Back in the Field

Drew is out of the office and back in the field! He is really excited to be able to end his mission by proselyting again. He loved being in the office, but after more than 7 months, he was ready to get back to teaching.

I get to speak with him in a couple of days! Yay! I can't wait. The anxiety is killing me. He sent a CD full of videos from the last 6-8 months. It was so much fun to see him and listen to his voice. I miss him so much.

I wish I was more like others that I know; they are able to type their thoughts and make eloquent and interesting statements on their blogs. Unfortunately, I wasn't blessed with the gift of gab. So instead, you are stuck with my brief, nutshell version of the last month.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Holy Moly

The other day Drew had the opportunity to reunite with a group of Elders that arrived to the mission the same time he did. It was fun for him to be able to talk with them and share their stories.

He spent all of last week touring the mission with President Solis. He absolutely loves the tours, and learning from President. They visited a woman whose husband was a counselor in the stake where he served a while back. Her husband had recently been killed in a freak moto accident. When the missionaries arrived to her home, he said he was amazed at how peaceful the wife was about her husband's passing. He said she was so strong because of her knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. Drew was able to lay his hands on her head and listen as President Solis gave her a blessing. In his own words, "holy moly it was a big time experience, way cool, and I learned a lot".

How wonderful the gospel is! I am overwhelmed by the opportunities these young men have while serving a mission. I can think of no better way to guide them and help them prepare to be a husband and father. I'm so grateful for the gospel, and for the wisdom of our Heavenly Father.

Mark is Home!

Elder Walker is home safe and sound! One of Drew's best friends, Elder Mark Walker, returned from his mission in Mexico on Tuesday evening. I was so happy to see him! He is a 2nd son to me, and I am so proud of him. I can only imagine how proud his parents are of him! He is such a fine young man, and has always been a great friend to my son. Drew was incredibly lucky to have the most amazing friends while growing up; all of them such great examples. Here are some of my favorite pictures from Mark's mission. I seriously can't think of a better visual than to see a young man you adore baptizing someone in the ocean. Wow.




Next up... Elder Jordan Salmon! Yay! Man I love those boys!!!!!

Stuck in the Mud

Drew had a few great experiences this week. Rather than tell the story, I thought it would be more fun to have you read his version...

"Wow, this last week has been way crazy. First we had to go to a place called El Progreso. Its a little village of like 50 people. Their is a family group there, a mission president went there and baptised people like 5 years ago. The leader called and asked if we could send missionaries out, so we had to take two missionaries there. It was crazy its like 9 hours away. So we went and picked the missionaries up in chiclayo and then we went there, first we got to a little village called catache at like 4 and that place was pretty cool, then we started going again, and at 7 at night we got to a place and we thought it was El Progreso! woohoo! but no, it was Santa Cruz, there was apparently a division in the road that we didnt see and it was clear back about 15 minutes after catache! So we had to go all the way back. The road was dirt and gravel and narrow, there were a lot of times when it was mountainous wall to your left and an 80 foot drop into the river on your right, so that was intimidating. We finally get back to the division and head up there, its a steep incline the whole way and then about 30 minutes away from the destination we get stuck in mud, but seriously like a patch of mud 5 feet wide and ten feet long, it took us like 30 minutes to get out, and then we go again and get stuck again and again and again. Then we end up in the village called chalal which is 10 minutes from el progreso. and everyone is asleep because it house 15 houses and there isnt electricity so they just go to bed when the sun goes down. We start yelling and a lady tells us where the leaders dad lives so we walk to him and he says the road is just right up here past my house, bring the car up and i will take you there and we were like ok. So we go, BIG mistake, we got stuck, but not because there was a whole lot of mud, but because the mud was like oil and the tires didnt catch so we had to throw a bunch of wood and bags down. That took about 25 more minutes and then we cruise to El Progreso and get the car out of the mud like 2 more times. It was so cool! I loved it! and can I just tell you I loved it there. The people have a really sweet accent and they are pure loving people. This place is in the state of cajamarca and everyone says that they are just the nicest people. And it is true, I love them. I also loved it because it was surrounded by mountains. The people of cajamarca are also known for being white, ha book of mormon. So then we slept there, woke up early and went back home."

Here he is with the family group leader he refers to in his letter, plus the other Elders that went on the adventure...

Woah!

So, guys... I was on Stephenie Meyer's blog the other day. I heard something on the radio about her putting the last book in the "Twlight" series on hold indefinitely, so I was curious. As I read through her site, she recommends this book, "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. Oh my gosh! I started reading it, and couldn't stop. It is seriously one of the most interesting books I have ever read. If you enjoy the Twilight-type stories, you would love this!

It's a Boy!

I bet you wouldn't believe it if I told you all that I had a baby! I did! JK. It's just Carlos. Originally I thought I would just be a boarder. You know...provide a place to sleep, a roof over his head, and feed him. Surprise! No. He's actually just like having a young son at home.

Here he is in his typical position...

We have been working on getting all his medical and dental evaluations, as well as his immunizations, so we can turn the papers in to the Bishop on Sunday. If all goes well, we should have his mission call by October 22nd or so. I'll keep you posted (I say that as if there are thousands of people waiting for this information).

My Fair Lady

Working on My Fair Lady has been so much fun. The show closes this weekend, which is bittersweet (as is the closing of every show). I have enjoyed the cast and crew so much. I dress the three most amazing ladies; each one is brilliant and has a phenomenal voice. We did a photo call last week, and I snuck a few shots for myself...

Here is a sweet young man in the cast that I recently did another show with...

This is the "ascot" scene. The costumes are beyond belief...

These are the principals: Eliza Doolitle, Henry Higgins and Mrs. Higgins (She actually steals the show. She is so beautiful and gracious. Each of us women should be so lucky to be so beautiful at that age)...

This is shot during "Little Bit of Luck". Mr. Doolittle is so great! He is my niece's favorite character. She would love this guy...

The next show is Noises Off!, and opens on Halloween. The theater asked me to committ to the whole season, so I will have new adventures to talk about soon.

Hugs from the Lord

Today started out like any other day. I got up, went downstairs for my first stab at waking Carlos up. He grunted and said he would get up, so I went back upstairs. I couldn't hear any movement, so I went back down and he was asleep again. I told him to get up and banged on his wall (don't worry... he told me that if he doesn't wake up I have his permission to hit him with a hammer. I would never do that...yet). He was walking into his bathroom when I went back upstairs this time. Again, no audible movement, so I went back down and he was in bed asleep again. Grrr! So I woke him up again and threatened him with gross American food for breakfast (it always works). He finally got up and got ready. By now, it had been 40 minutes since the process began. Fewsh! So I finally get him to BYU, and head to work.

I get to work and open my email. To my amazement, this is the email in my Inbox...

Lisa,

My son Reid wrote today and one of his requests was to write you and tell you how much he and all the missionaries love your son. He said he's an assistant to the president and all the missionaries think he's the greatest. So, the message is delivered, you probably already know he's the greatest!

--
Janna

I was in complete shock. I started to cry, and didn't quite know what to do. Every mom knows that this is the moment you wait for. We all love our children and think they are wonderful, but to have someone say it out of the blue takes your breath away. So I responded, saying thank you, and soon received a response...

He must be pretty amazing, to my son at least, because he's only named two other elders the entire time he's been out, with the exception of his companions. So from Reid it is the highest compliment, he his a man of few words.

Janna

Wow. What a great day! It makes everything worthwhile. Those of you that know me, know that my life has not gone exactly according to textbook. You begin to wonder if your stupid choices have effected your children beyond repair. My home teacher, Brother Tyler, always talks about getting "hugs from the Lord". He said that whenever something wonderful happens unexpectedly, it's a hug from the Lord. Today I experienced a bear hug.


I'm not one to boast, or even talk about myself, but I couldn't hold this inside. I know that my close friends and my sister and nieces will be OK with me boasting this time. I'm so proud of Drew. He is absolutely the most wonderful thing in my life. I am so honored to be his mom. His accomplishments are his own; I do not take credit for who he is. But dang, I'm so glad that I get to be a part of his life.

Jaime

Last week was especially great for Drew. As you know, he has been serving in the mission office since Mother's Day, which means he doesn't have the opportunity to teach or do baptisms. There is a man named Jaime, who Drew and his companion, Elder Cano taught while they were there. Since that time, Drew and Elder Cano have been sent to different areas. A couple of weeks ago Jaime committed to baptism, and requested that Drew and Elder Cano come back to his town to baptize him. Eight days before Elder Cano left to go home, he and Drew were able to travel to Micaela Batista and baptize Jaime. It was a wonderful experience for Drew. Here is an excerpt from his letter regarding Jaime's baptism day:

Jaime is like 45 and has a family. But yeah in the baptism he got baptised and his niece Mitzi too(Mitzi's dad was my second convert). Its cool to see how things all work out. There was a cool thing that Elder Oyola said he said "Elders, your mission starts, but it never ends. You start your mission but will never ever see the ending results of it." And I can see why now. Mitzis dad went inactive for a while and so I got sad about it. But then I saw him in the baptism and he was getting his daughter baptised and is active again. Its just a big time chain reaction. Thats way cool.

Everything is going well for Drew. He is so happy!

I haven't been able to pin Carlos down yet so I can get a picture of him for all of you to see. He is a funny kid. He doesn't understand my humor at all. He just looks at me like "whatever, lady." He is attending BYU and playing a lot of "Counter Strike". I am never home, so the poor kid just entertains himself by drinking more soda than anyone on the planet, and by eating his newfound favorite snack, red licorice.

I have been working backstage at Pioneer Theater Company's My Fair Lady. It is a beautiful show, and the cast members are so gracious and professional. I really love sharing the experience with them. You can see a short video of some scenes from the show if you click on my link to Pioneer Theater which is to the right under "My Favorite Things".

"Don't Worry, Mom"

About six weeks ago Drew wrote in his 3-sentence email that his President wanted to know if his son could stay with me while he goes to BYU. I emailed back saying that would be no problem at all.

Over the next few weeks, I continued to ask Drew in my weekly email for details about his President's son. I figured it would be easier if I knew details about him; does he speak English?, does he need a car?, how long will he stay?, when is he coming?, etc. These are questions I asked Drew a few times, with no response. He is horrible about answering my questions. It stands to reason, though, because those 3-sentence emails packed with "cool" and "awesome" leave little room for minor details.

So I looked at the BYU schedule, and school begins on September 1st. Wow! So, maybe the boy isn't going to attend this semester. How would I know? I kept asking questions, but nay a response. Grrr... What a goof.

Well, in his email this week he said that the boy is coming on the 28th. What?! The 28th? That is one week away. What time?, What airline?... So I was talking it over with my assistant at work, and he recommended I call the mission office and ask the speak to the President or his wife. Hmm... interesting thought... So I did!

When an Elder answered, I asked if there was anyone there that spoke English. I was hoping SO MUCH that Drew would be the one to pick up the phone. No such luck. I explained to the sweet Elder that got on the phone what my concerns were, and he understood. He said he would have the President call me. Now, according to Drew the President doesn't speak English, so how is that going to work? The Elder also mentioned that the President was in a missionary interview at that time, and that he would ask him to call. I was so excited, because I knew that Drew was there with the President doing the interviews.

So in about three minutes, I get an email from Drew saying "Mom, don't worry. He speaks perfect English. He's leaving on the 28th and he will be going to our ward." And that's it. No more information. So... I guess I will just cross my fingers and hope that whenever the young man arrives at my house I will be here. Because, after all, I shouldn't worry.

I love my son. He cracks me up. What a goof!

Here are some fun videos that prove our missionaries are still just little boys on a big boy errand...

I Have to Start Somewhere

So I've gotten a late start on this project because I'm intimidated by the whole blog thing. But I will catch you up on a few of my favorite stories from Drew so far.

Let me preface this by saying, for those of you that know Drew, he's very... what's the word?... cool. His vocabulary consists mainly of the words "dude", "awesome", "ha" and "cool". He sent me an email recently that was the usual three sentences long, and in those precious three sentences, the word "cool" appeared more than 10 times.

That said... Drew and a few other Elders were walking down the street in Peru. A monkey swung down from a tree limb and smacked him in the face. He tells me the story, and then reiterates (and I can hear him saying this) "Dude Mom. A monkey swung from a tree and smacked me in the face! Isn't that awesome?"

In his email last Saturday he told me a story about his adventures with the mission van. He's living in the mission office right now, serving as the Assistant to the President, and so he uses the mission van to run errands, deliver missionaries, etc. Apparently, though, the van is a little ghetto. Whenever they have to go somewhere, the missionaries have to push it to get it started, and then pop the clutch. He was at the airport the other day retrieving the newest missionaries and the four of them had to push-start the van, all of them in their suits of course. The visual of that makes me giggle. And needless to say, he thinks it's cool.

Well that's enough for now. I'm looking forward to sharing his happiness with all of you.