New Elders

This has been a wonderful week for us here in Madrid. Our missionaries are about to leave for their areas of responsibility. We want to tell you some of the things that have happened and have touched our hearts. We have 2 elders from the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa. They arrived here with little carry on bags with all they had to serve their missions. They have been trying to fit in and because they speak Portuguese we have had a translator to help them. She has been great. They are small and very humble and have the greatest smiles. We really love them! We have a young man from Sweden who is 6ft 10in. He is very thin. He speaks English perfectly. We feel like he is a giant sent to Spain to share his strong testimony. Another of our elders is from Mountain Home, Idaho. At age 14 he became inactive in the church. When he was 25 he became active again and had the desire to serve a mission. He sent his papers in when he was 26. He was refused. He went on with his life but asked his bishop if it was time for him to go to the temple. His bishop said let's try again for a mission. They called Salt Lake and got permission for him to serve. He is now 27 and loving every minute of his time in the MTC. He is doing very well and we love him! As you can see we have all kinds of missionaries who have touched our lives in many ways. We continue to learn and grow and pray that we can become better everyday. President Monson tells us to "turn our backs on our problems and face our blessings." We try to do this everyday and want you to know that our family is the dearest thing to us! We love you all so very much! We thank Heavenly Father everyday for the opportunity to be your parents and grandparents. We know that we will be together forever in the Celestial Kingdom with our Heavenly Parents and our beloved brother Jesus Christ. The gospel plan of happiness means so much more to us at our age. We pray that you are well and having all the blessings that you need and want in your lives. If we can help you in any way...please let us know. We hope that you have enjoyed the 4th of July and remember how much we have to be grateful for as citizens of the greatest country in the world. Remember, remember that as long as we keep the commandments we will prosper in the land. We know this is true doctrine.