Howzit-Elder Flexy!

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Elder Flexy 2:1  -Email-
MAMA (Zulu for mother)
ya its great to know that things are going well! this place is so cool!!!!!! i love it here i’m learnig so much cultural stuff its crazy i’m gonna try to learn Zulu before i come home anyway. so the teaching here is really slow teaching muslums and Hindus is really hard and we taught this man named Frank and he just fights everything we say its actually kinda funny. so the work is going well no baptisms yet but they will come. This place is so differant when you can go to the store and not know what cold cereal to buy its a strange place. We ate Indian food the other day its FREAKIN spicy!!!! but its was good and its part of there culture to eat with there hands so that was kinda gross but it was good fun. oh ya the other day we went to this little Zulu families house and their daughter Gugu was sitting by me so i started showing her my pictures and i showed her the Provo Temple and she kissed the camera! that just goes to show that even little children in Africa know what is sacred. anyway I’m doing great better go love you.
                                                                                                                    Love, Elder (Flexy)
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Good news! 
That’s what the word “gospel” means! 

Sunday Best!

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John 15:10-12

10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. 11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
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In primary today we talked about the “good” Samaritan.  In the story, a man is traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. The man was robbed, wounded, and left for dead. A priest came by and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side of the road. Then a Levite came by, and looked on him, then passed by on the other side of the road. Then a Samaritan came by, and saw him, and had compassion on him. He bound up his wounds, took him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day, he gave the inn keeper money to take care of the man. He told the host that if he spent more money to care for the man he would repay him when he returned. 
Jesus used this example to teach that 
we are all neighbors.
 We should love and care about each other. The reason the example was such a good one is because the Samaritans were hated by the Jews. In fact, the Samaritans hated the Jews too. The man who was wounded and left for dead was a Jew, and even his own people wouldn’t help him. But the Samaritan understood how to love and care about others, and didn’t let the differences between the two groups of people stop him from being a good person. We all need a reminder about how to treat each other. 
Hope your Sunday was the Best! Love, Joy

Beautiful Places!

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My yard!
I think this is a weed in the lawn! 
Beautiful little yellow flower! Thank you, Heavenly Father.

I love daisies!!!

Lambs Ear! Love it!
Our maple tree!

My sweet friend Julie gave me this fountain. 
I love it so much!
Thank you, Julie!
I feel so blessed to have 
such beauty in my life!

Howzit! Elder Flexy!

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Dear missionary Family,
This is just a short note to let you know that we have received Elder — and he is awesome. He is tired from the long journey, but ready to enter his field of labor and we know he will change lives while here.  His trainer is Elder Martin, a South African and they are serving in the Durban North area
Stay well
President Von Stetten
Elder Flexy is there! 
He looks great. Although he does look a little tired to me. I feel so thankful that he has arrived safe and is ready to go to work. 
The church is true!!

Family History Friday (FHF): She really wanted to be baptized!

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Mary Malden Peek 
was my 4th great grandmother. She was born in England. When she was just a young girl, she lived a life similar to other girls her age. 
One of her favorite things to do was sew. 
Another was to enjoy tea,
 when she was invited with her mother and some of the other ladies. While she was still quite young, her father died, leaving the family with not enough money to live on. Mary took jobs sewing to help with the family’s income. One day their family met some missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “the Mormons”, and they were touched by the things the missionaries said. 
Mary knew in her heart that what the elders were teaching her was true, and she wanted to be baptized. 
At the time this happened, there was some persecution happening to members of the church, as well as the missionaries. They had to meet in barns and other places that they might not regularly meet. Also, when someone wanted to get baptized, they would have to do it in secret. Mary wanted to be baptized so bad, she didn’t want to wait until others were okay with it. So they made a plan. She would be baptized in the shed. They dug a hole and spent the whole day filling it with buckets of water till it was deep enough for her. That night, after dark, she was baptized. When I was baptized the water was clear and clean and warm. My family was there and it was safe and wonderful. Mary must have really wanted it, to go through all that. I’m not sure if she felt safe, but I’m pretty sure that water wasn’t clean or clear or warm. She and her family later left England to come to Utah to be with other members of the church. Mary walked to the Great Salt Lake Valley. She married a good man, and lived a good life full of happiness. She never regretted her choice to join the church. I love her for all she went through, for her courage, drive and purpose.
Her life was full! 
Find one of your ancestors who was amazing and tell the story to your family!  Happy Family History Friday! Love, Joy

Howzit! Elder Flexy!

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Elder Flexy 
left today for 
South Africa! 
He called me from the airport. He was so excited to be going. I asked him if he was nervous and he said, “No, just ready to go and work”. I’m so glad he is ready. As parents, we have always encouraged, sometimes pushed, our kids to do things in their life. Things that we thought would be a good thing, a blessing and even a challenge. An experience that would help them be a better human, to learn and grow. It feels great to know he is wanting to go, and is even excited to do something in his life that will bless others and himself. He is a great son. All of our children are a blessing to us. It will take him about 22 hours to get to his mission. Wow! I put the Durban clock on the blog so we can all see what time it is for Elder Flexy! We will be praying for him, I hope you will too! Love, Joy

Happy Birthday Sweet Natasha!

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My sweet grandbaby is 3 years old!
What a doll! And her personality is so fun! 
We will be just sitting together, and she will say, “I love you, Grandma”. I’ll say “I love you too!” Then I’ll say, “Can I be your grandma forever?” and she’ll say, “Mmm-hmm!” 
When you pick her up to snuggle and give her a squish, she wraps her arms around your neck and pats your back. She is fun!! I am so glad to be her grandma. 
Happy Birthday
 Natasha! 


Sunday Best!

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“When the seas of life are stormy, a wise
mariner seeks a port of peace. The family, as 

we have traditionally known it, is such a refuge 

of safety. ‘The home is the basis of a righteous 

life and no other instrumentality can take its 

place or fulfil its essential functions'” 
-Thomas S. Monson 

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Our homes are the refuge we 
all need from the world. 

“Home
-to be at home is to find yourself 
with those who put your heart at ease.“

A place of peace and safety. 

A place where we are accepted and loved. We don’t have to be 

perfect parents. We just need to love our children and provide a

 safe place for them to learn and grow.
We just need to do the best we can.

 Hope you Sunday was the Best! Love, Joy

Family History Friday (FHF): Write A Book!

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 Write a book.
You heard me right!
 If you don’t want to write a whole book, one that gets bound and published, that’s OKAY! You don’t have to do that. You can just write your story in a book. I have several of these types of books at my home right now. They are super! If you don’t feel like you’re ready for that yet, but you have a loved one who you would like to know more, you can give one to them. In these books, they give you a question and you answer it. Sometimes we (or maybe those we leave behind) want to know something about a person long after the opportunity is still there to ask them. Sometimes we don’t or can’t think of questions. This is one way to leave a legacy of your feelings and experiences. Or find out how your family members feel about their life and experiences. Priceless!
My darlin’s father is one of the many who has been dealing with the challenge of Alzheimer’s. He’s only 77 years old, and a lot of his memories are gone. Sad.
He has led a wonderful life, full of adventures and experiences that will not be shared, except by family members who were there with him.
One of these books has you answer just one question a day for a year. How easy is that? Anyone can do that! Others are more like a journal and you write as you have time. Write your memories down, and there won’t be one person who is not thrilled that you did, including you. Happy Family History Friday! Love, Joy