Sheltons in the Sun: Blog #24 Songs of the Heart

Blog # 24 Songs of the Heart

January 31,2016

It is the last day of January, and this month has been unbelievably busy. Wow! Where is the time going? One thing I love most about serving this mission is the incredible people we meet. We see those who have life figured out and those who struggle for survival. The days and weeks are flying by, and we are having some powerful experiences. Last week we closed an apartment in Ridgecrest. The Lundwalls have been released as service missionaries; yet, they came to help us one last time to move out. The Elders who helped us move had to facilitate a zone meeting, so we took some donuts and chocolate milk to their meeting; then went to lunch with the Lundwalls (who have been on multiple missions and are now serving in the L. A. Temple). What a delightful couple the Lundwalls are. As we parted, Elder Lundwall handed us a CD he had recorded. We had no idea that he was a vocalist. He has a lovely base voice, and Mike and I have been listening to the songs as we drive around the mission to close apartments and attend zone conferences. He sings "Old Man River," "The Holy City," "To Dream the Impossible Dream," "The Lords Prayer," and others. These are the songs daddy used to sing, and we've been singing along at the top of our lungs. How fun it has been … it is amazing how music lifts the soul.

Although I am not a great singer (and am getting worse with age), I’ve noticed throughout my life that I always have a tune running through my head and heart. Music sets the mood and fills my soul. Most comments I hear remind me of a song.

Sister Moon, our office secretary, is a concert pianist and has done a good job bringing missionary musical numbers into our missionary events. Last night we had a baptism and the four elders in our ward actually sang for the woman who was baptized a primary song. I gave the talk on the Holy Ghost immediately after their song, and I noticed that the music had strengthened as I began to speak.

For Christmas I was asked to put together a CD as a gift for the missionaries. The BYU Men’s Choir and other church artists gave us permission to use several of their songs, plus Stephen Nelson let us use songs from his beautiful CD, Guide Me to Thee. I was amazed how working on that CD brightened my days during the holidays. Music is truly a gift from angels.

Speaking of music, we had a special tender mercy from two sister missionaries that confirm the power of music: As a woman answered the door after we knocked, she began to cry She told us that 29 years ago other missionaries had knocked on her door during a very hard time in her life, just as we did today. She still remembers that they sang her “Grand eres tu” (How Great Thou Art.) So, we sang it to her again, tears ran down her cheeks; then, she expressed her desire to go to our church and convert to Christ. She said that she still reads the Book of Mormon that they gave her all those years ago. We set her with a baptismal date for next month.

In the middle of our nine zone conferences and many moves this month we were invited to view the worldwide missionary broadcast (75,000 full-time missionaries) facilitated by Elder Dallin H. Oaks and the missionary council. The theme of missionary work has been to Find, Teach, and Baptize. But the church now seeks an improved focus on the purpose of missionary work, which is: teaching repentance and baptizing converts to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I’ve been impressed with the inspiration of our mission president. He sees clearly the purpose of missionary work, and he is obedient, righteous, and wise.

Yesterday our replacements for Elder and Sister Moon came. They will train for a month. Mike and I secured and furnished their apartment -- and it was a lot of fun.

Elder and Sister Ball from Idaho Falls, and they are delightful. It is hard to believe that Moons will be going home March 1st . . . and, we will just be two months behind them.

Ryan & Liz’s wedding was beautiful. We stayed in a beach house with Brad, Jamie, their two children and Wes. It was a very nice way to spend the weekend. Liz’s mother had a wonderful rehearsal dinner, all of Mikes children attended, and we had a good time. The music and dancing at the wedding facilitated joy for this special occasion. We are blessed to have so much family, and are grateful our mission allows us to attend births, baptisms, and weddings of immediate family.

Although we are so very busy, we are also so very grateful that we have met people who love the Lord and who love and serve each other. The songs in our hearts have become symphonies because of the people we work with, the opportunity we have to serve, and the knowledge we share that all of it comes from Christ’s love.

Bottom photos: LaJolla Beach & Meeting Elder & Sister Ball