10 April 2011

A few of the children in the Wednesday Piano Class. The Class presented Sister Nelson with a nice plaque to say thank you and goodbye.

Dear friends and family,

Greetings from Texas, can you believe it, there will only be one more of these weekly letters. Hard to believe........ what experiences we have had!!

Once again we have worked with many people this week, each ones story is so unique and it's always a blessing to get to know new people and be able to share with them the program the church has for helping people find employment or improve their employment situation. Last week a man had called in to the Center and wondered about the procedure for coming in, whether an appointment was needed. He had a very strong accent, one of the new sisters had answered the phone and she couldn't understand him at all so she passed the phone to me -- I guess that's one thing you get better at with experience -- we meet with a lot of people who have come from all over the world. This man was from Kenya. You don't need an appointment to come in but you can if you want to meet with someone specifically. He wanted to make an appointment with me because I could understand him. The proselyting missionaries have been teaching him and they recommended that he come and see us. He was quite down hearted and discouraged when he came in but as we worked together and talked about things he could do, found job leads to share with him, helped him with a resume -- Elder Nelson assisted also, and by the time he left a few hours later he even had a job interview set up for the following day. We see this happen time after time as people come in discouraged but when they find help and we help them see what they can do to help themselves, they leave with a lighter step and a smile on their face.

We also have been working with a young mother who was recently baptized. She's been coming in several times a week for the last couple of weeks. She came in Monday and shared her excitement and enthusiasm over listening to her first General Conference. What a treat to listen to her share about her favorite things.

We are seeing the new Development Program grow and take hold here in the area. Matt Crawford is getting out and getting people in the wards involved in the program. With the request of a Bishop and with his support and that of the Ward Council people can be involved in the program, receive training/certifications etc to help them gain skills that will make them more employable. Some are doing business partnerships where their pay will come from Deseret Industry's funds - at no cost to the employer, to give them on the job training and experience. This only being tried in a few areas and only where there is not a Deseret Industry.

Tuesday the Center is open from 8 am to 8 pm to accommodate the Bishop's Storehouse hours. The Phelp's volunteered to take the late shift on Tuesday's but now they are gone we volunteered to take it this week. Dan & Elsie Banks wanted to get together one more time before we left for Nevada. They were willing to drive over to Carrollton, so we met for an early lunch at the 'Cotton Patch.' It's always great to visit with them, they have made us feel welcome in Texas.

Julie has asked that I train Sister Burgess on the front desk responsibilities and also the Stake Jobs that I take care of. So from now on, other than working with candidates, I don't just go to work on my tasks but show her and train her on how to do things. We are making some good progress but I'm afraid our stack of papers of things to do keeps getting deeper rather than smaller.

Some good news - we had 193 placements for the month of March!! That is our best yet - we were all very excited. Another great thing that has happened was a call from the Employment people in SLC. After watching General Conference and spending several days in the MTC, the Schiebs have had that spiritual confirmation that they are going to the right place and that they will be doing the right thing. Julie is especially grateful.

Saturday Elder Nelson and I 'manned' the Center alone, Donna had a granddaughter getting baptized that day so she was able to go spend time with family. It was not too busy and we were even able to get some of our computer work done. Kristy came in, she is the young mother-to-be that is living in a shelter right now. We have seen her spirits lifted as she has accomplished a lot with her resumes and the direction she wants to go in life. She is ready to go to Alabama now and be with her mom until the baby is born. We had a tearful good-bye as she hugged me and gave thanks for the help she had received and I gave her words of encouragement as she goes on her way now.

Wednesday was my last night of teaching piano classes at the Sunbeck Spanish Branch. After communicating with the Church Music Dept in SLC, the Dallas mission office and the Stake President, I think all is in order for the program to continue forward. Ferrah Caranza will continue with the program. She has been there from the start and is a great teacher and organizer. She had been earnestly praying for some time that she would have an opportunity to learn more and improve her skills at the piano. With tears in her eyes she thanked me and the Lord for the opportunity that she has had to have some lessons. She will do great with these beginning students! She gave me this framed poem as a parting gift.

Women Who Change the World

There are women who make things better...

Simply by showing up.

There are women who make things happen.

There are women who make their way.

There are women who make us smile.

There are women of wit and wisdom-

Through strength and courage-

Make it through.

There are women who change the world every day..

Women like you.

-Anonymous

The Branch President also stopped by our classroom and expressed his gratitude for this opportunity for the Branch. There have been quite a few people, young and adult stop by our classroom the past couple of weeks wanting to join the class. We have told them at the beginning of the summer we will start another class of new students. I think this is the spirit prompting people at this time so the program can and will move forward and a confirmation to Ferrah that there are people that she can help.

Charlie Morell was asked to play a 30 minute organ recital at the First Presbyterian Church last Thursday. He asked if I would join him with the recorder. He played an organ solo then we played an organ duet with recorder, we went back and forth with that format for the 30 minute time period. They have a beautiful pipe organ at the building, and the room has very good acoustics. It was a small gathering so it wasn't too stressful. It was actually very fun to be able to play in that setting. I've been surprised at how well the recorder and organ go together. Jack recorded the program and it turned out pretty decent. Afterwards the church's music person asked if I would come and play for their Sunday service sometime, she was even willing to make it happen today when I told her that we would be leaving soon, but I declined, next week I will be playing with Charlie in his ward so today was our last Sunday to go to the Dallas 6th Ward.

Thursday afternoon we met Will Boesewetter at the Dallas temple where he would be going through for the first time to receive his endowment. He had asked Jack to be his escort so that was a very special experience for him. Jack & Will became good friends as they worked together everyday at the Center for about 6 months. Will had only been baptized for a couple of months so Jack helped him with many questions and helped him as he had his first opportunities to give blessings to people at the Center. Charlie and Carla Morell and Bishop Bott also attended the session. Will's wife Ellie didn't attend so I went with him in the prayer circle. Afterwards Charlie, Carla, Will, Jack and I went out to dinner.

Saturday as soon as the Center closed we went right over to the temple to attend Will and Ellie's sealing ceremony. They asked Jack to be one of the witnesses for the sealing. We are very grateful for these special experiences and friends we have made. Gloria Lyle was able to attend the sealing. We don't see her very much anymore, with the price of gas she is not able to come into the Center much and does most of her work from home. We took her out to dinner and enjoyed a nice visit with her. She promised to come into the Center a couple more times before we leave so we can see her again.

We have been invited over to the Russell's of the Dallas 6th Ward, this evening for dinner, they have been so kind to us while we've been here.

That about wraps it us for this weeks adventures. We have had pleasant weather, a bit breezy but nothing too bad. We hear that it has been very windy, cold and snowy in Utah and Nevada. I hope it looses it strength by the time it comes our way.

We love you and hope you have a good week. Our prayers are with you, may the good Lord bless and keep you.

Mom & Dad, Grandpa & Grandma, Jack & Gaye

Elder and Sister Nelson

Charlie Morell, Sister Nelson, Elder Nelson and Wil Boesewetter at the Dallas Temple
Jack n Gaye