We got a car . . . and a companion!

This week has been so much fun!

Last week, we challenged all our members in our weekly message as a family to go serve someone who needs it. The Vera's did that for some people, but also showed up at our apartment with Crumbl cookies and an entire cheesecake! We ended up giving some of it away by dropping it off at the doorstep of a family who is in quarantine right now, but I can't believe how nice people have been to us.

We also invited them to do Come and See Me- to invite 10 family or friends to come watch their son speak in church- and they invited Brother Vera's brother and his family! His brother is inactive and his family aren't members, but they all came and brought a friend that was visiting them for the weekend!

Thursday night, right before a lesson, President Blake called us and asked if our apartment could fit three people. We said it could, and he said that's all he needed to know, so we thought maybe at transfers we were going to get a new companion, or two new ones if one of us left. However, the AP's called later that night and said we were getting a new companion the next day, and what do you know, but it's Elder Ogden!

Elder Ogden and I went to high school together, and ran cross country together, so I was super excited. He's two years older than me, so he's finishing his last 3 weeks, and I'm finishing my ... last 22 months. Sorry to my mom if that sounded like a long time, but I'm still super excited to be out here. Anyways, the AP's were on an exchange with the zone leaders, so they drove me to the mission home the next morning on their way back to their area. I got to have waffles with President and Sister Blake, and then me and Elder Ogden drove back to our apartment. That's right, we drove. It's been so nice to have a car the last couple days.

Anyways, we had an awesome couple days with him, and then we received another call from President last night, and Elder Ogden was transferred to Aurora to be a zone leader for his last two weeks. He packed up his things in twenty minutes or so, and then he was gone as fast as he came. I did learn some things from him so I'm so grateful for that. And ... we kept the car! So we now have a 2020 equinox with only about 2000 miles on it. We'll keep it at least until the end of the transfer, but then it might go back to its old area. We also kept the new mattress we got, and the bunk bed, so Elder Hales sleeps on the top bunk (he likes being high up, he tends to just chill out on top of our fridge) and I get a double decker bed.

I want to testify that I know families are central to our Heavenly Father's plan for us. I'm so grateful to all of my family who have all supported me in coming out here, and for all they've done for me. I'm grateful to know that we can live forever with our families, that we can be sealed together. I know our Heavenly Father loves us as His children, and wants us to return to Him, just like any father would with his kids. I bear testimony of that in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

All my love,

Elder Leary 

God Plays Deep Chess

I was asked to talk in our sacrament meeting last week. As I sat writing it late Friday night, the thoughts just came to me. I realized I could not take credit for this talk. Afterwards I had many who reached out with words of appreciation and love. This talk came from the Lord. I was simply the conduit.

In 1988 I became the 6th grade chess champion. My dad taught me how to win in 4 moves which proved to be unstoppable.

A few year later, I met Tyler who plays chess, who plays much deeper chess than I had ever played.

To play “deep chess” you are thinking several moves ahead and anticipating your opponents moves.

Chess is not a game of chance or coincidences. There is design and purpose to each move.

Our lives are like a chess board. Our Father in Heaven is orchestrating moves far in advance, moving us from place to place. He is playing ‘deep chess’ and if we are receptive to spiritual promptings, we will be able to look back and see the Lord’s hand or at least his fingerprint in those moves.

Gerald Lund in his book Divine Signatures says “Sometimes, the Lord sends His blessings in such a highly unusual, dramatic, or precisely timed manner, that it might be likened to a ‘divine signature.’ It is as though the Lord ‘signs’ the blessing personally so that we will know with certainty that it comes from Him.”

Many years ago as I was struggling through a pretty significant trial, I was worrying to my dad about my life. He reminded me that this trial of mine had not caught the Lord by surprise like it had me. He knew this was going to happen and he had designed a different path for me.

God was playing deep chess. And through that trial he placed me in circumstances where my faith could deepen. Looking back I know for deep certainty Heavenly Father was watching over me and my family. I could see the tender mercies and divine signatures in my life.

God is in the details of our lives and when we recognize those small instances of his divine signatures then when the small instances become pandemic proportional problems, we will take comfort that he still has our back and that things will be okay.

I remember very clearly the phone call I got from Dr. Affify telling me that Ashlyn had neuroblastoma. The immediate peace I felt after that sentence was palpable. I knew that everything was going to be okay. That was a divine signature from a loving Heavenly Father. He was playing deep chess, bolstering my faith for bigger things to come.

Currently we live in a world that is just a tad bit unsettled and less than peaceful.

"To yearn to go back to a world that cannot be lived in now; to be perennially dissatisfied with present circumstances and have only dismal views of the future; to miss the here-and-now-and-tomorrow because we are so trapped in the there-and-then-and-yesterday are some of the sins of Lot’s wife."

Elder Holland goes on to remind us that

*Faith is always pointed toward the future.

*Do not dwell on days now gone, nor to yearn vainly for yesterdays, however good those yesterdays may have been.

*The past is to be learned from but not lived in. 

*Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives. So a more theological way to talk about Lot’s wife is to say that she did not have faith. She doubted the Lord’s ability to give her something better than she already had.

*Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the “high priest of good things to come."

God is playing deep chess. This pandemic did not catch him by surprise. He is moving us into positions to strengthen our faith, to strengthen the church, to create more effective missionary service. Technology has allowed us to stream sacrament services and classes. Missionary work is taking on social media. Erik's last 6 months of missionary services was more or less survival mode as they tried to figure out how to do missionary work differently. Nate hit the ground running  using technology to do missionary work. His mission president recently reported that his mission is finding people to teach at twice the rate than it was at this time last year.

Several weeks ago in our Relief Society lesson, the question was asked “What do you do to be spiritually prepared?”

I thought about that during the week and the thought kept coming back to me that I have looked for God’s hand in my life and recorded it faithfully. When we are consciously looking for God’s divine signatures, we will find them and they will help us through not only the small moments but especially when the biggies hit in pandemic proportions.

This might not be the year any of us envisioned. Personally my family missed out on 2 graduations, a senior year of tennis, vacations, a niece’s wedding. We’ve missed getting together with family and friends and just doing our normal stuff. BUT the Lord in his mercy has given us a beautiful grandbaby whom we can’t get enough of. He’s given us good health even though our missionary ended up with the virus. We had a missionary come home and another depart within weeks of each other. We got to experience missionary life first hand with home-MTC. We got to attend a very sacred, intimate temple experience with just our family. Our high school graduation experience was much more personalized and up close than the Marriott Center and we have a new driver in the house.  Um . . . actually scratch that last one. So even though 2020 might be a year to just flush down the toilet, I wouldn’t trade it for all the great things we got to experience this year. Our family was so blessed.

"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed." D&C 123

Cheerfully. The Lord wants us to cheerfully do what we can. Lately, I’ve heard a lot of grumbling about wanting this pandemic situation to be over. To never have to wear a mask again. Challenge 1. Do what we’ve been asked to do by our prophet and our governor because as members of the Lord’s church we believe in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. But not only do but do it cheerfully. And Challenge 2. Look for God’s arm to be revealed through those divine signatures that will come to you and your family this week.

May you forever stand still with the utmost assurance that God loves you, cares about you, and he is playing deep chess to give you something better than you already have.

Taco Bell and Roger

Hello everybody!

We got out of quarantine last Monday, and it has been so nice to have a normal week again. We're both feeling back to 100% normal by now, and we had a crazy week!

On Wednesday we got to go to Barr Lake State Park, where we helped build a split rail fence and lay down some decomposed granite for a trail. I think it was decomposed granite anyway, don't quote me on that. It was so nice to get out and just do something physical for once.

On Thursday we went and raked some leaves for people, and I got to go to my first district council with my new district because Elder Hales and I have been quarantined since transfers.

Friday we found out we had surprise interviews with President Blake, and afterwords we went to Taco Bell with Elders Beal and Ellis. We pulled out from the street next to Taco Bell and made a left turn into the middle lane, but another car from a street on the other side didn't see us and tried to make a left turn as well and hit into us. The streets were a little off center so we were both turning through that lane in the same spot, but we had actually turned and slammed on our brakes when we saw him. He had just started to turn and didn't see us until the last second. We're all fine, it was just a little bump, and he didn't really have any damage. He hit the front and twisted his license plate a little, but we were turned already and he put a dent in our front bumper. We had turned first and actually tried to stop so I think he's at fault, but I don't know what that'll mean for fixing the damage, or if it's even necessary. It was the first "wreck" any of us had been in, but it was an interesting experience. We filed it online and exchanged insurance information, but we're still waiting on the mission office to hear about what will happen.

On Sunday Brother Thatcher brought someone to church! His name is Roger; he works with Brother Thatcher and approached him about our church because he's trying to change some things in his life. Brother Thatcher invited us over to his house after to talk with Roger, and it was so much fun. We taught him about our church and answered some questions, and talked a lot about what changes he wanted to make and how he was going to be able to do that. It was the first time that I've taught someone since coming out, and the first members house we've been in. It was so much fun!

In closing, with Thanksgiving around the corner I want to say how grateful I am for all of you, my friends, family, neighbors, and examples in life. I am so grateful to be out here serving and to have the chance to meet all these new people. I'm grateful for the chance to live in this time where we have so many blessings that we too often take for granted. Above all, I'm grateful for my Savior, for His teachings, His atonement, and His death and resurrection. I can't imagine a world where I couldn't lean on Him to support me as I try to change, and where I would live without the knowledge of life after this one and eternal families. I know He lives, He loves you, and He's reaching out to you. I say that in His name, Jesus Christ, amen.

All my love,
Elder Leary

p.s. I think all you Utahns got a bunch of snow but it hasn't hit us yet so we'll see what we're in for.

p.p.s. Also some missionaries are leaving for their assigned country, I'm not on that list yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Australia!
 

Cold Weather and Corona

What a strange week it's been!

Last Monday night, Elder Hales started feeling mild symptoms of COVID,  and we went to get tested the next day. They couldn't find our results in the system when we called, so we went back to get retested, and on Saturday morning we got the news we had tested positive. We were honestly not that surprised; we've both been super tired all week, and Elder Hales has had 9 of the 11 symptoms. He got worse throughout the week but started to feel a little better Saturday and Sunday.

We've quarantined from Tuesday on, and we'll continue until next Tuesday as far as I'm aware. With that being said, it has been a frustrating week. I haven't felt super sick, so I've still tried to do some missionary work, but with almost no success. With all our member lessons last week, we asked if we could call and share a quick testimony instead since Elder Hales was sick, but out of 30 lessons we now have set up, we only were able to call 4 of them, everyone else cancelled or just didn't answer. It's been super strange to be out on a mission and to want to serve and share the gospel, but to have no energy and be unable to leave our apartment. This week I have definitely turned to prayer more, though, and I'm grateful for this challenge and what it's done in strengthening my relationship with my Father in Heaven.

In other news, our zone leaders called yesterday to check on us, around 11:00, and I heard someone in the background say how cold it was. We opened our blinds for the first time that day, and what do you know? There was SNOW everywhere. I'll admit, I did not see that coming! My first thought was maybe we could shovel the sidewalks at the church, but then I remembered I'm kinda in this quarantine thing.

I realize this might have sounded a little depressing which isn't really what I want. I honestly had some of the happiest or most peaceful moments of my mission this week. They were kind of random little moments and reminders that I still have a Heavenly Father that cares about me. I know even in our hardest trials that He is there for us, and that you can still feel joy! I testify of that in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love you all!
Elder Leary