Matters of Eternity TMM

Matters of Eternity TMM 5.27.19
We had some unexpected losses in our family the last couple of weeks. My cousin Wendy and my cousin’s wife Emilii were called Home quickly. It made me think of other cousins who have gone on and left us to reflect on life and God’s plan for us. I was blessed to know all my grandparents and some great-grandparents in this life. That circle of family is at the center of His plan. Even knowing this, it is hard to say “good-bye” even for the short time until we meet again.
On Sunday we were rushing off to teach missionary preparation class and noticed a young woman leaning against our apartment building and sitting on the bottom step. It was obvious that she had been crying but she seemed to be asleep in the 100-degree heat. When we got to the church, I decided to go back for a video and found the woman still there, this time with her face pressed to the wall. Our neighbor Abi was trying to talk her into drinking water. Abi’s friend was deciding to call 911. I asked if I could help, but the woman (I later found that she was named Lupita) freaked out at the mention of 911. It was obvious that she was on drugs, but she said her children were inside the apartment, and she was locked out by her friend or whoever had kicked her out. I let her use my phone to call inside and then someone to come help her. So many people here have major problems! They do not want any authorities called for obvious reasons. Laredo is an interesting place. I ended up not calling 911 because a man came to help her.
We are excited to have Cameron and Zoey come for a few days next week. The following week we will be home for a few days. Next Sunday is seminary graduation! I cannot believe how this year has flown by. We love you all. Please pray for us. We pray for you! Much love coming your way.

A Matter of a Blessed Life

This school year has flown by. Here we are in our last few days of teaching the Doctrine & Covenants and Church History. It has been a fascinating learning experience for all of us. Exploring the magnificent spiritual and sometimes challenging tenets of the Restoration has been a great blessing. We love our students and the experiences we have shared this year. We are excited to be part of graduation.

We love it when we are invited to be part of the baptisms that come every week. A picture is included of Mayra and her son who were baptized on Saturday. We see the joy in the families who choose to come and follow Him. The Sisters have another family who will be baptized on Friday. It is a family they found and taught right after the father died. They taught the plan of salvation and eased the pain of a young family. How grateful we are for the comfort and hope that come through the Atonement of Jesus Christ!

One of our YSAs leaves in two weeks for his mission in Provo. Orlando’s family jokes that they wish he had been called to a poor country where he could learn to appreciate what he has. Ha! We remember thinking the same thing when Steven was sent to Ventura, California. I firmly believe that no mission is easy. I also believe we are called where the Lord wants us.

We are looking forward to being in Utah next month for a few days. We are also excited to meet friends in San Antonio in a couple of weeks. Being senior missionaries has its perks! We can hardly wait to see Sean’s family before they start their new assignment in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was so great to hear from each of our children on Mother’s Day! We are so blessed! Miss you all. Sending our love and prayers your way…

Matters of Influence TMM

`A Matter of Influence 5.8.19

Yesterday was our one-year anniversary of entering the MTC and starting our mission experience. My, how time flies! We use the lessons we learned in the MTC every day. We practiced finding and writing gospel principles from blocks of scripture, and that is what we have taught our students to do. As the year has gone on, I have developed journaling pages for every lesson to engage students and re-enforce basic gospel principles. Every day is a golden learning experience for us and hopefully a blessing for those students who have made the effort to get out of bed and come to build their testimonies. They take the counsel of the Prophet very seriously and plan for missions and families, firmly rooted in a foundation of faith. They are the gatherers.

Last week Sister Yanez called and invited her companion and herself to Saturday breakfast, promising us a big surprise. We always love feeding the young missionaries and have told them never to go without a meal—we are here to rescue them whenever they need us. Friday morning after the big storm, she called again to see if we could do Friday lunch instead. We explained that we were at HEB-Plus (favorite grocery store) picking up some things for a salad because our electricity had been off since the huge morning storm. They were happy to join us for an early lunch, and we met them back at our apartment. Big surprise! Sister Chelsey Drury, who is assigned as a Sister-Leader-Trainer, was visiting Laredo for the day and wanted to surprise us. Sister Drury was one of Jim’s students/track kids at Summit Academy HS. She is also one of Dani’s friends and favorite people. Sister Drury had served for six months in Ecuador where she was injured and returned home for treatment. When she was ready to resume her mission, they kept her in the country and sent her to the Texas-McAllen Mission. It was a great surprise to have lunch with her and Sister Yanez on Friday!

Friday’s STORM was like nothing we had ever seen, even in South Texas’ sub-tropics. As we readied ourselves to leave for seminary about 5:45 A.M., lightning flashed on all sides, encircling Laredo with electricity and booming thunder. In seconds the rain was gushing through the parking lots, over the sidewalks, and up to our doorstep. In the 6-foot rush to our car, despite umbrellas, we were soaked to the skin. We have a 5-minute drive to the church with a low area and pond in-between. We drove slowly through the deluge with water spraying up over our car like ocean waves. By the time we got safely to the church, we had some texts from students who knew not to go out in the storm. One family drove up as we waited for a half-hour (without leaving the safety of our car), turned in some make-up work, and went back home. Saturday was stormy, but not quite so bad when we could stay in bed with the covers up to our chins. (Not that it was cold—it was in the 80s—but we keep the AC on at all times here.)

We love teaching the gospel every day. We love our students. We love the scriptures. We love each other. We love our family. We are grateful for each day and its experiences. We are blessed in the TMM!