Letter from October 12, 2014

We were finally able to view conference today and really enjoyed it. We had listened to some of Conference during the week because I was able to download it.

Elder Holland’s talk had great meaning to me this week as we had a couple experiences that I will share. We went to a hospital with the Elders to see if we could find a sister that Mother thought was going to be there. We went to several Wards looking for her because we did not know if we had her name right and we didn’t have her child’s name. We never did find her but we saw a lot of the hospital. The hospital facility and equipment were rather shocking. It reminded me of a war zone hospital pictured in the movie Gone with The Wind. There were hundreds of people in there for many different needs.

We also went to visit a less active member of The Church. This Sister, Lita, has been less active for a few years and has two sons and a daughter and a husband who are all members. We went to read some of the Book of Mormon with her. She was fun to visit with but was a little embarrassed that the Elders had brought a senior couple from America. The area where she lives is right across from a nice big mall. We would not have guessed that the community was even there because you can’t really see it from the road. The narrow concrete walk way winds around and around in several different directions. The houses are built like children’s forts with just plywood and tin or whatever they could come up with. No windows, some curtains, some electricity and I don’t know about the plumbing. There were bamboo fences lining the walk ways, which made it kind of pretty. In some areas where we walked there were little shops made in the same fashion as the homes. A lot of people use the front of their homes to display and sell food and snack items. Their only possible customers are their neighbors in the small town within the city. Not everyone lives quite like that, but thousands do live like that.

Elder Holland said that he doesn’t know how the poor feel or why some are so much more blessed because of where we are born and have greater economic and education opportunities. I am sure that I don’t know much about that either, but the people seem generally contented and happy. There are pretty good education opportunities now which may not have been available to everyone in the past and I think that more and more are rising from poverty.

I am so thankful for the many blessings, comforts and opportunities that I have enjoyed throughout my life.

I love you all. It is great to hear about what is happening in your families.

Love, Dad