Today's Lesson: Tolerance (Phil-ism's)

If any of you know Keith and I, you know one of our stronger points is patience as both of us are pretty mellow by nature. Fortunately, that's a trait we've managed to pass on to our children. When Derek was still in grade school and Blythe in Jr. High, he got the opportunity on a couple of occasions to go to Mesquite and stay with G&G Riding in Mesquite while he was off track. Derek looked forward to these little get-aways, and spending time alone with his grandparents. Note here... I have THE most patient mom in the world! So, tolerance lesson one was awaiting Derek on these little trips (Hmmm, or maybe for my Mom)... Mom was determined to teach her grandson how to golf! It took her a while, but with tolerance, patience and determination she somehow managed to turn Derek's batter baseball swing arm into a steady slow golf swing! Not an easy task as Derek has a pretty powerful punch! And in return... Derek had to endure Dr. Phil with Grandma! Ha ha... now if you know my mom, Dr. Phil has had a major impact on her life. If you call my mom during Dr. Phil hour, there's not much of a conversation, or she will just bluntly tell you she has to call you back. So Derek not only gained a skill and love for golf during these school breaks, he also learned a thing or two while watching Dr. Phil with Gram... but wait that's not all! Often times when you go down to visit, she'll pull out special Dr. Phil episodes she's recorded for us to watch! Ha ha, good times! I'm sure this was not always Derek's ideal way of spending his time in sunny Mesquite, but he patiently endured. And you know what? Sometimes spending time with loved ones, and tolerating their hobbies or past-times for loves sake has its just rewards --- and, you just might learn a thing or two that will come in handy later on! Without further ado, I'm posting a portion of Derek's e-mail that recently made me smile (and I immediately called and read it to my mom).

1/18/10
(Me) So - did the couple you've been working with get married so that they could get baptized?

(Elder Reid) sadly no, they had a fight and said they are not going to get married but i worked a little dr phil on them, ha ha! thank you grandma riding for liking the show so much and having to watch it with her every time I went down to mesquite and when she was in the house haha but ya they are going to get marreid this week i think for sure and then the baptism Saturday. i will let you know

1/25/10
(Me) How did things turn out with that couple?

(Elder Reid) so for the philism - well htey didnt get married, they said they had more problems and yes the adversary does not like families happy and it shows in these days. you can tell with the prophet talking more and more about families and their importance. We are still working with them and if all goes well they will get married this week and have his baptism this next Sunday so pray for me.

I am so thankful for a patient and loving family, and the example of Grandparents! They had transfers this past week but didn't move Derek or his Comp, I was so relieved. I'm glad they have the opportunity to keep working with this couple. Continue to pray for Elder Reid to be inspired in helping this couple move foward.

This is the ending of one of Derek's recent e-mails, true to form - Elder Reid and his creative writing skills!

love you guys more than all the fish in the world, all the foul in the air and the beasts and all creepy crawly things and there is a lot because God created a lot becasue God is God and he loves us like i love you! ahah -- got to love it mom! keep smiling almost one more month down -- love you tons guys ELDER REID

YEP! 11 more months! Wow, it's flying now!

Poem: Highs and Lows by Jack L. Brinkerhoff

(not Derek in the pic, just a fitting picture I found on-line)

A mission is a strange experience
It's a trial and a test
A mission throws at you the worst
Yet teaches you the best

They told me this would be the best period of my life
I guess they didn't explain it all too clear
I came out looking for a bed of roses
I just wasn't expecting all the thorns I've found out here

Since I've been out, I’ve never been so happy
I've never been so depressed
I've never felt so forsaken
I've never felt so blessed

I've never been so confused
My mind has never been so clear
I've never felt my Heavenly Father so distant
I've never felt him so near

I've never been so discouraged
I've never been so full of hope
I feel like I can go forever
I think I've come to the end of my rope

I've never had it so easy
I've never had it so tough
Things have never gone so smoothly
Things have never been so rough

I've never traveled through more valleys
I've never ascended so many peaks
I've never met so many neat people
I've never met so many freaks

I've never had so many ups
I've never had so many downs
I've never worn so many smiles
I've never worn so many frowns

I've never been so lonely
I've never had so many friends
Man, I hope this is all over with soon
Gosh, I hope it never ends
-----
Isn't that a neat poem? One of the Missionary Mom's sent that out last week and it's going in the package we're mailing to Derek this week! I cried when I got to the end. So fitting for the life of a missionary, but also fitting for life in general! It's weird how fast time is flying now. The first six months took forever, now I'm starting to feel like I don't want time to pass too quickly! For him, I mean. I can't think of a more important thing for him to be doing! Derek loves his mission and is very devoted to the work. It's a bitter sweet feeling that's so hard to explain. The tears that fall are different now, they've gone from missing him so much my heart felt like it would burst, to lumps of spiritual gratitude. Still miss him too of course, but that's OK.

I went to court early last week to fight a parking ticket (from parking Lolita in front of the house of all things while my parents were visiting) -- seemed so silly to have to meet with the judge over something so trivial. There were two young men there with DUI convictions, both under 21. One of the boys was sitting right behind me with his mom, and was giving her quite the attitude. She was just trying to find words to help. I just wanted to reach around and hug this mom with her pain filled eyes. I'm so thankful Derek decided to serve! It was sometimes a rocky road watching him get his head there, and it was harder than anything ever to help send him off -- but as I said before, I can't think of a thing more important than what he's doing.

I have some parts of his last two e-mails I need to post -- his sense of humor is shining through! He's just been cracking us up. They have a lot of interested investigators right now -- 16 in fact, he's SUPER busy and asks for your prayers! He needs them. Love to you all!

Momma Reid

Happy Hump Day Elder Reid!!!

Wow! One year ago today we lugged Derek and his bulging suit cases into Grandma Reid's car and headed for the MTC. Since then it’s been a heck of a ride! Unbelievable how many blessing we’ve felt, and never would have guessed how much he would love his mission and serving the Lord! Highlight of our Christmas was getting to call him. I was just smiling and chuckling to myself as he definitely has a strong Spanish accent and was struggling to talk in English! It was pretty darn cute! He was talking about how when it rains, it pours there (literally) and we asked him if he needed a jacket... “no no, no jacket. It stays pretty warm.” Well, what do you do when it rains? “well, ummm, we wrap our um, Book of Mormons? (his voice trails up a lot), in ummm… plasteec? And just run and get like, soakin wet! And then you can hear people say…. Hey, look at the soppin wet gringo!” ha ha ha! He said they recently were teaching a sister from Arizona who spoke English so he was trying to teach in English and said it was really hard, remembering simple gospel words such as “Atonement” is now a struggle. Can you imagine what it will be like next year? I can’t wait!!! He hasn’t gotten sick in quite some time (YAY!) and said he probably has all kinds of things living and growing inside of him! He just got moved to a new area right before Christmas. It’s called Guasave (sp?) – a little bit bigger town than he’s used to. Get this, they actually have a Wal-mart AND a Burger King! I’m sure he loves that! They share an apartment with two other Elders, one of which is also from Utah. He said that Elder has a Christmas CD with the song “Where Are You Christmas” and he said in his last e-mail “I love that song mom, you gotta get that when I get home!” Funny thing is, we HAVE that soundtrack… funny what these young men hear and appreciate while serving. It was so great hearing his voice again! The maturity in his voice and personality made me cry! Send away a twit teenager, and in a matter of months they become compassionate young men with a multitude of feelings, wisdom and inspiration. It’s a wonderful plan our Heavenly Father has!

Some other highlights from recent e-mails he’s sent… It’s a bit long, the last two months have been soooooo busy! So I’m posting my favorite heart warming and/or funny things he’s said.

12/14/09 (12th day of Christmas present): We did the 12 days of Christmas for him and his Comp. The first gift was attached to poem about how Christmas is about giving. We gave them each cash that they had to give to someone they felt was in need. We sent these cute little Santa’s helper “thinking caps” to come up with something extra special. This was his reply to Day 1: ok so first things first -- i opened the gift and yes thank you, that is so great! and i have the perfect person to give it to, there is a sister in the ward and she wants to go to the temple but she has 3 kids and she has a husband that works but not too much money and they are going to go this April and so i am going to give it to her to help her to go to the temple for the first time -- so that will be so cool and i will let you know how it goes (his companion gave his money to her as well, love it!!!)

12/08/09: i got your packages for christmas and i was going to open all them right then and jsut peak but you have every one wrapped, haha! i should of known, you wrap everything!... (it’s true, I always have. I love the excitement watching the wonderment of a gift in someone’s hand before they rip it open, LOVE that part!) so i will wait and the notes on all them, you put some time into it! love you guys and thanks tons and tons! Blythe also made a life size tree out of felt to hang on his wall and made these super cute ornament cards! Thanks again to everyone who signed one for him, he loved it! Said he tacked it right into the concrete wall!

A favorite!... So we have one baptism planned this week but we will see, i think it is a go - i hope. But it is going good and learning lots . the people here in potrero are really good and so nice and it is amazing to serve here and all my areas i have loved so much and i have learned so much in jsut this short time. i dont know how they can say that the first year is so long because it doesn’t seem like I’ve almost been out a year. i still tell people i have 10 months and its really like 11 and quarter. it is insane how much i have learned, not only with the language but more about me and how i need to trust in the lord more and that i know i can’t jsut do it on my own and that really the things that i am good at and how i can be good at many things is because he gives us our talents and my PB says that i have been given many talents which are to bless the lives of others. says nothing of my life, but others and that is what i am learning - how to rely on the lord and know that i cant just do it on my own.....and i am so glad to be here serving and truly it is the mission for me. i was called here and i couldnt serve anywhere else - i love my mission and it is the best decision i couild of made for myself.........and i am learning more and more patience because my companion right now is a little different and does things wierd and i am learning to not get mad or let it show at all -- but it is good i am more patient really haha -- i will talk to you in 16 days now haha oh boy crazy haha love you and i am out of time love you guys....Love Elder REid

11/30/09: this week we completed the goal of the mission so we got to wear clothes like pants and tshirt and it is a weird feeling! haha i dont know about this and how i am going to survive at home haha (yeah… whoa! whoa! and double whoa! Derek, is that you???)

11/16/09: ok, first no i don’t have a microwave and yes i don’t even have a shower. just a hole in the wall that spits out freezing cold water at 6:30 in the morning - how about that for a wake up call!

any sweet treat you have been CRAVING? Like, someone might get their arm chewed off if you don't get one? Ha ha! J/K and no not really i have abondoned the craving for sweets that i liked really alot because i dont remember them ahaha but ya so what ever you feel i would like will be perfect

(I had a bizarre dream that Derek got sent home for meeting a girl and taking her to the movies – that same morning I was getting strange texts from someone in Spanish which was ironic! So I was joking with him about it…) “no i am not going to get sent home and no i dont even talk to the women ahah - but the other day one drove by and said “come to my house becasue i want to learn more about the gospel” while laughing and hten drove off and sayed guapo which is handsome – “so, why thank you, but no!” ha ha

and ya it is good here, lots of little towns and lots of hoping for rides again so i am used to it now and the church is a little sad. the one we had 9 people in sac and the other we had just one sister come, yeah - jsut one and so i think i need to work harder in reactivating members than in baptisms here so we will see what happens.

Feliz Navidad! We have so much to be thankful for!

Oh boy!... life has gotten incredibly busy! Didn't even notice until tonight that Blythe had changed the look of the blog again (thanks Blythe, you are so talented!). So... I'm not sending Christmas cards this year! Sorry, just no time for everything! Two jobs during the Holiday months is insane (plus planning of the Ward Christmas Party)! Thank goodness for my family and friends that keep me sane! I have the best husband in the world! And my son-in-law is a total crack up! Major funny thing happened tonight but we won't talk about it here. Yeah, thanks for the "save" Blythe (ha ha, insert sarcasm). By the way, Dad says it's written in the "clause" wink wink! Bow chick a wow wooah!

Elder Reid is doing awesome and I promise to post about him real soon! He got his packages (howl-lay-lu-ya!) and they will start openning their 12 days of Christmas on the 14th -- unless he pulls a Steven and rips 'em all open! I love my family! I've been experiencing a bit of an identity crisis (well, not as bad as it sounds, but lacking for words) this past year or so. As any empty nester would probably confess, you devote your whole life to your children, and one day you blink and their all grown up!... And successful and doing everything you hoped they would. But now I'm left with -- "wait, who am I now??" It's a really weird transition, but this new life I'm really starting to enjoy as well! It's a screwy world we live in ya know? But there are so many things that are right with it as well. I love my family, love my job, love our missionary, love my church, our awesome friends, and my wonderful Missionary Mom group that are so inspiring!... the good Lord and the many ways he's blessed my life! And to top it off -- Elder Reid wrote us the most endearing letter this past week. I'll try to post some of it real soon! It's true what they say about having a missionary out, the blessings pour in, and we've sure felt them. Many because he's such an obedient missionary!

Good news!!! Derek has a good friend that received a new kidney today! She's an awesome girl and has had quite the battle, but you'd never know it by meeting her! She's truly delightful and we wish her the best! Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers and we hope a speedy recovery for her and her donor (whose name is Derrick, ha ha!).

Now -- back to frantically cleaning the house! Parents will be here bright and early in the morning! Let's hope things go OK with my dad! Can't wait to see all the family!!!

What is this you ask?

OK... wondering why I would post a picture of a bucket and a cup? Apparently it's Elder Reid's new shower (which cracks me up!) - he got transferred! He's now in El Potrero (I think) -- I wasn't expecting this transfer and it was late in the day and he was tired so we'll learn more next week. On Monday's e-mail (11/09/09) here's part of what he wrote: ok so there were transfers today and now i am in protrero i think haha it is another little ranch and lots of dirt and pure rides again. no more big city, i had one month in culiacan and its back to the ranch haha but so ya i am now with a new companion, Elder Alcantara. And it is another house of prayer and we are living in the house of prayer so we live in the church! so ya, it is a way little town and i am sure i will have fun with the shower beings (drum roll) there is no shower -- its a bucket of water and a cup haha, great! can't wait! and yes his baptism (referring to a 12 yr old boy they baptised last week) was great! he is way cool and he is way pumped. he swims and is way good and so he has practice on sundays with a trainer and he wanted to train before his competition and he had to be there on sunday, the day he was to get confirmed. so we told him to pray about it on friday and saturday and he said he prayed and then said "things worked out, now i don't have to go sunday so i can be confirmed" it's pure power! anyway, love you lots. sorry i am tired and its not the best email but next week -- love you tons and tons Elder Reid

From the looks of google earth, it looks like a really really small town. Which is always nice, they get to know the people well and usually have lots of success in these humble little towns. Maybe we should send him one of those little camp showers for Christmas?! Or a sponge! :-)

Elder Reid & his Comp Meet a Famous Boxer!!!

If you don't know this guy, he is Julio Cesar Chavez a famous boxer that lives in Culiacan. Read on...

Elder Reid has been serving in the heart of Culiacan for a few weeks now and is loving it. He's in the same Ward as his Mission President, the Ward is quite large and he's already talked in Sacrament (which he's getting a little more used to). He loves the fact that it's a little more "big city" than the areas he's been in, and more store/food options means he's not gotten sick since he's been there (yay!). There's a Sears nearby so he asked us to send him a little cash so he can replenish his "tie" options -- he's given a few ties away to previous companions and feels the need to switch it up a bit! He's still trying not to loose his way in the big city and talked about almost getting hit twice - once by a bus and once by a car "Crazy Drivers!" -- sounds like Utah! ha ha

I'm posting today's letter... quite entertaining!

hello my parents - how are you doing? sounds like you are doing good and ditching out on halloween huh? sounds good to me haha (Keith and I went to dinner and a show Saturday instead of passing out candy -- we have options now that we are empty nesters! Tried a really yummy diner called The Left Fork -- it was really really good!)

Do they do Halloween where you are at?
they do but it is not really big. they dont do it too much, there are not too many kids out probobly because there is so much drugs and stuff that they just don’t. its downtown where i am so its not like little kids can just go roaming the streets with all the bad people out...... (well, that gives me a warm a fuzzy)

How's the weather, has it cooled off at all?
yes it has cooled off but it is still hot during the day. it is not as hot, but it is hot. it is like perfect they say in dec and that is the month that no one leaves because the weather is so nice

Any near misses with buses or random street cars?
No, didnt have any incidences with buses lately. i am getting used to it and staying away from places where i can get ran over! haha

How do you and your comp get along??
fantastic! me and my comp get along really well (his current comp is another native from Mexico… Elder Gonzalez I think) he is way cool and we work together really well. we are going to have some good baptisms this month which is cool. we are going to have one baptism this week, a boy that is 12 and he is way cool. and then we just met this one guy, we talked to and taught him once and then we went back and did lesson two and challenged him to be baptised and he accepted! so at the end we invited him to come to church and he said "yes i will like that" plane and simple, it never happens like taht so we are thinking well who knows, with it being the day of the dead and stuff it is lots with the family - and so we are in sac like 10 min into it and thinking we are not going to have anyone in sac and in walks him haha. he came solo, it was amazing so we will have his baptism the 21 if everything goes well. that was cool to see that he came on his own. he loves to talk to us and learn more......

Dad and I google earth'd Culiacan city where you are at, it's huge! I can see why you get lost... and we found the rich rich houses you mentioned.
and yes it is big and we get lost sometimes not too often but it is big and we dont really work in the rich part because for one, in the day they are all working because they have huge houses, so gone all day until nine in the night so we dont really work there haha

Any exciting stuff happen lately?
and so exciting happen lately, well this week we went to go with a recent convert and we went past the house of this boxer that i told you about. he was out front and we walked past and he was yelling "run run up the hill as fast as you can" because it is way steep and we were laughing and then my companion says "its julio cesar Chavez, i want a picture with him!" so we go back down and talk to him and he says yes and so we take a picture with him and then he says if we can run up the hill as fast as we can without stopping he will give us 500 pesos... and then he says “no, a race against my friends” and so we go and race up the hill and we won and so we got back down and he hands us both 500 pesos like 50 dollars haha and we say no no of course, ha ha! So that is my wierd story for the week....... (this makes me laugh! Can you just picture two missionaries running their little guts out? Ties just a flapping in the wind... Classic!) -- and, I googled Julio’s name and there’s tons of cool stuff on the internet about him! Quite impressive career he's had. They should try double challenging to get a lesson in next time! :-)

Any embarrassing stuff? Ha ha
i have a story to tell you but i will need to write it in a letter and i am working on writing you a letter and so i will send it soon haha and it will have more stories like that i just dont have a lot of time to write all them down haha well in a email anyways. take care and hope all is well and goes well this week love you tons Elder Reid

Can't wait to get the letter! He only send letters once in a while but they are usually long and written over periods of time. It's fun to get more details. I'll post the pics of them with the famous boxer when he send the next thumb drive home (in a month or two). He mentioned in one of his last e-mails that he's having the time of his life! We feel very blessed that he's enjoying his mission so much!

Good luck and best wishes Elder Sacco!...

Keith and I got to go to Jared's farewell Sunday! And got to hang with him and his family for a while afterwards. It was fun sharing some stories of the good ol' days with his parents! Derek and Jared have been best buds (and partners in crime) since they were just little, and both managed to get through their adventures without too many war wounds! Jared has the best laugh ever, I miss it! (Jared's the guy in the yellow tie by the way). Jared is heading off to Chille (sp?) this Wednesday! The bad news, Derek and Jared will be speaking in Spanish one day and none of us will have a clue what they are talking about, ha ha! But that's OK! Good luck Elder Sacco! It was sure great seeing you all on Sunday! You will be an awesome missionary! And to Jared's parents, thanks again for putting up with our son for all those years! It was a blast watching them grow up -- scary sometimes, but a blast!

Wait, what day is it???

Me & Blythe in Mesquite last weekend, getting hugs from Grandpa before we hit the road!

Lincoln Memorial

My Bud, President Roosevelt

True to form, just seemed like the right thing to do! :-)

Sara Palin in the red hi heels, she was on our tour bus. Susan was being sneaky getting this shot! ha ha

The Wall

Derek did a report on Pres. Roosevelt so I couldn't help but feel inspired to kiss his cheek!

Susan in front of the White House. President Obama was out earlier in the day playing basketball, but we missed it!

--------------

So, I feel like I've been living out of a suit case the past few weeks! Two many adventures in a short amount of time.

First, Keith and I went to Mesquite to see my parents and take the palm that has grown so tall it no longer fits in the house. You should have seen him try to get it in the back of the truck! Lets just say he had a fight with the palm and the palm won! (drew blood - Doh!)

Then off to Washington D.C. the next week with Susan my co-worker. Fun trip! We hit the D.C. area on an evening bus tour after a business course we both attended. Sarah Palin was on our bus, no lie! ha ha, well, it was her look alike anyway. We had a blast on our little tour! Get two adventerous girls together with Dottie (Susan's trusty little GPS navigator) and the sky's the limit! And OH MY! Texas Roadhouse down there is WAY better than it is here! Huge amounts of better! Mmmmm... yum! Because we were out of towners they brought out a sampler plate before our dinner and it was to die for!

First stop on the D.C. bus tour was the White House. Now granted, they are two hours ahead of us so it was dark out -- made it really tough to get a picture to capture the beauty of if all! The weather was overcast, no wind, warm -- just gorgeous! The Washington and Lincoln Monument (the big tower thing that reflects in the water) looked just amazing! I wish we could have gotten a picture to capture how beautiful it looked! Lincoln Memorial was the last stop -- I've been there before many years ago, took me a while to find everything! We almost missed the bus! Got a little choked up by the wall. I would highly recommend a night tour, no crowds and quiet! We had a little too much fun at President Roosevelts monument! When Susan and I travel together it never fails that we get the girly giggles and just about pee our pants at some point! ha ha! We didn't get much sleep between the course, the bus tour and an o-dark thirty flight the next morning, but I've never been so proud to be an American! We have a great country!

The next weekend Blythe and I were off to Mesquite for a deer widow's weekend while Steven and Keith hunted down south (no deer luck this year, I guess Derek has to be with them). Blythe and I had a blast with my mom and sister, and teasing Grandpa while he tried to read his paper and keep up with sports and horse races on T.V. Us girls went to see Menopause the Musical in Vegas -- OH MY, great fun! And Blythe survived her first trip away from her sweetie! Well, she barely survived, haha! ;-) We had fun chatting forever in the car and dinkin around! Love U Blythe!

Then race back to work this week for huge meetings and an audit. I still have clothes all over the place, still need to finish emptying suit cases, have a few more gray hair, but lovin' life!

Best of all!!!! Elder Reid is doing soooooo well! Check back soon, I promise I'll post some of his comments from the last few weeks. He's doing so good and we are so proud of him! He's loving the big city life he's living in right now, and hasn't been sick since he's gotten there (yeah!!!). He's written some great stuff, can't wait to pull it together now that things should be slowing back down to a semi normal pace again. TTFN!

Gone straight to the crapper!

Right after my posting last week Derek sent the e-mail I've copied below. We’ve chuckled about it all week! Not the same kind of “spiritual feel” we got from the week before. In fact, this one went straight to the crapper! Ha ha ha! (please know this is Derek’s sense of humor shining through, he’s feeling better and is being transferred to the heart of Culiacan… big city stuff now!!! He’s way excited!).

ok bear with me, i am having issues this week. it has been a week and a half and my mind is on overload and so here it goes! monday i was doing laundry and i was hanging all that up and so i went to go under all the clothes and slammed my head into the edge of the window and split my forhead open ahh! but just a little super glue fixed that. then tuesday I felt bad and i had diarea and it was horrible and so that was the independence day of mexico so i did not get to take pictures and we had to be in the house by 8 anyway so we don’t have problems with drunks! so then weds i spent all day with my arms power gripped around the toilet throwing up till i could not even breath!... and had diarea. so wife of president said i needed an analysis! oh boy, what is that?! OH, its when you crap in a cup and they look to see if you have parasites! so i dont know if you have had the experience of doing this, but i sure did and i can tell you it is not an expereince i want to do again!.......zaz!......so well they did that and it came back (drum roll).....negative – wow, i crapped in a cup for nothing! i was so disappointed! so well i was dying all this week and it was rough but through it all somehow we had two baptisms Sunday. it was two jovens (youth) of 12 years old the one is the daughter of the guy that cant get baptised but really wants to so that was cool and the other was a friend. it was an awesome experience! this week is over now and monday is changes. i will let you know where i am called next. and yes dad i am writing in my journal, actually i have not missed a day yet! Haha! i am doing good, having a lot of faith and the mission time passes really fast!......and soon you will not need the dreams haha, but love you guys tons and tons! love you and hope all is well.....love Elder Derek Reid

So, I mentioned to him in this week's e-mail that maybe he should send me a vial of Mexico water so I can shed a few pounds. His said in his reply that you can actually GET parasites there (like at the drug store???)! People do that on purpose to loose weight and then take pills to get rid of them. Holy Moly! That's crazy business!

Heartfelt random-ness!

Did... someone forget Fido (in Mexico)

Paiute Falls, Marsvale

Who locked the cranny house?!!!

View from Blythe & Steve's room in Hawaii
----

Wow, it's been a whole month since I've blogged. Life needs to slow down a little! :-) Thoughts from the past month… heartfelt random-nesses!

1) Blythe and Steven celebrated their two-year anniversary in sunny Hawaii – and they had a wonderful time! Beautiful-ness!

2) Pappa Reid and I just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in Marysvale – ATV’ing our hearts out on the Paiute trails! First trip without the kids too, that was weird but wonderful! Here's to another great 25 years!! totally amazing-ness!

3) My dad continues to slowly regain his strength after a few hard knocks with his heart these past few months – and is still giving the medical staff a hard time with his sense of humor – that’s a good sign! Wonderful-ness!

4) My mom just turned another year older and is having a blast out on the golf course with some new found friends - - splendid-ness!

5) Went to dinner with Grandma Reid and Wally and got to meet his beautiful daughter Ashlee for the first time (she lives in Texas) – she’s a very beautiful, bubbly and smart girl! adorable-ness!

6) We went to a totally awesome farewell – Derek's good buddy Elder Zac Durrant – wow! I laughed and cried, he’s grown into a fine young man and will be a great missionary! Way to go Durrants! When we asked Derek if he had any advice for Elder Durrant that he wanted us to pass on he simply wrote: D&C 6:36 “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.” Total awesome-ness!

7) Got some FANTASTIC news from a friend of Derek’s – December 9th is a MUCH anticipated day and we are so excited for her! Much gratitude and thankful-ness!

8) And last but not last! Our wonderful Elder Reid?!! Word of the month: Faithfull-ness…

Derek’s been out nine months now! Can you believe it? Time is flying by! He has a new companion, Elder Gonzalaz – and is still serving in El Carrizo for the time being. This area has been more of a struggle for him in way of baptisms and he has had to rely on the faith, strength and the will of the Lord more than ever. Two investigators he has been working with… one is an older gentleman that wants to be baptized very badly but has to get divorced from his first wife and marry the current woman he lives and has children with. The laws are very different in 3rd world countries and this happens quite often. The second is a 16 year old boy. Of that boy he writes…we had a baptism planned for this sunday for a boy that is 16 and has had tons of time with the missionaries and had a problem. i dont know what exactly, but needed an interview with the president of the mission. so we got it all set up for the lz to do it especially for him. they came saturday and did the intreview and it went well - said he was good and so we set up the pila (font) and filled it sunday morning and then the family never showed up to church - he bailed out on us so a little frustrated because we have not had any baptisms. but i guess it was just the will of God to not have him baptized. i guess he is just not ready yet......

But i just want to let you know i am doing good and well - trusting in the lord more in this area and accepting the fathers will. some times we dont get what we think and its all in His timing and we just need to have faith and confidence in Him and do all we can -- and He will put in his part. but i have faith, and we will see how next month goes…

So, there is a reason that P-days fall on Mondays in Mexico. That is because so many party it up on the weekend that Monday is a day of recovery! On humble-ness, he writes: and yes, some of the nicest people are the ones that have a hard image (have had a hard life). like here the drug lords are way nice to the elders. Even the drunks are really nice and love to hear and talk to you haha. the ones that have had a tough life but deep down really are nice good people… like Jesus said “he who is without sin let him cast the first stone…” We shouldn’t judge. There was more to this story, but kind of personal so I will leave off.

We asked him what the deal is with the dogs in Mexico – as he sent some interesting dog pictures. For the pic above we asked him - “So, who forgot poor Fido?”
um, the deal with the dogs -- they are not dogs here in mexico, they are not really even pets. they are more like just there to roam ahah but ya they have some sad looking dogs here! and you can find breeds of dogs that only exist in mexico! you can find ones you could not even imagine how it happened! haha

I have every other Friday off and when Derek was home I used to shoot him a text – “wanna go to breakfast?” and no matter what he’d always pop out of bed and we’d go get strawberry crepes! Orange juice for him, Diet Coke for me! I told him I miss our breakfast time and he responded with: and you bet mom – when I get home we have a date for village inn, maybe ihop -- i like there’s better haha

This past week was Mexico’s independence day! On Tuesday to be specific, they asked the missionaries to retire to their rooms early. Lots and lots of celebrating going on! He said he would take pictures and send them. The week before, and I can’t find this e-mail right now – but he talked about getting fed non-stop all day on a Friday. He was miserably full – more full than he’s ever been in his life! He said “that night I threw up out of all three oracles of my face! It burned so bad, and then woke up the next day with diarrhea!” Dang! We thought he was over the gringo sickness part! Ha ha! His closing remarks this week: love you guys tons and tons and have a good week! love you! Elder loves IHOP Reid