Tom and Debbie's Mission Blog: October 2022

September 16 is the day that our twins, Lamoni and Pollyanna, were born 33 years ago. This past September was their special month for many reasons. This was the month that Pollyanna gave birth to her 4th little girl, Skylar May Thompson on September 20. On September 30 Lamoni got married to Aide Martinez, now Rueckert. We also gained our second great grandchild. On that same September 16th. Ofelia Gordon was born to our oldest grandchild, Sabrina. Soon after September finished, we went to New Braunfels, Texas to participate in the baptism of Addie Ferguson, Gina's oldest child. We finished our family activities off with our annual family Halloween Party. Each of these activities were filled with love that makes us so happy. During this same time we learned to love the book of Isaiah in our Come Follow Me studies. Our hearts are overflowing with love!

With the happy bride and groom.

Our newest daughter-in-law, Aide. Welcome to our family. We love you!

Lamoni's Wedding:

Lamoni and Aide have been dating for more than six years. This has given us many opportunities to get to love this beautiful girl. During the wedding celebration, Lamoni expressed to us, his parents, how much he loves Aide. All of us have felt this love for some time, but it was so beautiful at their wedding celebration. This love seemed to flow from Lamoni and Aide to all that were in attendance. Lamoni informed Debbie that she would be walking him down the isle soon after we arrived, which was a special privilege. A little later in the evening, Aide asked if Lamoni had told Debbie that she would have a special mother-son dance. Not much advance notice, but the kindness and love that Lamoni showed his mother was very touching.

Debbie walking Lamoni down the aisle . . .

To exchange wedding vowels with Aide

During the entire dance, Lamoni expressed his love and appreciation in a way that we had never seen before. His love for Aide has opened his heart to everyone else. What a blessing!

Since this wedding has been planned from the beginning of the year, two of our daughters were able to come to participate, Melanie from Pennsylvania and Gina, from Texas. In total there were six sisters and seven brothers in attendance.

The Bride and Groom with six sisters . . .

and seven brothers

The five children born in 1989 (With Aide). Whenever they are together we must have a photo of just them!

Add brothers and sisters-in-laws and nieces and nephews and it made for quite a wedding group, just from Lamoni's side. Limitations on the number of guests reduced the number of other relatives.

Photo just with nieces and nephews

The entire family group from Lamoni's family

This was a different wedding celebration than we were accustomed to. There was a strong Mexican culture from Aide's family. We knew that this celebration was a formal affair with loud music and continuing into the early morning hours. We weren't sure how well the little children would fit in. We didn't need to worry at all. The music for the first two hours was from a Mariachi Band, which was delightful. The dancing had everyone involved and the children loved it! Some said that it was the most fun they had ever had.

This band was exceptional! I really liked the trumpet players!

One of the traditions was for the bride to dance in the middle of a circle with just about everyone at different times. I'm not sure how Aide managed, but she was the star of the show and everyone loved dancing with her and with each other.

Lamoni and Aide Dancing with complete happiness

Pollyanna in the dance circle with her twin brother and sister in law

Aide with a little boy in the middle of the dance circle

Jared enjoying the dance with his daughters

A little closer together but just as happy

Even the parents of the groom were able to enjoy this special moment together

Lamoni was amazing, making sure that everyone was having a good time. We have seen this coming. Aide has not only made Lamoni happy, but she has helped him to grow to an amazing man!

Socializing with Beckie and Dan and their families

With Melanie, Jacob and Giovanna's family

After we left the wedding celebration, we went to Pollyanna's home where her two sisters from out of town met their new little niece, Skylar May, who had been born just 10 days earlier.

Gina with Skylar

Melanie with Skylar

Pollyanna's new baby, Skylar May:

On September 20, Pollyanna gave birth to her fourth daughter, Skylar May Thompson. We were privileged to stay with her daughters while she and Rick were in the hospital for two days. These are amazing girls to tend. It takes a little bit of work, but it is so rewarding. This included the special opportunity to take them to the hospital to see their little sister for the first time.

These three girls were a delight to care for

All three listening to Oma reading a bedtime story

Just a few hours after school, we got the first picture of their little sister.

This was the first photo of Skylar

Then they got to see their little sister and their parents on Face Time.

First live view of their little sister . . .

Then we took them to the hospital for their first encounter. . .

Haivyn was now a big sister

Aria and Paisley getting their first look at their new little sister

Paisley enjoyed holding Skylar

For Aria, this is her third time around, no problem.

Their first family photo!

Skylar getting bored with Oma

Opa with two of his granddaughters

A new Great Grandchild, Ofelia Sandra Gordon, born to Sabrina:

Four days earlier, on September 16, Lamoni and Pollyanna's birthday, our oldest grandchild, Sabrina Gordon had her first baby, our second great grandchild. She is currently living in Fort Meyers, Florida while her husband is doing his residency to become a doctor. We have not yet seen this beautiful baby, Ofelia, but we have communicated back and forth and are excited to have this new member of our posterity. Sabrina seems to love being a mother. We know that she will be an amazing mother!

Baby Ofelia Sandra Gordon was born Sept 16th at 11:24 pm. 6 pounds 13 ounces

Sabrina and little Ofelia 10 days later

Bridal Shower for Aide:

Just six days before Ofelia was born, on September 10, Debbie, Beckie and Amy threw a bridal shower for Aide at our home. A big thanks to Beckie and Amy who made this happen. Again we were mixing two cultures, but it turned out excellent with siblings, aunts, nieces, a cousin and the two moms. These photos show a lot of happiness. Just a note: Not only are Lamoni and Pollyanna twins, but Aide has a twin sister also, shown here in red.

Participants in the shower still there at the end

Eating lunch together

In the party room

Visit to Texas:

The week after the wedding, on October 7, we left for New Braunfels, Texas to participate in Addie's baptism. Gina and her family just moved there in August and this was our first chance to visit. We flew into San Antonio on Friday and enjoyed a Date Afternoon and Evening in San Antonio. We were able to visit the San Antonio Temple and do initiatory ordinances. We went to an authentic Texas Barbecue at Rudys for dinner. After dinner we went to the River Walk and to visit the Alamo. Parking was a real experience, but in the end we saw a little of each.

In front of the San Antonio Temple

Debbie under this amazing tree just outside the Alamo

In front of the Alamo. We arrived after visiting hours.

By a statue of Davey Crockett

Along the River Walk of San Antonio. A peaceful and beautiful 17 mile walk along the river, underneath the hustle and bustle of San Antonio.

Addie's Baptism:

The next day we arrived at New Braunfels, Texas where Addie was being baptized. We thought it would be a small baptism with just Addie and her family and us. However, the word had gotten out to the ward and there were several others there to share this special day with Addie. She came dressed in a beautiful white dress. The baptism was performed by her father, Danny Ferguson. I spoke on baptism and Debbie spoke on the gift of the Holy Ghost. Prayers were offered by Gina and a Sister missionary. Danny led the music and Debbie played the piano. The witnesses were Gina and myself. Danny's parents attended the meeting by Zoom.

Addie in her special baptism dress

My Talk was directed to Addie in a conversation about baptism. I was pleased to see that her understanding was solid and her responses were accurate. Debbie shared several gifts that were similar to the blessings that come from the Holy Ghost. All in all, it went very well. It certainly was one of those special moments that make grandparents proud.

Danny, leading the music with Rylee looking on

Addie with her father, ready to be baptized

Addie with both of her parents

Addie receiving a blanket to be her "Comforter"

Gina's little twins keep her and Danny fully occupied most of the time. When Addie was baptized, Gina held one and I held the other while we were witnessing the baptism. Right after the baptism, Gina went to help Addie get changed and I thought how will these girls do while both of their parents are gone. I was pleased to see how well they behaved. They, and all of the children, seemed mesmerized by the baptismal font long after Addie and Danny had left. They sat reverently looking on until Addie and Danny returned to resume the meeting.

This photo was taken some time after Addie had left the font. Somehow they must have been interested in watching the water go down the drain. Rylee stayed on Hudson's lap the entire time and Quinn just stood and watched.

Addie with her baptism dress with her proud grandparents

Family photo on this special day

Exploring San Marcos with Gina and Danny and their family:

After the baptism we went to Gina's new house and spent some time with the family while we all changed out of our Sunday clothes. Finally we went to the place that Gina had selected for us to eat authentic Texan cuisine, "Rudys". It was the same restaurant chain that we had selected the night before. That was fine with us, it just proves that the tender beef brisket that we ate two days in a row was authentic. It certainly was delicious.

Lunch at Rudys with our favorite Texan family

After lunch we went on a Glass Bottom Boat ride in Spring Lake in San Marcos. This is part of the campus of Texas State University where Danny is now teaching. This is the number 1 tourist attraction according to the Internet. It describes this as follows:

1. TAKE A GLASS-BOTTOM BOAT TOUR

Spring Lake in San Marcos is known for its clear water, so it just makes sense to put a glass bottom on a boat to explore the vast underwater ecosystem. In 1946, Paul Rogers led the first tour of Spring Lake on a homemade glass-bottom rowboat. Today the folks at The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University run educational tours that allow visitors to explore the river’s depths without getting wet. Chances are you’ll see huge bass, turtles, and the occasional snorkeler before the boat hovers over the exact spot where the aquifer bubbles up to form the lake. You probably won’t see the endangered Texas Blind Salamander (they burrow under the ground), but you can see one inside Discovery Hall. Glass-Bottom Boat Tours are offered daily and run continuously every 30 minutes.

We loved this experience!! The water was amazingly clear, the underwater scenery was clear and cavernous and intriguing. We saw many fish, turtles and scuba divers. I was especially impressed with the fact that this water comes from an aquifer below the lake, providing fresh water for this entire region of Texas. I marvel how Heavenly Father has created this earth, providing for so many temporal blessings that most of us don't even begin to comprehend. Being with our special Texan family made this even more enjoyable.

The Glass Bottom boat that we went on was number 1953, which is the year that Debbie and I were born. This was a fun coincidence.

Inside, the glass bottom of the boat captured all of our attention. On my left was Debbie and the three oldest grandchildren . . .

On my right were two dedicated parents with cute twin girls

Down below was a fascinating world scene through crystal clear water

We were instructed by a tour guide who enlightened our understanding

Zooming in lets us see even more fish, that must be pretty large that far down in the water

Even though we were fascinated with the underwater world, we also saw many sights above the water, especially many turtles.

After leaving the boat, we went for a walk on a walkway around part of the lake. This revealed more ecological secrets and was a relaxing and enjoyable time with our grandchildren.

A happy family . . .

More Turtles . . .

some beautiful blossoms . . .

and magical moments!

Annual Family Halloween Party:

A week after Addie's baptism on October 15, we celebrated our annual family Halloween Party. Beckie did the heavy lifting for this party, but all supported it very well, except Gina, who was in Texas. This has always been Gina's favorite family activity and we miss her family and their incredible family themed costumes. We once again had our multiple varieties of chili for dinner, plenty of fun games (thanks to Beckie's efforts), wonderful costumes and trick or treating at every door that we could find in the clubhouse. Unfortunately the schedule did not permit all to be there, but plenty were able to attend. The following are some of the family costume photos:

We are so glad that Moroni took time off of work to bring Tiare

Dad and Sam in separate but clearly baseball champions, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the USA World Classic uniforms

Beckie and her three kids who were a great help in all of the games

Dan and Amy's kids were "Ghostbusters"

Jamie's kids in unique and assorted costumes

Giovanna, Leo and Sophia were from Monsters, Inc.

Jared and Melanie and their girls as the family from Dispicable Me

Our oldest great grandchild as Scooby Doo with her uncle Nick

Pollyanna and Rick as Ghosts with their adorable Halloween children

The food and games were amazing. The association with each other is even better. We are grateful for a family that gets along, even though we are all different.

Plenty of delicious food

Grandchildren playing games

Flipping Cups

Catching Candy

Segregating Skittles by color

Transporting Candy Corn by straw

and just enjoying each other's company

These were also first encounters with Skylar. This was her first family activity. Everyone waited their turn to hold her.

Skylar with Aunt Giovanna . . .

and Cousin Braden

Still Serving our Mission:

It may not seem like it, but in the middle of all of these family activities we are still serving our mission with the Temple Department. We received a specialized assignment to coordinate all interviews with priesthood leaders in the new temple districts. We probably got this assignment since we are the only ones of the missionaries that can speak Portuguese. For whatever reason, we are thrilled with this assignment. In this past six weeks we have had conversations with priesthood leaders in Salvador Brazil, Lima Peru, Moses Lake Washington, Bentonville Arkansas and McAllen Texas with many others scheduled for the coming weeks. We are learning how to make these interviews most productive to gather information that will assist in the preparations for new temples in each location.

Our home base to participate in Temple Department meetings and to conduct interviews with Stake leaders around the world

One fun example. On the Wednesday before traveling to San Antonio Texas, we had a wonderful meeting with several leaders from the McAllen Texas Stake. They shared wonderful witnesses of prayers answered for many of the members in their stake who had no access to the temple in San Antonio or in Mexico, on the other side of the border. We were touched by their expressions of gratitude on behalf of these members in their stake. Two days later, we attended the San Antonio Temple and I was able to meet one of these leaders face to face since he is an ordinance worker in that Temple. This was a tender mercy which only adds to the happiness that we are feeling in this assignment.

At the end of August a Worldwide Temple Leadership Seminar was held for all new Temple Presidents and Matrons throughout the world. They all learned in their own temples from prerecorded messages from the First Presidency, members of the Quorum of the Twelve and other Seventy and Officers of the Church. We were privileged to be invited to participate in this Seminar with the employees of the Temple Department for an entire day. We later were able to attend other recorded portions of this seminar in the Temple Department on three different Wednesday afternoons. This is helpful for us to understand what is being shared with Temple Leaders around the world. Personally, we also have had our understanding of the temple and its operations expanded significantly We pray that our service is helpful, we know that we are being blessed as we learn much more than we contribute.

A summary of the 18 new temples that were just announced by President Russell M. Nelson. These are added to the responsibilities of those who serve in the Temple Department.

We were also able to do another session of baptisms for the dead while Debbie participated in another bridal shower for Aide. Sometimes we have to divide and conquer, but with the help of our Heavenly Father, that which is important gets accomplished.

At the Jordan River Temple on September 17

Learning to Love Isaiah:

We spent five of these weeks studying the words of Isaiah in our Come Follow Me. Through some amazing blessings, the Lord helped us to understand these prophetic utterances in ways that we have never understood before. These weeks included the weeks of weddings, baptisms, births of grandchildren and great grandchildren. Our time was more limited, but we learned that if we did everything within our abilities and time constraints, our prayers can be and were answered. We will share a little more about this in our next blog. We testify that the words of Isaiah are inspired and we do love them!

One of the resources that we used to better understand these inspired words

Other Activities:

During this past seven weeks, we have had many more activities, both with the family and friends. While Melanie was here for the wedding, we were able to visit Camila together. Melanie had not been able to see her since she had been admitted to the care center seven years ago. While Camila continues to digress in her abilities, we know that her life is in the hand of our Heavenly Father.

Melanie helped Camila watch Winnie the Pooh through YouTube on her Smart TV.

We enjoyed our annual Cornerstone Condominiums activity in September which was a talent show. This is a photo of three talented women who played a six handed rendition of "Stars and Stripes Forever", one of the many talents that were shared.

We were privileged to participate in the Fall Social of the Temple Department the night before Lamoni's wedding.

We had our first missionary reunion of the Europe Area in three years. We love association with these couples who became our dear friends. With Covid in the past, we hope to reunite with these choice individuals on an annual basis.

A night at the home of Giovanna. I think we are finally strengthening our relationship with Sophia.

We were able to attend Abbie's softball game

and Joshua's choir concert

He was totally awesome, singing the songs of the 80's

Birthdays:

Once again we were able to attend many of our grandchildren's birthdays. At least once a year we desire to let each of them know how special they are to us: