Exhilarating Week

Hello Everybody!

      This week was exhilarating! Lots happened last week, but the big highlights have been from last Saturday through yesterday. Lynn G. Robbins, one of the church leaders, came here from Utah to speak here in Lake City Saturday night and Sunday Morning. He also spoke at a mission leadership conference Monday, then again on Tuesday.

Elder Jenkins and I at the conference.

Dozens of pizzas to feed everyone.

Good to see old companions there, like Elder Stuart.

Missionaries and Leader attending the Mission Leadership Conference

      Saturday night I was asked to play prelude music for the church session - so I was standing up at the front playing hymns with a pianist accompanying me. Quite a few people came that night - probably between two or three hundred. The church leadership had a meeting until five before, so most of the time I was playing, nobody was up on the stand. Then I see a few people walk in. First, the Stake Presidency, who are responsible for eight or nine congregations around Lake City. Then, our mission president and his wife walk in. Right behind them is the Temple President from Orlando and his wife, who are in charge of coordinating everything with the temple there. Right after them come Lynn G. Robbins and his wife. They make their way up to the front and sit on the chairs right behind me - you know, all of them between ten and fifteen feet away. At this point, I’m really grateful for my wonderful teachers and professors for teaching me how to play and not get nervous, because otherwise my bow would have been shaking like a deer in headlights. Anyway, it was fun to do and made me grateful for being able to play viola.

Playing prelude with Sister Cabral

      Lynn G. Robbins spoke then, and then in each consecutive meeting, about different things, but each time the Spirit was strong and his words were really touching. He spoke on the difference between “be” and “do”. It’s not enough to just do good things or have Christlike acts, we need to be good and have a Christlike nature.

Elder Robbins giving instruction.

       He taught a lot about parenting - that as soon as we try to control a child’s agency, we plant seeds of rebellion in their heart. He said that we should be parents like Heavenly Father is a parent - teaching us true doctrine, how to live, and then letting us choose to act based on our knowledge and guided by his Spirit. Fascinating - so many good things!! I love learning, that’s the big thing that I came away with from this week - power of learning, especially about the gospel and how it connects into every little part of our lives.

There is a family in our ward, the Hansens, who had us over for dinner and to share a message. Sister Hansen loves us, for some reason, and the way that we teach their kids. She said “Here, pose for a picture and I’ll post it on the church’s Facebook page so everybody can see that y’all can even teach crazy, wild kids!” I can attest that their kids are both crazy and wild, but there’s still always a Spirit of love in their home.

I had a tradeoff with Elder Kesler this week - he is from Idaho and is a 100% born and raised farm boy. He grew up on a cattle farm and he knows how to work hard. 

Elder Jenkins and I, then the sisters in our ward - Sister Prue (left) and Sister Spangler (right). Sister Prue is from Idaho and is a great artist, and loves working hard and being out all day every day. Sister Spangler is from Missouri (three cheers for the one other missionary I know who’s not from Utah, Idaho, or California!) and she loves family history. 

I love you all, and hope that you have a great week. Spring is here in Florida, but it’s actually colder than all winter has been... 60 degrees and windy. Freezing!    -Elder McMullin