Holy cow and Halloween

HOLY COW!

 

By Greg:

I have often said that if I have to come back to earth as a cow, as some believe, that I hope I get to be a cow on the Hawaiian Islands.  But maybe a cow at Adam-ondi-Ahman would be nice too!
 

Today is October 31, 2013.  It is Halloween.  Debi and I were married 40 years ago, tomorrow.  We first set our wedding date as Wednesday.  But we soon moved it to Thursday when we realized Wednesday was Halloween.  I guess getting married was scary enough.  But we also did not want to spend all of our anniversaries trick or treating.  Well, we have rarely celebrated on the exact date as Halloween did interfere. Of course, our children have usually come first.  We did celebrate once in Hawaii.  But Halloween in Hawaii is another story.  The call it the Mardi-grais of the Pacific.  This is not at our wedding date, but I still think we look cute.

 

Today our sweet little Georgia Lewis, soon to be known as Gigi (with a strong G, not a Z) was born in West Virginia.  I don’t have all the stats, but the report is after a long day of labor, mother and daughter are doing fine.  She may have red hair like her mother.  She also does not have any teeth, like most of the people in WV. We now have 31 beautiful grandchildren and we love each one.

 

I guess Gigi will always be a citizen of West Virginia.

 

Debi left yesterday to be with Millie and Gigi and to tend Aurora and Dash. Oh Robert fits in there somehow.  So I am left "a lone man in the Garden of Eden".  Yes, remember, Joseph said the garden was here in Jackson County.  Is it good for man to be alone?

As I do not have a companion I have been working in the office today helping Elder Lilywhite with acquiring and furnishing apartments for missionaries.  We need to find 8 apartments and furnish them in the next week.  We have been buying second-hand furniture today.  We have what they call the “Bat Cave” in the basement of the Stake Center.  There is a full basement under the Church that is a multi-purpose area.  It is rough and unfinished, and it is a good place for scouts, storage and a tornado shelter.  Who knows what is there?  There must be over 50 missionary bikes, as well as odd furniture and stuff.  Some is really odd.

 

I went swimming this morning before reporting to work.  I turned on the radio.  I learned that if you are a sex offender in Missouri you are not allowed to be outside from 3 to 10 tonight (Halloween) and you have to put a sign on your home that says you have no candy to give away and that children should stay away.  Tonight that sounds pretty much like me.

Yesterday I went with the Sisters to Cameron to teach our investigator, Andrew, another lesson.  Debi was gone so I arranged with a member sister to go with us so there were three sisters and me in my truck.  That was OK, I guess?  We taught him the Plan of Salvation.  I tried to let the sisters teach, but I did add some, especially when Andrew asked questions.  I love teaching as a missionary.

At one point Andrew asked, “So when we were with our Father in Heaven before we came to earth we were pure, without sin, and then we came to earth and sinned, but you are telling me that we can go back to our Father in Heaven clean and pure again.  How is this done?  How is that possible?  I cannot even imagine that.  That is amazing!”

Yes Andrew, it is amazing.  It is possible.  It is true.  As the Lord told Enos when he asked the same thing, it is because of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his Atonement.  I felt such a spirit as I bore testimony that it is true.  And yes, I too am amazed.