Week #6 and All is Well
Another week is in the book and it was worth the trouble.
On Monday we cleaned house. Good grief! How dirty can an apartment get in a month anyway? Vacuumed, Swept, Mopped, Cleaned, Washed 8 loads of laundry, did some grocery shopping and then collapsed into bed at 10:00 p.m.
On Tuesday we spent time using the internet to look for some of our ward members that have disappeared from sight., No luck. But Tuesday night we enjoyed dinner with the Suazo family. Hermano Suazo is the Second Counselor to Bishop Fernandez. It was a typical Honduran meal and we enjoyed it. Bishop Fernandez was there too, and Hermano Suazo's mother was there along with his daughter. Hermana Suazo was not there, but I don't recall knowing why.
On Wednesday we took 4 young Spanish speaking Elders to the Houston temple for their quarterly visit. After finishing our session we intended to take our district out to eat afterwards, but our "Other" couple (who we worked with in the MTC) was there and our Senior Missionary friends who live in our same apartment complex were there too. We wound up taking 17 of us to eat at a place called "Gringo's". It is a Tex-Mex place and the food is excellent. It is only a few blocks from the temple. This turned out to be a 9 hours long day with the young missionaries. And we LOVED it!
On Thursday we took Spanish speaking Sister Missionaries to the temple and then to dinner at Texas Roadhouse afterwards, courtesy of Gardner and Megan Black who gave us a gift card just before we left Southern Utah to embark on our missionary adventure. THANKS GARDNER and MEGAN!
Friday was a wonderful day. We were enjoying District Meeting when President Hewlett and his wife came to say hello. They were doing interviews and they brought Valentine's Day cookies. Unfortunately, I was not able to partake of them, but they LOOKED good! Then we spent the afternoon chasing rainbows and didn't really accomplish much.
On Saturday we went beating the bushes. I didn't know there was so much jungle in Houston, but some of the places we went were so overgrown we couldn't even see the houses. Then after the sun went down we were afraid to even try because we couldn't see where to step.
Yesterday was Ward Conference. President Rascon of the Summerwood Texas Stake along with his counselors as well as some of the High Councilors and most of the Stake Auxiliary presidencies. We met with the High Counselor over missionary work at 8:30, then expanded Ward Council at 9:15. Our Sacrament Meeting begins at 10:30, so Sister Black had to leave before Ward Council was over so that she could start prelude. She is the Ward Organist and I guess I have inherited the position of Ward Chorister for the present. We have also been asked to work on getting up a Ward Choir. We'll see how that works out.
Earlier in the week Bishop Fernandez invited Sister Black and I to dinner after Ward Conference was concluded. So when the meetings were over we went to his home and knocked on the door. Sister Fernandez opened the door and looked surprised to see us. I asked her if were surprise guests, and she said that we were, but no problem and come on in. She told us that Bishop Fernandez does this often, so she just plans on extra people. While we were chatting before eating I learned that one of the ladies there was from Uruguay, where I served my mission in my youth. We chatted about the country of Uruguay and where we had both been. She is probably a few years older then I am, but we know some of the same places. It was wonderful to hear the Uruguayan version of Spanish again. I love to hear it.
We had to leave the Fernandez' home at about 2:30 because we needed to be home to enjoy a video chat with our son, Jeremy, and then witness him give a name and blessing to our newest grandson, Wesley James Black. Isn't the magic of modern technology a wonderful tool for families?
Now to shift gears a minute. We received news that young missionaries are now able to contact their families through phone calls, video chat, email or any other method on their Preperation Day only, but that the missionary must initiate that contact. Families are encouraged to not initiate any calls. Missionaries are to use judgement as to the length of the calls. I suspect that calls made today were more lengthy than later calls will be. The point, as I understand it, is for the family to strengthen the missionary and for the missionary to share sacred experiences with their family, thereby strengthening both the missionary and his/her family.
Now having said that, Senior Missionaries are not under the same instruction. We are still allowed to contact our families as needed. Sister Black contacts her mother often because of her concern for her. Our contact with our children is fluid but we don't let it interfere with our missionary work.
We love you all. Please remember to pray for the missionaries and the Mission Presidents around the world. Some of the young missionaries are having pretty strong struggles with home sickness, depression, separation anxieties, and other mental health issues. I admire the work Mission Presidents do to keep everyone on an even keel. It is a mammoth chore that he could not perform without inspiration.
Mission Presidents are begging for Senior Couple Missionaries to assist in this sacred work. If you are able to serve, please consider contacting your Bishop and begin the processes.
On Monday we cleaned house. Good grief! How dirty can an apartment get in a month anyway? Vacuumed, Swept, Mopped, Cleaned, Washed 8 loads of laundry, did some grocery shopping and then collapsed into bed at 10:00 p.m.
On Tuesday we spent time using the internet to look for some of our ward members that have disappeared from sight., No luck. But Tuesday night we enjoyed dinner with the Suazo family. Hermano Suazo is the Second Counselor to Bishop Fernandez. It was a typical Honduran meal and we enjoyed it. Bishop Fernandez was there too, and Hermano Suazo's mother was there along with his daughter. Hermana Suazo was not there, but I don't recall knowing why.
On Wednesday we took 4 young Spanish speaking Elders to the Houston temple for their quarterly visit. After finishing our session we intended to take our district out to eat afterwards, but our "Other" couple (who we worked with in the MTC) was there and our Senior Missionary friends who live in our same apartment complex were there too. We wound up taking 17 of us to eat at a place called "Gringo's". It is a Tex-Mex place and the food is excellent. It is only a few blocks from the temple. This turned out to be a 9 hours long day with the young missionaries. And we LOVED it!
On Thursday we took Spanish speaking Sister Missionaries to the temple and then to dinner at Texas Roadhouse afterwards, courtesy of Gardner and Megan Black who gave us a gift card just before we left Southern Utah to embark on our missionary adventure. THANKS GARDNER and MEGAN!
Friday was a wonderful day. We were enjoying District Meeting when President Hewlett and his wife came to say hello. They were doing interviews and they brought Valentine's Day cookies. Unfortunately, I was not able to partake of them, but they LOOKED good! Then we spent the afternoon chasing rainbows and didn't really accomplish much.
On Saturday we went beating the bushes. I didn't know there was so much jungle in Houston, but some of the places we went were so overgrown we couldn't even see the houses. Then after the sun went down we were afraid to even try because we couldn't see where to step.
Yesterday was Ward Conference. President Rascon of the Summerwood Texas Stake along with his counselors as well as some of the High Councilors and most of the Stake Auxiliary presidencies. We met with the High Counselor over missionary work at 8:30, then expanded Ward Council at 9:15. Our Sacrament Meeting begins at 10:30, so Sister Black had to leave before Ward Council was over so that she could start prelude. She is the Ward Organist and I guess I have inherited the position of Ward Chorister for the present. We have also been asked to work on getting up a Ward Choir. We'll see how that works out.
Earlier in the week Bishop Fernandez invited Sister Black and I to dinner after Ward Conference was concluded. So when the meetings were over we went to his home and knocked on the door. Sister Fernandez opened the door and looked surprised to see us. I asked her if were surprise guests, and she said that we were, but no problem and come on in. She told us that Bishop Fernandez does this often, so she just plans on extra people. While we were chatting before eating I learned that one of the ladies there was from Uruguay, where I served my mission in my youth. We chatted about the country of Uruguay and where we had both been. She is probably a few years older then I am, but we know some of the same places. It was wonderful to hear the Uruguayan version of Spanish again. I love to hear it.
We had to leave the Fernandez' home at about 2:30 because we needed to be home to enjoy a video chat with our son, Jeremy, and then witness him give a name and blessing to our newest grandson, Wesley James Black. Isn't the magic of modern technology a wonderful tool for families?
Now to shift gears a minute. We received news that young missionaries are now able to contact their families through phone calls, video chat, email or any other method on their Preperation Day only, but that the missionary must initiate that contact. Families are encouraged to not initiate any calls. Missionaries are to use judgement as to the length of the calls. I suspect that calls made today were more lengthy than later calls will be. The point, as I understand it, is for the family to strengthen the missionary and for the missionary to share sacred experiences with their family, thereby strengthening both the missionary and his/her family.
Now having said that, Senior Missionaries are not under the same instruction. We are still allowed to contact our families as needed. Sister Black contacts her mother often because of her concern for her. Our contact with our children is fluid but we don't let it interfere with our missionary work.
We love you all. Please remember to pray for the missionaries and the Mission Presidents around the world. Some of the young missionaries are having pretty strong struggles with home sickness, depression, separation anxieties, and other mental health issues. I admire the work Mission Presidents do to keep everyone on an even keel. It is a mammoth chore that he could not perform without inspiration.
Mission Presidents are begging for Senior Couple Missionaries to assist in this sacred work. If you are able to serve, please consider contacting your Bishop and begin the processes.
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