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

Losing our Lives to Found Them!

Querido Amigos y Familia,

This morning I woke up with Spanish words and phrases running through my mind.  I realized I was trying to figure out how to frame the sentences to bare my testimony in Spanish.  I spent some time lying in bed trying to organize the phrases to talk about what was in my heart.  It is still pretty frustrating to me to only be able to speak in simple kindergarten Spanish when I have so very much I want to say.  But I have come to realize that the workings of the Spirit can easily cross over the language barrier.  Our new friends, both in and out of the church know that we love them.  It comes down to relationships.  We can't share any doctrine or testimony until they know we sincerely care about them.  We try to show that love through service... on many levels. That can be evidenced by hauling junk, doing repairs, teaching them about a loving God and inviting them to come to Christ, or simply wrapping them in a big hug.  It is still so stunning to realize that God truly orchestrates every interaction, every detail and prepares the way before us.  The joy of our work is very tangible but impossible to describe.  Perhaps the following pictures of our beloved members and new friends will give you some sense of the joy we get to feel everyday!

Hna. Mariano (a member) and her friend

Hna. Fidela (an investigator, on my left) who is joyfully 

receiving the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Sofia, an 8-year-old friend who I have been teaching to prepare her for baptism.  

Our granddaughter Sophie helped us by sending a special letter to Sofia with her 

testimony and this CTR necklace. Sophie's thoughtful gesture has made such a difference.

 

                                             Meet the Gonzalez family.  

 

They have become such dear friends. While little sister Sofia has  been preparing for baptism, her older brother Martin has been ordained to the Priesthood and their non-member Dad, Hector is receiving the lessons to prepare for baptism. 

                         Hna. Trasvina, whom we have been helping with

                                     her family history work, along with several other sisters 

                                     in our ward.  We had an amazing break through finding 

                                     her great grandparents in Nayarit Mexico

We continue to give a great deal of time and effort to finding, inviting and loving the youth of this ward  back to activity by helping them feel the strength of righteous friends.  Over the last couple of weeks we can feel the shift in momentum as more and more youth are choosing to return.  These are awesome youth who are fighting to stand strong.

Just looking at this picture brings tears to my eyes.  For so many, it was their first time in the temple!

Sacred time in the San Diego Temple with the Vista Barrio Jovenes.

Elder Fowers instructing the newly activated YM in how 
to prepare and pass the sacrament.

Practicing their Priesthood duties.

Spring break pool fun and Hermano Flor's home. 
Please notice: no snow!

Hna. Aguirre, YW's President, catching the perfect photo.

 

Service is an important part of our work.  During Christ ministry, he didn't just serve those who he thought would hear his word and follow Him.  He served everybody, in every circumstance.  That is what we have been trying to do in our service to the residents of Vista Manor mobile home park, a non-profit organization to support low-income housing.  The park was developed in the 1960's and many of the residents are as old as their trailers!  We organized a zone of missionaries for a Helping-Hands day in the park.  These awesome missionaries worked for three hours hauling junk and pulling weeds in about 25 different mobile homes

Our Vista Zone super service heros!

I took a hard fall about 10 days ago.  I was walking over to the church along on a cold, rainy night because Elder Fowers went early to set up.  Since we live next door to the church, I thought I would just come later.  I stepped off a curb that I didn't see and rolled my ankle and fell like a sack of bricks.  Several people came running to help me up.  At that point I was more embarrassed than anything.  As the evening worn on, not only was my foot throbbing, but I was having trouble taking a deep breathe.  By bedtime I couldn't even roll over in bed and had bruises all over.  The mission nurse diagnosed a fracture rib, so I have been moving pretty slow the last little bit.  I am getting better everyday and even played a bit of Pickleball this morning.   

We love the other Senior Couples who serve along side us in the work.  Every month or so we have a gathering.  Saturday morning, 12 couples met up for a behind-the-scenes guided tour of the Mission San Luis Rey.  The guide was stellar and we were delighted to find out about the role that the Mormon Battalion played in it's early development.  By far the best part of the day was just chatting over lunch and getting to know these amazing couples.

Mission San Luis Rey, built in 1798.

200 year old Pepper Tree, the seedling was imported from Peru in 1790

Monument to the Mormon Battalion 

In the summer of 2009, I was hired as the founding Principal of the Goethe International Charter School in the LA Unified School District.  I worked for two grueling years to launch the school and then retired to serve our first mission to Africa. The school has not only survived but it has thrived!  It was just awarded the California Distinguished School Award. I was invited to their Annual Gala as an honored guest.  With permission of our mission president, we drove 2 hours north to attend the celebration on Saturday evening.

Founding Board of Directors (Roaring 20's Theme)

Dear friends and colleagues. 

Fancy Affair!

If you have never had the chance to attend the beautiful oratorio, The LAMB of GOD, you should do so.  Last evening we attended this moving production of the last week of Christ's life, performed by the San Diego Saints Choir.  The Escondido Stake centers was filled to the walls with standing room only.  It was deeply touching. A beautiful way to prepare for Easter.

Love you all,

The Fowers

P.S.  After publishing our blog a few hours ago.  Becky (our daughter-in-law) excitedly sent the following text:  ...the monument to the Mormon Battalion on the mission property was built by the YM and YW of the Riverside West Stake in 1996. I was there and helped to put it together.  There is also a time capsule inside!  

Here is the photo of Becky and Friends (Becky is level with the top of the monument to the right, poking her head out by the guy in a white t-shirt.  Thanks for sharing Becky!  What a cool connection after 27 years.

Riverside West Stake Youth 1996

The Fire of the Covenant

Hola a Todos,

We are still on the hunt for Young Men who have simply fallen through the cracks. In the very first ward council we attend during our first week here in the Vista Ward, we were informally assigned to try to support the Young Men's (Jovenes Varones) program. There was no leadership, no advisors, no planned activities, no direction and most importantly no young men.  Bro. La Barge (the Sunday School President) was trying valiantly to organize something with his three severely autistic sons and the one active young man. We decided we would help him plan a real activity EVERY week no matter what. Here is Elder Fowers' narrative about our latest event: This evening we held our big YM activity, a campfire at Guajome park.  Luci and I went all out to prepare, plan and invite. We borrowed camping equipment and a dutch oven from Brad.  I secured local firewood. We had about 6 boys with some parents attending.  Luci made a nice dutch oven and the boys cooked hot dogs over the fire.  Elder Low, a young missionary from Logan Utah sang and played his guitar.  He is an accomplished cowboy/bluegrass singer and songwriter.  His music set a receptive mode for all around the campfire.  Luci and I talked about the pioneers' sacrifice and faith.  We talked to them about modern pioneers asking them if any were modern day pioneers, being the first in their family to join and to mark the path. I think it was well received. Next time we will keep our activities simpler as we strive to build a solid quorum attendance.  

We are supporting the Young Women's program as well.  A couple of weeks ago, I taught the Young Women how to make a simple wooden phone stand.  They were pretty excited to learn how to use a jig saw and had a fun evening sanding, decorating and finishing the stands with this year's youth logo.  

We fill most of our Mondays serving the young missionaries with shoeshines and haircuts.  Last Monday I gave seven haircuts and Elder shined an equal number of shoes.  In reality, it is the perfect way to get to know these great young missionaries! Often times the service comes with a side of hot cookies.

Luci's Journal Entry March 3:  I came home from our visit this evening with bubbling sense of joy of the spirit in my whole being.  This mission have have become more aware of the promptings and more responsive to them.  This afternoon, after I finished teaching little 8-year-old Emmanuel his baptism lesson, I felt a clear impression to make a bold promise to his Dad who had joined the lesson.  I promised Bro. Reyes, by the power of my calling as a missionary that if he would read the scriptures and tend to his personal worship and worthiness that he would not need to worry about his teenage sons. (His 15 and 16 year old sons are being pulled into the world and losing interest in the church). When I spoke those words the spirit filled me and I saw tears glistening in his eyes.  Wow!  It was so random and unrelated to what I was teaching Mannie.  It come directly from Spirit, I was just the mouth piece.  

Later that same day, we dropped by to chat with Bro. Mariano, our ward mission leader about some ideas of improving our rescue efforts. The following are Clarke's words: "When we entered their home we were introduced to Fidelia, an older lady who is their neighbor an long-time friend. We talked for about 30 minutes about missionary work while Fidela sat quietly at the table across the room.Then Luci turned and approached her and asked her if she believed in God? Did she believe that Christ died for us? Did she have a church?. Sí, Sí, Sí!  (Now mind you, this was all in Spanish so it was really out of her comfort zone.)  A conversation followed.  I told her that we could add to her knowledge about God.  She agreed to take the lessons, we set an appointment, and Tuesday we returned and taught her.  I did the main teaching and Luci added what she could.  At first she was a little defensive, then the Spirit came and she began to really listen and learn.  Fildela does not read, so we downloaded the Gospel Library app and gave her the assignment to read a couple of chapters in the Book of Mormon. She is a simple woman with simple faith, but what light she has in her eyes.  We left feeling the powers of the Spirit guiding our path and putting people in our path."  It was amazing to me that the words came through the spirit and in Spanish!

I think I shared with some of you, that part of the reason we choose to come the Newport Beach was so we could interact with our SoCal grand daughters more often.  We consider it part of our mission and our mission president has made it clear that we can take time to be with them.  We call it our Grandparent ministry. So last Saturday we drove to the San Diego Temple early and after the session we met Sarah and picked up Audrey and Joy and took them back up to Tustin to watch Mallory (as Dorothy) and Penny (as Toto) perform in the Wizard of Oz.  Mallory is so incredible talented and I love it that her cousins wanted to see her play.  And, of course, Penny stole the show as the youngest performer. Afterwards we had a Grandma lunch date. I took all five of my CA grand girls to a quick lunch. We chatted and laughed and made some plans for our summer reunion.  We are so blessed to have this special time with them while we are serving our mission.

Luci's Journal Entry March 5: At our last (and only Youth Council held in the last year) the Bishop was invite to host a Bishop's Fireside. Plans were made and publicized for a gathering at the Flor's house. It being a first for this ward, we expected it to be poorly attended thinking that the youth didn't even know what a fireside was. When we arrived at the Flor home there were cars everywhere. When we went inside, it was standing room only! More and more kids and parents trickled in until they couldn't even close the front door. We felt the shift in momentum. Wow! It was a special evening with a wonderful talk by Micah, a young man who is preparing to leave on his mission in a month. Bro. Flor and Obispo Cordada gave powerful testimonies. And of course, there was food and lots of it.I know that working with the youth in this ward is one of the reasons we have been called here. Alex, Juan, Martin and Issac have each come back because we were directed by the spirit to cross their paths...in actually they were found by God.

Luci's Journal Entry March 6: After much prayer and fellowshipping a little miracle happened today. Hector (the non-member Dad to a family we have been working with since we first arrived), agreed to receive the lessons and study the gospel with us. It was a sacred experience as we discussed his "next steps" on his journey to Jesus Christ. He was so humble and spoke about how he feels so much stronger and how the family is healing as well. We invited Martin (14 year-old son) to join him to help prepare him to receive the Priesthood and he agreed. Rosio jumped in and talked about how God sent us to their family at this time. How they love the younger missionaries but know that we are the right ones to teach her family. Hector had a question about "eternal life" and I explained that the highest degree of heaven is reserved for families, and that in a year they could be sealed in the temple. There was a powerful and humbling spirit in the room. I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude that the Holy Ghost is working with us so closely.

I am starting with a nasty cold, so I am headed to bed.

Con Mucho Amor,

Los Fowers

BIG 70th BIRTHDAY SURPRISE!

Dear Friends and Family,

Last Sunday afternoon we called Hermana Socorro and asked if she would let us come visit.  She said sure, you can come right not. We quickly got ready and drove all the way over to the far side of the area.  Delighted to finally have an opportunity to meet her.  When we arrived 30 minutes later, there was a bag of hot tamales hanging in a bag on the doorknob with a little note saying "Sorry, I had to leave." We got ghosted! We were discouraged and a bit tired, but we decided that we would try to visit Moises and Bernice who lived nearby. We took the hot tamales and boldly went to the door with no appointment.  When we knocked, Moises answered with a big smile on his face."Hi, We brought you some hot tamales!" He and Bernice joined the church about a year ago, but have not attended church since then.  We soon learned why.  She had brain surgery a few years back and is blind, epileptic and can't walk without support.  She needs 24-7 care.  He is a devoted and loyal husband and cares for her with such tenderness.  He had an amazing testimony with an amazing connection to Christ. It was humbling to talk to him and learn of his courage and faith through an unfathomable trial.

We started going to the Senior Center for lunch a couple of times a week just to try to reach out into the community.  I am not too excited to go because the "army-issue" food is very questionable and the residents are so old that they are sometimes difficult to communicate with.  We were originally thinking we could volunteer there do a bit of service. The first time we went we sat by Judy who had no teeth and no memory, but what light she had in her eyes...a 39 year Marine veteran. The next time we meet Agnes and she told me the same 10 sentences on replay for the entire hour.  But the last few times we met lovely people and had real conversions.  Friday we went again and met Betty who had clearly had a stroke, but was bright and engaging.  After finding out she need some repairs done in her mobile home, we volunteered to drop by and help fix her awning. Last week they had live music and a dance.  What a hoot!

Elder Fowers at Senior Center

We have been very involved in the youth programs of the Vista Spanish Ward. We are finding that each mission is very different from the previous.  While we will still visit a good number of less active families and new converts, we feel this ward needs leadership support, especially in the Young Mens.  We see many couples who come to church and leave their teenage children home because there is nothing planned for them at church. We have been working hard to change that! We have found 6 or 7 young men ages 14 to 17 that are un-ordained to the Priesthood.  Our goal will be to help the leaders prepare and ordain these young men as we build unity through the Priesthood. We had a crazy activity of indoor soccer with the youth this week. Sister Fowers got kicked in the head with a ball that knocked her right down. She got up and kept playing. The first Youth Council meeting ever held in Vista Spanish Ward happened today. Our very traditional, Hispanic gentleman "Obisbo" has been having a hard time adapting to the changes, especially in regards, to his responsibilities to the youth. The meeting was amazing! The youth spoke up and directed the meeting.  We really only have one young man who is capable of leadership, but Jaden was there and prepared.  The young women are doing very well, and we will help the young men rise to their potential.  They even organized a Bishop's Fireside. That same evening a small miracle occurred. The young women’s leaders, know little about planning and executing girls camp, so I volunteered to mentor. They did not even have a camp location reserved at this late date. I agreed to help find an adequate site.  While I was on the computer checking out state parks, I felt inspired to call the LDS Camp Wildwood.  This camp is booked all throughout the summer with 10 stake camps and is nearly impossible to book at this late date.  To my surprise one ward had just canceled and there was an opening exactly when and what our little ward needed.  God is truly in the details and helped this little miracle happen.

Indoor soccer with Bishop playing Goalie and Elder Blocking

Hector in the foreground steeling the ball.

A new senior couple, Elder and Sister Prater arrived in our mission last week and they live in our complex, just across the way.  They are a lovely, salt-of-earth couple from South Carolina.  He spent his career as a plumber. We offered to teach them how to play Pickleball and they have become our Pickleball buddies.  They serve in the English wards in this area so we will never work together in our service.  It amazing how quickly we become close to other senior couples as we serve in the trenches to build the kingdom.  The kids even gave us new Pickleball shirts for my birthday.

Elder and Sister Prater

Ready for the Game!

I had the most amazing Birthday surprise during the past 24 hours.  Being in the mission, field I expected that my Birthday would be a rather quiet affair.  We were planning to take a quiet day to go buy a new phone for me and have a quiet dinner with Brad's and Sarah's families because they live close enough to drive to us.  I was quite content with that prospect, but the birthday celebration that I unfolded was wild, crazy and wonderful! Upon returning from shopping, I unlock the door to enter what I thought would be a quiet, dark apartment~ SURPRISE! What I found was my house filled with family...I nearly had a heart attack! After a moment of shock, I was able to embrace my family.  Beyond Sarah and Brad's families,  there  was Amy, Tim and Jesse, who had all flown in along with bundles of grandkids.  I was so surprised that I couldn't even process that they were all in the same room to celebrate my birthday.  The fun didn't end there... We continued through the evening with an amazing party complete with a fantastic cake, delicious food, bundles of cards and well wishes from back home and the unexpected attendance of old Bonita Ward friends. I relished the bubbling joy that filled the room.  It was a surprise that kept on giving.  Everyone stayed the night in our tiny two bedroom apartment and attended church with us the next morning.  They all sat through Spanish church as a show of support for our mission and met many of our friends.  At church, the Gonzales family surprised me a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  A sweet sister in our ward invited us to her magnificent home, overlooking the valley, and we feasted on fish tacos.  I had died and gone to heaven!  I tear up just thinking about how special these last 24 hours were to me and the love and honor my kids showered on me.  I am blessed beyond measure!

Hanging Out Sunday Afternoon 

Beyond Creative...Luci's Bday Cake

Cousin Times

Beautiful Vista Villa

Chocolate Flan

Our Sunday Lunch Host, Hermana Marin

Magnificent View

During this mission we are writing all of our grandchildren an old-fashion snail-mail letter and encouraging them to write us back.  I am certain that we love the letters as much as they do! Here is our collection of letters the grandkids proudly taped to our fridge.

Love Letters!

Con Mucho Amor,

Los Fowers