Saying goodbye

The Budges are saying their final 'goodbyes' in the parking lot of the mission office. We will both miss them very much for their friendship, their training, their sense of humor and their stories. We heard today (Monday) that as soon as they got home to Troutdale, Oregon, Elder Budge headed for his garden -- in the pouring rain!

Today was the first day we tried to run the office with no help from either of them. But we seemed to do fine, thanks to the training we received. Last night during choir rehearsal Gary's phone rang: it was a Korean elder and his Tongan companion involved in a three-car accident in Fullerton. Gary had to take care of the procedures last night and this morning: inspecting the damage, having the elders fill out a full accident report, and phoning the insurance company.

Tonight we had dinner with Gary's brother Mike, his wife Ginny, and their daughter Caroline, who is dietetics manager at the Children's Hospital of Orange County. We had a wonderful time together.

Friday night was a very unique experience: something different on our job descriptions. We waited tables for the nine stake presidents (and their wives) of our mission area. Our Mission President and his wife had invited them all for dinner tonight. It was a heady experience knowing that we were around that much church leadership in one room! Fortunately, we had already met four of the stake presidents. They were all very appreciative of our efforts to serve them a restaurant-quality dinner. And Gary didn't even spill any water on anyone, although the end of his tie found its way into the water pitcher once!

The spiritual experiences never quit. Yesterday in Gospel Principles class we taught this fine Iranian gentleman. At the end of the lesson the ward mission leaders asked us all to give our testimonies about Heavenly Father's love. After we had finished, this gentleman said that he wanted to bear his testimony, too. And he did! He's gone to churches in twenty different countries, but he knows the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that this church teaches the truth.