The Blacks' Mission Report

We went to Minute Maid Park along with about 18 other Senior Missionaries from THE mission as well as many more from the other two Houston missions on Monday.  It was an interesting event.  We had seats in the upper deck.  Sister Black called the park early last week and asked about scooters and assistance.  She was told, "No problem.  Just check in with Fan Accomodations when you get here." So, we did that.  It turns out that we couldn't get her to the upper deck.  It would have required climbing about 35 stairs to get to the seats for which we had tickets.  So, the agent at Fan Accommodations swapped our original tickets for some tickets in the field level seats not far from the Astros dugout.  We were too far out to see the magnatron or much of the interesting displays they have on the lighted banners, but we did get to see the game. Elder Bednar threw out the first pitch, and the Elders and Sisters of the Texas Houston South Mission s...

Some of the perks of being Senior Missionaries are that we get some little pleasures, such as: This past week we hosted 3 different companionships of missionaries in our home on different days to enjoy dinner.  For one we made my own version of Enchildadas  For another we made home made Macaroni and Cheese (my way) at their request.  For the third we made pork chops, baked potatoes, Sweet Potatoes and fixin's.  I enjoy cooking for these young missionaries and they seem to enjoy eating what I make.  (I don't take photos of the food that I cook so don't look for any.) Unfortunately we don't get to host young missionaries very often. Last night we were privileged to go to the temple with a young man from our ward who received his mission call.  He will report to the Lima, Peru Missionary Training Center in November.  I encouraged him to contact Bishop Fernandez about working in the Houston Temple until he needs to leave for Peru.  He said he wo...

I knew that summertime heat in Houston could be oppressive, but I didn't realize just how it would effect us.  The heat/humidity just drains whatever energy we may have ever had right out of our bodies. It isn't as hot here as it generally is in St. George, Utah.  But the humidity makes it harder to withstand.  We look for shade, cool drinks, cold A/C, and a place to sit more readily here. In our mission we have set aside the first Friday evening of each month as "Faith and Family" night.  New and returning members of the church are requested to come to the temple with names of their own dead ancestors (who never were members of the church) and perform baptisms for those dead ancestors.  Some of you are familiar with the process.  Others of you may need a little more information. We believe that this life is simply a continuation of our eternal existence.  We believe that this life is a family experience, as was our pre-earth life.  We ...

The Santa Fe Railway Company sent me (and my family) to El Paso in August of 1989.  I was promoted to Assistant Superintendent-Operating and needed to get there quickly.  It ever seemed that way.  We want you at (location) and you need to get there right away.  My family was vacationing in So. California when this call came.  I immediately called my wife and told her the circumstances and left for my new assignment. We weren't able to purchase a house right away so we rented a home on the west side of El Paso for one year.  Then we did find a home to purchase on the ease side of El Paso.  It was in the old 8th ward. This was in August of 1990.  We hadn't even completely unpacked when a young lady approached us and invited us to dinner. This young lady was Annette Danes Hiatt.  She always met new ward members with an invitation to come to her home and enjoy dinner with her, her husband, and her children.  It was always a wonderful...