And the winner is..... Education

Yesterday, I was set apart as the Education Counselor in our Relief Society. I am so excited to be serving with this group of sisters! Two of them I know and love and the other one, I am excited to get to know. It will be a great adventure for sure and I am super happy about beginning this journey. I love our ward and I am so grateful for our last presidency. They were amazing! Treasa is my visiting teaching partner and she has taught me so much! And she is my next door neighbor and wonderful friend! Our sweet Michelle just moved to begin her new adventure with her family, (we will miss her so much! ) and Suzanne was the first one to congratulate me on my new position! Thanks Laurie, Sandy and LaRay! I can't wait to start working together with you in our new presidency!!!

It's Only So Long For Now

Mary, my Dad's dear wife, just passed away this last weekend. Our house has been in turmoil since we heard the news. I am so worried about my Dad. He has been widowed twice now. Not fair!

I decided to post this picture of Jared and My Dad... just to be a reminder that Families ARE Forever and that Jared is out helping others realize that. Although I have sad feelings about Mary's passing, I want to seal my Mom and Dad together for our forever family. I know that is something that I don't have to worry about.... Heavenly Father is in charge!! Thank Goodness and I am so grateful that all things will be right in Heaven.

Rest in Peace Mary: no more pain, no more sickness. God Be With You Until We Meet Again!

Jared's last letter

Hi everyone! We haven't had a letter from Jared in over 2 weeks and I was beginning to get a little worried!! You know that I would have so called the mission home for sure! But, alas, he redeemed himself with a nice long letter in my inbox this morning. It was his 20th birthday on Saturday and so we sent him a 'party in a box' and he had a good celebration anyway! Read on friends:

Dear Family
What is this??? You said that I haven't written in two weeks? I have written every week! Did you change your work email or were there some other problems with the computer?

Thank you for the package. I had Elder Williams take some pictures of me opening my presents. We made the cake, and I had him video me blowing out the candles. It was pretty fun. I bought myself a couple of gorgeous ties the other day. They are really shiny.

This week has been good. There were a few weird things that kind of happened to our ami's. Jackie, the Brazilian wife of our less active, had a huge fight with her husband and she was thinking about divorce. We went over there and prayed with them and kind of helped to calm her down. She is much more calm now, so we will see what happens. We are going to help them move into their new appartment on Wednesday.

I cant believe that you haven't got my package yet!!!! I sent that clear back at the end of September. I hope it gets there soon. If not, I suppose I can just do it again.

We found out that starting on November 4th, our preparation days will be on Wednesday. I really like that, because there will be alot more things to do on Wednesdays. More museums and businesses are open. Except for transfer weeks, they will be on Tuesday.

How is everybody doing? I hear the weather is good.

It has been getting alot cooler here. For a while, it was pretty cold and we didn't have heating in our appartment!! But they turned it on on my birthday! What a sweet present huh?!!

Transfers are next week. I will let you know what happens.

We went over to a members house for lunch on Sunday, the day after my birthday. I was a little worried that they were going to start singing to me. It was fine, until they brought out the dessert. They had made tons of brownies and had trick candles and such. After the second time of trying to blow them out, I thought ''Well, this is lame''! But it was fun anyway.

Dont worry, I am fine!
I love and miss you all!!
Love
Jared
P.S. Tell Chris Happy Birthday for me.

So there you have it folks! My son turned 20 out in the mission field and is having the time of his life. I can't wait to talk to him on Christmas. That will be my best gift ever!!!
Until next post my friends....
Colleen

90 Days And Counting!!!

So, a couple of posts ago ( actually one month exactly) my friend at work announced how long it was until Christmas! She's back at it today and I got really excited that in exactly 90 days... 3 short months ( my favorite months of the year ) we get to have our phone call from Jared. I can hardly wait. My coworker started talking about Christmas shopping and I thought about our sub for Santa family... ( No answers yet on who that should be... any suggestions????) and our phone call from Jared. Last month went so fast... I can hardly wait for these 3 to go too. Come on Christmas!!! I want to hear from my boy!!!! :)

Chambe'ry Anyone??

So, we received an email from Jared and he is being transferred to Chambe'ry France. He has been in beautiful Fribourg since he arrived in Switzerland, so we knew that this transfer was coming. While this is not as picturesque as there, it is still very beautiful there.

It is in the French countryside... we are not sure where he will be exactly, but this is what I googled . He will send me real photos soon, I'm sure, once he is settled.

You hear of the canals over in Europe, but this is so amazingly beautiful. I can't wait until we get to see it in person... of course, everything will probably be frozen then.

This photo actually reminds me of where I grew up in California. Not the beautiful old house in the background, just the grape vines. They surrounded our house. I'm sure ( not from personal experience though) that this is why the French wine is so popular. I can't wait to hear how he is and how he is liking it. His French teacher, Bill, who served in the very same mission as Jared, said that Switzerland was heaven and France was H E double hockey sticks. We'll see it he agrees!

Please Pray For Devin!

Hello all...
I have a request that I am trying to get out to as many people as I can. My friend, Cathy, who lives in Florida, had a heartbreak this past weekend. Her son, Devin, who is 26 or 27 ( I'm not sure... he's in law school ) was in a horrible car accident and he is in a coma right now. Please pray that he will recover if it be God's will. She is not a member of our church, but I've felt so helpless so far away. I am amazed at Heavenly Father's church... She is far away from their home in Tallahassee ( about 400 miles away from West Palm Beach) and knows no one there. I asked my friend at work, Lynne, who used to live in Florida where she lived. She said Orlando, and I thought that I was done. I told her that I needed to have someone in Tallahassee. She was so cute, and said, "Oh! My husband's best friend lives there. Let me give him a call!" She called him and 10 minutes later, he was on his way to the hospital with the missionaries. They gave both of them a blessing and she said that it brought her such peace. I'm praying for Devin and for their whole family. Please join me to give this family some peace and comfort. All prayers are good that lead to God. Until next post my friends...
Colleen

I can wait 4 months!

I was at work today and my friend casually mentioned that 4 months from today will be Christmas, and then she let out a big.... UGH! I, on the other hand, rejoiced! You all know how much I love the holidays but this year especially, I will be looking forward to December 25th. I get to have my phone call from Switzerland and talk to my Jared!!! I have been missing him a lot lately, and for some odd reason, 4 months didn't sound like a very long time before I get to speak with him. Also, after Christmas, another HUGE day that I will be looking forward to is January 28th, which officially makes the ONE YEAR MARK, and then we start counting down. Just for the record, as of today, Jared has been out in the mission field for a total of 210 days. I am very proud of him and get to talk to him in 4 short months! Hopefully they will fly by...... come on Christmas..... I can't wait to see you!