A December We'll Never Forget!

December 2008...............What a month!!! It all began in September when they began decorating with Christmas lights. They completed their task and turned on the lights of Temple Square the day after Thanksgiving. They came on every evening at 5:30PM and turned off at 10:30PM each night until January 3, 2009. The guests began coming the same time and some nights it was literally shoulder to shoulder on the square. It was not much different than being in the middle of the Los Angeles freeway at rush hour.

It was exciting and fun though. We loved it. I wish each of you could have been here to see it. We did spend an evening with Ron, Rachel, Summer, Tyler and Joshua enjoying the square and another night with Bryan, Heather, Hayden, Branden, Ethan, Devin and Alexis. We had to BUNDLE UP to keep warm in the 20-30 degree weather. In fact, I think it got as low as 17 degrees. The temple was beautiful and you can see it from the 10th floor of the Joseph Smith Building. Below that it the temple as seen from our kitchen window. What a beautiful sight to see each night before we go to bed!

We were asked by the mission president and his wife if we would store the christmas gifts that were being donated by wards and stakes throughout the Salt Lake valley and into Idaho and Wyoming in our apartment until it was time to divide and distribute them. Of course we said yes not having the slightest clue what that was going to entail.

As the weeks went on we received more and more deliveries from the stakes. Our second bedroom looked like a Christmas warehouse. It was filled from floor to ceiling and on the top of every bed and dresser with gifts that had been hand made or purchased by wonderful people from all over who wanted to make sure that our sister missionaries had a good christmas. There were quite a few of our sister missionaries who had not received even one gift from home. Their families live on very meager funds and even sending a single letter would cost more than the amount it would take to feed the whole family for one meal. We never once heard a negative or discouraging word from any of them. Never a mention of the fact that they would not be receiving anything for Christmas.

About a week before Christmas Sister Stewart, the mission presidents wife and Sister Rock and myself began sorting through the gifts and organizing them for distribution. Below you can see a part of what we were doing. We had approximately 180 sister missionaries we were giving gifts to. It was a fun, rewarding and exhausting but we did it. The Zone leaders and District leaders came to our apartment on Christmas Eve at 11:00PM to pick up the gifts and secretly put them inside the sister missionaries apartments while they were sleeping so they would find them when they woke up. DOES THAT SOUND LIKE FUN OR WHAT!!! It definitely was!

Halfway through the month of December President Michael D. Stewart asked Mike and I to come to his office where he dropped a giant bombshell on us..............................would Mike accept the next assignment as his second counselor in the Mission Presidency and would I be his secretary. It was not something we ever wanted. It would mean that we would spend the rest of our mission in the offices rather than up on Temple Square working alongside the sister missionaries meeting and sharing the gospel with the guest who come. We had already checked the box on our application which stated that we would go and do what the Lord asked of us so we both answered "yes". (it was hestitantly but we did answer)

We have settled into our office and cubicle and have been trying to learn what is expected of us. We have also just helped introduce a brand new mission president and his wife to Temple Square. They are wonderful and we love them and enjoy working with them. We hope you all can come and visit us. We'd love to show you around the square and even in the 'basement' where our offices are.

Mike working hard

Mikes new office sign: "Counselor Michael N. Chatfield"

My office cubicle which is right across the hall from Mikes office (I'm looking toward it in this picture). The mission presidents office is across the hall to the left of the picture and the clothing room I'm responsible for is in the corner between them. I'll have to get a picture of it for you to see.