December 25,2012

Today we had the opportunity to Skype with Elder Lowder on Christmas day! At first we had a lot of difficulty because the internet in Mexico is very poor. The video feed and the audio were very poor. We finally gave up and called him on his landlords cell phone and continued to use the video feed provided by Skype. Our first impression is that he looks excellent. He has a bright countenance and a never ending smile. He spoke of how he misses us and the traditions we have as a family at Christmas, but that he was enjoying his Christmas there and the family he was celebrating it with, who have taken him in and treats him like another Son. We are extremely grateful to them. His accent is very thick and he struggles to remember English words. I asked him if he feels fluent and like he can speak all types of Spanish, conversational, slang and formal. He says that he can without difficulty. English is more challenging to him now. He told us of his many successes that he has had in his current area. We asked if he could share more about the specific people he is working with in his letters and he agreed to do so. He told us about a family that he got a referral for that when he and his companion went to their door, they were told that they were not interested in religion and slammed the door in their face. They went and saw some members who gave them a referral to the same family, so they went back. This time they were warned they would call the police if they returned. During a visit with the Bishop of his Ward, he asked them to go visit the same family. He told the Bishop of their experiences, but said if that is who he was inspired to send them to, they would go. They did and this time were invited in. They gave a very spiritual lesson and this family was baptized a week later and are now active members of their Ward. What a great blessing it is to have a Son on a mission who is magnifying his calling. Our Christmas was terrific, but mostly because of our Missionary of whom we are very proud.