COVID Christmas

 

We are healthy. Perhaps that is enough to say in a year as full of excess deaths and loss as this has been. Though members of our family have crossed the bar, my sister in March, my cousin's husband in October, and several others, none of them were directly related to the novel coronavirus. We have sacrificed any hopes of visiting family in Korea, and probably any likelihood we will be present for the birth of grandchild number 10 in February, but we have found other ways to connect and build family culture and memories either virtually, or by enduring frenetic driving trips, preceded by COVID testing and some combination of quarantine, and social distancing. Thus we can begin to count some blessings that have come from this experience of pandemic. Here are several:

    The switch to virtual sacrament meetings via zoom enabled us to join in worship again with many friends in Vietnam as their sacrament services were 12 hours in advance of ours. That was sweet.

    Moving to virtual teaching in pathology sparked a major foray into video production of short and some longer teaching videos on pathology topics. While initiated for our own program residents, it is now evident that the value to both trainees and public far beyond our program is not insignificant. And that has led to the consideration of how the cumulative efforts of many peers in doing the same might be turned to solve a major public health problem looming down the road as cancer incidence in the developing world accelerates, even as we curtail infectious and communicable disease (or think we have.) Most of these video releases have been announced via our Facebook group devoted to promoting pathology development in Vietnam and other developing countries, an effort that was an early launch when we began giving lectures at the Vietnamese National Cancer Institute. (For the curious, here are the links to the channel https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCSlhvdzIe8AXLKb-dWO8jhg/videos/upload?filter=%5B%5D&sort=%7B%22columnType%22%3A%22date%22%2C%22sortOrder%22%3A%22DESCENDING%22%7D 
and the Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/568498066621912 )

    We have been able to give equal time and attention to our missionaries as they approach marriage. Our commitment and mantra to "Do it right from the beginning" that we taught and emphasized over and over again when speaking about how we build branches seems even more apt as we contemplate their looming task of building a family founded on the gospel. But sweet Zoom sessions with as many as will accept have made the relationships richer and compensated for our inability to witness sealing ceremonies or participate in celebrations.

    We have seen our hearts stretched as we have ministered to others within our own ward and stake. While often the 80/20 rule means that a Relief Society president will spend the bulk of her time attending to problems among an often recalcitrant 20% of her sisters, the efforts over the first 10 months of her service have seen several reasons to rejoice, both in terms of training and modeling offered to her counselors (several have already gone on to other callings better prepared) and in the signs of progress among the sisters in struggles. Hooray for small victories! 

    We have missed singing, or at least I have, even though my voice is showing its age. While listening to others raise a joyful noise is good, and we can resonate inside with their efforts, there is something wonderful about exulting or mourning or praising in one's own voice, and in harmonizing and synchronizing with others, whether for a funeral, or wedding or just a weekly worship service. And that brings me to the backdrop for this year's Christmas carol. It expresses this need to sing when the news is as good as Christmas is to me, and I hope to you. I'm not a composer with accomplishments or much in the way of training. But once I started this and the words were beginning, the mournful beginning in a minor key had to be resolved with a change in mode to major as the good news of Christ's birth and His plan is affirmed. Perhaps you will hear the quote or allusion in the first line to the tune for "There is a balm in Gilead" (not done consciously I will add) which likewise comforts with His message. 

May you be well and whole. May music of praise and thanksgiving and joy fill your heart in this most different of years. And may a COVID Christmas come to mean more than loneliness or isolation as you come to see what God has done in your life this year.

For those who may not wish to struggle with my notation, you can get an idea of the carol by listening to me sing it through. Blogger won't support the mp3 file upload for some reason, so contact me if you want me to send it directly.. (Not ready for the recording studio yet, I know.) But here are the words, so you don't need to squint.

Will there be no carols sung this season? 

No choirs to tune their voice as one?  

Will only solos sung in isolation. 

Tell the birth of Him, God’s only Son? 

Will only dirges played to mourn the dying

Pierce our ears and speak of only sorrows?

Is all the joy we had false and beguiling,

Drain'd hope today from each of our tomorrows?

Not so for me! Not so for you! 

Angels His birth announced!  

Disciples Saw Him Rise,  

And He will come again. 

This Hope is Sure! 

So I will sing my carol bright this season!

With choirs above tune notes to seem as one,

Thus will my carol sung midst isolation

Sing praise to Him, God’s new born Son!

Sing hope for those who’re lost or dying!

Sing joy for all who’ve suffered sorrows!

Sing Truth and Grace defeating all beguiling!

Sing Christ our hope for now and all tomorrows.

'Tis so for me! ‘Tis so for you!

Angels His birth announced!

Disciples saw Him rise,

And He will come again.

This Hope is Sure!

    

Thắp Sáng Thế Gian

 It wasn’t exactly the splash of the “Ice Bucket Challenge,” but the first foray of an “official” church entry into the prevalent social media world of Vietnamese culture did reach remarkably large audiences and demonstrated the value that social media could add to missionary efforts and to public esteem for the Church. It started when the mission was given approval  (thank you Hong Kong Public Affairs) to launch a group or page under the above title during the Christmas public affairs efforts of 2017. The page would be the landing page for the daily videos released by the church in the campaign. Elders Michael Williams and Kevin Huy Phan were charged to build a plan to bring meaningful messages and traffic to the page to help spread the message of #LightTheWorld for Vietnamese saints and their friends. They produced a few video clips in Vietnamese illustrating how they were following the theme of the campaign, and then they challenged a few people to do likewise, and again share their efforts and challenge more of their friends to engage in the social media sweep. Perhaps because the demographics of their friends was that of a highly social media conscious young adult group, the results and engagement from members in both the North and the South, was remarkable.

The success of this effort in building a community and an audience interested in using social media to share gospel concepts was significant for individuals and the church. President Hoang Van Tung of the District Presidency, and Chairman of the legal entity charged with representing the church to the government, had been regularly sharing images and messages about the church, ranging from pictures of temples, to inspirational messages from Church leaders, intent on raising the standing and awareness of the Church and its value to Vietnamese society. I felt that the value of the community created could be enhanced by extending the concept of a social media campaign into the traditional season of celebrations in Vietnamese (and East Asian) culture surrounding the lunar new year, Tết Nguyên Dân. So with some help from the Communications Committee and other members, we identified gospel truths that were embodied in traditional practices associated with that holiday. Then each of these were developed into short posts with traditional photos of the practice. The campaign was headed under the hashtag #lẽthâttrongtruyềnthống, or #TruthsinTraditions. The posts were popular and often got a significant (for the church population size) number of shares and likes, with an estimated reach of several thousand viewers. One such was this about the tradition of giving "lucky money" or Ly Xi at the new year.

#lẽthậttrongtruyềnthống
Chuẩn bị cho hoặc nhận được lì xì:

Truyền thống tuyệt vời này là một cách thức để các người cha mẹ có thể ban phước cho các con cái, để các ông bà có thể bày tỏ những cảm giác và ước mong cho các thế hệ về sau, và nói chung để những người lớn tuổi có thể trình bày các ước mong đó một cách hữu hình cho năm mới. Thông thường tiền này được cho trong một phong bì nhỏ màu đỏ, để nhấn mạnh màu sắc đỏ mang sự may mắn đến xã hội này. Nó được cho một cách vô điều kiện, một biểu tượng về một tình yêu thương vô điều kiển nên phải là gì. Phúc âm của Chúa Giê Su Ky Tô dạy chúng ta rằng “chúng ta yêu mến Ngài, vì Ngài yêu mền chúng ta trước” hay để nói một cách khác, lòng yêu mến của Thượng Đế mà được biểu tượng một cách hữu hình bởi máu cứu chuộc của Dấng Cứu Rỗi, đã được ban cho chúng ta mặc dù chúng ta đã không được hưởng. “Thương Đế yêu thương thế giới [chúng ta] đến nỗi Ngài đã gửi Con Trai Độc Sinh của Ngài.”

Prior to the 2017 Christmas media effort, Vietnamese had still been a minor language, so efforts to employ the graphics, video materials and other campaign items arrived late, or were not translated at all. In 2016, the first season following creation of the mission, the plan had been to utilize materials translated for the 2015 campaign, since they could be available from the beginning of the month. This worked to some degree, but the phase delay made it a bit confusing for bilingual members, or to English-speakers living in the Vietnamese branches. As 2017 approached we felt confident in that approach given that the hashtag theme had not changed, and people would likely not remember or the number who would would be small compared to the new eyes we hoped would see the campaign. But in the interim, translation had sped up and the videos were simplified so that translation was feasible in the short time frame.

As I observe the subsequent similar media campaigns, it is evident that the decision to retain the #LightTheWorld hashtag has been helpful in gaining "brand status" for the holiday among members and their friends. And seeing ever increasing numbers of members respond to the encouragement to share and document their celebration of the season in the public eye of social media is encouraging. In Hanoi in 2019, members were included in a public singing performance at a high visibility venue. In 2020, with COVID mostly excluded from the country, Hanoi members were involved with a charity booth during a special event highlighting giving held at the JW Marriott Hotel in Hanoi. At that site, the Thắp  Sáng Thế Gian theme was highly visible, and the personal engagement by members was meaningful. The Church is emerging from obscurity, and indeed becoming a light to the world.

It is evident that the early experience with using social media in 2017 and early 2018 was helpful so that when missionary work moved to a more virtual environment in 2020 with the onset of the pandemic, there was a base of experience, and a population of supportive church members. When a church executive responsible for media visited Hanoi in early 2018 and interviewed missionaries and members, his report to me was that it was clear that a great deal of potential existed in Vietnam in that realm, but that many more materials were needed than then available. Much more is available now than when the first purchase of Times Square space was made for the holiday campaigns years ago, but with a populace that is young and highly engaged on social media, and primarily on a single platform (Facebook), I believe the Light has the potential to spread very quickly. The curve is shifting.

Self-Reliance, Self-less Service and Cultural Values

While driving with a team of humanitarian-oriented veterans on an NGO mission in the late 1980s thru the more remote "grey roads" or non-roads of Dong Nai province, we stopped to allow some service to the vehicles. One of these was a classic black Citroen limo vintage about 1939. When new it probably would have been fit to ferry a queen, as this restored version is reputed to have done. But our version was closer overall to the pre-restoration version!

That the vehicle ran at all was remarkable, but I was perhaps most surprised when on opening the hood, I saw a Coke can prominently attached to a critical part of the engine. On further investigation it became clear that rather than importing auto parts from Coke, the mechanics had improvised using the bottom half of a Coke can to make a new distributor cap for a vehicle that was long since relegated to the junk yard in most other countries. This was to me the quintessential evidence of initiative and resilience. 

Of late, I have become aware of yet further examples of this cultural narrative among members of the Church. Since Vietnamese is still a minor language for Church translation purposes, the range of materials available is still relatively limited when compared with say Japanese or even Swedish. So in typical "can-do" manner, members have stepped forward to translate materials they desire to use in their own units or callings. One example was the excellent Self-Reliance materials which were largely translated into Vietnamese and formatted almost exactly as the English version, for use in one of the branches in Ho Chi Minh City soon after they appeared in English. When later, the Area Self-Reliance coordinator asked about whether Vietnam should be moved into the mainstream of that program, he was pleasantly shocked to discover the level of "readiness" of the people and the materials. No irony here!

But in the sequence of initiative, self-reliance and translation, I am most impressed by the self-less service epitomized in a current project spearheaded by Kim Hoa Duncan, and ably assisted to completion by Sisters Mai Anh, and Bao Ngoc. A project which will not benefit them personally in much of a significant way is the creation of an audio version of the Doctrine and Covenants, a volume of scripture to Latter-day Saints, which will be the focus of Come Follow Me gospel study in 2021. Although perhaps not of the quality (or sanction) that will link it to the official Gospel Library, it will nevertheless open a useful resource to many members whose reading skills or visual acuity are below those that would allow them to access the scriptures in other media. Look for a link to the audiofiles to be released via branch Facebook pages by mid-December 2020. And I have good reason to believe that it will be better than the Coke can in filling its function and helping others to Come Unto Christ. These noble volunteers have epitomized the meaning of #LightTheWorld through service beyond self.

Interludes and Inter-“missions”

 The story isn’t over for those who have followed the events and thoughts in “Along the Hong River” just as it isn’t for us in our renewed life along the Oklahoma River. It is now a full two years since we emptied the storage unit which held our earthly belongings, thinning again our possessions,  before reassembling the puzzle into the space of our home on Northwest 17th Street. A lot of the content of our daily activity is not terribly different than it was while we lived in Hanoi, while some things are decidedly different.

We still rise early (the 5:30 am alarm is mostly redundant since the biologic clock is quite firmly set it would seem) and engage in morning exercise and gospel study. We use that study period to seek guidance and revelatory ideas that will help us lift and serve those whom we may meet or connect with during that day and days ahead. My friend and missionary department proselyting guru David Weidman counseled me to inquire of the Lord each day as to which of our elders or sisters may need an emotional touch of some sort that day. More often than not, when I have done that, the resulting experience has been rich and tender. The lesson for me is that the endowment of love for our fellow missionaries, and for the saints and friends that came into our lives there, carries with it the responsibility and opportunity to continue to minister and grow with them.

It wasn’t very long after we had been home that I realized how treacherous the period of  life following a mission was for most returning missionaries. So many critical decisions were to be made, that would lock them into patterns and positions that would work powerfully for their good, or for ill. Selecting the right spouse seemed to me the most potent of these decisions. So for many months now, I have prayed and fasted for them in that regard, sometimes as a whole, and sometimes for particular ones. The readily obtained answers to these pleadings are beginning to accrue. This month, four new families were founded in the Holy Temples, and lives full of hope and anticipation have been launched together with able and worthy spouses. If the ultimate measure of our efforts is to be measured in the character and devotion of the grandchildren of those missionaries, then we have reason to hope for good inasmuch as so many have begun well, taking to heart the admonition to “do it right from the beginning.” We rejoice in their joy, and hope in their hope.

 

Similarly, as the number of offspring from these marriages begins to grow and these young fresh spirits make their entrance onto the stage of life, we feel great anticipation and excitement. Mission grandchildren, as we have come to refer to these offspring, are a big part of our joy as well. We only regret that limitations on time, resources, and the current travel restrictions have cut off direct contact with these joys, as well as our own biologic grandchildren. 

In another aspect of the heritage of these genealogies, we have the on-going opportunity to see many of the new converts and even former investigators of our time in Vietnam stepping forward to serve full-time missions. For many of these Pioneers, this is not a trivial decision, nor even entirely their own. Our dear friend L was baptized in 2017, the only member of her family, of course. As a young woman who had entered the workforce following school, her family’s next expectation was for her to marry and begin a family. But to make matters more complicated, a sibling was pursuing a career in the Public Security arm of the government. As is well known to all in that division, a primary responsibility is to oversee potentially seditious religious organizations, and therefore any officer with personal OR family connections to religious organizations is black-marked to not advance into increased duties. Hence that same sibling looked upon L as blocking their ability to move up in the security apparatus, and as the oldest child, he easily recruited both parents into opposing L’s participation, attendance, and support for the Church. 

But Wonder of Wonders, Miracle of Miracles, after much counsel, prayer, fasting, and gentle persuasion, God did make a wall fall down. What tremendous joy we felt when the text came from L detailing with ebullient joy that both parents had granted permission for L to serve a mission. To make matters even sweeter, we know a certain returned missionary who will be waiting for the completion of that service. So our fasting for L and L’s parents, also meant fasting for a future spouse of infinite worth and high commitment and faith. It was two for one!

And so the rivers flow and we shall both watch from the banks, and at times follow the currents.

Toils and Tears, Smiles and Squeals

Tolstoi begins his epic novel Anna Karinina with the assertion that “All happy families are the same. Unhappy families are unhappy each in their own way.” I am inclined to believe that the same might be said about missionaries, based on our observations with just under 100 such young men and women, and a small number of older senior missionaries. But the problem in analyzing our data is that the group size in our sample is altogether too small for the latter group. Yes, we have had some unhappy missionaries, missionaries who were stressed tremendously, having a hard time coping, ailing spiritually or emotionally, and in some circumstances physically. But for the most part those have been temporary transient stages of missionary development. And that is the great miracle of a mission, that through the atonement of Christ and their own resiliency, young and inexperienced individuals are tempered, strengthened and transformed, and older, often wiser, individuals are also fortified, humbled, enabled and changed for the better as well. How does this happen? 

The missionary call letter does not declare the purposes that God has in calling people to His work, nor really give much of a hint of the hardships and trials that will accompany acceptance of the task. It does explain the expectations that one will leave behind other pursuits, live to a higher standard, and devote essentially all of their efforts towards the missionary purpose to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them develop faith in Christ and his atonement, learn to repent so that they can with a clean heart and life make the covenant of baptism and receive the amazing gift of the Holy Ghost to always be with them.

I have asked each of our new missionaries why they are here. What made them want to come on a mission in the first place? Adventure? Duty? Love for others? Seeing the impact of a mission on other friends or family? A testimony of the Gospel? The responses are often similar, but give me a clue as to the hardships ahead, and the degree to which they have already come to know the transforming power of the Atonement of Christ. Some have a glimmer of what God designs to make of their lives, but others do not see the magnitude of their potential and God’s blueprint for their lives. Watching that dawn on them as they try to help others come to know Him better (and thus discover Him for themselves as well) is nothing short of amazing. 

I have also asked them why they are HERE, rather than in Pawhuska, or Peoria, or Pretoria. Why Asia, why Vietnam, why Now, with me? Partly this question is for me as well. Why has God given them into my care? And what does he expect me to do with them, to teach them, help them through, or help them learn?

Probably it is time for some more specific (though nameless) examples. Elder ___ was not very experienced with life, and yet he was remarkably experienced. He had no worldly sophisticated savvy, was a terrible writer, horrid speller and had not been technologically experienced. He hadn’t even known how to use an ATM to withdraw his support allowance. But although his life had been tough, he had an enormous capacity to love, and an irrepressible optimism. This made him a candidate for everyone's "favorite companion" list, and also a remarkable example of Chirst. He quite easily became a "living epistle" of Him. He was here to be that "utility player companion" that I could put with anyone and ensure a good outcome, but also a wonderful example to members of how one could overcome obstacles (family, economics or otherwise) with the knowledge of the gospel. He learned to create unity in his distict, companionship and branches. And we learned to add the life skills that will enable him to step upward and forward once he is finished.

Elder _____ came from an average cultural LDS background, and it might be thought, had come for all the wrong reasons- response to the expectations of others, boredom with life, and who knows why. "I dunno" was the fully truthful answer to my query "why are you HERE?" The language didn't come easily because he wasn't sure if he wanted to learn, or really know why he should learn. For a long while he went through the motions, more or less, or maybe less than more, without much emotion. But his companions loved him; we loved him and we patiently tried to minister to him until meaning began to come into his life. He stopped just floating along and began to see that unless he cared about those people he was meeting with, talking to, and studying to prepare for, he was just useless to them. Then it started to happen that he began to figure out his purpose here, and to find the Lord's purposes for him. What an amazing awakening! In missionary work though, the truly remarkable thing is that sequence is repeated many, many times, in every mission. How truly remarkable that is, miraculous one might even say.

This process is not limited to the young. Sister ___ began her mission with a hope to be an influence for good. She had some ideas about where she might serve, and how, but for various reasons none of those seemed to work out. It took a long time for her call to arrive, but it did and she rejoiced.. Of course the options for older senior sisters are more limited due to concerns for health, safety and the general challenges of companions suited to working together. But she started out, accepting her assignment, and then quickly finding her calling as a missionary. She began to see places where she with her skills and talents, could make a real difference. Most remarkably, her desires not only transformed her, but spread to other members of her family who were themselves strengthened in their faith and dedication to the gospel. The power of Christ's atonement began to touch them, to heal their hearts, their relationships with Him and with each other, and the results will be wonderful.

One of the hardest moments for any missionary is when they come face to face with their own weaknesses, and in particular the weakness from prior sinfulness that was not fully cleared away before they started to serve. Knowing now that they really cannot do what they came to do with any degree of unworthiness, they are faced with the painful prospect of possibly being sent home in embarrassment and shame, facing up to the accusor in their conscience, or trying to sear that conscience long enough to complete their mission, salvage "face" and continue the ruse. The fear of facing consequences is immense, and makes for stress and unhappiness. But with courage bolstered by the security of love, and not a few prayers from many at home, these unhappy moments can themselves be the catalyst for the most amazing transformation. Elder ___ when faced with the options he might have to return to a disapproving family remarked they he would probably just get off the plane somewhere and disappear, rather than endure the barrage of questions, the pressure of silent scorn or other emotional insults he knew would emerge in his family culture. But with time, with significant effort to repair and repent, the Balm of Gilead interrupted that progression to alienation and loss, and replaced it with a sweet confidence in the Savior, and an even sweeter unity and confidence within the family. When I think on this, I cannot doubt the statemet of Elder Renlund that "Repentance is Joyful." That indeed may be the best interpretation of 2 Nephi 2:27, "Adam fell that men might be (sinful), and men are that they might have joy (through repentance.)"

I don't know what Tolstoi would say were he to have listened in on our hours of interviews, read through the weekly letters that detail the transformation, but I think in the end he might conclude that missionaries are tried and challenged in many ways, but they are all healed, transformed and made better in the same ways-- only in and through the Atonement of Christ, the Author and Finisher (if not also the Prompter) of our salvation. Most certainly I have been.

Memorials and “Final” chapters

What we hope most to have accomplished in the few months we have lived, loved and wandered among the peoples of Vietnam is to have embodied in some way the example and teachings of Jesus Christ. Looking backwards as we now can on the paths we have taken in this journey, and more especially on the lives of the people we have met, loved and served, we see so many interesting stories, and so much of the sorrows, sadness and struggles of life, mixed wonderfully with moments of joy, happiness and fulfillment. As in Vietnamese cuisine, the sweet, spicy, salty, hot and savory, together with flavors and sensations not well described in English, come together to make a marvelous fusion of experiences that intensify and reinforce the feeling of satisfaction and fulness. So is life as a servant of God on a mission to bless his children. There are many flavors, textures and sensations that enrich us.

But unlike a meal which comes to a pleasing climax and resolves with a little “mouth decoration” as desserts here are termed, in a mission with real people and real lives, the course is often not finished and fulfilled by just one person. We are forced to put aside many books seemingly in mid-sentence, still hanging on what verb will dominate the remainder of the story and which object will be the consummation of the phrase. We know there are yet many chapters still to be written, twists and turns in plot and theme before the grand story is revealed and the Author’s mind and will are revealed.

We first met Brother Sharp two years ago on one of our first visits to the Mekong. We stayed in the village hotel, with it’s hard bed and the geckos prowling the walls for any insects that ventured in. We met him and his daughter at the head of the dirt path that lead in a kilometer or so to their home on the edge of the rice paddies. Flat and green, yet soured by a dry season that meant salt intrusion, those fields seemed in some ways a metaphor for their lives. He and members of his family had joined the church while living in Cambodia and had felt unity with the saints they met. They weren’t looking for “the true church” per se, but enjoyed the fellowship and accepted the doctrines. But when they moved back to Vietnam to resume work as the opportunities improved, they were far from the pleasures of that fellowship, and the dry ground invited other influences into their lives that soured the crop a bit.

So while they welcomed our visit, they had a different perspective on their spiritual needs at that time, and their affiliation with the larger international church didn’t seem essential to what they sought day to day. They prayed, they sang, they gathered together from time to time, security forces willing, and that was enough.

Our path took us back to their province 18 months later. Sudden losses had entered the family when a son-in-law had passed away suddenly, as though hit by lightening, and their daughter was now struggling to keep that arm of the  family going. As we shared their sorrows and thought about the blessings of being able to bear up the burdens placed on us, we invited them to consider whether temple worship might not offer them strength and comfort. Again we were warmly welcomed as friends, but understanding and hunger for the full plate of gospel blessings was still not evident. I had thought it unlikely following that visit that we would see them again. But circumstances can change.

While planning our trip for the Mission Branch conference this past weekend, word arrived that Brother Sharp had himself passed away and would be buried the following day. We couldn’t make the five hour trip for that, but determined to include a visit there in advance of the branch conference.

The last kilometer of the trip to the blue and white house was now paved in concrete, but the sun was still hot and much  of the path very exposed. The rice was again planted, now just showing sprouts for the first rainy season crop, the paddy partially flooded already from the first week of rain. We found the house, where now were two graves, one still in the final stages of construction, and the other completed but not fully adorned as a more prosperous setting might have required.

As we hugged, and held hands, shared faith and offered comfort a renewed sense of unity and a deeper desire seemed to arise in the hearts of not just the widow or her children, but also in the hearts and minds of their many friends to whom Bro Sharp had been the group minister, ex officio and pro tempore. “Will you come and bring us into the fold, we who have been cast out, and forbidden from meeting” by those in authority or of greater means, was the plea both spoken and implicit as we talked.

I had not ever dedicated a grave before, not in English, much less Vietnamese, but the blessing of comfort and hope from the ministering of authorized servants with priesthood keys, seemed clearly to have brought us there for that purpose, and through the accomplishment of that end, the beginning of a new chapter.

I have wondered how the spirit led early missionaries to Benbow farm where so many were waiting to receive the gospel and who became a vital infusion of strength and faith into the developing church. And I have wondered how missionaries found my ancestors living and working the farmland many, many miles from Stockholm or Uppsala. It is less a mystery to me now, as I see how farmboys from tiny villages in Nghe An become missionaries and then branch presidents, how the children of officers and magnates from distant towns and counties receive the gospel and rise up to bless their fellows and families as Zion is established. And I can see how the congregations of the faithful, through their prayers and entreaties, also bring the servants of God to their doors to minister, and comfort, and teach. It is only the beginning of course, and the many chapters and sequels yet to be written will no doubt be even more engaging and marvelous, but it is a tide of gathering, of refining, of building, that will not be turned back. And it will metaphorically turn the intrusion of salt that sterilizes the land into a salting of the earth that redeems and seasons the abundant harvest.

Wheat fields ready for harvest Simtuna, Sweden- Quê ngoại của tôi