Cincinnati goes GREEN

Spring came early here this year, according to the locals, by several weeks. Here are a few of the steps we saw from our canopy level porch.

(You can click any picture to make it bigger)

On March 19th the sugar maples in our yard took on a pink hue. This is what the buds looked like as they popped:

The next day they looked like this, and on the following day they all fell off!

Then 10 days later, April 3, they did this:

The next day, this:

5 days later, this:

and a week later, this:

So we went from this:

to THIS in 3 weeks:

It's green everywhere. All the houses are hidden again and it seems when we arrive at our apartment complex you are driving into a campground. Quite pretty!

a Great Zone Conference

We had a wonderful Zone Conference where we brought all the missionaries in the entire mission together. We found a very budget priced caterer who cooked hot dogs and cheeseburgers on a charcoal grill and we had a wonderful picnic type meal.

We had our pictures taken, and that was fun.

Click on the video below.

We had fantastic training and talks, but for me the bestest part of all was the missionary testimonies of those missionaries who are going home next week. It was truly humbling.

Elder Bevington was among those who bore quiet but powerful testimonies. He was the missionary who was working in the office as Vehicle Coordinator when we arrived and thus became my trainer. He did a good job as a trainer, especially having an old forgetful trainee to deal with. He told me everything at least 7 times, and still I had to call him to ask questions after he left the mission office. In the video above he is the missionary on the left who folds his arms.

He read us a statement from D&C 118 that goes like this. “Let the (missionaries) continue to preach from that hour, and if they will do this in all lowliness of heart, in meekness and humility, and long-suffering, I, the Lord, give unto them a promise that I will provide for their families; and an effectual door shall be opened for them, from henceforth.”

Elder Bevington explained that his parents divorced when he was young and he lived mostly with his father. His mother never attended church. As he wrote to her each week throughout his mission she would reply and sometimes tell him he was getting too “preachy.” He never stopped writing and telling her of his experiences and bearing humble testimony. He then related that in a recent letter she told him not to faint but she was going to attend his homecoming and is starting to come back to church.

He then expounded the scripture in section 118 in a very quiet and soft voice and explained that “an effectual door” was opened by the Lord, just as the Lord had said it would be.

When I was the Stake Clerk at BYUI I watched the face on our Stake President as he came from his office after interviewing a young man who was about to go on a mission. He had a funny look in his eyes, so I asked him what was up. He said, “That is a good young man. I wish I was that good.”

So, that’s how I feel too.

Love,

US

.

A Good Day

April 8^th, 2010

I had a remarkable morning with Scott yesterday. President Robbins asked us to drive out to Oxford and visit with some sister missionaries that were having some disagreements over each others driving skills.

We had prayed before going for divine help. We needed to know how and what to say. We sat at their kitchen table and started off with a word of prayer. Scott told several stories to introduce the topic of communication and how to develop that skill. Part way through our training we asked them to teach us how to do a “companionship inventory” because we didn’t think we had done an official one. They told us how and then hesitated to do one because they were still feeling some hostility towards one another. The spirit told us to turn it around and let Scott and I do one for them and then they could grade us. They said, “Sure.” So we did. They liked it and we asked if we could do another one from Preach My Gospel. This one focused on expressing gratitude for things we appreciated in each other. The spirit was in full force and tender tears were shared.

Scott then told them the story of the young couple and the grapefruit story, the 4 families in car accidents and their bank accounts, and of the “Thank You Box” we had in our home when the kids were young. The light went on in their eyes and they wanted to try the “Thank You Box” for the rest of their transfer.

The sisters were so obedient and teachable; we know they will be able to work it out. Afterwards I helped them do their dirty dishes and they were so grateful. It gave me an opportunity to serve them and just visit with them about their mission work.

What a difference between the “before look” on their faces as we pulled up and “the smiles and hugs” when we left. They will be fine. Thanks you Heavenly Father for your divine help and putting the right words into our mouths.

In the evening we went over to Beth Terry’s home. We sawed tree limbs and gathered downed brush. We plan to can go back when things dry out and burn it for her.

Scott visited with Beth and watched silly Trixie (her fat short wiener dog) dig holes in the back yard while I cleaned up her flower pots out front. It was a beautiful evening. Clouds were rolling in and the temperature was just right.

How we have come to love this incredible woman. Chemo has taken her hair and her head is a mass of sores. We feel so bad for her. We have discussed what she is learning from this health challenge and it is this: “How to accept service from others graciously.” That has to be one of the hardest things to learn in this life.

While studying about Christ’s final days, the thought came to me; even Christ had to allow others to serve him. Mary anointing his feet with oil, the disciples finding a room for the Savior’s last Passover, and finally Simon the Cyrenian carrying the cross up the hill for Christ. Even our dear Savior learned to be served! Wow!!

Mud Mud M U D ! ! ! !

On Saturday (our preparation day) dad and I took the proverbial bull by the horns and fixed the stepping stones that lead from the car to the front steps of our apartment. Over time they had settled into the mud and mostly disappeared. (Click on the picture and see the bottom stones still in the mud.) Dad dug them up and turned them over. I scraped the dirt off the bottoms to level them up and filled in the holes with-dirt from 3 giant mole mounds that the moles made last fall. Then we put the stepping stones back into place. Hope ya know, we had a hard time, because we had no tools except a tire iron and an ice scraper! It is wonderful. The next day it rained buckets and we were able to go from car to apartment without getting muddy!!!

As we were doing the digging, one of the new tenants (from India) drove up and parked. Then he tried walking to the apartment on the stepping stones that were set off to the side, upside down. I am not sure what he thought was going on, but the look on his face made it absolutely obvious that his thoughts and reality were two different things.

We are doing great and send our love to you all!

Roush update

Dear Friends,

It is hard to explain a relationship in a few words, so you will have to read between the lines here.

We have written about the Roush family several times and how much we have grown to love them as they accepted the Gospel and joined the Church. Now they have moved out of the mission to Louisville, KY and we have been worried about them:

1. They had a hard time getting to church due to the new job requiring 7 days a week
2. They didn’t have a second car so that Tricia could take the kids and go to church when Eugene was working
3. The new ward didn’t know them
4. The missionaries in the new area didn’t jump right on them
5. Eugene made a new friend in the new business and shared the gospel with him but he couldn’t get the missionaries to visit and teach this new friend.

All those things made us worried they might lose their flame before it got strong enough to be self-sustaining.

We were quite anxious. We wrote to them each week and gave suggestions and shared our fears. I told Eugene about “that which Acts” and “that which is Acted Upon” and that he needed to be aware that Satan wanted to Act upon him.

Then last night this note came.

Hi Elder and Sister Earl,

It's Saturday night and yes finally the truck is operational!!! Hip hip hooray!! Sorry, we're very excited.

I really appreciated the email you sent it makes total sense and I will ACT!!!

This week has been amazing. I went with the missionaries to help give a blessing, and then I went to an appointment with them and it was so awesome. I thought I'd just answer “New convert” questions, but I actually helped teach them and gave a testimony. I was even able to throw scriptures into what I helped teach. I never thought in a million years I'd be able to help teach and enjoy it.

Please give everyone back at the Cherry Grove Ward a big thank you for their support of my family.

The young man at my work is now heavily investigating.

Awesome week!!!

Love,

The Roush Family

We are so grateful for the Lord’s good blessings and protection on those who love Him.

Today in Sunday School we discussed favorite stories in the scriptures, and good old George Miller popped up. George is not a famous name in the scriptures. Neither are most of us. The Lord says He loved George because of the “integrity of his heart” and his love of testimony. That’s pretty enlightening. He loves us more when we do what is right. That’s pretty special!

We Love You!

.

A Maori Sendoff

Today we were given a wonderful gift at the mission home—a peek of what a heavenly family can be like. A new elder was dropped off at the mission office by his family—all 20 of them.

This Tongan family had taken all their children, natural and adopted, out of school and driven the 5 hours to see their brother off on his mission.

While we waited for President Robbins to show up to do his interview we were privileged to hear this family recite their family motto—all D&C 4—sing to us in Tongan, and have individual children recite Articles of Faith. Once the President arrived and he was introduced to family members it was time for them to go.

The family sang to their brother a farewell song in Tongan. I thought I was standing on the shores of a Pacific Island surrounded by Tongan saints waving goodbye to a love one as they sailed away. The unison of their rich deep voices carried a message of true love deep into my heart and I felt of the mixed emotions they were feeling as they said goodbye for two years and the pride they felt for a righteous brother/son.

Then an incredible thing happened: The brothers took off their jackets and spread out. They then did a Maori Warrior Dance for their brother to encourage him to be valiant. It was loud! It was scary. It was powerful. It was quite the send off.

Then Elder Vakalahi stood by the door and hugged each of his family members as they left. First the brothers filed past and then the sisters. Each was tender and each sibling held a special place in his heart. The last was his little sister of maybe 5 yrs. He picked her up and wept. Last of all were his father and then mother.

I cannot put into words the righteous power this mother had on her son. She hugged him and then spoke quietly to him words meant only for him. Elder Vakalahi hung his head down and listened out of respect and nodded yes. The family left and there wasn’t a dry eye left in the room.

After his interview with President, Elder Vakalahi remained with us in the office for several hours. The office elders surrounded him and had lots of questions for him. They wanted to know how long it takes to cook for that many people and tons of other questions. Elder Vakalahi was so natural and so sure of himself and his family. Everything was matter of fact. No big deal. We even learned how to prepare and roasted a pig from scratch. The office elder’s mouths were watering by the time he finished. I can tell Elder Vakalahi will be a treasure in Ohio!

.

Straight Rows?

Dear Family and Friends,

There once was a farmer who one day decided to teach his youngest son how to plow a field. The young man listened intently on how to run the tractor but was thinking of other things when the father explained how to plow straight rows.

The father watched his son do two or three laps of the field and then decided all was well and he could finish up some other work and left.

When the son had just completed his 15^th lap the dad appeared and motioned for the son to stop the tractor and get down and walk with him. The son obeyed. The father took his son to the first row and asked his son what he saw. The son indicated the row looked pretty straight except for a small curve in the center. They walked to the 5^th row and the dad again asked what the son saw. This time the curve in the middle was exaggerated.

The dad asked the son what he was looking at for a guide while he plowed. The son said he lined up the tractor wheels with the ruts from the previous round.

The father then took this opportunity to re-teach his son. The father pointed off into the distance and told his son to pick a stable object that never moved to focus his aim on and not to take his eyes off of it once he started his row. The father then told his son to start over and see if his rows could be straighter. The son obeyed.

A ward member spoke Sunday in Sacrament Meeting telling us this story. He was the young man in the story. Br. Rupp went on to point out the fact that sometimes we focus too much on the everyday things that surround us (like the tractor wheel and the ruts) and forget to look up and focus on the Savior and we get off course.

I have been plowing and re-plowing that crooked row in my mind for days now. I am grateful for Br. Rupp’s visual reminder to focus on my dear Savior as I start out each day.

Hopefully, when I kneel down and talk over my day with my Heavenly Father at night I can catch the little mistakes I’ve made during the day and correct them so tomorrow won’t be affected. Thanks Br. Rupp!

Love you all,

MOM

Pinewood Derby Racin'

Scott decided to try to get some competitive action going with the adults in our mission ward when he heard that there was going to be an “open” class in the upcoming Pinewood Derby races. This open class allowed non-scouts to race in a separate category and to add more weight or size to your car or even add power. The open class race would be held at the conclusion of the regular Cub Scout race. Scott challenged the Elders and High Priests to build cars and race them against him, stating that he could “Whoop Them All.”

He didn’t want to spend much time on his car since that is not missionary work, so he took the block of wood, charred it on the stovetop to give the grain some color, and sprayed it with clear varnish. He glued a plastic missionary on top and added a propeller from a model airplane. No carving, shaping, sanding, weighting, nothin’.

Here is what the “Mission Unlikely” car looked like before the race.

The track was an amazing professional aluminum track with electronic eyes and computer software with projector showing who, when, times, speed, etc.

Here is the starting line.

Here is the finish line.

Note that in picture #1 the missionary is standing nice and tall, and that at the finish line the overhead score bar is, well, not quite so tall.

Here they go, the Mission Unlikely car off to a screaming lead.

At the finish line parts were flying all over the track. It seems the missionary was about 1/8” too tall to fit under the finish line.

Someone had a hot glue gun so the car was put back together without the missionary on top (I am not sure how the analogy fits into a mission story, but there must be some connection somehow.) The repair was done before the next round so the race continued.

Wahoo! Idaho wins! New track record too, 2.7 seconds compared to the next best at 2.9 seconds. Old Age and Treachery Wins Again!

Miracle Baptism

Dear Family,

Saturday was Esteban’s baptism. Esteban is our dear little friend that was all ready for baptism in October but got into a terrible accident two days before. After many surgeries and lots of healing he was ready for the waters of baptism again.

We had close to 100 people attended his service. Seven members of the rescue team came and supported him. Without their fast action and care we would have lost Esteban.

Since Esteban is from Mexico the meeting was conducted in both Spanish and English. The spirit was powerful. Manuel, Esteban’s good friend, has only been a member a short time but was prepared so he baptized him. It took three men to lower Esteban into the water since he has no legs now but they did a marvelous job.

CLICK the picture to make it bigger.

Afterwards the two sister missionaries that taught him had their picture taken with him and the firefighters. Esteban just beamed. I can’t describe the love this ward has for its members. Esteban and Manuel have been staying at a member’s home for over a month now while they are searching for a handicap accessible apartment on the ground floor. We have really seen first hand modern day “bearing one another’s burdens” like the Savior asked us to do.

The good people here have affected us so. We don’t think we will ever be the same again.

Tonight several of us, including the ward mission leader Br. Lind, and the office missionaries, went to the hospital to see our dear blind friend, Linda. She is back in the hospital with pneumonia. Your dad played his nose flute for her and we cheered her up. She really was thrilled with some Necco candies we gave her. Good childhood memories of going to the movie theater and savoring your Neccos throughout the whole movie.

We love you all and hope you take every opportunity you can to show love to others. Mostly, they just need someone to listen to them or a kind word. I think kindness is becoming a rare thing now days. Don’t leave home without it!

Happy Valentines Day our dear ones!

Your missionary MOM and DAD

Esteban, The Rest Of The Story

News 5 WLWT
POSTED: 2:24 pm EDT October 22, 2009
Man In Critical Condition After Losing Legs In Crash
Esteban Gonzales Pinned Between Car, Store
UNION TOWNSHIP, Ohio --

Esteban Gonzales, 65, was struck when a truck jumped a curb at Goodwill around 1:45 p.m. on the 4000 block of Commercial Boulevard. One of Gonzales' legs was cut off by the impact of the crash and the other remained barely attached to his body, police said. Gonzales was airlifted to University Hospital, where he was in critical condition Friday morning.

Esteban Gonzales, a dishwasher and having little to spare, was at the Goodwill Store looking to see if he could buy a little used bicycle for the youngest daughter of a struggling single mother of three, who lived down stairs from him.

Due to the fast response time of the Union Township Police and life saving training of the Union Township Fire and Rescue teams, Esteban was extracted and kept alive until the Life Flight team arrived rushed him to University Hospital. During the short flight, the Life Flight team gave him an additional 7 units of blood, barely keeping alive. At the University Hospital, the Trauma Team took him, on the brink of death, and fought for his life. They fought with for him not only with great talent and ability, but with heart. The struggle was not for a few hours by a few people, but for weeks by many wonderful people. Once Esteban pulled through and was able, the Drake Center received him and began to teach him the new life skills that he would need.

Thursday, October 22nd was two days before he was to be baptized. Several days went by until he was conscious enough to see me. He asked how I was and then if he could still be baptized!

On February 13th, at 1 PM, Esteban will be baptized at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 700 Clough Pike, CINCINNATI, OH 45245

On behalf of Esteban Gonzales, I ask that each and every one of you that made this moment possible, to please come and celebrate his baptism and the new chance of life that you all gave him.

Cordially yours,
Don Stanton
513-943-4008