Dear Family and Friends: Happy holiday greetings from Orlando!
It will be one year in February since we left Whittier; having been called by the Prophet, Ezra Taft Benson,
to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The time has gone quickly.
You know we were really fortunate in being called to serve. My sister Clara and I have serious phyysical
problems. She and her husband, AlDean, were however inspired that we could still fulfill a mission if we could
get approval from the Church to serve as a foursome -- Clara, AlDean, Mack and me.
It was Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve that came to our rescue. Had it not been for him, we
would not have received this blessing. He was impressed with our proposal that we function as a foursome; in fact,
calling it an unique idea.
It was not long after Elder Maxwell became our intercessor that we, as a foursome, received a our call from
the Prophet to serve in the Florida Tampa Mission for a period of one year. We were thrilled and excited about
where we had been called.
We entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah on February 10th and were involved for 2 1/2 weeks in
a training program designed to prepare us as effective representatives of the Church. The experience was very
educational and most inspirational. The frequent visits of the General Authorities and their counsel to us were
experiences we'll never forget -- those men are truly endowed.
It was also a sight to remember as 1800 young missionaries and over 180 married couples stood in the large assembly
hall and recited in concert the Fourth Section of the Doctrine and Covenants.
While at the Mission Training Center we stared with the Washburns in their home just a few blocks from the center.
We were royally treated and blessed by the hospitality of this good couple.
After we finished our training we loaded up both of our cars and departed Provo for Florida. After about 5 das we
reached Tampa. Although we were assigned to the Florida Tampa Mission, our area of service was in Orlando. It was here
we found attractive and comfortable facitities for the four of us. The area is called Lake Pinelock Village and comprises
over 300 units with strong security protection. I always feel safe and secure as I take my evening walks. I may not look
too great, but the lizards, frogs, and cats don't seem to mind how I look or walk. The members of the Bumby Ward, to which
we were assigned, also seem to be getting used to me. We love them and the work of our mission. It is so rewarding to have
someone respond to our teching and accept the blessings of the Gospel.
Wheneve we are inclined to complain, we think of the message in Alma 29:1-8, which reads, in part: "O, that I were an
angel and could have the wish of mine heart... but behold I am a man and do sin in my wish for I ought to be content with
the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me..."
While we were together the four of us enjoyed studying and proying together and in sharing our thoughts concerning our
assignments. We also shared cooking responsibilities; each couple every other week. Doing dishes and cooking was not a favorite
duty for any of us -- it was and still is the 'Pitts'!
We are busily involved in teaching the Gospel to whomever is responsive and when not engaged in bearing testimony of the
rewards of the Gospel, we assist as home teachers in the ward -- so many families have not had home teachers for years.
The Mission President, when we first arrived in the mission was L. Lionel Kendrick -- truly a valient servant of the Lord.
His slogan, when counselling the missionaries, was "You are not just good; in fact you're not even just the best, you are better
than the best!" After singing the "Florida Tampa Mission Song" and hearing his slogan, I really felt a spirit of enthusiasm and
I truly was "better than the Best."
President Kendrick was called, the first of July, as a General Authority in the First Quorum of the Seventy. During the general
conference in October he gave his first addres to the entire church as a General Authority -- it was exciting to us.
President Kendrick's successor is L. Vern Albright. Not long after he arrived the bomb hit! I was devastated! The Washburns
were asked to transfer to Brandon which is about 80 miles from here. The president wanted them immediately so within two hours
they were packed and on their way. After having been together for six months, I had a difficult time adjusting until I convinced
myself that the transfer as truly a call from the Lord. Soon after the Washburns were transferred to Brandon, their youngest son
came to live with them.
After the shock of having the Washburns move subsided, we seemed to do more and better missionary work -- enough to convinc
us once again that the transfer was the work of the Lord.
At the end of August our, Greg, was here for a few days. His visit was surely a highlight. We went to the Epcot Center and
Cypress gardens, but the best of all just having him here was a great blessing. We are surely looking forward to the visit of
our son, Kent, his wife, Sue, and their two children, James and Michelle, at Christmas. Their comimg will ease, somewhat,
being separated from all our children and grandchildren during this holiday season.
We've had some unusual and very eventful experiences during our mission. Probably the most exciting an incident that could
have had tragic results, was the one in which a Baptist minister threatened Elder Washburn with a firearm. This incident arose
because we had protested the printing and the distribution by this minister of anti-Mormon literature that was grossly untrue.
The tracts were slanderous and he knew it, but his defense of the lie was to resort to the waving of a handgun.
An interesting day -- one among many -- was one which we spent at the Church Welfare Ranch near St. Cloud. The ranch covers
350,000 acres and has on it abundant wildlife including alligators, wild pigs, deer, and all kinds of colorful birds. The ranch
is also heavily stocked with cattle and, each year, markets in excess of 50,000 beef animals.
We were at Cape Canaveral in September, just prior to the launching of the Discovery spacecraft -- a truly beautiful and an
unforgetable sight. We, the original foursome, enjoyed a three day excursion to the Florida Keys over the Thanksgiving Holiday.
It was a different kind of Thanksgiving that the customary roasting of a turkey and being with the family.
We are going to miss our mission, however it will be good to be home. The difficulty, if there are any difficulties, in
serving a mission is being away from ones' children, their wives and husbands, and twenty-two grandchildren. We visit them
often by telephone.
A mission, in many ways, may be a sacrifice, yet it is the kind of sacrifice that brings forth the riches of heaven. The
sacrifice of leaving home, family and friends -- something good for something better for the Gospel is true. Never have we
had that truth manifested to su more than during the time we've been here. It is our witness to you that the Church is true;
that Jesus Christ is our Saviour and that Joseph Smith is the Prophet through whom the Gospel was restored in these latter
days! We further testify to you that God, our Father, has always communicated to his people, through his servants, the Prophets!
Christmas is a beautiful time of the year and we hope you find it so ... and that the new year will be one of happiness,
peace, and prosperity for you and yours!
Love, Verena and Mack
The crowning experience of our mission was when we were called late one Friday night and asked to attend an all-mission
conference the next morning. It was also suggested that we be seated thirty minutes prior to the meeting. Just before the
meeting began, the chapel doors opened and to our astonishment, in walked the Prophet, Ezra Taft Benson and his wife. It was
an incredible surprise! Sister Benson talked first and then the Prophet spoke on the urgency of missionary work. The President
(Prophet) then did something he has not done for many years -- he shook the hands of the Entire congregation!
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