Friday, May 22, 2020

May 2020 outgoing missionaries--Masks, video conferencing, tears, and no tres leches!

Seeing missionaries go home every six weeks is traditional. They come for 18 months or 24 months, work hard, gained incredible testimonies of truth and of the Book of Mormon, grow and develop into these incredible young men and women, truly emerging leaders, and then they leave to go home. Traditions for outgoing missionaries are wonderful--dinner with all of them, meeting together for testimonies and study, taking pictures together, spending the night at the mission home, etc. Unfortunately, this outgoing transfer was a bit different.

Our virtual testimony meeting. Still powerful! Still spiritual!
First of all, we could not congregate because of California's stay-in-place rule. So, we congregated online to have our outgoing testimony meeting and companion study. While it was not the same as seeing them face to face, we had an incredible testimony meeting, full of the Spirit and powerful testimonies.

We still loved studying "light" together!
We did have to congregate at the airport but in two different shifts in two different terminals.

Sisters Sickle and Anderson; Sister and President Hammon; Elders Howard and Rich 

Elders Mackay and Seegmiller; President and Sister Hammon;
Sisters Hernandez, Gaughan, Foster, Moore, and Reynolds
One of the regrets of all of us is that we were not able to have our traditional outgoing meal together at the Mission Home, which meant that we did not have the privilege to sample Sister Hammon's phenomenal and legendary tres leches cake. We will have to do all of this once we arrive home and settle. Plus, we will need to go to the temple with those who left without being to attend our traditional outgoing temple trip.

President and Sister Hammon; Elder Rowe and his parents, Brother and Sister Rowe who picked him up.

Sister Frehner and Sister and President Hammon. Sister Frehner's parents came to pick her up.
Tears have always been a part of outgoing, and this was no different. Despite the masks, despite the almost empty airport, despite not having an escalator in one of the terminals. the tears still came as they walked up to and through security. We waved good bye until they disappeared.

And off they go!

On the stairway to security!
We loved these young people and what they have done to serve their fellow beings and the Lord. Yes, there have been sadness, home sicknesses, and challenges along the way, but they have experienced overwhelming joy and satisfaction that they have served well and honorably. These are some of the finest emerging leaders in our day.

We went into the office on Monday (transfer day) and were able to see these sweet sisters who were leaving the mission on Tuesday. As a special treat, Sister Moore made us all a candy leis.

The sisters top: Sisters Foster, Moore, Anderson, Gaughan, and Frehner;
Sister and President Hammon. Front: Sister Sickels, and Reynolds. The wind was really blowing for this photo.

Sister Foster with Sister and President Hammon

At the airport: Sisters Hunt, Gaughan, Foster, Moore, Reynolds, Hernandez, and Hammon
"[These outgoing missionaries from the California Riverside Mission] had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men [and women] of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.

"But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God" (see Alma 17:2-3).
Yes, these are our missionaries!

President and Sister Hammon

Changing times in missionary work! It is virtually incredible!

April 2020

Yes, things do change in missionary work. Preach My Gospel was one of the biggest changes! The age change was another. Now, because of COVID-19, all missionaries are in isolation and doing all of their work on the phones or via social media.


Sunday Worship Services are held in most of the wards now.
Sister Killian- serving in the Hemet Stake, Diamond Valley  Ward giving a talk for a Sunday Worship Service
Social media training for the whole mission.


A couple of weeks ago, we received social media training from the Missionary Department. We selected three companions, added in two technology missionaries, the Assistants, and us, and now we have a Social Media Council. They are phenomenal!



All of our meetings are virtual through one or more video conferencing programs. All of my interviews ever six weeks are now via the phone or video conferencing. While not being face to face, it has been surprising effective. The Spirit has been strong in all of the meetings and interviews.

March Multi Zone Conference

Assistance to the President. Elders Chase and Abraham 
Friday April 10, 2020 District Leader Training meeting




We have missed  seeing our missionaries so much. We wanted to connect with them so we scheduled a morning devotional on Thursday mornings. They have been so great. The spirit is strong and we are able to worship and learn from each other.

 We have had messages from President Hanesn, President Hammon, and Elder and Sister Hunt Thursday morning devotional.
President Hansen


We also have a Mission Sunday afternoon devotional/worship service. Sister Hammon and I have had some powerful experiences doing these. One of our sister missionaries has been assigned to coordinate the music, she had done a spectacular job of gathering musical numbers from missionaries and sending them to us so that we can download them into the conference call.

April 28, 2020
This transfer we only received one sister missionary. After four weeks in the field we have a follow-up training. This was our first one by video conferencing. It was very spirit led and fun to have basically a one on one training with these two Hermanas.




Hermanas Reeder and Anderson
Role plays are always a fun and insightful part of every training.


We have pre-recorded special musical number for each devotional or worship service. We have incredibly talented missionaries.
Hermana Longshore and Elder Rowe

We even have "guest" musical numbers. This is one Louise ZoBell, a person from Sterling, Canada, who met in the Dominican Republic when we were serving our mission there.


President and Sister Hammon

Saturday, May 9, 2020

Mothers are precious


Mothers are precious

We all have them, cherish them in different ways,
even see them differently, as diverse human beings.

I am blessed with several different views of mothers.

Joanne, an incredible and loving woman!
First, my dearest wife Joanne, mother to Anna Rose and Hailey
who stayed much longer in the premortal life than we expected.
Yet, they came, a bit unwillingly, but they came, both strawberry blondes,
full of spunk and vigor and very independent in their own ways.
She taught them things that she learned in Relief Society, from books,
from the Spirit, from being in the right place at the right time.
She read to them, rocked them for hours when they cried,
attended their plays, substituted in their classes,
even taught them in Young Women’s, taught them
to pray and read scriptures, taught them to love God,
nourished them both physically and spiritually,
corrected them when they needed, showed forth more love
when needed, and cried with them over boys, those ever-annoying boys.

Hailey, Joanne, and Anna Rose
Our daughters are now mothers, each with a daughter and a son,
full of spunk and vigor and very independent in their own unique ways.
When they compare pictures of their daughters, they see themselves
when they were little. It dawns on them, sometimes,
that their children are or eventually are becoming like they were.
Fortunately, they grow out of many of the challenges
that doth beset them when they were little. 

Avonlea

Hailey--see any similarities between her and Avonlea?

Emiline and Anna Rose--similarities?
Both Anna Rose and Hailey have been delightful and caring mothers,
still full of spunk and vigor, but now seasoned with wisdom
and vision of what needs to be or should be, pattering their lives
in subtle ways, just their own mother did along their childhood path,
whether they believe it or not at the very moment of times.
At some point, though, they will look in the mirror or their children
from a far and realize—maybe much to their chagrin and angst—
they are a bit like their dearest mother.  

My mother, Barbara Hammon

Darrel, my mother (Barbara), and Dennis (my oldest brother) when we received our Eagle Scout Awards
My sisters with my Dad: Delaina, Telecia, Dad, Shawna, and Jaralyn
Another mother is my own mother, Barbara, who had eight of us,
yes, full of spunk and vigor, often a bit more than we should have.
Sometimes, when I look back at the past—from my version, of course—
I see a woman who was determined to make sure her children, 
her sons and her daughters, towed the line and learned how to work.
I especially loved working in the garden with my mother,
picking raspberries early in the morning coolness
with our gallon buckets hooked on a belt or piece of baling twine.
We mostly picked in silence, stopping periodically to partake
of the luscious red berries, so sweet and divine, and bask
in the quietness of the morning without the cacophony of children.

Joanne with a gift from one of our missionaries
All in all, mothers are precious souls, more precious than life itself.
In childhood, even teenager years, we were at odds with them,
tempting and taunting them because of their old-fashioned ways
of living and mothering, often causing them to cry when no one was looking.
But  the tauntings and teasings turn into our own teachings and leanings,
perhaps a shade or tow to the left or to the right of the pattern
we once learned while pulling against the apron strings of our mothers.

1
Christiaan, Anna Rose, Emiline, and William

Clark, Joseph, Hailey, and Avonlea
Mothers’ memories live in our hearts and minds forever, roasting
there in their own juices, shimmering at the right temperature.
We add a dash of this and that, and our mothers become larger than life,
more sincere and loving, perhaps even more kind that we remember.
Let the memories live on within us, propelling us to places we have never gone.
Our mothers will be with us forever—in life or in death—
for we become them in some way or another.

Artist's rendition of us with our grandchildren