INTRUMENTS IN HIS HANDS

 Querido Familia y Amigos,

MISSION MIRACLES:  Everyday we see the hand of God in our work.  He truly is in every detail of our service as missionaries.  Sometimes it comes as a thought to drop by and see someone, other times the clear ideas that are put in our minds as we teach or even a random encounter on the street.  God knows who He is preparing to receive his gospel and He orchestrates every part of our work.  It is such a blessing to be an instrument in His hands.  Here are a couple of examples from my journal (I hope you can read it), along with one of Elder Fowers' daily entries:

Elder Fowers' Journal:  

May 23: Today was one of those days that you know that God has a greater overall plan. What we plan is painfully short sighted.  Such was the case as we entered the Bonilla home today.  We regularly visit this young family of recent converts to help the girls with English.  Luci teaches English while I separately teach the father about the priesthood to which he was recently ordained.  As we entered today we found a young man out front helping fill boxes with family possessions. This did not seem too unusual in that they will soon be moving to a new rental a few miles away.  He introduced himself as René.  We greeted each other and entered the home to begin our lessons. As I was sitting down to teach the Priesthood, Sister Bonilla brought René into the room, introduced him as her nephew who will now be living with them, and told me to teach him the gospel. I was a little taken back by the boldness of the moment. He is 27 years old, no English, working and his parents live in Mexico so he came to live with his aunt and will help pay the bills with his job in a local restaurant.  René was like an open vessel wanting to know more about God. His uncle, Brother Bonilla bore a strong testimony urging René to listen to our message.  I then explained about prayer and gave a prayer as we departed. I thought afterwards that René must be one of those who God was guiding to the truth. 

TEACHING ENGLISH:  The Bonilla family, who were recently baptized, have not been living in the United States very long and their two young girls are struggling in school due to lack of English.  I have been giving them English lessons once a week for several months. They are so sweet! They live in a tiny back house so I teach them in the yard.

English lessons

SERVICE DAY:  Another missionary day of service at the Vista Manor mobile home park.  Also, another visit to the jungle to help an older lady cut down a 20 ft. tall bird-of-paradise plant that was leaning on the neighbors awning.  In the last 3 months, our hard working Elders and Sisters have donated more than 200 hours of service to the residents in this mobile home community...and always with a smile on their faces! 

Vista Zone missionaries chopping through the "jungle."

Enjoying lunch together after the service.

SPANISH ZONE CONFERENCE:  About one third of the missionaries in the Newport Beach Mission are Spanish-speaking, so they have often have special training in Spanish zone conferences.  This last week we had a very interesting conference to talk about the challenges of language and culture that impact teaching the Hispanic people.  Beyond that we talked about the fact that all of these members are immigrants that are living on the very edge of survival to working two jobs to get food on the table, which often trumps listening to the missionaries.  The entire meeting is conducted in Spanish so that is a bit challenging for me (Luci).

Training on "La Restauración"

Hermana Fowers with all of the Spanish-speaking sisters in the mission

YM CAR MAINTENANCE CLASS:  One of our YM activities was to teach the boys basic car maintenance. I took some tools and we set up in the church parking lot.  Julio Lopez our member mechanic came and demonstrated how to change a tire, and check fluid levels.  Julio had a crankshaft in the truck so we explained some basic principles of an engine. We let them experience using the tools and even let them jack up the car.  It was obvious that some had never held a wrench but all of them enjoyed the learning experience.  They are starting to gel together as a group.

Basic mechanics

All in!

SENIOR MISSIONARY FRIENDS:  For those of you who have served senior missions, you will understand the sweet bond that forms between the other senior couples.  About once a month we get together for a potluck (often on the beach) just so we can share their journey and deepen our friendship.  These other missionaries that are serving in the trenches with us become life long friends.  We were sad to see the Elder and Hermana Hanks leave... they will be sorely missed. As the only other Spanish-speaking senior couple in our mission, they will take a big chuck of the support for our Spanish units! 

Newport Beach Senior Couples:  The glue that holds the mission together.

Goodbye to Elder and Hermana Hanks

VISTA WARD BAPTISM:  Sister Nancy was baptized on Saturday.  Our valiant missionaries have been working with her for several months and she made the courageous decision to follow Jesus Christ by being baptized.  She is a young, single mom with two autistic children, but is an amazing example of love and patience.  She was supported by many members of the ward, along with 6 non-members that were in attendance.  I think the momentum in our Vista Ward is beginning to shift!

Hermana Fowers shepherding a new Friend.

Ultimate Joy~Nancy: A Convert Baptism

BRAD'S DEMO SERVICE DAY:  We are so blessed to be close enough to a couple of our kids to spend time with them and their families.  Last Saturday decided to give a service day to Bradley.  They are starting a big remodel project and needed to demo their patio.  The wall went down in about 30 minutes and we were thinking it was easy street until we ran into six inches of concrete under the pavers that needed to be blasted out with a jack-hammer.  I could not move for a couple of days, but it was fun to work with Brad and family to help their project along.

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

We hope that you can feel a small part of the joy of our service.

Con Mucho Amor,

Los Fowers

Entryway of the Newport Beach Temple

Ode to Joy

Querido Familia y Amigos,

There are no pictures of the moments that really count.  When we are sitting in a lesson and the spirit is so profound with feelings of joy and well being, we don't stop everything and ask for a photo.  When you are deeply into a conversation to clarify doctrine or encourage active faith, again, no photos.  The absolute heart of this work is impossible to convey in this blog, but we have felt such joy many times and are deeply grateful that we are but a small part of this great work!

So here is the photos of the other treasured moments that we could document:

BUICK'S NEW HOME: Sarah and Mark decided to donate their unwanted and unneeded 1997 Buick Century to someone in need.  Their mechanic estimated $500 to get the car road worthy again.  Well, our friend and mechanic Julio was just the prefect candidate for the donation.  We mentioned him earlier in our blog.  He is a returned missionary from a very poor part of Mexico.  He is self taught mechanic working in his father's shop in Oaxaca. He was delighted to receive the gift from the Lewis family.  He immediately went to work fixing the windows which had not worked in years (simple wire unhooked).  He purchased a new radiator cap for $4.75 and that was all it needed.  Runs like a new car.  Sarah: get a new mechanic! This donation is taking this humble man to a new level.  He is now busy developing his own auto repair business.

Julio, $4.75 Fix...New Radiator Cap

Julio, Proud New Owner

YOUTH ACTIVITIES: One of our primary focuses of the Vista Spanish ward has been to build the youth programs.  As a result of COVID and a difficult leadership change, there had been no organized Young Mens (Jovenes Varones) for some years.  Our first week in the Vista Ward we were asked to help resurrect the program.  We started with one ordained Aaronic Priesthood holder and three young men with severe autism.  Little by little (poco a poco) we have worked with a newly called YM leader and built up the program.  Last week we had 11 young men attending our activity night.  Following are photos of some of the activities we have helped to organize. "If you build it they will come". 

YW/YM Cook-off Competition

    

The Cook-off Judges...Obispo Cordada and Fowers

YM Making Mother's Day Gifts

Authentico Taco Night, YW's Camp Fundraiser

Chatting with dear friend, Rosio.

TEMPLE TRIP WITH SOCIEDAD de SOCCORO:  Elder Fowers is brave.  He accompanied myself and six other Relief Society Sisters on a temple trip to the San Diego Temple. After the session, there was some head turning when that "Mormon Elder" walked into the restaurant trailed by seven women!  

Beloved Sisters in the Gospel.

CEVICHE: We don't eat at members' homes too often, but Bro. and Sister Gomez invited us to join them for a Sunday afternoon meal.  We didn't quite know what to think when they brought out a huge pot of cold seafood ceviche.  It was swimming with shrimp, squid, crab and octopus, all of which were raw! It was prepared by soaking the seafood in lime juice for hours and then seasoning with raw onions, spices and tomato juice. Hmmm??? It was absolutely delicious!  We gorged ourselves on the delicacy.

Generous Hospitality

Seafood Ceviche

CUTTING THROUGH THE JUNGLE:  One of the elderly residents, who must have been an amazing gardener at one point, hasn't been able to work in her little mobile home yard for several years due to health issues.  We were asked to bring in a team of Elders for a special cleanup project. The yard was so overgrown that we had to hack our way through the jungle to get to the rear of the trailer, where Elder Fowers discovered a major water leak that had been irrigating the jungle with hot water for months.  Six Elders and ourselves worked for 3 hours hauling dozens of dead potted plants, to the dumpster, cutting back foliage and trimming shrubbery and only made a dent in the project!

Helaman's Army

Mountains of overgrown pots.

Hacking our way through the jungle.

BAPTISM:  On February 20, we met the Gonzales family when were asked to teach their daughter Sofia some simple lessons to prepare her for baptism.  Every Monday evening, over a period of about a month, we would drop by and teach Sofia a lesson.  We had an instant bond with the family which has deepen over time as we taught the simple truths of the gospel.  Eventually the sessions turned into missionary lessons for Sofia's dad, who is not a member.  What a remarkable family that has welcomed us with open arms and open hearts to receive our message.  Yesterday Sofia was baptized...oh the JOY.  These simple teachings have affected the whole family.  They have returned to the church after decades of inactivity.  What more need be said?

Extended Gonzales family celebrating Sofia's special day.

One last photo:

Love letters from the Grandkids!  💖

Con Mucho Amor,

Los Fowers

Pressing Forward

 Queridos Familia y Amigos,

Favorite Bumper Sticker: "I HOPE YOU ARE FOLLOWING JESUS THIS CLOSE".

SPANISH:  We just got home from our Sunday meetings.  After two or three intense hours of trying to understand what people are saying to me in Spanish.  The intensity and focus is so demanding for my old brain that I am exhausted by the time meetings end on Sunday.  With that said, I feel that I am making progress.  Communication is becoming easier by degrees.  I understand more and am able to speak more.  I even went on my first "solo" Spanish-speaking lesson with a sister in the ward while Clarke went in another direction.

ZONE CONFERENCE:  Many of you back home know President and Sister Carter, our fearless Newport Beach Mission Leaders.  They are amazing! We had zone conferences this week and they are masterful teachers.  During the morning training they took the missionaries on a deep dive into the scriptures.  We search dozens of scriptures during that hour and by the time he finished we were so empowered and motivated to do the work, that you could feel the energy in the room.  We all wanted to respond to the promptings of the spirits to be better missionaries!  They are teaching these young men and women to love the Jesus Christ.  We have now participated in Zone Conference for three mission presidents, President Wood, President Dayton and President Carter who all have very different styles, and come from diverse backgrounds, yet our testimony of Jesus Christ has been deepened by each of them.

President Carter teaching at Zone Conference

Sister Carter connecting with Love

Singing "Called to Serve" as a Thank You for Meal

SENIOR MISSIONARY FRIENDS: One of the best part of our missions has been getting to know other senior couples.  They are all so remarkable and we love them all.  The Praters live in our same complex. They are on their second mission and serve in english wards nearby.  They have become our  Pickle ball buddies. Beyond that we often travel together or share a meal.  Its so awesome to have friends to share this experience because we are in the "trenches" together.

The Praters, Senior Missionary Buddies

Awesome round of Pickleball

ZONE SERVICE DAY:  Last Thursday we gathered the Vista Zone of 20 Elders and Sister for another morning of service in the Vista Manor Trailer Park.  As we previously mentioned this is a subsidized non-profit park.  Many of the residents are older and unable to maintain their lots. Sister Fowers passed out papers with details for 25 specific jobs at various trailers in the 160 lot park. The Elders and Sisters went to work. In the course of three hours there were 8 pickup truck loads of trash and yard waste hauled to the dumpster.  And those sister missionaries can hold their own with the Elders when it comes to yard work.  We were so proud of all of them as they worked so hard at each trailer.  The residents were very impressed and thankful for the service.  This is such a good public relations opportunity to reach out to the community.  Later Luci and I stayed and installed outdoor carpet at #73 on their deck and stairway entrance.  They called us angels (on bended knee I might add).  The next day I returned with Elder Prater to fix a clogged  sink drain.  Elder Prater is a retired journeyman plumber.  We worked and worked with an auger and finally got the kitchen sink drain in trailer #93 unclogged.  The older lady who is caring for her adult disabled son asked me how much for our services.  I told he we don't charge and that we do what Christ would do if he were here.  She gave me a big hug with tears in her eyes.

Photo with Mary, Manager of the Vista Manor Mobile Home Park after a day of Service!

Hermana Fowers installing Outdoor Carpet

NEW HOME FOR THE BUICK: Previously we mentioned Julio, the auto mechanic from Mexico who was so depressed and homesick when we first met him. After giving him a blessing, We got him a white shirt and a tie so he could bless the sacrament.  We have given him a few references for auto repairs.  Last week our daughter Sarah decided to donate their old 1997 Buick Century to someone in need.  I took Julio to Sarah's home in Lemon Grove where she signed over the car to him.  Julio was so thankful but could not express himself in English.  His big smile and handshake was enough for Sarah. This car will be such a blessing for him to move forward. His hands no longer hang down.

BROTHER ALDOLFO: For the past several weeks I have been helping Brother Arnolfo Bonilla prepare to receive the Priesthood.  He is a recent convert but has not been able to attend church regularly due to his recovery from injuries caused by a severe automobile accident. He still has several operations in his future and will be disabled the rest of his life.  A drunken teenage driver hit him head on.   As I taught him last week, he had a big eye patch on one side. The accident left him blind in one eye and he will receive a prosthetic eye soon.  Today in Priesthood  meeting the Bishop ordained this humble man a Priest. The priesthood covenant will bring peace and bless his young family. Spiritual blessings to heal physical wounds.

A big shout out and thank you to Kevin and Kathy for watching our home while we serve.  The dam behind our home is nearly full to the spillway.  With their watchful care and our faith and presence here in the mission field is keeping the waters at bay. 

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder and Hermana Fowers

Hands that Hang Down...Ministering to the One

Queridos amigos y familia, 

One of the challenges of this mission is setting appointments.  Because we work with the immigrant population (in fact sometimes I think we live in little Mexico here in Vista), we find that EVERYONE has to work just to survive.  Therefore, setting appointments is very difficult. When we call people to try to set appointments they put us off or ignore our calls, but we know that we need to get into their home in order to try to support and strengthen them.  As of late, we have had the most success with our "drop-by" efforts.  We start about 4:00 p.m. thinking that they will be returning home and outline a list of people to visit that live in close proximity to each other...then we start knocking doors.  We have had so many remarkable experiences as we try to lift the hands and heads that hang down. Following are a few examples from Elder Fowers Journal: (We have changed their names to protect our new friends.)

Betty and Marco:  This evening we visited Betty and Marco.  This is a couple who joined the church about a year ago and have only been to church a couple of times since then due to Betty’s condition.  Some 5+ years ago she suffered from some type of brain tumor which required surgery which left her blind, partially paralyzed and slow of speech. They have been together for 20 years, but only married for 9. Marco is her faithful husband who cares for her everyday after a full day of work along with cooking and cleaning. (I think they have someone to care for her while he works.)  He is such a happy, positive man and treats her with such tenderness.  Marco has not received the priesthood yet and does not understand it.  He has drifted with the Word of Wisdom.  So we began at square one with the apostasy, restoration, etc.  He is obedient but just has not been nurtured since his baptism.  He wants to progress and go to the temple.  Luci and I have decided to teach them weekly.  I felt the spirit as I nurtured the “hands that hang down”.  In reality, we always come away enlightened by his unfailing faith in Jesus Christ.

Jansey: In the afternoon, we followed a reference from the young missionaries to visit Jansey.  We found this beautiful woman in her late 30’s in a nearby trailer park living with her mother who is also a member.  Jansey just recently reached out to the church for help.  She is suffering from depression, anxiety and panic attacks which come from two abusive and broken marriages. She has lost custody of her only son to her first husband. In addition she is illegal, being brought from Mexico at 2 months of age.  She knows nothing of Mexico and is afraid of deportation.  We comforted her.  Luci is really good at this, giving hugs amid the tears.  We set up an appointment with the bishop to refer her for LDS social services to receive counseling.  We will get her set up with the Pathway online education university.  We are bringing over the Relief Society sisters for ministering.  This is what we do as senior missionaries. 

Marta: We accompanied the sister missionaries to drop by Marta who has been a living in the home of her boyfriend's parents for the many years and has a 14 year old daughter with their oldest son. Marta is illegal, and is on kidney dialysis 3 times a week, and she has had a stroke.  She has been taught for generations of missionaries but because of her situation can not be baptized.  Her boyfriend is not sure he wants to marry her. It’s a sad situation.  I felt guided by the spirit to counsel her.  I gently told her that her salvation is more important than her legal status and more important than her medical problems. I counseled her to move out, begin to live a chaste life and that the Lord would bless her with peace and better health.  She could join then join church, which she has wanted to do for many years.  She took the counsel to heart.  The spirit was strong.  We will follow up. Another hand that is hanging down

Alex and Malan: We have been trying to find Alex and Malan for sometime, and have dropped by their apartment several times, but finally one cold rainy night they answered the door and let us into their TINY apartment.   They both joined the church about one year ago but fell into activity. They were living separately at baptism but now live together and not married.  I think they feel embarrassed to attend church.  They received us openly and we could quickly see their sincerity and desire to return to church.  I told them that we would hold everything in confidence.  We then began to ask them what was keeping them from getting married.  It appears that Alberto has a wife in Mexico along with two daughters.  He needs to divorce her and then marry Malan.  It is a little complicated so I offered to help him initiate divorce .  He is going to try.  But in the meantime we told them that this was a common problem and that it should not keep them from coming to church.  Christ will love them just the same if they continue to work to keep his commandments.  Luci bore strong testimony with her best Spanish.  The spirit was there and I think they will follow through.  We invited them to come on Sunday and listen to the general conference. This is where senior couples are at an advantage.  The younger missionaries are great at teaching and baptizing. But when it comes to these intimate issues senior couples can guide them along the road back.

Cezar Family: The R.S. Society President in the Buena Vista Ward suggested that we drop by the Cezar family.   Bro. Cezar was in an industrial accident many years ago. He is a relatively young man left with pinched nerves in his back that affect his ability to walk.  He is on full disability but continues with such a positive attitude.  He told us about how he thought he would die much earlier and not be able to see his sons grow up. He is so grateful for the additional years.  He talked about how he knew that the Lord had a purpose for this challenge and that he would serve until he could no longer move.  He was just released from the Bishopric. What a remarkable, humble man.

This is just a sampling of the beautiful people we find when we are out seeking for His lost and hiding sheep.  We pray for his guidance everyday as we try to lead them back to the fold.

Our Young Men's program continues to grow. Last week we organized a missionary preparation night and taught them how to tie a tie, spoke about how to prepare for a mission and shared missionary stories. Along with our regular boys Jason came for the first time. We have been working to bring him back for two months and we even got his registered for FSY.  There were 11 Young Men in the room! Our boys along with a few friends.  We have seen our new Young Men advisor really stepping up.

Update on our friend Hector:  Last night we got into the Gonzales home after a 2-week pause because the family has had a round of illness.  I took a pot of soup over a couple of days ago just to have an interface with the family.  However tonight they seemed excited to see us.  So without a lot of chit-chat we dived right into the lesson on the Plan of Salvation.  We had a wonderfully balanced lesson with each of us taking rotating topics as we laid out the basic truths. Their children stayed for the entire lesson.  We find his wife remembers very little about the gospel principles due to her long time away.  The spirit attended us; giving us the words we needed.  Hector is inching ever closer to baptism.  I challenged them to read the scriptures everyday and to pray together each night.  They accepted the invitation.

Kathy and Kevin came to visit! YEAH.  I am afraid we weren't very good hosts as we tried to work our fun in between our missionary duties.  Brad and family and Kathy's daughter Jennifer joined us for Easter lunch, and an Easter Egg Hunt.  The sweetest moment of the day was our special Easter FHE with them.  They just left this morning and I already miss her!

Exploring San Luis Rey 1789 Mission

Mallory, Leah and Penny-Ready for the hunt.

We are sorry that we don't have more pictures. We always forget to take them.

We love our mission.  We love our Savior Jesus Christ.  We love you all.

Los Fowers