Well, another month has past, and we are keeping busy and still enjoying the missionary work here in the Lupton area.

We saw the power of prayer at work on behalf of one of our members and Heavenly Father's tender mercies bestowed upon him. We also are even more cognizant of the power of Satan. If your guard is let down for even a brief moment, Satan will unleash legions of his minions to attack and pull you down even further.

I remember the talk by Pres. Monson, “Be Strong and of a Good Courage”, given in the last General Conference. He said, “We can help ourselves in our desire to do what is right if we put ourselves in places and participate in activities where our thoughts are influenced for good and where the Spirit of the Lord will be comfortable. I recall reading some time ago the counsel a father gave to his son when he went away to school: 'If you ever find yourself where you shouldn't ought to be, get out!' I offer to each of you the same advice. . .”

What can start out as a seemingly simple act of doing a good turn can rapidly deteriorate, and you can end up finding yourself in a place where you shouldn't ought to be and where the Holy Ghost can't help you. It can lead to disappointment, heart break, broken promises, and feelings of regret.

It seems as if Satan is working overtime on the special people in our area. We work with them, encourage them, and try to nourish them all we can; but in the end, we all have our agency and have to deal with the consequences of our choices.

The young girls that we were teaching went to Albuquerque for a couple of weeks. They are back now since school starts this week for them. We will be resuming the missionary lessons and continue to work with them.

Last week was a transfer week, so the new elders for Monument Valley arrived. They were both new to RV living (one has only five weeks left of his mission, and the other one had been out two days); so Owen wanted to orient them and check in with them. We headed out early Wednesday morning and before we even got to Chinle, the elders called and said their trailer was dead – no water, power, or gas. Not a fun welcome for you in a new area. It turned out to be nothing serious, just turning on the gas and water, and flipping a breaker for the power. Wish all the fixes were that easy.

On the way home we decided to stop and check with Chilchinbeto. Luck was on our side and the elders were home and reported no problems. From there we went over to Tsaile and had the same report. We drove 380 miles and made it home with 1 ½ hours to spare before Home Evening.

On the first we decided that rather than going out in the community, only to find no one home, we would go check the RV in Sawmill. The elders reported they weren't having any problems. Owen visited with them a few more minutes; and then as he was getting ready to leave, one of the elders mentioned they had a switch that felt hot when they touched it. Owen checked it out, and it was bad – a definite fire hazard. We made arrangements to meet the Housing Coordinator in Sheep Springs to pick up a new part. We decided to take the scenic route and go through Crystal and over the pass to Sheep Springs. Scenic is an understatement. It was a gorgeous ride up over the top of the mountain. We didn't even mind the extra miles to pick up the trailer part. We were just so thankful that once again the Lord let us know he is looking out for his missionaries.

We had a baby blessed in Church today. He is certainly a cute little guy. I think his hair is over two inches long already, and he is only six weeks old.

Our numbers have been sparse lately in Sacrament Meeting attendance. We had 19 people there when it was time to start the meeting. But eventually, we ended up with 35 people. I counted five children that I would have in Primary. But, when Primary time rolled around, their families had to leave. I actually got to attend Relief Society for a change.

Our mission is a definite adventure. We never know from one day to the next what new adventure or new challenge we will encounter, the new people we will meet, and the new places we will see. The Lord continues to stretch us, support us, and strengthen us as we serve among the beautiful Lamanite people.