Mission Blog #50

Apartment Inspections

A few weeks ago I commented on the Elders' flat here in Cork being a bit of a dump... and showed photos of the very nice flat of the Sister missionaries, in Limerick - 7th floor, new building, looking out at the Shannon River. We made a strong case for our Elders here, to get a better flat. A few weeks ago, permission was given for the Elders to close down their old flat and move into the vacant Sister's flat a few blocks away. We then went and performed the apartment inspection, and boy, what a difference; open, clean, ski-lites, beautiful patio windows/doors and porch; new appliances including a dishwasher. This is more like what they should have. It's not overly spacious, but just enough to make a comfortable home.

The apartment is about a 3 minute drive or 10 minute walk from our flat. We feel so much better knowing that their flat is a comfortable, safe, bright place for the young Elders.

Brian Roth is married with 4 children at home here in Cork, and his wife Christel has 2 older children who are elsewhere in Europe. They came to Ireland 7 months ago, and have been looking for a church. They have attended each Sunday for 6 weeks at our church, and the children have participated in Youth activities during the week, and they all love it. 

Several Branch members have invited them into their homes and have built wonderful friendships and bonds. And, we missionaries have been teaching them all. They invited us to their home on Friday night for dinner, and for a discussion about the Plan of Salvation/Happiness. Elder Truman also extended to them an invitation to be baptised and they accepted. What a night!

We arrived for dinner at 6pm, and the meal was great and the conversation was life-changing. Brian drove the Elders home at 9pm, and Tina and I remained until 10:45pm or so, at their invitation (once they knew that we don't have the same curfew as the young missionaries). What a wonderful time - so many great questions by the children - my favorite was from Angela, the oldest daughter; 'when I pray and ask for something, how will I know when I have received an answer?'  I offered my answer that answers can come in many ways - a feeling in our heart, a new thought in our mind, or a feeling of peace.  And then once the children had gone to bed, we had a great discussion with mom and dad. 

They are a wonderful family who have found love in this Branch, and truth and hope in the teachings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. To say this was a hi-lite of our mission service, would be a great understatement. It was hard getting to sleep Friday night as we pondered the miracle of the Roth family, and we will continue to provide them more information about why we're here, about the eternal nature of families, about priesthood authority that has been restored, the importance of making and keeping covenants and receive all the blessings Father in Heaven has for us.

Is This Heaven?

I finally have met some individuals who like to golf so we met at a local driving range to hit a few balls. It was nice picturesque spot, south of the city, but elevated so we had great views of Cork. The stalls had the automatic tee/ball feeder. It has been about 330 days since I've hit a golf ball. Even without my own golf clubs, or proper golf shoes, it was great to pound a few out there and shake off some rust. Self-analysis of this photo - my club angle is a little steep, and I should move a tad closer to the ball... but it was great and next week we're likely to get out for 9 holes somewhere close by.
 

Elder Durham's Swan Song

Elder Durham (black jacket), has been in Cork since March and on Wednesday he was transferred to Waterford, 2 hours to the east. For our last meal together we took the Elders to the Black Swan Cafe which is in a beautiful setting next to Lough Cork, a bird sanctuary. With a quick tap of the credit card, a handful of seed is dispatched and you have instantly made about 50 new friends. He loved it, and played like Dr Doolittle for awhile.

There are a dozen or so bird species located at the lake - pigeons, gulls, ducks, geese, jackdaws, rooks, coots, swans, and others. Good luck Elder Durham in Waterford and with your brand new missionary, Elder Keil who is from Germany. 

We'll miss you but you're still in our District so we'll see you regularly.

Working Together Builds Unity

The community of Cork where our church building is located is Eagle Valley. There is a community association that meets regularly (in our church) and discusses various things, including projects to beautify the neighborhoods. Our Branch President offered to them our church membership to assist in the fall clean-up they wanted to carry out. 

Yesterday was the day. The estate was broken into 15 mapped routes that required clean-up; including weed pulling, tree trimming, and rubbish pick-up. We gathered at the Church parking lot, and after a prayer team leaders were assigned, then team leaders selected 4-6 worker bees and then went to their designated areas. We began at 11am and concluded at about 1pm. 70 church members and another 15 or so community volunteers worked hard on a warm and humid day to clean up the area. What a difference. A few people thanked us as they passed through the work zones.

We filled about 50 bags full of waste, plus a few large piles of tree trimmings. Clean-up participants ranged in age from ourselves being the oldest workers, and down to youth and even small children. We all worked very hard to make a difference in the community.

Tina looked sharp in her high-vis vest, and was a great co-team leader. You may notice that she was photo-bummed here. Sorry, couldn't resist, but made you look I bet!

We all gave our best efforts and the community association people were so grateful. We have offered to help again for the spring clean-up or any other occasions. 

Burgers, hot dogs, barbecue chicken, salads, desserts...it was all amazing. We saved a few chairs at our table for our new friends on the community association. They made nice comments about how everyone seemed to be so happy and unified - when they had so much difficulty in getting any support from the actual residents of the community to come and help. Perhaps more will join us next time.

We have a long tradition of coming together in community service projects we explained, and aside from the benefit of a cleaner community, we know that working together builds unity that is hard to foster any other way. Unity in families, unity in the community, unity as a congregation. It seems we've been reading about that from the apostle Paul's letters to the Corinthians. 

Badminton outside, volleyball inside, lots of visiting and storytelling...what a great day it was. 

Visitors at Church - it happens alot in Cork

Did I say that more senior missionary couples are needed? Yes, I did. These two in the middle visited our Church today during their vacation from the U.S. They're from Smithfield, Utah but originally from Australia; the McMahons. They've travelled in Europe a bit - to my old mission in The Netherlands, plus Scotland, Ireland, and they travel home next week. At that time they'll be pressing the 'Submit' button on their on-line missionary application and then soon begin their own journey of full-time service as senior missionaries. We had a great visit with them talking about the different things we've been able to do as Member and Leader Support missionaries, and how much we have loved our mission.

We also had a visitor from South Africa today, and another couple visiting from Orem, Utah - they brought with them a special guest, their tour guide, and we had a great visit with her. I mentioned that I had some interest in doing guided tours and she encouraged me.  

Someone else came to church today that we've talked about before - a man we first met on Patrick Street in Cork in May wearing a Calgary Flames logo'd ball cap. Alan Porter lives in Bantry and due to the distance and his work schedule he comes rarely to church. Born in Spokane, and having been to Calgary several times in his life, Calgary has become his favorite city. That automatically makes us kindred spirits. He travels there in October for a vacation and we had a great visit after church meetings talking about some of the people who are special to him there. 

We are achy and sore - but we feel blessed. We have taught and testified of the mission of our Savior Jesus Christ; we have served our community; we have encouraged our friends and new friends to press forward; we have counselled with our young missionaries and talked about how we can be better missionaries and servants. 

We wish you a wonderful week, and we hope you feel the whisperings of the Spirit encourage you and sustain you in your most difficult trials. 

God bless.

   Elder Eric & Sister Tina McMurray

   Scotland-Ireland Mission