Winter's come... but come ye back When Summers in the Meadow

Hello, dear loved ones, and HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!! I am grateful for all the mothers that have made the biggest impact of my life! I would list you but the list is far too long! It has been a good week! We had a Preach My Gospel study with the richmond sisters. It went well. Gained some revelation for our own area as well! We had lunch afterwords and walked through an ally back to our car. There was a graffiti ninja turtle.. had to take a picture! We aso had a zone service prject up in Katoomba, The Blue Mountains It was scenic and fun! Almost all of us trained up so Elder Moore & I had to take a picture at the station. I took a few pictures afterwords so I incuded ne for you!
   My core experience this week came from a song. A song I have listened to for a long time in my mission. A special rendition of "Danny Boy." It is not as sacred to me as some of the hymns I  have mentioned in previous e-mails, nonetheless it holds a special place in my heart. Some of the lyrics were a bit more symbolic recently. Let me share.

"O Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen and down the mountainside.
The summer's gone and all the roses falling.
'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide.
But come ye back when summer's in the meadow,
...
winter's come and all the flow'rs are dying,
And I am dead, as dead I well may be,
...
O Danny Boy, the stream flows cool and slowly;
And pipes still call and echo 'cross the glen.
...
So if you've died and crossed the stream before us,
We pray that angels met you on the shore;
And you'll look down, and gently you'll implore us
To live so we may see your smiling face once more"

There are a few points I seek to draw on here. The First, The summer is over here in Sydney. It is moving into winter and all the trees are dropping leaves and the flowers are starting to dwindle and die. So it is with my mission. The summer, or life and excitement, are a nearly over. I am on my "deathbed" here in the mission, my last area, my last week. But come yea back when summers in the meadow! In sandy Utah it is sunny and 75 degrees, the summer is beginning to burst and so are the flowers and bright colors. Indeed you could say LIFE is about to start. I recognize that this a the parable of my life. My time here is coming to a close, but I will return to a life that has just begun! The post-mission life. Do not worry, I am fixed to do all I can this week with my remaining time as a duly ordained minister of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! It was a thought I had and desired to share. The mission is a big parable of life, and I am returning to the spirit world to teach and uplift.
   SO once I've "Died," as we missionaries say, there will indeed be angels to meet me on the shore. Loved family members and friends. Some of which are shortly departing to serve missions. In a symbolic way, I pan to "look down and gently implore" them and the missionaries I LOVE still in their service, to serve so they may find success in and return from their missions honorably. I have grown in love largely for the up and coming generation of missionaries. Such life and excitement is found in them! There are great things in store! Inevitable death is no reason to slow down and enjoy the dying roses. I plan to serve well, and give it my all. I know the Lord will bless & guide us by the hand us as we evermore effectively Hasten his work!    Teaching as Jesus Taught. We have had a different spirit with us this week while teaching. I cannot pin it... Other than just following the spirit and teaching to needs. We were inspired by the fireside we attended recently and decided to teach abut trials in our lives. With every lesson it has had a different out come as the needs of the people changed and everyones trials were different. It has been a great week in teaching. I was blessed to be able to do the same with Elder Lonitenisi. He came up with the same lesson all n his own and it was just as powerful.

  SO much Love for all you mothers and Everyone! See you on Memorial Day Sunday! :) Ofa Atu!

   Love,       Elder Ford