Dear Tanner,
Another week has gone by! Yahoo! Google! You're on the way towards home! Every day is one day closer to July! Not that you need to think about that right now, but every once in a while it is okay for this mother to do that! Since we'll be visiting New England in August, before you head west (BYU begins after Labor Day this year!), tell your office to fly you into Huntington, WV!
Your AP letter arrived this week from your President. President Lim also gave me his copy this week as well. Your letter arrived here at the home. Sawyer loved his picture! LOVED, Loved, loved your baptismal picture last week. What a sweet day! I'm glad your drivers license arrived. Hurray! And the eye doctor. Sorry for the pain, and headaches. I'm glad you figured out to go there! What a blessing for your vision to improve. It's been added to my blessings from your mission list.
Elder Cummings got an email from BYU about his ecclesiastical endorsement. I tried to check your email to see if yours had come as well and I couldn't answer the security questions. Assuming those are new, and you've been on your account, then I won't worry about checking?
I read a funny account of most unusual foods missionaries have reported eating. Imagine eating a meal made up of tarantula, goat brain, monkey, raccoon, worms and a hairy cow tongue. While you’d likely never see them all together in one meal, if you visited all the LDS missions around the world, you might be served each of these foods and more! You've mentioned several things that made my eyebrows raise, and I'm sure you have several more than we would find TRULY unusual.
Dad wants to know if you've eaten any popcorn since you've been in Brasil?
Your cousin writes of unusual things happening in France. This week was about one house that had too many animals. "She already has too many animals in her house. It's a zoo where all the animals roam free. It's terrible. Nobody wants to be stroked by a cat tail in the face in the middle of saying a prayer. Nobody." She cracks me up! No, I wouldn't want to feel a cat tail on my face while my eyes are closed!
Sometime during the week, little by little water usage was restored to homes affected by the chemical leak. Huntington actually had the contaminated river water go by this week, as it headed over to Cincinnati, but it was diluted enough not to shut off the water.
We left off last Monday headed to the doctor to have Sawyer's finger checked by Cooper's hand orthopedist. It was broken, his right hand index finger. He cracked the middle joint growth plate. It was a clean break, so he just needs to splint and/or buddy tape his fingers together for a couple of weeks. And he is allowed to play basketball.
Monday Cooper found out he had made the all county band. Not too many seventh graders qualified. Out of the fifteen chairs for clarinets, he is the 14th! He's in and he's happy! His friend that inspired him to practice during lunch hour plays the saxophone, and is 2nd chair! Very good for a seventh grader!
Monday Hunter found out he was chosen for Fairland's senior salute. If I remember correctly, you chose not to apply for this award, much to the consternation of your mother. He received instructions on getting his picture taken, and an invitation to the unveiling ceremony.
Monday after school the three older boys went to the church to play basketball with three friends six missionaries. I love when they go, as they all come home SO tired! That's a good state to be in when you're a boy ;-)
This week and next Marshall University, in an effort to entice more faculty members to purchase memberships to the rec center, offered free memberships. Dad took everybody swimming Wednesday. They came home SO cold! Arctic weather outside, and cold changing rooms made the little kids almost hypothermic. Porter and Hunter went again Friday evening, and everybody went back Saturday late afternoon. It's turned into a cheap way to get everybody bathed! After having to run our water continuously for days, so it wouldn't freeze, my, water bill is going to be painful. so I'll take any help to reducing water consumption that I can!
Friday I went into Miller's school and read in his class. That's always a good time. I told the kids I brought a book about penguins and a book about polar bears, because they were studying them in their class, and one boy said, "How did you know that?" So I told him. I said, "Your teacher tells us everything. She tells us who picks their nose, who doesn't cough in their sleeve, and who forgets their homework. Of course she's going to tell us what books we should bring!" Their mouths were hanging open. Okay, maybe the 'picking your nose' was a little extreme, but so funny! I also met with his speech teacher. I've been concerned about his reading or lack of, as well as his tendency to memorize instead of read. I think Miller is dyslexic, and she agrees, so he'll be tested on Tuesday.
Today is Porter's birthday. His sweet sixteen! We haven't planned any party yet, and haven't even made a cake. I keep asking him what kind, and he won't answer! So we'll have the official celebration tomorrow evening. The kids are all off school because of Martin Luther King holiday, so we'll help him feel extra love some how. Dad had the men sing happy birthday to him in priesthood. That was a nice surprise!
Just in - Looks like the Superbowl will include the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks...
This week your grandparents traveled up to New Hampshire to watch the three Ortons play ball. Serious ball handling skillz up there, good thing we share genes ;-) This is the gang being a bit rowdy!
And for a World War II / Church History moment, I bring you the conversion story of the Uctdorfs. Both Dieter and Harriet Uchtdorf were not members by birth; rather, their families converted after the war. President Uchtdorf’s grandmother was actually the one to encounter Mormonism first, when she met “a wonderful white-haired lady with a kind expression on her face” while standing in line one day, queuing up for supplies. President Uchtdorf continues, "My grandmother was a religious person, and she was always interested in the faith of others. So this wonderful lady invited her to come to church, and she went. She came home and asked my parents to go with her. They all decided that the children should not go, because they didn’t want to bring four children in to disrupt the meeting. But when they got there, they were surprised to see that the church was full of children. So the next Sunday all of us went, and actually from there on out we didn’t miss a meeting. It took a while until we were allowed to be baptized, because we had to prove we were firm in the faith, but eventually everyone in the family was baptized–except me, because I was only six years old." The sister that would lead the Uchtdorfs to Mormonism held the last name of Ewig, which means “eternal” in German!
Harriet Reich Uchtdorf has a slightly different story. She spent the war in the relative safety and comfort of rural Germany, but moved to Frankfurt afterward, where “things were very difficult. Food was very hard to find”. One day, a “blond, smiling soldier” walked up and gave her a piece of chewing gum. She recounts, "I had never seen anything like it. I looked at my mother, and she said it was okay to take it. So I had this little piece of chewing gum, and it was wonderful! I just chewed it and chewed it. After a while I said, “You know what, Mom? It’s still there!” I had never had chewing gum in my whole life before, so I didn’t even know what it was. My mother explained it. I kept this piece of gum for weeks. After chewing it for a while, I always put it back in its nice silver paper and kept it like a treasure. Every so often I would take it out and chew on it a little, but I saved it for a long time." Harriet Uchtdorf talks about knowing that these soldiers meant well, even though they had technically been enemies only a short while before. Years later, two missionaries come to the door, “smiling like that soldier.” Harriet had “such a positive feeling when [she] saw them, as if [she] was connecting them with the chewing gum that the very kind and nice American soldier gave to [her]”. Her father had passed away almost a year before that, and although her mother hadn’t wanted to the missionaries to come in, reading the Book of Mormon brought joy and light back into her life, and the Reich family was baptized four weeks later. These are great stories. Love the fact that the little things people did, like have a kind face, and a smile, because the gospel is suppose to make us happy, made all the difference.
As I read my seminary lessons each day I'm not thinking, "What would help Tanner?" But once each week, only once, on one of the days between Sunday and Thursday, while reading in the scriptures, I'll receive an impression that this is the thought you need this week. So this week's impression happened while I was reading Alma 13. In the words of Elder McConkie, "Some of our best information about the Melchizedek Priesthood."
"And those priests were ordained after the order of his Son, in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption." Meaning, that Melchizedek priesthood holders - through their ordination, their example, their teachings, the ordinances they preside over - everything they do - points towards Christ.
"And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works...called with a holy calling...to teach his commandments unto the children of men, that they also might enter into his rest." What a privilege to be one of the few with this power and trust and responsibility.
"And now, my brethren, I wish from the inmost part of my heart, yea, with great anxiety even unto pain, that ye would hearken unto my words, and cast off your sins, and not procrastinate the day of your repentance." Because you too have experienced this great anxiety and pain makes me love you even more for the love you have for the Brasilian people.
Have a wonderful week! We love you dearly!
Mom and Dad
Harriet Reich Uchtdorf has a slightly different story. She spent the war in the relative safety and comfort of rural Germany, but moved to Frankfurt afterward, where “things were very difficult. Food was very hard to find”. One day, a “blond, smiling soldier” walked up and gave her a piece of chewing gum. She recounts, "I had never seen anything like it. I looked at my mother, and she said it was okay to take it. So I had this little piece of chewing gum, and it was wonderful! I just chewed it and chewed it. After a while I said, “You know what, Mom? It’s still there!” I had never had chewing gum in my whole life before, so I didn’t even know what it was. My mother explained it. I kept this piece of gum for weeks. After chewing it for a while, I always put it back in its nice silver paper and kept it like a treasure. Every so often I would take it out and chew on it a little, but I saved it for a long time." Harriet Uchtdorf talks about knowing that these soldiers meant well, even though they had technically been enemies only a short while before. Years later, two missionaries come to the door, “smiling like that soldier.” Harriet had “such a positive feeling when [she] saw them, as if [she] was connecting them with the chewing gum that the very kind and nice American soldier gave to [her]”. Her father had passed away almost a year before that, and although her mother hadn’t wanted to the missionaries to come in, reading the Book of Mormon brought joy and light back into her life, and the Reich family was baptized four weeks later. These are great stories. Love the fact that the little things people did, like have a kind face, and a smile, because the gospel is suppose to make us happy, made all the difference.
As I read my seminary lessons each day I'm not thinking, "What would help Tanner?" But once each week, only once, on one of the days between Sunday and Thursday, while reading in the scriptures, I'll receive an impression that this is the thought you need this week. So this week's impression happened while I was reading Alma 13. In the words of Elder McConkie, "Some of our best information about the Melchizedek Priesthood."
"And those priests were ordained after the order of his Son, in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption." Meaning, that Melchizedek priesthood holders - through their ordination, their example, their teachings, the ordinances they preside over - everything they do - points towards Christ.
"And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works...called with a holy calling...to teach his commandments unto the children of men, that they also might enter into his rest." What a privilege to be one of the few with this power and trust and responsibility.
"And now, my brethren, I wish from the inmost part of my heart, yea, with great anxiety even unto pain, that ye would hearken unto my words, and cast off your sins, and not procrastinate the day of your repentance." Because you too have experienced this great anxiety and pain makes me love you even more for the love you have for the Brasilian people.
Have a wonderful week! We love you dearly!
Mom and Dad
4 comments:
You had plenty of news to share this week! I think part of my problem in finding topics is there are only two of us here holding down the fort. At least Rob is having a few new adventures in Utah to share.
Congrats to Hunter--what is a "senior salute?" Sounds impressive!
Happy Birthday Porter! Sounds like a lot is going on in the Schenewark household.
Great newsy letter. Thanks for sharing. I wondered whether or not you would be affected by the contaminated water--sorry that you were. Hope all is well now.
Speaking of BYU: are Tanner & Hunter flying out or driving? And if driving, when would you be arriving in Fort Collins?
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