Hello Everyone,
We hope you are all doing well. We have finally received some much needed rain here, and the wheat is beginning to grow. We are anxious to see the “amber waves of grain” later this summer. We're also looking for those “fields of sunflowers” that Kansas is famous for having.
 |
| Dad found a great buy on a house for us, but Mom is not convinced yet. |
We've had an interesting week, visiting less-actives from the middle of the farm lands to the middle of the jail and finding ourselves about to be chaperones for some members in their 70's wanting to have a date. We usually don't have any idea of what a particular day will bring. Looking forward our calendars are mostly empty but at the end of each day there is always plenty to record.
This past week we helped serve dinner for the homeless at a local Church of Christ. Well, they aren't exactly homeless, but once a week the community resource center has free meals for whoever needs one. They feed between 150-200 people we are told. It was an interesting environment, but some good may come from it as we get to know people.
This past week we helped serve dinner for the homeless at a local Church of Christ. Well, they aren't exactly homeless, but once a week the community resource center has free meals for whoever needs one. They feed between 150-200 people we are told. It was an interesting environment, but some good may come from it as we get to know people.
 |
| Elder Chen getting himself arrested. Dad did not want to play that game. |
On Friday this week we will start helping make deliveries for “Meals on Wheels” in Concordia. There are so many people that need help, but it is probably the same in every community. There are a lot of good people who look after the welfare of others, for sure.
So now we should have a lot of older and wiser family members. There were many birthdays this month. It is so funny how they are all right in a row for about a week. We could not have planned that even if we tried. It looks like April 13th and 14th are open if anyone wants to fill the gap there. :>)
Mom got a calling today. She was called to be the third counselor in the Relief Society Presidency. Our president lives 30 minutes or more to the north, the first counselor lives an hour and 15 minutes to the southeast and the second counselor lives about 45 minutes to the west. So Mom will be the”'local” Concordia counselor. President Hansen, our Branch President, told her that one thing she will be able to help with is welfare assistance, such as buying groceries for members who need help. She has done that before but probably not as much of it as she will be doing here, because this area has an over-abundance of needy people. She may be living part time at Walmart. :>)
We are starting a basic gospel study class on May 13th. It will be weekly on Wednesday evenings. We expect to have enough people come to have some good discussions. The majority of the members here are needing to understand the basics, and we hope to regularly have non-member visitors as well. Dad has been busy working on the first several lessons to make sure it will be enjoyable, informative, and especially spiritual.
The two young Elders came over after church today for lunch. We had a pot of goulash and a new coconut pie recipe Mom tried on them. They liked it just fine!
So now we should have a lot of older and wiser family members. There were many birthdays this month. It is so funny how they are all right in a row for about a week. We could not have planned that even if we tried. It looks like April 13th and 14th are open if anyone wants to fill the gap there. :>)
 |
| It was wonderful having Kelly and the kids come to visit us during their Spring break. |
We are starting a basic gospel study class on May 13th. It will be weekly on Wednesday evenings. We expect to have enough people come to have some good discussions. The majority of the members here are needing to understand the basics, and we hope to regularly have non-member visitors as well. Dad has been busy working on the first several lessons to make sure it will be enjoyable, informative, and especially spiritual.
The two young Elders came over after church today for lunch. We had a pot of goulash and a new coconut pie recipe Mom tried on them. They liked it just fine!
 |
Jared's family met us in Kansas City on our temple trip in March.
|
We have two teaching appointments this week. One is with a part-member family and the other with a less-active member. We are excited about that and hopeful there will be more. We have found a few others to teach but circumstances have postponed starting them yet. We found a delightful lady in jail. She was baptized when she was eight, but she has not attended since she was a child. Hopefully she will be acquitted of her charges. We heard about her from a policeman in our branch who did not know she was a member. He just felt strongly that he should send us to see her. She burst into tears when we walked in, and she told us she had been praying and praying that someone from the church would come to visit her. Dad gave her a priesthood blessing there in the jail. She is going to be okay.
We got a new District Leader a couple of weeks ago, and District Meetings have now become very enjoyable. They are held on Tuesday mornings in Salina, about an hour away. Salina is a bigger town, and we can do our shopping there for things not available in Concordia.
We were doing a little service project Wednesday for an elderly lady outside of town. We bought her a new ceiling fan because her old one had a broken blade, and she could not afford to replace it. She asked dad to fix it by taking a blade from another broken fan in a different room, but that would not work. As we were installing her new one she got a phone call from a man in the ward recently widowed. He wanted to take her to dinner and a movie. She was kind of shocked by the invitation and asked us what she should do. We asked her if she wanted to go, and she said no. She did not want to hurt his feelings, though, and she understands that he is lonely. We suggested that she simply tell him that she does not date, but she would be happy to be a part group outing if he wanted to get together that way. She liked our idea and told him that. Well, can you guess how that worked out? He called us (at her suggestion) and asked us to go to dinner and a movie with them. So now it seems we are going on a “double date” this Thursday. It sounds painful, but we are totally in a corner on this one. He asked her to sit with him in church today, but this morning she sent word that she wasn’t coming “because her cat is sick.” Oh-my-gosh! We will let you know how it all turns out.
We have an opportunity this coming weekend to go to Wichita for a special meeting with Elder Jeffrey R Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He is meeting with all the missionaries in the entire Kansas Wichita mission. He will also address the youth of this area in the afternoon and the priesthood leadership later that day. Everyone is super excited about that news, to say the least.
The elders and sisters in the mission are still talking about when Elder Bednar came and spoke to them last year. It seems unusual that another Apostle would come here again this soon, but, hey, we are so happy to be a part of it! We are not complaining!
We love you all and pray for you daily. We appreciate your calls, emails, letters, and children’s artwork. Please keep them coming.
Love,
Elder and Sister Gorden
We got a new District Leader a couple of weeks ago, and District Meetings have now become very enjoyable. They are held on Tuesday mornings in Salina, about an hour away. Salina is a bigger town, and we can do our shopping there for things not available in Concordia.
We were doing a little service project Wednesday for an elderly lady outside of town. We bought her a new ceiling fan because her old one had a broken blade, and she could not afford to replace it. She asked dad to fix it by taking a blade from another broken fan in a different room, but that would not work. As we were installing her new one she got a phone call from a man in the ward recently widowed. He wanted to take her to dinner and a movie. She was kind of shocked by the invitation and asked us what she should do. We asked her if she wanted to go, and she said no. She did not want to hurt his feelings, though, and she understands that he is lonely. We suggested that she simply tell him that she does not date, but she would be happy to be a part group outing if he wanted to get together that way. She liked our idea and told him that. Well, can you guess how that worked out? He called us (at her suggestion) and asked us to go to dinner and a movie with them. So now it seems we are going on a “double date” this Thursday. It sounds painful, but we are totally in a corner on this one. He asked her to sit with him in church today, but this morning she sent word that she wasn’t coming “because her cat is sick.” Oh-my-gosh! We will let you know how it all turns out.
 |
| Skies in Kansas often look threatening, but rain is rare. |
The elders and sisters in the mission are still talking about when Elder Bednar came and spoke to them last year. It seems unusual that another Apostle would come here again this soon, but, hey, we are so happy to be a part of it! We are not complaining!
We love you all and pray for you daily. We appreciate your calls, emails, letters, and children’s artwork. Please keep them coming.
Love,
Elder and Sister Gorden
