Elder Gong - Ministering to The One

*Elder Gong greeting our young missionary Elder Almeida and others.*

April 18th finally arrived, the day CASRM had been eagerly counting down to! We were blessed with a visit from a member of the quorum of the twelve apostles - Elder Gong and his wife Susan Gong, along with President Wada (our area president) and Elder Naumann (area seventy) and his wife. They packed in two full days of eight stake leadership meetings. Elder Gong graciously added a missionary meeting to the mix.

Our missionaries gathered early at the Peterson Lane building to practice “I Believe in Christ” and take a mission-wide photo. When Elder Gong walked in, we started singing and to our delight, he joined right in. After the photo he warmly shook every missionary’s hand, asking their name and where they were from. He was not rushed or in a hurry, even though we were running a little late. I loved that. He taught us and showed us how to minister to the one.

*Waiting patiently for Elder Gong’s arrival for the photo with him.*

Earlier in the week, Elder Gong had called President Quinn to learn about our mission ahead of time. That thoughtful preparation showed. In our meeting, he talked about our motto, Disciples Go Deep and our CASRM 4X24 daily planning tool.

I enjoyed his teaching that temple worship paired with scripture study not only brings us closer to the Lord, it prepares us to meet Him. He left us with some reference scriptures to study.

Another teaching that stayed with me: the Savior still bears the scars from His crucifixion, even in His resurrected, perfected body. Elder Gong taught that His scars are part of His perfection. That perspective felt both powerful and comforting to me.

He also reminded us that as Saints we are called to mourn with those that mourn, we should also be doing a lot more rejoicing with those who rejoice. A good nudge for finding more joy in life!

*Elder Gong invited President Quinn and me to also greet each missionary individually!*

One especially tender moment: Elder Gong invited the missionaries to express their love and gratitude for President Quinn and me as mission leaders. I was completely caught off guard and deeply touched by this. We love each one. We know their names and we know their hearts. We have fabulous missionaries!!

Sister Gong encouraged each missionary to write a personal psalm of praise (which I loved) and shared a beautiful message of her own. She joked that sometimes she calls her husband “Elder Gong… Elder Gone,” thanks to his travel and work schedule for the church. That made me laugh and appreciate both of their great sacrifices for the church. We did learn that she does travel with him quite often and speaks alongside of him too.

The day was full of leadership meetings, a youth meeting, and lots of handshaking afterward. I was so impressed Elder Gong shook hands with everyone. Even shaking more hands on Sunday at Stake Conference in San Rafael. President Quinn estimated he shook hands with over 1,200 people this weekend. Elder Gong’s security guards were close by. Meanwhile, our office financial secretary, Elder Miller, ended up in the ER with a kidney stone and infection after trying to tough it out so he wouldn’t miss anything. Dedication and love – We love you Elder Miller and are relieved you are looking and doing better today.

*The MLC with President Wada after our Sunday meeting*

Sunday took us to a stake conference in Napa with President Wada, followed by an MLC meeting back in Santa Rosa. We then drove him to San Francisco so he could catch a flight to yet another assignment. We loved the extra time visiting with him in the car. What a good man!

I have many notes from this weekend, I learned so much! More than anything, I just feel full, in heart, mind, and spirit.

*Photo of CASRM with the Gongs, the Naumanns and President Wada*

This week we also said good-bye to thirteen missionaries including two senior couples, the Wilsons and Lindemans. They will greatly be missed! We then welcomed fifteen new missionaries, including one senior couple, the Davises. We’re excited to have them join us here in Santa Rosa. Transfer week brings mixed emotions with missionaries coming and leaving.

*Missionaries departing for home: Sisters Alusa, Doner, Ashton, Knotts, Steinfeldt and Sister Williams (she is returning to her Nauvoo mission.) Elders Sudweeks, Robinson and Oh.*

New missionaries; Sisters Miner-Ho, Melser, Fuller, The Quinns, The Davises, Sisters Merino, & Aston. Back row. Elders C. Crawford, Brogan, Righter, Benson, L. Crawford, and Sisters, Wilkinson, Wastlund, & Poff

We now have a companionship of sisters on bikes, Hermana Proffitt and Brimhall in Woodland. They report they are doing well and are able to find more people as they are out on the street.

Our new AP, Elder McIntyre is ready and willing to jump right into his responsibilities!

*The AP’s Elders Wilson, M. McIntyre, and Bracken*

It is always fun when former missionaries come back to visit and bring their mothers!

*President & Sister Quinn with former missionary Elijah Rosenberg and his mother*

Here is prompt #41 for our Coming to Know Him journals. ❤️

We just received an email from Elder Gong thanking us for a gift I had made for he and his wife. Wow- this was unexpected and so sweet of him! It was wonderful getting to know Elder Gong on a more personal level. He is funny, gracious, and thoughtful. I just really love him more and have great respect for him and all he does for our world-wide church!

This week has been packed with so much! Here are a lot of photos to help document it. Thanks for following along!