Passing the Trial of Faith

One of the sweet elders here was informed recently that his 15 year old sister may have a brain tumor.  For many weeks she had been experiencing severe headaches for which the doctors could find no cause.  After many tests it was suggested that she see a psychologist since most likely it was all in her head (please excuse the pun.)  The family mentioned her situation to a friend who also had some medical knowledge.  She asked if her braces had been removed for the MRI.  They had not; which she said could make abnormalities impossible to detect.  They returned to the doctor armed with this new information and requested a new MRI without the braces.

As the mother and daughter sat in the doctor’s office waiting for the results the doctor began to explain the discovery of a tumor on the young girl’s brain. The mother quickly wondered how she could be a support to her young daughter when she herself was feeling so devastated.  Before she had a chance to collect her thoughts she heard her daughter say, “I am a daughter of God.  I have hopes and dreams for my life and I know that He has hopes and dreams for my life too.  I pray that these dreams as the same; but if not I will be happy with His plan for me.” 

She had learned well the lessons taught in her home and as well as in her Young Women’s classes. As a reminder each Sunday the girls recite the Young Women Theme:

“We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him. We will “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places” (Mosiah 18:9) as we strive to live the Young Women values, which are:

Faith • Divine Nature • Individual Worth • Knowledge • Choice and Accountability • Good Works • Integrity • and Virtue

We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values, we will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.”

We do not know this young lady personally but her faith, courage, and strength are amazing. As we encounter trials and challenges in life may we all have the faith to rely on our Father in Heaven and submit our will to His plan for us is our hope and prayer.

A Little Snow Before Spring Hits

Greeting from Eastern Europe!  We have been delighted to be experiencing a mild winter this year.  After -33C last year in Riga this winter has been only slightly troublesome. There were only a few snow storms and never did we get more than 3-4 inches, usually less.  The trouble came when it froze unevenly on the already treacherous sidewalks and streets.  We have experienced a fall or two but no significant damage luckily! Recently it seemed that spring was in the air.  Often the temperature has hovered around 48°-50°F.  Although we have not experience much bitter cold weather we were happy to anticipate spring with slightly less treacherous sidewalks to navigate.  We have missed being able to get out and explore.  Today we unexpectedly woke up to the scenes that we have included this week.  Generally the first thing I do in the morning is check the weather app on my iPad.  I was shocked to see snow in the picture.  Often it will show rain and when I look outside there is none to be seen.  It seems that accuracy in forecasting is universal! Today I peeked out of the window and was surprised to see a coating of wet snow on the trees and rooftops! It is very picturesque but it looks as though the boots will have to come back out of the closet!

 We spent the first several months catching up on all that had fallen behind due to the lack of a senior coupe for many months.  And then there was the change in mission presidents; one wanted to get everything in order for his replacement and the other wanted to get things organized his way.  All of these things kept us very busy.  Just as we were beginning to relax and coast a little with time for the projects that never seem to bubble to the top, we realize that our time is passing quickly.  Now we are busy cleaning up and cleaning out.  As the reins change from one couple to another, things accumulate and no one dares to throw anything away.  We have been disposing of outdated material and instructions with reckless abandon!  Also we have been up dating written procedures and making long lists of our individual responsibilities.  As yet we have not been notified of a new couple coming to take our place which is troublesome for our dear president as well as for us.  Fortunately, we have a local service missionary who helps in the office a couple of times a week.  She is furiously taking notes as we attempt to teach her as much as we can before we leave.  We are happy that we continue to be busy!  We pray that all is well with our loved ones far away! 

Love

Elder and Sister Segeberg

Area Presidency Mission Tour

Last week we participated in a special Zone Conference.  A member of the Area Presidency came to the Bulgaria Sofia Mission.  After visiting the branches and members in Turkey he arrived in Sofia.  Sunday evening we picked him up with his wife and the Wilsteads at the airport. 

On Monday we were treated a special experience as he instructed us. He suggested that we should rename meetings to be revelatory experiences.  He emphasized that we all live up to expectations.  During his education he had a class in which his grade at the end was much lower than when he went into the class. He hinted that this was partially because of his instructor’s lack of expectations.  The moral of the story is that those around us will live up to our expectations.

On Monday evening there was a special dinner held for the senior couples, the President, his wife, and our visitors.  It was a wonderful experience to be able to interact with them on a more personal basis.  Both he and his wife were delightful and very kind.

Elder Segeberg and I were responsible for dinner on Wednesday evening for our visitors and the mission presidency with their wives.  Being the Italians at heart that we are, we prepared lasagna and garlic bread. The sometimes contrary ovens cooperated this time and it turned out very well.

After dinner a fireside was held for all of the members in Sofia.  Just moments before the meeting began he requested that one of the Elders preform a special musical number, in Bulgarian of course. Having no advance notice, the Elder chose ‘How Great Thou Art.’  There was no time to practice with the pianist.  Their performance was their original run-through! In spite of that they did an amazing job!  Our special visitor then began his remarks by focusing on the theme of the hymn that the Elder had chosen.  His message was just as amazing as the music even though he had no idea what would be chosen. 

These special occasions are a great boost to the members and missionaries alike.  Only occasionally are we treated to the visit of a General Authority.  The people that we have met, members, leaders and missionaries, will be the highlight of our mission!

Love 

Elder and Sister Segeberg

As 2013 begins we continue to be excited to be engaged in a great work; that of bringing hope to those who are in despair.  Once the question was asked, “Why do you entrust the spreading of your message to inexperienced young men and women between 19 & 23?”  The answer was, “Because it works!”  We recently came across this poem which seems to sum it up.

IT DEPENDS ON WHOSE HANDS IT’S IN

 

A basketball in my hands is worth about $19.

A basketball in Michael Jordan’s hands is worth about $33 million.

It depends on whose hands it’s in.

A baseball in my hands is worth about $6.

A baseball in Mark McGuire’s hands is worth $19 million.

It depends on whose hands it’s in.

A tennis racket is useless in my hands.

A tennis racket in Venus Williams’ hands is championship winning.

It depends on whose hands it’s in.

A rod in my hands will keep a barking dog at bay.

A rod in Moses’ hands will part the mighty sea.

It depends on whose hands it’s in.

A sling shot in my hands is a kid’s toy.

A sling shot in David’s hands is a mighty weapon.

It depends on whose hands it’s in.

Two fish and 5 loaves in my hands is a couple of tuna sandwiches.

Two fish and five loaves of bread in God’s hands will feed thousands.

It depends on whose hands it’s in.

Nails in my hands might produce a birdhouse.

Nails in Jesus Christ’s hands will produce salvation for the entire world.

It depends on whose hands it’s in.

As you now see, it depends on whose hands it’s in.

Put your concerns, your worries, your fears, your hopes, your dreams,

Your relationships with family and friends in God’s hands because…

It depends on whose hands it’s in.

The work of the Lord is in good hands as the 55 thousand (soon to be closer to 95 thousand) young men and women manifest love as they search for those who will listen to their message of hope and peace.  They put their personal plans on hold, learn foreign languages, love people that they previously had no idea existed, and make many other sacrifices.  The Lord’s work is in good hands!

We are blessed to be involved in a great work; the work of bring hope to those in need.  The Lord wants to give hope to all of His children; hope is essential.  Our opportunity to personally spread hope seems minimal, but we use the talents and knowledge that we have to support the efforts in this part of His vineyard.  As we provide support for others who are working each day to spread His hope, we find joy in His service.  All efforts are rewarded when we see the change in the countenance of those who discover hope.  It is such a joy to see a glow on faces where there was once emptiness.  Our Savior lives and loves His children.

"Great things are brought about and burdens are lightened through the efforts of many hands 'anxiously engaged in a good cause.' Imagine what the millions of Latter-day Saints could accomplish in the world if we functioned like a beehive in our focused, concentrated commitment to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ."

—M. Russell Ballard,

Love

Elder & Sister Segeberg

Reflections and Anticipations

Happy New Year 2013!  As this new year begins we are thinking back on all the surprises and changes of the year just past.  Last New Year’s Eve, after a pleasant dinner with the Boswells and the other senior couples, we listened to the sounds of fireworks, think Beirut. As we lay sleepless in our bed we looked forward to a new year of serving our mission in the Baltics, living in Riga, Latvia.  We were happy with our apartment, had learned how to navigate the public transportation system, and knew where to shop, what products were available and how to substitute for others that were not.  We loved the new friends that we had made and looked forward to more experiences to share with them. How blessed we felt!

            Within three weeks we were asked to move to Bulgaria and were preparing for that move.  Since the process of obtaining a visa for Bulgaria from Latvia was uncharted territory there was uncertainty about how long it would take.  Would it be days or months? I found myself hesitant to buy green bananas.

            Finally we were on our way to our new assignment.  The Roth’s picked us up at the airport, took us to an office staff meeting, settled us into our new apartment and bid us farewell since they were leaving in the morning for several days.  Suddenly we found ourselves in a strange land with no knowledge of the language or how to get around.  We mused on how the young missionaries are given a senior companion when they arrive who knows the language as well as how to get around.  We set out to explore on Saturday and found that we were not far from the Center; we discovered where the food stores were hidden and purchased the things that we needed to prepare for the new week. 

            Our visa process took us twice to Warsaw and once back to Riga (after our temporary visa expired in Bulgaria).  We never thought of Warsaw as a place that we wanted to visit but were pleasantly surprised after our visits with what the city has to offer.  You can’t help but admire the fortitude the people had to rebuild after the devastation of the war. It is a beautiful city and we are glad that we were given the opportunity to visit.

            After returning to Bulgaria, we could finally settle in.  Our first order of business was to work the Office Elders out of a job.  They were not called to office work and are needed to be about their Father’s business.  This we accomplished before July was over.  Periodically there are instances that could use some Bulgarian speaking, but we muddle along. We have made friends at the post office and customs office as we frequently pick up packages for the missionaries.  I have even made peace with the local courier service and managed to order toner on-line in Bulgarian. Elder Segeberg has successfully eliminated cash from missionary apartments and implemented the proper reimbursements and funding through their missionary debit cards.

            In 2012 we were reminded how fragile life is as we unexpectedly suffered the loss of a fellow missionary and dear a friend.  We celebrated with loved ones, though far away, as they experienced milestones in their lives – births, birthdays, baptisms, ordinations, moves, new homes, graduation, and a wedding.  We missed being there for these events, but our hearts were never far away.

            After our experiences last year we realize more fully how surprising the future can be. We are looking forward to all that 2013 has to offer.  In August we will be leaving Bulgaria with mixed emotions.’ There will be things we are sad to leave behind and many things to which we look forward to returning.

 
In 2013 we anticipate:

·        Reorganizing the Mission Office to make the transition to a new Office Couple smoother

·        Complete a family history project that we have been working on

·        Visit with our family - lots

·        Continue to serve in some capacity

·        Squeeze the new babies

There will of course be things we didn't anticipate. We pray for the grace to accept them, and move on to wherever we are led. However this new year turns out, we hope to serenely accept whatever the Lord has in store for us.

In a talk by Jeffrey R. Holland he stated:

 "'If ye love me, keep my commandments,' Jesus said. So we have neighbors to bless, children to protect, the poor to lift up, and the truth to defend. We have wrongs to make right, truths to share, and good to do. In short, we have a life of devoted discipleship to give in demonstrating our love of the Lord."

There is much still to do. May 2013 be joyful as we heed this advice and follow our Savior.  Love, Elder & Sister Segeberg