Pears, Interviews and more

President and Sister Cornelius and I began the week going to Klamath Falls and then to Medford. Busy and enjoyable week.

Out of sequence, Friday we had the morning free so we went to the Church pear orchard in Medford. From the website: The Rogue Valley is known for pears, but did you know that each year at the Medford Humanitarian Pear Orchard, more than 1.5 million pounds of pears are hand-picked by local volunteers and donated to humanitarian needs locally and worldwide? Over 100,000 pounds of fresh pears will be distributed to local food pantries in Jackson County and the other approximately 1.9 million pounds will be canned for humanitarian needs around the world. Harvest runs from August 9th to August 24th, 2024.

Here is a link to their website if you would like to read more about it.

Sister Newcomb gave me a tour. She told me that the orchard covers about 52 acres. I was really impressed with the how clean and orderly the buildings, orchard and grounds were kept.

Our missionaries join in service to help with the harvest. Here are some pictures I took that show a little of what it takes to harvest and ship the pears.

Volunteers getting their picking baskets

The picking platform. Some people ride on the platform through the orchard to pick the higher pears

Sister and Elder Newcomb on a skid-steer loader

Elder Mooy

President Cornelius

Elder DeVore

Sisters Cornelius, Sterzer, Weeks, Elder Black

Elder and Sister Newcomb

The pears are loaded on trucks and kept in a commercial cooler until semi-trucks come to carry the pears to a plant in Idaho where they are canned and shipped around the world

A large metal building where equipment and boxes are stored

Inside the building where some boxes are assembled and waiting to be filled and sent out to local food banks

Wall hangings in the office

Road signs

Pears I gleaned and brought home with me to share with missionaries here in Eugene

A group of us at the orchard

We had interviews in Klamath Falls on Tuesday morning so we left Eugene early for the 3 plus hour drive south 

Dinner with the Klamath Falls zone leaders between interviews and the devotional. Elders Atwood and Israelsen

That evening, the stake had a restoration devotional. I always enjoy these devotionals and hearing the testimony of new converts and missionaries. Afterward, we drove to Medford where we stayed for interviews.

Wednesday we had interviews with the Central Point Zone.

Elders Kalama, Nebeker, Maylin and Blake

Elders Denison, Scott, Hacking, and Ockey

Thursday were interviews with the Medford zone.

Elder Sanders

Elders DeVore and Mooy – Medford zone leaders

After interviews, Sisters Weeks and Sterzer picked me up and we went to dinner. Always nice to share a meal with the missionaries.

 
In the evenings after dinner, I worked on my weekly report and followed up on missionaries and their health. Friday after the adventure at the pear orchard, while President caught up on some work he needed to do, Sister Cornelius and I went to Medford Temple for an endowment session. We enjoyed the session with Sister and Elder Hawkins who happened to be there. 

Friday evening, we had dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant in Ashland with the stake president and his wife. No pictures but it was a delicious four course meal and most delightful company.

We stayed in Medford rather than drive back to Eugene because President Cornelius had been invited to talk at leadership training and both President and Sister Cornelius were speaking at the Saturday evening session of the Central Point Stake Conference. 

Saturday morning I finished up my weekly report and then ran some errands with them before going to the stake center for a baptism at 2:00. It was a gift to watch a sweet sister be baptized. We then waited for a time for the leadership meeting and then the conference session to begin 

The focus of the evening meeting was missionary work and helping others to come unto Christ on both sides of the veil. President and Sister Cornelius talked about how members can be missionaries and work with and help the full-time missionaries. 

The Medford Temple President and Matron spoke about the importance of family history and temple work. 

It was a spirit filled day and evening. I feel so blessed to be a part of the work that is going on in gathering Israel. I thought of a talk that I recently listened to while I was walking one morning given by Elder Marcus B Nash in October 2021 General Conference. 

Elder Nash gives some great examples of member missionary work and stories of people who have come unto Christ. I would encourage you to read, listen to or watch this speech.

Elder Nash ends his talk with these words: “…the gathering of Israel—the greatest cause on this earth —is our covenant responsibility. And this is our time! My invitation today is simple: share the gospel. Be you and hold up the light. Pray for heaven’s help and follow spiritual promptings. Share your life normally and naturally; invite another person to come and see, to come and help, and to come and belong: And then rejoice as you and those you love receive the promised blessings.

I know that in Christ these good tidings are preached to the meek; in Christ are the brokenhearted bound up; in Christ is liberty proclaimed to the captives; and in Christ, only in Christ, are those who mourn given beauty for ashes. Hence, the great need to make these things known!

I testify that Jesus Christ is the author and the finisher of our faith. He will finish, He will complete, our exercise of faith—however imperfect—in holding up the gospel light. He will work miracles in our lives and in the lives of all He gathers, for He is a God of miracles.”

I love being a missionary! 

I love my Savior

I love you my family and friends.