September 20-25th

26 September 2010

Dear Family,

The air this morning when we left for church was so cool and refreshing. What a relief from the hot humid days in North East Texas. I hope you are getting some of that too out West

We completed our speaking assignment last week in the Euless Ward. We shared the time with Sister Gloria Lyle, who also serves at the Center. Time was our greatest enemy, it’s hard to develop too much in 10 minutes, but we held to it pretty good. Elder Nelson had to be more brief on his thoughts but he is a good sport about it. It was amazing to me that we were all given the same topic of ‘Self-reliance’, but we all approached it differently.

A man that we had worked with in the Center came up afterwards and expressed his gratitude for the help he had received. He had gone through the workshops and worked on his job search at the Center frequently for a couple of weeks. He diligently did all the things that were suggested to him, not the least of which was completing his profile on the ldsjobs website. After several weeks he was contacted by one of the companies that are registered with us, Mary Kay. They were interested in him and proceeded with a phone interview, then a personal interview. He is now working there for them at a higher salary than at his previous job, also with better benefits and hours. It is great when we hear these success stories of how it all comes together as it is possible to do.

It is a bit quieter at the Center now with the two Senior sisters moving to Utah. They were reassigned to the West Valley Center. We expect as soon as in a week the new Development Specialist will be hired and begin work with us at the Center. This will mean a great shifting in offices etc. We will all be displaced and will probably end up with a drawer somewhere to put our information, rather than an office. But it will all work, just waiting to hear from the ‘boss’ which way to jump and how far. I mean that in the kindest sort of way J. She is really great and is able to figure all of these things out.

Each week we have volunteers from the different Stakes that are assigned to come in. We have to assess each one that comes in and decide what kind of work they are able to do. Some of them know a lot about computers and I often learn little short cuts etc from them, while others don’t know anything at all about computers. And of course everything in between. So we keep things going that way too. One day this week we had one of the Bishops from Denton come in to volunteer. I was able to spend a couple of hours with him helping him understand the website and how he can use it to help people in his ward.

The next day our volunteer was also job seeking. We first like to help them with their personal needs and then the remaining time have them do other work. We usually have to really talk them into doing some of their personal work because they are there to serve and help others, usually we are successful though.

This week I will be preparing for a Young Single Adult Relief Society Activity Tuesday night. They want some workshops regarding employment. Donna T. and I will be presenting them. Then we will begin the piano classes back up again. We’ve had a little shift in things since the sisters left. I’ve been able to contact the Branch President and the Music Chairman and some sisters in the Stake that will be helping so we should be good to go again.

Charlie and Carla were gone out of town for two weeks as they went to Washington to a family reunion. They were kind enough to leave us their house key so one evening we went out to their home. Jack read while I played his organ and harpsichord. I had been wanting some time just to play so this provided a great opportunity to do just that. Very good of them to trust us with their key!

Friday and Saturday were rainy days and as it does so often, it affects how many people come into the Center. It was very nice to have some time to prepare for some of the other things that we had coming up. We had been invited out to the Denton Stake on Saturday evening. They did a pre-Broadcast event. They had display tables set up with things that were ‘Essential, Necessary and Nice.’ I prepared some handouts with Sisters in mind, made a Power Point presentation with different quotes in regards to women, education and employment. Jack set that up to be scrolling through a TV monitor. I also covered some cans with different elements of Employment, such as skills, written documents, education etc. We forgot to take a picture but it all tied into a fall theme that turned out to be quite pleasing. We also had some computers set up to show people the website. It actually turned out to be pretty low key but I was able to have a nice visit with several sisters. One whose husband was looking for employment, one whose friend was, another who had found work through the ldsjobs website and another who had been an employment specialist. Oh also another person whose company needs to hire a Human Resource person and shared the information on that. So all in all it was a good evening.

We packed up once the broadcast began, Jack was not feeling very good and I hated to have him have to wait that entire time. Fortunately I was able to watch it today from the lds.org website today. That’s amazing isn’t it!

It was great having all of the kids be able to visit this past summer. What a great blessing. We miss them all so much, each one is so special. Some days it seems like a long time until Spring when you think of the next time we will see them. However, I know it will go by quickly and it will all be worth the sacrifice.

Jack and I had a very fun excursion for my birthday. We went out to East Texas and visited a few sites. It’s so nice to have the weather be a little cooler to where it’s nice to be outside (except for a few afternoon hours). We left Dallas Wednesday evening after the Center closed and traveled to Longview. We stopped along the way and visited the Tyler Rose Gardens. Thursday morning we rode out to Caddo Lake and took a little canoe ride, not to far and not to far from shore. It was swamp like and was so uniquely pretty and interesting. The Cypress trees with the moss hanging from the branches and the water lilies were beautiful. There was a little boat dock, its been there for very many years. It had a sign that if they weren’t there to leave your money and grab your canoe, oars and life jacket and be on your way. You don’t see many places like that any more. Definitely using the honor system.

We drove out to Marshall and visited the Pottery Barn then on to Jefferson where we visited the shops and went on a boat ride on the Bayou.

This Sunday evening we just returned from an organ concert at the Highland Presbyterian Church. Richard Elliot, the Tabernacle organist was here playing a concert. It was marvelous! What a treat to go hear such a wonderful organist play on such a grand pipe organ. The crowd was moderate. Respectable but with many empty seats also. The crowd was very gracious and enjoyed the evening. They gave him a standing ‘O’ and he even played an encore number. We had quite a few people greet us and tell us what ward they were from, so it was nice to see some other members there.

We appreciate your prayers in our behalf. Some days it’s difficult to keep up your strength. At times I question if I’m really able to do the work that is needed to be done here. But I continue to pray that I will receive the inspiration and strength to be an instrument in the Lord’s hand to help the people that we have opportunity to talk to and visit with about their employment needs. I am getting an understanding of how our temporal and spiritual aspects of our lives are so intertwined, you really can’t separate the two.

We are enjoying our service and learning and growing from the challenges it brings. We are grateful for the many blessings we are given to renew our spirits that help us keep going with the energy needed. We love and miss you but we know that we will be back soon enough.

May the Lord continue to bless and strengthen all of us and keep us in his protective care.

Our Love,

Mom & Dad, Grandpa & Grandma, Jack & Gaye

Elder & Sister Nelson

Jack n Gaye