Elder & Sister Nelson are double busy now until the new couple arrive April 12th
Welcome to the most beautiful day one could imagine in Dallas Tx. Dr. Morell ordered it special for our last tour of the Arboretum
Even the mix-master didn't seem bad
Now, to make this better we could. . .
The Crepe Myrtle walk
Greetings from
We have had another busy week here in Dallas/Carrolton. We continue to work with people at the
Our usual procedure in helping someone is to let them do as much as they can themselves, even if it means teaching them new skills, i.e. computer skills. I have spent many hours helping people how to copy and paste, create new tabs etc. etc., in the end they are better able to go forward and work independently without anyone else’s help. I worked with an Hispanic man in his 60’s this week who had been in several times over the last couple of weeks, several others had worked with him too. On this particular day that I was helping him he needed to write his resume, this time I felt that I just needed to do the typing for him and help him get it done. I had him tell me everything to type, we worked together on the layout and we actually got it finished! We also worked through doing an online application and submitted it. At the end of four intense hours we were finished, we were both tired but he was very grateful for the help and so happy he was able to get these things accomplished that day.
We have surely missed Gloria Lyle now that her service mission is over. However this week her ward had the assignment to provide volunteer hours at the ERC so she came in several days to do that. It was SO good to see her again and spend some time with her. It was her birthday this week so Friday Elder Nelson and I were excused to take her to lunch; we had a great time visiting and eating some yummy Tex-Mex food.
Friday was also our early morning breakfast/training meeting. Most everyone who is serving at the Center, local service missionaries included, was invited and was able to attend. The Phelps only have a couple more days left so we expected that there would be a few words given to them. However, it caught us by surprise when Julie asked Elder Nelson and I to say a few words also. I drew a blank but Jack was able to stand up and say a few words, he’s so quick on his feet and did great. It gave me a minute to collect my thoughts and also say a few things. We told them that we are really trying not to go to that place of farewells and goodbyes yet, we have too much time left to get in that frame of mind, but it keeps sneaking up on us. The Phelps will always have a special place in our hearts, they are the missionary couple that we have spent our entire mission with – working together on a daily basis. They are from
Elder Floyd is a young man that has been serving as a local service missionary for one day a week in the Storehouse and one day in the
Our other evening activities this week have included dinner and music with the Morell’s one evening, Book Club review at the Morell’s (another farewell time, we’ll be gone this time next month); Jack’s final Constitution workshop, using Cleon Skousen’s writings, I went with him this week and it was quite interesting; Sunbeck Spanish Branch piano classes, they surely could have practiced more over their Spring break but on the other hand they seemed refreshed and eager to play and practice during their lessons. Thursday we visited Dan and Elsie Banks at their home in Burleson. We went out to dinner and enjoyed an evening with them. We thought this might be the last time we would see them before we leave but they want to drive over here to the
Monday evening our nephew Jeffrey Perkins had flown into DFW airport on some work assignments and was staying over night. We was able to come over to our apartment and visit for a couple of hours. He and Jack had a great time spending some time together catching up on folks at home. He works for Sky West Airlines and so they fly him around on different assignments.
We also had another treat this past week. It was Andy Luke’s last week of pilot training with Southwest. He invited us over to
Today (Sunday) we decided to go to Stephenville to attend church. It is a 2 hour drive but fortunately their church didn’t start until 10:00 am. Before the meeting started we were able to meet the Bishop and he invited us to visit with him during Sunday School about some of the employment needs in the Ward. I had prepared a list of the candidates who were job seeking as found on ldsjobs.org, it was helpful to gain some insight into some of the needs of these people. He said it would be helpful if there were more jobs on the site for the Stephenville area and gave us some names of the larger companies around so we will go to work on that and see what we can do. I’m afraid too many people don’t understand all of the things that the website can do to assist them in their job search but we keep trying to teach others about it and hopefully make progress along the way.
It was a very pretty drive out, the
We did run into a few miles of road work on the freeway this side of Fort Worth, it slowed us down for quite a while and added another 30 minutes onto our trip but all in all we had a very enjoyable and pleasant day.
Our count down clock is certainly running, as we visit different places and people we realize that it will probably be the last time in many instances and we feel a twinge of melancholy but also great gratitude for the many experiences we have had.
We are so grateful for our family and friends at home. There have been many challenges while we have been away and we realize the sacrifices of many while we have been away serving the Lord. We are grateful for the experience and appreciate your love and support. We know the Lord watches over us all and that many of the lessons of life are difficult and require great faith but in the end our faith is strengthened and we draw closer to the Lord.
May you have a blessed week.
The Dallas Temple in March
Sister Gloria Lyle on her retirement day at the employment center.
Elder S. Floyd at the end of his mission at the Regional Employment Office. He served from the Richardson Texas Stake.
He returned to show us his official release.
Our Love,
Grandpa & Grandma, Mom & Dad, Jack & Gaye
Elder & Sister NelsonJack n Gaye
This is the Ward near the Adams Ranch in Texas.
We always feel Welcome here and enjoyed a nice visit with Randon,
Uncle Bert's sister, Elise Banks of Fort Worth Texas
Our dinner with Elise and Dan Banks
This is Bro and Sister Russell from the Dallas 6th Ward. They taught a class about the constitution called the 5000 year leap. He held it at the Library on Tuesday evenings. We all could try harder to be better citizens and be involved!
Big surprize when Jeff Perkins came by to visit. He had some work at Love Field in Dallas.
Here is another Pilot at Love Field in Dallas. He took us on a tour of the Training Opts Center where he is just about ready to graduate.
What a wonderful opportunity to see a behind the scenes look at pilot training.
Andy will be flying these guys out of Las Vegas.
Elder Nelson was amazed that anyone could know what all these switches and gauges do!
Ah, what is the worst that could happen!
20 March 2010
News from the DFW Metroplex
WOW, can you believe it – less than a month from today, April 20th is our release date!! It’s hard to believe we are to that point in time. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since we left good ol’
We are staying busy here at the
As we try to remain focused on our work here at the same time we get assignments to get the new Sisters trained to take over our work. For example I was asked to help Sister Burgess print the new daily calendars for April. It felt very strange to be taking our names off of the calendar on the 21st and following days. The Phelps leave on March 30th, their replacement couple will arrive here sometime around April 11th. The apartment complex likes to have a little time in between to prepare for the next renters. It doesn’t appear that there will be anyone to replace us. However, there will still be 2 sets here, which I think works out the best. It will be nice that there is a little time crossover time when the new couple arrives for them to get their feet on the ground. I haven’t forgotten how overwhelming it was in the beginning!
We’ve had a couple of days when there has been a lot of people in seeking help but for the most part its just been a steady flow that we could keep up with. I worked with one young lady this week that is staying in a Women’s Shelter for abused and battered women. She is 5 months pregnant with her first child and really needs to be able to get a job. She is having difficulty mustering the courage and confidence to move forward. She is definitely in a tough spot. I helped her get a couple of resumes put together and tried to help her see some of the positive things that she has done in her life and how to talk about them with others in networking or interviewing. I think she will be back several more days this week to keep working on things. Between Elder and Nelson and I we were able to give her the names of several companies who have been looking to hire in the past couple of weeks.
This is Andy Luke’s last week of training at Southwest Airlines before taking to the skies. It has been a real treat for us to have him here, we get a little news from home and enjoy hearing about his experiences he’s having in
I’m so glad that we are experiencing one more spring here in
We’ve had the opportunity to go to a couple of concerts also this week. One was the Dallas Bach Society. They did Brandenberg Concertos No. 2 & 4. These are for recorder, strings, trumpet, oboe and harpsichord. Jennifer Carpenter was the guest recorder soloist, she is the leader/director of the Dallas Recorder Society that have been able to attend several times. She is really great! They also performed Bach’s Magnificat. The big, bright moon was beautiful that evening too. We also attended an organ - flute husband/wife team concert that was excellent. Many of the old churches in downtown
One thing I will not miss about being in
This was Spring Break for all of the schools in
Each Spring Carolyn Sassi from the Storehouse likes to organize a ‘picnic’ for everyone in the building - Storehouse, Employment and Family Services. We really have it indoors in the conference room but it’s more fun to call it a picnic. She is such a sweet lady, we just love her!! I was able to spend several hours helping her get things ready Wednesday morning. It felt so good to put meat and cheese trays together, wash and prepare fruits and vegetables, set tables, etc., etc. I haven’t done anything like that for a very long time. Art made some of his famous homemade ice cream and everyone brought a salad or dessert. We have made some great friends with this group of people who serve in the Welfare facility here.
We were able to get out to
We’ve got a ‘bucket list’ going now, things we want to do before we leave, people we want to see one more time etc.
We appreciate the notes and letters that some have been able to send, they are like manna to a hungry soul. We received a short note from Elder Chandler Whipple, sounds like he is doing well and settling into the work in
We pray for the Lord’s blessings to be with you this week and always. Keep the faith.
Our love,
Grandpa & Grandma, Mom & Dad, Jack & Gaye
Elder & Sister Nelson
Wonderful Harpsichord music
