AND FOUR MAKES TWELVE

We received a phone call last week from some dear friends from California, Scott and Anaise Robertson. Scott grew up in the Gardena ward along with the rest of his family. I believe that Anaise grew up in the stake also. I was serving as the bishop when they got married, 12 kids ago.  Scott and Anaise now live close by to us here in Missouri and invited us to the sealing of the 4 children that they had just adopted.
What a sweet experience for Robyn and I to be ushered into the sealing room and see their 8 children, all dressed in white, reverently sitting all together awaiting the arrival of their parents and the 4 new additions to the family. These 4 little ones are all siblings and are so blessed to be joining an eternal family.

The sealer did the best job he could under the circumstances. I'm sure he wanted to share a few more thoughts regarding the significance of the ordinance with all of us present, but with 6 active kids under 5 years of age he didn't waste anytime and got right to the point. We also got to see Steven Robertson who came out from Corona for the sealing. Steven and our son Christopher are the same age and had many adventures together in scouting, primary and sports. What a beautiful day.

Steven Robertson


GENERAL PRIESTHOOD SESSION

'Ryan's All You Can Eat Buffet' before the broadcast

I felt very fortunate to be able to attend the general priesthood meeting broadcast with James and Noah. The first thing Robyn commented when she saw the picture of the three of us, was that Noah is now taller than I.  I reminded her that he is 13 already, so what do you expect...  

On the way we picked up two young men from James' ward, Ephesian and Christopher. These two brothers are living with their grandmother and James makes sure they have every opportunity to attend and participate at Church. I was reminded of Elder Meryvn B. Arnold's talk, in the Saturday morning session, about rescuing those who are lost or may be in danger of being lost.

SPANISH  GRAMMAR LESSONS

I am so proud of Robyn. This week she has given a couple of prayers in Spanish without any promptings or help. The members are so impressed with her determination and willingness to try and learn a new language. It is interesting, there are some people we have run into that have been here from Latin America for years, that know fewer words in English than Robyn knows in Spanish. Each day we add a couple of new words to increase her vocabulary. She is a good sport and really tries hard to communicate a little and to also understand what is being said.

BABY BLESSING

We were happy to see Leslie Sanchez along with the rest of her family come to church last Sunday so that Leslie's baby could be blessed. The baby's father also came with his family and had lots of questions for the bishop. Brother Murillo, 3rd counselor in the bishopric, (yes, the 3rd counselor) gave the baby a name and a blessing. He is in the center of the photo. We hope to be able to visit with Leslie and her family to encourage them to continue their activity in the Church.

'STAND TOGETHER'

Brother Mike Albrechtsen, the wonderful painter and ward young men's president gave Robyn this beautiful painting. She had really admired it when we visited his studio a few weeks ago. At the time, she asked him how much he sells these type of paintings for. It was way out of our price range and so we didn't say anything. Knowing her love of the scene depicted in the painting, Brother Albrechtsen decided to give it to Robyn as a gift from he and his wife. We are so fortunate to be serving in such a loving and caring ward.