With All Our Love

My dear son Tanner,

I hope this week has been good to you! That despite your tired feet, your sweaty body, and maybe even rumbly tummy, you are still buoyed up by the sweet message of the gospel you're sharing. Your companion's letter last week really described how hardened the people in your area sound...He said, "What do I want for transfers? With every ounce of desire in my little heart I want to leave this place and never return. There's a reason why the church has been in Tupã for 33 years and they still don't have a stake. The church arrived in Manaus 25 years ago and not only do they have at least 9 stakes they also have a temple (nine stakes needed for a temple). The church only grows where the members are willing to work." I think that's why you had so much fun opening a new area last week, and perhaps having been in this more difficult area first, your mission experience will only grow sweeter. Are you staying?_____

Last Sunday I forgot to mention Cooper had his first clarinet concert for middle school held at the high school. He had been sick for a few days leading into the weekend, so we were in a panic as how to get his instrument out of his school when the other building is the one that would be unlocked. We lucked out, as there were some basketball games being held, so the building was open.

Monday for the family home evening activity we went to Porter's first home freshmen basketball game. You know that when only the freshmen play, the seating is not very full, so we felt comfortable bringing the whole family. Breyer spent the whole time following Miller down the stands, across the court to the other side, up the stairs to the balcony, and back again. That kid can't hold still. They also spent some time in the hallway playing with a plastic ball he brought.

Hunter got his PSAT test results back...he did great. The counselor came and found him to let him know he might be a national merit scholar candidate. Hooray! His English results were his lowest, just like you. She told him that he has the highest score in Fairland history, with a 219. 215 had been the high previously, probably Robbie's score. Speaking of Hunter, between he and Porter, they came home with five mandatory fundraisers. Hunter hires Sawyer to go door to door, so he did one each day. He's such a salesman!

Tuesday is still speech day. Not only Miller, but for Breyer as well. Apparently she's behind in language skills, so Heidi spends a few minutes with her as well. Mrs. Wheeler now uses an Ipad so Breyer enjoys looking at the pictures she's to say. For Cub scouts I invited one of the boys' fathers, who went through theologian school, to discuss with the boys their faith requirements. He did a nice job. I brought sugar cookies, and they got to decorate one for a snack.

Thursday we went to Marshall University's Christmas party for employees. Have you ever gotten to go? Porter's practice was early so he got to go with us. I invited two of the six missionaries in our area to go...even though it's technically for employees and their families, I figured they could be my brothers. The spread is good, and the missionaries were able to eat a lot. I should mention that Breyer was deathly afraid of the man in the red suit. She would have nothing to do with him. It was pretty funny.

I think this is also the day Grampy had to go back into the hospital. He had a really nasty cold, and it sunk into pneumonia. Poor guy can't seem to catch a break. His c-diff is back again as well, probably had never gone away. He'll be there until this Thursday, so he can finish his i.v. antibiotics. He's soooo bored he started making funny phone calls. Sometimes he pretends he's locked himself in the bathroom and tells us all his wife is after his life insurance policy. He reminds me of Uncle David when he's on lots of medicine, or his oxygen saturation is a little low.

Seminary students have been parking on the street, which is fine except they drive on the grass a lot, and it's not looking great. So Thursday I thought if I moved the little white van into the middle of the curved driveway they could park on each side of it instead of the street. The battery was dead! Hunter and I tried pushing it while it was in neutral. It's sooo heavy! I've been filling it up with scrap metal, but I think it was just in a little driveway rut. I thought the rest of the boys could help, and when they came out of the house, so did the dog. He thought we were headed for a drive. Apparently he didn't stay in their too long, and some one shut the door, and our keys were locked inside. Ranger bumped the lock button with the car in neutral. Good thing the car was already dead, and the dog got out. I called AAA in the morning.

Friday evening Jarrod and I had to work basketball concessions together. We make a good team. I work the window and the cash taking orders, and he grabs everything I need. We can work so fast together we almost never have much a of a line! It's not the funnest thing to do on date night, but it's not too bad!

Saturday morning I sat through three basketball games. Sawyer's team is definitely stacked. All three games I've seen they've won by more than 40 points. The other team barely has 8 when the game is over. It's almost no fun to watch him play, because the coaches are always holding their players back.

(It's blurry! but it's a great shot!)

Miller is hysterical. He skips down the court, a little different than Cooper. He has a hop and a skip, and a few jumps. He's so excited to be playing he can't hold his feet still. He still ran down the court with his hand in his pocket, but at least he wasn't biting his fingernails. He's always told to take the ball out of bounds. Dad and I talked about this, as every boy has always done this on their respective team. We think because it's obvious you boys can think, and in that split second decision you're able to make better choices with your pass. Just a thought.

Cooper is fun to watch because of his heart. He's always the first to help the knocked down player off the floor, congratulate the player who makes the shot, share the ball instead of keeping the ball...I was really touched this week at how he is so kind.

Dad took some boys shopping and everybody got haircuts. You know that's always MY favorite way to spend my Saturday!

Today was very long. I played for the choir before church, and played again after church. Then we had tithing settlement, and a baptism. Elaine, Ellen's friend secretly met with the missionaries, and was eventually baptized, today. She's a sweet girl. She knew the Kirby's were different, and wanted to be a part of the light she saw in their lives. Very cool. Sis. Perry saw us, and asked that we share with you Madison's mission call: Spanish speaking Los Angeles. She leaves in the new year.

We have had an elder in our ward all the boys love. We talk all the time about his characteristics that they so enjoy, so they too can learn how to be such a loved missionary. He goes home this week. He spoke in sacrament today, and shared some of the things he's learned while on his mission. He had set a goal that every day, for at least a portion, he would be happy. And you can tell. I truly think that's why the boys like him so much. And he has a great wink. He's coming in the morning for his last breakfast. We'll miss him!

Your CTM companion's letter shared some funny Brazilian superstitions, such as:
You can’t drink hot liquids when it is raining outside
You can’t iron your shirt and then immediately afterwards take a shower
You can’t put the toilet paper in the toilet, you have to put it in the trash (that’s what it is designed for—I talked with a maintenance guy about it).

Have you experienced people sharing these with you? Are there any others that stand out?

As the time draws closer to Skype, one of the missionary moms suggested that we write thoughts down we want to share with you, or questions, and suggested you do the same, so we don't finish frustrated when we forget to ask! Your CTM companion had also received an email with Skype instructions, so I assume you too have been given Christmas day rules. Just in case we have connection issues, come prepared with the church phone number. It was suggested to us that we have that ready in case you need to run to the church and use the phone there. I think Dad's planning on buying an international phone card just in case Skype doesn't work. We look forward to your sharing with us how this will work.

It was fun to share with Sis. Serrano your kind words about her son. Is there another group of missionaries in Tupa? In another ward? Are there any other Americans you want to talk about this week? _____

Sis. Romrell forwarded me a copy of Jeremy's latest letter. He sounds wonderful. I imagine him learning Mandarin is a lot harder only because he's not immersed in the language as much as you. He speaks it when he has investigators that need it.

It was fun looking up all your Brazilian food. Sis. Bach sent an email saying she found wiki information that said "As a dietary supplement, guarana is an effective stimulant: its seeds contain about twice the concentration of caffeine found in coffee beans." That is a LOT of caffeine!

That's about all the scoop from the Ohio River area, where the men like hot dogs, and the women do too.

We've been talking in seminary about Lazarus being raised from the dead, and how in the next chapter of John Mary annointed Jesus' feet. The manual speaks of this as "an honor, an act of reverential homage rarely rendered even to kings...an expression of adoration..the fragrant outwelling of a heart overflowing with worship and affection." This is all so true. But when I read this story, it was obvious to me that Mary was so grateful her brother was alive once again, she was showing gratitude of the highest magnitude. We have gratitude for you, your willingness to be obedient, your sacrifice of all, your example. We love you, we're excited to hear from you!

Love,

Mom and Dad