Monday is a Holiday; We'll Go to the Movies!

Due to the recognition of Martin Luther King Day we won't be working tomorrow at the library. We're planning to go with the two sisters we home teach, Sister Gregory and Sister Cantwell, to see the movie, "Saving Mr Banks." We've heard that it's worth the price of a ticket to watch Tom Hanks do his impression of Walt Disney.

Sunday comes so quickly especially knowing that it's time to make another entry on our blog. We do pretty much the same thing from one week to the next so there's not a lot to report unless you get a blow-by-blow of  our arrival at the library each morning and what goes on throughout the day. I won't bore you with the details of our routine.

Panorama of departing missionaries (you'll notice some overlap)

On Monday night we had our Hail and Farewell which we have every other month. The purpose of this event is to welcome the new missionaries and say goodbye to the ones who are leaving.  The next one won't be until March so we were in the group of departing missionaries being recognized (we have received our release date of February 26, so we'll be back in Arizona by March 1). The theme for the evening was "Make new friends but keep the old; one is silver and the other gold." We enjoyed a baked potato bar and then some very fun entertainment including a skit/melodrama written by Sister Moser and a clarinet solo by Elder Holman.

Our dear friends from Japan, Elder and Sister Shio

Patrick (aka Elder McCarty) was the "hero" of the melodrama

Elder Brake (2nd from left) from our home stake in Arizona (part of the group of incoming missionaries)

Theme posted on the cultural hall wall

Dessert table for the Hail and Farewell

More dessert table

Elder Holman played two clarinet solos (he is also a member of the Orchestra at Temple Square)

We were able to attend "Music and the Spoken Word" in the Tabernacle this Sunday morning. We go almost every Sunday morning but for one reason or another we didn't make it the last two weeks. Today was a tribute to Nelson Mandela and all the songs the choir sang were Spirituals including "Deep River" and "Down by the Riverside".  The music was great as usual.

The message included the following thoughts: "History is marked by great leaders whose moral influence has steered the future of nations. In that list of luminaries stand people like Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela.

While they lived on different ends of the earth, eacfh perceived an injustice and chose to do something about it. They championed the value of all people, seeking what Mandela described as a "democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities." It wasn't easy - Mandela spent 27 years in prison for his efforts - but remarkably those years produced a man who sought peace, compassion, and understanding, not retribution and revenge.

This is not the work of a select few. Each of us can reset history, even if it's only our own. Each of us can champion peace and harmony, even if it's only in our family or workplace. Mandela's leadership reminds us that true success comes from humility, love, sacrifice, forgiveness, and most of all, patience. He spoke for all of us when he said: "I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my walk is not yet ended."