Matters of Line Upon line TMM 9.11.19

Matters of Line Upon Line TMM 9.11.19

Here it is 18 years since terrorists attacked the United States of America and changed history forever. We love this country and think it is worth fighting for! We know that this is truly a land choice above all others, chosen by God to be a haven for freedom where the gospel of Jesus Christ could be restored to the earth. We know that the Constitution is an inspired and holy document that shines hope and liberty here and in desolate places of darkness in the world. Without America and its rule of law, the world would be lost to the adversary. We stand with those who will raise the ensign of truth and liberty and thank God for all that America strives to be.

We attended our first Primary Sacrament Meeting presentation of the year on Sunday. Seventeen children, half of them itty-bitties sang with such faith and gusto that I could hardly sit in my seat without jumping right in to bear my testimony with theirs in song. The primary president was also the chorister, none-months pregnant, and full of joy. I came home and ordered the music to “I Will Be What I Believe.” That little group sang “A Child’s Prayer” like a heavenly chorus in two parts. It was a really sweet blessing. Now, from my description you might think that they were perfectly behaved littles, but you would be wrong—which made it all the more delightful! There was the four-year-old screaming the songs until his little body just gave out; the angel next to him glaring with her hands over her ears; the little boy who was turned around playing with the necklace on the girl behind him and her frustration, not knowing what to do—sing or slap him!; the newly-baptized boy who was completely lost in the words that must have floated above his head without ever quite landing; and the Sunbeam who rested his top teeth on the wooden rail and rolled his eyes the whole time. Oh, it was a real, true primary program.

Our dear new friend Cindy apologized before giving her first public prayer and then touched our hearts as she thanked Heavenly Father for the JOY. It brought tears to my eyes. She didn’t quite know how to end and just sat down. I’m sure the missionaries will continue to teach her about all the intricacies of prayer, but in the meantime, I could feel Heavenly Father welcoming His daughter back to the fold. Cindy was getting her patriarchal blessing last night. Sunday she attended the self-reliance devotional and signed up for two courses. She has found such joy in the gospel!

And speaking of JOY—we love this mission assignment! I remember once I encouraged my brother to become a teacher and coach, but he countered that he really had no interest in teaching anything but the gospel. It is one of the great blessings of my life to teach seminary and institute here in Laredo, Texas! We love you all. Happy birthday last week to the baby of our family, Macie Violet Flanagan, who turned four, and happy birthday this week to our precious granddaughter Preslie who turns seven. Thank you for your prayers and love. Right back at y’all!

Matters of Line Upon Line TMM 9.11.19

Matters of Line Upon Line

TMM 9.11.19

Here it is 18 years since terrorists attacked the United States of America and changed history forever. We love this country and think it is worth fighting for! We know that this is truly a land choice above all others, chosen by God to be a haven for freedom where the gospel of Jesus Christ could be restored to the earth. We know that the Constitution is an inspired and holy document that shines hope and liberty here and in desolate places of darkness in the world. Without America and its rule of law, the world would be lost to the adversary. We stand with those who will raise the ensign of truth and liberty and thank God for all that America strives to be.

We attended our first Primary Sacrament Meeting presentation of the year on Sunday. Seventeen children, half of them itty-bitties sang with such faith and gusto that I could hardly sit in my seat without jumping right in to bear my testimony with theirs in song. The primary president was also the chorister, none-months pregnant, and full of joy. I came home and ordered the music to “I Will Be What I Believe.” That little group sang “A Child’s Prayer” like a heavenly chorus in two parts. It was a really sweet blessing. Now, from my description you might think that they were perfectly behaved littles, but you would be wrong—which made it all the more delightful! There was the four-year-old screaming the songs until his little body just gave out; the angel next to him glaring with her hands over her ears; the little boy who was turned around playing with the necklace on the girl behind him and her frustration, not knowing what to do—sing or slap him!; the newly-baptized boy who was completely lost in the words that must have floated above his head without ever quite landing; and the Sunbeam who rested his top teeth on the wooden rail and rolled his eyes the whole time. Oh, it was a real, true primary program.

Our dear new friend Cindy apologized before giving her first public prayer and then touched our hearts as she thanked Heavenly Father for the JOY. It brought tears to my eyes. She didn’t quite know how to end and just sat down. I’m sure the missionaries will continue to teach her about all the intricacies of prayer, but in the meantime, I could feel Heavenly Father welcoming His daughter back to the fold. Cindy was getting her patriarchal blessing last night. Sunday she attended the self-reliance devotional and signed up for two courses. She has found such joy in the gospel!

And speaking of JOY—we love this mission assignment! I remember once I encouraged my brother to become a teacher and coach, but he countered that he really had no interest in teaching anything but the gospel. It is one of the great blessings of my life to teach seminary and institute here in Laredo, Texas! We love you all. Happy birthday this week to our precious granddaughter Preslie who turns seven. And HappyThank you for your prayers and love. Right back at y’all!

Family Matters on the Covenant Path

TMM Blog 9.5.19

It’s raining in Laredo! This is the first rain we have seen here in months, and everything was looking burned up. Seminary is so great—we hated to leave them for even one day as we flew home for the weekend in Utah. It was a wonderful weekend, celebrating Emma’s baptism with Brady’s cute little family. At the same time Steven’s family had the sacred experience of celebrating Kelsey and Robbie’s sealing in the San Diego Temple. We were disappointed that we could not be in both places, loving on both granddaughters, but it was a special day. We are so grateful that we are able to leave the mission in order to be present at such life-changing events. We love our family! It was also wonderful to attend sacrament/testimony meeting and touch bases with our many friends in our home ward.

We love teaching the New Testament and becoming closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ. We love Him and are grateful to serve him. One of the sweet fruits was to watch our YSAs support and love each other on social media. One young adult was having a very hard time and reached out in her struggle. The men were especially supportive to her—bearing testimony, reassuring her that she is loved, and lighting her way with messages of encouragement and caring. It was truly ministering to someone in need.

We love every day of our service. We have many, many blessings—including you. Thanks for your prayers. Eight more months!

TMM What Matters Most

TMM Blog 8.20.19 What Really Matters

Last Friday we went to the temple. We usually go with our stake on a Saturday, but when we called for our appointment, there were no places left. As I dressed for the session, I remembered that it had been the 50th anniversary of my endowment the day before. I still use the temple clothes that my Aunt Janet made for me. Fifty years of temple blessings, family blessings.

Since we were in San Antonio, we made our stop at COSTCO to pick up a few things and wander the isles. We call it “our walk.” It’s hard to pass up the samples, so we were excited when we got a sample of Nutzo—which is a nut and seed butter that we had come to the store to get! We started talking to the woman who was handing out the samples and explained that we loved the product and planned to pick up a few jars. She went on to give her speech about the healthy ingredients, etc. I told her that we always read the ingredients and were very aware of everything that we put into our bodies. She said that she could tell because we just glowed on the outside. Now, she may have just been doing her job and selling jars of nut butter, or maybe our healthy eating does have an effect on our physical appearance, or it could be that we had just spent two hours worshipping in the Lord’s house.

Saturday we went to three different baptismal services in Spanish. We are amazed at the number of good people who are prepared to find the gospel here in Laredo. All of them had sought out the missionaries, been taught as quickly as possible, and entered the baptismal waters within two weeks. So many humble people here are searching, and when they meet the elders or sisters, they just KNOW. We also see family chains join. The first becomes a member, others see the changes (yes, even in physical appearance), and want to know, too. A sister follows her sister and then brings another sister, her mother, her friends, her children. A father brings his children and wife. Grandparents bring their grandchildren. It is a blessing to be here and watch it happen!

We have a seminary class of about twenty fabulous teens! It is a joy to teach them every morning. We are blessed in many ways. Jim had to see a nephrologist, but got the good news last week that his kidneys are in much better shape than four years ago, when he was considered borderline for kidney failure. All of his “numbers” have improved as we have focused on our food. “Use food for your medicine, or you will be forced to use medicine for your food!” We are surviving the HEAT and looking forward to fall, when the temperatures may drop below 100. You are all in our prayers day and night! We love you to the moon and back. Happy birthday to our beautiful August birthday girls—Haylee, Emma, Kelsey, Zoey, Victoria, and Cassandra! We are such blessed grandparents. Miss you all, but we’ll be home for three days next weekend for Emma’s baptism!

Hero Missionaries Matter 8.13.19

Matters on THIS side of the Border 8.13.19

School bells ring! Are you listening? We are so excited to start early-morning seminary tomorrow! We have been moved to the north Laredo building, where we will have about 15-20 students daily. That will be quite different for us, and we will miss the students on the south end. When you are in one small stake, but it is stretched over a sprawling city of 250,000 people, it is almost impossible to teach a group of students in a close proximity to each other or one of the two church buildings. A new teacher has been called to teach the other group. Brother Lambert is a retired teacher/principal who most recently served in the TMM presidency. He will have to drive from the north to the south every morning, and we will have to drive from the south to the north! We will probably be passing each other on the Bob Bullock Loop!

This last weekend we welcomed Greg (YSA) and his mother Monica into the Church. They are amazing. (Picture) We are expecting 30 baptisms in Laredo this month. Jim is out teaching with the missionaries right now. It is exciting to see the church growing so fast.

Sunday we went to three wards. In 4th Ward (English) we heard John, a newly-returned missionary, and his mother speak. John served in Colombia. He told about heading off to a meeting when he and his companion spotted a fire on the mountain. They thought they had better warn people to evacuate and began hurrying from house to house, knocking on doors. People would not even listen to them, and, seeing that they were missionaries, closed doors in their faces with the excuse that they already had a church, etc. Finally, they grabbed yard hoses and began filling buckets. As the fire raged closer, people still refused to leave their houses and insisted that they were fine and the fire department would take care. Panicking, the missionaries dumped buckets of water on the fire and doused roofs with garden hoses. When fire trucks arrived, very few people had joined in the efforts to save the homes. As John and his companion hurried off to their appointment, they passed a man with a child on his shoulders. The man pointed to the elders and told his son, “See those two men? They are the heroes.” It was a truly a metaphor for the people who refuse to recognize the dangers of ignoring God’s watchmen on the towers. John said he wanted to be a hero for bringing souls to Christ in preparation for the Second Coming.

John spoke again at the seminary open-house later that day and at YSA FHE. Welcome home, Hero John! Jim and I also spoke at the seminary meeting. I also played the organ and accompanied a couple of our YSAs to sing “If the Savior Stood Beside Me.” I was relieved when it was over, but it WAS a great meeting.

Have I told you how grateful I am to live on the USA side of the border? We have many students who have family in Mexico, and they live in constant fear. One student was very upset this week because an aunt and uncle and their family were kidnapped last week in Nuevo Laredo, just across the river. Somehow they got free, and then her cousin was kidnapped. They still haven’t found him. I can not even explain what local news is like here. Terrifying.

We only have a little over nine months left in Laredo. It is a blessing to be here, to learn Spanish better, to go to church with humble new converts, to give rides to meetings to those with no transportation, to teach with the young missionaries, to learn and teach the gospel from all books of scripture and modern revelation, to bring music into meetings, and to depend on each other. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. We love Him. We love you!

Pre-Weekly-Blog Story Path 8.12.19

Matters in our path TMM 8.7.19

It is miraculous how God sometimes teaches us small lessons by putting someone in our path and then prompting us to act. There is a teenage boy in our apartment complex who wanders around and sometimes asks us if he can wash our car for some money. Yesterday Jim took out some garbage, and met the boy in his path. The boy asked if Jim would go with him to the pawn shop on the corner and vouch for him so he could get money for his bike. Jim did not trust the boy, who seemed suspicious and dishonest, but told him he would need a note from the boy’s mother. Jim did not know anything about the boy—not even his name or which apartment was his.

The boy disappeared behind one of the buildings and returned in a couple of minutes with a questionable note on a scrap of paper with no signature. At the door Jim challenged him and asked if he could speak with the mother. The boy quickly countered that his mother was asleep and very sick with cancer, a huge tumor. They “needed the money from the bike for food because” the mother had not been able to work for two weeks. Jim told the boy that he didn’t believe him and would not help.

Now, we are ALMOST positive that the bike was stolen; the mother was not asleep or sick; that the boy wrote his own note; and that the money was not for food—but, this boy was put in our path. The test was not for the boy, but for us. Emily Freeman (Don’t Miss This!) and Dave Butler wear two bracelets. One says, “WWJD—What would Jesus do?” and the other, “HWLF—HE would love first.” We thought about this experience for a couple of minutes. Then we went to the store and bought a frozen lasagna. Jim went looking for the boy and the boy appeared. He seemed a little confused when Jim asked about the bike, and then took the dinner home with instructions from Elder Flanagan to cook it for his mother.

Matters of Time TMM

TMM Matters of Time

Time goes by so quickly here in Laredo! They say it is because we are older, and each day (or even year) of our life is a smaller and smaller part of life as time goes by. I suppose that is the truth. We have just less than ten months left of our 2-year mission. Our experiences and the people we love here have made it seem like home, and I no longer wake up wondering which home I am in. Ha.

On Sunday we had the opportunity of leading our YSA FHE. Usually they take turns giving the lesson and leading discussions, but two of the leaders were out-of-town and planning to cancel Family Home Evening. The Orozcos have been released as YSA advisors (do you think he has enough to do as a bishop???), and several young adults were very disappointed to think they would not be able to meet together. We were willing to support them in whatever they wanted to do, so at the last minute we showed the Don’t Miss This! video for last week and had them fill out the worksheet. We showed them how we study for Come, Follow Me at home by journaling our scriptures, reading, taking notes, filling out the worksheet, discussing, etc. If you haven’t watched the video for Acts 22-28, search it in YouTube. It was a great FHE for the group and for us. Then we fed them Keto “sandwiches” (grilled cheese/pizza—SO good) and left them playing scrabble and talking. (Nice to have Melchizedek priesthood amongst the YSA so we don’t have to stay so late.) We really love this group of young people!

We start early-morning seminary again next week! Right now they don’t have another teacher, so we may need to split up. I would drop Jim off at the Los Presidentes building and go to the Hillside building to teach. Not ideal, so we hope they can find someone in the stake. Another senior couple is coming to the mission next month (former seminary teacher), but they are on a leadership mission, not CES, and I really doubt we would be lucky enough to get a second couple in Laredo.

We are so grateful for Kelsey and Robbie’s upcoming sealing. We wish we could be there (in SanDiego) with you, but we already have tickets to SLC for Emma’s baptism on the same day. We are proud of both of these beautiful granddaughters.

One of the greatest blessings of this last year has been to study the Book of Mormon (twice a day with Cameron), church history, the Doctrine & Covenants, Saints, and the New Testament together. It has built our testimonies and helped us understand the many blessings we have through the Atonement of our Savior and the restored gospel. Love and miss you all!