Fall

I miss Box Elder canyon. I love living in California BUT I could love moving to Utah and seeing the splendor of what it has to offer.

Once a Patriot always a Champion

I have to admit it. I was dreading the BHS vs.Liberty football game. I want to die watching my boys play football. I worry they will get hurt, I worry they will hurt someone else, I worry they will miss their tackle, etc. etc.. Pretty much the worry cycle of a mom. Well I left after Logan's game to take Melanie to a birthay party and the just tried to waste time before the Varsity game because I was just too nervous to go face the game. I waited in line for Logan's dinner for 20 minutes at Jack in the Box and finally got to the game 15 minutes late. At Jack in the Box I could hear the screams of the crowd but wasn't sure shich way it would be going. Well imagine my surprise when I arrived and we were in the lead 7 to 10. Yipee, skipee for us! The game was amazing and I was nervous the whole time. We were leading by 10 points with 4 minutes left and people were leaving. HELLO did you not know BHS came back last week to beat Stockdale? It ain't over until .... Well when the game ended this fat lady SANG! I had a smile on my face the whole night- so happy for my two boys and the great games they both played.

Monday's update on the Missionary

hey so im writing again im just doing it slower then the dickens. (mom why did you always say that and what does it mean) so im writing from a computer out here in acahay and im pretty sure this was one of the first editions from 1984 it was sweet back then but come on can i get SOMETHING to open up with in my tour time limit. Well i hope everythings going great back home. We are doing great out here. My comps learning fast hes understanding a lot better he is still a little bit timid about talking so he stops a lot in lessons to ask me if he said that right. its kinda funny. but im thinking by the end of this change he will able to teach all the lessons without my help, well thats the goal. He keeps me laughing all day cause he just gets so excited about everything, even if its something small like some someone saying that theyll come to church during a contact. Most people just say that they will come to get us to stop talking but he just has so much faith that they are going to be there on sunday. Which i guess is good cause in Ether it says we cant receive any miracles unless we have faith. So hes really been helping me have more faith in these people.
we are still pretty house empty we have beds and a closet and a fridge, but no silverware or bowls or plates or any cooking item. so for the past 6 days we have had sandwiches, oranges, cookies and cereal from the bottom of a cut out water bottle and the top of a can of chocolate used as a spoon and thats about it. so im pretty stooked for the new kitchen were getting next week.

Miracle wise we were expected heavy rain this Sunday and we had blue skys!!! huge blessing and now everything is set up for Conferencia General. We have a baptism of 13 planned as a District if everything goes well. Which it will cause our district is amazingly obedient and all guapos (means hardworkings in paraguay, cause we actually got some pretty ugly looking dudes out here. i think thats why they sent them our here in the sticks) Im really excited for our Family, Familia Domínguez, they are all super pumped for there baptism, they all read and pray and even have question about what they read sic you love as a missionary casue you know that they are actually studying. The Dad is going to be the make or break for this week. They arent married yet and hes not 100 percent sure if hes ready for it. but we taught him the law of Castidad and he felt kinda bad i think he knows he needs to do it he`s scared. so pray for him a lot please (fermin). Paraguari the area that i was in last week is also having a baptism of 5 so thats way exciting. This week is going to be great we are going to need a loto f fasting a pray but i think it will go great.

This is the Lords work and there is no greater work sobre la faz de la tierra.

Love you all spell check forgive me please
Dont forget to pray

hey mom got back on to print off the email from president callan. just to let you know i have pdays every monday and once every two months i have it on wednesday for changes so ill let you know when i have wednesday pday. also i will be getting on early now in the day casue we dont meet together anymore cause its just to far to travel out here. so it would be better to write me sudays. also we arent moving again we just havent received our kitchen stuff so that will be here tomorrow. i feel like a little kid at christmas.

Words of wisdom passed along to my posterity

Here us a picture of the luxiourios Hotel del Paraguay. Bug netting is included in the price of the room.
Jordan started his letter with a quote he remembered from his mother. Ohhh, I hope there are other things he can recall besides the random thoughts that came out of my mouth and into the ears of my children.

The term "the dickens" means "to the point of ridiculousness"

Therefore saying "slow as the dickens" means you are being ridiculously slow

(Writer Charles Dickens was known for the fact that is his books he would often take a minor detail and exaggerate it for sake of comedy)

Missionary Monday on Wednesday ;)

So, I must be following in his footsteps as he is always listing his top five or top three but I have to say this might be one of my top 3 favorite letters. I was laughing out loud as I read his play by play of the bus fiasco and then picturing him and his companion running towards each other on the streets of Paraguay. In my mind it is in slow motion with legs and arms flailing and music is playing in the background as they reunite after the 13 block run. We miss having him in our house with us but we sure feel his love coming to us. It is a great experience and I am grateful for two more sons who have made it their plan to also serve a mission.
Hey family how are you?
Sounds like a lot happened this week and a lot
is going on in life. I love life when its busy it makes it mas fun. Logan with a nasty pick against Clovis stud. Make sure we save a video of that.
Que pucha varsity didn’t hold them off its alright you guys can just regulate in the Valley Championship game. Im just glad you left concussion free. Ha that was so funny slash scary last year. I still laugh thinking about it.
And Melanie’s swimming!!! That’s awesome. I knew she was going to be good at swimming, I remember she used to race the kids during swim practice and always won. When’s you first meet Melanie? How do you like it? It’s probably a little tough right now but give it another week or two and you’ll adjust. Im excited to hear how its going next week from you.
K funny story. Every Monday we take a bus from Paraguari to Ita. Its about 30 to 45 mins. Depending on how full the bus is and what year it was made. Luckily this morning it filled up quick, as in all the seats filled and two people standing up in front of every seat if that’s sense. It was a bus meant for 40 with 102 on it. If that makes it easier to picture. So we didn’t stop for anyone along the way cause it would be impossible to get on. Mom would go cray claustrophobic on these buses. But this morning the bus flew and we got there in like 25, and the whole time my comp and I were talking and didn’t realize that we got there. So we had to push our way to the front and were like jumping on people and stepping on them cause were a good three times bigger then the rest of them. Anyways my comp made it to the front grabbed his backpack and got off with me following but i couldn’t find my backpack! So I started looking for it and the bus took off without my comp!! and me without my backpack panicking a full. So I'm grabbing all the bags trying to find mine. And the sun was in my eyes and I could see anything so I couldn’t tell which one was mine and I wanted to cry cause the bus was just going fast and fast. And people were all looking at me weird cause I was alone and they could tell I was about to have a panic attack so I finally yelled CAN ANYONE SEE A MOCHILLA NEGRA!!!! And some kid handed it to me and I ran to the front got off now a solid 13 blocks from my comp and started sprinted to my comp, I cant remember running that fast in my whole life. After 3 blocks of running I say my comp at a dead sprint as well coming towards me. The only thing he said was WHAT HAPPENED YOU WERE RIGHT BEHIND ME?! I just laughed. It was pretty funny and i don’t think im going to forget that feeling again I was scared straight. Dang now I only have 5 min.
So I went to the temple for the first time in 7 months and felt so good. Like being clean after a baptism again. I also had an Entrevista con el Presidente that was wonderful. He still kinda scares me but I like him a lot. He says hes happy with the way im working and that helped me out a lot. Cause sometimes I just feel so little. Like im working my hardest and there just isn’t enough time or hours in the day to get everything done and we just aren’t having the result we want. I think part of that problem is we have been working in 4 areas trying to do the work of 6 missionaries with just us two. But President said that he sees a lot of potential in our areas especial in Acahay so next week myself and a new missionary are headed out there to live and work all the time focusing on priesthood and Families. I'm really excited Ive been thinking about a lot of things that could help those people out and I think we are going to have a lot of success.
Other note we went to Guasuqua and found a little house to sleep in ill sent pics next week of it. And we found 15 people and got 30 other referencias so we pumped about that next week were going out there again. Ill let you know more about it next week. But we need to go back and clean the pension its gross. Also tomorrow Elder Audikitus is coming and we are having a Mission Conferience im PUMPED. That man knows how to drop the cane. K I love you all.
Your amazing and I cant wait to hear from ya next week. Good luck in the Freedom Bowl. When one of you scores, dedicate a sammy sosa to me.
Ps I Got the Package it was sweet!!! Thank you so much Candice and Nicole. I didn’t even eat that chuchi of candy in the states. And that Tie is beautiful im wearing tomorrow to the conferencia. K I love you all

Today Marc and I went to a memorial service for Debbie Austin. She was the youngest in a family of 10. We knew her as a bundle of energy willing to offer her opinions as well as her love. As I listened to her family share thoughts and memories of growing up in a large family I was overcome with memories from my own life.
I thought of the time when I was only 4 or 5 and I was feeling left out in a house filled with teenagers. I was sitting under a chair in the dining room of our California house. My big sister Susan came to find me and comforted me while the house was filled with her own friends. She told me she would always be there for me and she was.
I remembered my sixteenth birthday when my sisters Teresa and Shelly planned a surprise birthday party for me at our cabin. My friends were hiding in the playhouse out back. They were both at busy times in their lives but took the time to make a spoiled little sister feel loved and adored. I also remember that my sister Teresa didn't kill me when I wore her beautiful red leather "soft as butter" shoes and ruined them. I don't know where I wore them or what I did but I know that somehow somewhere I did in fact ruin them.
I think of a small arrangement of flowers sent to me by my sister Dayna (Steve's wife) when my friend Melanie died and I thought my heart would burst. They were in law school and I am sure that a floral arrangement was not in the budget but it truly soothed my heart to know that they would know I was hurting.
I remembered driving to deliver treats to football players while my mom came up with clever verses and rhymes, all the while laughing at our clever selves.
I thought of my Aunt Beth and her stories she would tell us during the time she spent living at our house and her famous BINGO games as well as her books filled with stories about nurses.
I really have a horrible memory and can hardly remember anything about my childhood. When we have reunions and everyone reminisces, I wonder "where was I?" since I don't remember most of the things they are talking about. It was nice to have my mind opened and feel the love of my older sisters. I feel grateful to have sisters that I was able to look up to growing up who had the patience to deal with their little sister. I had a wonderful childhood and am grateful to not only be blessed with the family that the Lord sent me to but that I was able to marry into a family that I would choose to spend eternity with. Life is good and I am so grateful that I am able to have my children with me - and my heart aches for my friends the Austins who have wonderful memories of their sweet daughter and would choose to continue making more memories that include her. But that was not part of the plan. Sister Austin is an example of everything wonderful, graceful, and strong that embodies motherhood. She was a hero in my book today as I watched her countenance shine with love for a daughter that left too soon.

hoooooooooooollllllaaaa!!!

hey hows life fam? im so pumped for football this year i better get good updates. you two better wreck some fools. your probably all in school right now. LOCO!!!! Masons a senior, i cant believe it.

k so this week was mas o menos. we had a lot of downs but luckily the ups out numbered the downs. i let you know what the downs were first. the first and mas grande was with Tomas and Maura. they didnt come to church last week and we ewre like alright their not realy to progress so we dropped them. then they called and said that want to come to church and get baptized. so yours truely was dumb and believed them and we took the to Asuncion to get Mauras cedula aka identification. And they were all happy and reading their book of Mormon they had questions and were just golden then i dont know what happen they said they would be there Sunday we tested their faith and let them try and come on their own. Didnt work so we went and looked for them and Maura saw me coming and ran from me. i wanted to cry. the day before she was showing me here marked scriptures and telling me what parts she liked out of 2 nephi 31 and the next day she acted like she didnt know me. And had no interested in going to church. so i told here if you change and want our help and the lords help come to church but were not going to there house anymore. So that was a bummer. The other bummer was everyone in Acahay was mad at the president cause he said they were lame-o´s for not coming to church last week and going to the party. So we got problems to fix and we have to try and do it in Guarani which is like asking an marc Urmston boy to fix a computer. its just not going to happen. so there is my venting now for the Bendiciones!!!!


So yessica aka stud of the year came to church again this week. she even came home from Carapegua where she works a good 30 mins in bus from Acahay to make it. And she had a big-o smile on like always. Anyways my comp went out there on Sunday and gave the sunday school lesson and taught lesson 2 the plan of salvation. and then gave a talk as well and taught lesson 1 the Restoration. it was perfect. so were going out to acahay tomorrow to do the interview of her and Manuel a 9 year old who has been coming to church that we already thought was a member, habia sido, hes not! bendiciones 2 so were going to baptism the two on saturday. In a River!!! im so excited, especially for Yessica shes so ready. i just hope she can get work off.
Other blessing this week in paraguari we had a bunch of poser good investigators but none of them showed up on sunday. i wish i could just MAKE them understand how important this Gospel is for them. But i think someone already tried that plan, and it didnt turn out that Hot for him. (i guess i should say "it didnt turn out so cool for him" ha you know what im saying!) Anyways i was kinda bummed out on sunday cause no one really came to church. but come to find out Gayoso a recent converts, his mother is not baptized and she come to church every week. But we thought there had to be something wrong with her if she has not been baptized yet, like she need to get divored or algo asi. but we asked president and he was all. Oh i forgot to tell you last week she talked to me and wants to get baptized. we were like what!! OK!! so we went to her house and are going again tonight and hopefully she can get baptized this weekend. YIPEE. i love baptisms.

Other good news this week we are going to guasukua, a little pueblo of about 500 that had about 20 members and a couple investigators that need the lessons. so were going thursday on a bus through a dirt path for an hour and a half. the the only problem is that the bus gets there at 10 and then leaves at 11, and there isnt any other buses. So the President gave us two options go for an hour teach a full and run back to the bus. OR go buy hammocks and find two trees load up with mosquito spray and stay the night!!! we picked number two. Im so pumped its going to be crazy. The best part is there is already2 families that have enough assistencias get baptized now! so thats another huge blessing.

So what i need to do is grow up take our trials like a man. Put more faith in the Lord and appriecate the Blessing that come. When life gets hard and i fell like giving up there are two things i like to do one is read Ether 12, which is all about faith and the testimony that comes after the trial of our faith. And the other is to read a quote that Elder Pitcher likes to shared one time that helped me out a lot. im not sure who ts from but it says

True faith is shown when the mountains dont move and the waters dont part.
mom thought(this might be one of my new favorite quotes!)
So just push through your trails and keep that eye of faith and the Lord will bless you ( a good friend ones shared d yc 121 7-9, that one really helps me as well.)

k gotta jet i would send you some pics but some punk kid erased the last four months of my mission yesterday. i want to cry. but next week there will be pics of baptisms!!!

also a small wish list

efy cds
skittles
starbusts
new pants, the dark brown ones form walmart are my favorite. Puritains 34 x 32
for christmas the Iron Gym for pull ups and the full body work out.
mike and ikes
fireballs people down here freakout with those.
and thats it for now

k love you all be happy and good luck with school and the big game this week.