Matthew 10:39 says "he that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sale shall find it"... In spite of sounding blasphemous I am changing the words for my own purposes this week in the "book of Nina" ... "he that loseth his sleep for my sake shall find it..." This week we are hoping that is true! It has been a long, productive, and grueling week! Sending missionaries home is always sad and inspite of our joy for their return to the "real" world, we miss them in the mission field! They leave a hole in our hearts AND... they leave a physical hole that is very real. For those that aren't family with our missionary program, all missionaries serve in companionships. When they return home the companionships have to be reorganized along with the geographical areas where they were serving. These changes also impact the housing so that part of our work is nevery really very stable. People are always moving around. Sometimes we need to open new apartments and sometimes we need to close them. Sometimes we need to move two of the four people living in a particular apartment into another apartment and sometimes it is four missionaries that open a new area! We LOVE our work..... but much like mothers.... our work is never "done" so there is LOTS of job security in what we do and sometimes not much sleep! This is one of those weeks where we ran hard this week and hoping somewhere in there to catch up on a bit of sleep! It was also Roy's 69th birthday, Audris birthday, Adams 40th birthday, Benjamin Grissom's (wonderful nephew), Alexa's (wonderful niece), AND Roy's brothers Dennis and Wes. Anyone interested in astrology recognized that creates a LOT of bull!!
The picture below is a VERY unique birthday cake. Without even knowing it, Sis Beesley our mission secretary, provided enough of the "hard stuff" to keep Elder Epperson awake during the MANY hours of driving this week. Thank you!
The below picture is a great snap of how many Filipinos can fit into/onto a Jeepny during rush hour! I tried to count but couldn't but there are probably more than 20 INSIDE and the outside number kept shifting with every stop!
Below is a picture of our Bishops two kids Sophia and Gabby. Gabby is wearing my newest FAVORITE musical tie and his lovely sister is wearing a pair of beaded socks I made her. Sis Fabroa is on the edge of the picture being shy! They are an incredible family and sang a song together in church today. The kids are always interested in what I'm crocheting that Sunday!
OK... this next picture is on the stall in every "nice" bathroom in a public place or in a church. I had no idea that such clear directions were required. The other sign I LOVE.... is the "don't pee here" sign. I keep forgetting to snap a picture when I see it but will include it soon.
Because I am tired, I am closing this entry early. It has been a wonderfully productive week. We got to catch up with our kids via phone/video calls. We got to see a FB video of Breck Bendall opening his mission call to Brazil! We got a GREAT video of Grace doing the most amazing, bouncy Russian dance I've ever seen, I got to see a homemade snake that Luke gave as a Mother's Day gift. I got to talk to most of the grandkids or at least hear them in the background. Sean did some Temple work for our family this week! Audra and Jim finally got a house in MO. Adam and Amelia survived a 40th birthday cruise,..... and more importantly, Sarah and Lahni survived the babysitting from that cruise! I have found several options for Landon's future wife as well a candidate for Lincoln (hee heee heee)! We are VERY sad we are missing the preparations for Jeffrey and Bailey's upcoming wedding, but in spite of missing some important events - We have much to be thankful for and we are happy doing the crazy work of our mission. We LOVE the Lord and when we think of His sacrifices, we are happy to get tired out in His service. Love to ALLLLL of you and may God bless you!
Below: Lincoln's betrothe"d Hyacinth"
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