Drummer Girl!

Creations with Character!

Back by popular demand...Cooper's sock creations:

An eight banded armadillo (one band shy)...

And a proboscis monkey!

Cooper likes creations with character!

Letter #59

Dear Family,

I express my deepest love for you. I know that I am who I am because you are who you are ; )

I will try to talk a little about myself this week, but let me tell you, having spent the first year of my mission developing humility as the best junior companion of all time it;s going to be tough. Bear with me ;)

Well, on preparation day we took off for the center of the city to get a big box of copies of the Book of Mormon, our weapon of choice, and lugged it back to home with some letters and stomachs that we choose to fill with Subway sandwiches. Call it a bachelor's day, no cooking, only joy. That and we don't have any more gas to power our stove, and have choose not to buy more because we are eternally hoping to move. Keep on hoping. Doesn't look like it will happen soon.

We worked our tails off Tuesday to Thursday, perhaps some of the absolute hardest work I've done in the mission. Sun up to sun down, talking to literally every person in the street and contacting hundreds of references and teaching lots of lessons.

Thursday we began to run behind the people that were going to be baptized during the week. We had I think eight splits with other missionaries helping them to help their investigators. Saturday I spent almost the entire day doing interviews or traveling to those interviews.

Had a division with E. Luchman, extremely fun, he has a gift to get people excited and I was very thankful for that.

Much of last week and moving on to this week was focused on the work between members and missionaries. A letter I wrote to the President of the mission last week with numbers I had done for my time here precipitated a series of events leading up to the meeting marked with the stake president, bishop, mission president and myself for tomorrow night. Simply put, the wave is coming. I have done this in such a way that it has created a strong bond between myself and the bishop. President Genaro and I have identified this as an excellent moment to create joy in members helping the missionaries. Before they get really flattened by the wave that will be arriving soon. The Tsunami. We're just the messengers of what's coming.

Biggest thing: have effective leadership and meetings. Make practical use of your time, looking at specific inactives and people. We are a church of individuals and that is the way that it should be. People come into the church one by one, and if they are not cared for they leave the same way. Who in your ward was baptized in the last two years that is not with you today? It would be good to go get them and bring them back. As well, we share the gospel on an individual basis, one by one. Or one family by family. I invite you to study the site of the church about hastening the work and look at what responsibilities will make your efforts in the work more effective. That is the watch word of our day, effective accelerated large scale work on an individual basis. It's so exciting!!! I spare details for this episode because I think it wise, but needless to say, after one year of preaching this to the members and to the missionaries I feel the Lord has truly set in action a series of events that have allowed this issue to come to the front of all others, and for good reason. It's what is on his Mind. Look at General Conference, etc. Missionary work is the encompassing work of our day.

Well, I'd love to share things with you all day but I'm afraid I can't. I love you so much. I hope you will continue to be the shining examples to all in that area.

Three ways to help the missionaries this week:

1. Teach a lesson with them and bear your testimony of how the gospel has blessed your family.

2. Invite someone to be taught in your home the next week.

3. Invite someone to come with you to church and present them to the missionaries.

Alright that´s my challenge. Who will you baptize this month?

Love,

Tanner

With All Our Love

Dear Tanner,

Your letter last week was much better, thank you! But we still need more ;-) We were told the missionaries here got two hours for email! Is there anyway you can ask about the discrepancy in time allotted? Wow. That is a huge difference! We got the letters you wrote to Hunter and I...thank you very much! Hunter loves being called your wingman. He was worried a little while back that you hadn't written for a while, but now all is well. What a week. I know I say that every week, but truly this was the week of all weeks. Including today! When we hear of the work hastening let's just say it was in triple time over here. You wrote a lot about missionary work :-) Let me share with you just a few ways we've been trying to make you proud. But first, let's start with the news from the world over.

Elder Cummings was explaining the zones of Londrina to his parents, and said he was in the south, called Zone Londrina and the north zone is where you are, in Zone Tiradentes. He wrote that, "I did get to see Elder S. this week when we both had to go to the national police station (FBI) to get our overdue visas renewed, or else we would have been deported!! That was “fun” to sit in a government building all morning doing paperwork." It's nice he wrote about this, otherwise that little tidbit would have been overlooked. I hope he's in one of those pictures you promised to send this week.

We got a sweet letter from Elder Bennett. He said, "I had a blast serving with your son. He's an awesome young man, very dedicated in his decision to serve God. One of the best." I know he's in your zone, so I'm also hoping he made the picture cut this week as well.

Your cousin Greg is on fire. This is the portion of his letter I liked the best: He had an investigator at church, and after priesthood (the lesson was on priesthood blessings) "he pulled me aside and asked me, "Elder Hutchins, Do all of these men have the priesthood?" "Yes they do." He then asked me, "Then why is it that the teacher had to beg for volunteers to answer his questions, you would think that someone with that power would be jumping out of their seat at a chance to talk about it and share it with others."  Reminds me that I have the gospel and need to share it!

And another laugh from Naomi: "The contacting numbers for our whole zone have doubled since I've been here. Honestly, you can't selectively contact! You don't know who's ready! Fun French Fact: Sometimes people laugh while they inhale. It's small, but weird the first few times you hear it. Not everyone does it. Mostly women. But there you have it!"

In Sweden, reminiscent of the Jamaican bobsled team in the 1980s, there are two dozen young Somali hoping to master the game of Bandy, a form of larger-scale ice hockey played outdoors on a large surface with more players skating at furiously high speeds and a ball instead of a puck.

In the news regarding Brazil, the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. surveillance sours U.S.Brazil relations. Ms. Rousseff has halted her preparations for a long anticipated state visit to the U.S. in October, and is demanding a public apology over a news report that the U.S. spied on her and her aides.

Closer to home, in case you're falling behind in your tech news, Samsung unveiled a smart watch, a new front in the battle over wearable devices. 

More sobering is the study that found parents who yell at teenage children can cause some of the same problems as hitting them would.

One of the more interesting tidbits from the world of news this week was about two Amish competitor newspapers in Sugar Creek, Ohio, the city where we visited while playing summer league baseball. Because their population doubles every twenty years, and don't have access to television or radio, the newspaper business is thriving. The correspondents write weekly letters, and receive a free subscription for their efforts. There are no photographs, only drawings. Editing is minimal, such as letters that are too long, but for safety reasons references to elderly women living alone are removed, as well as correspondents who write about killing more than one cow, to avoid protests from animal rights groups. One such correspondent wrote, "The corn stands five feet tall, the temperatures are in the 90s and Johnny Byler got hooked on his head while fishing with a friend." They also write about who went to church, how eleven chickens went missing, who received dentures, and how washing 400 pounds of beets in the wringer washer worked very well. One lady wrote about her cousin sticking something up her nose, and a while later her mother noticed a sprout growing out her nostril, pulled on it, and out came a corn kernel. 

Now that's the stuff I want to hear about! I love that you're immersed so fully in missionary work! I just want to hear about you some more. Your companion, your associates, your partners in crime. Cockroaches coming out of the shower drain was epic. Glowing in the hallway spectacular! Greg has been out three weeks, and his parents don't even know his companion's name or anything about him. But they do know he has a wonderful testimony! Missionaries. Such a blessing in our lives, aren't they?

News of a more local nature, your cousin Moriah arrived home from a service mission to Honduras. Don't have any details, only that it was a wonderful experience, and she let me share her picture with you!

Your cousin Abbey made varsity soccer as a freshmen, as well as Stevie. In fact, in the paper, it said, "Orton, who paced the attack with two goals, got things started at the three minute mark with an assist...Orton added her second of the game in the 68th minute..." I don't have pictures of them, but I do have one of little Meg! She's also playing soccer at her high school. Your female cousins are all very athletic!

You forwarded me the link to the new church introductory videos...did you see Aunt Jenny and Mason in several?

Today your two aunts, Becky and Jenny, walked in a walk-a-thon (26.2 miles) in honor of Grampy, to raise money for the 25th Annual Jimmy Fund, a fitting tribute on their 52nd wedding anniversary!

Speaking of your grandparents, your grandfather has been on an emotional roller coaster, I'm sure. He's caught between his spleen being too large, which is eating up his blood product, and his blood numbers all too low to receive chemotherapy. He's currently in Colorado visiting Zach and family, of which I'm sure you'll receive a report. But, there are some wheels turning that can only be considered a tender mercy. Uncle Rich's drug, one that has a high cure rate for non-smoking lung cancer, has been reproduced in a cousin format to help Grampy's kind of cancer. It's an inhibitor drug that I think targets molecular mechanisms that enable tumors to evade detection by immune system. Something like that. Also, Uncle Rich also has a new drug that specifically targets large spleens. He's going to be working with Grampy's doctor and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to see if Grampy can qualify for this yet to be approved, and still in trial medicine. Something like that. And we didn't even ask Grampy if we could.

All I know is that it all began in the bone marrow, and is still in the bone marrow, and I thought of this thought by Elder Holland. He shared his feelings about the deep-rooted faith of pioneers who pushed toward the Salt Lake Valley even after the deaths of their children. He said, “They didn’t do that for a program, they didn’t do it for a social activity, they did it because the faith of the gospel of Jesus Christ was in their soul, it was in the marrow of their bones.” He expressed, with tender emotion: “That’s the only way those mothers could bury [their babies] in a breadbox and move on, saying, ‘The promised land is out there somewhere. We’re going to make it to the valley.’ “They could say that because of covenants and doctrine and faith and revelation and spirit.” He concluded with these thought-provoking words: “If we can keep that in our families and in the Church, maybe a lot of other things start to take care of themselves. Maybe a lot of other less-needed things sort of fall out of the wagon. I’m told those handcarts could only hold so much. Just as our ancestors had to choose what they took, maybe the 21st century will drive us to decide, ‘What can we put on this handcart?’ It’s the substance of our soul; it’s the stuff right down in the marrow of our bones.”

I do know what's in your grandfather's marrow: It's the good stuff. It's the stuff that made up me and therefore you. It's the reason you're on a mission, and the reason you have the grandmother that you do. It's the reason the Boston stake is now two, and the 100th temple was built. It's a lot of stuff, down there in his marrow, cancer or not, and it's all the kind of stuff I'd want in my wagon.

Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, "Having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and keeping His commandments are and always will be the defining test of mortality..."Our doctrine is clear; we are to be positive and of good cheer. We emphasize our faith, not our fears. We rejoice in the Lord's assurance that He will stand by us and give us guidance and direction." Amen!

Hunter was in the Ironton Tribune. There was a nice line about him, "Fairland Golf team picks up 2 wins tonight vs River Valley and Point Pleasant. 25 stroke victory led by Hunter Schenewark's solid round of 40." He tied for overall first place.

Update on the guinea pig's name. Cooper has chosen Bugler Spud Dinner Schenewark. Welcome to the family!

Porter wrote a poem that was published in the on-line Fairland High School Newspaper, Dragon's Breath. It's called "Dreams."

When the sun goes away
The stars start to shine
And the moon comes out to play

The sky darkens as if to say
The day is done, night is here
When the sun goes away

The ocean's calm, waves cease in the bay
The stars twinkle melodious tunes
And the moon comes out to play

The animals fall asleep, their heads in the hay
A calm comes at the world
When the sun goes away

No birds sing, neither sparrow nor jay
From out of the caves, bats fill the air
And the moon comes out to play

Now gone is the night and here is the day
Until all is quiet tonight
When the sun goes away

And the moon comes out to play...

A few weeks ago Porter's friends realized that they would soon have a Monday holiday (Labor Day), and wanted to know if they got to come over for breakfast again. Last year, in January, we had a surprise birthday party for him, on the Monday holiday of Martin Luther King's Day, and they wanted to do it again. I freely admit I was less than enthusiastic, as I was looking forward to sleeping in. Seminary makes you want to have a little time in bed, remember? But Porter planned the morning, and I got up. This past Monday. Because there is one girl who is gluten free, we had an omelet bar, where they ordered the ingredients (green peppers, ham, bacon, onion, cheese), and a dad, resident chef from Marshall University, would make their omelets.

We also had parfaits with granola, fruit and yogurt, cinnamon rolls, blueberry coffee cake, etc. The works. There were about twelve kids that came, plus our kids, and two parents, it was a full table. They had a great time! I had purposely signed up to feed the missionaries, and put the time down as 9:30 a.m., so they arrived a little after the rest of the kids. When the missionaries arrived I told the kids that they knew you and that you played were serving in Brazil on a church mission for two years, and these were the missionaries assigned to serve in Proctorville, and that out of 75,000 missionaries all over the world, they now knew three. The kids loved the missionaries. Why I was surprised I don't know. I'd love a bunch of Tanners in my house any day :-) They had rubix cube twist-offs, lots of good food, a few magic tricks, and many cross country stories to share. 

Saturday Dad made his annual trip to Cincinnati to see the game against the Dodgers, with Bro. Koth. Second year in a row your father's team lost, but it's always a great game! Cooper, Sawyer and Miller made the all day trek, and I'm sure you'll be looking forward to those pictures next week!

This Saturday was also Fairland's yearly Run by the River. For whatever reason, the number of runners/schools that signed up to run almost doubled. There were over 600 runners! There were so many cars! But with a little planning the event went really well. And we made a ton of money on parking! And, in my own small way, with my cinnamon rolls, contributed to the athletic program. Not! We're taking major contribution with 50 of those luscious rolls, at $1.50 a bite. And a tray of chocolate mint brownies to  boot. That would be close to $100 for those of you who are counting ;-) And no leftovers within an hour. I hope they don't up the number they need for next year! That was a lot of baking!

I think that's about it! I hope you could keep up. Life goes by at a fast pace! We love you. We pray for you. We'd want you in our wagon.

Love,

Mom and Dad

Portraits of a Petite "Princess" :-)

"I'm All Arms!"

 

  

Just yet another use for old baseball socks...

a cute, cuddly squid.

Very creative, Cooper!

(Just what I would want on my pillow!)

And it's stuffed with newspaper!

The Princess Proclamation!

Rah, rah, rah!

As A Thief in the Night....or, A Tall Drink of Water

Letter #58

Dearest Family,

You should know that today I have a wonderful keyboard, with the exception of the backspace key, it is smooth and, and that has inspired me to today provide if not a more organized story of my week, at least a more colorful narrative. But, how I do miss you, and love you. The more time passes in the mission I am inspired and comforted not by numbers of what my hand with the Lord's has brought to pass, but rather what He has guided me to become. Every day, especially hard ones, I consider the blessings of becoming greater than all others.

We worked especially hard this week, and certainly had far more challenges. We have tried so lovingly to help members catch the vision. I don't know that it has reached any of them but that it has perhaps touched the bishop as he will teach a lesson with us tonight.

We held an activity Saturday, that was supposed to be a night of integration between the members and the investigators. None of the members went, and I think rather than being negative it's illustrative in showing our challenges. We had 40+ investigators, and 3 members, two cleaning the chapel. We had complete families show up at the activity, planned on a fast Sunday weekend, to show a movie. That seems planting to me, for the least, possible harvest of integration. Our efforts here are continually whittled down to faith only, by the consistent inability to think outside the proverbial box. Be creative!! And most important be happy : )

One unexpected bright spot was the help of one sister recently called as ward missionary who took it upon herself to fellowship the mother of one family we brought to church. She invited them to sit with her, she helped care for the newborn child the mother was attentively worrying over, and she took the initiative to guide this first time visitor throughout the church services. How I loved that sister! What simple things I had prayed for and fasted for, and she was the living answer to my prayer. I am thankful for small but consistent demonstrations that feed my faith's flame and show me that yes, the gospel is real and that what at times feels like abstract theories not put to practice are really basic principles that do work. I had the opportunity to give a training to the elders quorum and lead them in a more practical discussion of how they could both share the gospel, fulfill priesthood responsibilities and help their ward grow.

Well, in all this, I have pondered deeply these things and many others. This pondering has led me to know, even to exclaim, "I know my Redeemer Lives!" I know that, as Pres. Monson said, the Lord is in the details of our lives. He hears and answers prayers. He metes needed strength to His children. He cares and calls each one of us to come unto Him once again. To be a part of His great Eternal Family!

I read in Alma 5 this week, and was struck once again by Alma's declaration to the members of the church in Zarahemla, which declaration is now my own: "And this is not all. Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety?

Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me.

I love you all, and I love this gospel. I love receiving your letters and feel your prayers. Let us go forth! and run the errands of the Lord: )

Love,

Tanner

p.s.- Sorry no pictures today ; ) more the week to come for sure!

With All Our Love

 Dear Tanner,

Another week in the book! I hope you were able to work as hard as last week. We thoroughly enjoyed hearing how hard you worked, and hope to hear more such examples. Your father was conducting in church today and shared your bringing twenty some people to church last week. He said at first he was a little bit put off that people weren't motivated themselves to come, but then said he realized that they were kind of like a chugging, struggling engine. A little tender care by the master mechanic and his mechanics will help make the engine run as it should. Sometimes we all need a little help. It was a great meeting, and the work here is hastening as well! In relation to last week's letter, Uncle Zach left you a sweet thought: "So inspiring! bringing twenty to church is UNBELIEVABLE. GO Tanner!"

In news around the world? I mailed a package to you this week, Wednesday I believe. It should take just over a week, since it's trackable, ,so be on the lookout! There is deoderant, of course. Do you need anything else to be included in your birthday box?

FYI RJ from the Marlboro ward received his call this week and will be serving in Hong Kong speaking Mandarin. His family is SO excited!

Elder Cummings wrote about how his area is the southernmost tip of Londrina, and that half of the area is closed, which means that he cannot work there because missionaries were already robbed, had guns put in their faces, or just recently their backpacks were stabbed!! Be careful!

Elder Bennett wrote home about how you're now in his zone, and that you're a district leader. He also said that the name of your zone is Tiradentes but you are doing an inner mission competition of zones versus zones and your zone name in the competition is "The Dirty Dogz." Hmmmm.

Elder Peterson's mother shared a portion of his email with me on Facebook this week. She said he loved your activity. Here is his description of the picture he sent her from your district meeting. "The district leaders in our zone decided to plan something together to have more union in our zone. They had a bunch of activities planned and some spiritual messages that were great. It was one of the best I've seen, it was great. Elder Z and I totally dominated in the little course we had to run blindfolded. One of us was blindfolded, me, and the other had to guide the other through the course as fast as you could. I think after five transfers together we should be pretty united, although he did make me nail my face on a table during the course,ha!

Naomi's little thought for the week: "I love Annecy and all the people and I invited the Collignons to visit us in two years chez-moi in Connecticut. So be prepared for that because, as per usual, I was entirely serious. It sounds like this area could use me ridiculosity a tad more. And I'm bringing it in full force."

Greg's thought is a little bigger this week, but I just thought it was too good not to share: " One thing that irritated me this week was a less active incomplete family, two of the boys are not baptized and the family is not coming to church. We talked to the mom and she said that she knows that it is essential for her sons to be baptized and she knows that she has to come back to church not just for her, but for her sons as well. The only problem is that they are really poor and she has to work on Sundays. After talking a bit about faith and miracles we told her this: "Hermana we are representatives of the Lord sent here to teach and to testify in His name and when we promise something in His spirit it is just as if He were here promising it Himself. When He promises something it will happen. You just have to do your part. We promise you in the name of Jesus Christ that if you stop working on Sundays that you will never not have enough. You will always have sufficient means for your family." (The word for money is plata and I might have accidental said plato or plate once or twice...) And she told us in effect that she couldn't come to church this week because she had to work, and that she wasn't going to commit to anything in the future or in other words, no. I am glad I had this experience. It allowed my faith to grow and allowed me to see for maybe the first time that people are scared and that for a lot of people faith is hard. Now that I think about it looking at the examples in my life, my mom, dad, teachers, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, grandparents, etc. it never seemed hard for them to act on faith as I think about it now though I realize that it had to have been hard, maybe harder than I can comprehend, but the difference is that they all, you all acted where as this sister has yet to do so. Life is hard and difficult and in all honesty no worth it if we don't act with faith, sure it tests us but THAT IS HOW WE GROW, when we are tested. Think about how a muscle grows. You use it, you work it, you test it until it burns and feels like it is going to fall off. And for a few days it is sore, but then what happens? A miracle takes place in that muscle that was worked and pulled and stretched, that same muscle that hurt for days, stops hurting and indeed it is strengthened. I am pleading with you now to allow your faith to be tested, until it burns and until it wants to fall off because only through this process can we truly unlock our potential, only then can we find out who we were before this life, who we need to be here and now, and most importantly what we can become." Such a great little missionary!

In news around the home? This was the week of appointments. I think we got all seven of us in for eye check ups...Miller was told he would be back within the year for glasses. I'm so sad none of you boys got my eyes. Hopefully Breyer! I still have 15/20 - pilot eyes. The doctor was very impressed. I went to the dentist for my two cavities to be filled. Don't want to talk about it. I'll have to go back as the three pain injections didn't work on the bottom jaw, just the top. We'll finish next week with a couple of ortho, physicals, dermatology, and we'll all be set. Are you ready? I actually have a few appointments for you already! I remembered your license. I have to wait until mid September until I'm allowed to call.

Porter took some kind of class that includes helping on the yearbook staff, and was conveniently assigned to take pictures for golf, cross country, track, etc. So he traveled with Hunter to Esquire, and took pictures of the Fairland team. You'll see those pictures today. He did a great job! It's nice to get a quality photo every now and then, and he got to get on the green, only after showing his press pass, which is nice. Hunter did a great job as well, earning first place for his team, and probably fourth overall. We're still waiting to hear. He said except for one hole, he felt like a professional. He came home and called Grampy to share the good news.

 Speaking of Grampy, not so good news. His spleen has become enlarged again, and is eating up his blood (platelets, etc.). They want to radiate the spleen which in turn will allow his blood numbers to come back up, and in turn allow him to resume chemotherapy. But his numbers are so low he can't receive radiation. In the words of his much beloved doctor, "He's a complicated patient!" He and your grandmother are actually scheduled to fly to Fort Collins for their anniversary treat, and see Uncle Zach and family, this week, and his doctor has been on vacation in India, so the complications will wait.

Miller came off the bus one day this week and said, "Mom, I need a baggie!" I asked him why, and he said he needed to save a hair he found of someone he likes. Oh boy. Oh Miller. We had just a litlte chat about being friends, and somehow I convinced him we didn't need to save her hair. Too cute, and way too funny!

Sawyer is doing well in school, and when we had sharing time one night as we were gathered for family prayer, he showed us all his paperwork with 98's and 100's all over them. Porter shared how well he's doing in his AP statistics class. He loves it. Hunter is taking this class as well, and I don't have the heart to tell him his 82% is just a little below Porter's 95%. Do you think he'll let Porter help him? Uh no.

Hunter spent yesterday setting up a course after the boys' favorite summer show, men trying to be crowned as the first American Ninja Warrior. The show is in its fifth season, and there has yet to be someone that can finish the challenges. Hunter did a good job imitating the multiple stations involving mostly upper body strength, balance, coordination, etc. all in an effort to crown the first Schenewark American Ninja Warrior Champion. After three different rounds, with different competitions, I THINK Sawyer was crowned. Mostly because he stayed outside for hours, practicing in between rounds, helping Miller, and having better times than Miller and Cooper (sick). Porter was in a class all by himself, but missed round two. It was a great activity to keep the boys busy after their schedules, no soccer practices or games, were cleared for Labor Day weekend.

I heard this quote by Ludwig Beethoven and immediately thought of you. I just loved it! "Don't only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets. For it and knowledge can raise men to the divine."

In seminary we were talking about some of the purposes of the Book of Mormon. I'm having them keep a list so as we come across them throughout the year we can add them. The first is in 1 Nephi 1:20 and it states that, "But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance." You have been chosen, and you will be delivered. I think last week you had twenty delivered to the doorsteps. I know you count that as a tender mercy, as your intricate plan went smoothly. Also, in 1 Nephi 6:4 it states that, "For the fulness of mine intent is that I may persuade men to come unto [Christ]." That is your mission. You have the Book of Mormon as your proof, and your commission as your power. Go forth and have a wonderful week. 

We love you dearly!

Mom and Dad