June 2011

June 5, 2011

Dear Elder Alex,

Well, here we are again. I don't know about you, but my weeks seem to be flying by lately. I guess it's been cuz I've been pretty busy. Loved your Panda picture last week. I guess that's what inspired our Sunday dinner today of orange chicken, spicy chicken and egg rolls and rice. It was quite a rich meal, but Leah and Nikki couldn't get enough especially since it was Fast Sunday and they had suffered for so long beforehand.

Kirk called today and yesterday. He sounds good and he's still really loving it in Uganda. Sounds like he's working pretty hard too, lots of physical labor. He called today to give me his list of classes that he needs to get signed up for for Fall semester. He's going to be out of touch with society for a week while he and his roommate go off and live in a really remote village and teach the people there about nutrition and hygience, mainly just common sense things, but he says they all really need some help in that area. So today he met with his Ugandan Bishop and got his ecclesiastical interview submitted (which he had walk his Bishop through since he'd never done one before). So I'll be signing him up for his classes this week.

Sean also just called and he's keeping pretty busy with his job. He's been working some night shifts lately, so I think he has a little more empathy for dad. He's still in the training phases but almost done with it all. Today he couldn't wake up with his alarm and his roommates didn't even bother trying to wake him and ask him if he was going to church. By the time Sean woke up, it was 11:30am and he had to scramble and just find another ward to go to. He wasn't very happy with his new roommates.

I heard from Kristina who heard from Scott who was there because his sister was there that Dayna got married this past weekend and had her reception. I was kind of sad that we didn't even get invited. I would have loved to have gone. There are going to be a lot of weddings in the next few weeks. A lot of it is because the Boise temple is closing in a month, so I think there are a lot of couples scrambling out there.

I went to Living the Legacy academy on Friday. They held it up at Glenwood this year so it was nice for us not to have to drive as far. My presidency and I spoke to them Friday afternoon outside. I started them out by playing the numbers game to loosen them up a bit. It was fun seeing them laughing and getting into it. Then we read them this poem that my counselor changed the words to from Dr. Suess's Oh the Places You'll Go.

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!

Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You’re off to great places!

You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the girl who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up colleges and jobs, and maybe a travel place or two. Look ‘em over with care. There’s always BYU.

About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.” With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street.

And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. Maybe all you’ll want is a white wedding gown. Or a “Sister” missionary tag to pin on your dress. Whatever you decide, you’ll know what is best.

And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just trust in the Lord. He’ll tell you what to do.

When you’re alone in a strange place, and you’re feeling down, a Relief Society President will make sure you’re found. You’ll get visits and lessons and activities too! With all of these great things, you won’t have time to feel blue!

Oh! The places you’ll go! And the people you’ll meet. Don’t sit around waiting. This life can’t be beat!

And in all that doing, don’t you forget, that Relief Society is the best - On that you can bet!

It’ll teach you things you never thought you could do, and the sisters you meet, will become best friends too! They’ll support you, encourage you, and cheer you on. You’ll be ready for anything….C’mon, bring it on!

And will you succeed?

Yes! You will, indeed!

(99 and ¾ percent guaranteed)

Girls, you’ll move mountains!

So, be your name Eldridge or Cameron or Smith or Shumway, you’re off to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting.

After the poem which of course we read with Dr. Suess hats on, then each one of us spoke for a little bit. I basically welcomed them to RS and talked about what they will bring to RS, their youth, creativity, sensitivity to the spirit at such young ages, their technological savvy and how all these gifts came with them and are to be used to build up the kingdom at this time. I also talked with them about committing to always making an effort to be a part of RS no matter where they live and no matter how long they live there. I gave an example of a sister in Augusta who came to us when I was in the RS presidency there and even though she was only going to be living in Augusta for 3 months, she wanted to know if there was anything she could be part of or help with in RS cuz she knew she probably wouldn't even get a calling living there for such a short time. She could have hidden out and taken a vacation from church duties for 3 months, but she made such an impression on me and I remember thinking that I wanted to be just like that. That sister had a lot of fun with us in our activities, etc for the short 3 months she was there and I'll never forget her example. So I promised the Legacy girls that if they would put forth an effort and be actively a part of RS all throughout their lives that they would experience a rich, full, charitable life one that they could never experience in any other way.

We really enjoyed being a small part of Living the Legacy.

Is Ifeyani still progressing towards baptism. That was cool that your President was there to help set the baptismal date. Are you able to keep in contact with all the people you've had a part in baptizing thus far? I'm just wondering if they enjoy being able to keep in contact with the missionaries that were so much a part of their lives.

Here's a pic of Nikki. She got her haircut last week. It was back down to the middle of her back again. I can't believe how fast her hair grows. She's loving having it shorter though because it's so much easier to take care of.

Dad is working in Mountain Home tonight. He hasn't had to work on Sunday for a long time, so I know he wasn't very happy about it. We missed him at church. I know he has to take his turn though in covering the ER on the weekends.

Leah got a special award at her 5th grade graduation. Only 4 kids got it and it was for hard work and extraordinary improvement throughout the year.

Kristina is in the middle of finals. I helped her study for her Spanish final last week and she said she did really well. She'll be happy when Wednesday is finally here and they're finished. Can you believe she's going to be a sophomore?

Our weather is finally warming up here. Actually went up into the 80's the last couple of days, but we're supposed to dip back down again this week. Of course, I wouldn't mind at all if it stayed in the 70's all summer. I'm all for that. It's been nice sitting out on the porch at nights again, that's one of my favorite things to do here when it warms up.

I hope you are well and of course happy. Your excitement about the gospel, about people and about the work you are doing is very contagious and I enjoy the boost I feel every Monday when I hear from you. Here's a quote I made a note of that I heard from BYU Women's Conference last month. You have proven to be someone who is steady in small things over time, so I thought of you:

"As you and I become increasingly steadfast and immovable, we are less prone to zealous and exaggerated spurts of spirituality followed by extended periods of slackness.

“A spiritual ‘spurter’ is one who is given to short bursts of spectacular effort followed by frequent and lengthy periods of rest,” he said. While “a big spurt may appear to be impressive in the short run, … steadiness in small things over time is far more effective [and] far less dangerous and produces far better results.” Elder Bednar, BYU women’s conference 4/2011

Keep up the good steady work of the Lord.

I love you,

Mom XXOO