June 6th 2010

6 June 2010

Dear Family,
I have some catching up to do. Last week end we were able to go down to San Antonio area for the 3 day weekend, along with thousands of other people. But it was then or never.
Saturday we left the Center and drove to San Marcos. We were able to visit a memorial to Amber, Opal and Steve Smith. Some friends had planted some trees in memory of them in a wooded area of a park near the river. It was a beautiful setting and we were able to place some flowers and take some pictures to share with family. It is a fitting place to dedicate to their memory. It was a very nice Memorial Day weekend activity for us to be able to do.
We went to church there Sunday morning. The Bishop introduced himself to us right off. When we told him where we were serving he asked if we knew anything about the new web site (I thought, no more than what we can learn by being totally immersed in it everyday for the last 7 months but didn’t ) so we were able to give him a quick 2 minute synopsis of the highlights and benefits of the site. He said he would try looking at it again. He hadn’t noticed all of those features. This was out of our service area – being a Sr. missionary is great. We let them know where we’re going and they smile and say great, have a good time.
We ran into the Noell’s Saturday afternoon at a service station along the way. They are a couple working with us in the Development Specialist program and they gave us a good tip to be sure and go early in the morning to beat the crowds and the heat.
So Sunday afternoon we drove to San Antonio. The next morning we were able to get up early and visit the sites. We enjoyed a boat trip along the river walk. It was very beautiful and we enjoyed hearing the history of the city along the way. We also visited the ‘Alamo’ and several other missions nearby.
We left San Antonio about 1:30 – we didn’t make very good time because the roads were very busy, but we made it back to the apartment safe and sound (or at least as sound as when we left) about 7:30.

We have seen some very busy days at the Center the last couple of weeks. Things are picking up again. We have nearly 3,000 people signed on to the ldsjobs website in our service area. About 2,500 of those are actively seeking jobs. Others are church leaders, those looking for more education, help with self-employment, casually seeking or simply networking. Last month we had 152 job placements, which is good but still much work to be done.
As new candidates sign on to the web site we try to either give them a welcome phone call or send a welcome email. With the web site now being seen on lds.org and the Bishops having gotten their official letter, we are seeing an increase of people signing on each day. So in between helping people who come into the center and the phone calls that come in we are kept busy.
I become increasingly concerned with those people who don’t have very many skills and are looking for entry level positions. Many have some type of handicap or barrier preventing them from getting more experience or education. You see that many of the entry level jobs are being taken by those with many years of experience or more education. It’s tough to compete with that. In fact in mentioning this to Donna T. she showed me a report that 30% of people seeking entry level jobs are unemployed!
We helped and encouraged many people to take a Census job. That has been a great help to them but in a couple of months when that is over they will be looking full time again.
A church member has listed jobs with us. He has a company that does indexing of some land records in Oklahoma. He has hired 30-40 people that we have referred to him.
Yesterday a company came in that needed to hire some architects. I went to the web site and did a search for all architects in Texas. I found 60 with the word somewhere in their profile. I looked at each one individually and found 4 that were in this area and were actually building architects. It took me a couple of hours but it was worth it when I called those 4 people and gave them the job lead information. They were very grateful.
Some have made poor choices in their lives, others find themselves in situations that just happen. I met with one young lady who is in such a difficult spot. She has recently moved to Texas, really doesn't know anyone here, in the middle of a divorce, has two small children under 5 years old and her cancer has come back. She needs a job desperately, especially one that provides health benefits. She is a friend of the church but is in touch with a local bishop who will help with some rent for a couple of months while she tries to get her feet on the ground. I admire her for keeping her chin up as best she can and is trying and doing all she can.
The past couple of weeks I have had the opportunity to work with several people that have some very difficult barriers, such as felony convictions. I feel like I would be breaking confidences if I were to go into detail about their situations, but sufficeth to say that this is a very difficult circumstance to be in. Even when you have paid your debt to society and want to rebuild your life, it is very, very tough. I encourage them to continue to have faith and hope as they rebuild their lives and reputations. Even when it doesn’t seem like doing the right thing is getting them anywhere, they must cling to the right and persist.
Tough, tough circumstances to pull out of. I think one of the key elements is focusing on what you CAN do and follow that direction. There are plenty of road blocks but somehow you have to find the path to follow, even if it's a steep uphill climb.
Of course some are looking for work because of company cutbacks, some possibly because of their age, others because they are not willing to do things that go against their moral values, some need to improve their job circumstance because they are not making enough to provide on one job and are tired of working 2 jobs, some are being dealt with unfairly by the companies they are with. The stories are as varied as each person. We are having so many experiences and meeting so many wonderful people. Each day brings something new.
In the evening & morning hours when I do my reading and studying, be it employment related, church magazines, scriptures etc. I'm often amazed how something I've just read becomes something that a candidate is in need of. We can see the Lord's hand in so much of what we do.
Today in Sacrament meeting we sang Hymn #106 – it struck me in a way that it has never quite done so before. This seemed a very fitting prayer for the many people we serve.
Now to heaven our prayer ascending, God speed the right;
In a noble cause contending, God speed the right.
Be our zeal in heav’n recorded, With success on earth rewarded.
God speed the right.

Be that prayer again repeated, God speed the right.
Ne’er despairing, though defeated, God speed the right.
Like the great and good in story, If we fail, we fail with glory.
God speed the right.

Patient, firm and persevering, God speed the right.
No event nor danger fearing, God speed the right.
Pains, nor toils, nor trials heeding, And in heav’n’s good time succeeding,
God speed the right.


So many of the people we meet are working with great zeal to improve their
situations. Some suffer greatly but don’t despair, we pray that their efforts will be rewarded.

Our work is never done, at the end of the day we have to just walk away. Even then we spend some evenings with Stake and Ward leaders/activities or studying.
Last Thursday evening went up to Denton to help with some training. The first hour we met with the Ward employment specialists, answered questions and trained them on the web site. We weren’t finished up there after an hour so Brother Dotten (SES) and I went and met with the Stake Presidency, High Council and Bishoprics (abt 35-40 men). We had 20 minutes to speak to them about the Employment Services. He took about 4 minutes and then let me take the rest of the time. Jack had helped me set up a power point presentation to show them how the web site helps leaders help the people in their ward who are seeking employment. I think it went pretty good. It was very humbling that when I left, all 35+ men rose to their feet as I walked out.
We work with Brother Martino, who is their Welfare Specialist or Rep in the Stake. He is a brother to Brother Martino of the Seventy who spoke in the last conference.
Brother Sedgely is like the 2nd in command at University of North Texas (There are a lot of those around here it seems) He is also a Ward Employment specialist. He was very complementary to Jack about the help he provided that night. He said he learned a lot of new things that he had not known before.

There was another revision this week, I don’t think we had fully recovered from the last revision one. With each new ‘fix’ there are some improved things but there always seems to be some bugs too. Now Bishops and Stake Presidents have to be signed into the sight and give their ward leaders the Specialist roles. That is helpful but also complicates things and often frustrates some of the specialists when some of the things are not going right.
Last week our managers were out of the office quite a bit. The church is doing some cut backs on its employees and they were asked/assigned to go out with people from Salt Lake as they notified people of these changes. The church has offered several different packages – severance pay options etc. The Employment Center managers then talked with them about preparing for the next step. Depending on how different SL people handled it, some it was a good as can be experience, for others it was quite devastating.
During this time a question came up with several of the specialists in Weatherford Stake. They had checked the MLS, Bishops had signed on, they had gone through all of the steps that we had given them and still no success. These were all people who had previously been given the specialist role prior to the April 24th revision.
There is a SLC help desk number that we can call when we have a problem helping a candidate to sign on. I decided to call this number and see if they could offer any assistance. They were not able to help with the specialist side of things so they kept passing me up the line until I was speaking with the secretary of the head/ main guy of all Employment in the church. I was a bit uncomfortable with that, but that's where it ended up. She was very gracious and kind. She had to take down what the issues were and then called me back the next day. As it turned out one of the problems was with a branch and it ended up being a bug in the system. They said they would try to have that issue resolved
The revision happened a few days ago and we hope that and other things are taken care of. We’re still figuring out all of the changes that were made.
Jack recently contacted a man who has been unemployed for about 8 months. He was very hesitant about coming in and getting help because he has not been active in the church for many years. He agreed to come into the Center and meet with Elder Nelson and after a few minutes Elder Nelson was able to make him feel comfortable and help him with several things.
The next day a man called in from American Airlines who needed to hire a jet engine diesel mechanic ASAP. This is what this man was qualified for. He connected the two and the next day he had a job interview. He was very humbled and grateful for the service that Elder Nelson and the Center was able to provide and called back to express his gratitude.

I’m grateful for Elder Nelson who is able to provide some diversions, some little trips or an evening bike ride to help us rejuvenate and be ready for the next day. Without this I think we would soon expire and become bogged down with the many tough situations that we deal with daily.
I have just read an article in the Ensign, a quote by Elder Neal A. Maxwell. He cautioned us against a “frantic, heedless busyness… that often crowds out contemplation and… leaves no room for renewal.” He likened thoughtful “intervals between our tasks” to “the green belts of grass, trees, and water that… interrupt the asphalt,” and he said that when we “plan some time for contemplation and renewal,” we will feel drawn to our work instead of driven to it.
Jack always has energy and ideas of things and places for us to go and do, so we can get that renewal energy that we need. We are so glad that we brought the bikes along with us. Now with the long summer days we are able to load them up and go to a nearby lake or river and ride along one of the bike paths. It helps to free and clear our minds along with giving us some exercise. (As a result Jack is losing weight but it’s not working so well for me, I keep gradually gaining, I guess think where I’d be w/o exercise!)
We also have permission to swim for exercise. There is a pool in our back yard so that has been a good thing lately to take advantage of. The new thing here is to change the pools to salt water rather than using chlorine.

*Some other miscellaneous notes:
Things we have been excited about seeing in our travels – a pomegranate bush, an oleander bush, and clothes hanging out to dry. Children – each one we have to compare in age to one of our grandchildren.

*People we have met with ‘family and place’ connections:
The youth Fireside we presented was at the home of Brother Barney. He and Jack share the same Gr, gr grandfather, Benjamin Franklin Barney.
Steve Reber – Son of Keith Reber of Littlefield came into the Center as he is working on improving his job situation. I was friends with Keith back in the day when Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley was all one Stake.
We were in Plano earlier today and called Nancy Bishop Pearce and visited with her for a few minutes.
On our River Walk boat ride we sat across from a young lady from Utah. Her Grandparents are Yardley’s from Panguitch.

Other Activites:
One P-day we were able to go kayaking with Charlie and then afterwards play some music together. Always a great treat.
The new set of Sr Sister Missionaries are quite social. They had the 6 of us get together last Monday night for a BBQ, it was fun to be together in a different, more casual setting.
For Jack’s birthday he & I went out to eat at ‘Outback,’ compliments of the Dalley family. Thanks for the cards and phone calls, it made the day special. A few days later we went out to eat with the Morell’s to celebrate Jack’s birthday and also Carla’s retirement. We went to Chuy’s, a yummy Mexican restaurant. (I wonder why I’m gaining a few pounds??)
We also went out to dinner with the Owen’s, originally from Panguitch. They are Jack’s sister’s husband’s mother’s sister – and her husband. (Opal’s sister) They have lived and retired in Dallas and called us a little while ago. We had a very enjoyable and pleasant evening. I haven’t heard so much talk about Panguitch folks in a good long while.
This has been a bit disconnected I’m afraid, I typed some of it last week but never got it completely finished so I’ve just added to it, hope it wasn’t too confusing.
We love our work here, grateful to be missionaries serving in the employment center here in Dallas. Some days I get it right and some days I don’t do as well as I would hope but I/we keep trying and learning. The Lord blesses us immensely, such a blessing to be in His service.
The hard part is being away from you, we miss you horribly some days but try to keep our minds focused on the blessings, the wonderful experiences and the many opportunities we have to serve. We know you are busy and so appreciate your letters and notes you send our way.


God be with you till we meet again.
Our Love,
Mom & Dad, Grandpa & Grandma, Jack & Gaye
Elder & Sister Nelson


Jack n Gaye