“…Ye Should Go to the Ohio”
- Doctrine & Covenants 38:32
Chapter One
In the beginning… this seems to best describe our early journey: new home, new names, new missionaries, new schools, 29 hour days, interviews, GPS Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, speeches, transfers, airports, meetings, kids, humidity, Josh to Ecuador, laughter, miracles, trials, cooking, 6 a.m. Seminary, lacrosse, zone conferences, dinners, baptisms, blessings, midnight transfers, early morning calls, leadership training, Mission Medical consultations, hospitals, General Authorities, basketball, teaching, counseling, Temple, firesides, Stake Conferences, Stake dances, Christmas devotionals, visitors, then repeat. We have 180 missionaries including 20 Sisters, 20 Spanish speaking Elders, 9 Sr. Couples, 9 Zones, areas in 3 states including Zanesville where that crazy guy released all his wild and exotic animals. Additionally, we have Amish territory and, of course, that other devoted sect, The Ohio State Buckeyes.
While it sounds like a whirlwind, and it is, it is also like a slow moving riverboat on the Ohio and Erie Canal. When we are still enough to watch, we see the Lord’s hand steering the mission and the miracles ripple. We have watched our kids being shaped by the gentle exposure to Sisters and Elders who live their convictions, share their hearts and make each day count. We see the struggle that investigators have in charting a new course versus taking the road most traveled. We hear their first spoken prayers and their exclamations of understanding that suddenly connect today with eternities past, present and future and we hear the voice of the Spirit, in the very hour, yea, the very moment we need Him, put words into our mouths and minds. Our mission is truly a marvelous work and a wonder.
As many of you know, given our overseas experience, we thought we might go to a foreign location and it turns out that we have. We have had the privilege of helping teach and baptize an Amish family. It is hard to put into words the beauty of what it means to be “plain and simple.” We have been in their home on many occasions to spend the entire evening, lit by gas lamps, without any interruption by cell phones. No one calls, no one gets up to change the stereo or show us something on YouTube. We see their little children play together for hours without any TV or videos, no internet or Xbox. They live in every moment. They say what they mean, they have no false pride and they are genuine every day. On the other hand, they have never heard of Harry Potter or Mozart, they have never been to the zoo or felt the wind in their hair while riding a bike down the lane. They will never take dance lessons or fly in a plane but they will now have the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. We have spent many hours discussing how to best blend the plain and simple of the gospel with the plain and simple of their lives. What we would give for a photo of four-year old Martha, in homemade bonnet and buttoned pinafore, rocking her baby brother in her tiny handmade chair. Sometimes it feels as though we could peek out their window and see the Joseph and Emma Smith family living in a farmhouse next door.
And then there are the missionaries. Love. Love. Love. They come in all shapes and sizes, all strengths and weaknesses. They are scholars, musicians, engineers, nurses, professional rugby players and dirt bikers, national champion steer throwers, beauticians, farmers and more. Some of them have never been off of a horse this long or been this far from home. Some of them have been to Iraq and some of them have been homeless. The majesty of our calling is to know them and love them and see them in action. It only takes new missionaries a few weeks in the field to realize that they are never going to convert anyone without the Spirit and so through study, sweat and tears they strip away their façades and allow God to mold them into new witnesses, at all times, in all things and in all places. We see the transformation in them and in ourselves.
If hard work is the basement of a mission, fun is the family room. We have had more than our share of laughs such as the time the Assistants buried our two pewter sculptures of Elders in a bowl of green Jello, ala Dwight and Jim from “The Office.” Or the time that we went to King’s Island on Proctor and Gamble day and rode every ride without lines until even Jack couldn’t walk straight. We’ve had Annette and Shawn Bradley visit and inspire the whole mission and our kid’s schools with their testimonies and height difference. We’ve been to most of Jen’s basketball games to see her dominate on the court. We’ve been to the Sweet Corn Festival in Millersport where all those countryside stereotypes of Americans still flourish and the corn is plentiful, dripping with butter. The Delaware County Fair is on a different type of mission trying to convert everyone into eating deep-fried everything, from pickles to Twinkies. They do have one thing right; the annual horse parade which includes half the town and about 100 miniature horses and ponies.
Then there is the joy. One of our favorite times is when we have transfers. New missionaries arrive on a Wednesday afternoon; they are in shock yet bouncing off the walls. We pick them up, bring them home, instruct them, feed them giant burgers that Wills is now famous for and then we hear their tender testimonies of Jesus Christ. The next day we swap them for the outgoing missionaries. After taking them to the Temple, we have another dinner at our home and review their soaring highs and crashing lows, their funniest stories and their “Dear John” heartaches. Best of all, we hear their testimonies of the Savior which are often spoken in humble whispers and with tears of gratitude. Their years of service and sacrifice, having been laid upon the altar, now reflect the pure love of Christ.
We are grateful to be in The Great Ohio. We are grateful to still have 29 months to serve and we are grateful for your support. The adventure continues…
Sister Kath and President Bob, Jen, Wills & Jack
Alli, Sr. at Scripps College, Claremont California
Elder Nilsen, Ecuador: joshua.nilsen@myldsmail.net August 2011 to 2013
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