Carson Ross Fun Run Fundraiser.............

Go to www.carsonrossfunrun.blogspot.com to see pictures of The Carson Ross 5k / 1 Mile Fun Run or Walk Fundraiser, it turned out way beyond what we were hoping for...........

Meet the Mormons Premiere........

Tuesday night was the premiere of the movie, "Meet the Mormons".  Christine, Brenda, and I got the opportunity to see it several weeks ago at a 'sneak peak', and we all loved it.  Our church is no longer a 'Utah' church, and the majority of membership lives outside of the United States, you can read about church stats here.  This last general conference we had the opportunity to hear several general authorities give their messages in their native languages, and because I work in the Distribution Center I have met hundreds and hundreds of members from all over the world, collectively these general authorities and other members, are another witness to me of what the Lord told Daniel when he said His gospel shall be as the stone cut out of the mountain without hands that would roll forth and fill the whole earth https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/the-stone-cut-out-of-the-mountain?lang=eng.  

A couple of my favorite people at the premiere, Elder Holland and David Archuleta (and his mom).

Not sure who the guy on the left is, but John Dye (our friend who is over marketing for the movie) is in the middle, and David Archuleta on the right.

A couple reminders of home............

Hey Mom!!

So first of all, that was really cool reading that little article about Carson! You really have outdone yourself, you are working so hard for that, I hope it goes well for the Ross family!!

So funny story, there is another new missionary here in the Zone, Elder Turville...apparently you helped him out with his garment selection huh? Haha too funny, who would've known?? (After helping newly called missionaries for months at Deseret Book, I finally helped one that had been called to the Texas, Lubbock Mission, that poor Elder got an earful from me along with a promise that he would give Elder Backus a hug if he ever ran into him, well as luck would have it, his first area is Roswell, New Mexico and Cody is his zone leader.  I hope that Elder Turville made good on his promise). 

Oh man, that picture...I hope you aren't putting all those on facebook and stuff haha that was horrible!!

Elder Murray is doing well, haha I think he is enjoying it, but I think we are all waiting for his first wave of home sickness to come. I see him every once in a while and talk to him at least every other day, his companion is a DL, so I call him every night.

Lisa's baptism went very well, we had it right after the Women's Broadcast. (I wish I could've seen it!)

We now have a pretty crazy week ahead of us, we have a little mini zone conference on thursday and then Elder Bladen and I will be driving down to Lubbock for MLC on Friday. Everything is moving so fast!!

I love you Mom, and I am finally starting to love this work. It is still a process, and I still groan every now and then, but I think I am starting to catch the vision. Thank you so much for your tremendous support, I don't know how I could do it without you.

Elder Backus and Elder Murray.

Christine is now a teenager.............

On the 26th of September, Christine turned 13 and officially became a teen-ager...

Another birthday banner.........

Christine wanted a larger bed for her birthday present.  Her last bed was a twin size, and we will never forget Randy sleeping in it when he spent Christmas with us, his feet hung off the end & he said he felt like Buddy the Elf.

She requested that all the pink be removed from her room, so out with the old & in with the gray and yellow.  You can tell by her shelves, that Christine loves to read.  In the last year she read the Hunger Games and the Divergent Series.

Even though she is growing up FAST, she still requests the Cake Batter Birthday Cake from Coldstone, hopefully some things will never change :).

Christine has a very sweet personality.  The last couple of months she has been anonymously serving an elderly lady in our neighborhood who has been battling breast cancer.  She has dropped off gifts and cards at her door, rings the doorbell and runs.  She easily feels the spirit of service.

I hold a special place in my heart for this daughter of mine, whenever I appear to not feel well, she is the first to ask if I need help, she is sincerely concerned and would do absolutely anything to make me feel better.  She has been known to pull out her nail clippers, foot scrubber, lotion and nail polish to give me a pedicure when I've had a long day.  She is a caregiver at heart and I LOVE that about her.  Happy 13th Birthday Christine!!

Carson Ross 5k / 1 mile Fun Run or Walk.........

One of Cody's best friends is Dylan Ross who is currently serving a mission as well.  Dylan has a younger brother, Carson, who was recently diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor and is currently undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatments.  Just days before the diagnosis, Dylan's dad was laid off at work and is currently unemployed.  Because of their unfortunate situation, a group of us are organizing a 5k Fundraiser for the family.  You can read about Carson's story and how the Murray High Football team have honored Carson by clicking on the link below (Cody and Dylan are mentioned in it....).

http://m.deseretnews.com/splash?skipSplash=true&platform=iphone&isWebView=0&requestedURI=%2Farticle%2F865611543%2FBand-of-brothers-Murray-football-players-rally-around-teammates-younger-brother-struggling-with.html%3Fpg%3Dall&ref=http%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2F75OhI9mS9z%3Fref%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2F75OhI9mS9z

You can learn more about Carson at carsonrossfunrun.blogspot.com.

September 18th, 2014.............

Hey Mom!! So first of all, thank you so much for making my birthday so great. That burger joint was GREAT, I cant wait to go back!! Haha that banner was totally Julie-esque, I loved it. My companion marveled at your uncanny penmanship haha (; So when is the Carson 5K? That is so cool, I am really excited to hear all about it.

My birthday was pretty good. The Sisters decorated our driveway haha, and then we spent a lot of time on the bikes just talking to people and helping them in any way that we could. I got a lot of calls and texts from people in the mission wishing me a happy day, it meant a lot to me. It was just another day in the life, but thanks to you guys it was definitely one of the most memorable. Thank you for that (:

Haha so guess what!! Elder Murray is in my zone! (Elder Murray went to Murray High with Cody) Haha I dont think I told you this, but there is an indian reservation a little west of here, i went on exchanges there once, it is crazy green and has a bunch of mountains...totally not what you would think of the Texas Lubbock Mission, but its called the Mescelaro Reservation, and thats where Elder Murray will be training. His trainer is a stud, so I think he will really have a good time. Who would have thought huh?

Lisa will be getting baptized this Saturday after the General Women's Broadcast, so wish us luck and pray for us that we can get all of that squared away (: Thank you so so much mom. I felt your love all the way out here (: I love and miss you like crazy! 

The banner did make it up on his wall........next to the Utah banner :).

I googled restaurants in Roswell, and found 'Big D's', it was voted one of the Top Ten Burgers in the Nation, so I called them and bought a gift card so that Cody and his companion (looks like an extra elder according to the picture) could go out to eat on his birthday.....

Looks like Cody is running with a few Elders and President Heaps....

Missionary Leadership Conference

Happy Birthday Elder Backus!!

Cody turns 19 today, the age which we had always expected him to leave on his mission, however, plans changed when the church lowered the age requirement for missionaries.  As a result, the month after Cody turned 18, he left for the MTC to begin his 2 year service.  Its pretty incredible for me to read his, as well as many other young missionaries letters, and learn about what they are able to do at such a young age.  Cody has shared with me how very young he feels some days, but has gained an understanding of the enabling power of the atonement as he is able to do things he never thought he was capable of.

This is my first birthday away from any of my children, so I woke up this morning with the desire to stay busy and do something that I know Cody would want me to do.  One of Cody's best friends, who is also serving a mission, has a little brother who was recently diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.  Just a couple days before that, his father was laid off and is currently unemployed.  A few of us who know the family are organizing a 5k fundraiser to help with the costs of medical treatment and daily expenses, so my friend Dayna and I, spent the day going from one business to another asking for donations to help make this event a success for their family.  We were overwhelmed with the generosity of everyone we talked to, and at the end of the day, knew that I had spent the day doing something worthwhile and something I know would make Cody happy.

We put together a birthday package for him and included a t-shirt for p-day that I loved.......

I also made a 6 ft birthday banner and included tape (haha!) to put on his apartment wall....we'll see if he actually does that.............

I took a silver pen and wrote down all of my favorite missionary scriptures in the background.

The Challenges of Leadership............(no longer keeping track of the weeks!)

Hey Mom!!!

I am really glad to hear about the 5K for Carson, that is so great of you guys. I wish I could be there to be in it! How was the half-marathon?? It sounds like the neighborhood BBQ was a success, how is the missionary work in the ward?

We had a good week this week, haha there never really is a bad one. I am just continuing to try and become a better leader, I feel like every companionship is going through some sort of a problem or another, and I just feel so inadequate as a leader sometimes when they ask me for advice on things that I have never really experienced, I am so grateful for the scriptures and the wisdom that we can learn from them. They have saved my bacon more than a few times (;

This is transfer week, crazy how fast they have been going lately. I have learned a lot these past 6 months as a Zone Leader, and I am fine to do it some more, but I would like to maybe try something different...haha its a stressful thing! I am pretty sure I will be staying in Roswell, but we will just have to see (:

I love and miss you mom. Thank you for these awesome past 19 years. You are my greatest example. Work hard, be safe, and know that I will be doing the same things (: You are doing great things back home, I am proud of you!!! I love you!

Love, Cody

Salt Lake Comic Con......

I was asked to work at Comic Con this weekend and really had no idea what to expect....Google defines it as a large comic book and popular arts convention held annually, although I learned that it will be in Salt Lake again in April, so maybe its twice annually??  I worked for Shadow Mountain which is a publishing company for Deseret Book.  I helped several big authors with their book signings and loved every minute of it.  

Shannon Hale (Goose Girl, Princess Academy & Ever After High Series)

Brandon Mull (Fablehaven series)

Tyler Whitesides (The Janitor Series)

Richard Paul Evans (Michael Vey series, thus the 'Veyniac sticker)

A couple more pics from the mission president's blog.........

Elders Crompton, Backus, Stoneking (Party Planner #2), and Ware 

July 2014 Mission Leader Council

Our first Mission Leader Council
Row 1: Elders Squires, Stoneking, Bucknum, Checketts, Davis, Dunkel, Christensen, Richards, May
Row 2: Elder Kirkpatrick, Smith, Gadd, Clark, Cole, Gardner, Backus, Cunningham, Carlile, Bladen, Schouten, Watson, Ross
Row 3: Sister Dunham, Brown, Sister & President Heap, Crowton, Calderwood, Plante
Row 4: Vailea, Boughton, Barlow, Clark, Bennion, Soules, Capron

davidandmaryheap.blogspot.com

Bless Sister Heap's heart (the new mission president's wife), she has started a TEXAS LUBBOCK MISSON blog!!!!!!  I went there and look who was on her most recent post.......

This morning, David instructed about 90 youth in Roswell, NM about what real mission life is like. Hopefully we didn't scare them all off ;) Then our Zone Leaders, Elder Bladen and Elder Backus finished the rest of the Conference while we zoomed off to the Odessa Stake Conference.

President Heap, Elder Backus, and Elder Bladen (Some of our awesome Zone Leaders!)

We are learning to council...(this was a mission leadership council)

Row 1: Elders Squires, Stoneking, Kirkpatrick, Smith, Cole, Backus, Watson, Cunningham, Bladen, Gadd, Clark, Carlile, and Bucknum
Row 2: President & Sister Heap, Elders Gardner, Christensen, Dunkle, Richards, Schouten, Ross, May, Davis, and Checketts
Row 3: Sisters Soules, Barlow, Bennion, Clark, Dunham, Brown, Plante, Calderwood, Capron, Crowton, Vailea, Boughton

Bring Him Home...

Last night Meghan sent me this link of David Archuleta singing, "Bring Him Home", 

to the American troops in Afghanistan. 

 As I listened, I not only thought of the men and women fighting for our country, 

but also the thousands of men and women who are serving as missionaries for the Lord, Jesus Christ in whatever capacity that may be. 

 As a mother of one these missionaries,

 the words in this song have real meaning to me as I find myself on my knees often, 

praying for Cody's safe return home in 2 years. 

 Although this is always on my mind, I have a desire that goes beyond mortality, 

and it will always be that in the 2 years he is gone, 

he develops a better understanding of what this life is all about. 

 I hope that while he serves with all his might, mind, and strength, that he will find peace and rest in the Savior. 

I hope that he learns how much God knows and loves him, 

I hope that he comes to realize that God has a plan for him which goes beyond this mortal life,

 and more than anything else, 

I hope he comes to realize that faith in God will eventually bring us home to our Father in Heaven whose greatest desire is for us to live with Him again.  

Roswell Weeks 36, 37 & 38............

Hey Madre

Let me know how the Augustin's do! Haha you will probably get a kick out of President he definitely is a lot different than what I was usually used to. Love that man though! If you get the chance tell Sis Augustin Elder Backus said hello (:

I am ready for Zone Training tomorrow...thank you for the talks, they really helped out. I will let you know how it all goes, thank you! 

Thank you so much for your prayers. We were able to find a lot more people to teach this week, thank you so much. Hopefully we can get them to progress now! (:

How is the rest of the fam? How are you doing? Thank you for sharing your testimony with me, it means so much. I love and miss you like crazy!

Love, Your one and only son

Hey Mom!

Lizzy gave me a shout out huh? Haha I hope everything goes okay for her, those first few weeks in the MTC are rough! She will do good. Pretty weird to see all those guys after a year...haha some look like they have changed others not so much. 

Soooo I got transferred. I am pretty bummed about it. I have loved it here in Lubbock, the ward, the city, everything....but of course once you get comfortable you have to move. Haha and it doesnt help that I am getting transferred to the WEIRDEST place in America...I got assigned to be a Zone Leader in Roswell, New Mexico...I was hoping to stay a Texas Ranger my whole mission but to no avail. ); I really am sad to be leaving but I know that it is where I need to be at this time. Elder Bladen will be my new companion. I have heard good things about him so we will see how it goes...where did your mission boundaries go to? Haha what do I need to know about New Mexico? I cant believe I am going to be back in Mountain Standard Time...haha!

Haha tell Cass not to write Elder Mort back hahaha well mom, I would love to hear from you, shoot me an email if you get a chance. I love and miss you like crazy. 

Love, Cody

Madre!!!

Well, first of all, loved the pics!! You dont look any different now than you did back then! The bangs were a bit wild, but hey, that was the time and culture right? (; 

Things are going well here. My Zone here is huuuuuge compared to lubbock. There are 4 districts instead of 2, 28 missionaries instead of 20, and our zone covers about 300 miles from top to bottom. Yikes!! 

Elder Bladen is a great guy, he is from Logan and has been out about 17 months. Roswell, when you get past all the alien stuff....its everywhere, is actually a pretty nice town. The people are for the most part pretty friendly. There are two wards here. In the ward I cover alone, there is 600 registered members, but only about 140 are active...we have a lot of work to do. We have a baptism this weekend with a 18 year old boy named Jonathan, so hopefully everything will go smoothly. I love and miss you like crazy mom. I will send you a letter today and try and give you some more of the deets (; When do the girls start school? I love you! 

Hey Mom!!

Well, I better get to the red questions first before I forget...Jonathan did get baptized, and received the Priesthood yesterday after he got confirmed in Sacrament Meeting. I'm not working in any Spanish Branches, Elder Bladen is an English missionary so anybody I find I refer back to the Spanish Elders here. We are in the finding stages now so we are hitting the bikes a good three hours a day or so and talking to everybody that we can, its hard work! Really if you could just pray that we will be able to find somebody who has truly been prepared by the Lord to receive it, that would be much appreciated.

I heard Cassidy did a great job; Sister Pearmain actually wrote me and told me all about it (: Crazy to think she is growing up so fast...and then that picture of Christine...haha what!!! Gone are the "Bean" days huh?

When does Sean come into the field?? I would love to have him in the Zone...I will talk with President Heap and see if I can influence some inspiration or something haha!!

I read about the Meet the Mormons movie in an Ensign, that sure would be cool to see!! Hopefully it can get around out here, that would be a great tool to use!

Well Mom, I miss you very very much. I guess I am not technically a new missionary anymore, but I sure do feel like it sometimes. Thank you for the prayers and constant love, it means the world to me. Oh, and I loved those mission pics of yours, haha they were great!! Have an awesome week Mom.

Love, Cody

Sunday.........

Today we went to the missionary farewell of Lizzy Brown, a good friend of Cody's who is headed to Nashville, Tennessee speaking Spanish.  She gave a wonderful talk on the attributes of Christ and it was good to see a bunch of Cody's friends from school again.....

After Lizzy's farewell we drove straight to Provo to see Jordan get set apart to the office of an Elder.....

Jordan's bishop was right on when he said that Jordan hasn't stopped grinning since he received his mission call.....

After we returned home from Provo I went to a very interesting fireside given by Michael Kennedy who is the first descendant of Joseph Smith to receive the Melchizedek priesthood.  You can read about his conversion story here.

Lubbock Week 35...........

The email I received from Cody on Monday was very short....he let us know that they are teaching a single mom and 2 daughters, Myron, Michelle and Mary.  They came to church on Sunday and are hoping to meet with them again this week.  The church will be sending iPads to his mission before Christmas which he is excited about, he also met with President Heaps in a MLC (missionary leadership conference), the focus of the meeting was on empowering  the leaders with more responsibilities, he said he learned a lot and is wondering how he can fit in more responsibilities than he already has :).  He said he is enjoying his new president and had a lot of fun at the conference....

The following is an email that I received today from the husband of the lady (the Young Women's President in Cody's Big Spring Ward) who sent me a letter last March. 

Sister Backus,

I finally just read the email you sent my wife back in March. It fell to the bottom of my inbox. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate it. More so, I can’t tell you how much we miss having Elder Backus in this area. I know he is doing great things where he is at, but we sure miss him here. I’m sure my wife told you that we both worked at the MTC for a number of years after our missions and I would have given my right arm to have him in one of my districts. He is wise beyond his years and a very mature missionary. I love his confident humility. I still remember he asked my wife to accompany them to a lesson and then followed up that night asking her opinion of the investigators and whether or not she thought they were committed to living the gospel. Usually the missionaries we’ve worked with aren’t willing to ask the members their opinions.

I hope he is doing well! Again thank you for your advice. I’ve definitely started to read more to my kids every night.