8/26/18 - Family Letter to Emma

hi  Emma

how goes it

school is FUN!!! Am making a lot of new Friends.

sorry you keep getting sick. try drinking Coke. I heard It will help.

anyway thank you for serving a mission

i can feel the blessings

lot's of love

                     Mari

Yo-yo Emma

We destroyed copper hills in our game. 40-0.

During the high school game, Hailey came and sat next to me

while i was with Logan and Mason. My "Friends" left me and her alone,

so we just followed them, and then she's avoided me since.

I'm confused.

I love you.

Hyrum

Sweet Emma,  

I'm sorry you've been sick.  Melissa told me to tell you to drink Coke.  She said that Coke kills all the bad stuff in your system.  She drank Coke her whole mission and never got too sick.  We also sent you a "Lifestraw" water bottle.  I hope that helps!  Have you received your package yet?  We sure had fun putting it together!  Do you need anything else?  Thanks for the info about reporting the value of the package.  One of the missionary moms websites says that the Brazilian government is holding ALL packages, regardless of value now.  Next time we send a package I will try one of the courier services that Christie uses.  At least we know it will reach you.  Let us know what you would like us to send in the next one!

Today, just before Sacrament meeting, Eve received a picture of you and some of her friends in Brazil.  You look great! Dad and I think it is incredible to receive a real-time picture of you from friends that Eve has made using google translate.  Her Brazilian friends are introducing her to more Brazilian friends (including guys) and Eve is introducing them to her friends (including guys).  I guess her group chat is up to 20+ people...all speaking through translation apps.  Some things don't quite translate and so it's funny!  It is awesome!!!! 

"Shopping" sounds fun!  Sorry you didn't find anythings...maybe next time!

News from home:  We got our Grand Piano!!!!  Meet Benson!  He's polished ebony and sounds beautiful.  We've had people come over to visit just to try him out. (Luke Chandler didn't want to leave!)  It's almost like we have a new baby in the family! 

We celebrated Grandmother Mildred's 97 birthday this week.  She is still as awesome as ever!  She is so proud of you!  Yesterday we bottled peaches.  Tomorrow, lots of family is coming over to pick Nectarines and Pears.  Plums will be ready soon!  We will dry some plums and try to send them to you!  We are so blessed!

This week I was overcome with feelings of gratitude for all of our blessings.  We are so blessed physically (health and happiness), spiritually (answers to prayers as we study the scriptures), economically (we have a Grand Piano and Tons of Fruit!) and socially (we have the best friends and family!)  I really feel that all these blessings are coming because you are serving a mission!  Thank you for giving your time to the Lord.  Please take care of yourself!  I know you are a wonderful missionary.  Please know that so many people love you and are praying for you!  Heavenly Father also loves you and knows exactly where you are and what you are doing! 

I LOVE hearing about your mission experiences!  I'm so glad you get to sing, play uke, play piano...and use your amazing personality to serve the people of Sao Paulo! I've been praying for your new friend, Karen. I can't wait to hear all about the visit from Elder Soares and Elder Ballard.  What a spiritual feast!

Did you get the email I sent about Great Grandma Mary Ann Hoopes meeting Lafayette?  So cool! 

The Jordan River Temple Youth Celebration link is posted!  I will send it just in case you ever get the chance to watch it!  Eve is on the recording as the cellist.  They recorded her and then layered it many times to make it sound like many cellos.  They also recorded the big group. 

One of the missionaries (Elder Peterson from Prescott, AZ) spoke in Sacrament meeting today.  He invited us to think about using the Book of Mormon like we used our phones:  We would turn to it when we are bored.  We would use it to seek directions.  We would share our favorite quotes with our friends, we would use it to seek approval (from the Lord).....the list goes on and on.  I have been trying to do a renewed intensive study of the Book of Mormon.  I am am AMAZED at all of the knowledge and power found therein.  I even invited my book club ladies to intensely study the Book of Mormon with pen/notebook in hand, as if they were researching to prepare a talk.  (It was my turn to choose a book for September).  We will meet next week to discuss our experiences! 

We are so blessed with the Gospel to help lead us back to Heavenly Father. 

I love you sweet girl!

💜 Mom

M,

I'm excited to hear that you get Apostles coming to your mission.  That was announced here also.  The announcement was Elder Soares and another Apostle.  I didn't get an Apostle while I was serving.  I'm very excited for you.  Be prepared for this once in a lifetime event.  Start praying now that you will be ready to receive.  Sorry to have you pay for the package.  We will be more careful sending packages in the future.  Your Mom is researching some options.  Your Mom said she is sending you a link to the JRT Ready celebration.  Let us know if it works.  If not we will try something else.

Mom and the kids bought their piano.  It is big and black and in the front room.  We still need to furnish the rest of the room.  This piano is much louder than the other one.  Your mom asked Eve if she knew of anyone who needed a piano.  She called the Cooks and they have been looking for a piano but could not buy a new one.  They came by and took it away.  They had a few miracles that allowed them to get the piano and start lessons.  It felt like they were supposed to get it.  I came home from work on Monday to your Mom sobbing over the dishes.  She has had a lot going on with her calling, her Mom and Dean, starting Violin and Orchestra again.  She was having a hard time giving up that piano.  She thought about how this is the piano you kids learned on.  It has been a part of our family fabric for many years.  I remember your mom struggling on that piano as she tried to reteach herself for her Primary Pianist calling.  She struggled and cried over that piano.  That was a special spiritual experience for me.  I struggled letting the piano go and I never played it. 

Grandpa Barlow asked your Mom to help him play for Relief Society gathering in his Ward.  He wanted to play the songs we normally do.  We went over as a family and with Nate's family played and sang Barlow Family Band, Put Another Log on the Fire, Beef Log, Long Tall Texan.  As an encore we sang Grandma's featherbed.  It was fun to get together and play.  I think Mom is getting ideas for the Harvest Fair.

We are in the middle of harvesting our fruit.  We had a disappointing year with our garden.  The pear tree has grown too big and is shading most of the boxes.  We hardly harvested a tomato, we got a few small ears of corn, we have more zucchinis and squash then we need.  We have had a tremendous amount of fruit.  We just got down with our peaches.  We broke a few branches this year with how many peaches we have.  We will be harvesting nectarines tomorrow.  We lost two large branches that almost fell all the way off.  We will have some help from the family who wants some fruit.  We still have about 1000 peaches on the patio that have not been claimed.  We are trying to find a way to use all of these blessings.  It looks like we will have more plums than we can use also.  We are needing to prune these trees aggressively.  They are taking over about a third of the basketball court. 

We had the adult Chandlers and Gneitings over for a meal.  Your Mom smoked a pork loin and we had a great meal.  Your mom is starting to smoke some meat and it is turning out really nice.  We played Wacky Six with them.  It got competitive.  We played "black Jazz" while we played.  The fast music seemed to stress out most of the players.  James liked the fast music so we played some slow songs from Kenny Loggins.  It threw him off and caused some problems.  It was fun and loud

Hyrum had another good football game.  We played Copper Hills and they blew them out.  It was over in the first quarter and we started to feel bad.  Cob's Bingham team blew out Herriman.  It looks like there are two teams in the league that will compete for the championship.  This will make the season a bit more interesting to have Cob and Hyrum on the opposite sides of the best teams in the league. 

I have been very busy with my new calling for the Elders Quorum.  I have made a large magnet board to keep track of the companionships and their assigned families.  It is huge and heavy.  There are a lot of changes that we are currently making and we are trying to keep everything straight.  Today was a day of busy appointments and meeting.  Sunday should be a day of rest but sometimes it does not happen.

Have a great week kid.  Keep working hard and miracles will happen.  I can't wait to hear about the Apostles visit.

Love,

Dad

Mosiah 2:9