5 December 2010

5 December 2010

Another month has past already, they go by so quickly. We enjoyed the few days off at Thanksgiving time but it’s good to be back fully engaged. It’s much easier to curb our homesickness when we are busy.

We had a special treat this past week to be able to visit with Chandler Whipple. He came to Texas to pick up a piece of construction equipment for his Dad and arrived on Tuesday. We initially thought we could trade our P-day to Tuesday this week but when we got figuring it out we realized that the Phelps don’t come in until noon on Wednesday due to the fact that the storehouse is open until 8:00 pm, so they take the late shift. We were able to leave at noon when they came in and travel out to Brownwood. It took us 3 ½ hours of travel each way so we didn’t get to visit with him a real long time but it was definitely worth it to see him. We were able to spend a couple of hours with him, go out to eat together and go out to the construction site where he was picking up the equipment. Chandler is a very resourceful young man, able to deal with the problems that arose in taking care of business. We are excited for him for his mission call to New Zealand. He had a friend with him, Blake Empey, who has his mission papers in and waiting for his call. It’s great to see the missionary force continue to grow.
It was interesting that the next day I was answering phones and a man called in for assistance from Brownwood. He was surprised that I even knew where it was, let alone to have just been there the day before.
Wednesday morning I took several calls from people who were needing to hire some people in their business, along with several emails from companies that were hiring. Unfortunately all of our computers, S (shared) drive, printers and the internet went down. Even the phones worked intermittently; during a phone call you would be disconnected. This sure put a halt to much of our work. Nearly everything we do involves computers and the internet. I was not able to get back with employers or post their jobs, find candidates who were looking for those kinds of jobs etc. Several people called in needing assistance on the website and I had to take down information to get back with them later.
Wednesday evening was a web-i-nar, so Julie had to conduct it from her home.
On Thursday we took the other half of our P-day in the morning and went in to the Center about 1:00. Unfortunately the internet and S Drive were still down. Most of our work on these two days entailed cleaning and sorting our files. All of us are a lot more organized now. So it was not all bad, we usually don’t have much time for such things.
Donna T. worked tirelessly, working with the local phone/internet company and headquarters to identify and fix the problem. About 30 minutes before closing we were back on line. Unfortunately they were only able to put a band aid on it and will need more attention this week.
One of the amazing things about it all was that very few people came to the Center during that time, the Lord takes care of things and prompts people to come or not to come as needful.
So Friday and Saturday were spent getting caught back up with the contacts, employers, job seekers etc , all the work that we had to put off.
Julie’s presentation for the web-i-nar this week was about the new Church handbook. She had gone through it all and found the items that related to Stake & Ward Employment Specialists. There is a new focus and emphasis on the Ward Councils identifying the poor and needy. The Bishop, High Priests Group Leaders, Elders Quorum President and Relief Society President have responsibility and stewardship to assist those in need. They can call upon the Ward Employment Specialists to assist them as needed. I suppose the WES can educate those leaders to let them know the resources available to them. The SES are a resource to the Bishops. Indeed the new website is set up for these leaders to be able to assist and be trained in these matters.
I have been making phone calls to candidates in one of the Denton wards this past week. Fortunately I had printed a copy of these people last week that included their phone numbers. Thursday when everything was down I was able to work on these calls. Quite a few people I didn’t reach and left messages but 4 or 5 I was able to speak with. One has been working for a couple of months, another starts Monday, one is considering a move to Utah (he was glad to learn how to search in other States for jobs and suggested he call the ERC there for assistance). Most were grateful for the call and the concern shown in their behalf. One shared how the Holy Ghost had helped her in making a decision. She was in the 2nd or 3rd interview stage and the company seemed really interested and she felt like she would be hired. However she kept having a feeling that they were not telling her everything, that they were with holding information from her. So she said the interview changed direction and she was actually interviewing them about the job. Finally they admitted that they were involved in handling financial accounts for people who were involved with pornography and that most of the computers had this kind of material up on them everyday, all day and that the language was very objectionable. She was so grateful that she had listened to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and didn’t take the job. She probably would have had to quit after a few weeks and that can be as bad or worse on your resume as not working at all.
I appreciate when people will open up and share the things that are going on in their lives. It makes me feel like we are really helping others as opposed to an abrupt, “I’m okay.” Also as they share what is going on, you can often give them a suggestion or share an article that might be helpful to them.
That happened yesterday when a couple came into the store house for an order but then came to visit us. At first the lady was very abrupt and all she wanted to do was talk with Donna T., which is of course a great idea. However Donna was busy so I finally got her talking about her situation. We were able to work together for about 40 minutes, by that time Donna was free and she was able to finish up with a few other thoughts for her.
A man was in who is looking for a teaching job. This year, as in most places, it has been hard for teachers to find positions, most have to spend some time substituting first, which he was doing and really enjoying. He loved being in the classroom and was so excited as he told us about it. The interesting thing about him is that school has not come easy for him. When he was young his teachers told him that he would never graduate from High School, he proved them wrong. He went on to college, again it was a struggle and many said he would never make it, he proved them all wrong. He graduated from Chiropractic School. This is a difficult place to make a go of it as a chiropractor because of the school here (Timmy McCauley is going to that school, too). So he went back to school and got a second degree as a teacher. He has worked so hard and accomplished so much.
Many of the Stakes here in this area have Nativity displays. They really go all out and the entire cultural hall is decorated with hundreds of nativities displayed. Most of them have live music throughout the evenings, which are usually 2 or 3 days long. They are very nice and have a very reverent feeling there.
They cancelled Young Men and Young Women’s this past week in the Carrollton Stake because they were setting up. That really affects our attendance to piano class, in fact we had to go to different room because all of the rooms were being used in one way or another. Sister Hernandez and Farrah were both there however, they are both so faithful. (I got an email a couple of days ago asking if I wanted the music books in English or Spanish, so I’m hopeful that the grant application is going through. The answer is one of each.) I won’t be to class next week so I wanted to ask Sister Hernandez if she would help teach or listen to the other students. Her son said no way would she do that, again I had to convince him to please just ask her. She very willingly said that she would help AND she said she would play postlude music for Relief Society this Sunday/today. I hope she had a positive experience.
We get to know several of the young missionaries who serve next door at the storehouse as service missionaries. For one reason or another they are unable to serve a full time mission. Once such missionary that we enjoy is James. Each Saturday he comes over to the Employment side and gets out the markers and makes his name tag. Every week is different but always creative and very colorful. He makes it unique to the season or things that he likes or something going on in the community. He then proudly shows each one of us. We look forward to this every week. Occasionally he has to miss a week and we always notice his absence.
I’ve had a little time to do some indexing lately, not a lot but 30 minutes here and there. They have had records from Texas so I always chose those, I feel like I’m still serving the people of Texas, just in a different way when I do this work.
There are many differences in our mission as compared to other missionary work. Often missionary work involves working with people who are not members but ours is unique in that we primarily serve members of the church. It’s nice to know that there are so many wonderful programs to bless our lives, including members. We do serve quite a few friends of the church but interestingly enough when our report goes to Salt Lake they only count those that are members, in our total numbers of people who have obtained jobs. Another thing that I find interesting is when we talk to people, if they find a job many of them say, ‘but I didn’t find it from ldsjobs.org.’ But the presiding Bishopric is not so much interested in WHERE they found the job but that they did find a job and that people’s lives are being blessed and they are able to be self-reliant. Also, we hope that through the job seeking skills they have learned or that someone has assisted them with, they have been able to find that next opportunity for work.
Well that’s been the work of the week. We’ve been able to do some interesting other things also this week in the evening. One evening we practiced with Charlie and the Byners. Carla is always so kind to invite us over early and share a dinner with us, the fact that she is a great cook is wonderful too. Friday and Saturday evening our little group played for an hour at the Nativity displays. Friday night we played in the Melissa Ward and Saturday we played in the Allen Stake. Friday evening President Packer, the temple president was there, and Jack had a nice visit with him. Charlie takes his harpsichord along so he is always glad to have Jack help him with the move.
Thursday evening we went to a Christmas concert at the Eismann Center of the ‘Vocal Majority.’ They are a group of 130 men that get together to sing because they love to. They have been singing for about 30 years and have sung around the world, won contests and have even sung with the MTAB Choir. I had heard of them before while in Logandale, they make CD’s etc., but it wasn’t until a couple of months ago that a volunteer came into the Center did I find out that they were located in Dallas area. Jack was helping him and he mentioned that he had been a part of the group. The internet is so great to be able to find out information.
For my scripture study right now I’m reading the Harmony of the Gospels as found in the Bible Dictionary. I decided it would be a good thing to ready for December. I’m really enjoying it and learning much. I’m also referencing the topics in Jesus the Christ. I’m so grateful for my testimony of Jesus Christ and for his life and mission. I know that just to learn about him is not enough but I have to try to be like him also. I’m grateful for this opportunity we have to serve a mission, which is an opportunity to serve others and help his work come to pass. Of course we can do that where ever we are but this indeed gives us some unique opportunities.
Jack has not been feeling good for a couple of days now. He had to leave the Center yesterday morning and we cut our church mtgs short today. He is doing better than he was but still not up to par. I guess he’s got some kind of flu. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
I thought this might be a shorter letter today, but it’s actually longer than usual. These are some of the events, people and experiences that we will want to reflect back on in the years ahead. Truly the Lord is blessing us, we are grateful for this time. We love you dearly, we miss you, our family and friends terribly some days. We are so thankful for your prayers and support. We love and pray for you daily too.
Our Love,
Grandpa & Grandma Nelson, Dad & Mom, Jack & Gaye
Elder & Sister Nelson



This is the String Group playing for a Christmas program.