The importance of being a friend

This is sort of long but it is a valuable message that I felt deserved to be posted. The Gospel Doctrine lesson on Sunday was taken from Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. There were a lot of topics available for the instructors to choose from. One choice was about friendship, but it probably wasn’t taught just because of time restraints. I want to share one quote that impressed me: Elder Marvin J. Ashton said: “Someone has said, ‘A friend is a person who is willing to take me the way I am.’ Accepting this as one definition of the word, may I quickly suggest that we are something less than a real friend if we leave a person the same way we find him. … “No greater reward can come to any of us as we serve than a sincere ‘Thank you for being my friend.’ When those who need assistance find their way back through and with us, it is friendship in action. When the weak are made strong and the strong stronger through our lives, friendship is real. If a man can be judged by his friends, he can also be measured by their heights. … “Yes, a friend is a person who is willing to take me the way I am but who is willing and able to leave me better than he found me” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1972, 32, 35; or Ensign, Jan. 1973, 41, 43). It really doesn’t take a lot of time or energy to be someone’s friend. And it means so much to them. Several months ago, I mentioned some of my heroes. One was a woman named Nancy Zarate who is an American expatriate living in our temple district. She is a little bit rough around the edges and sort of loud so I’m guessing she has put people off and not had lots of close friends. I think she is amazing because she gives away everything to bless the lives of others and barely squeaks by with her own basic needs. She comes to the temple every week and spends two days and nights here. But she didn’t come the two weeks before the break nor the two weeks after the break. So with the break she was gone for almost 7 weeks. I know she has a heart condition and I became really worried about her. I didn’t know if she was even alive at this point. The temple recorder helped me get the phone number of one of the bishops (I had the wrong ward, but oh well). We called and talked to Bishop’s wife and she said she had seen her at the market that morning and she appeared to be OK. I was relieved. Last week she returned to the temple. While she was in the temple I slipped a note under her door her in the Annex. Something along the lines of “How dare you disappear for 7 weeks and not tell anyone. I have been so worried about you. I even called the bishop’s wife of Patezite ward…. “ She came back over to the temple that evening while I was working. She found me and said, “I cried when I found your note. I didn’t know if anyone even noticed or cared that I was gone. I have been really, really sick. But I’m getting better.” She shared more along the same lines. Then before she left the next day she found me again and said, “I will keep your note forever. I don’t think anyone has ever done anything nicer than that for me.” Wow! I had no idea that expressing my love and concern would touch her to the inner core like that. It made me determined to be a better friend. This is a picture of my friend Nancy. This same week I’ve had two different experiences that I want to record—not to draw attention to me, but to the importance of being a friend. I’ve mentioned my friend Vilma Salguero. She is a wonderful resource to me because she understands a lot of English and speaks slowly in Spanish for my benefit. When we were getting ready to start our shift last week, she said that she felt like we were friends in the pre-existence and that it is great blessing that we found each other again in this life. I was so touched by her kind words. I told her “Yeah, it would have been even better if we were born into families who spoke the same language!” She laughed and agreed. A couple of nights later several of us were working the laundry and Hermana Lupe Agustin told Hermana Socop that I was her best friend—I told Hna. Socop that I pay Lupe to say that. But then Vilma interrupted and said, that it wasn’t true anyway, because in reality, I was her best friend, not Lupe’s. It was all said in fun, and we were all laughing, but it made me realize, once again, how much these Latin sisters appreciate my efforts to take the time to communicate with them and show interest in their lives. They even appreciate the fact that I wear a lot of “tipico” clothes from Guatemala. They feel like I’m one of them—even though I’m a giant and make them slow down and even then I miss some of the conversations. They appreciate my efforts. They are always full of compliments. The new trend is to notice my eyes. Lupe’s son, daughter-in-law and daughter visited last week. I went up to the apartment to have a chance to visit with them. What great people. I guess after I left they all started talking about how striking to color of my eyes was… Jorge teased his wife by saying it was a good thing I wasn’t younger and that he wish he had contacts the color of my eyes. To me it is just amusing, because my eye color is so very common at home. But you know what? Their offer of friendship and compliments to me, has made me pay more attention to using subtle make-up appropriately to look my best. The friendships I’ve developed here have truly blessed my life—and I think I’ve blessed theirs. It is so awesome that so many scriptures on friendship were available last week. We have great examples from the scriptures, most notably, Jonathan and David (who Aunt Dode related to Vicki Jo and me). But the most valuable are those in the NT and D & C where the Savior referred to others as His friends. I hope to live my life so that I am counted as a friend to Christ. Here are Vilma and Lupe--not a very flattering picture of any of us, but that's OK--this is about friendship, not good looks!

Sunday, August 17th

Spencer told about our trip to Colomba, but I wanted to show you the pictures separately. Because of the timing, we spent an hour sitting in front of the locked gates to the church. We arrived at 7 and the meeting was scheduled for 9 AM. Fortunately the branch secretary arrived at 8 AM the president shortly after that. Spencer wanted to say that the one picture he took in front of the church was of a "homeless lady"--I hope he thought she was at least a cute homeless lady. :) Lots of interesting people walked down the street. It was interesting that with the huge parking lot, not one single member arrived in a car. When we returned back to the temple we thought it was beautiful day to get some pictures of us with the flower gardens around the temple. Spencer already covered our week, and I editorialized with the pictures, so I will call this good for this week's report. Love to all of you. So many of you are in our prayers daily as well as in the temple. We think of you and try not to worry, but to trust in the Lord to give you guidance in the important decisions of life. Jeanine

Our Sunday trip to Colomba Rama, Coatepeque Estaca

I'll start out with some of the pictures of our trip to our speaking assignment today and then skip to Spencer's narrative. They are independent of one another. We were amazed by the size of these leaves. They are called "Mano de leon" or Lion's mane. This was definitely a rain forest area. It is so beautiful and green. Spencer loved these--I don't think he has ever forgiven me for not letting him paint the house turquoise! That was a major blow up in our lives when I came home and saw what he had started to do--without ever consulting me--he thought it would be a nice surprise. Ugh! This works for Guatemala, but not for Prescott. :) Evidence to show we were there! This is another one of my wuipil jackets that I bought a month ago in Chichicastenango. Random views Spencer wanted you to see. There are some interesting names in towns--as you can see from the sign. Also, some really narrow streets. It took this truck about ten minutes to navigate the corner of the street. Rocks in front of tires to back up the steep hill, someone to keep him from hitting the overhanging patio on the 2nd floor and many turns back and forth. We waited patiently--because we had no choice, but the cars behind us were honking A LOT. We stopped to ask directions from a man in a truck filled with potatoes--a local crop. Did I mention how insane it is that the road with the truck is a two way street and cars park on either side so really you can only travel one direction at a time. Now for Spencer's report: We've had a hard, but good, work week. You come to expect the unexpected. Monday evening, President Perez and President Mortenson took us to a restaurant to eat pupusas (from El Salvador). It's a kind of a pancake (only not sweet) with different fillings in the middle. We overate, so we were pretty miserable afterwards. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we had light attendance at the temple. The workers performed most of the ordinances. On Wednesday we were surprised by an assignment to teach a Primary class in the annex. We received a phone call notifying us just 30 minutes ahead of time. Thursday morning we had no water (Jeanine had wisely taken her shower earlier). I had no shower and the toilets couldn't be flushed in the annex or in the temple. We couldn't do initiatory ordinances or baptisms without water (for showers) and none of the temple clothes could be laundered. The engineer and others were frantically working on the problem. Fortunately, the water was back on for our shift in the afternoon. Friday was a marathon day with buses coming from two ends of the temple district. They were huge excursions! Record numbers of ordinances were performed on those days. Additionally, the sisters were trying to catch up with the laundry and we had only a handful of workers stretched thin trying to do all of those tasks. It was 10:00 PM before we finished that night. Not only were the numbers high but there were people here from in the mountains, some who couldn't read, and lots of older people. That always makes a little more challenging--but also more rewarding. Saturday was another big day. Our morning class with the kids was smaller, but in the afternoon we had huge excursions here again. I helped in the last session as a follower and I helped an old man who was in the session with his clothes at every point. It was big session with lots of chairs added. When I assisted him at the veil I had to shout in his ear to help him. I think the remainder of the session was shocked.[Comment from Jeanine: not really, we were all too busy to even notice!] With all of the extra large sessions we did a lot of packing in and out the folding chairs. Our rooms seat 40, but on Friday and Saturday night we had over 50 and on one session 67 patrons. We came home too tired to do much but fall into bed. We were up before 5 AM this morning to get ready for our speaking assignment/trip. We started out toward San Marcos and then we turned and went up and over some mountains. I took lots of pictures [which were earlier in this post]. We rode with President and Sister Maldonado. They dropped us off at 7 AM and then continued another hour to their assignment. They picked us up on their way back. Colomba has just one branch. The church has built a beautiful building that could accommodate more units. It is only one year old. It is a building with many comforts. A few weeks back, we went to a different destination to a mountain community call Sal Francisco de Alto and found the same thing. It also had a very large wonderful building. The point is that each unit has their missionaries and very nice facilities. It's a part of prophecy that the Lamanites will blossom like a rose. The church came first to the gentiles now to the Lamanites. Jeanine has developed her language skills to the point that she can give a very good talk [note from me: I still read 90% of it though--but the pronunciation is more understandable]. I think our visits are very effective and are well received.

Grandpa recently joined a gym and he gets really tired when he exercises. So he comes home and takes a nap. And he likes to takes naps after lunch before he going to the temple. This is what he looks like! When Grandma needs a nap, she doesn't sleep, she just stretches her back and reads. She looks like this: They are both happy with their way of resting. This is a picture of our class on Saturday. We did an "Eternal Family Bingo" game that Janae emailed us before the lesson and the kids also enjoyed their walk around the temple. Grandpa helped carry all of these potato chips into the Annex to be sold with lunches. Today we left at 5:00 AM to drive over about 4-5 mountains to get to Malacatan, which is on the Mexican border. We spoke in Sacrament Meeting in a HUGE Stake Center. th chapel was up on the 2nd floor. Every classroom was large and even the hallways were open and large. Want orange juice before going into church--or as you are leaving? One of the funniest sites was to see a vendor with his cart for making fresh orange juice right outside the door. It was really hot and people mostly walk to/from church, so they probably appreciated it. Coming home we passed a lot of green countryside. These are random pictures: We saw some cornfields that were dying and others that were thriving. It was sad to see the struggles in some areas--it was spotty and random. In San Marcos we saw one collapsed house (but didn't get a picture) and right downtown we saw evidence of dammage--like the fascia that is off of this building. Lots of people were out and about in the center of the town (San Marcos). We arrived back home a little more than 9 hours after we left--we were tired! That's for sure!! It was nice to rest this afternoon. That's about it for our narrative about pictures--which our grandchildren enjoy--We hope! We were excited to learn that Vicki Jo and Steve Anderson have been called to serve in Montevideo, Uruguay (where Vicki served her first mission). They will be doing PEF and also teaching self-reliance. They leave in November. I'm so excited for them!! We love all of our family and pray for all of the time! Keep up the good work!

Jeanine shares Spencer's birthday

Several months ago Spencer was talking about how often he was assigned to do sealings. We commented that it was an opportunity to remember the important covenants he made with Susan at the altar in the Mesa temple. He commented that sometimes it is hard to remember those days. So, with the help of his kids, I collected memories from all of the kids about their mom. A few years ago, Ben had done the same the thing when he printed Susan's journal and he had memories Spencer had shared. Melody scanned those for me. So I was able to print a fairly nice sized collection of memories that will be a tool for memory jogging. He was completely surprised. He has barely touched the surface, but I think it will bring him pleasure as time goes by. I really think that Susan and I were friends in the preexistence and I promised her that I would do my best to be a good wife to Spencer and to nurture and love all of the kids and grandkids. I really DO love all of them. Additionally, the Agustins and Salgueros planned a surprise breakfast for him. It was a lot of fun and was completely unexpected. Spencer also had a huge birthday cake in the "comedor" in the temple to share with all of the temple workers and missionaries. I think it was a fun birthday for him. Thanks for the calls from Rachelle and Janae. That was nice. The temple is open again and we once more have lots of opportunities to teach "temple kids"--those who come with parents, but not with a ward or Primary. The rows are now two deep to accommodate more kids (and adults). Janae sent me an attachment for "Eternal Family Bingo". We had it printed and laminated. The kids LOVED it during our activity time. We must have played it 8-9 times before I begged off. It was fun. Each day my testimony increases of the power of the temple covenants. We are so very blessed to have been born in the covenant and to have a family heritage of faith and perseverance. I have made it my personal assignment to help in the laundry until all of the temple clothes are returned. Many times I am the last person there and the last one in the temple except for a member of the presidency and his wife. It is a very special feeling to walk thru the halls and feel the spirit there. It is a feeling that I can't quite describe. I just know the veil is very thin and many appreciate the work that is going on there. I am grateful for the privilege of being a part of it.

Spencer's thoughts

August 3, 2014 Just a few thoughts about a few pictures. This valley is where, maybe, Alma and his people fled after they were at the Waters of Mormon. They lived there many years and were later put in bondage by the Lamanites and Amulon was over them. They eventually were able to escape and go north to Zarahemla. Today it has the name of Almolonga. It's a valley where there are many hot sulfa springs and up the mountainside is a rich agricultural area. It is easy to have guests for lunch or to be invited here in the temple annex where we live. Jeanine made a pot of chili beans and corn bread and we had the Salgueros, Agustins and Hintons over for a light meal. On Saturday's buses to the temple a sister (who is actually an ordinance worker when she isn't laid up)came with her homemade crutch. I'd love tohave one of those crutches to put in a glass case at home. She's sure she's going to get well soon and be back to work. I hope so, but I won't hold my breath. Saturday, while Jeanine was helping kids with the coloring activity and playing a game of "Eternal Family Bingo", one of the ward or branch mission leaders asked me to talk with some new converts and investigators. The picture chopped half of them off. I talked about what is the difference in a chapel and a temple. I taught them something about temple ordinances and blessings and the time table for a temple recommend. Then I took them around the temple and explained what was going on behind the windows of the various rooms. I then took them in to the waiting room of the temple. Then, as I do with the children, I asked them how they felt there. Most always say peace or happy. I, in turn, talk to them about the Holy Ghost and how to recognize it. I have reflected on the (once popular) lyrics of the song "Somewhere in my miserable past, I must have done something good." It's a rich experience to discuss or to teach about the temple. My last thought is about being frequently assigned to the baptismal font. I can easily perform the baptism for 100 names when the youth are lined up. Sometimes it goes on for a couple of hours. I had a rich experience yesterday afternoon with some youth who came from the mountain communities and have poor diets and living conditions. They've probably never been in a pool of water, except for their own baptisms. Their dialect is Quiche and they speak varying levels of Spanish. I take them from the top of the stairs down into the font and try to talk to them. I practice with them and we bend our knees together. We had to try several times to get some of them completely under the water. After the list of names I give them a hug and ask about their Mutual class or priesthood and try hard to make them feel good about their experience. One young lady yelled with joy in her handicapped, spasmatic voice as she walked out of the font. She was so happy about her accomplishment.