After seeing Ally for the first time and going to the temple, we went visiting some families. Now, we were running on fumes because Allyn and I had been up since 3:45am, flown to Houston, had a very emotional reunion with our missionary, been to the temple...and Sister Schlauder was still going strong. It was only 8pm and she was certain we could still fit in a few visits. She's so cute...
Our first visit was to Toni, Joseph and Carli. Joseph is one of the very first people Ally taught. He was baptized, got married and now he and Carli are going to have a baby boy soon. Joseph is an amazing artist and he wanted to give us a gift... he created an awesome drawing/painting of Superman and Wonderwoman for Allyn and I and said that is how he would describe us...we all got a good laugh out of that! We love the Lovings. They are family to us.
The next visit was to the Speckhards. I can't describe the love and closeness that we all feel for this amazing family. I get all teary eyed just thinking about how close we became to them. They love our daughter and have treated her like their own for 1 1/2 years. Peri even had Allyson's laundry all folded and ready for her when we got there. Leesa painted her a beautiful portrait of the Savior. And Thursday night we got to be with this wonderful family at the temple when Leesa was sealed to her parents, after witnessing her 83 year old mom be sealed to her parents. Words can't describe the joy and miracles that we witnessed while we were there in the temple with them.
They are our family too. We love the Speckhards.
Right after this picture was taken, Allyn went over to give Grandma C. a hug and tell her goodbye. She smiled and patted his cheek, looked right up at him and said, "You have great hair!" We all laughed so hard!!
The next morning we went back to the mission home where President and Sister Pingree fed all of us an amazing breakfast and had the missionaries sign the Texas Houston Mission Flag with their favorite scripture.
Then they had each departing missionary share their testimony.
It was one of the most tender, spiritual, experiences of my life.
Then it was off to Tomball, Texas to meet up with Ally's last companions, Sister Fonua and Sister Cramer, and sweet new member Catherine. They are all so great...we love them.
We laughed, cried and had a great lunch at The Whistle Stop Cafe.
To say that they didn't want Sister Schlauder to leave Texas would be an understatement!
Lyle Hurst is such a great guy. We had a wonderful visit in his home. He even sang for us Allyson's mission song that he wrote the music to. He is so talented and has such an amazing voice. Lyle hasn't been back to church in over 35 years and has visited with a lot of missionaries in those years.
He said, "Without a doubt, Sister Schlauder is my very favorite."
Wonderful Carolin and her daughter Brittney are just amazing! We didn't want to leave their beautiful home...they made us feel like family. We love them...
They both had tears streaming down their faces as we left. And so did we.
I didn't get pictures of some of the other visits we made...
But I can say that Sister Schlauder kept us really. really. busy. And this is just a re-cap of the first two days....
But I can say that Sister Schlauder kept us really. really. busy. And this is just a re-cap of the first two days....
1 comment:
Im so excited that you got to experience all of this. I can just imagine how much they all loved Ally. There really is nothing like having a missionary and meeting the people they served. I can't wait to hear her speak on Sunday!
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