A Little About Plano, TX

Thought it would be fun to share some of the interesting things I've found here in Plano.  It seems like the main streets were all put in, and then the town was established.  Marjean says it has been a long time coming.  I'm sure it was a bit easier than the streets in Seattle.   Everything here is flat so there's no big trees or mountains to move!  All of the main streets in the city are six lanes wide with a big divider in the center.  There is generally about one mile between them, however, there are some that are closer.  They crisscross through the city.

Almost all the freeways have three lane express roads that run one way along both sides. They are the access roads to get on the freeway as well as city streets with lights like I just described. Just imagine an eight lane freeway with three more lanes on each side!

There are very few gas stations on the corners!  Almost all the corners have BIG churches.  Some are larger than the Seattle Temple.  I've been curious to look inside them, and may venture that way when I get a little more confidence!  There are 3-4 huge water towers in each city that have the city name on them.  With no mountains for direction the towers help because it feels like large cities just run into large cities.  Marjean says there is a tornado drill about once a month.  We haven't had one yet, but she says we'll definitely know when it happens.  She has only had to take cover once in all the years she's lived here, but she says the winds feel and sound like a train is on top of you.  That's one experience I hope I don't have while I'm here!

The wind blows here all the time! So much for good hair days!  The weather has been really changeable since.  One day it's 45-50 degrees and the next it's 80.  The humidity really makes it feel cold when it's below 70.  The natives wear light jackets when it's 80, while we are panting from the heat.  I asked someone if it was going to stay this changeable all year and they assured me that when we get to the hot months, it will be hot all the time!  It's customary for me to want to hibernate in the winter time, but I have a feeling this summer I will be wanting to do that in an "air conditioned" house!

There are lots of beautiful big oak trees, and consequently lots of acorns.  They are all over the ground and have lots of squirrels to gather them up.  Spring is bringing beautiful blooms on various trees and pretty colors everywhere.  Marjean doesn't like to garden so she told me I could dig and plant all I want.  This past week I planted petunia's in a garden in the front yard with a large hanging basket in the center.  Sister Campbell got hanging baskets to put several places in the back yard.  We are having fun doing what we can to thank her for letting us stay.

Texans must really like donuts, there's a donut shop on about every other block!  Also, lots of restaurants.  They are lined up all along the city streets!  However, coffee must not be as important to them as it is in Seattle!  No little coffee stands anywhere, and I've only seen a few Starbucks.  There are lots of Walmart's.  Some of them are just grocery stores and others are the large ones. Many of the corners have fairly big shopping centers on them.  One of our friends in the ward said, "You can get anything you want by going just around the corner".  That is really true!

The homes appear to be built on a slab foundation.  They seem so low to the ground!  I wondered how they keep from getting water in when it rains.  There are big drainage places by the curbs in the streets.  Marjean says she's never had a problem.  The homes are built with the garage in the back.  They have an alleyway behind the homes to access them.  I have really enjoyed some of the streets we've been on when visiting people.  The older homes have beautiful big trees that create an arch over the street.  It is so pretty!  I will post a picture when everything greens up a bit more.  I'm sure they are appreciated when the summer heat hits. There's lots of brick used to build the homes.  Older homes don't look old because of the brick. This is a fairly affluent area.  There are many beautiful and big homes and several large companies here. 

One of the major magazines reported, a few months ago, that Plano is one of the safest cities in the U.S, and also one of the best managed.  I can believe that.  I have never felt concerned or fearful here.  There seems to be a pretty good mixture of races.  I see quite a few Blacks, Hispanic, and Chinese. We have a Chinese ward that meets in our building, and we've had several missionary's ask if we speak Spanish. 

Last weekend we went to a swap meet with Marjean.  She was out of school for spring break and wanted to go.  I had never been to one.  There were over 400 vendors!  There was just no way to make it through the whole thing in the half-day we took.  The Lucero's had also invited us to go to one that is about two hours away from here.  It's the giant of all of them.  Sis. Campbell is stretching herself to go, as she doesn't like to shop.

Yesterday we attended a special training meeting with Pres. & Sis. Durrant.  It was wonderful!  There were 96 missionary's serving here.  I love the energy that radiates from them!  We did role plays on several different occasions, and at one point we were asked to turn around and roll play with the missionary behind us.  When I turned around there in front of me was Elder William Richardson!  Needless to say we didn't do very well with our roll play as we were excited to see each other.  I think it took him a minute to recognize me, but when I told him Sister Jenkins and I were his primary teachers when he was 10 years old he remembered!  Hard to believe that one of my cute primary kids is serving on a mission here in Dallas, with me!  I feel bad I didn't get a picture, but will watch for the opportunity again.

One wonderful and important message I received from the meeting was this:  Pres. & Sister Durrant have been trying to perfect a sentence to say to help spread the gospel with everyone we meet.  It's so simple, and they have had amazing experiences with it.  They just have a short chat with anyone...a parking attendant, a person at the bank, someone selling the food at the movie theatre, and then ask, "Would you be willing to listen to a brief presentation about (my faith, or my church)?"  If they say yes, get there name, phone number, and address and tell them we'll send two young missionary's to share it with them.  If they say no, just wish them a good day and enjoy the short chat you had together.  Sister Durham has done it several times with success every time.  Pres. Durham has done it several times, and had success in all but two cases.

Well, this is my new challenge!  I've been saying the line over and over again so I can get it right!  He said the "key words" are so important (willing, listen, and brief).  They are non-threatening and leave them with the option to easily make the choice with no pressure.  We and the elders are going to present it to our ward this week.

I just love the gospel so much, and wish everyone could realize what an amazing gift it is to have "The Savior's" church here on the earth again, and be a part of that great blessing!   

     

One Month - Many Blessings

It's hard for me to believe I've been out for a month now!  There are so many wonderful experiences to share and so many blessings I've received by being here.  When I walked into church the first Sunday, I felt like I had traveled a long way from where I live, but had arrived home again.  It's a feeling I always have when I attend church, no matter where it is, it's home.

Marjean Nielson is the sweet sister we are living with.  I have grown to love her so much!  We've had fun together.  I couldn't have asked for a better place to live.  The spirit of the gospel abides in her home and that's such a great feeling.

The following picture is of Bishop Hoki and his wife Chieko.  He's been an amazing help to us already.  Since we're on a pilot program coming "blindly" into the ward was a learning experience for us as well as well as the ward leaders.  Bishop Hoki met with us for two hours, and went over the ward list telling us about people who need extra charity and love.  He really helped us find our way into serving.   We've spent every day going to homes of active and less active members.  It is almost like being a "full time" visiting teacher.  We get to visit, access needs, and encourage them in any way we can.  I love every minute of it!

Sister Barbara Allred is the Relief Society President in the ward and we spent some time with her assessing needs.  She took us to visit a few people.  I'm sure we'll be working very closely with her.

We have, of course, had a couple of experiences that were not favorable.  One door I knocked on, a man answered and said, "We're atheists, and slammed the door before we could get a word out!  Another, just peeked through the peep-hole and locked the door!  I'm sure return missionary's can relate to that!  We just said a little prayer for them in our hearts and moved on.

On a much happier note.....we knocked on the door of an inactive sister and when she opened the door and I told her who we were.  She pulled me into her arms started crying.  She said she had quit going to church three years ago because she was angry with God for what he had done to her.  She then related her story to us.  

She has six children and her husband had been serving in the military.  When he came home he was suffering from Post-Traumatic Syndrome.  He broke her neck and then committed suicide.  She said he was a wonderful man before he had gone into the service.  She has spent the last three years trying to recover from all of it.  I was so happy that we were able to be there for her that day!  She asked us to come back again, and we made an appointment to take her to lunch.  She is moving out of the ward in April.  We're hoping she will leave with a desire to find a new direction in her life with the gospel for her guide.

We've had many positive visits with inactive sisters.  In each case they have been willing to have us return.  We approach them by letting them know we are not proselyting missionary's, but are just here to serve and help in any way we can.  A couple of them have asked that we not put any pressure on them about the church, and we told them that wasn't why we had come. 

There are many great needs here.  Many people are suffering with health issues and other concerns.  We have visited a sister in a nursing home who's very bright and knowledgeable about the gospel.  We visited an elderly woman who had a heart attack a year ago and still hasn't recovered.  You who love children's books will know her name, Berniece Tryand.  She wrote "The Girl With No Name" and many others.  I fear she isn't going to be able to recover from her surgery.

The first Sunday here we met Bro. Jim Lucero.  He's the Stake Young Men's President.  He and his wife Laneeda have had us over for dinner a few times.  Laneeda is 52 years old and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's five years ago.  She's so young to be afflicted with this challenge.  She was the Young Women's President when they found out.  She is still functioning ok but cannot drive or go out on her own.  We take her to do things each week.  We've taken her to dinner, a movie, and to the Family History Center.  She's such a sweet person and we've grown to love her and Bro. Lucero so much.  This week they're on a Nauvoo Trek with the youth in the stake.  They took 150 youth that had attended seminary and succeeded on scripture mastery.  They're visiting historical sights and ending by doing baptism's in the temple.  What a major undertaking that must be!

The following picture of Sister Deloris Nelms and her husband Morris.  She had a stroke about 10 years ago, and it left her blind.  She's such a sweet lady, and has always been active in the church.  Her husband is a non-member.  The missionary's told us he wouldn't let them visit.  However, he didn't seem to have any trouble with us.  I think we are less threatening to him.  We visit them every week and read to her.  The last two visits he has joined us and seems to be happy that we're there.  He reminds me of my dad, so I felt a special connection when I first met him.  He brings her to sacrament meeting and then "beelines" out afterward.

This past Monday we met a non-member, Victoria Smith, that works with a man in our ward.  She has been here from Kenya for 15 years.  She met her husband when she moved here and they have three children.  Bro. Don Walker says he has been telling her about the church for several years, but they haven't been willing to come.  She asked him a week ago if he knew anyone in our church that could come to the hospital to hold her baby.  

Savannah Alexandria Smith was born five months ago when her mother was only 24 weeks pregnant.  She weighed only 1.4 pounds.  Victoria is working full time and goes to the hospital during lunch and after work, but knew her baby needed to be held more often.  We were so excited when he asked us to do this.  We will be with Savannah three mornings during the week.  Monday was our first day and what a joy it was to hold this miracle baby.  She is now 7.13 pounds, but still has some breathing problems and is fed through a tube. Victoria is a sweet girl and a loving mother.  She has no family here to help her.  We told her we would be happy to be "Savannah's Grandma's"!

There have been so many wonderful experiences while I've been here.  I've starting to realize why the brethren established this new calling, and why I'm here!  I often think of the Savior as he walked among the people and witnessed the suffering and challenges they were afflicted with.  I know I can't perform the miracles He did, but I feel a special sense of being needed here, and joy that I can share my love and life with others.  Knowing this is His church and that I'm a part of it is so precious to me!  I feel blessed that my testimony has grown through the years.  I've had experiences I can use to help others who struggle, and I feel His love in what I do.