Being carried by the Lord

God is our Father in Heaven. His Son is Jesus Christ. I know that both of these immortal Beings love us with an infinite and unconditional love. These simple facts alone provide so much reassurance. Please share them with those you love. There is nothing in life we go through that Jesus Christ hasn't already suffered as well. Jesus Christ is our shepherd. He yearns to rescue us in times of need and despair. All we have to do is humbly turn to Him.

I'm reminded of the common story of the footprints in the sand. A man is walking through life with Jesus Christ. In a trying time of life, he soon notices only 1 pair of footprints. Frustrated, he asks Jesus why did you leave me? Jesus responds, those were my footprints, I carried you. Jesus Christ will carry us if we let Him.

These thoughts are somewhat unorganized and random, but it's my testimony that we do have a Father in Heaven that we can pray to as frequently as we want. There are no prerequisites to pray. If you pray with a sincere heart, real intent, having faith in Jesus Christ, God will hear your prayers no matter who you are and what you've done. Pour out your soul to Him and He, along with Jesus Christ, will console you in any and every trial.

I say these things humbly in the name of The Prince of Peace Himself, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Missionary work during worldwide pandemic: New & Unique

So, Nick arrives to a mission at a time when, due to the corona virus, or COVID-19,

a national pandemic, has created the following:

• No church meetings
• Temples are closed
• People are supposed to stay home; no gatherings of more than 10 people
• Hand washing and sanitizing is #1 priority
• Many jobs are gone, businesses closed; restaurants only open for drive-thru
• Hospitals and medical personnel are working 24/7
• MTC's are not training new missionaries (they are closed temporarily)
• Many, many missionaries are going home if they have asthma or other lung, heart or immune weaknesses
• Missionaries are not leaving to begin missions until this passes

Missionary still in the field:

Cannot go in to peoples' homes to teach or meet

They are home (or apartment) bound

They can teach via computer or telephone

They are posting videos teaching, testifying and playing music to inspire viewers

Nick got his first Facebook account and is already inspiring people

His companion and he are both posting each week, inviting others to learn about Christ, to hear messages of peace and to learn about the Restoration of Christ's gospel.

Elder Buck & Elder Fullmer, 1st companion

When we got to Facetime with Nick

he and his companion and their 2 roommates

were shooting hoops at the church on their day off.

He lives with some BALLERS !

Bonus!

and he has enjoyed that his companion likes to cook. 

Here they are, ready to share the gospel, the Book of Mormon

and the plan of happiness

They live in an apartment on the west side of Las Vegas, near Summerlin (where Robyn's brother, Mac and family live). Nick wants to talk to everybody, but they have to practice "social distancing" due to the pandemic we are all living in right now...
more on that next post.

Las Vegas (West) Mission, here he comes!

Thursday morning (3/26) we got a text from Nick (via Google hangouts)

 that he DID finally get his temporary reassignment

LAS VEGAS WEST Mission

Leaving TOMORROW afternoon

He is SOOO excited!

Friday morning, we got this picture of Nick:

Train station in Provo, headed to the SLC airport

with 3 sisters who are supposed to go to the Hawaii Honolulu 

and / or the Hawaii Visitor's Center Mission (in Kona)

President Reece picked them up and took them to

Nick's favorite chicken restaurant: Cane's!

Then he took them to the Las Vegas temple

Nick's close friend, Jayden Moser, was in this mission with this president

and said that he is awesome! Nick already agreed!

DAY TWO:

Nick said, "Elder Fullmer and I just got back from a glorious run"

We are excited to hear what these two will do, especially 

with the quarantine most of us are in (all over the world)

due to the coronavirus.

Missionaries are coming home from foreign countries, coming home from all missions if they have any health problems. To be safe.

Missionaries who stay in the field are finding unique ways to share the gospel without

meeting with people in person. Let's see what they find!

MTC moments

 Chatting with Nick on p-day

Haircut from Hawaiian Elder

who gave Nick a fashionable "fade"

His district and teachers (sister on far right and brother in front)

Elder Balding and Nick (far left)

Elder Lee and Elder Ray, going to Iowa mission

Sister Smith and Sister Rutledge, going to Iowa

This teacher saw Nick's name and asked if he had a sister

Maddie's fame: he knew her at EFY about 5-6 years ago

(and hadn't forgotten her) ;)

Nick's district with teacher 

(Where is Nick?)

Nick met Elder Callister from St. George who was supposed to go to Canada; with the huge spread of COVID-19 (Corona virus), Elder Callister got temporarily reassigned to Atlanta, GA.

COVID-19 has changed the world in the 3 weeks:

Nick packed and was ready to go to Hawaii

Sunday March 22nd, he was ready to board his plane the next day.

Hawaii's governor put a halt to all the flights and visitors.

So Nick stayed with his district 2 more days.

His companion, Elder Balding, has asthma and was sent home for safety.

Two other missionaries from his mission went home for the same reason.

Nick joined another room of Elders and attended some classes with other districts 

once all the missionaries from Iowa had left.

Met his favorite teacher, Bro Edward Dube, from South Africa

Stayed tuned for Nick's temporary reassignment...

Elder Buck's last MTC letter

Alrighty, huge news! But first, a few items of business. Happy birthday to my grandpa, Pa Buck. Hopefully he sees this! Congrats to my cousin Josh Woods on getting his mission call to the Dominican Republic and to my other cousin Finn on getting his call to Thailand! This is a crazy time. And lastly, to all my friends on this email currently serving their missions that are being sent home or are already home because of the virus, I'm so sorry! That sucks so bad. Know that I love you and God has a plan for you. Everything will be okay. Trust the process. 

Sooo the huge news is, I was actually supposed to head to Hawaii earlier this week, but because of the virus that didn't happen. I found out this morning I've been reassigned to the Nevada Las Vegas West mission and I'm heading there tomorrow (Friday) afternoon. Coolest thing about it is one of my best friends, Jayden Moser, just served there from July 2019-December 2019! I'm excited to carry on his legacy but I know I have some big shoes to fill. If you know Jayden, you know he's got a heart of gold. 

This past Tuesday Shayne M Bowen of the Seventy gave a (prerecorded) devotional in which he shared that in a recent meeting, our prophet Russell M Nelson made this statement or something along the lines of it:

 "Prophets can see the future & it looks glorious." 

What an amazing statement. How blessed are we with a prophet called of God to lead us in this absolutely crazy time. General Conference should be really good and I invite each of you to tune in and watch it. 

In April 2017, Russell M Nelson said this. "It is mentally rigorous to strive to look unto Jesus Christ in every thought, but when we do, all of our doubts and fears flee." My challenge to you and myself as well is to do exactly that. Strive to look unto Jesus in every thought. I know this will bring great comfort, peace, and joy to your lives in this crazy time. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen!! Can I get an amen?! I love all 83 of you and only wish the best for you. Sin city here I come.

ELDER BUCK

MTC: Elder Andersen, Apostle visit

Every Tuesday, there is a devotional for all the missionaries at the MTC. 

Nick and his companion, Elder Balding, were notified to come to the main office on Monday night. They were told they would be having dinner with the speakers' grandkids the next night. They were NOT told who the speaker would be.

When Elder Andersen and his daughters and their children came in, Nick was pretty overcome with emotion. Elder Andersen was Ted's mission president in 1990-1992 in Bordeaux, France. Nick had met Elder Andersen 5 years ago at one of his dad's mission reunions. But this time was different. Nick was wearing the black name tag; he felt the miracle that he had been asked to 'chaperone' and 'host' this good man's grandkids. A man who had a tremendous impact upon his dad's life at the same age.

Here they are with Elder Andersen's grandkids.

Here is Nick and his companion, along with 2 other companionships that were asked to spend dinner and time with Elder Andersen's grandkids.

The BIG day: Checking in the Missionary Training Center!

WEDNESDAY, March 4th

The long awaited day has arrived!

Nick was packing and organizing for days. SO excited!

A very happy, long-anticipated day in his life, according to Robyn & Ted. :)

Robyn and Nick spent a month shopping for the best slip on shoes (Hawaiians don't wear shoes indoors, so his need to be easy on, easy off), the most light-weight suits, some gorgeous ties, etc.

Farewell to this home for now!

Loading up the truck!

We took a pit stop at our favorite smoothie shop: Tropical Smoothie Cafe

Nick looked so dapper! 

Wearing his Hawaii state pin on his jacket lapel

We took photos at the Provo temple while we waited for his 12:30 check in time.

Ok ok

The emotional drop off!

(only emotional for the parentals)

 Ted and I both were dropped off here within about 4 months of each other 

(unbeknownst to each of us)

Robyn, Nov 1, 1989 (San Bernardino, CA, Spanish speaking)

Ted, Jan 31, 1990 (Bordeaux, France)

 Now, it's Nick's turn!

A bunch of volunteer moms were there to welcome us

They made Nick feel special ;)

We dropped him off in a huge parking garage, lined with missionaries all waving.

One Elder was 'assigned' to Nick and welcomed him heartily.

It was so awesome!

Mom and Dad were a bit choked up as we left

But all smiles.

Pure gratitude