March 2006
Monthly Archive
Here comes the Weekend
This has been a hectic and demanding week. I look so forward to the weekend and the chance to take a breather. With my change in church callings, the weekend just got a lot shorter. You see, being in a Branch Presidency or a Bishopric is very demanding responsibility. Sunday has just changed from being a day of rest to a day of demanding day of meetings, interviews, and the rest of the schedule altering activities. I have so much that I need to do before Sunday. Additionally, this week has been taken up by Financial Peace University, a financial seminar that I moderate for the church and the bank, Diabetes Management Seminar, that took two nights of review and attendance, and then finally, the normal Saturday weekend activities that always are important, but now take on a new importance. I just lost 2 days and nights of the week. Life just got a bit more challenging.
The Urge to Participate
I have this crazy urge, when I get in a service club, am in church meetings, or am in a civic setting to volunteer to do some big project. Part of the reason is because I want to be recognized. Part of the reason is that I want to provide civic or church service, and that brings me satisfaction. The major reason is perhaps that I feel a responsibility for anything that I truly believe in, to make things better, or to make sure they don’t get worse.
The problem is, I don’t have all of the time in the world. I load up all the time with more than I can handle, and then all I want to do is retreat into a corner in my world where I cannot be touched. Am I an introvert or an extrovert? I think that I am naturally an introvert and this causes even more stress.
With my diabetes, I am supposed to avoid stress. I had to sit on my hands today at a meeting of the Kiwanis Club because I wanted to volunteer to get right into the middle of a big golf tournament. The problem is, I have volunteered to help on the Nebo Economic Summit, have a new church assignment, and still I need to be actively part of my home life. What is the matter with me? I need to slow down, take less stress, and be willing to cherish more satisfaction with what I am doing now.
Diabetic Bootcamp Revisted
Went last night with the wife to a Diabetic Management Workshop Seminar, the same one that I attended about a year ago after being diagnosed as being diabetic. It wasn’t nearly as scary and hard to sit through as last year. I think now having had the disease for a year I am understanding it a little more, and while it can still be scary, I have come to live with it a little better.
Don’t ever allow yourself to get this chronic disease if you can prevent it through exercise, diet control, and and self discipline, but your life will not end. I hope to live a relatively long life if I can.
Well, rejected again!!
The following was published in the Church News recently:
New and returning mission presidents
Assignments for 108 missions announced
Published in the Church News – March 4, 2006
Mission Presidents for 108 missions
(Total number of missions — 341)
New President Returning President
NORTH AMERICA
California Oakland James C. Beck Robert L. Bauman
California San Fernando Robert L. Goodrich Robert E. Lee
California San Francisco W. James Keller Jerald L. Wagstaff
California Santa Rosa Charles C. Stoddard Cammon I. Arrington
Canada Calgary Gene F. Priday Hal A. Gardner
Canada Halifax S. Gardner Jacobsen A. Brice Gurney
Canada Winnipeg Judd D. Morgan Melvin J. Marion
Florida Tampa Clark A. Davis Kenneth G. Hutchins
Georgia Atlanta H. Warren Mathusek Steven J. Lund
Idaho Pocatello K. Brent Somers Colin H. Bricknell
Illinois Chicago North William H. Stoddard Philip B. Rowley
Maryland Baltimore T. Dean Moody Richard B. Cannon
Massachusetts Boston Edward C. England Paul H. Thompson
Mississippi Jackson Parker J. Fuhriman Dale R. Blake
Montana Billings Craig G. Fisher G. Rex Frazier
Nebraska Omaha Jan E. Newman Rodger D. Galland
Nevada Las Vegas West Douglas M. Andrus Jr. Bruce Smith
New York New York City North Richard M. Searle Nelson M. Boren
New York New York City South To be announced Jeffrey R. Morrow
New York Utica Jay W. Eckersley Thomas E. Mullen
North Carolina Charlotte Brad R. Hobbs Robert E. Noel
North Carolina Raleigh W. Budge Wallis I. Daniel Mabey
Ohio Cleveland Kenneth V. Peterson A. Robert Motzkus
Oklahoma Tulsa Kent M. Seal W. Durrell Nielsen II
Pennsylvania Harrisburg Donald E. Pugh Neils F. Ludlow
South Dakota Rapid City Joseph S. Cannon Russell T. Osguthorpe
Texas Houston South Calvin W Allred Fredrick J Lee
Utah Ogden Peter L. Joyce Wynn R. Dewsnup
Utah Provo Harold C. Brown R. Bruce Merrell
Washington D.C. South B. Jackson Wixom Jr. Richard T. Bretzing
Washington Spokane David R. Clark Kevin L. LudlowSOUTH AMERICA
Argentina Bahia Blanca Raul H. Spitale Luis Wajchman
Argentina Neuquen Carl L. Cook C. Gary Sorensen
Brazil Belem Roger D. Hoggan R. LeRoy Layton
Brazil Belo Horizonte Daniel K. Frei Robert K. Merrell
Brazil Belo Horizonte East P. Randy Johnson Marco A. Rais
Brazil Porto Alegre North J. Douglas Whisenant Benedito S. Antunes
Brazil Porto Alegre South Ren S. Johnson Craig W. Earnshaw
Brazil Salvador South Getulio W. J. Silva Nelson C. Aidukaitis
Brazil Sao Paulo East Craig D. Wilkins James D. Urry
Chile Concepcion South Jorge F. Zeballos Michael L. Hawkins
Chile Santiago East Sofocles E. Moran Bradley R. Wilcox
Chile Vina del Mar Gerardo J. Wilhelm Darl J. Andersen
Colombia Bogota North Hernando Camargo Jose V. Larrea
Colombia Bogota South Rene Arturo Martinez Edgar A. Mantilla
Paraguay Asuncion Matthew G. Bradley Eduardo Gavarret
Peru Lima Central Jeffrey C. Elmer Spencer L. Weston
Peru Lima South Francisco W. Fierro Theodore S. Jackman
Peru Piura Carlos A. Solis Cesar H. Hooker
Uruguay Montevideo Frederick H. Ashby Jorge F. Betancourth
Uruguay Montevideo West Lewis C. Bankhead Hernan I. Herrera
Venezuela Barcelona Alexander Mestre Gamaliel D. Osorno
Venezuela Maracaibo Fidel Alberto Coello Teodoro Hoffmann
Venezuela Valencia Abraham E. Quero Omar A. Alvarez
PHILIPPINES
Philippines Bacolod Dany T. Daquioag Boyd K. Mounteer
Philippines Baguio Eleazer S. Collado D. Ray Thomas
Philippines Laoag Mark L. Lewis Jerry W. Hatch
CARIBBEAN
Dominican Republic Santiago Richard W. Thomas J. Devn Cornish
Haiti Port-Au-Prince To be announced Curtis L. Giles
Jamaica Kingston David W. Gingery LeRoy R. Turner
West Indies Reid A. Robison Hendrik Dorenbosch
PACIFIC
Australia Adelaide Robert E. Quinn R. Scott Strong
Australia Sydney South Brent W. McMaster John G. Elmer
Papua New Guinea Port Moresby Tevita Funaki Hori T. Tarawhiti
MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA
Costa Rica San Jose Luis Ricardo Arbizu Manuel F. Acosta
Honduras Comayaguela Sergio A. Gomez Jose M. Merino
Mexico Cuernavaca Wayne L. Gardner New mission
Mexico Guadalajara South To be announced Juan Soriano
Mexico Hermosillo Omar Villalobos Steven N. Holdaway
Mexico Mexico City South Gary B. Doxey Steven C. Meek
Mexico Monterrey West Ernesto R. Toris Timothy S. Evans
Mexico Tampico Brian H. Moss+ Dean H. Curtis
AFRICA
Madagascar Antananarivo Ricardo V. Gaya David K. Harmon
Mozambique Maputo Blair J. Packard Lynn P. Wallace
Nigeria Enugu W. Blair Garff Jerry L. Nelson
Nigeria Ibadan Steven G. Dyreng B. Taylor Harper
Nigeria Lagos Chad L. Evans Russell K. Booth
Nigeria Uyo J. Wayne Brockbank Stanford B. Owen
Zimbabwe Harare Andre Bester Joseph A. Jenkins
ASIA
Cambodia Phnom Penh Robert W. Winegar David J. Towers
China Hong Kong Lee H. Van Dam Ted H. Ong
Japan Fukuoka David B. Iwaasa Kelend I. Mills
Japan Tokyo North Allen F. Hill Henry J. Eyring
Korea Seoul Man Goo Cho Brian L. Sellers
Micronesia Guam Gary L Marshall Phillip G. Pulsipher
Singapore Bryan Skelton Gary L. Larkins
Taiwan Kaohsiung William S. Hsu Wen-Tsung Chou
Taiwan Taipei Norman S. Nielson Anthony D. Perkins
Thailand Bangkok Karl L. Dodge Scott F. Hansen
EUROPE
Belgium Brussels/Netherlands Paul R. Woodland Kevin S. Hamilton
Bulgaria Sofia Blair S. Bennett Jeffrey P. Johnson
Cape Verde Praia Ronald C. Tolman Romeo A. Piros
England Birmingham Richard W. Moffat Christopher B. Munday
England London Clayton F. Foulger Benjamin E. Banks
England London South Jeffrey C. Swinton Richard B. Kinnersley
Germany Berlin K. Gunter Borcherding Erich W. Kopischke
Greece Athens John Galanos+ John B. Ludwig
Hungary Budapest G. Walter Gasser Douglas R. Clement
Norway Oslo Lynn J. Poulsen Per Gosta Malm
Portugal Lisbon Craig B. Terry Paulo C. Amorim
Portugal Porto James F. Henry Wess R. Greene
Russia Moscow South Philip L. Collins Viktor A. Solomein
Russia Rostov Michael A. Harrison Albert Y. Aumeister
Scotland Edinburgh Lynn L. Summerhays William C. Vriens Jr.
Spain Barcelona W. Christopher Waddell John L. Watson
Spain Bilbao Kenneth L. DuVall Claudio D. Zivic
Spain Las Palmas Mission consolidated Laurie B. Craig
Spain Madrid Brad W. Farnsworth Ronald G. Davies
Switzerland Geneva Paul T. Peterson Stephen D. Nadauld
Totals
Caribbean — 4
Philippines — 3
North America — 31
Europe — 19
Mexico/Central America — 8
South America — 23
Pacific — 3
Asia — 10
Africa — 7
My comment is, where is my name?
I must be crazy. This goes back to the compulsive comment that I made the other day. I would love to be a Mission President in my home land of Taiwan. I know we have been taught not to covet church positions, but of all the positions I have coveted, I would love to be a Mission President in Taiwan. What great missions, and what great people. Some day, maybe Bonnie and I will have an opportunity to go back there and be a couple missionary. That would be an awesome experience. I love the Chinese people and I love China.
Best Friends
Well, Bonnie and I went to the Se Llama Peru restaurant in Provo last night for dinner. Two comments I have to make. First, the both of us recently decided we were going to try a lot of different types of foods and cuisines. This has been fun. I want to be adventuresome and try something different to eat. We have found at least three new places we really like to go and eat. The food, well, it is different, but has been tasty. We have determined we are going to continue to try and go to someplace new, particularly any new ethnic places. In this one category, Provo is an excellent place because there are so many returned missionaries here, having been in far away lands, and they will eat at real authentic places, giving these places a chance to stay in business long enough for Bonnie and I to check them out.
Secondly, its fun doing things with your best friends. My lovely wife is my best friend and I love doing these types of things with her. My children, certainly are up their on the list. Their spouses are my children too, and I love them all. Mothers and fathers are my best friends too and I enjoy their company so much.
I probably sound maudlin, but I must say that I really look forward to social events with my family because they are all so special, and my best friends.
The Long, Twilight Struggle
I have been talking to a lot of people recently about loosing weight. I am still in that process, having dropped now down a considerable amount over where I was at my heaviest. It is such a struggle and a constant battle. This weight thing is something that we all should watch and something we all want to ignore. Unfortunately, and I am a testimony of this, it does not come off unless you make a tremendous effort to take it off.
I had to face a crisis to begin my trek. I hope any readers of this blog won’t wait as long, or wait for complications like I did. I feel better about what I weigh, but I also know that I will face a struggle every day of my life, for the rest of my life, to keep my weight in control. I still want to go down another 30 pounds that is proving the hardest thing in my life that I have ever done.
Whimsical& Who Am I03 Mar 2006 06:13 am
To Much Clutter
I have an obsessive compulsive personality, at least I think I must have one. I was called as the 2nd counselor in our church Bishopric on Sunday, which immediately is causing my schedule to become much fuller than it has been. I have been through this twice before, know that this is probably a four year commitment, and know that it means at least Wednesday nights, and maybe another night during the week, have just disappeared off of my personal free night list.
In spite of all of this, as I discussed with Bonnie last night, I keep feeling this compulsion to apply for a spot on the city Planning Commission. First, it is something I have never done and something that would be interesting. Second, I would be able to give some public service. Third, I feel compeled to do it. I went over to a meeting at the city offices the other day, and found myself asking for an application despite knowing that I would have an immediate conflict. Above and beyond this, I am also moderating a Financial Peace University class for the church and the bank on Thursday nights. I don’t know what compels me to do these things, but my life is always a crisis of schedule and how to get things done. I have got to change it somehow.
I must be crazy. My life is too cluttered already.
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