Family Matters

Matters of Heart 7.17.2018

Deep in the heart of Texas you will find a busy border town called Laredo. The highways around the city are full of construction improvements, trying to keep up with the the burgeoning population. Police lights and border patrol keep watch day and night to keep the citizens safe from the evils of drugs, human trafficking, violence, and all kinds of crime. But, that is not really Laredo. The real Laredo is good people in the churches and community centers who are trying to make good lives for themselves and their families. The Latter-day Saints here are amazing examples of faithfulness, love of God, kindness, and generosity. We are so blessed to be part of the LDS people here who will watch this mission district become a stake of Zion.

It was a busy week! We met with Abel at the church on Monday. Let’s just say he was not an honest seeker of truth. It was still a good experience for us.

It was a blessing to have Cameron and Danielle here for the week. It was fun to pick them up in San Antonio and drive to the temple. We then did some sight-seeing and checked into our room at a beautiful resort. OOoops! The bathroom was flooded. We moved to another room. The carpets were wet. (This was a very exclusive, expensive resort—paid with Expedia points.) Our third room was perfect. Dani said she had never stayed anywhere that nice. She and Cam enjoyed the pool system, watched the hummingbirds, and admired the gorgeous landscape. We closed the day watching fireworks from our balcony, celebrating San Antonio’s 300th birthday. Tuesday we had such fun at Six Flags before driving back to Laredo!

Thursday we had the opportunity to teach lessons all afternoon for the District youth conference on the Plan of Salvation and Symbols of the Temple. Our institute class ended the day. We love teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

On Friday Elder F. and I had zone conference all morning with Presidente Torres. We met the couple who is serving in Zapata who came to the mission about the same time we did. We learned that we had a connection with Sister Shaw because she is the cousin of one of my best friends in grades 6 through 12, Kris Parry. We had a good time reminiscing about Kris, who passed away about 13 or 14 years ago from breast cancer. We plan to grow our new friendship with the Shaws and go soon to Zapata, which draws birdwatchers and fishermen from all over the world. There is a little branch of the church there, and we have been asked to speak (don’t worry—they have translators!).

On Saturday our YSA had an activity at Lake Casa Blanca, and Dani and Cameron ended their day with ball games and a dip in the lake at sunset. Sunday was beautiful. Yesterday we took Cameron and Danielle back to San Antonio to meet their plane—but, first our trip to the Alamo and “the War for Texas.”  “The War for Texas” is an interactive museum that concludes with a re-enactment of the battle of the Alamo. I couldn’t believe how much the “kids”—Cam takes exception with the title—really loved the experience. Jim and I did, too, but that didn’t surprise us.

We love it here in Texas, though I may never get used to the heat! We love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and bear testimony of His love for all of us. Please pray for us and the missionaries all over the world.