How much do I love my friends?

We found this on the counter when we came into the office this morning.  Funny thing is we don't know who left it, but, more curious is how they got in.  None of that really matters because the thought is so kind and just made us smile.  So thanks, nice missionaries, whoever you are.  Y'all'd think that this was written by someone in the South!

I had an email from my new Seegmiller family friend.  Her great-great-grandfather, Daniel, is my great-grandfather's brother.  (That makes us something like 3rd cousins once removed and makes me a lot older than her.)  When Daniel's died his son, Adam, moved to Cedar City, and their family has been there ever since.  I'll meet her mom sometime after September next year, because she and her husband are on their way to Chicago to serve a mission!  

I received another email from a dear friend in Hacienda Heights today.  It always makes me happy, but brings the tears on, thinking about special people we left in California.  This is one of the priceless pictures she included, and it seems very appropriate to share it because we've had a few sad phone calls lately, but they're not my stories to tell so I won't share the details.  But missionaries are wonderful and always there to help. One set of elders said they'd leave right away to give a blessing that had been requested from a non-member. We also may have a missionary who'll possibly be going home for serious surgery. Sometimes bumps in the road seem more like mountains to climb. How grateful I am for the power of prayer and the ability to trust in the Lord.  

Times like these remind me of Elder Scott's General Conference address, October 1995, when he said, "Now may I share some suggestions with you who face...adversity, the testing that a wise Heavenly Father determines is needed even when you are living a worthy, righteous life and are obedient to His commandments.  

Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more.  He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit.  To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain."