Blessings

Just one week left and the atmosphere in the office will change. One couple is going home and hopefully with them most of the discord will also leave. Enough said.

Claudia and I picked up a new Nissan Frontier pick-up truck. She was following me in our car as we drove the hour and fifteen minutes back. With only 7 miles on this new truck, I stopped at a light and looked in the rear view mirror just as Claudia realized that I had stopped. The look of horror on her face said it all as she was laying rubber trying to keep from hitting me. She stopped within one foot of this new truck. After that she was alert and attentive all the way back. She will embellish this story.

Two sister missionaries had stopped at a stop sign, looked both ways and proceeded into the intersection. Traffic coming the other direction didn't have a stop sign. They obviously didn't see the police car that t-boned them on the passenger side, totaling a second car in just weeks. The sisters were blessed in that neither of them was injured other than some bruising from the seat belt. To add insult to injury, our driver was ticketed and has also lost her driving privileges for the rest of her mission.

An Elder calls me on Saturday night to let me know that he had just run into the rear end of a car with his bike. He was coming down a hill, obviously too fast and couldn't stop in time. The Elder and his bike were ok, but the bumper and rear windshield wiper of the car were damaged by his resilient body.

We had a trio of Sisters to dinner at our place on Wednesday and 2 Elders to dinner on Thursday night. It is always such a blessing to us to have these young missionaries in our home for a meal. We love getting to know them; to learn of their stories both personally and in their missionaries adventures. We are uplifted by their spirits and humbled to hear some of their personal stories.

I was blessed to be able to arrange to have 6 strong Elders unload the moving truck for dear friends who had just moved from the Seattle to Texas. The Elders were blessed because of their service and our friends were blessed in several ways by their service.

I have been fighting a chest cold this week, but have been blessed that this old body has been able to fight and I have been able to accomplish all that has been necessary.

In everything around me, I see the hand of the Lord blessing and lifting me and others in so many ways. I marvel as I witness the protection He provides missionaries, when they could have been seriously injured. I am convinced that as each of us presses forward in faith striving to do and be the best we can, He blesses and sustains us to be able to accomplish all that He wants us to do. May your week be filled with blessings from a loving Father in Heaven and may you be blessed to see His hand in those blessings.

Elder Taggart