Thanks Dad!

I really love getting your mission stories they really inspire me =)

It is so true about personal study! I do admit... the fire to really study the scriptures never hit or the understanding until I had to fight/ share doctrinally why I believed what I believed with someone of another faith who doesn't think like us.

Like the Godhead or about the sacrament.... how come we need a prophet or how come we are the only church that can baptized with the proper authority…

Not until I had to explain it/ teach it did I understand better or have a greater growth in my testimony.

This week we had one particular great lesson that has been sticking out to me that I thought I would share…We had a lesson with an active family…what we did was teach/ make some heart softening cookies… involving the kids and making it a fun experience. We then had a spiritual thought and after the thought we brought the cookies over to their next door neighbors who are a part member family… it turned out to be a great opportunity to work with the members in doing service and supporting that family. Now we are set up to move forward with that family to start teaching!

Also we are going to be having a baptism this week! It’s our investigator …an 11 year old boy with autism…after he passes his interview!

He asked me to baptize him and Elder Birch to confirm him. I 'm so excited!!!  Please pray for him and our district leader that the spirit will be the guide in this.

Love to all,

Elder Henke

*Robert has asked his Dad for some of his Mission experiences…so hence…. Dear Robert, Today I shared two stories with my Priests.  The first was about when we were in the Philippines and I was a Crypto Technician.  One of the members of our branch had us over for dinner and immediately took me down to look at his pin ball machine.  He explained a problem he was having with it with much technical knowledge.  He asked me what I thought and I said I have no idea.  He said that he thought I was in electronics and I said that I was but my trained knowledge on a few pieces of equipment was nothing compared to his knowledge gained from much personal study.  I told the priests that it was the same with the gospel; that if they would get in and study on their own they would truly get a strong knowledge and testimony of the gospel. The other story was about when I was serving in Rugby England.  My companion Elder Slaymaker and I were just starting to have some success when we got into an auto accident.  It was my fault and at that time if you got in an accident and it was your fault and if you were in leadership, you got busted.  I had been a district leader so I got busted.  Right after the accident I pulled over to the side of the road and turned to my companion and said, “We’re headed for Wales”.  I didn’t know why I said it but a couple of days later I was talking to the Mission President on the phone and he said, “Elder Henke, I’ve been talking to the Lord about you”.  I asked, “What did he say”, President Johnson then said, “The Lord said, send Elder Henke to Wales”.  He then asked if I had Welsh ancestry (at that time our mission was only sending missionaries to Wales if they had Welsh ancestry) and I said, “I don’t know “, to which he said, “Well you do”.  It was many years after my mission that I found out that shortly after that they found our Welsh ancestry link.  Elder Slaymaker was also sent to a different area of Wales.  I think the whole incident was orchestrated to let me know that the Lord was in charge and the accident was really no accident. It was in Caernarvon Wales that I had my greatest missionary experiences as a regular proselyting Elder.   Later they changed the rule about accidents and leadership and I was made a Zone Leader.  We are so proud of the work you are doing and know that you are growing.  It’s a shame all young men in the church don’t serve missions, it  really helps to prepare them for life. Well it’s getting late so I’d better sign off . Love Dad Friday, January 18th   2013 Grandma Fitzgerald passed away. Dear Robert, We are sending this from Grandma’s Fitzgerald’s Condo in American Fork.  Richard helped me get set up to connect to the internet from my cell phone. We have had an eventful weekend.  It started on Wednesday night when Marilyn called and said we needed to come and see Grandma Fitzgerald.  We had just seen her the week before so we thought it strange but sensed there was more than she was telling us.  We headed out next day as soon as we could and got there about 6:00pm and found Grandma about how we’d seen her the week before.  When we visited the week before on a Tuesday, we noticed a sore on Grandma’s head.  We asked her what had happened but she didn’t know, then the worker heard us ask her about it and he yelled in “I can tell you about that”.  Later he told us that she had fallen out of her chair and got a rug burn on her forehead but seemed alright. They checked on her every hour that night to make sure she was doing alright. When Sunday came along she had had uncharacteristic outbursts which really worried the family.   Michelle’s husband Doug (an E.R. Dr.) heard how she had been on Sunday and then most the day on Wednesday he said she probably had brain bleed from the fall and would probably decline and eventually passes away. Paul and Jane had been with her all day and she really hadn’t responded much. Doug got to thinking later that it might be a kidney infection instead of a brain bleed.  He took a sample and it looked milky.  He said that looked bad. While we were waiting to hear about the urine testing she became very talkative and we had a good evening with her while members of the family arrived and greeted her.  They had told us she hadn’t eaten all day but Mom asked her if she wanted to eat and she did eat some potatoes and gravy and a cookie and drank her juice.   When we got there Albert and Christina and Mandy were there and through the evening Marilyn came back, Troy, Katy and Stephen came then Priscilla and her daughter, then Cherise and David and their family and later Albert’s son Brian.   That evening after most of the family had gone she was acting a whole lot better.  We had a good chat with her and even told old (Bliss Fitzgerald jokes) including a story about Blue Beard and nobody could remember how it ended.  Later Marilyn looked it up on the internet and told us all how it ended.   Later the report verified that what Doug had suspected was right… major kidney infection.  Doug said we have come to a cross roads of a decision.  We could take her from Stonehedge… assisted living, to the hospital and do a Kat-scan on her… but she was at a stage it would probably only buy her a little time or we could just let nature take its course.   Marilyn, Mom and Albert discussed it and thought it best to let nature take its course but we needed Jane to come back because she had “power of attorney” for Grandma.   Albert and I gave her a blessing and Albert as mouth promised she would be able to live and see her son Griff the next day and other family.  Later she got concerned about having a blessing, we told her she had already received a blessing but she couldn’t remember.  We told her what it had said but she still seemed on edge.  She asked what everyone was concerned about and by this time we had been told that if she was coherent we should ask her what she wanted.  She had previously stated that if push came to shove she did not want artificial means used to revive her.  She was still concerned about a blessing so we asked her if she wanted another blessing about whether we should just let nature take its course, she then turned to me and said Doug would you give me a blessing, to that effect and so I did with Albert assisting.  She was then able to settle down.  So it had seemed right for Marilyn to call everyone and tell them to come and see her soon.  They all did except for Van who we had just found out was in Thailand.   Paul said as he told her goodbye that evening she said to him “I won’t be here long”.  In spite of all this we had pretty much all come to believe she was good to go for another week or two or month we didn’t know.     Griff  was able to come in spite of car problems because Albert had gone up to Brigham City and fetched him.  He had actually arrived at Stonehedge about 4:00 am. But the next morning (some of us had stayed there all night with her) as Mom and the nurse helped her into the bathroom she said, “I think I was supposed to die last night”.  The nurse asked her why she thought that and she said because my family all came to see me. The nurse reassured her that everyone had come to support her, and not to worry. After Mom had taken her to the bathroom, miraculously Van called early that morning and he and Mom had about a 20 Minute talk. He told her he would be back on the 29th and would come and visit, she said “I might not be here then.” She also told him “it had been a pleasure knowing him and that he was a very interesting fellow!”We all got a big kick out of that comment.  Aunt Maxine called about 10 minutes later. She and Mom had a good 10 minute conversation, then saying how much they loved each other they hung up. After the phone conversations she thanked everyone and showed lots of love and said what a great family she had but that she shouldn’t brag and say how proud she was because someone might feel jealous of our family.  She was thankful for everything everyone in the family had done for her and she was so grateful for all the care that had been given her.  This was somewhat uncharacteristic of her but she seemed to have an extra gift of charity given her.  In the morning around 9:00 am everyone left to get sleep or go to work etc. except Griff he stayed to be with Mom..   Griff said that the workers had taken her to the bathroom again and then when they checked her vitals her temperature was still really low and her blood pressure.  They thought if they could get her walking it would help.  She said she was too tired.  Interestingly just prior to this she had asked Griff how many chairs there were by her.  She counted out 4 and said that’s good they said they would come back to get me.   Also earlier she had said to Cammy and I that she sometimes saw the wall with pictures and sometimes she saw past the wall into another room.  We also remembered she had said that earlier she saw a little baby on her feet.  (We think either Susan the baby she had lost or perhaps Celeste’s baby coming) we didn’t however get if it was a girl or a boy.  Also we remembered that she had told us on our previous visit   that there were a lot of children going into the room across the hall and they would disappear and she didn’t know where they would go. So then Griff said she just got weak and passed away as he held her hand.  She had waited until most everyone had left.   Mom was feeling like we needed to get back and said at 12:45pm that we needed to hurry. Mom and Cammy and I were just coming back about 1:00 pm when we meet Shawn on the road.  He had come in that morning just after Grandma passed and Griff didn’t have our number so he couldn’t call us. Griff asked Shawn to come and tell us Grandma had passed about an hour before. She had died at 12:45!!  We were kind of shocked for two reasons.  One was that I had called Stonehedge about 11:30 and tried to get Grandma’s room but no one answered.  We figured that must have been when Griff and the nurse were trying to get Grandma to walk.  I told the desk to take my number and call if anything happened…..well I never got a call.  The other reason we were surprised was because Grandma had been acting so good we thought she had more time. Melinda, Gary and their baby and Crozier and Shawn’s wife Kim and their children were also there right after Mom had passed. We are now preparing for her viewing Tuesday night at Wing Mortuary in Lehi and her funeral in Provo in her and Marilyn’s ward on Wednesday  at 11:00 am with another viewing just prior to the funeral.  Tomorrow (Monday the 21st) Mom, Cherise, Shantel and Marilyn will go to Wing Mortuary and dress Grandma in her temple clothes.   All of the children except Van who is still in Thailand will speak.  The Great and Grand children will sing I am a Child of God accompanied by Katy and Terra will sing a solo.  We will go to the cemetery in American Fork and lay her next to Grandpa Fitzgerald.  Paul is dedicating the grave and I am giving the family prayer.   Today we ran down to Delta and saw Grandma Henke.  She is doing well.  We also saw Norman and Susan and told them all about it. We love you and know you are were you need to be and thought we would share as many details as we could so you could feel somewhat like you were here. Love Mom and Dad Obituary Anita VanWagoner Fitzgerald 3/20/1925 ~ 1/18/2013 Our loving Mother, Grandmother, Sister, and friend passed away Friday, January 18, 2013 in American Fork Utah. Anita Van Wagoner Fitzgerald was born March 20, 1925 to Albert Van Wagoner and Anna Priscilla Turley in Midway, Utah. She was born one hour and 45 minutes before her twin sister Alberta. She moved to Pleasant Grove, Utah in 1926 and later moved to Lehi where Anita graduated from Lehi High School and Seminary in 1943. Anita worked for the government as a Dental Receptionist, and later as a Secretary during World War II. She attended the U of U and BYU. She left to fill a mission for the LDS Church. It was at the Mission Home in Salt Lake City she met Bliss Griffith Fitzgerald, going to the Northwestern States Mission. They were married on April 27, 1949 after they had both returned from their missions. She has seven children - Ann Jane (Paul) Henke, (Heber City, UT); Kathleen (Doug) Henke (Aztec, NM); Marilyn (Jon-deceased) Dye (Provo, UT); Bliss Griffith Jr. (Carrie) Fitzgerald (Rexburg, ID); Albert Printess (Alice) Fitzgerald (Layton, UT); Priscilla (Craig) Olsen, (Copperton, UT); and Van Theodore Fitzgerald (Grants Pass, OR). She has 46 Grandchildren and 74 Great Grandchildren. Anita and Bliss served three proselyting missions together. She held Ward and Stake callings, has been active in 4-H and PTA. Music was an important part of her life. She sang duets and trios. Bliss passed away on November 25, 1999 in Manti, UT and Anita moved to American Fork in 2000. She has spent several months at Stonehenge in American Fork. We, her children, honor and remember her for her devotion to her family and the Church. She accepted everyone who came into the family with unconditional Love. We wish to express our heartfelt thanks for the loving support of Donna, and the staff who took care of Mother at Stonehenge in American Fork. A viewing will be held at Wing Mortuary 118 E Main, Lehi, Utah on Tuesday, January 22, from 6-8 pm. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 Wednesday, January 23 at the Provo North Park Stake Center at 1066 West, 200 North, Provo, Utah with a viewing from 9:30 to 10:30 am before the service. Interment American Fork City Cemetery. Online Guest Book at www.wingmortuary.com