Week Twenty Eight - Filled With Gratitude!!

When we received this e-mail, we were in Brazil and had just seen Tom for the first time the night before.  We were already feeling pretty emotional and then David's email just about put us both over the edge.  We are so, so lucky to have our three amazing kids in our lives and we really, really felt it after this e-mail.....

Elder Haskell and Elder Williams at the Dallas Temple!

Que pasaaaaaa?!?  Well mother and father, I don't really know where you are, who you are with, or what the latest is; but I sure hope you're with Tommy by now!  I greatly look forward to hearing about your reunion and seeing pictures of this glorious time!  It feels like just the other day that we went to dinner and I put a picture on instagram of Tom and I for his one year anniversary.  Where has time gone?! 
   What a week I had here!  Not really.  It's been frrrreeezing here for the last few days!  But apparently it is supposed to be back up in the 70's again soon.  Strange strange weather.  We had a bit of a slow week as far as teaching and finding goes.  We had two good lessons with Luis though.  He is our only progressing investigator right now.  While he is progressing and reading, he certainly isn't making it easy on us!  But we are getting there. 
   On Thursday we went to President's house in the morning for breakfast and a temple training.  There house is nice!  For some reason I didn't imagine him having a kitchen and a yard and neighbors, but he is normal!  He's kinda like a teacher:  you only see them at work, and it is hard to imagine them outside of the school building, but they have lives too!  It was just kinda funny for me to see him in a different setting.  After breakfast, we went to the Temple.  Boy was that refreshing!  There is no other place on earth that comes anywhere near a temple.  It is just so different, and I love it!  I am grateful to have Temples of the Lord all around the world.  Dad, I don't know when the last time is that you went, but you should go!  Temples are such an incredible blessing that we need to take advantage of. 

   So this weekend was stake conference here in the Dallas East Stake, and Elder L. Tom Perry came to reorganize the stake presidency.  We got to hear from him Saturday night, where he spoke about "Hastening the Work".  Elder Munday and Haskell wanted to sit on the very front row, right in the middle.  I, on the other hand, did not, in fear that he would call us out and ask one of us to bare our testimony or something.  But we sat there anyway, and I was sitting on the right hand side of the bench, sitting straight across from Elder Perry on the podium.  We were practically sitting FACE to FACE!  He stared directly into my eyes multiple times.  Iyiyi!  He did end up calling us out while he was speaking, and said "Elders, pull out your planner right now and tell me how many lessons you have scheduled for this week!"  Of course, the one week we have hardly anything planned in our planners, we get called out by an apostle!  It was terrifying.  But after the meeting I got to shake his hand and he said "get busy, Elder!"   Seeing an apostle up close and in person is quite the experience.  I already knew that pretty much all the apostles and leaders of the church are abnormally healthy for their age, but Elder Perry is amazing!  He is 91 I think and he walks briskly and effortlessly.  You can see in his facial expressions that he is incredibly alert and lively.  He said the 90's are the greatest time of his life, and old age is nothing to fear.  Wouldn't it be nice if we could all have such an optimistic happy attitude as he does?  Some of the greatest examples we have on earth are the leaders of the church.  If only we could spend more time around them.  If we could, I think it would be obvious to us all that they are going through life right, and we should heed to their counsel.  Elder Perry speaks with great energy, and he is crazy funny!  I have never heard a congregation laugh the way he made this one laugh.  The first words of his talk:  "Well, I hope you've got your running shoes on, because we are about to get moving!  What's a synonym for 'hasten'?  EXCELERATE!  STEP ON THE GAS!"  The Lord truly is hastening His work, with or without us, so let's all do our part in being a member missionary and share the joyous message of the restored Gospel!  Sunday he talked about Thanksgiving and family traditions.  Traditions bring family together and fill life with memories.  He told all the young women how important it is to learn how to make pie as good grandma's!  His talk made me a wee bit triste that I wouldn't be able to spend this wonderful time of year with family, but it also made me excited for the Thanksgivings to come.

   Sounds like this Thanksgiving will be a strange one for all of us. Even though we will be quite separated, I know that with Tom coming home, we will all be full of gratitude for the most precious family that we have.  I'm not exactly sure yet what we will be doing for Thanksgiving.  We've got options.  Two people have volunteered to feed us, and if all goes well, we will have TWO Thanksgiving dinners!  Elder Haskell's sister-in-law's father lives in Texas and invited us over for lunch at 1.  A family in the ward signed up on our calendar to feed us Thursday, and we are just hoping they aren't eating until 5 or 6.  Nothing is set in place yet, so we will just have to wait and see.  But I'm sure we will be well fed! 
   I am filled to the brim with gratitude right now!  I am thankful for the best family on the planet!  With understanding and supportive parents.I am thankful for the examples God has put in my life, starting of course with my father, then my brother, church leaders, and many many others!  I am thankful for good friends that urged me and made it easy to live in a way that is pleasing to the Lord.  I am thankful to be here in Texas at this time doing what I'm doing.  I'm thankful for my companion!  I'm thankful for technology that allows me to keep in touch with loved ones!  I am thankful for happy people and kind people and pure-hearted people.  I am eternally grateful to have a knowledge of the Restored Gospel and the fact that I have a loving Heavenly Father and I can have a relationship with him.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ has brought a bagillion blessings to my life and my family and I owe the Lord for it all.  I'VE GOT THE BEST I'VE GOT THE BEST I AM SO BLESSED! 

-a letter from Em, and I recently got a letter from Cindy, but I can't remember if that was this week or last.  thank you! 

-transfer calls come dec. 7, so I will be able to let you know where I will be for Christmas the following Monday, which I think is the 9? 

-I have not yet had lunch with president, I think I will call him and set something up for week six of the transfer.  Todavia tengo miedo!

-my coat is fairly warm, but I was thinking another one might be nice.  something similar to those fleece north face jackets the whole family had?  doesn't have to expensive like a north face, just a simple, black jacket that isn't long like the one I have, that I could wear under the one I already have. 

-I'm set 'til Christmas!

-we are still working out pretty hard.  Elder Haskell and I have been really sore lately, and we are always hitting each other where we are most sore.  Haha!  If anybody wants to send me some preworkout or gift cards to vitamin shoppe or gnc, I wouldn't be opposed to that ; )

-I've seen lots of signs and what not about JFK50, but I don't know what's going on as far as celebrations or parades go.

-Sorry, I have been bad with money this month.  I will do better next month.  Forgive me!

Pues.  Eso es todo.  Feliz Dia de Accion de Gracias!(much easier in english).  FELIZIDADES Elder R. Williams!  Muy bien hecho!  No puedo creer que ya esta terminado!  Les extrano y les amo bastante!  Recognize Blessings.  Haz Lo Justo! 

Elder Williams