We Perform Service On Our Mission

 I write this blog for three reasons- to keep my friends and family informed of what we are doing, to encourage other seniors to serve a mission by showing them how easy and fulfilling a mission can be and lastly so I can print have this blog printed off at the end of our mission and have a scrapbook.  Therefore I add many pictures and items to this blog of things that I want to remember from our experience in the Newport Beach, California mission. 

The month of September was a hard one emotionally for me as we waited for my brother's graveside at the end of the month.  We didn't seek out new appointments but actually stayed busy with all the appointments we had perviously set up- many which were service.  I am just going to share in this post what we did the week before and after my brother's funeral.  In a separate post I will share about the weekend we spent with family mourning the loss of Glenn and celebrating him. 

So the service we performed the last couple of weeks included picking up someone from the airport, taking someone to the doctor, studying the Come Follow Me with a shut-in, putting in a shelf and towel bar in a young missionary apartment, checking on a ward member's home while they were out of town, Joe grilling trip-tip for the Hoe-Down party for our apartment complex, taking a ward member to the temple and helping to set up a new missionary apartment.  As you can see our service varies and besides our usual service in the Family Search Center and our missionary meeting, we don't know from week to week exactly what we will be doing. 



Elder Prater grilled 18 tri tips for the Hoe Down held at our apartment complex 



Elder Prater is able to use his handy man skills 





It is always a pleasure to attend the Newport Beach Temple with ward members.  This week we also had my niece who lives in the area join us. 


This is the senior missionary crew that set up a new apartment for some young missionaries.  
Elder Prater, Sister and Elder Scott, Sister and Elder Weidmann.

Besides doing service we took some time for fun.  Elder and Sister King, who serve as military relation missionaries arranged a tour of  Santa Margarita Ranch House on Camp Pendleton for us. 





We were also able to go to the San Diego Zoo thanks to Ines who works there.  It was a fun day with our son Mike's family.  



One thing that happened this week that particularly touched my heart occurred during our weekly district meeting.  Our district leader always asks each companionship what the highlight was of their week.  When it was our time to share, one of our sister missionaries said something to the effect that Sister Prater was killing it in Stake Conference with her comment.  I had made a comment during the Adult Saturday night session of Stake Conference. the weekend before.  She was saying how excited she was when she heard my comment and how good it was.  All the other missionaries joined in saying that's our Sister Prater.  What made me so happy about this was not that they liked my comment but that they were rooting for me and felt like I was their Sister Prater.  Even though we come from different backgrounds, different generations,  different states, we are all united in Christ.  Our hearts are knitted together in love and purpose.  Truly this is what it feels like to be around a Zion people.  I would trade this time for anything!

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