A week of celebrations

One of the great things about being back is being able to participate in celebrations with people we love.  On Friday, we were able to attend the wedding reception for Trevor Ross and his new wife.  What a darling couple!  As a bonus, we were able to see Logan Jex and his wife and Carson Cleverly and Jeff Barnett.  I stole this picture from them.






We were able to celebrate P2's birthday with her for the first time.  We were able to spend some time with P1 and P2 while their parents were at the Temple.  We started out with a pirate lunch of octopus (pieces of hotdog with spaghetti noodles in them then boiled), goldfish, plank (celery sticks), and fish from the island.  We watched some of their favorite shows about pirates.  It was lots of fun.

Then we had cake at PE and ME's house.  P2 had fun with her presents.

We rushed off to another wedding, this time for a great young man from our ward.

On Sunday, we were happy to be able to attend Kurt Cottle's homecoming and spent time with him and Jennifer Martinez.

We wished we could have attended everyone's but, unfortunately, they all decided to be held at once in different places!  We really love these former missionaries.

Angels among us

I have been deeply saddened by news I heard this week about choices people I care about have made.   My heart is broken for them.  I fear for their happiness.  We live in a world steeped in cynicism and worldliness.  Temptations of every kind surround us.  I don't understand the draw to that world.  I have seen the terrible toll that results.  I have seen broken lives where people live without hope, without faith, without a belief in anything good.  I have seen lives governed by money and power. 

In contrast, I have also seen people whose lives are governed by faith, trust in God, love, and charity.  They do not have lives that are without trials, they do not have the appearance (in most cases) of actual angels to buoy them up.  Many have been burdened with sorrow, loss, and trial.  But they know joy.  They do not live for themselves, they do not wallow in pain.  They look forward to the Savior.  He can heal and they accept his healing.

I wish I could heal everyone.  I wish I could touch their hearts and hand them the peace that comes from the atonement.  But I cannot.  It is a gift that must be accepted.  It is freely offered, but cannot be forced upon others.  Christ already suffered for our sorrows, our pains, our mistakes.  Why do we insist on continuing to suffer?

It is so easy to doubt.  The world teaches us to doubt.  We have seen so many people who have deceived, so many people who have been deceived.  We have been taught to only trust things we can know with our senses.  There is a problem with that.  There are things we cannot know with our senses.  We cannot know gravity except by seeing how it affects objects.  None of our senses are able to detect gravity.  The same is true with God.  We cannot detect him through logic or our senses.  We can only know him through his actions.

So, to all who are sorrowing over a loved one, take heart.  Leave it in the hands of one who is divine.  Let him assign it to the angels around us.

A grand celebration June 21, 2016

Father's Day is a wonderful day, but was made more wonderful with the news that Earline, our sweet investigator, was baptized.  Erline is a wonderful Christian, a scholar of the Bible, and a seeker of truth.  She is such an example to me.  She had to overcome tremendous fears of falling and being immersed in water in order to be baptized.  Her fears were as serious as anyone I have ever known.  With the help of the wonderful people in the Clear Springs Branch, she was able to be baptized.  I am so happy for her.

She doesn't speak Portuguese, but she will never let that hold her back.  Congratulations, my friend!  May you grow every day in joy and knowledge.

Happy late Father's Day! June 21, 2016

My computer and I have had issues the past few days.  As a result, I missed the opportunity to pay tribute to the wonderful fathers in my life.  We cannot emphasize enough the value of good parents in the life of a child.  Good fathers help their children to learn about love, trust, and being safe.  Good fathers teach the values of work, honesty and living a life of honor.

Of course, fathers cannot do it alone.  I am always impressed with the example of parenting that we find with the Anti-Nephi-Lehies in the Book of Mormon.  Those parents valued honor.  They believed in living the commitments they made.  They were willing to sacrifice.  They taught their children that they (the stripling warriors) were strong enough to defend their freedoms.

I had parents who lived lives of honor.  They valued honesty.  They believed in commitment.  They did not protect us from consequences, but actually made certain that we received consequences when deserved.  They loved other people and were kind to them.  They believed that we had to earn our way in life.  They worked together for us.  They were a team, and taught us to be a team with our spouses.
We had an enjoyable evening on Sunday with Kaitlyn, Drei and two of Kaitlyn's friends.  Kaitlyn asked Jim to share some of the stories he had told them when they were children.  He did some funny things as a child and youth (and even as a young adult).  I laughed again at stories he has told.  They never grow old.

We went to the Church History Museum with Titan on Thursday.  It is really wonderful.  I took a few pictures to share.  I took this one of a table with 12 glasses of water and a red drape around the only chair.  For me, it was very interesting and powerful.

I liked this one of a soldier at the cross.

This was a beautiful picture depicting the atonement.  

This was a beautiful picture of Mary at the tomb.

This is a depiction of the story of the widow's mite by our own Erin Wall Meads.  

They also have a delightful children's area.  Children could play in this ark.

This is a kinetic sculpture made of wood.  It depicts the life of Jesus as steel marbles run down the track.  The artist's name is Karl Hale.

It is well worth a trip to see these beautiful pieces of art.

Afterwards. we went to the airport to welcome some of the missionaries home from our mission.  It was so great to see them.  Unfortunately, we only got a few pictures.  But I can tell you, there was a great celebration by the families that day!

And, then on Sunday, we were able to attend the report for Sister Barben.  What a privilege to have known such great missionaries in the mission.  I wish we could make it to all of the reports, but I hope that each missionary knows they are loved just as much, whether we make it or not!

Now it seems real June 13, 2016

Yesterday was an incredible day.  We have been home for a month and finally spoke in church about our mission.  When we came in and saw so many people who mean so much in our lives, it was very touching.  I have said before that it must be like heaven.  I think that is true.  We had old friends, new friends, ward friends, family and our sweet GANM missionaries.   I did miss my wonderful Brazilian friends, though.

As always, Jim drew in the spirit in his talk.  He has such an ability to do that.  He doesn't believe that he speaks well, and he talks about the number of hours it takes for him to prepare a talk.  When he speaks, though, he is more in tune than I.  He is just like that.

Bishop Thompson referred to the letter that President and Sister Bennion had sent to him.  It was very kind of them to say they hope we serve another mission and that they hope it is at the GANM.

 After Sacrament meeting, we came back to the house for food.  My girls and Jim helped and we did our best to try to create some Brazilian foods.  We had hot dogs with the toppings that our Branch would have served, chicken salad sandwiches, pao de queijo, some American salads, Brigadeiro and Beijinho with some luscious cookies others brought.



I did my best to capture the wonderful things I learned in the Clear Springs Branch about holding a celebration.  They do it much better, though.

For Sister Bennion, I bought Haribou peach candies and put them in little bags with a Georgia Peach sticker.  The missionaries liked the reminder of her touch.

We were able to talk to many of our friends and family.  Some were missing, so we have a LOT of catching up to do!

Our plaque is off the wall at the Church, our report is completed.  Now it feels final that we are no longer full-time missionaries.

Victory over darkness June 13, 2016

Today my heart is heavy as I think of the terrible tragedy in Orlando.  How I wish I could reach out to the families of those who were injured or died.   How I wish I could give them hope of a brighter tomorrow.  To all whose lives have been impacted, I want to assure you that God loves you.  Jesus Christ atoned for the suffering you now bear.  He is at your side.  He will bear you up.

God loves us enough to let us experience suffering that we might grow.  Kahlil Gibran said something about the deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.

Some may become swallowed up in the bitterness and anger because of the hateful act that took place.  We cannot let bitterness become an answer.  When we do, Satan has succeeded.

Satan has existed since the beginning of time and continues to seek the destruction of the divine creations of our Father in Heaven.  He seeks to sow violence, hate, and suffering.  He only prevails if we allow those actions to make us weakened in faith, weakened in hope and weakened in joy.

I will never understand the mind that can judge another and decide that their life does not have value. I don't understand how people who believe in a just God, a God who has commanded that we obey his commandments, could interpret his teachings to mean that we have any right to judge his creations and determine whether they have the right to live.  God has reserved the right to judge others as unworthy to live.

The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us to love one another as he has loved us.  We have a long way to go to do as he has required.

I'm back! June 5, 2016

Had a few technological challenges in the weeks since our return, so I haven't been blogging.  I have wrestled within myself as to whether it makes sense to continue blogging.  I don't know that I will have anything of worth to share.  But what I do know is that we have been asked to have a presence on the internet, to counteract the false information that flows abundantly out there.  So, I am back.

Returning from a mission is a little rough.  Sort of like reentry from space orbit.  I have found that sometimes I am hanging on tightly to those lessons I learned.  Things don't always go smoothly.  Sometimes the mission seemed like a simpler life.  I read a post from one our missionaries in which he talked of being homesick and wanting to go back to Georgia.  I understand.  Georgia is very close to my heart.

For example, in the mission, we didn't have a yard to care for.  Here we do.  One of the first things we did was put in a new line to water in two beds that used to be hand-watered and plant flowers. 

 One of the beds Kaitlyn calls the Tim Burton bed because it has black petunias and some other interesting flowers.

Probably one of the things we disliked about the mission was moving apartments.  We did a LOT of that while we were there.  So, when we returned home, we have found ourselves unpacking boxes we had packed before we left.  Oh, my, I guess you never get away from it1

One thing we will never miss is Waffle House.  Waffle House was a staple for many of the missionaries and our good friend, Barry Jessen, ate there every week.  We never acquired the taste.  However, PE and ME introduced us to a place here in Utah called Waffle Love.  It started as a food truck and now has a location in West Bountiful.  We liked it .

We have also returned to using our barbecue, grilling, they would call it in Georgia.  We missed that in Georgia.  In most of the apartment complexes grilling is not allowed except in designated areas.  

Some things are not the same.  Some buildings have been razed.  Some roads have changed (what is with the weird intersections off the freeway).  Spaghetti Factory must have changed chefs because the food was not the same.  Now there is an "At Home" instead of a Shopko.  Mom Dixon is now living in Barton Creek where my Mom once lived.  Barry and Jana did some awesome work at the cabin and so it is almost complete.

Mostly what has changed is our family and friends.  Cancer has been brutal to some of our loved-ones and neighbors.  With Titan, it has been easy to reestablish the relationship.

With P1 and P2, it has been harder.  P1 was about 2 when we left and so (after a great session of playing with Grandpa) he said "I like Titan's Grandpa".  Ilana is still not quite sure what to think.  And our little Canadians really don't have any idea who we are.



Knowing all of that, I would still go on a mission.  It was a blessing in our lives and the  lives of our children.  We didn't see them as particularly being blessed while we were gone, but they appear to have been protected from the fiery darts of the adversary.  Since we came home, they have all had car trouble.  My guess is that they soon will be begging us to go again!

The hightlight of the week was Titan's graduation from kindergarten.  Way to go, little buddy!