Freedom Matters TMM

Last Sunday Jim was asked to give a fireside on the Declaration of Independence, a tribute to America on her birthday week. It was a great reminder of the specialness of this land, set apart and preserved for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He stressed the scriptures from the Doctrine & Covenants and the Book of Mormon as he talked about the Founding Fathers and their place in God’s plan, the promises that will come to the world because of this country, and the the three essential principles on which America is based: 1) the Rule of Law, 2) civic virtue, and 3) freedom. Our freedoms come not from the government, but from God. It was a great and stirring talk. We love this country! Please be careful in your choices. It is a priority to preserve the blessings given to us. Tonight, as we watch the “Salute to America,” we are stirred with patriotism and thank our Heavenly Father for all He has given us. Just a note about President Trump: We have heard so much said (hatefully) about him, and we understand that. He is, indeed, a pompous narcissist with a sometimes obnoxious way of communicating. However, do not dismiss the lessons of history. President Trump is a doer. He is the only thing standing between our beloved America and the clutches of socialism and destruction. Seek for truth. Do not fall for the messages of the haters and the fake news. Take time and effort to discern right from wrong. The Lord promises us in the Book of Mormon that we will be able to distinguish what is right if we listen to the spirit. (Look at President Nelson’s talk on revelation in April 2018.) Look at the preservation of good, freedom of religion, and rule of law before personality or arrogance. After all, most politicians are self-centered, power-hungry, and strangers to truth. In teaching the Doctrine & Covenants this year, our students (15-31 years old, converts and life-long members) were surprised to find assurance in the holy scriptures that America IS special—a land of promise—and founded under the guiding hand of God. ‘Nuf said.

We went to two baptisms this weekend—an 11-year-old girl, who brought with her her re-activated family, and an 8-year-old boy from an amazing, active family. Both were such joyous occasions! This morning we drove some sister missionaries to Rio Bravo where they taught a young, single mother who was introduced to the Church by her sister. Point: such great blessings in families are building the kingdom all over the earth! Congratulations to my niece Ashton Lewis who received her mission call this week to Warsaw, Poland. I know her grandma (my sister Barbara) is so proud of her!

We got to visit with my cousin Susan, her husband Doran, and my aunt Raeola last week. We had a lovely trip to Austin, and every minute was precious, full of love and memories.

Jim’s front dental bridge broke a few weeks ago, so he is sporting a temporary set of teeth while the new, thousands of dollars’ replacement is being crafted. Hmmm…that’s where old people’s money goes!

We love you all! Hope to come to Utah again in August for Emma’s baptism and maybe to San Diego for Kelsey and Robbie’s sealing. Blessings, blessings, blessings.

Family Matters TMM

What a wonderful week we had in Utah! Not all of our grandchildren were able to be there, but that is the only thing that could have made it better. All seven children were together, and we were able to get pictures for the first time in many years. Sean and his family are in-transit to live in Malaysia and only get to visit every 2-3 years. Our grandchildren are growing up, and not all could break away from their lives to join us. We love them, anyway.

Yesterday one of our young sister missionaries (Sister Yanez) asked if I would like to help her play prelude music, so I accompanied her on the piano (only a small electric one in that building) while she played the cello. We played from the Children’s songbook for about 20 minutes. It was a spiritual treat.

In the evening we met with the YSAs for Family Home Evening. Beto gave the lesson on President Oaks’ recent devotional talk to BYUH (June 11, 2019). It was a great lesson and discussion. In the discussion one of our YSAs told of an experience he had this week in hanging out with an old friend from high school. As they talked, William invited the other young man to attend YSA FHE. The young man replied that he could not because he was a satanist. William told him that was okay, but the man insisted that he would not because he was a satanist priest. William explained that he held the priesthood of Jesus Christ, the Melchizedek priesthood, which gives him great power. What shook William was that the other young man replied that they knew very well how powerful the priesthood of Christ was and that he knew that it was the true priesthood. That was shocking to William, who joined the Church two years ago. He then bore witness to all of us how very real the war for the souls of man is. It makes you think—these aren’t people who are deceived or naïve. They have chosen Satan’s side with full knowledge that the power of God is very real! So thankful for a living prophet of God! So thankful for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

We are thankful for this mission and for the opportunity of studying the New Testament (we are learning so much as we concentrate on the COME, FOLLOW ME lessons! We love it!), the Book of Mormon (daily study with Cameron—just finishing it for the first time this year; it is true!), the Doctrine & Covenants (it was a great experience to teach it every day and twice on Thursdays), and now to teach the brand-new course for SAINTS, The Standard of Truth. We love reading that book and teaching it to our institute class! We love you all and invite you study the scriptures, attend the temple, and pray. The time is near! Much love!

Good-Bye Matters at the TMM

TMM Change Matters 6.11.19
We just got back from a very busy weekend. When we go to San Antonio, we always head up to the temple—which sits atop the highest point in Texas hill country. When the temple is closed, the gates shut us out, but still it is worth the drive. It is a beautiful and peaceful place, and the spirit is strong.

Having Zoey and Cameron enjoy SeaWorld was a wonderful experience. We took them to the airport on Sunday after conference and watched Cam “take charge” of Zo. The Delta lady who helped us was delightful, and she gave Cameron a serious charge to take care of Zoey. She stressed to him how he was 31 and needed to be the one in charge. It was fun to watch him guide and guard Zoey through the security and to the gate. He assured everyone that it was “okay” because he would make sure she was fine. It was sweet. At Sunday’s conference session I had to be there early to practice with the choir, so Cameron excused himself and went to welcome people as they arrived. This was his third time here, so he knows and loves the people who know and love him. He introduced himself to the Torreses and anyone else—he’s a people person, for sure. He is a blessing!

I love Felicia Wood! I am so glad she let us share yesterday with her! I am excited for her to intern as an administrator in Granite at Matheson JHS. She will be an excellent administrator. Her background in mental health and counseling will help so many students. She has helped our family personally and many teachers and students in the eleven years we worked together at Copper Hills. Her husband was in a convention all day, but we got to eat supper together on the RiverWalk. Excellent day!

Cameron and Zoey were surprised that our conference sessions were in Spanish. They used earphones for interpretation, and had a completely new experience. I strained my brain for two hours and went home exhausted. President and Sister Torres spoke their “farewell.” We will miss them—they are amazing, brilliant, beautiful people who are full of the spirit and true missionaries. Today we gathered in McAllen for our mission conference and listened to Pres. Torres for the final time. He has spiritual insight and a way of teaching that sets us all on fire. He taught on the Restoration (which we have been teaching for two weeks)—all from the New Testament and Book of Mormon. Just as they move back home to Honduras, their oldest son graduated from HS and seminary and received his mission call to Brazil.

We are grateful for the call to serve here in the Texas McAllen Mission. We learn much every day as we read the scriptures, pray together, prepare lessons, listen to counsel, and study all these things. We love you all. Come unto Him every day.

Matters of Endings and Beginnings TMM

Matters of Endings and Beginnings TMM 6.3.19

I was watching the news about the border crisis and was once again reminded that we are having an unusual experience living on the border in these times. It was just announced on the news that a judge has thrown out the case to prevent the wall’s being built with defense money (ha, ha—de-fence money). One of our YSAs is a border patrol agent now on special assignment in McAllen. He was home for a couple of days and showed up at our Institute dinner. It was so interesting to talk to him about the children who are used to get people into the U.S., criminals who come under false pretenses, and the 1300 apprehensions every day. He tells about the true crisis we have at the border—a health crisis(we saw him at the hospital with illegal crossers every time we had to go with missionaries who were dehydrated or broken playing p-day sports), a humanitarian crisis (children used, trafficked, abused, and separated from their families by criminals), a legal crisis (“rule of law” is broken when it comes to our borders), a family crisis, and a crisis that strains our country’s resources (our taxes) in every way. Another newlywed young adult came to the dinner and reported that, though he loves Mexico (where he just lived for a few months to court and marry his sweetheart who he met at a YSA Conference in Texas), several towns south of the border have been emptied of all their population and are completely owned by the cartels. Scary. He is glad to be back at home in Laredo.

Although we missed three granddaughters’ graduations this year, we did attend graduation for United  South HS at the Sames Arena here in Texas. Our seminary class had two graduates at seminary graduation yesterday. The north class had three. It was a beautiful meeting, followed by a light dinner. Our seminary supervisor, Sister Vaca, is amazing! We are blessed to be teaching here in the new Laredo Stake. It is nice to sleep in for the next three months! We are excited for the new curriculum (New Testament until Christmas and then Book of Mormon). This summer we are teaching the new Institute course for Saints. Our Institute students took a vote, and overwhelmingly wanted Saints.

This next weekend is our stake conference, and I am playing for the choir. I haven’t practiced with them yet because the practices coincide with our missionary-prep class, but it should be a good experience. Laredo is sadly lacking  in musicians who play or sing. Texas is known for its marching bands, and that is the kind of experience they have with music here. Cameron and Zoey will be here—we are picking them up tomorrow in San Antonio and sending them back to Utah on Sunday night. We plan on Sea World tomorrow and other sights on Wednesday. It should be a fun week! Zoey has never flown, so this will be an adventure in itself—she and Cam together in the friendly skies on a non-stop to SA.

Our mission president (Torres—an amazing man) ends his three years here next week and takes his family back to Honduras. It must be difficult to leave, even to go back to family and church family there. Things always change, though, and life goes on. Endings. Beginnings. We have one more year here and look forward to serving. Love to you all. Thank you for your prayers, love, and support!

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!