Mission Update - Halfway

Jared passed his 1-year mark and is about to hit 13 months on the mission.  He just transferred back to Ciudad del Este, after being in Yaguaron for the past four months. He is excited to eat at Pizza Hut again!  He mentioned eating 11 pieces of pizza in his last phone call (the pieces there are cut smaller, but it's still a lot of pizza).  Jared had 3 different companions in Yaguaron - Elder Villareal (Bolivia), Elder Schlenker (Canada), and Elder Russell (Chile).  His current companion is Elder Cuc from Guatemala.  He continues to enjoy meeting and teaching people.  He had 11 or 12 baptisms in the last 4 months.  On his birthday in May, his companion made crepes and cocido.  He also mentioned eating nokis, tortilla chips, and mbyeu.  I'm not sure what those are, but he said they were good.  Jared made something for Elder Russell's birthday as well, along with singing to him.  A couple of things Jared enjoyed doing aside from the missionary work was going fishing and running up Yaguaron Hill (which means he had a companion that was willing to run with him a few times).  A few of the hard things were getting rejected, missing the last bus and having to run home in the mud in the dark while it was raining and lightning, and losing his voice for 3 days.  He also got to see miracles in the work, of being able to find people and getting permission for a couple of the children to get baptized.  He saw faith in action.  Here are a couple of those experiences: 

In talking about miracles, Jared said, "The biggest of all was that our friend Daniel got baptized on Sunday.  I need to brag about him for a second, because his faith to get baptized has been so big.  He's been working in Asuncion, a 3-hour bus ride from Yaguaron, and we've been teaching a lot through WhatsApp.  He was worried that his job was potentially going to make him work this Sunday, but said he was willing to quit his job to get baptized this Sunday.  Getting done at 6:00am in the morning, he came directly to the chapel.  He was a little wiped but got a quick rejuvenation in the cold water.  Afterward, he described feeling a sense of warmth and peace overwhelm him as all of his worries from the past went away."  

He also talked about faith and said, "Faith helps us to pass through hard moments with hope of blessings to come.   Never underestimate the great blessing of that hope.  It's powerful to change one's life in an instant... We had a hard rejection from the grandmother of the youth that was going to get baptized this week.  This young woman, however, is determined to have a strong relationship with our Heavenly Father and continue faithfully until she will be able to make a covenant with God in the waters of baptism."  

Jared talked about what he was learning:  "I'm learning more about talking with everyone.  Sometimes I feel the impression to talk to someone but then think about our visits and lessons we have planned and think we don't have time.  I'm learning that it's very important to respond to these impressions.  Christ stopped on His way to heal the woman with a blood issue, and I need to as well.  It's not even my way I'm on. I'm on the Lord's time and it's His work.  That reminds me of a Star Wars quote someone had told me this last weekend.  It was surprising to hear it in Spanish when he had said, "El camino este es," which is the Mandalorian quote, "This is the way."  It's important to act on every prompting, because every prompting you deny is one less you'll receive in the future.  The Lord entrusts His spirit in those that will be receptive."  

He's still doing well and learning along the way.  We'll see what the next 11 months brings (46.5 weeks left - but who's counting...) 

Back to School

The kids started school a couple weeks ago.  Owen and Weston are in 11th and 9th grade at the High School.  They get to walk together again this year.  They also are both doing early morning seminary at 7:00am at the church.  Owen drives them to that and then they have time to come back home and walk to school. Classes are going well for the boys.  Owen is particularly excited about his choir class since he made the elite choir.  Weston is doing marching band and cross country this year, so those are new for him.  I'll do another post later about their sports and activities as they get into the semester.  Weston is not excited about his English / Ethnic Studies class.  He says it's "too woke" and they're talking about white supremacy and issues with more of a political agenda than from a historical study of race and culture. I think he's doing okay in his math class.  Owen is taking US History and AP Calculus this semester, along with choir and basketball. 

Savannah is in 7th grade this year at the junior high.  She now rides the bus to and from school.  She's not too excited about that, but Alex and I are glad not to do the drop off and pick up every day. I got the play-by-play on the first day's bus ride.  She apparently was the only one to get on at the first stop and was a little worried it was just going to be her.  I messaged back "Let me know when someone else gets on."  The driver stopped at the next stop but no one got on.  At the next one, three boys got on.  At the next one, a girl and 2 boys got on, but the girl sat with the boys.  At another stop, she told me that a couple rowdy boys from last year got on.  I asked if they went to the back of the bus and she said "yes".  She also was very nervous about the first day so she kept messaging me about that.  She wasn't able to message the rest of the day because of the new "off and away" phone policy at school.  It wasn't the best day for her.  She was already worried about the friend situation and who she would sit with at lunch.  She waited in the bathroom line most of the lunch time so she didn't end up having enough time to eat lunch.  She was chatting with a friend from last year when another girl came up and pulled her friend away.  She gave Savannah the "not you" hand and said she was just having a private conversation with the other friend.  Savannah said that's usually the "you shouldn't be talking to her" conversation. Savannah was left sitting there alone.  Her mean girl drama from elementary followed her a little bit that first day.  The next days were better though as she started making some new friends.  She already has a good friend named Carly (not sure if I spelled the name right).  Savannah loves her art class.  She was placed in an advanced math class that we didn't sign up for.  It went too fast for her to keep up with, so she had to switch her classes around a little bit after the first week.  She seems to be settling in to the schedule and routine after a couple of weeks.  She now takes her lunch, has made a couple new friends, and doing well in all her classes. And she has a good friend who rides the bus with her - just didn't ride the bus on the first day.  So junior high is going okay.  It can be pretty tough!

July-Aug Misc

After we got back from Utah, I re-organized Weston's room.  Nathan had roomed with him this summer, so we needed to get everything back together.  We did bring back a nice dresser from Utah that hopefully Weston will use instead of piling stuff on the bed.  We found a free mini fridge this summer and Weston wanted it in his room.  

Savannah wanted to re-organize her room as well (which we started before we went to Utah).  She didn't want the queen-sized guest bed in her room anymore because she wanted space to put her art desk.  So we got a twin-sized bed for her and moved things around a bit.  (That also meant I had to re-organize the garage too in order to store the other bed.  That was a pretty big project too.)

We said "good-bye" to two friends going on missions. Both mornings were an early start, around 4:45-5:30am send-offs.  Hi'ilei headed off to Argentina in July.  Jack left for a mission to Guyana in August.  We'll see them in 18 months to 2 years!  Owen and Jack may not see each other for 4 years, if Owen leaves on his mission before Jack gets back.  

The other random picture is the kids getting smoothies the day before school started.  They can't say they didn't do anything fun this summer...at least one outing. 😄

Utah House

 The end of July, we bought a house in Provo to be used as a rental for college students.  The process has been a roller coaster.  We first went to look at houses the 1st weekend in June.  There wasn't much to look at in our price range and location.  The house we originally intended to make an offer on was already pending by the time we looked at it.  It had sloped floors though, so it likely had foundation issues anyway.  We did end up making a low offer on a 4 bed 2 bath house that we had looked at and really liked.  We offered 40k less than asking so they didn't take our offer.  During our trip to Italy and Georgia, we were doing video house tours with our realtor.  We then decided to put an offer on a 3 bed 1 bath house within our price range, and our offer was accepted.  We were pretty excited about that, although we knew that we wanted to put a 2nd bathroom in to make it a 3-2.  So we were a little worried if we would have time to get that finished.  However, after the inspection there were some important things we wanted to get fixed before we bought it.  The seller wouldn't fix anything, so then we backed out of that one.  It was the 1st week of July at that point, so we weren't sure if buying a house was going to happen.  As a last resort, we put a low offer ($21k less than the list price) on a 3 bed 2 bath house, not expecting it to be accepted.  However, they did take the offer without even a counter offer.  By the 2nd weekend of July, we had completed the inspection and everything looked good.  We were excited because although it was listed as a 3-2, there was another space that could be used as a 4th bedroom.  It doesn't have windows or a closet, so it couldn't technically be a 4th bedroom.  Our plan was to put Nathan in that bedroom and rent out the other 3 bedrooms.  We could comfortably fit 5 more guys in there with Nathan.  The house was just over a mile from campus.  Everything was moving forward smoothly.  

The last couple weeks of July, I started buying used things and furniture to furnish the house.  We got a couple of nice mattresses for free, along with a dresser.  I fixed up a couple of nightstands that I found for $2 each.  I got quite a few kitchen and house items for really cheap from Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and Estate Sales.  The first week of August, we drove to Utah with a trailer and truck full of stuff.  We basically had one week to clean and get the house ready, furnish the place, build an extra area for parking, and set up a bank account for the place.  We had a pretty good start with the small items, but we needed to find 4 more beds (and 2 more frames), kitchen table and chairs, 5 more dressers, nightstands, and at least 2 couches, along with several other items.  

The boys got to work on the parking area.  We had one narrow driveway with the place, which can fit a couple cars, but you would have to move the last car to get the first car out.  So it's not too efficient of a space.  The back yard is a decent size, so our plan was to use some of the back yard for 3 more parking spaces.  It wasn't too hard to get the chain link fence out, but then it turned into a bigger project than expected due to the sprinkler system.  Alex and the boys had to dig up the yard to find the pipes and cap some of them off.  Once that was complete, then came leveling it off and bringing gravel in.  We thought about doing concrete, but it was too expensive.  Our realtor had connections to get us a good deal on gravel, haul it over, and help dump it out, so that was a good option for us.  Then they had to distribute the gravel, rent a machine to help pack it in, and re-install the fence (along with a gate).  Owen and Weston really worked hard on that project with Alex.  There was one trip to Home Depot where the boys fell asleep on the way over (in just 10 minutes).  That's how tired they were. Plus it was really hot, so it wasn't a fun week for them.  The boys also put together two bathroom storage shelves and a standing closet organizer for the 4th bedroom.

Savannah and I worked on the interior of the house, cleaning and organizing.  We shopped for furniture, which Alex and the boys then had to go collect with the trailer.  We also patched up the chipped fireplace and painted it, along with re-touching any other spots in the house. The other project that we started was the front porch.  There was ivy growing up underneath the old carpet on the front porch.  We thought it would be nice to rip that carpet off and paint the porch.  Well... the carpet didn't come up easily.  The edges came up, but then we were stuck with most of it that wouldn't come off.  I spent at least 3-4 hours one morning trying to get that carpet off.  Eventually the carpet was off, but the glue underneath was still there.  It turned out to be the project that we couldn't get done in that week we were there, so that one we left for Nathan to finish.  By the way, Nathan was already working his campus job that week, so he missed out on most of the manual labor.  He did install new window blinds, do some small maintenance, and help haul a little bit of the furniture.  The hardest thing to move was a 2nd refrigerator, which we put downstairs in the laundry room area.  I had planned on a freezer going down there but didn't realize that Alex would come back with another refrigerator.  They had to take off a hand rail to maneuver it downstairs.  A couple of the dressers and the sofa sectional were pretty tough to get downstairs as well.

I can't believe we actually got everything done in a week.  We found our last furniture item the night before we left.  We were able to complete the parking area, fence, and furnish the entire house for about $4500. We spent about $3000 for all the house stuff and about $1500 for the parking, fence, and porch items.  For my own documentation, here is my list of things purchased / collected (some free):  

Kitchen - fruit basket, oven mitts, can opener, plates, bowls, pots, cooking utensils, toaster, trash can, silverware tray, muffin pan, pans / cookie sheets, paper towel holder, mixing bowls, large tupperware bowl, sugar and flour containers, strainer, ice cream scoop, salt shakers, casserole dishes, measuring cups, silverware, cutting board, utensils container, cups, knives and kitchen scissors, pasta containers, kitchen washcloths and towels, microwave cover, apron, egg pan, hot pads, crock pot, bread box, skillet, rice cooker, blender, and microwave

Cleaning / Laundry - supplies bucket, broom, mop, cleaning supplies, vacuum, laundry basket

Preparedness - fire blanket, first aid kit, flashlight, smoke / carbon monoxide detectors, car kit

Bathroom - bath mats, shower caddy, shower curtains, 2 over-the-toilet storage, toilet brush, toilet plunger, trash cans

Yard / Tools - rake, shovel, lawn mower, gas can, tool kit

Furniture / Appliances - kitchen table and chairs, refrigerator, standing closet, 2 desks, coffee table, living room rug, 2 desk chairs, 6 dressers, 6 mattresses and bed frames, 1 sofa, 1 sectional couch, TV stand, 3 nightstands

Misc - lamp, step stool, TV, printer, clocks, wall art, wall hooks, mattress covers, iron, ironing board, router, door mat

By the end of the week, we had the parking finished and the house furnished.  We even had 5 renters lined up.  It seemed that everything had fallen into place. We had the contracts sent out a couple days later.  As they were getting ready to sign the lease, one of the renters asked if we were okay with having more than 3 renters.  These 5 friends had just gotten kicked out of a house that had 11 guys living there and wondered if we also had restrictions.  We weren't aware of any, but as we looked into it, it turns out we were required to have a rental license.  We thought it wouldn't be hard to get the license, so we started the application process (and held off on signing the leases).  We found out it would take up to 2 weeks to get the license.  We also discovered a city code for our area that restricted our occupancy for unrelated people to THREE.  And as part of the rental license, they would come inspect the house to see if it was up to health and safety codes.  We have to put a larger window and well in the bedroom in the basement.  We can't ever use the 4th room that doesn't have a window for a bedroom (and we can't put one in), and we have to re-do the front porch steps where one of them isn't the correct height.  We're looking at a minimum of $9,000 in getting the house up to code.  We also lost those 5 renters pretty quickly because of the occupancy restrictions.  We're down to signing on 2 paid renters, which will never approach our mortgage payment.  Basically everything fell apart when we attempted to rent through the correct process.  It's been 3 weeks and they still haven't completed the license or even inspected the house.  We'll see if they find anything besides the steps and the basement windows.  We just can't believe the situation we're in now.  This was one of those situations where we were "almost good at that."  

We do have a couple of renters lined up for the year, as of a couple days ago.  We don't know what to do or how we'll make it financially yet.  We've got ourselves in a tight spot and don't know how to resolve it.  But we now own a nice little house in Provo for Nathan to live in.  It may be pretty quiet living down in the basement by himself...     

We did manage to go to the Provo City Center Temple early one morning when we were there.  That was a nice break from our work.  We also got to spend Sunday evening with Alison and Micah (I didn't take any pictures with them).  We had dessert with Carrie at the BYU Creamery on Monday.  She happened to be there for the week doing an organ camp.  We had dessert with Jaden on Friday evening.  We planned on dinner with him but then had to go pick up furniture.  Nathan had dinner with him and we met them later for dessert.  Kai went with us on this trip and got to hang out in the house and yard.  

July Misc

 Over spring break, we saw this artwork of Gandalf at a shop.  Our friend Jack really liked it, but it was horribly expensive.  I snapped a photo of it because Savannah said she could paint it.  She did that this summer and gave it to Jack, sort of as a graduation gift, since he just graduated high school.  I think she did a really good job on it. 

Owen and I have still been playing volleyball at the church once a week.  It's pretty fun, but I do get bruised up sometimes.  This one was pretty bad, but not enough to keep from getting back out there the next week.  

I saw a butterfly on my bedroom window one night, and I was surprised to see it still there in the morning.  I always think of my grandma when I see butterflies now, so maybe it was a sign she was near.  We did a lot of fruit harvesting this summer.  The random lemon picked for lemonade was just funny.  We actually got several plums this year, along with peaches, apricots, and grapes.  

The kids were pretty bored this summer.  They didn't really do many fun things.  They had to just hang out for 2 weeks at home while Alex and I were on our trip.  They did a couple of camps and sports.  Other than that, they were mostly at home.  Savannah hung out with friends one day and got free slurpees.  We did a beach day with friends.  The kids mostly played the board games, but we did a family Ticket to Ride one evening that was pretty fun.  Savannah continued with twice a week swimming, which was summer conditioning.  Weston ran with the school cross country team this summer, as he decided to join the cross country team in the fall.  

Along with summer league basketball, Owen did a couple weeks of volunteer work, helping kindergarteners learn safety skills.  They actually had a film crew there during the 1st week, filming for a documentary, so maybe Owen will show up in that.  Owen enjoyed singing songs and helping the kids.  He met a little kid named Billy who just liked to laugh a lot.  One of the girls the second week really liked Owen.  Apparently the girl went home talking to her mom about "the boy".  The mom was curious what boy she had met, but she realized who that was the next morning as her daughter ran up and hugged Owen's leg.  "Oh, you're the BOY she was talking about." This little girl clung to Owen all week. Owen discovered that he really enjoys working with kids.  Owen also started a part-time job towards the end of the summer.  He plans to continue doing that throughout the school year, working Saturdays when he can. 

We went to a pioneer day celebration.  We had great food, hanging out, and activities for the kids.  They had a little obstacle course race, which was hilarious to see Weston and Owen doing with their friends.  I guess I cut the video off too early, but Owen did pull out the win in the end. He was really flying with his friend Aubree in the cart!

Alex spent a week in Oklahoma with his parents, helping out as his dad went in for knee surgery.  Alex did some yardwork and chores around the house.  He sent one picture of him all sweaty from working outside.  It's a little bit hotter there in the summer than here in CA...  His parents got to briefly chat with Jared on his weekly mission call, and I snapped a screenshot. 

Here are a few of the youth activities for the summer - the girls sewed their own purses.  There was a combined activity night with minute-to-win-it games.  Owen and Jack were determined to finish this puzzle they started in one of the challenges.  The youth did a sunset hike one night. 

It was nice to have Nathan home for the summer.  He got a full-time job (8am-4pm) so we didn't see a lot of him.  He didn't necessarily like the manual labor that he was doing, but he did learn some maintenance skills and enjoyed doing things with his hands.  He now wants to find a job that isn't just behind a computer all day.  Nathan was also involved this summer in all the singles ward activities and scripture study nights, so he kept pretty busy.  He bought a car this summer too, a 2013 Honda Civic.  He's pretty excited to have his own car to drive around.  He went on a hike before he left and snapped a few pictures.  I think he liked being home for a few months.

Alex and I did our monthly temple visit.  Savannah and I sang a duet in church, which was a little nerve-wracking, but we did it.  We sang "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need".  Savannah sang the alto part and did a good job. We had a special day one Sunday when Weston received his patriarchal blessing.  Savannah wasn't able to attend with us, so we dropped her off at our friend's house.  Our good friends just moved to the same town as the Stake Patriarch so it worked out pretty well to have dinner with them and then go to Weston's blessing.  Alex, Nathan, Owen, and I had a very spiritual experience being there with Weston.  Some amazing promises and gifts were mentioned depending on his faithfulness.  Some things were similar to his brothers, with a mission, family, and leadership in his future.  Gifts of kindness and love were mentioned, with the ability to develop many gifts through service.  It was just really spirit-filled experience and we felt close to family that had already passed on to the other side.  

The last picture was actually after the blessing.  On the way back to pick up Savannah, we saw someone having car trouble.  Our boys jumped out, along with some other guys, to help push the car into the gas station.  I liked how it didn't matter that they were in the church clothes.  They were quick to lend a hand regardless, and I like to think that it's those small acts of service that help these kids develop the attributes they need to succeed in life. 

Mt Langley Backpacking Trip

The second week of July, Alex and Weston went on a backpacking trip for 4 days to the Sierras.  There were 4 boys and 4 leaders that went on the trip.  They made it to the top of Mt. Langley, which is 14,042 ft.  This makes Weston's second 14-er to summit. Weston is pointing to Mt. Whitney in one of the photos, the one he did last summer.  He apparently was one of the boys motivating the others to keep going on this one.  I guess his prior experience is kicking in.

Weston got lots of mosquito bites on this trip and came back with chapped lips.  It was a good trip though. He enjoyed his Carls Jr. after they were done, as is tradition to get upon completion of the backpacking trips. 

15 years

We had a nice little celebration at home for Weston's birthday.  He got his requested French toast, eggs, and turkey bacon breakfast for lunch on Sunday.  (We all had an early start on Sunday morning, so breakfast didn't work out.)  I made spaghetti and rolls for dinner.  We went out to Chili's for dinner on Saturday night.  He had to get his steak and molten lava cake.  Weston's main present was his own laptop, which he wanted for his stop motion videos.