Happy Holidays

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Moses Lake where we enjoyed good food and a lot of snow! Prior to us leaving for Moses Lake, Auburn got several inches of snow as well. Here are some photos of the much anticipated snowfall.

Tess has come home from BYU-Hawaii to enjoy her Christmas break here on the mainland. She had a good first semester at college, learning to being away from home (very far away from home) and taking care of herself. She had a visit from my parents last semester, as they were on a trip to Hawaii. It was nice to exchange pictures and text messages with the Grandparents and Tess. They took her out to eat as she gave them a tour of campus. We appreciate them checking in on Tess for us.

Seth has had a couple of transfers on his mission. He feels that he has a good grasp of the Spanish language. He admits that this was not easy for him, but the Lord has blessed him greatly and he is very appreciative. We don't get a lot of photos from Seth, he is not permitted to take many (mission rules) but he has experienced the blessings of obedience as he focuses on the work of teaching and baptizing. Here are Seth's most recent words home:

Hola Familia-

Well, the transfer came to an end last Saturday, and so yesterday we recieved transfer calls. I was told that I am going to leave Cambita and that I am heading to Padre Las Casas which is in the zone of Azua. I have mixed feelings about this. Padre Las Casas from what I've seen and heard is a really cool area. Literally "cool". It lies in the mountains so it is one of the colder areas in the mission and it has had fairly good success recently. For that reason I am pretty excited to go there. But I am also kind of bumbed out about leaving Cambita because I have really loved it here. Even though the work was difficult and at times mentally straining, I felt like Elder Romero and I were really starting to get things going. We are still teaching Estefani who is progressing pretty well. Her baptism date was Christmas weekend but we decided to change it to January 9th becasue Christmas and New Years are huge here and so we didnt want any conflicts with that. This will also allow us to help her stregthen her testimony especially in the Book of Mormon. We are also starting to teacher her friend Karla which I think will help her also. We also started teaching a family in the last week and a half. The parents names are Cesar and Norkis and for the very first time we taught them together as a family. We've primarily been teaching Cesar and at times his wife. They both realize the importance of Prophets (which is really important here in the DR) and I think that after the lesson we had last night with the whole family that they realize how the gospel is going to bless their family. So I feel like I am leaving a lot behind her in Cambita but I am looking forward to the opportunity to work in Padre Las Casas.

Travis has had many adventures in Japan! He had his first (and hopefully last) bike accident. He broke his hand! His comments were, "I was riding my bike, wind in my hair, all at ease...when before I knew it I was tangled under my bike!" This is classic Travis...always making a joke and looking for the bright side of a situation. His hand was casted and he was "off" his bike for several weeks. He has been transfered and is now back to riding...hopefully he will stay on his bike this transfer. Travis reports:

Well, I said good bye to tanabe and elder chappell :( and now Im in Tsuyama! Its a slightly bigger city than tanabe, and WAY colder. Apparently we could be getting some snow here pretty soon. I dont know if I would like that.... Its soooo coooold!

My hand still has a few more weeks to go, but Im back on my bike! Ive figured out a way to support my left hand on the handle w/o touching it with my thumb, or half of the palm of my hand thats over the broken bone. Everything is very spread out and far away! Church and train station are both about 25-30 minutes away by bike.

My new companion is elder Suzuki - Hes Japanese! We are co-seniors. This will be a good oportunity so improve my language skills! So far ive been pretty pleased to find that we can talk normally, with only occasional need for a dictionary ( Ive learned Jissen - to put into practice and shouryaku - to abbreviate) Hes full of energy and we're going to get some good work done this transfer.

We had a Christmas party with lots of delicious Nabe! Nabe is basically just japanese stew,but you can throw all kinds of stuff in as you go along. Its pretty good! try to look it up if you can! I dressed up as a donkey, suzuki dressed up as a sheep.

As far as investigators go, We found one in tanabe the day before I left, and we have another with christmas baptismal date here in Tsuyama! I wonder what christmas in japan will be like?

This weeks spiritual message is a christmas message! In the book of mormon, Nephi sees mary and the birth of Christ in vision, and understands more fully the Love of God. We can read this in 1st Nephi 11:13-23

When we look at all the things of christmas, the trees, the presents, the food, the parties, do we remember what it all means? Christ was prepared from before the foundation of the world to be our savior! If we remember and follow him, we can always feel his love. Lets remeber to share the love of God with everyone around us this holiday season!

I love you all! Thanks for all your support!

Elder Nuttall

We will be adding some photos and videos later this week. We have a lot to show of Travis, and a few pictures of Seth. Both boys are doing well, and we are thrilled to be able to talk to them in just a few days! I am the most excited of all.

Homecoming 2010

Jessica and Amanda celebrated the school's homecoming this year as they dressed up and went on a double date. The girls (and boys) had a fun time at dinner, pictures and the dance. It is hard to believe that another fall has come and is nearly gone. With the boys half way through their missions and another senior (class of 2011) it is hard to believe how quickly time flies.

Ethan and Aarun are enjoying cross country, they are doing well and hope to compete in the state meet in a couple of weeks. Jessica and diving and is also hoping to dive in the state meet next month. It looks like she will meet this goal. Amanda is still swimming strong, she hopes to end the season with a showing at state too. Evan and Alyssa are not in fall sports at the middle school,they will be involved in basketballand gymnastics soon, though!

Good-Bye Tess!

Well, I haven't blogged in a while. A new job, getting a daughter ready for college, and two boys in the mission field who are reaching their half-way point AND are turning 20 has kept me busy. Tess left on Thursday for BYU-Hawaii. She made it safely there and has done all of the freshman activities. She starts class this week and is excited. She was surprised by the small size of her dorm room...aren't we all?

I am sure that she will adjust just fine. Her first task is to find a part-time job to help with the costs of college. She is hoping to work at the Cultural Center nearby. We have suggested that she take whatever job she can find.

Seth and Travis both turn 20 over the next two weeks. They are also close to their half-way point...so hard to believe. Travis is half-way on October 21st and Seth is half-way on November 4th. It is hard to believe that they are nearing half-way!

Summer is wrapping up and fall is setting in and we look forward to cross country, swim & dive, and pumpkins.

Can you find Elder Nuttall?

Can you find Elder Nuttall? This photograph was taken at a conference when the Japan Hiroshima mission was closed and consolidated into the Kobe Mission. In case you need help, look about six rows up from the floor and about six Elders in from the left. Travis' mission president keeps a mission blog and this photo was posted on it.

The boys are doing well, in October and November they will each have reached their 1/2 way point. They do not want me to remind them that they are nearing that point, they only want to focus on being in the field and working hard.

We have had some fun family adventures recently, and I will post photos of them when I get a chance. For now, happy summer!

Summer is Here!

The children (and adults) have settled in to the non-routine of summer! The pool is warming up and the kids are happily sleeping in most days. Tess is enjoying her job at WildWaves. She loves being a life-guard. She got her first paycheck this week: a whopping $29. She was delighted and pleased to have earned it herself.

This week the house was quiet! Tess was working most days, Evan was at Scout Camp, Aarun was at Basketball Camp, Jessica and Amanda were in Utah. That left Ethan, Alyssa, and me to entertain ourselves. We found solace from the heat in the movie theater. We watched Despicable Me. It was pretty good, a couple of inside jokes for the adults to enjoy (ie: Lehman Brothers).

We also snuck off to the Old Country Buffet. This is a family favorite for the kids. They have not yet realized that the quality of the food is not great and the prices are WAY to high (by the way, drinks a no longer included in the price of the meal, you have to pay extra to go overboard on soda and chocolate milk). The kids are so caught up in the "all you can eat" aspect of the buffet, nothing else matters. I considered bringing a sandwich from home to eat, but chickened out at the last minute.

Our tradition of the buffet began back in the days when Wayne was out of town with his basketball team. The kids and I would sneak off to the buffet while he was gone. Since he is currently out of town, we followed the tradition again. No guarantee we might not go once more on a hot 90 degree day when I am tired and the kids need a distraction.

We are off to enjoy some camping at Ensign Ranch and then some family time in Moses Lake. Luckily we will have Ryan and Tess to hold down the fort while we are gone. It is so nice to just leave town and enjoy the outdoors with no worries!

Good Things to Come

Good Things to Come

More Graduation Photos

Thanks to some good friends, we have more graduation photos of Tess to post. Since both Wayne and I are working at graduation as part of the staff at AMHS, it makes it hard to take photos ourselves. Of course, it is a blessing to be a part of the graduation ceremony for your own children. Enjoy these photos, they are very good ones!

We are looking forward to a summer spending time together before sending our third child off into the real world. It's hard to believe that we have gone from 9 to 6 children in one year's time.

Congratulations, Tess!

Congratulations to Tess, a member of the class of 2010! While the weather didn't exactly cooperate (the class of 2010 sat in blue plastic ponchos in the rain and drizzle) the commencement ceremonies for the graduates was great! A little soggy, but very happy, Tess celebrated her graduation in style. We held a reception in her honor as we celebrated with a Hawaiian-Style dinner in anticipation of her attending BYU-Hawaii in the fall.

Tess is looking forward to her first summer job at WildWaves, where she will be a lifeguard. In early September, she will head off to Hawaii. Tess has worked hard, overcome many challenges and been faithful to herself and her goals to become a righteous young woman. In preparation for college, she will be organizing her belongings, purchasing new things for her dorm room, and taking a break from studying for the next couple of months. Congratulations, Tess. We are proud of you!

Seth

A busy week has already begun. As mentioned, we are preparing for Tess' graduation, and also checking in with the boy's mission experiences. Seth sent this picture through email today. It is nice to see him with the people he is teaching. It is easier for my mind's eye to imagine him working and helping to spread the gospel when I see images like this. He looks happy and his letters are upbeat. I wonder...what's with the short tie he is wearing? I am pretty sure that must be a new Dominican Republic tie because that wasn't one he left with. His companion has a shorter tie too...must be the fashion of the Dominican Republic. Anyway, both boys are happy and working hard. They just a few weeks away from being out 8 months. I realized a few days ago that when we talk to them on Christmas, they will be over half way through their missions. It must be all the grey days we are having lately that remind me of winter and Christmas. A little sun would be nice!

Class of 2010

As we approach the final two weeks before Tess graduates from High School, we wanted to share her Senior Photo. This year's Senior Photos became a Laurel Activity at youth night. Tess really likes this photo. The flowers are beautiful as is the lovely girl in the middle!

Graduation is Saturday, June 19th followed by a family luncheon at the Rumbaugh Home. We decided to have a Hawaiian-themed luncheon to celebrate Tess going to BYU-Hawaii. She will be leaving for Hawaii the last week of August.

Luckily, we will be able to talk to her on the phone and share her experiences together. She is looking forward to living on her own for the first time, as well as being a "grown up" college student. We can't wait to see the adventures that await her over the next several months.

Graduation is Nearing!

This was the big event of our lives just one year ago! Our first set of graduates from high school. We are nearing the same event in just a four weeks...Tess is graduating! As most everyone is aware, she will be heading off to BYU-Hawaii in the fall. Here are some amazing facts about Tess:

1. Tess has lived a life faithful to her baptismal covenants, is a worthy young woman, who I am very proud of!

2. Tess is an amazing artist! She can draw, paint, sculpt, engrave, and envision the most beautiful things I have ever seen!

3. Tess is kind and considerate to others. Tess is able to see the needs of others and steps up in her willingness to be others friends.

4. Tess is beautiful! She has beautiful brown eyes, a sweet smile, and most importantly a glowing spirit.

5. Tess is a leader. She is the first in our family to head to college! Although the boys are living out of the country, Tess is the first to take on the academic challenge of college. Luckily, I can call her on her cell phone everyday.

6. Tess is brave! Tess has faced many challenges in her 18 years. Some are personal, some are just the "regular" types of things all teenage girls face, but Tess has been amazingly brave as she has become a woman.

7. Tess is faithful. Tess has a strong testimony and a strong sense of right and wrong. She will be able to use this gift throughout her life.

8. Tess has good common sense! Tess can sense danger, she can seek out good friends, and is able to listen to the Holy Ghost as she grows and learns.

9. Tess is strong. Tess has the ability to say "yes" or "no" at the right times. She is not afraid to walk away from temptation, she is willing to move forward as she chooses the right and seeks out the good things of this world.

10. Tess is loved! We are so proud of Tess, she is our oldest daughter, whom we have loved and cherished. We will continue to do so, but feel that we must now share her in a way we have not felt before...

Tess will do great at college, and we are already thinking of her coming home at Christmas...or perhaps we should have a family Christmas Hawaii! Aloha!

Mother's Day Phone Calls

Mother's Day is a special event for any mother, but for those with sons and daughters out on missions, it is especially exciting. We began our evening by calling Travis (Elder Nuttall) in Japan. I was worried because I couldn't get through and couldn't understand the Japanese voice on the other end of the phone. So, I called a ward member who spoke Japanese and she told me that I was getting his answering machine. She suggested that his companion was on the phone with his family. I waited a while and tried back. Travis answered! He sounded so great. He has that missionary enthusiasm. Everything is amazing, awesome, and he is so excited to be serving the Lord. He said that he can speak Japanese pretty well, but cannot understand much of what is said. About 15 minutes into his call, my cell phone rang. It was Seth! Seth sounded much farther away...the connection on the phone was not as clear. He got cut off a couple of times. He sounded great....humble and mature.

Seth is having the opposite experience with Spanish as Travis is with Japanese. He can understand everyone, but has trouble speaking. Both boys sounded like themselves, I was wondering if they would sound totally different from what I remember. Their voices were familiar, and the things they shared made me feel at peace with them being so far away.

We managed to trade two phones around the house for the next 30 minutes. Everyone spoke to everyone and we ended the calls by putting Seth and Travis on speaker and letting them speak to each other. What a blessing this was for them. They have not spoken since Travis left last October. They enjoyed the time to talk. It felt like the family was all back together again. If I were to close my eyes and just listen...we were all back in the kitchen as a family. It was wonderful and a little bit sad at the same time.

Travis has had his first baptism. Baptisms are not common in Japan, so this is a big event for him. He was thrilled to have taught someone the gospel and see them progress to baptism. Seth has had many baptisms, the work moves more quickly in the Dominican Republic. Seth mentioned that the names of people are so long that it makes it tricky when someone is baptized! How different the missions are. How different the boys experiences have been. Yet, they fit the personalities and strengths of each of them perfectly. These are the tender mercies that I am so thankful for.

Happy Mother's Day!

Six Months Out...Eighteen To Go!

still consider myself a bit of a new "missionary mom". I must admit that I secretly count the hours between Auburn and Japan and Auburn and the Dominican Republic. I feel badly if I don't write the boys each week, and I think about them all the time. By, now, the sting of them being gone has settled a bit, but I still miss them. The 1/4 mark is our first big milestone, with many more to come. Here is an excerpt from each boy:

Elder Travis Nuttall:

It has been raining for most of the week! When it rains in Japan it POURS! We're okay though, we have rain jackets and rain pants (kappa in japanese) so we can stay somewhat dry. My companion and I have been working on improving our english class, and its worked! We had 11 people (as opposed to the usual 3 or four) last teusday! We also found a new investigator from the class - she even came to conference! Conference is 1 week delayed here, we watch it on DVD. I was way exited for conference, because we had 2 investigators coming. It worked out very well because one of our investigators was struggling with resurrection vs. reincarnation, and there were tons of talks about resurrection because it was Easter! Everything was easy for our investigators to understand too. Conference is Subarashii! Another big thing this week was Zone Conference. The entire island of Shikoku has become a zone, so there were a-lot of people there. One new elder is from Brazil! He is learning japanese from english which is tough because english is his second language. Hes doing fine though, the Lord really does help out "after all we can do". Elder Frogley and I are planning on 2 baptisms this transfer. I've still yet to have one, but I know we can do it! We have "baptismal focus plans" for all our investigators, with a very specific vision for how we will help them to recieve baptism. Goal setting is really important! One other amazing thing happened this week. We visited an investigator who we have only known for 2 weeks, and asked her if she was able to read the introduction to the book of mormon like we asked her. She told us she had, and that she had also been reading in other parts of the book of mormon! (which happened to be 3rd nephi 11) She asked us "what is baptism? it talks a-lot about it in here". We were glad to explain it to her! We also started teaching her about prayer and she told us that she already prays everyday, and that she's prayed about the book of mormon and thinks its true!!! It was an amazing miracle - the Lord really does prepare people! We've boosted our teaching pool to over 10 people, and we hope to hit 20 by the end of the transfer. Missionary work is the best work on earth, because we are building up the Kingdom of God! Ill be sure to keep you all posted on how everything's going, and thanks so much for your emails! Love you all!

Elder Seth Rumbaugh:

Well, it was a pretty good week. My companion and I had a baptism this last Saturday. I did the baptising. The kid´s name is Misiyel. He is 15 years old. What was awesome was that the next day at church, after he recieved the holy ghost, he got up and bore his testimony about his conversion and the Book of Mormon. It was really strong and super cool to see. Several of the members thought it was cool too. My companion and I dont have any baptisims planned for this week but we have 5 or 6 planned for the 24th. It will be sweet if all of them can be baptised.

My companion Elder Almonte, and I have quit a few investigators. We have so many appointments that we really dont have time to contact. We are teaching this family right now. There names are Miguel and Ana. They have three little girls. The other day we were reading out of 3rd Nephi 11, the chapter where Christ comes to visit the Nephites. Miguel had doubts that Christ really came to the Americas. While my companion tried to explain to him that Christ did come to the Americas, I started reading the chapter to myself. While I was reading verse 10 caught my attention. In this verse Christ is testifying of himself as the person who prophets testified would come to the world. The word world caught my attention and reminded me of the famous scripture John 3:16 which says, "...God so loved the world, that he sent His only Begotten Son...". I then explained this to Miguel that God loved the world and sent His Son to the world. Not just Jerusalem but the whole world, including to the people in the Americas. This answered his doubt a little bit. I know for a fact that it was the Holy Ghost that was helping me in this situation. It felt really cool.

Everything here in the sizzling hot DR is going pretty good. Luckily it has been kind of cloudy this last week. It is hard to believe that I am almost a 1/4 of the way done. I remember vividly my first day in the MTC. Time is flying by. Love you all and miss you a lot. Until next week.

Well, that's plenty for now!

Salt Lake City!

We returned yesterday from our trip to SLC for General Conference. The trip was complete with the usual triumphs and hassles! We enjoyed the time we spent together, conference, Temple Square, and swimming in the hotel pool. We are pleased that we survived the LONG car drive (we took two cars, actually). The occasional whining is just part of the territory and was balanced out by the spirit of conference and the excitement of the Easter Bunny. Yes, the Easter Bunny still comes even though we have older children!

We have heard that both boys are doing well in their respective missions. Travis is still in Kochi, he is experiencing the challenges of teaching in a country where Christ is not well known and not well received. He is faithful and hard-working. His companion and him often log the most tracting (they call it "streeting") hours of any other companionship in the area. It nice to see him enjoying the hard work. Seth is adjusting to his new area. The weather is warming up quite a bit...Seth has written home asking for some deodorant. Apparently, the deodorant in the Dominican doesn't quite cut it for him. Neither boy has received their Easter package from home...it is still difficult to predict the speed of the mail (or lack of it).

Enjoy the photos of conference!

BYU Hawaii

Tess has officially accepted her invitation to attend BYU Hawaii. After some research and pondering, she feel confident that her decision is the right one. When she announced her decision, I immediately thought, "We'll HAVE to go visit her in Hawaii", and then I thought, "Wow, that makes three kids living outside the continental United States!" We feel very blessed that our children have started to become adults and are making good decisions as they are starting to leave home. This is what I have discovered will occur over the next five years: 2010 Tess leaves for college, 2011 Jessica goes to college, 2012 Ethan and Amanda go to college/Seth and Travis return from their missions, 2013 Aarun goes to college, 2014 a break...no one leaves home, 2015 Evan and Alyssa leave for college! Late fall 2015...empty nesters. By my count, that's only five years. Some of my "friends" have reminded me that I could be a grandmother by then...is that really possible? Thanks, "friends"!

The Hand IS Broken

The big news of the week is that Evan's hand IS broken. The big event happened on Monday in school during PE class. As any child would, he came home complaining of his hand/finger aching. After nearly 20 years of parenting I have learned that most complaint (at least 90%) end up needing nothing more that some ice, some love, and maybe a cookie. So that's what I gave him, along with some help on his math homework.

The next morning, Evan left for school without a word about his aching hand...yeah!! Then about 30 minutes later I got the dreaded call from the school nurse. Whenever my child's school calls me, especially when I am working at the high school and the middle school calls, I immediately feel my stomach tighten. It is never good news. The middle school does not call you at work to tell you what a wonderful son you have. The nurse said something I've heard before, "I think you'd better come take a look at this." So I did, and yes it clearly needed an x-ray.

To make a long story short, Evan managed to chip a piece of bone from his middle knuckle and got a cast in exchange. He is enjoying the cast...and the extra attention he is getting from it. And me, I'm feeling a little bit guilty (especially since this happened once before). I guess the message here is that although ice, cookies, and hugs are nice...they don't fix broken bones.

Earthquakes Everywhere!

Late Friday afternoon I received an email from a friend that there had been a 7.2 earthquake in Japan. Of course, I immediately got online to find out where the earthquake was, and how close it was to Hiroshima. It seems that it is far north of Hiroshima, and it is likely that Travis did not even feel it. I truly must have not been a big event, because it wasn't even mentioned on the news that evening. Just when I was breathing a sigh of relief, we woke to find an 8.8 earthquake in Chile...with all eyes pointed toward Hawaii for a tsunami. Gladly, both earthquakes and the tsunami seem to have been much less devastating than they could have been. We are blessed, and happy that both boys have escaped any injury the the earthquakes they have both been close to this past month.

Japan Hiroshima Mission Closing

Shortly after our last posting, we received news from the Kobe, Japan mission informing parents and families that he Hiroshima mission was closing. I was wondering what Travis' response would be, here is his email from yesterday:

In June the Japan Hiroshima Mission will be closing. The mission is being split in half and added to the kobe and fukuoka missions. the news was pretty surprising, but Im okay with it. Im just glad to be a missionary here in japan! Weve been assured that this is not because we are a bad mission or anything, there just arent enough missionaries. the number has gone from 55,000 to under 50,000, so the church has to be more strategic about the placing of missions and missionaries. I wonder if Ill be a kobe or fukuoka missionary in June?

The reason they dont tell your release date is because you have the option to extend it by 6 weeks at the end of your mission! I know you want me home asap, but Ill probably want to extend. This first transfer has gone by so fast, Im scared of my whole mission going by too fast! so much to do, so little time!

I got your package this morning! thanks so much, Ill definetely put the blanket to good use ;). American candy is hard to come by here, so its nice to get some! I especially like the jello; Ive only had japanese jello once here, and it wasnt that good. there is one flavor that doesnt exist in japan: Mint! isnt that wierd? there is no mint anywhere! I guess the toothpaste you sent me should be pretty minty!

So, I have only one request. I have a 4 gb card here that I can fill with pictures. If you could send back the card I mailed home, then I can switch cards and send you the one I have! We can get an exchange going! I can print any pictures　I need, so we should be able to just mail cards and not need to mail pictures.

Anyway, Ill send home another letter today! Love you all!

Well, just a few days after posting this last message about how great the boys are doing in their missions, we received news from Japan that Travis' mission is closing as of July 1st. Travis promptly wrote home with what he called the "Big News", this is what he reports:

In June the Japan Hiroshima Mission will be closing. The mission is being split in half and added to the kobe and fukuoka missions. the news was pretty surprising, but Im okay with it. Im just glad to be a missionary here in japan! Weve been assured that this is not because we are a bad mission or anything, there just arent enough missionaries. the number has gone from 55,000 to under 50,000, so the church has to be more strategic about the placing of missions and missionaries. I wonder if Ill be a kobe or fukuoka missionary in june?

The reason they dont tell your release date is because you have the option to extend it by 6 weeks at the end of your mission! I know you want me home asap, but Ill probably want to extend. This first transfer has gone by so fast, Im scared of my whole mission going by too fast! so much to do, so little time!

I got your package this morning! thanks so much, Ill definetely put the blanket to good use ;). American candy is hard to come by here, so its nice to get some! I especially like the jello; Ive only had japanese jello once here, and it wasnt that good. there is one flavor that doesnt exist in japan: Mint! isnt that wierd? there is no mint anywhere! I guess the toothpaste you sent me should be pretty minty!

So, I have only one request. I have a 4 gb card here that I can fill with pictures. If you could send back the card I mailed home, then I can switch cards and send you the one I have! We can get an exchange going! I can print any pictures　I need, so we should be able to just mail cards and not need to mail pictures.

Anyway, Ill send home another letter today! Love you all!

It sounds like he doesn't know he's already been assigned to Kobe. Since he doesn't read our blog from the mission, we are safe putting it here (I hope). We were surprised, but also glad to see that Travis took the news in stride. Did you notice that he wants to extend his mission for six weeks? He's only been out for 4 months and is already planning to extend...this must mean he is truly enjoying his service. As long as he's home for Christmas 2011, I am glad to see his enthusiasm.

Seth also wrote us today, he is also doing well, getting a new companion and enjoying the work! He and Amanda were able to email back and forth today for a few moments. That was a real treat for them both.

The Latest from Japan and the Dominican Republic

There is an older missionary couple that oversees 17 missionary companionships in Seth's area and they have a blog where they post regularly. We found this photo of Seth on their blog. Seth mentioned the day they did a "Slip and Slide", what a treat to see a photo of him here! It makes me very happy that Brother and Sister Johnson are there in the DR watching over our son. It gives me great comfort! Seth is adjusting to the weather and is really enjoying missionary work. He tells of a story of a couple that cannot hear or read. Seth and his companion use simple pictures and drawings to communicate with them. They aren't sure if the couple can actually be baptized, but they are enjoying the time they have to teach them. Seth tells us that his Spanish is getting much better. He was starting to get a reputation for being a very quiet Elder, but he is feeling more comfortable now and starting to speak out. Seth has had a couple of investigators join the church, he tells us of their humility and excitement for the gospel. The people of the Dominican Republic live simple, and in many cases, very poor lifestyle, but they gospel is the same in every nation, so says Elder Rumbaugh!

Travis is doing well too! He emailed on Saturday to tell me that he had a special mission conference on his regular P-day so not to worry if I don't hear from him for a while. There is a rumor going around among the Hiroshima mothers that the Hiroshima mission is going to close. The work is going slowly, and the number of missionaries in Hiroshima is falling below 60, that's only about 15 companionships for the entire mission. There is talk of Hiroshima becoming part of the Kobe mission. This is still unconfirmed, we'll probably hear more next p-day. I am glad that he was able to email home and let us know he would be gone on his regular p-day. Travis' emails usually arrive around 7:00pm on Sunday nights, that's about noon on Monday for him. It makes Sunday evenings our favorite night of the week. I find myself looking a the clock once dinner has been served. As mentioned, the work in Japan goes slowly. Travis mentions that people don't seem to be anxious to learn about the gospel, which is a surprise to him, especially considering how humble the reserved many of the people in Japan are. This has been a challenge for him, but he shares how he and his companion talk to everyone they meet and he gets to practice his Japanese quite a bit. He mentions that he is directionally challenged, and without his companion, he would be lost most of the time! He also reports that he can speak Japanese pretty well, but understanding the natives is still difficult. Good luck, Elder Nuttall!

We are pleased that both boys are doing well, and I am counting the days until Mother's Day!

Seth's Experiences with the Earthquake in Haiti & A Letter From Japan!

We have heard from Seth and his experiences in the Dominican Republic during the earthquake in Haiti. Thankfully, all the members and missionaries are safe and accounted for. This is his report to his family:

"You are probably wondering if I felt the earthquake that was in Haiti. To answer your question, yes I did. My companion and I were in the middle of a lesson when it happened. I was kind of observing the reations of our investigators at the time. I noticed one of our investigators point out some to her mom across the room but I didnt see anything. All the sudden I felt really dizzy and kind of sick. I finally realized it was an earthquake so I jumped out of my seat and was ready to run out of the house. I was waiting for my companion to do the same thing. I did not want to be in that house. Most of the houses here are just made out of cement walls that are held up be posts that are in the ground. There is no foundation at all usually. I did not feel safe at all. The member that was with us ran out right away. My companion eventually casually walked out and I followed him. Our investigator and her mom got on their knees and started praying to God for forgiveness. Eventually the quake stopped after 30 seconds. After everyone was calmed down we continued the lesson. Later on my companion said that he could see the house shaking a little and trees swaying like crazy. He said one of the first things he thought was that it was the second coming. I told him I thought the very same thing. I guess the quake was about a 5.2 where we were. Nothing where we are fell or was damaged. I have heard that Haiti is in disaster though. I´ve heard the capital has been destroyed, everyone in their government died except for the president who is in the hospital, and that there are 2 million orphans headed of the US. I am not exactly sure what is true and what isnt but I know the situation isnt good. I have heard though that the church headquarters there was one of the few buildings still standing and that all missionaries are accounted for. I guess Elder Coleman of the area seventy is working closely with the secretary of state in Haiti over relief efforts from the church. So ya, that was my experience with the earthquake."

I am also pleased to report that we heard from Travis. After over two weeks of waiting he has finally written home. This is what he has to say:

"Hey everyone! Sorry it took me a while to get to a computer. I sent a letter, but apparently it takes 10 days to arrive. Japan is definetly different. There`s no insulation or central heating, so it gets a little chilly. We can usually see our breath in the apartment. summer is supposed to be warmer though. my trainer is elder anderson, he`s from Idaho. We get along pretty well. My area is called kochi, right in the middle of the big city. Our area is enormous, it takes about 6 hours by car to cross it. Since we`re on bikes, we can`t cover it, but there`s more than enough work for us here around the main city. The missionary work here is a little slow; most people have no interest whatsoever in christianity. We have several investigators who are progressing slowly. We had one lady who was doing great, but then her family found out and now we aren`t sure what will happen. many people here just don`t like christianity, even though they know nothing about it. We did find one guy in a park who was interested, he was even willing to read the Book of Mormon! it was a good experience. I can probably understand about 10 percent of what I hear. I`ve only been here for a week and a half though, so I won`t get discouraged. I managed to put together a pretty good talk for sacrament meeting, it went really well. I know enough japanese to get my message across, Its just understanding and coming up with things quickly off the top of my head. It will come with time. I heard there was a massive earthquake in Haiti, I hope Seth is doing ok. well, I`ll write again asap. Love you all!"

Landen and Lillie...Seth and Travis

We are blessed enough to have the opportunity to have Landen and Lillie come for visits with us on the weekends. The kids thoroughly enjoy having them come to visit...and cuddle with the twins day and night. Landen and Lillie are nearly two years old now and are good talkers...especially Lillie who can repeat almost anything she hears. She is quite the singer too! She has invented a song that sounds like a combination of the "A B C's and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". Landen loves anything that has to do with a ball..any ball.

It has been an anxious week for us as we have been waiting to hear from our missionaries. About one hour after the devastating earthquake in Haiti we received an email from Seth's mission president reporting that all the Santo Domingo West Missionaries have been accounted for and that no damage has been reported to any person or property related to the church. The next day we received an email from the church that spoke to the conditions of the surrounding missions. All missionaries were safe and accounted for. Although there are no full time missionaries in Haiti, the saints there are in need of our prayers.

We have not heard from Travis since he left Provo. We received an email from his mission president's wife asking if we could check with his bank. His debit card was not working well for him in Japan. We were able to make arrangements with the bank, and luckily he can now access his money! But, we have not heard from him. He left Provo on January 4th, and as of today (January 17th) we are still waiting! I realize that it has only been 13 days...so I am trying to be patient. Some friends have suggested that if I do not hear from him this week that I should email the mission home and ask them to remind Travis of his frantic mother back home. I don't want to embarrass him...but I really do want to hear from him. I do know that he is serving in Kochi, Japan and that his companion is Elder Anderson. Beyond that, we have no details!

Returning back to Seth, he emailed us this week an excellent letter. Here is an excerpt:

I am in this city called Azua that is two hours west of Santo Domingo. Our area is called Pueblo Arriba. Its a area that covers the whole end of the town. The people here are really nice and friendly. They have a really hard time pronouncing my name though. I have only heard one person pronounce it right the first time. Most people just say Rambow or something similiar. I guess rambow is some kind of party music which is kind of funny. anyways, the people here love their music and love to play it loud. I saw one truck that had four stadium sized speakers on the top of it. People will play their music late into the night also.
Every block as these little stores called colmados. we get most of our food there. They carry basic food necessites and other things. Stuff here is very cheap, at least the local stuff. Everything that is imported can be expensive.
I better tell you about our house. Its actually really nice compared to other houses aroung here. Most houses here are made of cement and have sheet metal roofs. Most of the houses have some kind of power and running water. They usually have cement or dirt floors. The bathrooms-showers are usually outside. They are usualy about 20x15 feet and have one or two bedrooms. Anyways, our house is really nice compared to others. Its on a second level of a building. It has tile floors, running water and electricity(when they aren´t shut off), and a small kitchen. No huge spiders or other bugs like I thought there would be. It basicaly like an apartment in the US. I have nothing to complain about especially when you compare it to the houses around us. We only have cold water which means cold showers. They arent too bad. Its not like the cold water in washington. I´ll send pictures of the house when I can.
The weather here is HOT. It´s not as humid as Santo Domingo because its farther from the water but its HOT. The mosquitos arent too bad. I dont even use the repellant that I have. The only bites that I have gotten are on my feet because I sleep with my feet uncovered. At night we just have a fan blow on us and that keeps almost all of the mosquitos away.
My companion´s name is elder Barnhurst. He is a pretty cool guy. He´s from Utah like every other missionary seems to be. He only comes up to my shoulder. He knows spanish pretty well and is very helpful. we share the house with two other missionaries that are from the DR. They are really funny. They also love basketball. They try to talk to bme about stuff but I dont speak very well. They are helpful too. They played a joke on me when I first got here. They took my bed out of our room and replaced it with two sleeping pads with bricks underneath it. when I saw it I was kind of disappointed. They told me they were working on getting me a bed. I believed them a course. They like to play jokes like those all the time. My companion´s old companions left a bunch of ties for me. I guess you can get ties at this market for less that a dollar each.
My spanish is coming along okay. I understand people a lot more and usually have an idea of what is going on but I cant speak well at all. I basically bear a really short testimony and sometimes say a prayer during lessons.That is all I really need to do though. My companion says that I need to work on my accent really bad because people have a really hard time understanding me when I do have something to say. All well, spanish will come.
The DR is really kind of like a big farm. When you walk around you´ll see stray dogs and cats, chickens, goats, pigs, cows, ducks, and what ever else that might be on a farm. Every morning you hear hundreds of roosters. It really is kind of like a farm. There are also naked kids that like to run down the street. We dont really go out and procelite until 3 beacuse most people are doind chores and realy dont want to be interrupted. we have study time until 11 or 11:30 and then we might go rum some errends or something else. Then we´ll have lunch.
Traffic here is really crazy. Everyone rides motrorcycles of some kind of motorbike. There arent any speed limits, no traffic lights, and no stop signs. It is basically a free for all. Its nuts. Traffic here doenst stop for pedestrians at all so we have to be very careful especially downtown. One reason our mission doesnt have bikes is beacuse an elder got hit by a moter bike and was seriously injured. If I die on my mission(don´t worry, I won´t) it will probably because I got hit by a moterbike.
Well, when I got to the field, my companion said that we had a baptism set up for saturday. And that is what happened. we baptised this girl named Yeraldina (pernounced like Jeraldina). she is 17. I got to help teach two lessons to her so that baptism counts for me too. we are now teaching her sister who seems pretty intersted. Our main focus right now is this 12 year old girl named Gladis. She is amazing and is a very special daughter of God. She has been going to church by herself for the last two years just because she loves it. She has a really strong testimony of Joseph Smith and the church. She is very mature for her age and you can tell that she is one of those elect that are talked about in the scriptures. I guess missionaries in the past haven´t thought about bapstising her because she was too young and the rest of her family arent members. We went and talked to her mom last night and she said that it was ok and that she supported Gladis. When Gladis found out that she could be baptised she had the biggest smile on her face. If she stays active in the church, which I am certain she will, she will go far. Elder Barhurst and I think that we could get her whole family to be baptised too. i guess her sisters has been coming to church too. Most people here are willing to hear our message at least once. we usually just talk about prayer the first lesson and if we think that they are really interested we will introduce the book of mormon. It is pretty effective. Right now we have about 5 progressing investigators and 4 others that we are still teaching. Oh ya, one thing that is different here than in the USA is that people here will just start breast feeding their babies right in front of you. Its kind of awkward. we just try to focus on their face or other people who are part of the lesson when teaching.

Hopefully, we will have some news next week about how things are with Travis!

Amanda Played Varsity!

Amanda is pleased to announce that she has officially suited up and played (although not for very long) on the varsity basketball team. This has been a goal of hers since she was a 9th grader last year. So, as a sophomore she is finally playing some varsity. Girls high school basketball is a painful endeavor. Painful physically sometimes, painful emotionally and socially almost always. However, she has handled it wonderfully and and we are proud of her.

We are assuming that both Seth and Travis made it safely to their respective first areas on their missions. We are waiting anxiously for their first P-day and hopefully an email home. We are so pleased to have both boys serving at the same time, twice the blessings! Hopefully we will have some exciting news to share early next week!

And They're Off!

Well, Seth and Travis leave this week for their first official areas as missionaries! Travis leaves Monday morning, and flies to LAX. He will call us from Los Angeles (I can't wait!) and then fly from LAX to Tokyo. From there, seven of the missionaries will be met by elders from the Tokyo mission. Travis will continue on (via the bullet train) to Hiroshima. He will travel from Tokyo to Hiroshima alone. I am a bit worried...hoping he will get there. I hope he will know when to get off the train, I hope that someone will meet him at the train station in Hiroshima. How will he get from the Tokyo airport to the train station? I am convinced that I am not the only mother to have such worries, but without having done this before I am worried! I have heard that the mission president will notify us that he has arrived safely. He is supposed to finally arrive in Hiroshima late Tuesday night, by my count that is almost 2 days of travel. I'm sure that the time difference makes it a bit shorter.

Seth leaves for his first area on Tuesday. Since he has been in the Dominican Republic for several weeks already, he will travel to his first area by car (or so we have heard). He is a bit nervous...he feels his Spanish is not great yet. We've tried to tell him to give it some time, he can't expect to be fluent in just nine weeks! Seth does not know if he will be in a city or in the country (which if poverty stricken). He hopes to have an American companion that will help him with his Spanish and can speak some English to! Funny how both boys are a bit nervous, as is their mom. I know that they will do fine. The Lord will watch over them.

The two missions are very different. Seth says his president is known for being very strict, sending Elders home quite often. They are not permitted to take a lot of pictures, and must abide by many mission rules. Travis' president stressed the importance of photographs. The Japanese people get to know each other with photos, and are a relaxed and friendly people. The Hiroshima mission is small, in fact Travis was the only elder in the MTC going there. It will be exciting to hear about their missions and how they differ.

Happy New Year!