Dear Family and Friends,
We wish our letters were easier to rewind the events of the week, because so many times in the unfolding of the experiences we have, we turn to each other and say , "wouldn't the family enjoy seeing what just happened!" Well this week seems like that has happened every day--yet we doubt we can even begin to adequately share the events.
We think we are really blessed because we have such a great variety of things that we can do. We feel we have had a pretty successful week of working on the clear-cut Self Reliance assignments, but with so many young people looking for jobs or better jobs, we decided to get our own feet on the pavement and go see what we could discover. We went to a business innovation complex with the idea that we would talk to start-up businesses and find out what skills they might be looking for and try to show them what we were starting to teach to help employees be reliable etc. We were lucky to be able to talk to the front screening desk, with only an invitation to bring a flier back for the mailboxes. So we decided to go more to city center and just look up biotech companies, so Dad could relate to them and have a common ground starting point. We found that there is no such thing as a business entry that is not dead-bolted. By luck we were able to get into two of them--but only get in the door! The surprised "receptionists" were not passing out appointments. After braving the cold wind for longer than we wanted to, we decided to try email again.
However on our way back we did notice a construction van parked on the street with an employee inside eating his lunch. We knocked on his window and probably found out why we were there. Nick, the investigator from Romania, had lost his job the day before (because his friend who had brought him from Romania to work had gambled some of the companies vans, and both of them were then fired--makes sense!) and so we asked if the worker knew if his company might be willing to take an application from our friend. He said that he thought they were actually looking for good help and gave us his boss's name and phone. We had fasted the day before for Nick and he has been such an incredible investigator--with a story
Nick looks like he could be a gang leader. He has missing teeth and about 10 serious scars, but somehow the Elders picked him out to talk to on the street, and somehow he decided he wanted to listen. We have met with them for all his lessons so far and he is so happy to be finding the gospel. When he lost his job, he almost seemed more devastated that he would have to go back home and not be able to finish learning about the gospel, than all the other problems. But he has been so humble and followed every bit of advise we have given him, like go back to the boss and ask him if he could stay on for a little while longer while he finds another job. And to make sure his boss is pleased with his work, he is working through his lunch hour, and doing everything he can to be needed. When we gave him the phone number for the hopeful new job, he did not stop until he got in touch with the boss--then offered to work a few days for free if he could just get an interview. It is coming up on Wed. and we will take him to the interview and help him all we can. He is working hard on breaking his tobacco habit which is another story of determination!
Last week we mentioned our friend Morris from Botswana. Even though he loved stake conference and seems to want to learn about the gospel, he has been so hard to keep in touch with. We did have lunch with him one day and he told us stories that just tickled us---like his father has hundreds of goats in Botswana, and at night if one doesn't come home, he would send Morris out to find it. If he couldn't find it, the father told him where to look and was always right. Sometimes, he knew the goat would come home without help. We told him that is like the Savior knowing all His children and wanting to bring them home too. We set up times to meet again, and he didn't show up again! We were so sad, and again we couldn't reach him. Then on Sunday, when we were gone to Cork, guess Who came to church?!! The Elders phoned us to let us know and we texted him about being a good goat. He texted back that he missed us sooo much. Morris is a not such an easy fish--or goat to help.
Thursday night: We got a call from a really fun lady in the ward telling us that she is really not a scare monger, but that we needed to consider that Friday was going to be s seriously dangerous day for the missionaries, because a major gang leader had been shot and his cremation was going to be the next day at the cemetery across from the church--and his brother would be here to retaliate. According to her news sources--and we had none, all the areas that the missionaries lived or worked should be off limits for a least a day. She said the security was higher than when the Queen came to 'Dublin, so we passed the warning on to the Mission Leaders and they agreed that all should stay in, We didn't want to react with fear, so we still did our morning jog around the cemetery and didn't see any snipers--but when we took the Sisters out of the area to visit this lady and work a ways out of the city, we got a better understanding of her call. She invited us to stay for breakfast--which we had already eaten, but we decided to be a bit sociable and heard the funniest ever retelling of her conversion. She has the greatest sense of drama and humor you can imagine! Yet on our return we we did see a hovering helicopter for awhile, ---but no gang war to report.
So after a day of not much accomplished but paperwork--which always needs attention anyway, we decided to initiate a lesson for Nick (a very good lesson experience) and a dinner/lesson for our young couple friends, Priscilla and Carlos. Carlos is such a smart and humble man. He really knows all the essential elements of the Gospel are true, but he wonders why some people lose their faith and he wants to be really secure before he commits to baptism. You really can't disagree with his careful, quiet, investigation. His sweet wife is so anxious to have him get baptized, but she is also patient and understanding.
We wish our letters were easier to rewind the events of the week, because so many times in the unfolding of the experiences we have, we turn to each other and say , "wouldn't the family enjoy seeing what just happened!" Well this week seems like that has happened every day--yet we doubt we can even begin to adequately share the events.
We think we are really blessed because we have such a great variety of things that we can do. We feel we have had a pretty successful week of working on the clear-cut Self Reliance assignments, but with so many young people looking for jobs or better jobs, we decided to get our own feet on the pavement and go see what we could discover. We went to a business innovation complex with the idea that we would talk to start-up businesses and find out what skills they might be looking for and try to show them what we were starting to teach to help employees be reliable etc. We were lucky to be able to talk to the front screening desk, with only an invitation to bring a flier back for the mailboxes. So we decided to go more to city center and just look up biotech companies, so Dad could relate to them and have a common ground starting point. We found that there is no such thing as a business entry that is not dead-bolted. By luck we were able to get into two of them--but only get in the door! The surprised "receptionists" were not passing out appointments. After braving the cold wind for longer than we wanted to, we decided to try email again.
However on our way back we did notice a construction van parked on the street with an employee inside eating his lunch. We knocked on his window and probably found out why we were there. Nick, the investigator from Romania, had lost his job the day before (because his friend who had brought him from Romania to work had gambled some of the companies vans, and both of them were then fired--makes sense!) and so we asked if the worker knew if his company might be willing to take an application from our friend. He said that he thought they were actually looking for good help and gave us his boss's name and phone. We had fasted the day before for Nick and he has been such an incredible investigator--with a story
Nick looks like he could be a gang leader. He has missing teeth and about 10 serious scars, but somehow the Elders picked him out to talk to on the street, and somehow he decided he wanted to listen. We have met with them for all his lessons so far and he is so happy to be finding the gospel. When he lost his job, he almost seemed more devastated that he would have to go back home and not be able to finish learning about the gospel, than all the other problems. But he has been so humble and followed every bit of advise we have given him, like go back to the boss and ask him if he could stay on for a little while longer while he finds another job. And to make sure his boss is pleased with his work, he is working through his lunch hour, and doing everything he can to be needed. When we gave him the phone number for the hopeful new job, he did not stop until he got in touch with the boss--then offered to work a few days for free if he could just get an interview. It is coming up on Wed. and we will take him to the interview and help him all we can. He is working hard on breaking his tobacco habit which is another story of determination!
Last week we mentioned our friend Morris from Botswana. Even though he loved stake conference and seems to want to learn about the gospel, he has been so hard to keep in touch with. We did have lunch with him one day and he told us stories that just tickled us---like his father has hundreds of goats in Botswana, and at night if one doesn't come home, he would send Morris out to find it. If he couldn't find it, the father told him where to look and was always right. Sometimes, he knew the goat would come home without help. We told him that is like the Savior knowing all His children and wanting to bring them home too. We set up times to meet again, and he didn't show up again! We were so sad, and again we couldn't reach him. Then on Sunday, when we were gone to Cork, guess Who came to church?!! The Elders phoned us to let us know and we texted him about being a good goat. He texted back that he missed us sooo much. Morris is a not such an easy fish--or goat to help.
Thursday night: We got a call from a really fun lady in the ward telling us that she is really not a scare monger, but that we needed to consider that Friday was going to be s seriously dangerous day for the missionaries, because a major gang leader had been shot and his cremation was going to be the next day at the cemetery across from the church--and his brother would be here to retaliate. According to her news sources--and we had none, all the areas that the missionaries lived or worked should be off limits for a least a day. She said the security was higher than when the Queen came to 'Dublin, so we passed the warning on to the Mission Leaders and they agreed that all should stay in, We didn't want to react with fear, so we still did our morning jog around the cemetery and didn't see any snipers--but when we took the Sisters out of the area to visit this lady and work a ways out of the city, we got a better understanding of her call. She invited us to stay for breakfast--which we had already eaten, but we decided to be a bit sociable and heard the funniest ever retelling of her conversion. She has the greatest sense of drama and humor you can imagine! Yet on our return we we did see a hovering helicopter for awhile, ---but no gang war to report.
So after a day of not much accomplished but paperwork--which always needs attention anyway, we decided to initiate a lesson for Nick (a very good lesson experience) and a dinner/lesson for our young couple friends, Priscilla and Carlos. Carlos is such a smart and humble man. He really knows all the essential elements of the Gospel are true, but he wonders why some people lose their faith and he wants to be really secure before he commits to baptism. You really can't disagree with his careful, quiet, investigation. His sweet wife is so anxious to have him get baptized, but she is also patient and understanding.
We are dusting off our resume-writing skills to help a number of individuals on a one-on-one basis. It is an interesting exercise to start working through a curriculum vitae when they speak very little English, and whatever information they may have gathered about their former education and work experience is also written in a foreign language. We have learned how to communicate some basic concepts when the person we are working with has very basic English skills, and our Romanian or Portuguese skills are even worse. We have been fairly pleased with the finished products, however. They are simple and straightforward, with an objective statement, professional profile, and chronological listing of schooling and work experience. It is our feeling that these simple resumes will give them a “leg up” on the competition in this very crowded field of job-seekers.
The economy in Ireland (Republic of Ireland) has never totally recovered from the 2008 crash. There are way more job-seekers than there are jobs, due in large part to the influx of immigrants. I believe we told the story of the young couple that showed up on our doorstep one morning, fresh off the flight the night before from Brazil, with no job, no housing, and no coats. Since they were new Church members, they looked up the church building, and came to us, essentially expecting us to take care of them. We do have to say at this point, however, that we are proud of them. He took a job passing out tour bus flyers on the street (his classic quote: “It isn’t a very good job, but I decided to take in anyway because “What have I got to lose?” What a tremendous attitude!) Well, they found a small apartment (shared bathroom), used some of their savings to get groceries, and came to us for help with his resume. They are going to participate in a self-reliance course. We’re not sure if this is exactly how the program was designed, but these are literally lost sheep, and they need every form of help they can get.
We were also very pleased that the young lady who came to us a month ago from Slovakia - needing to get away from her country because there are absolutely no decent jobs, and her family was persecuting her for joining the Church, essentially without hope and in a deep depression – made contact with us again. She has changed dramatically: she is energetic, bright, and making very effective plans for her future. Mom had counseled her to eat right, get some exercise, and read the scriptures daily. She did so, and she looks so much better. When we visited with her this time, we came to understand how truly remarkable her story is. Against all odds, she joined the Church, served a mission, and graduated from BYU-I near the top of her class. All this with no support from family, and having to scrape together every penny to make it work. She is now saving money from her nanny jobs to do Master’s or even doctoral work in counseling. We are trying to get her involved in the self-reliance groups, and we think she even has the skills to be a facilitator.
In the midst of resume-writing on Saturday, we attended the going-away party for a wonderful young man from Brazil who is going home after six months of English training here. Actually, “attending” meant that Mom spent a long time in the kitchen before and after the party, and this was in addition to helping some of the group buy groceries for the party. Such is life in the mission field!
As has been the norm for the past several weeks, we were on the road on Sunday. This time it was up in time to make the 3-hour drive to Cork (south) for a speaking assignment in the Cork Branch. We spoke, attended Sunday School, and then gave a 45-minute presentation to a combined Relief Society/Priesthood group. Though the numbers weren’t great, the branch members seemed really interested in the program, and we are going to try to be very involved in getting a small SR group going. The interesting part of the day came after the block, however, when we spent some time visiting with the Branch President. He is a wonderful guy, very young, very intelligent, but absolutely overwhelmed. When we asked about a Self-Reliance specialist, his shoulders sagged, and he replied that he doesn’t even have enough willing members to cover the basic callings. Besides being the Branch President, he is Young Men’s president, his wife is Young Women’s president, he is in charge of activities, does home teaching, and his counselors are both 19 and preparing to go on missions. Add this all to the fact that he has to work extremely long hours at an under-paid job to provide for his wife and 3 children, and the picture emerges of a very consecrated, but very overwhelmed, young Branch President. Our hearts just ached for him, and we said that we would shoulder the entire responsibility for getting the Self Reliance going, because we felt that it would help the branch, particularly with the extremely high percentage of less active members. We won’t train the branch council because he can’t hold a council meeting: no one will come, even his relief society president.
After the meetings, he absolutely insisted that we come to his home for dinner, along with the 3 sets of young missionaries. Talk about devotion! His home was very humble and in disarray, but his wife fed us all some nice stew and cake. Oh, how we would like to help more! We asked him why there were so few active members. There is actually a very nice church building in Cork, so there must have been many more coming to church in the past. He replied that after the downturn of 2008, many, many saints left Ireland in search of work, and they just never came back. In many way, it seems like Ireland is “depressed” right now – economically and emotionally. They need to turn to the Lord!
In the midst of all this depression, it is interesting to note that we found a very nice bed and breakfast in Cork to spend the night. 60 Euro for a top-notch quaint room, and a breakfast that rivals the best. (Have you ever had salmon and scrambled eggs for breakfast?)
We spent the morning doing flat checks for the young elders and sisters. They needed some instruction on how to clean a tub and a refrigerator and a microwave, but mostly how to get rid of the ubiquitous mold that is a part of everyday Irish life. A direct attack with spray bleach seems to help the most, but it always comes back.
After the flat checks, we all took a quick trip up to Blarney Castle. Yes, we kissed the Blarney Stone! Besides now having a germy mouth, I haven’t been able to stop talking since. Seeing the castle was quite an experience in itself. There is also a cave under the castle called the Dublin Mission cave. If you go in through the very narrow and low passage, there is a chamber where the missionaries have been writing their names on the walls for almost 30 years. So we joined the great graffiti crowd and now there is “E&S Pettit 2016” written on the wall of the cavern. Our coats and shoes got pretty muddy, but it was great fun.
After the Blarney visit, we rushed to drive the 90 minutes to Limerick, where we visited the Wilsons, the YSA couple assigned there. We went to lunch, and we feel like it was a great pick-me-up for all of us just to visit. We are trying very hard not to be jealous of their flat: they actually have room to turn around in the kitchen, and it has 4 bedrooms! Oh, well.
The two-hour drive back to Dublin got us here just in time for another lesson with Nick, our Romanian investigator. Boy, is he golden! He had no problem with the law of chastity, and even taught us a thing or two about turning one’s life around and thinking appropriate thoughts. He asked about temples, so the elders showed him the Church video about temples, and we felt like it genuinely touched his heart. After the lesson, we took him to the store to buy a few things to help him kick the smoking habit: grapefruit juice, mint mouthwash, snacks, breakfast foods. It is supposed to help. He sincerely felt bad that we would pay for it, and an almost-argument ensued. He really does not want to take advantage of us. He is really ready for baptism, as soon as he can get rid of the tobacco.
After that, we ran over to Priscilla and Carlos’ to challenge him to get baptized before the sister missionary who has been teaching him goes home next week. Pretty brave, but Grandma woke up early this morning thinking that is what we should do. We asked him if we could still be friends even if he felt pressured, and he warmly replied that he would still like to be friends. He will think about it and get back to us. They are a great couple.
Guess what! The Gospel is true, and this is the true church of Jesus Christ. We were reflecting today how many miracles we see each day in the mission field. Everything from protection during close calls while driving, to being in the right place at the right time, to seeing the Holy Ghost completely change someone’s nature – there are so many miracles. We are extremely grateful to witness them.
We send our love and prayers and best wishes. Our new gift of gab makes us want to go on and on with this letter, but we won’t.
Tons of virtual hugs and kisses are sent every day your way.
Grandma and Grandpa, Mom and Dad, Elder and Sister Pettit
Looking for business opportunities in an old sector of the city. It was quite quaint and cool.
Farewell party for Levi from Brazil who has been such a support in YSA. Sister Montoya leaves next week.
Looking out the window of our B&B at the wharf in Cork, (southern Ireland)
Dad on the very steep hill car park of the B&B
What a nice B&B! The breakfast highlight of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon was incredible.
and the room was so comfortably--even towel warmers.
Cute Sister Skagen and Sister Beuler in the car park of the castle.
Elders and Dad on the garden bridge of Blarney Castle
Sisters and Mom
Beautiful Wild Crocus and a sunny day made us feel that spring could be coming for real.
Duke and Duchess of Blarney Castle, built in 1200.
Inside what is nicknamed SIM Cave. under the castle. Scotland Ireland Mission Cave
It was a low cave ceiling and sloppy muddy floor--and yes we did get dirty.
squat-walk to get inside
Our "tag". We had to find a dry place on the rock so it wouldn't get washed off.
We are about 2/3 up on the inside of the castle (no roof) on our way back down from kissing the Blarney Stone. (We are not able yet to get the pictures from Dad's camera, but it is at the top and you have to lay on your back and lean out to kiss it!) We had already kissed the Blarney Stone and Dad couldn't stop talking a mile a minute!
Check out all the SIM tags--back for about 20 years. We boosted the Elder up to get a good spot.
Mom is writing with white-out that the Sisters brought.
Look closely. The garden ball décor is giant eyeballs!
Having a fun few hours on P-Day was a good time and well deserved by good missionaries.
Dad in front of the cave area, but other entries are also in view. The underground network was a well guarded security plan. The walls are about 12 feet thick all the way up! And out side the castle was a Poison Garden just in case they were overtaken; the victors would eat the plants and still die.
The economy in Ireland (Republic of Ireland) has never totally recovered from the 2008 crash. There are way more job-seekers than there are jobs, due in large part to the influx of immigrants. I believe we told the story of the young couple that showed up on our doorstep one morning, fresh off the flight the night before from Brazil, with no job, no housing, and no coats. Since they were new Church members, they looked up the church building, and came to us, essentially expecting us to take care of them. We do have to say at this point, however, that we are proud of them. He took a job passing out tour bus flyers on the street (his classic quote: “It isn’t a very good job, but I decided to take in anyway because “What have I got to lose?” What a tremendous attitude!) Well, they found a small apartment (shared bathroom), used some of their savings to get groceries, and came to us for help with his resume. They are going to participate in a self-reliance course. We’re not sure if this is exactly how the program was designed, but these are literally lost sheep, and they need every form of help they can get.
We were also very pleased that the young lady who came to us a month ago from Slovakia - needing to get away from her country because there are absolutely no decent jobs, and her family was persecuting her for joining the Church, essentially without hope and in a deep depression – made contact with us again. She has changed dramatically: she is energetic, bright, and making very effective plans for her future. Mom had counseled her to eat right, get some exercise, and read the scriptures daily. She did so, and she looks so much better. When we visited with her this time, we came to understand how truly remarkable her story is. Against all odds, she joined the Church, served a mission, and graduated from BYU-I near the top of her class. All this with no support from family, and having to scrape together every penny to make it work. She is now saving money from her nanny jobs to do Master’s or even doctoral work in counseling. We are trying to get her involved in the self-reliance groups, and we think she even has the skills to be a facilitator.
In the midst of resume-writing on Saturday, we attended the going-away party for a wonderful young man from Brazil who is going home after six months of English training here. Actually, “attending” meant that Mom spent a long time in the kitchen before and after the party, and this was in addition to helping some of the group buy groceries for the party. Such is life in the mission field!
As has been the norm for the past several weeks, we were on the road on Sunday. This time it was up in time to make the 3-hour drive to Cork (south) for a speaking assignment in the Cork Branch. We spoke, attended Sunday School, and then gave a 45-minute presentation to a combined Relief Society/Priesthood group. Though the numbers weren’t great, the branch members seemed really interested in the program, and we are going to try to be very involved in getting a small SR group going. The interesting part of the day came after the block, however, when we spent some time visiting with the Branch President. He is a wonderful guy, very young, very intelligent, but absolutely overwhelmed. When we asked about a Self-Reliance specialist, his shoulders sagged, and he replied that he doesn’t even have enough willing members to cover the basic callings. Besides being the Branch President, he is Young Men’s president, his wife is Young Women’s president, he is in charge of activities, does home teaching, and his counselors are both 19 and preparing to go on missions. Add this all to the fact that he has to work extremely long hours at an under-paid job to provide for his wife and 3 children, and the picture emerges of a very consecrated, but very overwhelmed, young Branch President. Our hearts just ached for him, and we said that we would shoulder the entire responsibility for getting the Self Reliance going, because we felt that it would help the branch, particularly with the extremely high percentage of less active members. We won’t train the branch council because he can’t hold a council meeting: no one will come, even his relief society president.
After the meetings, he absolutely insisted that we come to his home for dinner, along with the 3 sets of young missionaries. Talk about devotion! His home was very humble and in disarray, but his wife fed us all some nice stew and cake. Oh, how we would like to help more! We asked him why there were so few active members. There is actually a very nice church building in Cork, so there must have been many more coming to church in the past. He replied that after the downturn of 2008, many, many saints left Ireland in search of work, and they just never came back. In many way, it seems like Ireland is “depressed” right now – economically and emotionally. They need to turn to the Lord!
In the midst of all this depression, it is interesting to note that we found a very nice bed and breakfast in Cork to spend the night. 60 Euro for a top-notch quaint room, and a breakfast that rivals the best. (Have you ever had salmon and scrambled eggs for breakfast?)
We spent the morning doing flat checks for the young elders and sisters. They needed some instruction on how to clean a tub and a refrigerator and a microwave, but mostly how to get rid of the ubiquitous mold that is a part of everyday Irish life. A direct attack with spray bleach seems to help the most, but it always comes back.
After the flat checks, we all took a quick trip up to Blarney Castle. Yes, we kissed the Blarney Stone! Besides now having a germy mouth, I haven’t been able to stop talking since. Seeing the castle was quite an experience in itself. There is also a cave under the castle called the Dublin Mission cave. If you go in through the very narrow and low passage, there is a chamber where the missionaries have been writing their names on the walls for almost 30 years. So we joined the great graffiti crowd and now there is “E&S Pettit 2016” written on the wall of the cavern. Our coats and shoes got pretty muddy, but it was great fun.
After the Blarney visit, we rushed to drive the 90 minutes to Limerick, where we visited the Wilsons, the YSA couple assigned there. We went to lunch, and we feel like it was a great pick-me-up for all of us just to visit. We are trying very hard not to be jealous of their flat: they actually have room to turn around in the kitchen, and it has 4 bedrooms! Oh, well.
The two-hour drive back to Dublin got us here just in time for another lesson with Nick, our Romanian investigator. Boy, is he golden! He had no problem with the law of chastity, and even taught us a thing or two about turning one’s life around and thinking appropriate thoughts. He asked about temples, so the elders showed him the Church video about temples, and we felt like it genuinely touched his heart. After the lesson, we took him to the store to buy a few things to help him kick the smoking habit: grapefruit juice, mint mouthwash, snacks, breakfast foods. It is supposed to help. He sincerely felt bad that we would pay for it, and an almost-argument ensued. He really does not want to take advantage of us. He is really ready for baptism, as soon as he can get rid of the tobacco.
After that, we ran over to Priscilla and Carlos’ to challenge him to get baptized before the sister missionary who has been teaching him goes home next week. Pretty brave, but Grandma woke up early this morning thinking that is what we should do. We asked him if we could still be friends even if he felt pressured, and he warmly replied that he would still like to be friends. He will think about it and get back to us. They are a great couple.
Guess what! The Gospel is true, and this is the true church of Jesus Christ. We were reflecting today how many miracles we see each day in the mission field. Everything from protection during close calls while driving, to being in the right place at the right time, to seeing the Holy Ghost completely change someone’s nature – there are so many miracles. We are extremely grateful to witness them.
We send our love and prayers and best wishes. Our new gift of gab makes us want to go on and on with this letter, but we won’t.
Tons of virtual hugs and kisses are sent every day your way.
Grandma and Grandpa, Mom and Dad, Elder and Sister Pettit
and the room was so comfortably--even towel warmers.
Dad in front of the cave area, but other entries are also in view. The underground network was a well guarded security plan. The walls are about 12 feet thick all the way up! And out side the castle was a Poison Garden just in case they were overtaken; the victors would eat the plants and still die.
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