January 10, 2016

Happy new year everyone!

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas with family and all the activities that come with the holidays. It was a quiet holiday for us but nice at the same time. We enjoyed talking to all our children and other family members. 

We had dinner on Christmas Eve with our Branch President’s family, the Hopkins, including their six children and his parents. After dinner they all acted out the Christmas story, and it was very, very sweet. It is a nice tradition in their family.

The Hopkins family entertained us on Christmas Day. 

On Christmas Day they invited us to go shoot rifles, shotguns and pistols in the afternoon. Their whole family participated, and apparently it is a regular activity for them. It was great fun even though it was a very cold and windy day. Later that evening we had a delicious Christmas dinner at another members home. Their last name is Gordon, and they also have six children. They are a quality family, and they say we will be eating with them often. There are some really sweet families here in Pratt with young children. It brings back cherished memories of when our kids were all small. 

Don't mess with Elder Gorden! 

We were able to go to Oklahoma City and spend some time with Jared and Courtney and their kids during the Christmas break. We went to the temple together. It was a fun time. Then Caleb and Becca and their boys came to Pratt for New Year's. They showed up with all the crab and shrimp we could eat, and it was a meal we will remember. We were able to keep the family tradition going, even if on a smaller scale this year. It was great to have them here, obviously.

We love every chance we get to spend time with our kids! (Audrey and Grandpa)

Pratt is a good community, and our church is small here but strong. There are many recent converts, and it is great to see them coming to church and actively participating in the gospel. We still have many members to go meet. We arrived here right before Christmas and haven't had an opportunity to meet everyone. With the holidays a lot of people have been gone or otherwise busy. We are getting around to visit all of them slowly and steadily.

Pratt water towers show that the town has a
sense of humor.

There is an elderly lady in the branch named Betty who had us to dinner Friday night and she wanted us to meet her friend, Wilma. She said Wilma was never loved by her mother. It was really sad when she told us that Betty's mom has always told her " I should have drowned you when you were born!" Can you imagine? So obviously Wilma hasn't ever had much self esteem and needs to be loved, Betty explained to us. So before we went to meet Wilma, Betty wanted to say a prayer. If only you could have heard that sincere prayer she offered for her friend! Prayer is one thing that has impressed us a lot while being on our mission. Sometimes hearing these members makes us think we've forgotten how to pray. It seems the more humble circumstances people live in the more sincere their prayers become.  Anyway we meet with Wilma. She is such a sweet lady. It was obvious she didn't think a lot of herself, but she was gracious even though she did not know that we were coming. We visited a little while, and she let us show her a video that Betty had suggested. (It is a Mormon message about the ugly duckling, basically). Being there was a sweet experience. After the video she showed us some quilts and afghans she had made. It seemed to make her happy that we appreciated her good work. Another thing that helped us connect with her is that she once lived in Mountain Home, Arkansas, and she still has some family there.

There were a lot of nice Christmas decorations
in the community.

Hopefully we will see her again. Betty is trying to set up a time we can visit her this week. So many people just need to be loved and accepted. There was a quote on a Relief Society bulletin board this week at one of our zone meetings in Newton, Kansas, that said "Your job is not to judge. Your job is not to figure out if someone deserves something. Your job is to lift the fallen, to restore the broken and to heal the hurting". We remembered that after we left Wilma. There are so many others that need to be lifted, restored, and healed. It is easy to love people as we get to know them and understand their situations better.

Dad started teaching his Gospel Principles Sunday School class last week, and Mom is teaching the youth Sunday School during the same hour. Her kids are really sweet, and they have taken a liking to her - especially one girl that is 14 and in foster care. Justus lost her mom from a heart attack four years ago, and she has had a rough time. She is a new convert, and she comes and sits beside Sister Gorden during Sacrament each week. Last week she asked if she could help with the lesson today. Mom gave her a part to prepare, and she prepared well even though she probably left out a lot during her short presentation. It was a good thing for her. She is a sweet girl, and like with most people, it is easier to love her as we find out more about her situation. Today Justus saw Sister Gorden’s Personal Progress ribbons in her scriptures and asked what they were. She said she wanted to earn them, too. We hope to work with her on that. There are only three young women in the branch - two that actually attend. None of them have never started the Personal Progress Program.

The Sister Missionaries decorated our door for
Sister Gorden's Birthday

So there is a lot of work to be done here. That is just a couple of examples. The Relief  Society President wants us to come and visit with one of her friends. The members here are very missionary oriented. They are big on just loving their neighbors and becoming their friends and it seems to be working. 

This Friday will be a city-wide Red Cross blood drive, and our Branch is in charge of feeding everyone that donates blood. It will not just be a snack but a meal. We will be making a lot of chili and cookies. It should be a fun day and an opportunity to meet people from the community, and we are looking forward to it.

We have been actively volunteering in the community, but we have not received many assignments yet. We do deliver meals to shut-ins on Mondays and Thursdays. We have some other service opportunities pending. 

Birthday Surprises for Sister Gorden

Mom had her second birthday in the mission field this week. Dad tried to make it a birthday “week” for her instead of a one-day event. On Saturday we took the day off and went to Wichita for an official birthday observance. It was a fun time together. 

The Pratt Branch has regular activities, including potluck dinners. It is a pleasant change from our last area. We do love Pratt, and we are happy here.

Mom likes to share Christmas goodies with just about everyone.

January 5th was our one-year mark in the mission. It has been an interesting year to say the least. There have been lots of experiences that we will always remember, for sure. Thank you all for your love and prayers. Know that we love each of you and miss you and pray for you all. It makes us so happy to see our children raising their families in the gospel and serving in the church. Always stay strong and focused on what is important. 

Love,
Elder & Sister Gorden