2 February 2010

Dear Family,
We have had a great time this week having Kristi & Emma Lynn and Jill & Jackson here with us for the weekend. It was so wonderful to have some family with us for a few days. It made our apartment feel more like a home with little ones crawling about.
We had another cold snap and a bout of bad weather while they were here. Their arrival flight was 4 ½ hours late, due to pouring rain. They circled over Dallas for an hour or longer, then had to fly on to Wichita, Kansas, land and refuel. Then they did some circling over Lubbock and Oklahoma City, till finally they were able to arrive safely at the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport. It brought a whole new meaning to the term ‘non-stop flight!’ The bottles and diapers were getting to an extremely low state, even the drinks, water and oj the flight attendants were able to provide were all used up. It was a turbulent ride for them with all the bad weather but Kristi felt better after ‘loosing her cookies.’ The excitement we all felt turned a little more towards exhaustion but we are so grateful they were able to make it here safe and sound.
The weather continued to be very cold through out the weekend, we were able to drive around a little and see some of the sights. Downtown Dallas, Dealey Plaza, the Galleria Mall and Fort Worth Stockyards. Even though we didn’t get much sight-seeing in, I think we were all content to just be together, play some games and watch some more Christmas movies.
Sunday morning our heat pump/furnace quit us. Thankfully we had bought a little space heater. That night we put the heater in the bedroom with the babies and the girls. Jack & I hunkered down in our sleeping bags and made it through the night just fine. The power did go off for a few minutes, after determining that it was out everywhere and not just our apartment, resetting our alarms so we would be sure to get up early enough for get to the airport, we were able to get a few more hours of sleep.
It was nice to have them meet some of the people who have become our friends and a part of our lives here. Charlie Morell (harpsichord) called to invite us over for pizza, music and visiting Friday evening. He called the Center to get our phone # and somehow they gave us our Logandale home phone. He accidentally called the wrong number and was extremely impressed that you could get a wrong number and that person would be able to help you with the correct number and know who you were trying to get a hold of. When he told us the number he dialed wrong then we were able to tell him who it was – Jason Jensen. I don’t think he’s lived in a small town before. It’s great isn’t it?
The Laebrums (Beth Nelson’s brother, who has twin grandchildren) were kind enough to help us with baby things such as a double stroller, car seats and play pen/beds. That worked out so great, making it a lot easier to manage the babies.
As far as missionary work goes… We continue to be very busy at the center. We are now seeing more people who are moving to Texas hoping to find a job. Texas has lagged behind on unemployment. There are jobs here but the competition is great. We continue to help people be better prepared with resumes/interviewing/job searching etc. etc. So amazing that a few months ago I didn’t know anything about all of this and now we are so immersed in it. Who would think you would be so interested in a resume?
With this new year and as we become more comfortable with our work at the Center, we continue to try to make more contacts out in our Stakes. Last Wednesday we went out to Weatherford Stake (abt 70 miles out) to help them with a weekly employment meeting they are going to try and have each Wednesday evening. We met in the Family History Center, where there were 2 computers available. Jack was able to help 14 people register at ldsjobs.org and I met with a few people individually. All within the space of 2 hours. To get that many people on the site in that amount of time is amazing, he does so good!!
This week we will go there again. I plan to do a little training while Jack works with people as they come in. We get home a bit late (abt 10:00) but the following day is our P-day so it works out good.
We hope this finds you well and happy. Sorry to hear about our missionary, Elder Jase Davis, from Logandale. We pray his family will find strength and peace. For those out of town/family, he was a missionary from Logandale serving in Romania. He and his companion died in their sleep due to a gas leak in their apartment. They cautioned all the missionaries in the MTC about the gas used in foreign countries and to be very careful, it must really be a problem.
We know the Lord loves us all. We are so grateful to be in his service. We know that he will bless us all as we serve, those in his service and those at home. It just may not always be what we expect. We pray for your safety, health and happiness. And most of all we express our gratitude for you being a part of our lives and the joy that you bring to us.
All our love,
Jack & Gaye, Mom & Dad, Grandpa & Grandma, Aunt & Uncle
Elder & Sister Nelson




Jack n Gaye