Dear Family,
Feeding Elders and visiting investigators with the Elders was the standard for this week. I suppose we were fatting up the Elders before we leave.
Monday, we took Elders Bodily and Lewis to the Texas State Aquarium and to a redneck style BBQ, where we sat on picnic tables and ate off of a sheet of wax paper. It was fun and the food wasn't bad.
Tuesday, after teaching the New Testament class, we made lunch for and went with Elders Utley & Mathusek to visit Beatrice, an elderly, spunky widow lady. She enjoyed the message and was very animate about parents particularly mothers watching after the children. She was widowed and had to work and raised her family by herself. Mom told her about the Lamanite mothers and the great influence they had on their sons. She immediately identified with that and enjoyed reading that account in the BM. Later, with visited the Diaz family with Elders Clarke & Valentine. Philipa, the mother, told about us about their son who received a severe head injury in a car accident when he was three years old and how they, for many years worked with him to the point where he became perfectly normal and will graduating from High School in June. You can easily see the love they have for one another in this family. She really relates to and likes Mom and was sad hear we are leaving soon.
Wednesday, we made lunch for Elders Bailey and Nipko and enjoyed the video call from Dan, Lara, Abby and Sarah.
Thursday, we made lunch for the Elders Utley & Mathusek. Later, we visited Melba with Elders Bailey & Nipko. The discussion was all in Spanish and something Mom said really touched her heart. She was in tears and thanked the elders (and the Lord, as she gave the closing prayer) for bringing Mom to her house.
Friday, Mom cooked a Shrimp and Rice dish that was great. Her sister Amelita told her how she and Vo Ita did it and Mom remembers it as one of her favorite things to eat. After trying it out we shared it with Elders Valentine and Clarke. Later we went for one of our rare walks on the sea wall on Padre Island to get a little exercise and sun.
Saturday, we attended lunch and hosted an impromptu Subway sandwich lunch at our apartment with four of the Elders. Between the second session and priesthood of conference, we went to dinner with Michael and Michelle King. They will be leaving Corpus Christi in the next couple of months for his next CES Institute assignment in St. George, Utah. We are trying to help his wife become more envolved in church; it seems she enjoyed the time with us.
It is difficult to believe our time in Texas is coming to an end soon, but we are so looking forward to seeing family and friends.
Love y'all, Mom & Dad