When Jenessa's room is Clean

Kaitlyn's School Program

Kaitlyn was excited for her school program this year.  She loves to sing

But she wasn't as thrilled about the square dancing ....with a Boy!  
(although Casey's kinda cute ;)

The Mail Came today

This Came in the mail and sat on our counter all afternoon.

Yes, there were repeated attempts to hold it to the light to see if there was a clue inside....Finally all of the family was assembled around 6:30 for the opening....

Ben received his mission call today.   

Does He look a little nervous?  I know I was.  It is such a crazy feeling of anticipation.

  

And then he opened it!  

Hey Jordan,

Good News!

So I finally got my call. I’m going to the Portugal Lisbon Mission! I leave July 11 which is a lot later than I was hoping to leave but I guess it’s fine. I’ll still be in the MTC when you are back at BYU so there’s a chance I get to see you before I leave. Sorry I haven’t written for a while. I’ve been waiting to write to you once my call came and it took a lot longer to come than I thought. I seriously spent a month just trying to get a hold of the Stake President for an interview. It’s actually kind of a funny story. Dad told me I needed to call Bro. Oniki so I did, but He told me I didn’t to call Bro. Jeppson. Dad got me his phone number a couple days later and when I called him he said that there were two Bro. Jeppsons , he was the wrong one, and I needed to call the other one. Dad found me his number the next week and when I called him he said he just moved out of the ward and I needed to call Bro. Vukich. He didn’t answer his phone for the next week and when he finally answered he said he wasn’t sure when the Stake President could meet with me and told me he would call me back. Well it took him another week to call back, even when I kept calling him anyway. I kept joking around that Satan didn’t want me to go on a mission. Well, obviously I did finally get an interview and everything and it all worked out fine.

I was definitely surprised when I got my call to Portugal, but I’m way excited. The weather is great there and its really beautiful. Hopefully the food will be good too. I’ve kind of started to try and learn Portuguese just on the internet. It reminds me of Spanish but with a French or Italian accent haha. It’s definitely a weird thought that I’ll be leaving everything behind for two years. It’ll be hard to go but I know it’s right.

Love you,

Ben

 

Hola Jordan/Elder Soutas

So... Elder Benjamin Michael Soutas has been called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has been assigned

to labor in the Portugal Lisbon Mission!! Wow we were all shocked to say the least. We never ever considered Portugal. He will be speaking Portuguese so a little

different from Spanish, I thought for sure it would be Spanish. He does not leave until July 11th!!!! AAAHGH you will only miss each other by less than a month. He was hoping to leave by May,

but of course this must be where and when the Lord has called him to serve,

We are excited for him and we know he will learn a lot and grow a lot. Ben has always gotten by with less effort-- for grades, sports etc and still always done well. We feel this mission will really make him stretch and grow. He will have to eat foods he probably would rather not (you know how picky he has been), and struggle to learn a language and to learn to communicate with all of those he meets. It actually sounds like from reading about the mission, that many of the members there are converts from Africa (which has Portuguese colonies) and from Brazil. so far the only one we know who has served there is Bob Stubbs, but I'm sure we will hear of a few more now.

The Portuguese people themselves are highly (95%) Roman Catholic (and as you have found with your experiences) are more difficult to accept the gospel. Please write to him and give him all of your wonderful advice so that he will keep a positive attitude and desire to work hard.

Since he will be in the MTC while you return home, Dad actually wrote to President Neilson and asked what the possibility would be of you being able to see each other before he leaves. We expected him to say no way! Instead he replied, "That sounds like a Alma the younger/Son's of Mosiah experience!! So perhaps, if we can get permission from the MTC president, you may have that opportunity

Jordan, you have been the most wonderful example to your brothers and sisters and actually to everyone who knows you, of an awesome, obedient missionary and we are so thankful for this. We know

that Ben is willing to go and follow your example because he has seen you serving. So thank you. Over the weekend, Dad, Tyler and Brycen went to Ben Lomond for the Young Men Overnighter. The

topic for their program was on serving a mission. The showed pictures of you (that I gave them) and the other current missionaries from the ward. so you are an example to everyone coming up to serve the Lord. Dad also used your rice and rocks lesson so thanks for giving him that idea :)

The night that Ben received his call he went back to BYU but I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back asleep - I hate it when that happens. So as I'm sitting on the couch in my room, I notice through half-closed eyes, that there is a light out in the front yard. I peek through the blinds and there is a police car out in the front. So now I'm wide-awake again! The next thing I know the door bell rings...I remember yelling.." NO NO! " I was so afraid he was coming to tell me that Ben had not made it back to BYU and something had happened to him. So I go down the stairs and I can see him outside the door and I'm thinking Please don't give me bad news...I open the door and he says, "Ma'am, sorry to wake you but your garage door is up" So thankfully I went and shut it and that was my completely sleepless night. Dad basically slept through the whole thing. He says he remembers scamper barking and that was it :)

I loved hearing about your miracle weekend and how your were able to meet all of your goals by being obedient and trusting in the Lord's Power. You know you were an example of the quote-since obedience is not an irritant to you, you were endowed with power. As you have said before so eloquently, Our God is a God of miracles! How are things progressing with Esmerelda and with Victor and Melba this week? I have been praying for them all week.

So as far as your BYU registration goes, it looks like your priority date is April 2nd. Do I need to ask Ashlee to hold some of your classes, if possible? I don't really know how that all works, since its way different than how we did it back in our day :) (registered by touch tone phone - what technology that was) Ashlee can probably register some time around March 27th or 28th. Of course I have no idea how many points she has. I still have that schedule and it looks like PDBio StDev and Chem were the classes you really needed to get into so we will do our best on all of that. I guess we have another week to figure that all out.

I hope you have another great week ahead. Our prayers are with you and Elder Watts. We know our Father in Heaven will bless you as you follow the example of His Son each and every day.

I love you forever, Mom

Dear Mom,

I'm so excited to hear about Ben's mission call. That's a way cool mission I bet. Wow so exciting I never even considered Portugal. Too bad he won't know spanish. Who am i going to talk to when I get home? But it's close. we'll actually be able to speak to each other because they are extremely close. I can actually understand portugese. IT's just all frenchy. I think it's kinda for whimps. just kidding Benny! I'm excited to see him at the MTC.

So this week was really good again! We're just working really hard to reach our goals and we reached almost all of them this week. We have ten people with a baptismal date this week. Esmeralda is doing great! She came to church again this week. Her daughter was really sick this week, she had an ear infection and the flu and we gave her a blessing on friday and on saturday she was totally better! she's going to get baptized hopefully pretty soon. We just need her to get married to her husband/boyfriend. the problem is that he is always out of town. But he's coming home this weekened so maybe we can work something out. The good news is that they were actually planning on getting married already.

Emilio is doing good too. We actually talked to his mom and she wants to feed us dinner every thursday night. She said that she can't believe we are out here for two years without our mothers haha. sHe is really nice just super strong willed and refuses to let emilio get baptized this soon. I can understand where she is coming ffrom but if she only knew that Emilio was making the best decision of his whole life I think she'd be a little different.

So yeah that was pretty much the week. I rained all week too. My shoes are still wet. I'm very proud of my shoes though. I've only worn one pair my entire mission and they're holding up pretty well. Well I 'm getting kicked off teh computer now so I need to go! I love you!

love,

elder soutas

We are so happy to have 2 missionary sons!

Brycen's Baptism

Brycen was baptized on March 3rd. 

It was such a great day to share with family and friends. 

Dear Jordan/Elder Soutas

On Saturday, Brycen's baptism was at 9:00 am.  Jessica Yates was also baptized.  It was a great baptism and I really could feel the spirit.  Sis Yates gave a great talk about baptism and having our sins made clean.  She wore a white shirt (over another shirt)  and then as she was talking she would accidently write on the shirt with markers.  She compared it to sin and explained that we can be forgiven when we make mistakes and be washed clean.   I also gave a talk on the Holy Ghost and Kaitlyn helped me by explaining  how the Holy Ghost helps us and that the Holy Ghost is the most important gift we can receive.  One quote I gave from Elder Packer was

 Missionaries sometimes think they are only to do half the work; they are to teach and then baptize by water, and that concludes their work. In many cases the other half, the teaching about the baptism of fire, never really gets done. Put the two together so that you almost forbid yourself to say “baptism” without saying “confirmation”—that is baptism of the water and confirmation and the conferring of the gift of the Holy Ghost. Get that idea in your mind with those two fixed together so tightly that, as one, it becomes part of you. Then we will not have the first half done, as is often the case at present, and the other half left undone.

Remember what Joseph Smith said: “You might as well baptize a bag of sand as a man, if not done in view of the remission of sins and getting of the Holy Ghost. Baptism by water is but half a baptism, and is good for nothing without the other half—that is, the baptism of the Holy Ghost.”

Missionaries—and parents as well—are to teach both halves: “Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins [and the] Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Articles of Faith 1:4). Make it one sentence. Fix it in the front of your minds so that when you say one, you say the other, and when you think one, you think the other. Then you will begin to feel and understand, and the promptings will come.

So it was a beautiful baptism and Brycen was so happy.  (the only funny part, I will only tell you is that I forgot to pack him extra dry underwear - like you have forgotton to pack an extra white shirt! so I felt bad about that)

After we had lunch ( a very early lunch 10 am) at our house.   (made some sandwiches and had some salads)  It was really quiet and unusual because none of the cousins were there.  Kelly and Bev are on another cruise, Matt and Kathy are training for a bike race in St George and Beckie completely forgot because she has been so involved with the legislature and had to work late until Fri Night.  so we felt a little sad about that

so we invited Mike Geddes over too to make up for it :) ?  Dana Geddes is out of town too. And I feed Ty Geddes many meals each week anyway.   Grandma Jackie kept Mike busy clearing all of her plates away.  Unfortunately, she is not doing well lately and is getting dimentia.  So she will take a bite of food and then she says she's done or she'll spit out the food.  It's sad to see her start to get old like this.  She is 92 years old now.  We try not to laugh but some of the stuff she does and says is really funny too.

Brycen was happy to receive new scriptures with his name engraved

Brycen was Baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints by Chris and he received the Gift of The Holy Ghost

What a wonderful day!

Brycen Boy is 8

Brycen turned 8 today just like that!  My baby no longer, he has grown up so fast and is now ready to be baptized.  He is so excited for his baptism day.  On Sunday he told me he was excited because on Friday was his birthday, on Saturday he would be baptized and on Sunday he would get to fast!  I don't know how long that great attitude will last.


Brycen's birthday morning was a rush to get to school because it was the grandparent program.  Grandma Elaine and Grandpa Allen came and Brycen told a memory that made him cry.  He told how he cried when mom told him that Grandma Elaine had cancer.  She was sick for almost a year. Sometimes she stayed at our house so that mom could take care of her.  Grandma lost all of her hair.  Sometimes she would tease him and take off her wig.  I am thankful my Grandma is Better now!

Brycen was super excited to get checked out of school for the rest of the day.  We took the kids
to see The New Dr. Seuss Movie.  Brycen was actually born on Dr. Seuss' 100th birthday so he's always been pretty proud of that

After we went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse and had presents and cake and icecream.

Right Now legos are his favorite toy and
He loved his "tire" basketball

Brycen asked me for a Basketball Cake, so he was happy about that too.

8 great reasons ..Why we love Brycen Bear

1.  He is a happy boy with that great attitude
2.  He is obedient and tries to do what is right.
3.  He likes to make silly faces
4.  He keeps his room clean - how great is that?
5.  He is a good student and gets perfect grades
6.  He has tons of friends who call him all the time
7.  He likes to kiss mom on the cheek
8.  He wants to follow Jesus and be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost