Dear Family and Friends,
Two months from today we will be home but who is counting? I guess that perhaps I am but as the same time we are keeping very busy. Today we go the Molepolole Branch for their branch conference. President Hall our stake president has asked that Sister Morgan and I attend all the conferences that are a part of our areas to cover. We cover Mafikeng in South Africa and Lobatse, Kanye, Molepolole, Mochudi as branches and G-West 1st ward and Broadhurst along with G-West 2nd ward the single young adult ward all here in Botswana. It Keeps us going and today will probably be the last time to attend Molepolole as our rotation takes about 8 weeks. We get to know a lot of people but at the same time we don’t get to know then very well. The Church is really doing well here in Botswana and I am sure that soon we will have a stake here. There are always little things that we try to correct a little at a time like when people get up to pray because they haven’t been in the church very long they say “Let us pray” before the prayer. I have carefully mentioned this in several talks in different wards and branches but the new members come in faster than I can take care of this. All in all they are becoming stronger and doing things the way we do them back in our part of Zion. I would think that with the Prophet and the great leadership we have back home that we must be doing the ordinances and other things right so we try to pattern things here the way we do them back home.
No wild and furious stories to tell this week. We had President Poulsen come to Botswana Thursday evening and we were privileged to go with him along with Sister Poulsen and took our four sisters that serve here in Gaborone out to dinner at the Red Lantern (Chinese food). It was a fun evening and the next day we had Leadership Training Meeting and we have always been invited to them. In the afternoon after this meeting President and Sister Poulsen headed for Francistown for their last visit there as well. They are having a two branch conference combined that is their annual conference. Yesterday they had some training like Sister Morgan and I have put on for Mochudi and Kanye. The stake pretty well takes care of training for the rest of the branches and wards here. They are also supposed to take care of these two but because they are dependent branches we help with them with their training.
We have another transfer coming up in ten days that will be our last one along. We will have a couple that we are training to take our place for the next one which will be on the 9th of August. We think the new couple will be here the last week of July. The transfer on the 9th of August will be President Omer’s first transfer sense his arrival on the 28th of June. That change will take place soon as President and Sister Omer arrives at 5:00 PM on the 28th and President and Sister Poulsen leave at 8:00 AM the next morning. They have talked several times on the phone and on skype on matters that President Poulsen thinks he should be aware of. As a counselor to President Poulsen I don’t know if I will be asked to be a counselor to President Omer. All of President Poulsen’s counselors will be automatically released upon his leaving the mission. I don’t know if President Omer doesn’t ask me to continue if I will still be asked to do 2nd interviews for baptisms. We will see. I think he should keep a counselor up here in Botswana because it is so far away from the main part of the mission. It has worked very well for me to serve as a counselor to President Poulsen. We have gotten along very well and I feel that I have given him great support and help. He has commented several times that having a counselor up here has been a blessing to the mission and the missionaries up here in Botswana. My sweet wife has been a great support to me in everything that I have been asked to do. I guess we bless each other as we clean house together. She prepares most of the meals and I do most of the dishes but while I do them she puts things away and wipes everything up so we finish about the same time.
Many years ago I was truly inspired to ask a sweet young lady (your mom) to marry me and I proposed to her on the foot bridge crossing Indian Creek behind the grade school in Kuna, Idaho. The miracle of this is that she said YES and then we went and I asked for her hand in marriage of her mom and dad. They were in bed but we got permission to speak to them and I asked for the hand of their daughter to be my wife. I proposed on the 24th of July 1964 and we were married about seven weeks later in the Salt Lake Temple on the 14 of September 1964. I got home from my mission to England on the 12th of June 1964 and we thought because of our dating off and on all during high school and writing to each other during my mission that a short engagement was long enough. Oh we truly was in love with each other but as we look back on that time now we really wonder what gave us the courage to make that big step together. We know it is the plan of our Father in Heaven that when you fulfill your assignments such as a mission and you are lucky enough to find that right person then the next natural step is marriage. Our love has grown over the years more and more every year. Of course it grows as we have had children together. Lori was special or first born and she entangled our love even deeper and we had enough to share with her. Then Sherrie was special and she came along and again we had love to spill over to her as well. Cindy was special as she was the third of our three girls and we shared our love with her as well. And then we was over joyed with my first son Mike and he was special as well. He was the apple of my eye and quick to learn and all boy, our love continued to grow and cover our whole family. Then there was Roger eager to learn and grow and loved spilled over to him as he was special as well. We were ready for another girl and sure enough Kricket came along and what a cutie and love grew again because she was special. Bryce came with his prayed for brown eye and we thought our love was to its fullness because he was special. But later Harold came home and we grew and shared and loved him as well as he was special.
What more could a couple like Mom and I ask for only to have great and wonderful sons and daughters in law each very special and the love began to multiply and flow over and over. I have often said if we were to choose between our own children and those whom they married it might be a hard decision. The result of each of these marriages has brought about even more joy and love as we now have grandchildren each very special. Some are now older and some are young and that doesn’t make any difference because we love each of them in their own way in the period of life they are in. We are even more blessed as we have one great granddaughter that is special and what a joy she is.
What more could a couple like Mom and I ask for only to have great and wonderful sons and daughters in law each very special and the love began to multiply and flow over and over. I have often said if we were to choose between our own children and those whom they married it might be a hard decision. The result of each of these marriages has brought about even more joy and love as we now have grandchildren each very special. Some are now older and some are young and that doesn’t make any difference because we love each of them in their own way in the period of life they are in. We are even more blessed as we have one great granddaughter that is special and what a joy she is.
As you can see and understand as you read this letter we are from a long line of love. Moms and my parents are very much in love and they came from a long line of love so I only pray that this love carries over for more and more generations and it becomes a longer line of love.
Count your many blessings and name them one by one or multiply them and count as far and as long as you want and the blessings keep coming. Thank you each of you for your contribution to the long line of love. A celestial family is the goal and keeping the commandments along with temple marriage is the path for each of our lives. I can’t count all my blessings but I know that my family is the top blessing on my long list.
I know that the Plan of Salvation is the plan that Jesus Christ, our elder brother, presented to Our Father in Heaven and we chose to be a part of that plan. We shouted for joy and we were very enthusiastic and committed to come to earth and live in this period of time. Because of or enthusiasm we were chosen to live in these the latter days and to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the central point in our lives. Let’s take advantage of this testing period in this Plan of Salvation by being what we should be in this life each day. As much as I love my family, who would think I would have any left for my Savior but I do and I want to please him every day. I love Him and I know He love me and each of us. This is my testimony in His Holy name, even Jesus Christ, Amen
Love Out Of Botswana, Dad
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