November 5, 2017

This has been a bitter sweet time for me.  I'm feeling a little homesick. 

Last week was the wedding of Spencer's oldest grandson--Nathan Judd.  His wife is the beautiful Mallory.  How I would have loved to have been there.

We were so happy that they were married in the Mesa, AZ temple.  That is the best way to start out an eternal marriage. 

And it was a wonderful privilege that Spencer's brother-in-law, Mike Vance was the sealer.

 We love being with family and we are happy for the reports we have received about this event.

Friday was the dedication of the ramada at Aker Park in Prescott--just across the fence from the original Tenney ranch.  Lucy Mason spoke about Dad and his wonderful influence in her life.  My three siblings who were there (Ron, Harold, and Diane) also spoke.  I would have loved to have been a part of the day.

I did get to at least contribute to photos for the plaque and helped in the planning stages.  My brother Carl did a lot in that area.  He was the moving force.  We appreciate Kitty for being sure some pictures were taken and always being a part of  special times in the family.

Fortunately, Aunt Pearl Romney, Dad's last surviving sibling attended, as did cousins Lark Cyr and Mike and Sandi Reid.  Lucy Mason rounds out the next picture.

We hope that our immediate and extended family members will have opportunities to enjoy this spot for picnics and cook outs. There some wonderful hiking trails.  We can all enjoy a walk down memory lane.

Now, I'm sounding old, as well as nostalgic!

Next weekend is another wonderful family event as Rachelle and Dave's son Quinn is married to Niki in the St. George temple--we will miss that as well.  But hopefully I'll have a picture to include next week.


Now on to Spencer's report:
We, the Browns don't communicate all that often.  We could do much better at phone calls and emails.  But, I do think (in our defense) that we are engaged in doing our necessary tasks--teaching our children, living an honest life and keeping up with our prayers and scripture study.  Maybe there is hope!

In our combined family, I'm happy the way our children are turning out with four missionaries.  There will be an untold number for our "50" grandchildren who will yet go and serve.  By the way, service can take other forms as well.

Next comes marriages that create new families and future generations.  They will balloon and repeat themselves.  That can be mind boggling to think about.  We hope our efforts will produce family lines with people who are good and serve the Lord.  All of us need to remember that there is repentance and we can make better choices.  This will be true in this life and in the life to come.  It is never too late to set our affairs in order.  I've even made one or two mistakes in my life!

We are pushing on each day.  I have had headaches and dizziness, but in all I wouldn't change anything.  President Bench, the temple president, gave us a good compliment in our interview and that makes things even better. 

I love this work!  I love the people who come!  I love the Lord.

The other day a black man came by the front desk on his way out.  I asked him where he was from.  I had guessed he was from the Dominican Republic.  "Oh, no," he said, "I am from Sierra Leone".  Then I told him we have a grandson serving a mission in that country.  He grabbed me and pulled me close and said "Thank you for serving my people. I want to bring all of them to the temple." It verifies what our grandson, Spencer Raymond says.  They are a loving, touchy-feely people.

Another wonderful experience (tender mercy) is that Jeanine's brother, Carl taught us how to use a FamilySearch app (Find-A-Record).  I was impressed, but didn't have time to use it until now.  Jeanine has spent a lot of time showing me how to look up family lines and find relatives who are lacking temple ordinances.  Some may lack just one, like a sealing to spouse or parents, but some lack everything.  Most names are from 200-300 years ago.  I still don't know much about the computer, but this program is producing and will produce hundreds of names.  The challenge now is how to facilitate getting the work done.

We love all of our kids and grandkids in the combined family.  Our daily prayers are about you each day--especially those with handicaps, who struggle with a living and who have other specific challenges.

Spencer