Monday, July 2, 2012

July 2--Dear Elder: Call from Matt! Jon's B-day, Don and Renee's Visit

Dear Elder,

Hi!  How was your first week in Mexico?  I hope it was good.  It all must seem so strange right now, but hang in there, it will get better!

We are still waiting for your call this morning.  I sure hope we didn’t sleep through it!  Everyone had strict instructions to answer the phone if they heard it ring while they were sleeping, so this morning I asked Dad if he heard the phone while he was sleeping and he said, “Only in my dream.”  This did not inspire confidence that you have not called.  He said “It wasn’t that kind of dream,” which I guess means that it wasn’t real.  I hope not!  Katrina and Thomas got work off, but Miriam wasn’t able to.  Thomas did go to football practice.  It was really hard for him to decide whether or not to go.  I told him to say a prayer and make a decision.  He only has another half hour of practice, so hopefully he won’t miss you. 

Yesterday was a nice day.  I got a call at 7:35 am to go to a meeting.   I thought I had a meeting last night at 7:30, but it turns out that it was this morning at 7:30.  I showered quickly and got there before 8:00.  It was a meeting to plan a meeting with the youth to plan an activity.  Gotta love meetings, ha ha!  Church was good; I felt the Spirit.  After church, we broke our fast (most of us started fasting after lunch yesterday), and then the kids and I slept while Dad exercised.  When we all woke up, we cooked and ate.  Don and Renee came over at 7:00 to visit, and we had a wonderful time.  Grandma was very happy to see them.

I got to talk to Jonathan and wish him happy birthday after lunch.  I sang him my favorite birthday song of all time which you should already know.  My favorite line of it is…Zzzzzippttteeeayyy and Heideeho!!!! Sadly, he couldn’t see the dance that went with my song.  I did send him a written transcript of the lyrics on his Facebook wall so that he can cherish it forever.  Later, we called and sang “Happy Birthday to You” to him as a family.  He thanked us for not singing the one I sang earlier.  I don’t know what his problem is.  He has two birthday cards waiting for him this morning; he just needs to get a key from the office to get them.

Well, I am still studying Preach My Gospel.  Sort of.  My studies have led me to study Alma 32 again, and that is going to take some time.  Today, as I studied about awaking and planting the word of God in my heart, I read verse 27 that talks about giving a place for the word of God .  My question to ponder was, “how can I best give place for the word?”  I already read the word of God daily, and have done that for years, but I know that I need to awake and arouse myself to better action.  After pondering, I decided if I try to remember what I have studied in my thoughts, words, and deeds, this would be giving a place for the word.  I also realized that Christ is the word.  So when I read His words and make them a part of who I am, I am making Christ a part of who I am. 

My next ponder question was, “How can I speak the word?” and I decided to just open my mouth and say it.  So when Miriam woke up, I just told her what I’ve been learning in the scriptures lately.  It was really nice.  I plan to think, speak, and act on the word (The Word) of God all day today J

Matt!  You just called.  I am so happy!  I am so glad that Miriam was still home and that I was able to get  Thomas home from football while you talked to Miriam and Katrina and that we all got to talk to you.  I’m sorry you couldn’t hear us real well.  It was so nice to hear your voice.  Thank you for the things that you said to us, they mean so much to me.  I know it will help your siblings catch the vision of how important the gospel is in our lives.   I know that your serving a mission is blessing all of our lives.   I sure hope you got a hold of Dad at work.  I just called Cassandra to let her know you might be calling.  Jon already knows, so we’ll see what you get to do.  I’m sorry that your phone card didn’t work, and I am so glad you had quarters!  May God bless the good Samaritan who helped you get those.  After we talked to you, we said a prayer for you, and we know that Heavenly Father will help you get to Mexico safely today.

(Blog Note:  This is the first installment of a collection of daily writings that I will be sending out to Matt via dearelder.com on Sunday the 8th. )

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