We had a wonderful time at Thanksgiving and were glad that mom and dad could be there. We liked there idea for Christmas of making a donation rather than giving gifts and we decided to do that as well. So instead of sending extended family gifts this year, we will be donating to the Perpetual Education Fund. Please don't worry about sending anything to us.
Jed and Cally are bound for court in Idaho again on Sunday for an appearance Monday. Once again we anticipate that the custody hearing will be postponed, but they can't take a chance on not being there. So it ends up being a $3,000 trip for nothing.
Harvey is such a good baby. He virtually never cries. I was talking to Cally on the phone this morning and could hear Harvey laughing and giggling and making happy screeching sounds at the top of his lungs. It was really quite distracting.
I'm picking up Creed's moose meat from the processor tonight, so we'll be having moose roast for Sunday dinner. I wish you could all be here to share it with us.
Flint
Friday, November 30, 2007
Saturday, November 24, 2007
We had a great Thanksgiving with Flint and Anette and family. We wish we could all be together for the holidays but that might be too much. We had so much fun watching Katelynn at the zoo. The elephants had a 650# pumpkin and it took only one stab from the tusk to break that and then no time at all for the elephants to eat it. It didn't look like much of a dinner for several large elephants. Katelynn was also fascinated with the snakes especially the Green Tree Boa.
We had a great dinner as well. Flint and Anette know how to cook a turkey just right so it is moist and good. We even had some left overs for our lunch yesterday after the temple.
Harvey is getting cuter and cuter. He laughs out loud and is really good. He slept through the zoo experience but that was ok it was really cold.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Samuel's Mission e-mail Nov 19, 2007
Everyone:
Well, things have been feeling slightly more Novembery around here recently, so we'll have to see if the trend continues.
In terms of the week... Tuesday we had a day of a lot of people not being home, but I did teach the Libro de Mormon clase in the evening. On Wednesday, we met Lola, who is an old friend of Brother Harris in the SWLA Branch. She seems honestly interested and willing to do what is required to find the truth--she said she's been searching for "something more". She also had a question about the salvation of small animals (on behalf of her grandson), which made me grateful for D&C 77. We also visited Reina again, as well as Marcelino. With Marcelino right now we're mostly just working to keep him faithful while he works through the problems he's having with his daughter until things are settled enough for him to separate if that's what's required to obey the Law of Chastity, since the woman he's living with is unwilling to marry.
On Thursday we had our normal planning and visit with Norman, and then we visited Veronica and met some of her family and taught them, too. They also seem interested, although all of them seem to have unpredictable schedules.
On Friday, we had our normal district meeting, a visit with Marcelino, and a Thanksgiving dinner with the SGII ward. I find it interesting how Thanksgiving seems to have several names in Spanish--probably since it's something that only exists here in the US so they have to make up their own name for it in Spanish.
On Saturday, we finally contacted a referral named Mario Rivera that we've been playing phone tag with for weeks. He seems like he has some promise--unlike a lot of people around here, he doesn't seem to have problems with reading comprehension, so our work should be more focused on his testimony of the Book of Mormon rather than his understanding thereof. We also visited Kandy Levine and a couple less-actives.
On Sunday we had church, of course, and we were happy to see Lola and several of the less-actives we're working with there. We also visited Hermana Smith and taught a bit to some of the people who were also visiting her at the same time. We also went to the baptism of one of the children of a family Elder Bartholomew was teaching in his first area. We visited Marcelino because he wasn't at church and found out it was because he'd gone to pick up Lupe (his daugther) from the hospital. We also taught Cindy again. She's doing fairly well--she didn't come to church yesterday because she'd promised one of her Catholic friends that she'd come to mass with her, but she's going to come next week, and she's still reading in the Book of Mormon.
Today we don't have a zone activity, which is why I'm writing earlier in the morning than usual.
I want to speak a bit about patience. Patience is a very necessary attribute, not only in missionary work, but also in daily life. A lot of problems are caused by impatience--speeding, arguments, misunderstandings. We need to be slower to anger than our modern society often is, or we'll be heading down the same broad path they are.
Elder Stephens
37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
John 4: 37-38
Well, things have been feeling slightly more Novembery around here recently, so we'll have to see if the trend continues.
In terms of the week... Tuesday we had a day of a lot of people not being home, but I did teach the Libro de Mormon clase in the evening. On Wednesday, we met Lola, who is an old friend of Brother Harris in the SWLA Branch. She seems honestly interested and willing to do what is required to find the truth--she said she's been searching for "something more". She also had a question about the salvation of small animals (on behalf of her grandson), which made me grateful for D&C 77. We also visited Reina again, as well as Marcelino. With Marcelino right now we're mostly just working to keep him faithful while he works through the problems he's having with his daughter until things are settled enough for him to separate if that's what's required to obey the Law of Chastity, since the woman he's living with is unwilling to marry.
On Thursday we had our normal planning and visit with Norman, and then we visited Veronica and met some of her family and taught them, too. They also seem interested, although all of them seem to have unpredictable schedules.
On Friday, we had our normal district meeting, a visit with Marcelino, and a Thanksgiving dinner with the SGII ward. I find it interesting how Thanksgiving seems to have several names in Spanish--probably since it's something that only exists here in the US so they have to make up their own name for it in Spanish.
On Saturday, we finally contacted a referral named Mario Rivera that we've been playing phone tag with for weeks. He seems like he has some promise--unlike a lot of people around here, he doesn't seem to have problems with reading comprehension, so our work should be more focused on his testimony of the Book of Mormon rather than his understanding thereof. We also visited Kandy Levine and a couple less-actives.
On Sunday we had church, of course, and we were happy to see Lola and several of the less-actives we're working with there. We also visited Hermana Smith and taught a bit to some of the people who were also visiting her at the same time. We also went to the baptism of one of the children of a family Elder Bartholomew was teaching in his first area. We visited Marcelino because he wasn't at church and found out it was because he'd gone to pick up Lupe (his daugther) from the hospital. We also taught Cindy again. She's doing fairly well--she didn't come to church yesterday because she'd promised one of her Catholic friends that she'd come to mass with her, but she's going to come next week, and she's still reading in the Book of Mormon.
Today we don't have a zone activity, which is why I'm writing earlier in the morning than usual.
I want to speak a bit about patience. Patience is a very necessary attribute, not only in missionary work, but also in daily life. A lot of problems are caused by impatience--speeding, arguments, misunderstandings. We need to be slower to anger than our modern society often is, or we'll be heading down the same broad path they are.
Elder Stephens
37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
John 4: 37-38
Samuel's Mission e-mail Nov 12, 2007
Everyone:
Well, this week has been a bit cooler than in the past. I guess even Los Angeles has seasons--just not as much as other places do. This is another e-mail from the internet cafe, since all the libraries and such are closed for the Veteran's Day weekend or something.
Let's see... starting with Thursday, since I wrote last Wednesday... Thursday was a pretty typical Thursday, with planning, visiting Norman, and correlation in the evening. We also visited with Cindy again, and she asked us a couple more questions about the Book of Mormon.
On Friday we had our district meeting, and then we tracted a little bit. We visited Marcelino--his situation is about unchanged right now. We also visited Irene, the less-active who felt let down by and unappreciated at church. She's willing to come back, but her oldest granddaughter that's living with her refuses to come and she doesn't have anyone to leave her with. We also visited David.
Saturday we did some tracting and ended up talking with someone who had lived in Utah for a while and some drunk guys. Alcohol does strange things to people. We also visited Kandy Levine and met her son who just got out of prison. We also visited a couple other people.
Sunday we had church as usual, and then we visited Hermana Smith. Delia was there visiting her at the same time, so we ended up teaching her a bit as well. We worked for a bit on finding out if people on our member list in our area actually live there any more and actually met one guy who asked why it had taken so long, so hopefully he'll want to come back to church. We also visited the Castrejon family because they weren't at church and found out it was because one of their pipes broke so they had stayed home to fix it before it leaked too much.
Today in the morning we missed our zone activity (bowling) because we went with Brother Harris and Sherri to visit a friend of Brother Harris, but she asked us if we could come back another day due to events incident to the holiday, so that's why I'm writing so early today.
Well, since I have a lot of time, I'm going to ramble for a bit. I have this stack of small sticky notes that Elder Allred bequeathed to me when he went home, and I've been using them to write down random quotes I hear or read or that I think up and then sticking them up on the wall in front of my desk. So, I think I'll share some of these quotes that I can remember with you.
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work--Thomas Edison
With all your getting, get going!--Elder Packer (before he was President Packer)
A commandment or law is a specific instance of a principle.
And last of all, always remember, hard-heartedness leads to heart disease!
Elder Samuel Stephens
The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?
-D&C 122:8
Well, this week has been a bit cooler than in the past. I guess even Los Angeles has seasons--just not as much as other places do. This is another e-mail from the internet cafe, since all the libraries and such are closed for the Veteran's Day weekend or something.
Let's see... starting with Thursday, since I wrote last Wednesday... Thursday was a pretty typical Thursday, with planning, visiting Norman, and correlation in the evening. We also visited with Cindy again, and she asked us a couple more questions about the Book of Mormon.
On Friday we had our district meeting, and then we tracted a little bit. We visited Marcelino--his situation is about unchanged right now. We also visited Irene, the less-active who felt let down by and unappreciated at church. She's willing to come back, but her oldest granddaughter that's living with her refuses to come and she doesn't have anyone to leave her with. We also visited David.
Saturday we did some tracting and ended up talking with someone who had lived in Utah for a while and some drunk guys. Alcohol does strange things to people. We also visited Kandy Levine and met her son who just got out of prison. We also visited a couple other people.
Sunday we had church as usual, and then we visited Hermana Smith. Delia was there visiting her at the same time, so we ended up teaching her a bit as well. We worked for a bit on finding out if people on our member list in our area actually live there any more and actually met one guy who asked why it had taken so long, so hopefully he'll want to come back to church. We also visited the Castrejon family because they weren't at church and found out it was because one of their pipes broke so they had stayed home to fix it before it leaked too much.
Today in the morning we missed our zone activity (bowling) because we went with Brother Harris and Sherri to visit a friend of Brother Harris, but she asked us if we could come back another day due to events incident to the holiday, so that's why I'm writing so early today.
Well, since I have a lot of time, I'm going to ramble for a bit. I have this stack of small sticky notes that Elder Allred bequeathed to me when he went home, and I've been using them to write down random quotes I hear or read or that I think up and then sticking them up on the wall in front of my desk. So, I think I'll share some of these quotes that I can remember with you.
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work--Thomas Edison
With all your getting, get going!--Elder Packer (before he was President Packer)
A commandment or law is a specific instance of a principle.
And last of all, always remember, hard-heartedness leads to heart disease!
Elder Samuel Stephens
The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?
-D&C 122:8
Latest from court in Idaho
Just got off the phone with Anette. She and Cally are in Idaho. The judge postponed the custody hearing again. LDS Family Services and Harvey's birth mother are appealing the previous judge's decision to allow the father to retain his parental rights, so the judge does not want to have a custody hearing until that is decided. There is not even a date for appeal and it could take months.
The good news is that Harvey is still with Jed and Cally in the interim. Also, the judge said since Harvey is in Utah and they have petitioned for adoption here, he may let Utah courts decide on custody. Yahoo! Let's see how the other side likes driving for 14 hours each way for a postponed hearing.
I think the longer Harvey is with Jed and Cally the harder it will be to take him away and give custody to a father with two rape charge pending.
Anette and Cally will get back tomorrow. Thanksgiving is going to be wonderful.
The good news is that Harvey is still with Jed and Cally in the interim. Also, the judge said since Harvey is in Utah and they have petitioned for adoption here, he may let Utah courts decide on custody. Yahoo! Let's see how the other side likes driving for 14 hours each way for a postponed hearing.
I think the longer Harvey is with Jed and Cally the harder it will be to take him away and give custody to a father with two rape charge pending.
Anette and Cally will get back tomorrow. Thanksgiving is going to be wonderful.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Upcoming Trip
After a year of not doing any traveling for work, I now have the opportunity to go to Sweden. Our company is going to be making some lights for Scania, a Swedish truck manufacturer, so I get to go over there for some meetings. If I can stay awake after an overnight flight, I will have about one day to look around Stockholm. Dad, do you know of any ancestors that were from that area?
Newel
Newel
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Flint's receiving his Wood Badge beads recently reminded me of when I received mine at Camp Bartlet in 1982. Ruth was looking some old picture recently and came across two picture of that Wood Badge experience. I was in the Fox patrol. I'm the little one fourth from the left
Not much happens around here. We did go to a dinner dance last night put on by Smithfield Youth Counsel for those who were over 70 and we have another one tonight for the Stake High Priest. Ruth is at the Stake Center now working on humanitarian packages.
We got Lloyd over last week and he got hearing aids. We hope this will get him to be more socially involved at the nursing home.
We will attend a family reunion wherever it is held but it would be an extra 1,000 miles for all of us to go to Big Bend National Park and with the price of gas it would be quite a burden. We may want to consider something a little more central to all of us. Maybe something in Northern Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado or Arkansas. The year we traveled in Oklahoma with LaDawns family was quite interesting with several attractions.
Love Dad and Mom Stephens
Friday, November 9, 2007
Samuel's Mission e-mail November 7, 2007
Everyone:
Well, sorry I didn't mention that today was our temple day. Or did I? Anyways, that's why I'm writing today instead of Monday (I still haven't died, just in case anyone was wondering...). Anyways, again I am a bit short on time--we kind of forgot today was going to be our Preparation Day and scheduled some appointments for today, so we're kind of busy. As for the week... Tuesday we had a really good day where we were able to meet a lot of people and teach some good lessons. Wednesday, however, not only was Halloween, I was also sick all morning and into the afternoon. I was still a bit shaky in the evening, but I did manage to drag myself out of bed to go see National Treasure with some other missionaries for our Halloween activity.
Thursday I was feeling better, so we planned and visited Norman like usual and tried to contact people we'd missed while I was sick on Wednesday. Friday we had Zone Conference down in Palos Verdes (which is quite a ways south-west of Watts, and in a really rich area, too), so we were gone most of the day for that, but we did meet with Marcelino. He's not doing so well right now--his daughter, Lupe (Guadalupe), who is possibly mentally ill, stole someone's car and crashed it into another car and a van, and everyone has been demanding he replace the damaged parts. Fortunately no truly serious damage was done, but for someone living on the edge of existence like Marcelino, even minor repairs are far, far out of his purchasing power, so he's not in a good situation. It also doesn't help that we've been talking with him about his marital situation and it turns out that he's asked his 'wife' to marry him before and she's refused and she's continuing to refuse right now. He's willing to just separate from her, but 1: now is a really bad time to do that, and 2: we don't want to pull the family apart, so... we have quite a dilemma.
Saturday we visited some people and then in the afternoon into the evening we helped out with a fireside put on by the Saints Unified Voices directed by Gladys Knight. It was pretty neat--hopefully some good missionary work comes out of it. Sunday was a pretty typical day. Monday we visited Marcelino again, as well as some other people. Tuesday we visited Hermana Smith. She's not doing so well--she'd been in great pain, and we'd given her a blessing and the pain left, but she's still pretty ill--and she has to wait until the 26th for her operation.
Well, everyone, that's all I have time for at the moment. I just have one thing to say--some of the less-actives we've met with this week have given me such a testimony of home and visiting teaching. Home and visiting teaching don't get done much out here, and it seems like a lot of these people have gone less-active because of that lack of non-Sunday contact. So no matter how unimportant your home teaching might seem or how strong in the church your families might seem, visit them!!!!! Visit them, visit them, visit them!!!! You never know if you might be the only thing that will turn their course from drifting away from the church to full activity.
Elder Samuel Stephens
Well, sorry I didn't mention that today was our temple day. Or did I? Anyways, that's why I'm writing today instead of Monday (I still haven't died, just in case anyone was wondering...). Anyways, again I am a bit short on time--we kind of forgot today was going to be our Preparation Day and scheduled some appointments for today, so we're kind of busy. As for the week... Tuesday we had a really good day where we were able to meet a lot of people and teach some good lessons. Wednesday, however, not only was Halloween, I was also sick all morning and into the afternoon. I was still a bit shaky in the evening, but I did manage to drag myself out of bed to go see National Treasure with some other missionaries for our Halloween activity.
Thursday I was feeling better, so we planned and visited Norman like usual and tried to contact people we'd missed while I was sick on Wednesday. Friday we had Zone Conference down in Palos Verdes (which is quite a ways south-west of Watts, and in a really rich area, too), so we were gone most of the day for that, but we did meet with Marcelino. He's not doing so well right now--his daughter, Lupe (Guadalupe), who is possibly mentally ill, stole someone's car and crashed it into another car and a van, and everyone has been demanding he replace the damaged parts. Fortunately no truly serious damage was done, but for someone living on the edge of existence like Marcelino, even minor repairs are far, far out of his purchasing power, so he's not in a good situation. It also doesn't help that we've been talking with him about his marital situation and it turns out that he's asked his 'wife' to marry him before and she's refused and she's continuing to refuse right now. He's willing to just separate from her, but 1: now is a really bad time to do that, and 2: we don't want to pull the family apart, so... we have quite a dilemma.
Saturday we visited some people and then in the afternoon into the evening we helped out with a fireside put on by the Saints Unified Voices directed by Gladys Knight. It was pretty neat--hopefully some good missionary work comes out of it. Sunday was a pretty typical day. Monday we visited Marcelino again, as well as some other people. Tuesday we visited Hermana Smith. She's not doing so well--she'd been in great pain, and we'd given her a blessing and the pain left, but she's still pretty ill--and she has to wait until the 26th for her operation.
Well, everyone, that's all I have time for at the moment. I just have one thing to say--some of the less-actives we've met with this week have given me such a testimony of home and visiting teaching. Home and visiting teaching don't get done much out here, and it seems like a lot of these people have gone less-active because of that lack of non-Sunday contact. So no matter how unimportant your home teaching might seem or how strong in the church your families might seem, visit them!!!!! Visit them, visit them, visit them!!!! You never know if you might be the only thing that will turn their course from drifting away from the church to full activity.
Elder Samuel Stephens
Hi from Highland
The weather has been so nice here it is hard to remember it is well into November. Jake and I spent Wednesday looking for pheasants without success. We drove clear down to a state wildlife management unit in Redmond—about a two-hour drive. It looked like a great spot, but we didn’t find a single bird, even with four dogs. Then we tried another spot near Nephi where we have had good success but there were no birds there either. At least Tank didn’t find any skunks. I think next time we’ll head north up toward Cache Valley. I’ve heard rumors of a bird or two still in that area.
We went elk hunting last Saturday. I saw the most elk but I didn’t have a tag. We were with some friends and got into a big herd. Our friends all tried to be polite and wait for someone else to shoot first and in the end no one did and the elk were gone. We’re going again tomorrow and I suspect no one will be polite anymore.
We haven’t heard anything new about Jed, Cally and Harvey. So we’re planning for the 19th, but it’s hard to know if that will actually come to pass or be delayed.
We’re also gearing up for Thanksgiving. I think we might have a pretty big gathering. We might have to start cooking any day.
I’m attaching a picture of Katelynn and Harvey in their Halloween costumes. They were both tigers. Katelynn takes her animal impersonations pretty seriously. She wore her costume to the zoo and roared at the tiger when they got to its enclosure. The tiger roared back, very loudly, and Lindsay waited to see Katelynn’s reaction. Instead of being afraid, she roared again and the two of them stood there roaring for several minutes with the sound echoing all around the zoo.
As far as the next reunion, I read the information on Big Bend. No offense, but since I’ve never been to Texas I’m not sure I want to spend my time in the desert. I’ve seen plenty of those. If we are not going to be in Dallas, is there someplace along the coast that would be nice?
We went elk hunting last Saturday. I saw the most elk but I didn’t have a tag. We were with some friends and got into a big herd. Our friends all tried to be polite and wait for someone else to shoot first and in the end no one did and the elk were gone. We’re going again tomorrow and I suspect no one will be polite anymore.
We haven’t heard anything new about Jed, Cally and Harvey. So we’re planning for the 19th, but it’s hard to know if that will actually come to pass or be delayed.
We’re also gearing up for Thanksgiving. I think we might have a pretty big gathering. We might have to start cooking any day.
I’m attaching a picture of Katelynn and Harvey in their Halloween costumes. They were both tigers. Katelynn takes her animal impersonations pretty seriously. She wore her costume to the zoo and roared at the tiger when they got to its enclosure. The tiger roared back, very loudly, and Lindsay waited to see Katelynn’s reaction. Instead of being afraid, she roared again and the two of them stood there roaring for several minutes with the sound echoing all around the zoo.
As far as the next reunion, I read the information on Big Bend. No offense, but since I’ve never been to Texas I’m not sure I want to spend my time in the desert. I’ve seen plenty of those. If we are not going to be in Dallas, is there someplace along the coast that would be nice?
Monday, November 5, 2007
Samuel's Mission e-mail October 29, 2007
Everyone:
Well, in case you're wondering about the subject line, it's a reference to a Norse myth about the end of the world in which ash rains from the sky. Given that we had ash raining from the sky about half of the week, Elder Bartholomew and I decided that it was appropriate to call this Ragnarok week. I don't have much time to write, so I'll be brief. This week was fairly frustrating in some respects, in addition to the ash raining from the sky. We had a large number of appointments, but very few people were actually home for their appointments. Let's see...
Marcelino had his baptismal interview, and it turns out that he actually isn't married to the woman he's living with and who is the mother of his children, so we've been working with him on resolving that situation.
We've met with Cindy a bit more, and she seems really interested in learning more. Her husband has apparently heard some of the stories, but she can recognize that most of them are not true.
Hermana Smith is still hanging in there, and while Delia, who she referred us to, doesn't seem incredibly interested in the Gospel herself, the other couple that lives in the same apartment with her still seem interested.
Well, I think that's all for now, given my limited time. Remember to always keep your eyes and ears open for the needs of others.
Elder Stephens
The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?
-D&C 122:8
Well, in case you're wondering about the subject line, it's a reference to a Norse myth about the end of the world in which ash rains from the sky. Given that we had ash raining from the sky about half of the week, Elder Bartholomew and I decided that it was appropriate to call this Ragnarok week. I don't have much time to write, so I'll be brief. This week was fairly frustrating in some respects, in addition to the ash raining from the sky. We had a large number of appointments, but very few people were actually home for their appointments. Let's see...
Marcelino had his baptismal interview, and it turns out that he actually isn't married to the woman he's living with and who is the mother of his children, so we've been working with him on resolving that situation.
We've met with Cindy a bit more, and she seems really interested in learning more. Her husband has apparently heard some of the stories, but she can recognize that most of them are not true.
Hermana Smith is still hanging in there, and while Delia, who she referred us to, doesn't seem incredibly interested in the Gospel herself, the other couple that lives in the same apartment with her still seem interested.
Well, I think that's all for now, given my limited time. Remember to always keep your eyes and ears open for the needs of others.
Elder Stephens
The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?
-D&C 122:8
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Pictures from LaDawn
Oops,
I guess I didn't get that top photo in correctly. (I fixed it for you - Newel). Oh well, you can still see it! That's doing pretty good considering I've just spent an hour trying to remember how to change the photo size so that I can post them!
Anyway. This past Saturday we were finally able to have Rachel's 4th birthday party after having to postpone it once due to sickness. We thought we might have to cancel it again when Rachel started running a fever on Friday. But, after sleeping all afternoon and all night, she woke up fine and was able to enjoy her "Tinkerbell" party. She had seven friends over, and we made fairy wands and pirate hats and broke open a pinata (with help from the big kids!). Everyone seemed to have a great time.
I just can't believe she's four already!
We had a fun Halloween last night, also. I'll try to get a picture of that posted soon, too!
LaDawn
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