Area Authority Visit

    In between our last Transfers we had a wonderful visit and Zone Conference with our Area Authority, Gregory Schwitzer and his wife, Jo Ann. They toured our Mission for several days visiting with missionaries in both the North and the South, teaching, and interviewing.  Elder Schwitzer grew up in Utah, but his wife is from Calgary.  He got his BA and Medical Degree from the U of U and was a Professor there [I tried not to hold that against him], before joining Wasatch Emergency Physicians, and then as a Vice President of Clinical Support Services at Intermountain Health Care.  He served in the North German Mission [was that your mission George or John?] and has been the President of the Russia Yekaterinburg [Siberia] Mission, and the Area President of the Europe East Area.  He is currently the assistant Executive Director of the Temple Department and the Physician responsible for the medical care of all 82,000 missionaries world-wide.

    The President brought Elder and Sister Schwitzer directly to the Mission Office from the airport.  He had sent word ahead of his visit that he wanted to spend time
at the Mission Office interviewing the Senior Missionaries in the area, as well as the Assistants to the President.  He immediately put everyone at ease, asking us our names and a little about our responsibilities before taking us as couples into the President's Office to talk with us privately.  He started by saying with a big smile on his face, "there is no such thing as complaining, it's all feedback!"  We all laughed.  He asked us about what we did and how we felt about it, and he shared some experiences he and his wife had when they served as Mission Presidents in Siberia; we had a lot in common as far as the work load and stress levels.  He said it is very common to be called on missions that are way beyond our natural abilities, but the Lord qualifies those whom he calls.  He acknowledged the capabilities we brought to our callings and how much this Mission truly needs us.  He also encouraged us to draw on our wealth of experience in life and the Gospel to help the missionaries grow in their understanding and experience so they will become effective parents and leaders in Zion.  He was very easy to talk with and we enjoyed our conversation.

    The next day we had a Zone Conference with all Seven North Zones.  Elder Schwitzer asked us to close the Office and join the other missionaries for the afternoon

session, so we did.  Sister Nicholas began the session with a talk about how Heavenly Father knows each of us personally and is aware of our needs.  She talked about a little nest she saw in a tree that was woven with many bits and pieces of fine thread.  She wondered if the baby birds realized how much work and care had gone into making that the perfect place for them to live and grow.  She compared that to the different threads of our lives that when woven together create something good and special for each of us to achieve our true potential.

    Sister Schwitzer spoke next.  She spoke tenderly of her childhood here in Canada.  Her father was an RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman] and how proud she was of the way he carried out his family, Church, and work responsibilities with such integrity.  As a child, she wondered why everyone's father didn't wear a beautiful red jacket with a black sash and have a gun.  We laughed with her when she described him as an rugged, outdoors type of person who loved to hunt and fish but had been blessed with five daughters.  She described an incident when he lined them up in the living room and taught them how to shake hands properly [something she has used to her advantage throughout the world as she and her husband have served in various callings in the Church].  She became a little tearful as she shared the fact she had been baptized in the very building we were meeting in, and had attended many youth dances there in the cultural hall as a teenager.  She shared her father's misgivings about letting her leave home to go to college in Utah at BYU [I could understand that].  When she asked him why he felt that way he told her he was afraid if he let her go she would never come back--and that's what happened--she met her husband and they lived and raised their family in Utah.

    The President's talk was related to finding people to share the gospel with.   He encouraged us to talk with everyone we meet; share a message; testify and rely on the Spirit.  Alma:13:24; Alma 16:16-17

    The AP's [Assistants to the President] gave a short presentation on teaching simply and for understanding.  Know the truth so well you can state it clearly in a way the Spirit can testify to them that your words are true.  2nd Nephi 25:7; 31:2-3; Jacob 4:13; Alma 13:23

    Elder Schwitzer:  The Six C's of Missionary Work are:  Commandments, Commitments, Conversion, Covenants, Consecration, and Celestial Kingdom.  Each one

leads to the next.  The more people we help to repent and change, the more our lives will change, and the cleaner we will become as we experience a mighty

change of heart and receive the image of the Savior in our countenance.  He taught that a true shepherd is one who carries his lost sheep back to the flock on his shoulders, never using his crook to drag them back.  And once he has returned that lamb to the fold, he places it next to the strongest ewes to keep it safe.  He also taught about the power of relationships and encouraged us to develop those relationships based on love.  One thing he shared that was interesting to us is how the scriptures are written so as to speak directly, in a way they understand, to specific groups of people:  Matthew to the Jews; Mark to the Romans; Luke to the Gentiles; and John to the Christians.

    The afternoon was a spiritual feast that we enjoyed partaking of wholeheartedly. And it was fun to see so many of our missionaries together in one place.

It was a testimony to us of the importance of the inspired work we are so busily engaged in; sharing the message and the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

with those around us in the world.