Christmas 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas celebrating our Savior’s birth. We had the privilege of going with the Spanish-speaking Sisters a few nights before Christmas to a family from El Salvador. The home was very humble according to worldly standards. Inside was a brilliantly lit Christmas tree, a gift from the oldest boy’s grade school.

In young Juan’s class the teacher asked each child what they would like for Christmas and he had said, “I only want a Christmas Tree. I have never had one.” When the school heard this they chipped in and bought and delivered a tree with lights and all the trimmings. Little Juan and his brother were so happy to show us their tree. It was indeed beautiful!

A high school girl and her family joined us when we went to visit our El Salvador family that night. The girl’s Spanish class wanted to provide Christmas for a struggling Spanish family and they had chosen Juan Sr’s. We helped the family carry in presents with the sister missionaries.

We showed the family a Christmas video about Christ’s birth and then we went around the tiny room and all 14 of us shared our feelings about our Savior.

The remarkable thing was the sister missionaries prayed before we went in to the house. They prayed the family might understand us even though they would be interpreting for us. This is where the miracle took place. As we each shared our tender feelings the room became bathed in soft light, there was no language barrier, and our hearts were full to over-flowing. We felt like we were “the privileged shepherds” visiting Mary and Joseph. Such a good experience.

Christmas Eve we returned from a Zone Conference in West Virginia. A very sweet family invited us to join their family for dinner and a Christmas program afterwards. There were several little children so they dressed up and did the Nativity. Between each reading we sang a Christmas carol accompanied by a hand held harp. The young lady playing slid a sheet of music under the strings. The paper had black dots under the string you were to play and anyone could then play the song. It was kind of like guitar hero without the paper moving.

The last carol was missing the sheet of music so Scott asked if he could try and he strummed a few strings and then he played the song for all of us to sing. Ah the gift of playing by ear! I was so proud of him.

Christmas morning we were invited to a member’s home to help prepare Christmas brunch for the elders. This member loves to invite missionaries and new people in the ward who don’t have family close by to spend Christmas morning with him. We had a wonderful breakfast and then played a few games while the elders took turns calling their families.

Today at church one of the sisters we have been teaching the temple preparation classes to said that she has the next two weeks off since the family she nannies for is on vacation. She said, “I am so looking forward to spending the next two weeks reading my scriptures and drawing closer to the Lord and getting my life in harmony with His will.” Wow!

This year instead of giving gifts I learned how to receive them. There have been so many sweet acts of service preformed for us and other missionaries. When we return to Idaho our Christmas celebrations will have a larger circle of friends for sure. We now know what it is like to be on the outside and away from home.

Thank you for your gifts of love you sent and your phone calls. It felt so good to hear each of your voices. We know this is the great work of the Lord we are engaged in. We see miracles everyday here and blessings on those back at home. Thank you Heavenly Father for your watchful care.

We love you all.
MOM and DAD

Seasons Change!

I have a few minutes, so here are some pictures. This is the view yesterday morning out our window. You can compare it to the next picture from a few months ago. It was not a big snowfall, but was fun all the same. Traffic speeds and following distances on the roads were the same as on a perfect weather day. NUTS!

This is fairly typical for the SE edge of old Cincinnati. Neat houses.

This is a High School that was built in the flood plain of the Ohio River. In order to meet code, anything built there has to be built on stilts. The parking is underneath. This is the narrow end of the building, it goes into the distance quite a ways and looks better from the front (Right).

This is in New Richmond. Our attire has changed since the heat of summer!

Turning in the opposite direction, here is the floating marina and cafe that we saw back in August, only now it is about 15' higher in the water! Check out the piles (posts sticking up in the lower picture) that hold the thing in place. Find them in this picture to see how much the river has risen. The parking lot in the lower picture is now gone.

When the river floods, (every 20 years or so) it happens in January through March. Current typical river depth is 65'. That's a LOT of water.

We Love You!

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Missionary miracles

December 18, 2009, Friday evening

Hello Family,

Today some really special things took place. First off I want to tell you about Estabon, our Hispanic investigator that was to be baptized and then got crushed against a brick wall by a car. He lost both legs as a result of the accident and couldn’t get baptized. Well, Pres. Robbins went up to the hospital last night to check on him and some really incredible things have transpired since his accident a month and a half ago. I guess a ton of people have showed up to visit him and the love the visitors have shown has really impressed the nurses. Estabon has had one nurse read to him out of the Book of Mormon and she said she was Catholic and had never hear this stuff before, but she liked it!

The lady who accidently hit Estabon had $100,000 in medical insurance. That was used up in the first 15 minutes in the trauma room. Well, the bill is now 2 million dollars. President said last night an anonymous person paid the bill! There are so many good people.

One of his legs is missing just below the knee and the other mid thigh. Estabon told president he wants artificial legs fitted so he can walk back into the church. WOW!

He said he is determined to be baptized. We can see the Lord’s hand in this.

The second remarkable thing happened at District Meeting today. We had divided into groups and roll played answering questions of the investigators. The assistants had posed the question about “Where will I go after I die?” The assistants then gave the sister missionaries several ideas about how to teach using the scriptures. It wasn’t 30 minutes later after our meeting that the phone rang and the sisters wanted to tell the assistants what happened.

The sisters met a workman going into their building and they felt impressed to give him a pass along card. The sisters told who they were and asked the man if he had any concerns or questions. The man said, “Ya, I do. Where do we go after we die?” The card they handed him was that very card. They gave the man a shortened version of the Plan of Salvation, just as they had practiced it with the assistants. The man accepted a Book of Mormon and wants them to teach him in his home. Coincidence?

Here is a picture of Mary Catherine and Addie at our Temple Prep Class. How we love these dear sisters. They were so excited when they came to class this week because they were called to be visiting teaching partners.

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Gifts, big and small

Last Friday a man called to see if we still had some cars for sale. He told us of a family with two of their children on missions, the daughter in Peru. The mother was driving the daughter's car for some reason and there was an accident and the car was totaled. The mother felt terrible about ruining the daughter's car which the daughter intended taking to college when she comes home from her mission.

Today that man came into the office with a check for one of our mission cars. There were two cars in the parking lot and before we went out to look at them and decide which one to choose, he asked if we could have a prayer. The prayer he offered to ask the Lord that we make the decision that would help that family the most was a short but humble/thankful prayer that left tears in our eyes. We went out and looked over the cars and came back in and did some fancy paperwork shuffling. On Thursday night he will deliver the car to the family's driveway with a Merry Christmas note inside. They will never be able to find out who gave them the car.

Big wonderful gifts are a rare thing, and that's okay. Most people don't really need a big gift, they need someone who will be their friend and will listen to them and offer support and love. We just need to do our tiny part and that will usually be enough. One thing for sure however. Thinking about doing something won't help. As the hymn says, "Wake up and Do something more..."

This car reminds me to "Wake Up."

We love you!

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Santa or Jesus?

Our Good Friend took an internet comparison of Santa to Jesus and revised it to fit the truths of the restored Gospel. We thought this message might help you have the Spirit of Christ throughout the Christmas Season.

Santa lives at the North Pole, Jesus lives with our father in heaven.

Santa rides on a sleigh, Jesus walked on water.

Santa comes once a year, Jesus can be in our lives every day.

Santa comes down your chimney, Jesus lovingly stands at your door knocks, and enters your heart when he is invited.

Santa has you wait in line, Jesus is right there with you always.

Santa asks your name, Jesus knew your name before you were born, He knows your history and future, He knows your daily struggles.

Santa has a belly-bowl full of jelly, Jesus has a heart full of love.

Santa offers you a toy, Jesus offers salvation and eternal life.

Santa says, “you better not cry,” Jesus encircles you in the arms of his tender care while you are crying.

Santa's helpers make toys, Jesus’ helpers make themselves available to help others spiritually.

Santa puts your gifts under a tree once a year, Jesus’ atonement is our gift, He died for us on a cross made from a tree.

Santa wants you to believe in him, Jesus wants you to believe Him.

Santa is not real, he does not make us promises, Jesus and his promises are very real, they bring true joy.

Jesus Christ, our Savior and the Redeemer of the world, will bring us unimaginable blessings if we but:

Have Faith in Him

Repent

Be Baptized by immersion for the remission of sins

Receive the Holy Ghost

Keep his commandments

Endure to the end

Amish Countryside

Yesterday the office Elders asked us to go with them about an hour away to an Amish store, so they could buy cinnamon rolls. They are not to use a mission car for outings, so we got to drive our car. It was fun to get out into the country a little ways to where things open up a bit.

The Amish farm was a huge going business, with separate buildings for the furniture, bulk foods, and bakery. The buildings all had skylights for natural lighting and gas lamps for light when the sun is not out (since they avoid electricity as much as they can). There was a windmill for electricity for running such things as the cash registers and Visa credit card readers.

We tried to talk to an Amish girl at the checkout counter, but she either didn’t know what to say or was instructed not to visit.

At church today we both got to substitute for classes where a teacher was absent, but we knew about it yesterday so it was not a total surprise. We had the Rousch family over for Dinner after church and it was very good. We discussed Patriarchal blessings, which they had not heard of before. That discussion led to our heritage of pioneers who came across the plains in wagons and handcarts. They thought that was a Big Deal. You know what? It is!

Brother Rousch received the Priesthood last week, so he was on the stand today to help bless the Sacrament. BOY, He looked GOOD sitting up there! What a special little family. Javis Rousch, who is 5, now has a special bond with Elder Earl because they both have clip-on ties. His eyes were HUGE when he saw that!

Elder Earl is starting to pull in the cars we are going to sell. It is quite a bit of work to get them ready. We have an appointment tonight with a recent convert family so we better get going.

We Sure Love you all!

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Preparation Day Adventure

Extracts from my Journal:

This morning after I cleaned out the cave the creature said we (there’s that word again) need to go to Wally’s Cave for things we are out of. I didn’t note I was out of anything, everything I need is in the ice box. I go there regularly and everything I need is there. Some meat, some eggs, an occasional vegetable, a drink of cow nectar, life is good. She says if it were not for her, the ice box would go empty. That makes no sense. There will always be more. That’s what “more” means.

So off we go (that word again). She makes lists of things she needs and I am supposed to go find some of them. She keeps the list however, so I have to find her often to see what is on the list. I seem to get distracted somehow, maybe it is all the pretty colors and containers. I find the body powder but I am standing a few feet away talking to missionaries, on the portable talk thing, who have a flat tire. She has located a cave worker who brings her to the body powder section and she thanks the cave worker, picks up two containers of the stuff and walks away. I think it is odd since I have a push-along thing to place items in and I think she should put them in the push thing, but off she goes, all the same.

When I finish giving the missionaries instructions, I get going again, but she is not to be found. Not a problem, since I remember that an item on the list is socks. I head for the sock area, but find some nice clip-on ties along the way. They are pretty. I put some in the push-along thingie. When I find the socks, there are too many. There should just be black and white, boys and girls, but NO there are TONS of socks, some a short, some are long, some are colored, some are almost clear and have your underpants connected to them! I stand there a long time, and my portable talk thing rings. I answer, and it is she. She wonders where I am. That’s dumb, I’m right by the next thing on the list, Socks. Turns out she was by the next next thing on the list, a squeegee, waiting for me to show up. I don’t remember THAT on the list.

She takes me to the area with meats. I like that area. She puts some in the push-along and when the push-along starts to get pretty heavy, we go to the front of the cave where the cave worker is who pretends to be friendly and takes my money. That seems rude, but we leave and go back to our cave and she puts the cold meats in the top of the ice box where things get EXtra Cold. Says whey will keep there longer. Well of course they will. They get hard in there and you can’t eat them! We will have to go back to the Wally’s Cave again soon I fear.

Extracts from Her Journal:

Saturday! I like Saturdays. It feels good to clean our apartment and get organized for the week. Scottie and I sit down at breakfast and plan out our grocery list and what errands we need to get done. I throw another batch of laundry in the washing machine and we are out the door.

Once inside Eastgate’s Wally’s World we find they have placed items in different locations than Ammon’s Wally’s World, but no problem. I ask a nice checker for assistance. I encourage Scottie to stay put and I will be back in a moment. This should save his aching feet from doing any extra walking. I am such a thoughtful wife!

The nice checker finds what I need. I grab two, one for storage, one for now and I rush back to Scottie so as not to keep him waiting. No Scottie! I look and look and back track and then say to my self, “Self, where is that man?” He gets distracted so easily and hates to wait. He has no idea how fast I am and he doesn’t know the meaning of “waiting for a woman.” I try to imagine how a man’s mind works and it leads me to think of three places he could be. Tools, electronics, and food. He is not in the tools, electronics is out of the question for another year and that leads me to food. I wander around aimlessly for a long time and now MY feet are hurting.

I am ready to call store security when I remember my cell phone. I call and a cute little voice answers, “ Where are you?” Duh!!**!! I reply sweetly, “Looking for you sweetheart.”

I find him lost in the sock section smiling shyly. He can’t seem to find the soft warm fuzzy socks he likes best. We locate his favorite socks just to the left of his hip.

We gather the last of our supplies, making sure the whole time to keep Scottie in front of me so as not to lose him again. Memories of shopping with 2 year old twins spring into my head at this point.

As we drive home I make a mental note not to forget to put treats in my purse for next Saturday. I really must get that man out more often. Sometimes I worry he lives in the dark ages.

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I Changed My Mind

As you go along through life, sometimes you change your mind about this or that on account of experiences. Sometimes it is a fairly major experience that changes your mind, but more often you accumulate small experiences and they cause you to reflect—and voila, you now have a new opinion. Too bad no one wants to hear it, eh?

So, a few weeks ago we went with the Sister Missionaries to teach a family. The father was ahead of the mother in terms of being ready for baptism. When the Sister Missionaries told us a few weeks later they had scheduled a baptism for the father and the son but not the mother yet, I sorta felt maybe they should wait and do it all together. Well, I was wrong wrong wrong. (I am getting used to that.) We went to the baptism and it was great. After the baptism, the mother went up to the Sister Missionaries, and said, “Okay, that was it. Now I know.” Tomorrow evening we are going to HER baptism. She was waiting for some kind of a witness, and she got it at her husband and son’s baptism. If they had waited for her to be ready, they would still be waiting.

We have been sick for a solid week and did not dare go around other people for fear it might be contagious. We worked at the office in the evenings or during zone conference days so no one would be there, and we disinfected behind us as we worked. We didn’t go out and teach or visit in the evenings so it was pretty boring. Now we are feeling better and we are happy to get back to a busier schedule. As Suzanne would say, we have been strengthened a bit by the tempering process.

A few days ago we drove a few miles to Edington Mound. It is a leftover from the Adena and Hopewell Cultures who lived in the area between 1000 B.C. and 400 A.D. Interesting dates, eh? The mound is 133 ft Diameter and 16’ high. It was much steeper sided and higher before it eroded for 2000 years. Neat place.

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A Pretty Covered Bridge

There is a covered bridge here in Cleremont County, OH. It was built back in 1878. We plugged in the GPS coordinates and found it yesterday. It looks pretty neat, but what caught my attention was the structural design of the bridge.

It is a 12 panel Howe Truss spanning 140 feet. Howe patented this truss design in 1840, which consists of crossed wooden members with vertical iron rods. You can see it pretty clearly here. At first I was surprised that the members are mostly in compression. A steel bridge truss has most members in tension. Then as I thought about the joints, it made sense. Joints of wood in tension will pull apart, whereas in compression, the joints are held together. The vertical iron rods hold things tight and seem to be the only components in tension.

Click the pictures to make them BIG!

As you drive across the bridge (one car at a time) cars approaching the other end honk to let you know they are in your way since they stop right in the middle of the narrow road right at the entrance and you can't get past them until they back up.

Here the creeks are called Licks and Runs instead of Creeks. I have no idea why.

We sure love you all!

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God Bless the little ones.

A small girl, about 7 years old, went to the stand today during Fast and Testimony meeting and said, (as best I can remember)

“Last Sunday I was outside picking up some nuts that had fallen. I think it is like everyone in the whole world, people who make mistakes and sin and fall down on the ground. Then Jesus comes along and scoops them up if they repent and makes it all better. We talked this out and we decided it is like a squirrel who gathers the nuts and makes them His. I just wanted to tell you about it, in the name of Jesus, Amen.”

Well, you get a talk like that once in a lifetime or so, but then at the very end of the meeting a man went up front with a questioning look on his face since it was time for the meeting to end. He looked at the Bishop and got a very warm encouraging smile, so he came on up, but then found he couldn’t speak. He stood there, then shuffled around, started to return to his seat, then came back, looked at the bishop again, stammered a couple words, and stopped. Then a little girl of about 5 years, his daughter, came up on the stand and stood next to him and held his hand, and just stood smiling at him. Then he could start. He thanked the ward for their support. He petted the little girl’s head as he calmly explained that for the past few weeks their little newborn had struggled and finally died the day before yesterday. He explained that they had been praying for the wrong thing, that the baby would be healed. They were at peace and the Lord was at the helm. He calmly thanked the ward for their support and, closing in the name of Christ, returned to his seat. This man is an investigator, not yet a member.

The faith of the children can accomplish miracles. These are the ones that Christ tarried with when he visited the Nephites of old, and He will do it again when He returns. Maybe we can learn to be more like these children if we really try hard. Neither of the above events could have happened if children were discouraged from getting up in our Fast and Testimony meetings and telling us what they feel.

God Bless the little ones.

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Autumn Leaves

Dear family,

After church last week we took a drive out in the countryside to see all the changing colors and visit a few ward members. We found a really great High Councilman and had a good visit with him. He gave us some grand ideas of who would make good fellowshippers for our recent converts. He had been a member of the ward a long time and knew everyone and their circumstances. At our missionary correlation meeting Thursday we made these suggestions and our mission leader loved it. It sure helps to put heads together instead of working on your own limited brainpower.

Click any of these to make them bigger.

Here is a movie clip going up a steep hill onto a rare open place.

At our office staff meeting Scott and Pres. Robbins were discussing all the driving problems we were having with the missionaries. The church has made some really great instructional driving movies for training in the mission field but none of them addressed our problems. Pres. said, “Maybe you will have to make your own film.” DUH!?!! So Saturday Scott wrote, directed, and burned a video using the assistants simulating our driving problems. It turned out great. We will use it at zone conference in two weeks. Problem solved!

Saturday night the Eastgate Ward held a baptism for four individuals. Two of them were the father and son we had once helped the sisters teach. What a beautiful testimony Jesse, the father, gave. It was very short but powerful. He told how his wife asked him, “Why this church?” He responded, “ Because of a scripture I read. By their fruits ye shall know them.” He said he didn’t understand all things but because of the friendship and concerns for him and his family by total strangers he knew this was the Lord’s church. He stated that he had seen many churches speak of their beliefs, but not many that actually practiced them. He was so taken back to be invited into someone’s home for Sunday dinner one of the first times they came to church. Oh—the power of opening our homes and extending a hand of friendship. The teachings of Christ are so simple and powerful.

This coming week will be a full week for sure. We have four new missionaries arriving Monday and two going home on Wednesday.

Thanks for all your fun Halloween pictures and emails. We sure love you all and pray for your health and safety. Be good kids and invite someone to dinner and share your testimony with them.

Love, ma and pa

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A Great Baptism!

Last night Eugene and Trisha Rousch were baptized. It was the most special thing I think I ever saw. I don't have words to describe it. I can't think how to start.

Members who have been involved in teaching the family conducted the meeting, gave the talks, and performed the baptism and will do the confirming on Sunday. The missionaries were so willing to just be there and to witness the special event. The main talk was by Br. Skidmore, a local type guy in relaxed attire who was nervous enough that he wrote his talk and read it. He had helped teach the Rouschs and they really like him. I think he was reading his talk mostly to keep from getting emotional. It didn't work. He had to stop a couple times, like when describing how the Atonement makes it so that Christ enters your life and changes you. His talk was excellent, right from the scriptures and full of simple yet profound doctrine.

After the baptism, two of the sister missionaries played an amazing piano and violin version of "I Know That My Redeemer Lives." It was perfect. Then Br. and Sister Rousch bore their testimonies. This is the part I can't put into words. Sitting in the audience were Br. Rousch's sister, mother, and stepfather as well as Sister Rousch's brother, some of whom have been opposed to their baptism right from the start and had been bringing anti-Mormon articles to them. Eugene spoke right to them and told them of how he and his family were committed to doing the right thing. He spoke of how pure the message is, how pure the missionaries are, how pure the gospel is. He was very emotional, but not so much in a teary way. He was bold and strong and told how he really felt about finding the true Church of Jesus Christ, all the while struggling to keep his composure. He was exceptional! His beautiful wife just beamed at him. When she took her turn she was so thankful to all who have helped and taught them. She was struggling a little too to keep in control but did great. I am telling you, you would have guessed they had been members for years.

All the while their 6 year old, Javis, was watching and wondering, and little 9 month old Tracin was beaming and smiling at everyone as if to say, "Thank You for helping my family be together forever!"

The Relief Society president welcomed Trisha into that organization, and the Elder's Quorum president did the same for Eugene. The bishop said there wasn't much left to say, so he said just a little.

I am reminded of several of the Book of Mormon prophets who said they couldn't record on the gold plates what they really felt, and that is sure the case here.

What a special ordinance for a very special family.

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He is in the Details?

We first met Esteban at the church where a friend was being baptized. We don’t see him often because he is in the other ward. We did meet him on two other occasions, one time we talked with him (with the sisters interpreting) about his life and interests as we were waiting outside the church for a meeting. Although we didn’t understand the words, we could tell he was a pretty special man. Turns out that Esteban has been taught by the sister missionaries for the past 7 months and is an amazing humble fellow. He appears to be about 50 years old, but his hard life in the outdoors makes it hard to tell. He left Mexico many years ago to try to make a better life for himself. He came alone, and never married. In his loneliness he began drinking and this has been his obstacle in getting ready for baptism.

As the sisters were teaching him, his roommate became interested, and it is this roommate whose baptism we attended two weeks ago. Esteban gradually turned a new leaf. He changed his habits and started learning to read and change his life style. Finally this week Esteban was ready. He had left his crutch and his old life behind him. Much like King Lamoni's father who said, "O God…wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee….”

On Wednesday evening Esteban met with the district leader at the church and had his baptismal interview. It went well and Esteban was very happy that he was going to be baptized on Friday.

Yesterday, Thursday, Esteban was walking past a store when a woman in the parking lot missed her brake and hit the gas instead, going up onto the sidewalk and smashing into Esteban and pushing him through the plate glass window. His leg was crushed and he lost most of his blood. They life-flighted him to the hospital but he has not regained consciousness and is not expected to live.

The ward mission leader (a previous mission president) and the bishop gave him a blessing last night of forgiveness of his sins on behalf of the church and thus sealing him up.

The Lord has such interesting ways of fulfilling his promises He made to us as He sent us here to this earth. He is in the details of our lives, oh if we only recognized it. God bless Esteban.

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a Brick

Hello Friends!
I saw a news blurb yesterday about a hospital here in Cincinnati that is doing some renovating with donated money. Each person that donates a certain amount of money gets their name on one of the bricks in the new hallway to thank them for their support. Kinda neat, huh? They are getting some good help now.

Today we saw a somewhat similar crisis wherein an Elder’s wisdom teeth came in suddenly with a vengeance. The surgery has been on hold pending scheduling and he has been in big pain. He found out today that insurance will not cover the first $800.00 so we called his parents but they have no money. The doctor was about to put off the scheduled surgery. The mission doesn’t have any funding available for such expenses. President made a call to the home Stake President, who gave President his Visa Card number and said he would cover it. I bet nobody ever finds out about it. I wonder where his brick is?

We send our Love,

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A Major SCARE!

I have a funny story for you this week. The other night late two of our young sister missionaries call Elder Earl.

“Elder Earl, Elder Earl, we saw a mouse in our apartment. What shall we do?”

In typical dad-like fashion he told them, “Well, you could stand on a chair and scream.”

They replied, “We all ready did that!!!!”

We had a big laugh. He then told them they had scared the poor mouse enough for one night and to go to bed. The mouse wouldn’t harm them.

He instructed them to call the landlord in the morning and they would contact an exterminator and take care of the problem. They did and the problem was solved.

I though about the event for a while and then decided to ask Spring to draw a funny card of the sister’s standing on a chair so I could give the card to the sisters as a remembrance of this funny event. Spring created a great card and I wanted to share her talent with you.

Way cute!

The ward here has a Fall Harvest celebration the week before Halloween including food, fun, and games. It starts out with a Trunk Or Treat in the parking lot that has become pretty big with about 150 kids coming through, many of them non-members.

Sister Vandemeer is a very outgoing member in the area who involves every person she meets in a discussion about the church! She told us the other day that our Halloween goodies for Trunk Or Treat should be something out of the ordinary. She says that we should ensure that when the kids go home and dump out their loot, it needs to be obvious what came from the Mormons.

We struggled to come up with an "Original Idea." It was PAINFUL! Finally after much tribulation we hit an idea. We printed messages on 150 Avery mailing labels, colored the happy faces with highlighter, and ordered 5 pounds of mini Necco candy wafers.

We are making Chili and a Pie for the food contests. Mormons are indeed yummy and fun.

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Dear Ali, Marisa, Ben, Jaden, Grant, Makenna, Hyrum, Hannah, Nate the Great, Cristine, Brooklyn, Tanner Man, Sierra, and Miles:

Grandpa and I would like to share a busy two days with you. They include another baptism in our ward! I will tell you a little more about it in a minute.

Friday: went pretty smoothly in the office. President Robbins and his wife just left for Washington DC for a conference with other mission presidents. They are going to be instructed by one of the twelve apostles. President Robbins asked Grandpa and me to handle emergencies while they are gone for 4 days.

We planned on getting a jump on the crowd at the stores by getting our groceries right after work but the sister missionaries needed us to go with them to teach a family. The mother was supposed to still be in the hospital so the sisters wouldn’t be able to keep their appointment without us since just the dad and children would be there, so we went along.

As it happened the mom had just got out of the hospital and was there for the lesson. Both parents wanted to learn so badly. The mom read much in the New Testament while in the hospital. The dad had been reading his Book of Mormon. We had a good lesson and the dad asked lots of great questions. Asking questions is a good thing! That is how we all learn. One of his good questions was,” If Lehi was a prophet and God talked to him and gave him instructions for his family, why did God also give him a Liahona?” Pretty good question, huh?

Afterwards we ran to the store and got our errands done. We spent Friday night doing laundry, scrubbing our apartment down, and cooking because we wanted to go hiking on Saturday.

Saturday: morning we got up early, studied our scriptures, and got ready for the day. At 10:00 the office elders showed up and we all went down by the Ohio River and hiked the rolling hills in a Nature Preserve. (I think they were preserving all the poison oak and ivy for the east coast).

Grampa said it was a Hard Hike!




We had a great time looking at all the interesting plants and trees dressed in their autumn colors. We found tons of wild mushrooms/fungus looking things on trees. We took lots of pictures for you. Grandpa and I stayed out of the water and obeyed the mission rules. We are trying to be good.

We then drove to a city up north to find some baptismal clothes for a lady who was getting baptized that night. Saturday evening we attended Linda’s baptism. She is the blind lady the elders have been teaching. She was so happy and couldn’t thank everyone enough for caring about her. Here in Ohio there are more grownups getting baptized than 8 year-old kids.

We had Eugene and Trisia’s family at the baptism and also the new family we had taught with the sisters. Another set of missionaries brought their investigators along too. All of the investigators wanted to witness a baptism because there are going to be baptized soon. The spirit was very strong and I am sure they felt it.

We headed home and changed into our comfortable clothes to settle down for the night and just relax and read. We no sooner had changed than the phone rang and the assistants (the elders that work directly with the mission president) called and said, “Do you remember, you are going out with us tonight?” NOPE! So we said, “O-Ya! We will be right there!” So we threw on our church clothes and met them at a recent convert’s home.

Stephanie has been a member for about 4 months and is struggling with being the only member of her family. Her kids hate going to church and her husband just leaves her for weeks at a time without saying a word. Crazy!

The elders’ lesson was on being consistent with reading your scriptures and praying everyday for God’s help in your life. The elders wanted us to be there to share our testimony of never giving up. As we talked to Stephanie it reminded me of sitting down with one of my daughters and just listening. Listening to her concerns and just saying, “You are doing just fine! You can do this!” Then giving her a hug and a few suggestions on parenting.

How we love these people! We are all the same everywhere. We need to be taught of God and his plan for us, practice living the commandments, stub our toe trying, have someone pick us up and give us a hug and say, “Try, try again. You can do this.” Then cheer for us when we do well because we need friends that care in this life.

Grandpa and I love you all so much. We miss playing with you and getting your great hugs, but Heavenly Father needs us to help little families here that are struggling and don’t have a knowledge of God in their lives or parents or grandparents in their children’s lives. Heavenly Father needs us here for a season. Always remember you are the best grand children and your mom and dad are the best children in the world. We are proud of all the good choices you make and the incredible youth are becoming.

Love each other and look for ways to obey Heavenly Father and your parents and give service to your brothers and sisters and especially your mom and dad.

Love you all,

Grandma April and Grandpa Scott

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2 New Things I Learned this week

October 3, 2009

Dear Family,

This past week I learned about “Enduring to the end” and “How to teach like the Savior.”

Friday an older gentleman came into the office looking for the referral secretary. He had names of several nurses he wanted the missionaries to contact and teach.

This man’s wife had had a terminal illness and the nurses from hospice had cared for his wife up till the end. He said during his wife’s illness he had taught the nurses many things from the Book of Mormon and told them he was going to send them a copy of their own to read. That was why he was seeking the missionaries’ help.

Your dad had a delightful visit with him and then asked him when his wife had passed away. The man replied, “Wednesday. I came here Thursday but no one was here.” Here this sweet grandpa was out thinking of others and furthering the Lord’s work when he had just gone through such personal loss two days before—Amazing! He is a true example of enduring to the end. Not just making it through one crisis after another, but putting the Lord first and being out and about doing good. A truly amazing man!

This last week we had 3 Zone Conferences in East Cincinnati, South Cincinnati, and West Virginia. We decided to get up early and drive to West Virginia instead of staying overnight in a hotel like last time. We had not reckoned on all the ground fog so travel was a little stressful with the winding roads. When we crossed the Ohio River bridges you could only see white clouds below—no water.

In West Virginia the elders drive pickups because the roads are so bad. There are lots of dirt roads and potholes. We had Dr. Aldous from the church come and speak on health habits that will keep you well and he answered many questions.

The mission president had the elders bring sack lunches so the doctor could judge if they were eating good food. The majority of the elders passed. It was a real good test. The training at the conferences was very good, and dad got to show his new video he made of the sacred grove. Here it is in tiny form.

I am not sure I have mentioned our Gospel Essential Class? Our instructor, Sister Skinner, is a convert of 20 years and is a fireball. She has such a way of making everyone feel welcome and explains the gospel so simply. She radiates excitement and love for the Lord and living the gospel.

She loves to tease the missionaries and knows everyone’s name by the end of class and can remember the names clear till the following week—amazing. We meet in a large classroom but it still isn’t big enough. We are wall-to-wall bodies. Everyone loves the class. With an instructor like her you have no fear of bring investigators to class. I guess what I learn from her example is that I need to stick to the gospel basics when I teach, live worthy of the Holy Ghost’s influence so he can teach through me, and show my sincere love for everyone no matter their station in life.

Your dad and I love being missionaries and serving the Lord in this part of his vineyard. We love seeing how the gospel changes lives for the better. We miss you all more than you can imagine, but feel peace knowing our family will be blessed to the third and forth generation if we are valiant. Watch out for each other and follow the prophet’s counsel and then you will be safe and prepared for what life throws at you. We are so grateful for “you all.” Thanks again for email, pictures, and phone calls. You are the ray of light at the end of a busy day.

Love ya,

MOM and DAD

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