Talk Really Fast!

Jesus tells us in Matthew 18 that the angels of little children always behold the face of Heavenly Father.  In working to finish endless errands encroaching upon our time as we were preparing for Sunday, we asked our grandchildren to pray that we could finish our banking quickly enough to carve time to work on our talks. So at breakfast Friday morning, three-year-old granddaughter prayed that Grandma and Grandpa would say their talks really fast.  So, here goes!

(In Spanish, it is said, “¡Marcos, Listos, Fuera!” On your marks, get set go!)  So to start, we thank you for loving our children and our grandchildren; for nurturing Primary children we taught as they climbed under little chairs.  Now they walk to junior high, play the flute, bless and pass the sacrament and will receive eagle scout awards.

Some friends who are moving told us, “We treasure experiences with nearly every family!”  We thank you for choosing faith, for choosing to strengthen our brothers and sisters, in a higher holier way.   We are witnesses of what has happened to us.  Just as Alma experienced a mighty change of heart listening to and observing a remarkable example of Abinadi, we testify that rubbing shoulders with members of our family and neighborhood offers us courage and strength to attempt challenging things.

As we consider what helps us to deepen faith and be converted, we invite the Holy Ghost to teach us ways to grow incrementally to be responsible, beloved, trusted children of our Father in Heaven—disciples of the Savior.

Elder Bednar  teaches us there is a difference between having a testimony and being converted.

“Conversion is an enlarging, a deepening, and a broadening of the undergirding base of testimony... Conversion is an offering of self, of love, and of loyalty we give to God in gratitude for the gift of testimony.” (David A.Bednar,October 2012, Converted unto the Lord) 

In this offering, what will we do?  Will we “lift up handsthat hang down ?  Will we strengthen feeble knees?”   Will we be an answer to someone else’s prayers?  We find that such can take patience.  And be a process.  Perhaps we can share a piece of our journey on our “road to Damascus.”

Crows Landing Spanish branch petitioned to receive senior missionaries. And the missionary department approved a senior couple.  But senior missionaries are not easy to come by.  The missionary department and the branch needed to wait until someone applied. 

"...The ^aharvest truly is plenteous, but the ^blabourers are few;  Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” ( Matthew 9:37,38)

Someone prayed.  And someone listened.  On July 2, 2017, comfortable in his chair at church, Val Starkey felt a nudge: “It’s time.” The words came to his mind.  And he decided it was time to fill out mission papers. 

The nudge did not come to me.   Perhaps like Amulek in the Book of Mormon, I knew, but I would not know.  That week, celebrating the birth of our daughter’s twins, we drove to Nevada to visit, enjoy, assist and rejoice in the miracle Heavenly Father had sent to our family.  Perhaps like the brother of Jared and Lehi and his family on the beach next to the ocean, we can feel in our lives the lull of comfort. (The ocean is ahead. But what is the rush?) 

Not long afterward, preparing to slip into a Spanish session, I invited a  returned missionary sister to pray for me. 

“Why?”

“I am planning to ask the Lord if we should serve a mission.”

“You know what the answer will be!”  the sister assured me.

I didn't know.  But sincere prayers offer divine assurances.

How will I leave my children in need?  How will I leave my mother?  my grandchildren?  Luke 9:59-62 teaches about fathers to bury, friends to bid farewell.  Always there will be choices.

In September, at the Twin Falls temple, we attended the sealing of some friends from our Guatemala mission. Before the marriage, we explored the timing of a new assignment. (Can two walktogether, except they be agreed?)

We drove through Montana, more than eight hours out of our way to visit a Wyoming couple we had loved on our mission to Honduras, Clark and Carol Bassett, who had married later in life and decided to serve a mission.  Carol told us of fears and tears on their way to the missionary training center, explaining to the Lord that without a doubt, she could not learn Spanish!  The Bassetts began serving Central American friends by rounding up youth in the back of a pickup and teaching square dance. Five missions later, we observed a whole congregation stand to honor their choice to serve. 

After driving hundreds of miles of bare, dusty Wyoming roads, the same roads my father had driven 60 years before serving as counselor to his mission president, I awakened in a motel room in Gillette, Wyoming at 4 a.m. to complete the application.  During a visit with children in Seattle three months later, we received our call.  Four months after opening the call, we found ourselves in a "breadbasket" land, Central Valley, California.  Our first day, included a call to help with a pinewood derby.  The den mother (wife to a former branch president, serving as branch clerk) continues to be an angel that strengthens me. Our first six months, we visited, loved, encouraged, but knew the Lord could do more than we were doing.  

After a sacrament meeting following October conference,  I visited briefly with our branch clerk.  Elder Starkey was not feeling well and called from the car to ask when would I come? 

“Two minutes!”  

Three minutes later, I ran out the door. 

With the car nowhere in sight...  

What would I choose?  I could be upset, disappointed, miffed, hot under the collar. Or I could sit under the sycamore tree, write in my journal, and call home.  I don't know why that day I chose to sit quietly, to write, to call.  But a miracle happened as I sat under the tree.

Along sauntered a family of five. (I love when families walk together!)  I hailed them, and told them.   The family responded to my story about friends who served in the Bogotá mission office. They looked at my cell phone picture at temple in Central America.  And before long, they told me they were members of the church.  The father had worked in California for 18 years, away from his family.   The mother and children had barely landed in the United States.  Together at last!  But living in San Francisco was worrisome. We visited families who had lost their to its streets.  This family was looking for a home elsewhere.   That Sunday afternoon they found our little chapel in a farming community on the outskirts of a town of just over 20,000, but it was empty with spider webs on the doors.  They determined it to be abandoned and would have continued to search.  But Sister Starkey, sitting under the sycamore tree, invited: "We are here! We are here!  Would you like to be here too?"

As missionaries, we had searched continually with little success to find a rental for other families in need.  Offerings were scarce.  Prices were high.   But that very night, a member family alerted us of an acquaintance, a landlord, a member of the church in a neighboring city, that owned a house nearby, wishing to rent at a reasonable price. 

In just over a month, the whole branch met during a rain storm to welcome these Colombian friends, who got delayed for several hours.  We waited and swept, raked and waited longer.  The family eventually arrived.  And branch members stayed and stayed to clean and welcome this new family.

The father, a returned missionary of 20 years before to Oakland, soon accepted a call to become counselor to our branch president.  

The mother had joined the church on her 16^th birthday.  After her husband returned from his mission, the two were sealed in the temple and raised three remarkable children, ages 18, 11, and 7.  The eldest, Eric, loved music.  That first October day, Eric asked if I could teach him to play.  A beginner, he became an avid member of our piano class, sponsored by a generous stateside family disappointed by empty pianos and organs in chapels throughout the world, who had donated keyboards with materials to teach members interested in learning and serving. 

Eric practiced.  He learned quickly, but playing in front of people takes courage.  Gathering his wits, he played for the first time and announced after he had finished—"Sister Starkey, I lost my fear!”  Sister Davies is teaching us from Elder Andersen that faith is a decision.  Eric has a testimony, but he understands it takes patience, effort over time to “apply unto this gift.”  

During our last sacrament meeting Eric was sustained as our branch music chairman agreeing to accompany sacrament meeting weekly and encourage friends to participate.  One of these friends recently expressed to me that our serving is “like the Atonement. We are going to make mistakes, [but] it can still be good through Him, because of Him.”

Our district leaders taught us Elder Ballard’s  suggestion about making goals with simple words, namely:

RETURN (to His presence)

RECEIVE (eternal blessings)

In 2019, I have loved learning from Peter as we have studied “Come, Follow me.”  What brought Peter to the Savior?  How did he overcome choices that caused him to weep bitterly and go back to his former life? 

Can you and I learn to accept our Father’s plans for us?

Can we learn as Peter did, that because the Lord considers us to be His friends, we have a work to do—to abide in His love, to keep the commandments to love one another?  Peter allowed the Lord to show him his weakness.  He chose faith.  Faithful over a few things, Peter proved himself faithful to accept a chosen role to extend priesthood powers that bind us in faith to return and receive.

We learn that we also were “with Him from the beginning.” 

He tells us we are His friends and He has given us the kingdom.  So, explore with me a few questions:

What gifts will I choose to partake of? 

Nearly three years ago our Maria lost her driver’s license before a flight home from Texas. She needed her identity to get home.

What will we do today to remember who we are and what we have to do?  We have friends that climb mountains… Where can we go to find a much-needed, far-off view? Are we keeping our eyes open to watch a neighbor who is in need?  Are they open in seminary?  In the temple? Are we looking for God in our lives?  Are we reaching out to earthly angels?  Are we listening the songs that enter our minds to lead and guide us?  With our faith, are we dodging the temptation to deny the Savior our time and talents? 

I know God lives.  I know He is a Perfect Parent to a Son in whom He is well pleased. I believe God has a vision and hope for us to learn to please Him.  I testify that the Savior is our Friend, who loves us with perfect love.  I testify that Joseph Smith lacked wisdom and that in his lack, he requested understanding and wonderful things occurred—an opening of the heavens--what our prophet pleads for us to do—with increased purity, obedience, and efforts to love the words of Christ and the fulness of His gospel in the Book of Mormon.

I love my family.  I love my husband.  I love the history that the Lord is helping us to creating together.  I am grateful that it includes each of you.