up at 5:10 most mornings for Seminary then straight to Trojanaires - show choir- by 6:30 (they call it 0 hour).  Then a normal school day, football practice, play practice (he's in the spring musical-  "Tarzan"!  And then he comes home beat - ready to eat, do a little homework and go to bed so he can start it all over again the next day!  I wish I had his energy!

Tuesday Jan 14, 2014

I traveled to _____, OK early this morning to spend most of the day with Sister ____and Sister ____  both outstanding missionaries.   We spent some time counseling together, then went on one appointment together- a lady who is hoping to be baptized soon.  And another appointment later in the afternoon-  a less active family.  One man in the family is not a member and our lesson was geared for him, but he played games on his phone the entire time we were teaching him!  His wife however, a young very sweet girl, just shines.  She has come back to church and she is loving everything about it and enjoying the company of the sister missionaries.  They have done wonders with her!   The Lord knows who to send!

Wednesday Jan 15, 2014

Happy, happy, joyous day!  Nate and Jisoo called today.   A judge granted Nathan legal custody of Jenevi-  she is officially adopted and officially a Shumway. 

Her new name- Jenevi Anne Shumway.   I’m humbled and honored and so proud to be her Grammy.

They will have her sealed to them soon-  how I wish we could be there, but even from a distance we have faith in that great power that seals and binds.  She is ours!

This morning Scott and I attended a district meeting of one of our nearby districts-  impressive!  They plan and prepare-  they are fine missionaries and they are working so hard and trying to do the Lord’s will.  Oh how we love them.

Thursday Jan 16, 2014

Got to spend a part of this day working with two of our Sister Missionaries.  Two solid sisters with solid testimonies.  Everything we tried fell through.  That’s reality here sometimes, but they were not discourgaged.  In the very next minute they will find someone to teach!

 Friday Jan 17 2014

I’ve felt some sadness in the last couple days.  Two of our missionaries have had to deal with deaths that happened at home.  It breaks my heart, but I am so proud of them.  Their hearts hurt and they just keep going and doing what the Lord sent them to do.   I know they have help from the other side to do it.

I have often felt that my parents and President’s parents were helping us.   In a private moment at our MTC training, one of the general authorities told President Shumway that his father would be much more help to him from the other side than he ever could have been from here.  I know they are here.

I felt prompted to join President Shumway today in one of the trainings he usually does alone-  just so I could give a hug to one of those missionaries, a sister.  She is so very sad, but very strong as well and she’ll be alright.

Tonight two of our missionaries got in a car wreck -in a far out area of our mission.  They are mostly ok.  One will need stitches on her hand.  But every time we hear of an accident our missionaries are in, I am so grateful that they are ok.  The Lord has truly blessed us every day.  I can’t even think how devastating it would be if anything serious happened to any one of them.  I’ll be on my knees in gratitude tonight.

Sunday Jan 19, 2014

A lovely Sabbath day spent with my children.  I drove Taylor 20 minutes away to the Sapulpa Ok Ward Building to practice with a group of about 8 other string players to perform in a Stake Youth Fireside tonight.   After the practice we rushed to our ward and barely made it on time, then jumped in the car after church, stopped at the house for a minute and headed to Bartlesville OK, one hour to the north , where our Stake Center is for the Stake Youth Fireside.  We had Taylor’s friend with us.  We had to be there early for another string practice and then we enjoyed a wonderful fireside.  I was so impressed with it.  Our Stake President is an outstanding leader and speaker.  He really connects with the youth and I was so glad Abby and Taylor and Taylor's friend were there to hear the important things that were said.  We got back home just in time for Taylor and his friend to go out with Elder _____ one of our local missionaries- whose companion was going with a member to give a blessing.  Elder _____ needed a companion or two to go teach a lesson.  Both Taylor and his friend had an opportunity to bear their testimonies and they told me that the man they were teaching cried because he felt the Spirit.  I’m so grateful for the boys to have these opportunities.

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 The News From Oklahoma-  Week Monday Jan 6 to Sunday Jan 12, 2014


 Hi Family and Friends-

Another blog and it hasn't even been 3 months!  Part of my new years resolution.  I'm just letting you read my journal (minus all the names- remember I can't include that).  This is part of my new year's resolutions.  You might decide it's too much to read-  you won't offend me.   But I'll have a great record- with pictures- of some of the things we did.  

Hope everything is OK wherever you are-  we love you - and pray for you.

Love,

Sister Shumway

 Monday Jan 6, 2014-  Mission Leadership Counsel

It was a cold day-  I think our low was 10- and the high in the teens.  School was canceled because of the ice on the roads, so we decided not to do a neighborhood service project, for the first time in months.  The Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders came in a little later, but we enjoyed a nice dinner together and then an evening of training about leadership qualities.  It is such a pleasure to be with such remarkable young people.

 Tuesday Jan 7, 2014-  Mission Leadership Counsel continued

Up at 5:30 for breakfast at 6:45.  Some of the missionaries helped me cook.

We had 5 hours of training this morning- the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders doing most of the training.  It's impressive. 

Lunch at the mission home about 1:30pm.  Then there are just so many details to be taken care of -  things to be sent out to the zones, we always take a picture,  individual interviews for some leaders, and I had a few that needed to talk about medical issues.  This was the first time President Shumway didn't interview all the companionships together- probably the only time that will happen.

Then everyone heads back to their areas-  they are dedicated leaders and they are all determined to help their zones do great missionary work and improve in any way they can.

They love to be together!

Our beautiful missionaries!  We adore them!

Thursday  Jan 9^th 2014- Happy Birthday McKay!!

I was up by 5:30 to be ready to leave for Miami Oklahoma by 7:30.  Got Abby on the bus and made the hour and ½ drive to Miami to spend the day with 3 Sisters- a tri-panionship.  These are some of my best missionary days!  I love it!  We had companionship study and then went out to teach.  These Sisters are on fire!  They have so many investigators right now they are having a hard time teaching all of them.  I got to meet two of them.   One is a new investigator who already has a baptism date.  She prayed for the first time today, with help from one of the Sisters.  She held our hands and afterwards she stood up and hugged us and cried.  The Spirit was bearing witness to all of us of the truthfulness of the Gospel and that the Lord loves her and is so mindful of her.   It is a remarkable thing, a great blessing, to watch the dawn break as the Gospel comes into an investigator’s life.

Friday Jan 10^th 2014

President Shumway and I were up early and off to the Tulsa East Stake Center for our monthly mission broadcast.  This has been one of our creative endeavors.  Just another way to get in front of the missionaries.  The Friday after our Mission Leadership Meetings, the Zone Leaders pull their missionaries together for Zone Training Meeting -  10 zones in 10 different places all over our mission.   After the opening song, prayer and recitations, President Shumway and I speak to all of them via camera on the computer.  I’m going to admit I really don’t even know how they are doing it.  It takes them an hour to set it up, and it always works!  So I guess I don’t need to know-  these missionaries are so smart!

This was a special broadcast to us-  President Shumway and I have been praying and talking and planning.  We are trying to receive some inspiration about how we can move forward now with the 250+ missionaries in the OTM.  The hastening made the size of our force explode.   All of our indicators went up too, but we know we’ve got to be constantly working to help our missionaries  stay strong, obedient and motivated to do the Lord’s work.  Their work  requires huge effort.  They have to want to do it and find joy in it – and they do. 

I spoke about “climbing mountains” and President Shumway spoke about the 5 anchors that get us up the mountain-

1. Put your armour on every day-  obey every rule whether you agree with it or not!

2. Pray constantly and earnestly for the Holy Ghost to be your constant companion.

3. Make your mornings a spiritual experience (get up on time,  use personal and companionship study as a sacred time to prepare)

4. Don’t go in early-  stay out till 9pm  (all your effort-  all day!)

5. Stamp out all negative thinking  (positive thinking-  don’t let Satan  influence your thoughts)

That was the basis of his talk.  He had felt so inspired about these things and also used them in our last zone conference.  They are having a huge impact on our mission already.  We have had dozens of emails from the missionaries telling us of the miracles they are having from doing these things.

One of the sisters yesterday (in the area that is exploding!) on my visit told me she wondered why everyone said missionary work is so hard-  you just do everything you are asked to do and miracles happen every day.  

I had another sister call me to tell me they had decided to be “super obedient” today and make their morning “a spiritual experience”.  They felt directed to follow up with some media referrals and amazing things happened.  One man, whom they had never met before, but at some time had previously had missionary lessons asked them if he could be baptized!  They were thrilled!

I’m so grateful to know this is the Lord’s mission.  If we just will listen, He tells us what to do!

Saturday Jan 11^th 2014

Our preparation day and for the first time in weeks, we actually used it that way- washing our cars, organizing and catching up with some things. 

I got to go with Abby early this morning for a private tumbling and cheerleading lesson.  She has been working out in a gym for the last 4 weeks and is preparing for Jenks High School cheerleading tryouts next month.  She is the cutest cheerleader you’ve ever seen!  I LOVE watching her!  

Found an hour to catch up with some medical issues with the missionaries.   I had spent 3 hours yesterday afternoon sitting at my computer I was so far behind.  Today I can finally see that I might get a handle on this!   This is another thing that makes me so grateful for the Lord’s help.  What do I know!  A missionary calls to tell me what health concern they have, and I just wait and open myself up to the feeling I know will come that tells me to get them right to the Doctor, or to take an ibuprofen and go to bed.  I have to trust that feeling-  it’s always right.

Friday after the broadcast, President Shumway and I went to pick up a man that was supposed to come with us to the mission home for a lesson.  We have been working with him for a very long time.  He wasn’t there-  so disappointing.   But he called me later and again today to tell me he will come to church with us tomorrow.  I’m praying that happens-

Also had a great conversation this morning with Abby’s gym coach about the church.  He said he would like to join us in church tomorrow!   I’m always hopeful.

Sunday Jan 12^th 2014

Well-  my two friends didn’t come to church- I’ll keep working with them!  I went early to pick up a recent convert and her two girls for church.  She wasn’t ready and was very depressed and upset.  She didn’t come to church.   It was our ward conference today and it seemed like every word that was said would have been encouraging and helpful to her.  That’s the way it is- she’ll never know the blessings she missed by not being there.  But I was able to go get her and her girls after church and bring them to the mission home for dinner with the assistants and the one of our senior couples.  (Sister Linda Shumway and her companion had their investigator to dinner again!  So great!)   We watched “The Testaments” with the little girls-  they asked tons of gospel questions- I was so happy-  and the feeling was wonderful.  The recent convert asked President Shumway for a blessing.  She felt much more calm on the way home, and we had a great conversation.  I challenged her to prepare for the temple and she expressed the feeling that she really wants that. 

So, the end of another week, or the beginning, however you look at it.  And this next week is already full of appointments and missionary activities.

Hope your week is great too!  There are always so many blessings in all of our days and weeks!  The Lord loves us and the gospel is true.

 HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE

SHUMWAY FAMILY!

 January 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

Happy New Year!  Hope your holidays were wonderful.  Thank you for the many cards and letters from your families- we loved hearing from you.

Day one of our mission started with us on the run and it has never slowed down, but it seems like the last few months have been turned up even one more notch!  The hastening means moving a little faster and so we're running at top speed!

December 2013 was filled with missionary work and activities.  We had a wonderful zone conference the first week of December.   On our second day we had to pack 7 hours of conference into just a few hours in order to end early and try to beat the ice storms home.  Two very tense hours driving on ice.  The next couple weeks our weather was crazy-  ice and snow and cold.  Abby and Taylor had several days with their schools closed because the roads were so bad.  

This has truly been an Oklahoma winter-  lots of severe weather!  

Oklahoma icy winter wonderland!

Autumn just couldn't let go of this one!  Beautiful!

Bushes in front of the mission home weighed down with ice!

The weight of the ice broke branches all over town and pulled down some power lines.  Some people were out of power for several days.

 The very next Monday we were involved in our Mission Leadership Conference.   Our service project for that conference was to Christmas carol in our neighborhood.  It was bitter cold that night but we had such a wonderful time.   Thirty three missionaries walked through the streets singing Christmas hymns.  We stopped at many doors and gave out Tabernacle Choir Christmas CDs.   There was such a special spirit.  One lady came out on her porch and hugged the Sister missionaries and cried.  Christmas brings out the best in people.   

Our angel Christmas carolers!

December 16th was a special evening filled with sacred music as we went to Jenks High School to hear Taylor perform in the Messiah.  There were two performance.  Taylor sang with the Trojanaires in the first performance and played in the orchestra in the second performance.   We were so proud of him and excited for him the next week when he was chosen to be a dancer and singer in the school musical-  Tarzan.   We can't wait for this!

A special outdoor performance with the Troganaires.  Taylor still has his blonde hair from football-  all the players dyed their hair for the Stake Playoffs.  They won!  Jenks took Stake again this year!

December 17th brought 10 new missionaries to the OTM.  They got in to Tulsa quite late as flights were delayed because of the weather.  They were exhausted!  So we fed them, trained them with lightening speed (I hope they remember any thing at all!) put them in bed and shipped them out the next morning.  Then we spent the day preparing for our returning missionaries who got home in time for Christmas.  Several of them had a little trouble getting home.  Their flights were canceled  when they had a layover in Texas because of the weather in Utah and they ended up staying a night in the Texas Dallas mission home.   Finally they all arrived home safely.  We were relieved.

Our beloved returning missionaries.

New missionaries at Christmas time!

President Shumway and I traveled out twice on two Sundays in December to speak.  We love getting to know the saints around the mission-  all wonderful people.  

And then it was Christmas!  On December 21st Jonathan, Sarah, and their darling boys and Matt arrived in Tulsa to spend the next two weeks with us!    We had so much fun together and we worked them like crazy.  We had given them so much responsibility to help with our special Christmas Zone Conferences.  It was like having extra mission staff for a couple weeks.  We wished they would stay!  But we did take time here and there to enjoy each other and our Christmas eve and Christmas day were very special with family, our two assistants, and our senior office.   On Christmas eve we sang songs, acted out the nativity and enjoyed all the Shumway family Christmas traditions.  On Christmas day we all enjoyed dinner together and were joined by a recent convert and her family.  It was a special day and very relaxed!

Monday Dec 30 through Wednesday Jan 1-   Happy New Year!

What an incredible week.  We traveled around our mission and had a zone conference every day!

This was our special “Christmas”  Zone Conference.  It’s an extra zone conference we have done twice now between Christmas and New Years-  part of our Christmas present for our missionaries.  It’s a time to have some fun with them and also do a little extra training.

We were traveling with Jonathan, Sarah and their four boys,  Matt,  Nathan, JiSoo and their little Jenevi, Abby and Taylor -  and our Assistants.  We had 5 vehicles loaded to the top with boxes and boxes of everything we needed for our conferences, and all our luggage!  It was an adventure!

All the boys were at the church by about 7:00 every morning to set up for the “Mama’s Boys” and I went running to Sam’s club to be there at 7:00am when it opened.  At each conference we fed the missionaries about 45 pizzas plus veggie trays, fruit, cookies and drinks for lunch.

From 9 am to 11am we played games with them-  dodge ball, and minute to win it games.

Then “Mama’s Boys” performed for an hour -  I hope the missionaries enjoyed it, but I loved  it!  It made me so happy to see my family singing and playing together again.

We had an afternoon of training, and then on to the next Zone Conference.  We traveled from Tulsa, OK to Springdale AR and then the last day in Springfield MO. 

We were all so tired when we finally got home on Wed. Jan 1^st at about 11:30pm, but what a week we

had!

January 1^st 2014-  OUR HUMP DAY?   -  Not mine!  I don’t even like the visual image!  A hump is a small thing, it’s easy to get up to the top and easy to get down to the bottom.  I visual my mission as a mountain to climb, and I’m about half way up to the top!  Every day requires my strict attention and all my effort.  I can’t get lazy or complacent.   You have to respect the mountain-  there are rules in nature and if you don’t respect those rules and laws you may suffer severe consequences.  The same on a mission- obedience is a protection for all of us. 

It is important to stay strong to the top of the mountain.   But really, the end goal of reaching the mountain top is not nearly as important as the progress of each individual day.   I’m climbing with other climbers- we are tied together so if one of us slips a little we are all still supported.   My relationship with those other climbers is critical.  We can save each other’s lives. 

We’ll all reach the top of that mountain, and we’ll never forget the time we spent together working toward it. 

Ok- maybe that’s a little silly-  but my mission is a mountain!!

Thursday Jan 2, 2014

We all spent the day re-grouping.  Laundry, some grocery shopping, and Jonathan, Sarah and Matt preparing to leave the next day.  It was our last day together.

Friday Jan 3, 2014

What a melancholy day!  Jonathan, Sarah and kids, and Matt left this morning early to travel back home.  We’ve had two weeks of hard work-  missionary work- and fun together.  It’s just been pure joy for us. 

So it felt pretty sad to hug them goodbye.  They’ve had such an impact on our mission!  Our missionaries loved their wonderful “Mama’s Boys” show.  And missionaries just love to be around a family and we were happy and proud to share ours.

We didn’t have more than a minute or two to be sad.  We had to get right to work.  So much to catch up and we have Mission Leadership Council on Monday!  So we had a meeting with our assistants and then I ran to Sam’s Club and then to the office and met Scott there.  Then home quickly to cook dinner for 15-  we have a senior couple going home tomorrow.  This was their farewell dinner.    They have worked so hard.  Elder _____joined a men’s prayer group that had breakfast once a month and the people in the community- many who had false ideas about Mormons- got to know who Mormons really are and had great respect for these senior missionaries.  They taught many, many people, found less actives, and did countless service projects.   Senior couples have a profound impact on a community because, at least in our mission, they stay in one place and become well known.  People love and respect them, and listen to them.  We are truly going to miss them.

Saturday Jan 4, 2014

A happy missionary day!  A recent convert in our ward, has two sweet little girls, one age 9-and one age 8-  and they were baptized today!  President Shumway baptized the 9 year old and our Bishop baptized her sister.  Another great thing is that four of the mother's friends came who are not members of the church and they are coming to Sacrament Meeting tomorrow for the confirmation! 

After the baptism everyone came to the mission home for BBQ pork – a light supper.  We all enjoyed it and the girls were so excited.  It was a special day.

Sunday Jan 5, 2014

Brrrr!  It is cold here!  It snowed last night and the temperature dropped.  The high was in the 20s and the low is supposed to be about 9 degrees.  Then it will get even colder some time this week and we are looking at freezing rain- again!  This is the craziest weather place.  So much different than our very mild winter last year.

Some of the stakes and wards cancelled their meetings today because of the weather-  the roads are so slick.  And school is cancelled tomorrow-  again.  The buses can’t come into the neighborhoods on the slick roads.  This is our 4^th day missed this year because of weather. 

Our ward did have meetings and I was so glad.  The sweet little girls were able to be confirmed.  Our Bishop gave them beautiful blessings.  It was so rewarding to see this family making some important steps.  It has been such a struggle for them.  It’s taken many missionaries, and many ward members supporting them for every small step they’ve taken. 

Tonight- what has become our tradition for our Sunday dinner-  the office staff, our assistants, and often, our New Haven Elders for dinner.  I love it!  We  also often have an investigator or just someone who needs to be here.  It feels like family around our table and I’m so grateful for that blessing.   Tonight we were minus Sister Linda Shumway and her companion because they were having an investigator come to their apartment for dinner- hurrah for them!  I’m so proud of them-  they are wonderful missionaries!


So that's it for this installment.  I still can't believe anybody really wants to read this- but it's been a good exercise each day for me to record the many things I have to be grateful for.  I'm climbing "the mountain" and I'm loving it!  The gospel is true and any and every effort we make to share it is worth any sacrifice!

With Love,
Sister Shumway