Nothing quite like living in a border town! Last night we made a shopping trip to Sam’s Club, which is on the far west side of town. As we were already there, we decided to stop at a Walmart we had never been to before. (There are MANY Walmarts in Laredo.) It was a huge store, but we noticed several differences right away. First, almost half of the cars in the lot were registered in Mexico with day-pass stickers in the window. The store itself had a strange layout with a few refrigerated and freezer compartments down the center. There were many choices for groceries EXCEPT in these sections. We were there for some specific things, but we could not find fresh produce or meats. As we left, I was ready to speak to the checker in Spanish since I had not heard a word of English, but she took one look at us and switched languages. I told her with a puzzled look that we (after spending and hour wandering) were not able to find fresh meats or produce. She shook her head and said, “No, we don’t have those.” I am assuming that Mexican shoppers are not able to take meats or produce back across the border. Hmm. So, we stopped at the Walmart near our apartment on our way home to get sausage, lettuce, and coleslaw.
On our walk yesterday a young man came up to us and asked if we were planning to walk the path around the pond and wetlands. He then explained that a man was hiding in the bushes, acting very strangely and warned us not to walk there. The police had been called, so we chose to walk around the barrier to the sidewalk and home. (Remember our Ninja experience!) You never know what you might encounter in Laredo! The weather here is perfect, but even the beautiful parks and paths (and around our apartments) are littered with junk. Crews are out cutting weeds and cleaning up trash, but by the next day there are bottles, fast-food trash, and paper litter everywhere. I find it disturbing.
When we got home last night, Jim went outside with a broom and garbage can.
We attended two baptisms (and missed one other) last weekend. One was Jorge, a young, single adult, and Ana was the mother of another recent convert. The talks at Ana’s service were given by her daughter and grandchildren. At Jorge’s baptism talks were given by one of our YSAs who is waiting for a mission call and a YSA who is recently reactivated, and the baptism was performed by one of our faithful seminary students. It was also a blessing to hear five young men who are our seminary students bear testimony at sacrament meeting on Sunday. It is exciting to be a part of the Texas McAllen Mission as it grows and strengthens! Both of these converts were taught by amazing Sisters. The sisters asked if we would take Jorge to the temple to do baptisms because they have been helping him with his family history work. It is a goal to get new members to the temple as soon as possible.
We are among the millions who took the prophet’s challenge to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. One beautiful seminary student bore her testimony of taking the challenge in the last two weeks of the year. She immersed herself in listening to and reading the book—averaging sixteen
chapters a day to finish by December 31. What a blessing! We had finished reading it early in 2018, read it again and finished in the summer; and doubled up to finish the great book on December 29. I don’t know how many times we have read the Book of Mormon aloud as a family, but we have probably finished it about 1 ½ or 2 times a year over the last 43 years or so. None of those times was as memorable or impactful as this last time! We took the time to reflect and discuss every day as we came to love this book more than ever. It is our testimony that it is truly the word of God, given to us as an immeasurable blessing in this time of restoration. It blesses our family. We started reading it again on December 29 after a beautiful day at the Salt Lake Temple for Colton and Anne’s wedding and a “family reunion” at their reception. We encourage all of you to join us in reading and studying the Book of Mormon daily to put Christ at the center of our lives.
We were waiting at the Dallas airport (and waiting and waiting) when a pilot engaged us in conversation. She told us that she is based in Salt Lake, lives in Tooele, and has a son who is preparing for a mission. People stop us everywhere we go—Sea World, Six Flags, elevators, streets, stores—because we wear a badge above our hearts that identifies us as willing representatives of the the Lord Jesus Christ. It is one of the great blessings of our mission.
We have had a long Christmas vacation, but we start seminary and institute again tomorrow. Hurray!
We watch wonderful people enter the waters of baptism and then come to church the next day to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Most do not have nice clothes or even transportation to get themselves to the services, but they come. They leave behind lives of chaos, often in gangs or crime. They come as they are, promising to do better. It reminds me of a print we have hanging in our apartment. It is of a Greg Olsen painting called, “Come as You Are.” It is of the Good Shepherd beckoning a black lamb. The Savior invites all of us to “come as we are” and find our way Home. It is a lesson of the Atonement—His great gift to us. Through His Grace we can become worthy. It takes a lifetime of choosing each day to repent and come to Him.
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