April showers bring aMAYzing flowers

April showers in Jersey brought lots of flowers in May.  This area continues to be beautiful.  The leaves are back on the trees which make the freeways very enjoyable to travel. Azaleas are blooming everywhere and the dogwood trees are lacey and pretty with blossoms galore.  I want to plant those in our Utah yard. The animals have appeared once more.  We have seen chipmunks, squirrels, large ugly ants, really cute rabbits, and even a red fox trying to cross the road.  Saw us coming and ran back into the woods.  And we are staying out of the woods!  No ticks for us!

As for our health, Jon is still alive!  He is still having some back issues and post-surgery pains but he says nothing too serious.  He overdoes, of course, and I try to hold him down but the old saying holds, “You can’t keep a good man down”. As for me, the ankle is healing just fine and we both love riding the chair lift together!!! It makes an amazing picture to say the least.

            We continue to enjoy serving in New Jersey.  It really is an amazing place.  Everyone tells us it is an amazing place.  “It gets a bad rap, you know!”  Well, I guess it can have a bad rap when Newark gets the reputation for the most cars stolen in the United States over New York City and LA combined! I would say that is quite bad.  They can have a car stolen and in one night it is taken to NYC, stripped and smashed before the night is over. HA! But who is talking cars and crime here!  We’re talkin missionary work and baptisms.  We baptized 38 people last month! Now call that amazing!  One of our missionaries told us “I was in the water waiting for this 10 year old to come down the stairs so I could baptize him.  Well, he jumped in and started swimming underwater around me. I had to grab him, pick him up and say, ‘It’s time to be baptized’!” He thought it was time to swim.  We have been able to see many enter the water!  It NEVER gets old. Especially for me because I was used to seeing only 8 years and now to see converts every week truly is a tender experience.  Watching our missionaries dressed in white and baptizing those who they have been so diligently teaching accept the gospel is truly very touching.  A sister today who bore here testimony said, “I will never forget how I felt when I came up out of the water.”  Being baptized as an 8 year old is a little different, I must say.  I am grateful that I have had the gospel my whole life. But when I witness those individuals smile as they go down and many who come up crying, filled with such joy I am a little envious of the experience they have just had.  I was much like the young 10 year who wanted to swim.  It was fun, enjoyable, exciting and why not, it should be!

            Jon and I finished off April by attending the Mission Presidents Seminar in Washington DC. 26 other Missions met together to be trained.  What a great trip.  It wasn’t a vacation for we were in meetings all day (good ones I might add) but it was nice to see a few of the sights our last night.  Our previous blog has pictures of going to the Lincoln Memorial.  What a spiritual feeling is there.  It is peaceful, quite sacred, and in fact, the city was quite stirring emotionally. We were amazed! Taking pictures in front of the White House was always on our bucket list so we did.  It was impressive to see. The police are in front 24/7 and the roads surrounding the house are no longer accessible due to the Oklahoma Bombings.  Each memorial was lit up and beautiful.  Hope to go back there some day.  It was great to be with all the mission presidents and their wives in our area.  The owner of Café Rio is in our group and treated several of us to the restaurant in DC.  He was a rock star there and the employees treated us like royalty.  The Nilsons are great people.  I asked them if they had shipped out Café Rio to their missionaries for a dinner and they said  “Of course”  Wow spoiled…but then we brought out Alex to entertain so we couldn’t say too much!

            Jon and I had a chance to go to Harmony, Pennsylvania, the sight of the Restoration of the Priesthood with our senior missionaries.  It was a beautiful day, peaceful and quiet along the banks of the Susquehanna River. A CES teacher told the story of the appearance of John the Baptist and Peter, James and John to restore the priesthood to Joseph.  Jon and I felt much like we did in Nauvoo and Jerusalem, we were walking on sacred ground.

            We then had a Mission Department Tour.  Two brethren came, Brother Drubay (who works with Christian Pulfer (childhood friend of our children) surprise, surprise…Christian worked on the billboard in NYC with Brother Drubay) and Brother Steinagel.  They were terrific!  They taught and trained us in so many ways using Preach My Gospel.  It was nice to be told that our mission is going forward and on the right track, that President Jeppson has caught the vision of what he is supposed to be doing and teaching it!  But of course….I am not biased in any way.  Who would not want to be taught by President Jeppson.  He is amazing! Brother Drubay got the missionaries pumped up by showing new Mormon messages and discussed more of what is happening in the media for the church.  In fact, at the mission presidents seminar, we too, were shown what is happening with the media.  The missionaries are to be on the Internet and become acquainted with LDS.org/ Mormon.org/Family History/LDS Newsroom. Time is to be given during the week for missionaries to get on these sights and use them.  With the presidential campaign, TV shows, media, etc., they want missionaries and members to be aware of what is coming!!  We were told at the seminar “for those presidents who have 2 ½ more years, buckle up! It is going to be a ride”. Simply aMAYzing isn’t it?

Miss and love you all, Dad and Mom, Jon and Bonnie, President and Sister Jeppson NJMM

All mission conference with Elder Jay Jensen

Spring has Sprung and so have the ticks!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.  It is so beautiful here in New Jersey.  Sorry Utah, but I think it is just a little prettier here in the spring.  The trees are in full bloom along the highways, flowers and colorful bushes everywhere and little Bambis and bunnies abound all over.  We even have a skunk lurking about in the day.  Does that mean it’s a sick one???  AND since we had a very mild winter with not much frost, the ticks and mosquitoes were not killed off. So they have sprung as well, earlier than usual and so we are all in for an exciting season.  We are purchasing Deet protection in abundance and strictly told the missionaries to stay out of the forest and all the grassy areas.  The ticks here are as tiny as poppy seeds!  Doesn’t that just sound fun?  For someone who swells up with mosquito bites I am also looking forward to these little creatures living with us.  Between the ticks, mosquitoes and bed bugs we have a lot of friends here on the East coast!

            We have had some beautiful Easter Cantatas in several of the wards and seen colorful Easter eggs hanging from many trees!  Conference was, of course, the best.  I do miss being in Utah for conference.  Watching from the computer or at the church at 12:00 and 4:00 is not the same.  Priesthood from 8:00 to 10:00 was very different for us also.  But the Spirit of the conference is so great no matter where you are and lifts, builds and motivates us

             This week we had our zone conferences.  It is great to be with all the missionaries. There is always a special spirit and atmosphere when they come together. Even though it is a lot of planning, zone conference is always spiritual and fun.  We are having a month of consecration.  Jon taught the atonement and consecrating yourself more.  The missionaries love hearing from him. He is an amazing teacher. We discussed ticks of course, the importance of exercising, beautiful music and videos were enjoyed, yummy lunches and games of course. We sang:

“Do as I’m doing, exercise each day. Do as I doing. It’s the only way.  If you exercise you’ll know.  You’ll be fit and on the go! Do as I’m doing and you will soon see.  Do as I’m doing. You’ll be so healthy.”  Great times together for sure.

Tomorrow we go to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty with the departing missionaries and then Jon and I are headed to Washington DC for the Mission Presidents’

Seminar for 4 days.  When we return we will be having a mission tour with members of the missionary department coming in to teach us, followed by a new group of incoming missionaries

            We have seen many enter the waters of baptisms.  It is always a very tender sight.  The member giving the baptism talk today expressed thoughts that “being baptized is burying your old life, your sins and weaknesses and as you come out of the water you will begin a new life with a clean slate.” Do you often wish you could be baptized again?   The look of joy and fulfillment on their faces is such a tender experience for all to witness.   Jon sang “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief” today at one of the baptisms.  The missionaries all want him to put it on a CD.  Very flattering!  He is doing well.  Still gets very tired and sore but what’s new?  That is our life! We are glad that we are back in the saddle riding again, no galloping non stop!

And for the finish.  I just thought Jon was getting way too much attention and so as I was coming off the stand at zone conference I missed the bottom step and went flying in the aisle and rolled my ankle.  Yes..black, blue and very swollen.  Jon just got off of crutches and I got on them.  So even though Spring has sprung here, I was “TICK”ED to be laid up for a few days!  Love and miss you all…Dad and Mom, Jon and Bonnie, President and Sister Jeppson.

Back at it and Just in Time!

      Yes, Jon and I arrived back in the mission field on Sunday, March 11, 2012.  We adjusted to Mountain Standard time, just in time to go back to Eastern Standard time, losing an hour with Daylight Savings time.  We are tired all the time.  But so glad to be back in time to interview our departing missionaries and give hugs and well wishes as they begin a new phase in their lives.  We literally hate to see the missionaries leave for home, even though we know it must happen.  It is bitter sweet for us.  We grow to love each of them so much, as if they are our own.  They leave and we feel a hole in our hearts for them.  We know we will never see some of them again during our earthly lives.  But time marches on!  The new missionaries arrive and it begins anew.  This most recent time, however, dates were mixed up at Church Travel and arriving missionaries had to take a red-eye flight to make it to New Jersey on time to meet their new companions.  Upon arrival they were a tired bunch of missionaries.  But they pressed forward and are now spending time in their new areas preaching the gospel and learning as fast as possible.

        We are now in the process of getting back at it and having Jon finish recuperating here at the mission home.  He felt he could lay here on the couch just as he was back home!  I just need to make sure that’s where he stays for the next 2 weeks. (As if that is going to happen) But he is trying.  The missionaries have been very good at not calling unless there is an emergency and they have allowed him to rest.  We had two very capable seniors shepherd the mission while we were away.  They did a remarkable job in taking care of everything that needed to be done.  We also had a nurse that just arrived 3 weeks before we left to go to SLC, so she took over medical.  She wondered why she had been called to New Jersey and after this discovery with Jon realized why she was here.  She is amazing and has helped our missionaries with several medical issues. We also have 2 mission attendants who completely took care of feeding the missionaries at meetings and trainings. They told me “No missionary will go hungry on our watch!” Plus very willing, capable, talented assistants who took charge as well. And since we have the best, most obedient missionaries in the church, who we trust completely, we had no worries.  We had tremendous work done and the baptisms still went forward.   So you can see, while we spent time away, the mission was run in a timely manner.  We had no worries!  The Lord took care of everything.

            We wanted to thank all our family, friends, members of our stake at home, members of the stakes/district and temple district in New Jersey and Manhattan and all the mission presidents and missionaries in the North America Northeast Area, the missionary department in Salt Lake, our IFR, our area authorities, all the doctors and our wonderful missionaries for their love, fasting and prayers in our behalf.  We so appreciate all you have done.  We felt your love and prayers.

            It’s time to look forward to upcoming district and zone council meetings, General conference, zone conferences, mission tours with visiting authorities, interviews, and time spent with our missionaries.

            Leaving New Jersey with a sick president, a daughter high on morphine with kidney stones, a daughter who was grieving from the loss of a stillborn baby and arriving to a grandson with severely burned hands in Utah, we knew we were in for quite a time! But the Lord’s tender mercies were upon us.  We know things happen for a reason! For us, there was never a week in time like that!

            And today, once again in New Jersey, witness a baptism of a husband baptizing his wife to unite their family in the gospel.  They had a tender embrace in the font. It’s good to be back.  Looking to more great times ahead, love to all….Dad and Mom, Jon and Bonnie, President and Sister Jeppson, New Jersey Morristown Mission

Miracle of the Wall Sit

 Well, what a surprise! As if we haven’t had enough since we got to New Jersey. 

Jon and I chose a certain district meeting to attend in January and the district leader talked of setting goals and had everyone do a wall sit (an exercise sitting against the wall as if you are in a chair) and see who could do it the longest.  The winner would get a new tie for the elder or new scarf for the sister who won. Well, we decided we should join in the fun and participate. I needed to answer the phone but Jon continued to compete.  Afterwards he mentioned how sore his leg and back were and I thought for sure he had re-injured his back from 15 years ago.  He had to get an MRI which did tell us he had problems with discs but also showed he had a mass in his kidney which should not be there.  After many tests we found that, yes, he needed to have surgery to remove a tumor in his kidney.  Had he not done the wall sit we would never have found the tumor and upon returning home in 2 and half years he would have been in big trouble.  So we consider the wall sit a miracle for Jon’s health.   Elder L. Tom Perry came to visit us and said, “Well, Jon I thought we sent you on a mission to convert the people of New Jersey.  We didn’t know we were sending you on a mission to save your life!”  So we are very grateful for everything that took place except for the pain and recovery which has not been great.  We are anxious to return to Jersey and be with our missionaries as soon as we can.  It is amazing how much we love and miss them. 

            We had a wonderful day, however, just before we left.  Elder Jay Jensen our area authority came and did a one day mission conference with our missionaries.  Elder Jeff Olsen (who I dated in high school) also attended.  We had a great morning of instruction and teaching.  We told the missionaries about Jon’s upcoming surgery and they all were very tender, loving and supportive. Then Elder Jensen and Elder Olsen gave Jon a wonderful blessing following the meeting.  We felt calm and peaceful.  Afterwards he talked to our girls for a while and let them ask questions.  Our girls had flown in for my 60^th birthday.  It was a complete surprise.  It was wonderful to have them in Jersey!  We had some time together and it lifted spirits after the not so good news we had received and went through the week before.   But it was a surprise and that is what we are getting used to as we serve.  There are always surprises.  One day an elder called and said our investigator wants to be baptized today! After many years she decided that, that day was the day she wanted.  Jon needed to interview her, drove an hour and had a sweet interview and they baptized her right after. It was an unexpected, happy surprise.

        So we are here in Salt Lake recuperating and continue to have surprises.  Life is full of them isn’t it?!?  Thank you all for you love and prayers.  Now that is not a surprise. We have such great, supportive family and friends we know will always be there! We love you, Dad and Mom, Jon and Bonnie, President and Sister Jeppson