June 27th 2010

27 June 2010

This has been a blessed week. We are so grateful for the safe and healthy arrival of Brian & Jill’s sweet little Anna Isabel. We have seen a few pictures and have heard her sweet baby sounds in the background. Our arms long to hold her and give her kisses but we know that the Lord is and will bless us all as we continue our service here in Texas. We are so grateful that the baby, Mom, Dad and the big brothers are doing so good
Thanks for all of those who have been able to help in many ways with so many things that need to be taken care of when a new baby arrives. I have a new perspective from this distance – how grateful we are for those who are able to help and do the things that we would do if we were there. The thought occurs to me that maybe that’s a bit how our Heavenly Father feels when we help our fellow man, his children, as we serve others.
I am always amazed at how many different experiences we continue to have. Each week I think, now next week I will probably just report that we are doing more of the same and there is nothing new to report, but that is not the case for this week. – maybe next, who knows. Many things are getting more ‘usual’ for us, such as endless miles of freeways, with stack after stack of freeway spaghetti bowls. We still meet, visit and help so many people from such a variety of races, cultures and walks of life, from the high executives to the homeless and destitute. At church today a young man was speaking and I thought, ‘his accent sounds like he is an English person from South Africa.’ Sure enough a little later in the meeting someone mentioned that was where he and his family are from.
Tuesday of this week Donna T. and I went to Fort Worth and attended a community resource meeting. It was how to help people with employment that have mental disabilities. We left at 8:00 am and got back at 5:00 pm, so it worked out to be the exact hours we work at the Center. It was interesting and I learned a lot but also realize how much I don’t know. I always enjoy being out with Donna T. She’s an amazing lady. She helps a lot of people at the Center. Much to learn from her for sure!!
With more missionaries serving in the Center we have more time to call candidates in our assigned Wards and Stakes and/or those with whom we’ve worked with personally in the Center and see how things are going for them. Most are grateful to have some call and see how things are going, of course occasionally you get one that doesn’t say much or open up much and that’s okay too. Sometimes you get off the phone and think, now I was really able to pass on some information to them that they can really use. One such gal was moving with her husband to Indiana soon, he had finished his education here and will be moving there for him to work on his Master’s degree. She is needing to get a job when they get there. She registered on the site but thought that she would have to wait until she got there to begin looking. I showed her how she could start looking now and how to get in touch with the Center and Employment Specialist in the area she’ll be moving to. We have quite a few Utah college graduates who do the opposite thing – who will be coming to Texas looking for work. She was very appreciative of the information and the call.
I’ve probably contacted 15 people this week (some days I felt like I was working in a call center, with many hours spent on the phone getting in touch with people.) Six of those people have found jobs – HOORAY – a couple will be starting this coming Tuesday after the holidays. It’s always so great to be happy and excited with them over this great accomplishment.
Jack continues to stay busy with the new companies that are signing on. They have different options of posting their jobs but several of them don’t want to do it so they email him the details of the job and then he posts it for them under their company name on the web site.
He also volunteered to help clean the Dallas 6th Ward SunBeck building Saturday morning. He dropped me off at the Center and then went over and helped for an hour or so. It’s very odd not to be able to volunteer for a lot of these types of things in a Ward very often so he enjoyed being able to do this.
Donna T, Julie P. and Sister Wolfley have all been out of the Center for the past couple of days with family being in town so we haven’t had so many people working there some of the days this week. But it always works out; we always have the help needed. That’s the great thing about doing the Lord’s work, it always works out.
The Sr Sister missionaries, Sister Groch and Sister Wolfley attend the SunBeck Spanish Branch. They don’t have anyone who plays the piano in their Branch so they have started some music classes, and have 4 keyboards from the Harmon Grant ordered and on the way. I also will be helping, this past week is the first week I’ve been able to go and teach. The past 2 weeks they have had around 8 people come and participate. So I thought I would be safe to plan on 12 people attending. I copied off some keyboards on cardstock and several of the first pages from the church’s piano course.
The class began at 6:00 Wednesday evening at the church. By 6:15 there were about 23 people there! We set up more chairs and did a lot of sharing. We learned about quarter notes and half notes, down beats, finger numbers and hand position. At 5 minutes to 7:00 we wrapped it up and expected to be finished for the evening BUT another 26 people showed up! So we excused the first group and did it all over again. So we helped right at 50 people that night – they had their first piano lesson – with no pianos. We had a great time and everyone was so excited about it. One lady said that she had a little experience with the piano and had been praying for a way to be able to take some lessons.
As you and I both know, I’m sure there will be quite a few that won’t continue on, but we were really ‘wowwed’ by this initial response. The students range in ages from 7 to 60. We can have one more week of teaching w/o pianos then we plan to divide the groups in half, half will go with the other Sisters and learn rhythms, conducting etc. The other half will go with me for half the time and we will work at the piano/keyboards. If we are in a room with a piano plus the 4 keyboards – we can double up students on each of the keyboards – that keeps 10 busy at a time. If after a month or so the numbers stay high we will petition for more keyboards to be sent and see what happens there.
Obviously I teach in English, most seem to be able to understand, those that don’t a neighbor translates for them as we go along.
When Dustin & family were here, one day we were walking back into the apartment and little Mark was ahead of us. He went to our neighbor’s door and knocked on it. She answered the door and Lauren apologized and explained what had happened. Of course she was okay with it all, but then I asked how things were going for her. She said not good and then told me about her daughter, who was in her early 30’s, had died just a couple of days earlier due to some health problems. She had left behind two children, a 4 year old and an 8 year old. She was in the middle of planning the funeral and taking care of the many necessary arrangements. We visited for a few minutes then Jack & talked about some things we might be able to do to help support her and show our love and concern for her.
Thursday morning Jack & I were still at the apartment, waiting for a call from Brian about the arrival of the new baby. Our neighbor knocked on the door, she was sharing some of the food with us that people had brought to her over the past week. I invited her in and she stayed and visited for about an hour. (It was nice to have a diversion while I was waiting.) She’s a very nice, pleasant lady, lives by herself and teaches elementary school. In the course of our conversation she mentioned that she was looking for some simple ways to talk to and explain to her grandchildren about death. I was able to share with her the analogy using the glove and your hand to explain about the body, spirit and resurrection. It was very good to be able to visit with her.
Charlie Morell invited me to play with him a couple places this week. He has a group of friends, mostly from his ward but not all, that gather once a month for a Book Club Review. This month the book was, ‘Seven Miracles that Saved America,’ by Stewart. Jack read the book and really enjoyed it. He and I played a Telemann Sonata on the recorder/harpsichord to start the evening. There were about 14 people there that gathered in their living room. An enjoyable evening.
This morning we played 20 minutes prelude and then a special musical number in his Sacrament meeting in the Plano 4th Ward. Nancy Bishop Pierce lives in this area so I called and visited with her a couple of days ago and told her we would be going to that ward. Her Ward meets in that building too but at a later time. So she was able to come to this ward and listened to us play. She invited us over to dinner afterwards. It was so good to see her and visit with her and Gary for a few hours this afternoon. We had a great time remembering people from the valley and reminiscing about the ‘good ol’ days’ in Moapa Valley. They have been here about 23 years now.
As we were getting ready to leave, their Home/Visiting teachers came. They happened to be a couple that I had met in the Employment Center a couple of weeks ago. He is the guy who is responsible for all of the service missionaries in this entire region. He was in the Center and the Storehouse checking on the needs for local service missionaries.
I sat by Carla Morell in Relief Society, they asked her to play the piano, but they were also looking for someone to lead so she volunteered to lead and have me play the piano. There was also a couple visiting their children for the weekend from Las Vegas, so of course we had to visit with them afterwards.
Another interesting thing was a talk that was given in Sacrament mtg by Brother Monson. He told a story about his gr gr gr…. Grandfather – John Tanner and his life of sacrifice. Sacrificing his wealth for the cause of the church in the early days in Kirtland etc. I didn’t get a chance to talk to him afterwards but this sounds like the story of our Jim Tanner’s gr gr gr ….. grandfather. What do you think Tanner girls? Maybe we’ve found you a relative here in Texas.
The other talk given was by a returning missionary who had served in Puerto Rico. While he was over there Elder Bednar came and visited so he shared some of his thoughts in his talk.
It’s amazing how you can show up at a ward and feel so at home no matter where you go. But today had so many things happen, it’s just amazing.
We went over to the Morell’s on our P-day to practice for the upcoming performance/musical numbers. While there some of their grandkids were there. The one boy has his 15th birthday tomorrow so the family was getting together for a b-day dinner and gathering. The young man invited us over for it all so after leaving Nancy’s we went over to the Morell’s for more food and visiting.
When the Morell’s introduce us they often say ‘These are the Nelson’s from Nevada. They are serving a full time mission here and we’re looking for a house for them.’ Now he adds, ‘Their son was here last week and we told him we would find him a job here too.’ We smile and just shake our heads, ‘No way.’ We appreciate the many wonderful experiences we are having and the many wonderful friends but there is
NO PLACE LIKE HOME!!!
We love and miss you all so much. Thanks for your love and prayers you give to us. May the Lord continue to bless our lives.
Dad & Mom, Grandpa & Grandma, Jack & Gaye
Elder & Sister Nelson
Jack n Gaye