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".