Happy Easter!!

I always think of two big things to celebrate at the Easter Season. First - The Atonement of Jesus Christ. One of the many things the Savior provided in His suffering is His power to help and heal us.

“The Savior has the power to succor - to help - every mortal pain and affliction. Sometimes his power heals an infirmity, but the scriptures and our experiences teach that sometimes he succors or helps by giviing us the strength or patience to endure our infirmities.” (Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles)

The second is the Resurrection. Without this gift, our chance to live with Heavenly Father again would be lost.

What a beautiful time of the celebration of life and all that we are blessed with!

We’ve been very blessed this week. Here are a few -

Blessed with some amazing weather! Friday we experienced 80 degrees while in Billings, MT to work at the temple. It felt like summer.

The Billings Montana Temple at night. We served as ordinance workers on Friday night.

Us upon arriving Friday at the Temple. It was 80 degrees!!

Being at the temple! We worked the Friday night shift (every 3rd Friday), were able to spend the night with the Childs (another MLS Missionary couple serving in our mission), and spent some time on Saturday doing ordinances for our ancestors. The weather was great both days!

Visiting the Ranch - we spent Monday at the Bishop’s ranch. Doing errands for the Bishop on 4-wheelers and “helping” Becky with chores. Not sure I was much of a help as was Walt. Saw their chickens, horses and stepped in some questionable mud and yuck. Towards the back of the ranch it was really greening up and Walt found a hill that beckoned for him to climb. It was pretty steep. We rode the almost the entire ranch on the 4-wheelers; 52 miles round trip at approximately 25-30 miles an hour. It was a lot cooler this time and even more so at the ranch. We were so grateful we still had winter gear in the back of our car. We wore, coats, gloves, hats, and scarves and were still just a tad chilly. There’s nothing to block the wind on a 4-wheeler.

Love the scenery at the ranch!

Walt waving from the top of the hill

Sister Checketts (Becky) doing "chores". The ground is the "questionable cow muck". We sunk in pretty deep walking in it. Was sure I would slide and fall in face first.

Most cows here are black. Love this little blonde one.

Walt and one of the Bishop's horses

Visiting the Smith Family (Another baptism commitment). We helped the Smith’s make the temple appointment for their sealing. Such an amazing thing to look forward to in June. We were supposed to have a game time with the Elders and the children, but the Elders were stuck in Gillette with a much delayed oil change. We decided to teach an Easter lesson instead. Afterwards, we asked Richard (son) about getting baptized. He said Yes, probably in May. We gave him some dates to consider, and he excitedly agreed to May 4th. (May the fourth be with you - Starwars fans). That’s what he loved about the date. He’s 11 yrs old - enough said. We are super excited for another special event like this. They just keep coming!

Serving at the Senior Center. We switched our day to serve from Monday to Wednesday this week. That is their busiest day. The normal number of people to serve is between 25-35. That day was around 80!! We really love saying Hi and giving a big smile to each person as they take their tray. Walt loves to serve the dessert and I usually serve whatever is just before - usually some type of salad. Smiles are so contagious. One lady asked could we serve everyday because we were so happy and smiling. Best compliment ever!!

Wearing the name of Jesus Christ. I’ve thought a lot this week about the name badges that we wear as missionaries. It has our name and “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints”. As missionaries, we are representatives of our Lord, and Savior, Jesus Christ. I’ve thought about what others might see when they look at me and my name badge. Do I show the Savior’s love in my countenance? Are my actions representing Jesus properly? I’ve been trying to make the things I do and say be something that represents Him well. I want others to see my love for Him and how He loves them. It’s a special opportunity to be His representative.

Picture of Billings Montana Temple and Walt's two name badges (tags)

An opportunity to teach the gospel. That may sound like a “no brainer” blessing, but it never stops being a very exciting thing when a new opportunity arises. There is a 12 yr old girl who has been coming to church with one of the young women in our ward. It’s been several months, and this girl asked about getting baptized. (I’m going to give her the name of Jane to make this easier - not her real name of course.). So - in order for Jane to be baptized, she needs to learn about our church and the teachings of Jesus Christ. Since, she is under 18 yrs old, her parents need to give permission. Of course, the responsibility of asking the parents came to us. We had tried to call her mom several times a month ago, with no luck of getting an answer or call back. The Bishop suggested we just show up on their door step. So after a few weeks, we came up with the plan to give Jane and her friend from our ward a ride to youth activities and ask her parents afterwards. That went quite well. They are from the South and so very nice. They are very supportive and encouraging. So we will (and the Elders) start lessons this upcoming Friday. I was so excited, I could barely go to sleep that night.

The Scriptures. We are so fortunate to have such a big focus of our time on reading the scriptures. This week we focused on the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His resurrection. I have been called to teach the 14-18 yr old youth for Sunday school. It’s only the 1st and 3rd Sundays - not every week. It’s a great opportunity to get to know them. But it means studying the scriptures more and not just reading, but studying and being able to teach about them. A blessing for me and my own spiritual growth. I have always been pretty good about reading scriptures daily, but being on a mission provides more opportunities.

Opportunities to bring others closer to Christ. Our friend, Gary, was able to come to church for the first time (in many many years). We had finally gotten him all the desired church clothing and it fit. He looked so nice. We were going to take a picture at church, but it was raining and we forgot once inside the church. We is coming again next week, so we have another chance for a picture. Everyone at church was so warm and welcoming. He had given us a turkey from his freezer, so we cooked it up and he had a Easter dinner with us. Afterwards, he taught us how to play Pinochle. There’s a lot of rules in that game, but it was fun. I think we wore him out.

Us learning Pinochle with Gary. He had already taken off his white shirt. Not so comfortable

We are really loving our mission!! Our weeks seem so short, and sometimes not enough time to see all the people we want to see. We are so grateful for the opportunities we have here to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others; especially when we see it change their lives. We know what a difference it makes in our lives.

We really miss everyone; holidays more so than usual. We appreciated all the pictures of Easter activities. It’s hard not being there, but at least we get to see pictures. Keep them coming!