Baptism! It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This

By Rodger Dean Duncan

The high point of our week, as you might imagine, was the baptism of Amber Cook.

Teaching Amber Cook has been a delightful experience. She 

is a bright, joyful, and very spiritual young woman.

We first met Amber several weeks ago. She was brought to church by Ross Cooper, the executive secretary in the Young Single Adult Branch. Ross teaches physical education at Midway High School where Amber teaches special education. Amber, who graduated from Baylor University, got interested in special ed because her younger brother is autistic.

We visited with Amber a couple of times and were impressed by her. One Sunday Ross asked us if we would teach her the missionary discussions. Naturally, we said we’d be delighted to. Except for one lesson that we taught her at the branch president’s home (where we had dinner), all lessons were taught in our apartment. 

When he heard my conversion story many years ago, Boyd K. Packer told me that I have a “believer’s heart.” I am certain that description also applies to Amber. Although she was raised as a Catholic, everything we taught seemed familiar to her. To double check, we would teach a lesson. Then before we taught her the next lesson, we would ask her to “teach back” the previous lesson. She never missed a beat. It was obvious that she not only understood every principle and doctrine intellectually, but they were becoming imbedded in her heart. She kept every single commitment we asked her to make. She accepted our challenge to be baptized, with a specific date, the second time we met with her. For the past several weeks she has attended every single church meeting.

Saturday’s baptismal service was excellent. It was attended by about thirty people, including several investigators. Amber’s parents came up from San Antonio. Her father is Baptist, her mother is Catholic. They clearly felt welcomed, and they clearly felt the spirit of the meeting. Blake Christensen, president of the Waco Stake, presided. Rean and I gave the talks. Because the baptismal font was still being filled, we gave our talks back-to-back (before the actual baptism) and were asked to take more time than originally planned. This worked out nicely because we spoke under the influence of the spirit and the result was even better than we had hoped.

The Gordon B. Hinckley quote is a four-foot poster that

Amber created for her apartment wall. She did it weeks 

before her baptism.

In addition to Amber’s parents, Ross Cooper’s parents were visiting from Wyoming. Their trip was previously scheduled. They just happened to be here on Amber’s baptismal day. Ross’s father, who is not a member, told us three times that he really enjoyed the baptismal service and that he appreciated what he had been taught.

Then on Sunday I confirmed Amber during sacrament meeting. Her mother and brother were also present, as were Ross’s parents. I had previously explained to Amber’s mother and Ross’s father that fast and testimony meeting is kind of an “open mic” experience where members have the opportunity to express their appreciation for the gospel in any way they deem appropriate. What I did not tell them is that in this particular Young Single Adult Branch you never know what you might get. Sunday was no exception. Before the testimonies began, the branch president invited a young black woman, who announced that she is a former Muslim, to sing an a capella solo. Let’s just say that we thought we were in a meeting at the First Baptist Church in Liberty … or a Gladys Knight concert. I suppose the latter is fitting, because the young lady does in fact sing with the Gladys Knight choral group.

About half way through the meeting, Amber bore her testimony. It was a very sweet and very specific description of her spiritual journey. She testified of her assurance that the doctrines of the restoration are true ... that Joseph is a prophet ... that the Book of Mormon, like the Bible, is the word of God. This was only about twenty minutes after her confirmation, and she sounded like a life-long member. It was exactly what her mother, and Ross’s father, needed to hear. I’m confident it was also good tonic for all the members.

And to top it off, less than half an hour after the meeting block, Amber had a recommend to do baptisms in the temple.

My only concern is that any subsequent teaching experience might seem downhill.

By previous assignment, Rean and I were in charge of the remaining two hours of the meeting block. We gathered the entire congregation in the Relief Society room. We were asked to teach gospel principles and practical behaviors related to preparing for one’s future. It was a lively session that included everything from a brief scene from an old “I Love Lucy” television episode … to a clip from a Quentin Cook General Conference talk … to a tutorial on how to how to establish and follow through on “SMART” goals related to everything from buying a car to completing a college degree to qualifying for marriage to the person of your dreams. There was lots of discussion, mixed with tears and laughter. The session seemed to be a hit.

The work is going well here. The members finally seem to understand that we are not getting transferred to another area, and we have integrated nicely into the Waco Second Ward, the Hewitt Ward, and the YSA Branch. We hosted Bishop and Sister Partin (Hewitt Ward) for dinner last week, and the conversation gave us some additional insights into how we can be helpful.

All is well.

Community Service, Stalwart Missionaries

By Rodger Dean Duncan

As we continue to network in the Waco community, we marvel at the depth and breadth of poverty suffered by so many of God's children. But we are encouraged to see the many people who are working to help ameliorate that poverty. We may not completely agree with the politics of some of the people we've met, but we do admire their devotion to the cause of helping others.

Last week we attended the Texas Hunger Initiative's Hunger and Justice Gathering. This was a day-long event focused on poverty and community action. Among the speakers were an economics professor, a sociologist, an epidemiologist who talked about the prevalence of disease in the "food deserts" of urban areas, and the director of Texas Impact who talked about engaging churches in advocacy and action in behalf of the poor.

We were pleased to have a follow-up conversation with one of the key players who is helping us position ourselves to provide some service that will help these like-minded organizations work more effectively as a cohesive whole.

Elder Paul Sammons served in the

Young Single Adult Branch since it

was formed last fall. Now he's been

transferred to Fort Worth. We miss
him already.

Last Wednesday was "transfer day." That's the time, every six weeks, when some of our missionaries get new assignments and move to different areas of the mission. We're always happy to have "new" missionaries come to our area, but it's sad to say goodbye to those who are leaving us. We grow very close to these wonderful young people. They look to us—as sort of their surrogate grandparents—for encouragement, counsel, mentoring, and friendship. We are pleased to provide. We stay in contact (via Facebook, texting, and email) with some of the missionaries who have been released are are now back home.

Our missionaries seem to have a special affection for Sister

Duncan. In addition to welcoming the hugs she provides,

they appreciate the candy and fruit she always brings them.

PCD stands for Purpose, Commitment, Doctrine.

For the young missionaries, every Monday is designated as P-Day. "P" is for preparation. On that day they do their grocery shopping, get haircuts, do their laundry, clean their apartments and do other chores. They also write their weekly letters to their parents and to our mission president via special "missionary email accounts" provided by the Church. This correspondence is typically done on a computer at a public library. Missionaries are encouraged to exercise briefly every morning. But on P-Day the exercise is more of a team effort. This past week the missionaries in our two zones gathered at the Waco Stake Center to play volleyball.

Are you curious about the white board being held by a couple of the elders in the group photo? It's a hand-drawn rendition of the Mission Model that depicts the role and focus of our missionaries.

We are grateful to be part of the army of full-time missionaries (at last count, more than 88,000) representing our Church in teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are so impressed by the stalwart young men and women who put their "regular" lives on hold for 18 to 24 months of unpaid volunteer service. And of course there are additional waves of soldiers on the way. Click here to see an inspiring brief video showing how one group of young men are using social media (texting, in particular) to prepare for missionary service.

Conference, Relief Society, ROTC

By Rodger Dean Duncan

In the Hewitt Ward conference yesterday it was announced, as we expected, that the Waco Stake presidency will be reorganized at the April 11-12 stake conference. Our friend Blake Christensen has served as stake president here for the past nine and a half years, and was a counselor in the stake presidency for nine years prior to that. We know from our own experience the wonderful mixture of blessing and burden that such service brings. For most of a thirty-year span, Rean and I had church callings that kept us apart on Sundays: stake Relief Society presidency service for her, and high council, bishopric, and stake presidency assignments for me. After yesterday's ward conference we visited privately with Blake and his wife Paula. They both seem very relieved by his upcoming release. They are kind and generous people, and we're grateful to count them among our friends here.

In his sacrament meeting talk, Bishop Frank Partin (another good friend to us here) focused on the ward mission plan. A key element of that plan is the (proactive) encouragement for each family to develop its own "family mission plan." Both ward and full-time missionaries are visiting the homes of members to provide tutoring on how to do this. Bishop Partin readily acknowledged that there is no cookie-cutter way of doing this. Approaches to sharing the gospel can vary as widely as do family cultures. The point, he emphasized, is that sharing the gospel in a deliberate way "must be a priority in our lives." He used D&C 4 as the foundation for most of his remarks.

President Christensen encouraged the saints to ensure their own continuing activity in the Church. Two important keys to remaining active, he said, are (1) paying a full and honest tithe, and (2) fasting with a purpose. He said he's known active members who are not full tithe payers, but he's yet to meet a full tithe-payer who is inactive. (I've known a couple of exceptions to that rule.) From the time I was baptized 52+ years ago I've been impressed by how the Church operates so effectively and with no paid clergy. In fact, especially with no paid clergy. The tithes of the members go to the support of building programs, education, temples, and all the other things so necessary for taking the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. I've also been impressed (as a bishop and stake president) to know so many good people who pay their tithing, not for the tax deduction or some other less lofty reason, but rather because they are obedient and they believe the promises that come with the commandment.

Rean and I met yesterday with Sheryl Gleason, the Waco Stake Relief Society president. She asked us to accept the assignment to help spearhead the stake's May 30 Women's Conference. The theme is "service." We will make a 45-minute presentation on that topic, emphasizing both the doctrinal and spiritual foundations of service as well as providing specific examples of service opportunities. We will keep you apprised of this as we develop the program. One thing's for certain: I really enjoy working with my lovely wife in preparing and making presentations. She is so bright and insightful, and she always helps me challenge my own thinking on life's topics that matter most. With this Relief Society conference I'm confident she will have many helpful things to say about quality visiting teaching and home teaching.

Last week we had lunch with Casey Randall. Casey is an Army Lieutenant Colonel and is in charge of the ROTC programs at Baylor University here in Waco, Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, and the University of North Texas in Denton. I've offered to provide some pro bono leadership training for the ROTC cadets at the three universities. The ROTC programs are all about preparing young men and women for leadership roles in both the military and civilian life, and Casey welcomes my volunteering as a training resource. It will be a pleasure to spend time with some of the best and brightest students at these three universities.

Echoes from the past: If you're troubled by much of what you see in today's news reports, click here for a transcript of a 1978 talk by Neal A. Maxwell. It was titled "The Prohibitive Costs of a Value-free Society." It's an uncanny parallel with what we're witnessing today.

Love to all. Keep those notes and emails coming in.

A Community (Slowly) on the Rise

By Rodger Dean Duncan

As part of our public affairs work on our mission, we need to get acquainted with the community here in Waco. Although a lot seems familiar to me, much has changed in this community since I was a Baylor student some 50 years ago. For one thing, the town is much larger than it was then. And, like many communities across the nation, especially in the southwest, Waco is much more diverse that it was a couple of generations ago. As you'd expect, the Hispanic influence is especially prominent here.

We enjoy driving around town, simply exploring. One thing that is readily apparent is the widespread poverty all across McLennan County. There seems to be quite a bit of new construction (as we see everywhere we go in Texas), but the poverty is nevertheless apparent throughout much of Waco.

Pat Neff Hall, Baylor's administration building. My senior

year I had an office on an upper floor where I assisted one

of my professors (the fabulous Lois Smith Murray) as she

wrote Baylor at Independence, the school's early history.

Like many cities across America, Waco is clearly making an effort to "upgrade." Baylor University is leading the way. When I attended school here, the Baylor campus was an oasis surrounded by what was known as "shanty town." One of the old houses where I rented an apartment my sophomore year was built in the 1880s and had very little insulation. Today, the Baylor campus has expanded to several times its original size and is absolutely one of the most magnificent campuses I've ever seen. (A Baylor education has always been pricey, but it really seems so today. Current cost of an undergraduate degree here is about $50,000. Per year.)

For anyone who's interested in seeing more about Baylor University (which we expect to play a major role in our missionary work here) click on to see a brief video. On that same page, you can see additional videos. They're well worth the look.

Much of the "upgrading" in Waco's downtown area is obviously intended to attract people who might otherwise never even venture in that direction. For example, a lot of very old buildings beside the Brazos River have been repurposed as trendy restaurants and shops. Some of the old manufacturing buildings have been transformed into new lots, apartments, and condos. Waco suffered a devastating tornado in 1953, and the recovery took many years. Today there is some "fresh blood" in various community circles, and this new thinking is beginning to manifest itself. A relatively new organization called Prosper Waco is one evidence of this, and we expect this proactive approach will help accelerate the growth that needs to take place here ... not just in terms of business and commerce, but in terms of how people take charge of their own destinies. Our intention is to help with that latter effort.

The Waco Downtown Farmers Market is open every 

Saturday, rain or shine, throughout the year

On Saturday we visited the Waco Downtown Farmers Market. We love the farmers market in our hometown of Liberty, Missouri. It's on the town square each Saturday morning from May through October. The farmers market in Waco is every Saturday through the entire year.  It draws agricultural producers and artisan vendors from within 150 miles of Waco. On Saturday it was a great place to pick up some fresh produce. It also afforded us a chance to visit with some of the locals. Our missionary tags continue to make for good conversation starters.

One of the many great views at Waco's Cameron Park.

We've also taken some some nice walks in Waco's famous (seriously) Cameron Park. It's recognized as one of the "Top 50 Trails in America." The 400-acre park, right in the middle of town, is located on the confluence of the Brazos and Bosque Rivers. Winding up and down the park's ever-changing terrain are more than 20 miles of trails. The beautiful views range from 100-foot cliffs to bamboo forests to cedar groves. We look forward to taking further advantage of this in the upcoming spring.

We met Hippo, mascot of the

restored Hippodrome Theatre

that features classic movies

and live performances.

This past week we observed three family birthdays (one grandson and two sons-in-law). These reminded us how much we miss our loved ones. But staying busy keeps us focused on others. We're especially gratified by the response to the teaching we're doing. This includes an upcoming baptism. We'll report more about that later.

We are grateful for so many things. As mentioned previously, one of those is the technology that enables us to stay in relatively close touch with our family. Facebook, Instagram, email, texting, and phone calls keep us fairly up-to-date on our children and grandchildren ... even those living in Italy and those who travel elsewhere throughout Europe.

Thanks again for those friends who take the time to drop us notes and emails. We love hearing from you. In addition to sending us your news, tell us what you'd like us to report in this blog.

Feeding, and Encouraging, the Poor

By Rodger Dean Duncan

Last week we met with the entire leadership team of the Texas Hunger Initiative (THI). This is an organization, with offices all over the State of Texas, that's affiliated with the School of Social work at Baylor University. Our purpose: To explore opportunities for our missionaries and local Church members to provide community service as a labor of Christian love.

So what's the issue here? Consider this from a THI document: "At one Texas elementary school, they've come to be not-so-affectionately known as 'throw-up Mondays,' the first day of the week when teachers, custodial staff and even the principal brace for the big cleanup. The children, literally starving since their last complete meal (school lunch the previous Friday) show up early to the one place where they can count on being fed. Famished but smiling, they wolf down heaping Styrofoam bowls of cereal, fresh fruit by the branchful, and ice-cold cartoons of milk, all at a pace their neglected, kid-sized stomachs just can't handle. Inevitably, someone's breakfast end up on the floor. "Food insecurity' is its new, politically correct name. But no matter what you call it, hunger is still the same age-old problem. And especially in Texas, where more than 18 percent of the population including one in four children, don't know where their next meal is coming from. Here in the richest country in the world, within the borders of a state leading the nation in cattle production, cotton production, and job growth, people—millions of them—are hungry."

Elder Elrey Tupe, from Hawaii, is one of the fine young

missionaries serving with us in Waco. Each week he and

several other missionaries volunteer their services at 

Caritas, a community organization that provides food to 

needy families. (Yes, the nice lady gave permission 

for the photo.)

In meeting with the THI leadership team, we learned that Waco has the same situation faced by many cities: dozens of organizations with a professed interest in helping the poor, but with only marginal cooperation between the various entities. In fact, "turf protection" often results in duplication of effort and missed opportunity for leveraging resources in ways that multiply their effectiveness. Who suffers? As always, the poorest among us.

Besides offering our services in leadership and implementation training for the key players in town, we're looking for ways our missionaries here can serve. In addition to their proselytizing work, each of our young missionaries is asked to provide ten hours of no-strings-attached community service each week. Rather than picking up trash at a local park (worthy though that may be), we prefer they focus on service that is directly associated with lifting the poor.

One of the many things that appeals to us about the Texas Hunger Initiative is that it is not simply a "feel good" activity. Yes, it provides essential food for poor people (about 800 families per week in Waco alone, plus many thousands more across the state). But it also has programs to help people break out of the dignity-killing dependency cycle. We still have much more to learn about THI, but it appears to be a promising partner in our missionary efforts here in Central Texas.

While much of our work has involved "relationship building" with local Church leaders and members (including some requested coaching and training), we're also teaching investigators. As we meet and interact with people here, we of course realize that not all of them will choose to be baptized into the Church. But our motivation is not about "keeping score." It's about boldly offering the invitation to learn more about the Savior's plan of salvation. Nothing more (what could possibly be more?), and nothing less.

This lovely young woman, a Baylor graduate who teaches at 

one of the local high schools, is taking the missionary

discussions from us. She has a believer's heart, is eager to

learn more about the Lord's Plan of Salvation, and keeps

every commitment we invite her to make. Very big things 

are in store for her!

Even at this relatively early stage of our mission, we know with great clarity that we are accomplishing good. And we know from our own experience how important it is for someone to extend the hand of fellowship. We are confident that our humble efforts are having an impact. Although we may not be here for every harvest, we are planting seeds and teaching others how to cultivate.

As we teach the restored gospel to good people of every age and various backgrounds, we're constantly reminded of the Lord's goodness and mercy. We're also reminded that He has big plans for each and all of us. Consider this wonderful C. S. Lewis quote (from his classic Mere Christianity):

C. S. Lewis

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage, but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."

It's so comforting to be in partnership with the very best Project Manager ever.