Jack n Gaye: Arboretum in Dallas

20 December 2009 – Mission Journal

Dear Family and Friends, Another Sunday rolls around. Once again we have had many wonderful and varied experiences. The employment center continues to be busy, as you in Nevada and Utah know, it’s a tough job market out there! And Texas is not as hard hit. According to national reports, as other states. Monday afternoon I was at the desk answering phones. A man called in and said he went to work and found out that he had been laid off, no prior warning – boom, just like that. He was devastated and worried and concerned about providing for his family. I probably spoke with him about 10-15 minutes just listening and letting him know what resources we have at the Center that may be able to help him in his job search. I hung up the phone, for not more than 2 or 3 minutes and the next caller was another man with the same exact situation. Again we visited about some of his options that he could do to begin his job search. Finally I had to call Elder Nelson over and ask him to take the phone for a while, I didn’t feel like I could listen to another one in a row without breaking down and crying – after all we are supposed to be positive and give hope! One of the men came into the Center in just a couple of hours and we were able to begin working with him and getting him on his way. It turns out this time of the year is when a lot of companies lay off, even before the new year and budget begin.
On the flip side we also had some calls come in while I was on phone duty of a couple of businesses who were needing an office manager. We had been working with a couple of people with those qualifications and it was exciting to call them and tell them about these job opportunities, they are always so grateful to get a lead. Often people will report when they are sending in a resume or going in for an interview. They will come in and have someone look at their resume or we have workshops on interviewing and they also do ‘mock’ interviews. It is always so exciting when people either come in or call in when they’ve gotten a job – we have a bell (quite a loud bell) that is on the wall and when someone gets a job they or we ring the bell and we all cheer. We’ve had several bell ringers this week. 
Tuesday evening we had a Christmas Party with everyone who works at the Employment Center and their spouses. This was a very enjoyable evening! It was so nice to be in a home, especially now at Christmas time, and enjoy their Christmas tree, nativity and other holiday decorations. The other thing that we enjoyed was the fact that it was at Brother Morrell’s home. I guess this is the first time they have done it this way but Brother Morrell had volunteered to do it so they went ahead with it. It was sure great for us.
Jack and I ended up getting there about 15 minutes early (we never know how long it will take us to get anywhere). He was able to show us his harpsichord that he had built and tell us about the building and making of it. He is mainly an organist and he showed us his organ. He not only has one but he built it himself. The cabinet is nothing special, he just uses the cabinet from an old organ (this particular one is from a Rogers church organ) but the sound, the stops, the voicing that he does is really incredible. It really has a beautiful sound and he has it hooked up to other speakers in the room so it is really very nice. He played a couple of things, one of them being ‘Prelude in Classical Style,’ one that Susan, Mom and I have played too. He then let me have a turn. They pulled out a hymnal and I played some Christmas hymns. Bro. Morrell joined me on the other manual adding chimes and embellishments – so fun! The first opportunity I have had to play since leaving Logandale.
He said that we could come over anytime on our day off or evenings and he would just let me play the organ or the harpsichord – I told him he better not say that unless he meant it, he assured me that he did mean it – I assured him we’d be seeing him again.
Then the rest of the group came and we had a very lovely dinner. Afterwards Bro. Morrell and his cello playing friend gave us a little concert of cello & harpsichord music. If you’ve seen the pictures on the blog you will see that they even donned their powder wigs for the event, very fun.
It was a fun evening of visiting and sharing experiences. Somewhere along the way I mentioned that I played the recorder. Sometime we hope to be able to get together for a fun evening of playing. I called Jill and she was able to pull some of my solo music w/harpsichord -piano accomp. and she will send it to me here.
Saturday was our P-day this week. This week we went out to Garland to the Dallas Arboretum. In some ways its not the greatest time to visit gardens, most things are dormant this time of year. We did see many pansies, ornamental cabbages and dusty miller, same kinds of things that grow this time of year in southern NV. However, the original home/mansion was so beautifully decorated for Christmas that we were so glad we had gone. We also enjoyed the many water features etc that they had. There. We definitely plan to go back in the spring time of the year, it promises to be very beautiful then for sure. They have nearly ½ million bulbs planted that will bloom then.
This morning Jack & I went to Dallas 6th Ward Missionary mtg at 9:00 then Choir practice at 10:00. At 11:00 was Sacrament Mtg – the choir sang 2 hymns, the primary children sang a couple of songs, which was very sweet, and the congregation sang 3 hymns. It was a very good meeting and a very strong spirit was there.
After our meetings there we left for the Legacy Ward. Brother Morrell had told us about his ward Christmas Program and invited us to attend. Before I get into that I have to tell one thing we were very excited about on our drive out there. This Chapel was about 30 miles from our home location and when we were getting closer there was a small break in the city and we actually passed a FIELD!! There was some farm equipment and all. We were so excited, we wanted to stop and take a picture but the camera was not handy and the 4 lanes of traffic would not allow it. Well anyway, Brother Morrell was the organist (he built the organ for this building too) and his wife was the choir conductor. It was really beautiful and we enjoyed every moment of this meeting also. Brother Morrell is a very accomplished organist and they have many musicians in their Ward. I won’t go into more details because Jack described it and summed it all up so very well.
Tonight is a community Messiah Sing-a-Long that Brother Morrell and his harpsichord will be attending. He lets people borrow it for different concerts and church occasions – but tonight he will be playing it himself. He will bring an extra score for me so I can sing along too. They have 2 sessions at 6:00 & 8:00, it’s free but you have to call ahead and reserve a spot.
We just returned from the Messiah. It was a lot of fun, very casual in an old theater, in the round. They definitely don’t have anything over on us. It was fun to have the harpsichord, some of the solos were outstanding and some were okay. They had more solos than choruses, I like to focus more on the choruses. The choruses are sung by whom ever shows up so there is no core choir like we have to carry it along but non-the-less we enjoyed it and had fun.
It has certainly been a busy day for Jack and all the driving he has had to do!!
A couple of little side notes ---
-- Water boils much faster here, we’re at about 500 feet.
-- Tony Terry called the Center a couple of days ago, he is a man from Logandale, he and his wife are serving in the Employment Center in Detroit Michigan. He visited with Jack for quite a while, they had a great time sharing and comparing notes of the two Centers. It sounds like our Center is bigger staffed and busier than what he’s dealing with.
-- Happy Happy Birthday to our Jill Marie today!!!
--It was also very special as missionaries to get a Christmas card from President Monson and the 1st Presidency. I believe this is a first for us.
This is a wonderful time of year, it is going to be so different not to share it with our family and loved ones. We try our best to always keep positive but sometimes the tears slip through. We are so grateful for each one of you and appreciate your love, prayers and support. It buoys us up and keeps us going. Thank you so very much. I hope you feel our love reaching out to you across the miles in our absence.
We are so grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ, for his birth, life and sufferings for our sakes. We pray that as missionaries we can honor his name and people will be able to feel the love of our Savior through us. Our testimonies are burning stronger each day and we are grateful for this opportunity to serve together, being yoked together in the same cause.
With all our Love,
Jack & Gaye, Mom & Dad, Grandpa & Grandma, Aunt & Uncle
Elder & Sister Nelson

The Chance to travel to Fort Worth and Visit the Artisan Theatre for the Messiah

Sister Nelson was able to sing along

Our two friends are the Cello player and the Harpsichord player

Brother Morell built this Harpsichord.

He thinks sister Nelson is a kindred spirit in the world of Classical Music.

These two brethren are fantastic talent, what a treat to listen

The Messiah director

A beautiful Sunday in Texas.

Sister Nelson and I headed to our Missionary correlation meeting at 9:00 this morning held at the Dallas 6th Ward. This ward is a blue collar to semi poverty and under employed members of the Stake. The building is older and has seen lots of use. The automobiles in the parking lot are all older and mid range rigs to say the least. The old Ford fits right in. The folks dress is not elaborate or over the top with jewelry and costly appeal. We had a chance to sing with the choir for the Christmas program. It turned out very nice with the talks and the primary sang a couple of songs.

As soon as the Sacrament meeting was over we headed out to the Plano 4th ward. We have become friends with the Morrel family in this ward. He is the Harpsichord player and Organist. We arrived at the Building a bit before 1:00 so we had a chance to visit with some of the members. This is the affluent area of the metroplex. George W Bush lives out here as well as Ross Perot (remember his run at the Presidency?) The Building was huge and very new and well kept. The members dressed the part. Much costly appeal and fine clothing were obvious to the eye. The vehicles out in the parking lot were BMW’s, Lexus’s and Cadillac. The old Ford F 250 didn’t cut it here. The Choir was huge maybe 25 members and they were outstanding. They have violinist and flutist. They had the best organ player I have ever heard. (He built the organ for the ward.) The program was very enjoyable. Brother Morrel invited us to a theater here in Dallas called the Artisan. He will be the organ player for the Messiah performance there tonight. Sister Nelson is very excited about this opportunity.
I contrast these two visits this morning with the observation that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ is in full operation whether you are in a rich ward or one of modest means. Each ward made us feel very welcome and the message was identical in both locations. It is such a testimony to me that whether a ward in Romney West Virginia or Kensington Maryland or Dallas 6th ward each will share the same message of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and do the same kinds of ordinances that we each recognize and feel at home with! I love this opportunity to share the gospel and feel I’m becoming a stronger member by doing so. We thank our family and friends for your support and letters of encouragement. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We love each one you for your support and love. Merry Christmas to each of you.

Elder and Sister Nelson

A wonderful staff party out in Plano Texas where Bach and Vivaldi performed for us.