Doing the right thing

Sometimes there are people who do or say something grand that changes our lives. There are parents that try to do their best to teach us what is right. There are teachers that train so they can teach us important concepts and principles. People in our lives like parents and teachers even study and pray to know the best way to help us. There are also those people that affect and change our lives simply by doing what is right without even knowing they are making a difference in the lives of others. I started my mission in the wonderful town of Arica, Chile. Everything was new and exciting. My first companion was very energetic about the work and we worked hard. As we ran from appointment to appointment I tried to keep a positive attitude even though I didn’t like anything about running. Understanding and speaking Spanish was challenging. The days were long and hot. Fleas were abundant and thriving on my blood. Yet, I was so excited to be on my mission. I had been looking forward to my mission since as far back as I could remember. The Missionary Training Center had been hard, fun, spiritual and educational. I had no doubt that I was supposed to be on my mission. At the MTC we were taught how to work with people and teach the gospel. We were taught how to help others feel and recognize the spirit. We were taught how to help people resolve their own doubts about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We were taught how to respect others' agency while still helping them through what can be the difficult path of conversion. I left the MTC so excited to go to Chile while still knowing that I still had A LOT to learn about being a missionary. As the days and weeks went by with my trainer I began to experience feelings I had never felt before. I wanted to go home. I wanted to be done with my mission. This was only a few weeks in and I was very sad that I felt that way. I only knew two ways to be a missionary. The way I was taught at the MTC and the way my companion was a missionary. My companion was a great person with a lot of love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was a very hard worker and obedient to mission rules. None of us are perfect and I have no ill will toward my companion. Instead of helping others to resolve their doubts he chose manipulation as one of his tools in leading people to the waters of baptism. I was so frustrated as I watched him use contracts with people to force them to ignore their doubts or questions when they would arise. I thought to myself, “This is not why I am here. If this is how mission work is done, I am ready to go home.” One week I asked my Zone Leader if I could go on splits with him. This was not the normal way of doing things, but I really wanted to see how another missionary worked. I think I only told Elder Watkins (my Zone Leader) that I wanted to go out with another missionary to see how it went. I doubt that he knew how this day would change my mission. I don’t remember all the details of the day and sadly my journal writing was not as informative as I now wish it was. I remember we visited a few different families and people. They were all in different stages of gospel progression. One was recently baptized, one ready to be baptized that week, and one new investigator. The details are not really that important. As we met with each of the people that day they all had questions, doubts, or something to overcome. I was thrilled when Elder Watkins followed the steps I had learned in the MTC to help them resolve their doubts. He was understanding of their questions and helped them learn how to rely on Heavenly Father and The Spirit to guide them. He did not force anyone to do anything that they weren’t ready to do. I was so ready to keep working after spending that day with him. I knew that the way my companion had been working was not the way most missionaries were working. I knew that I could teach others with the methods I was taught in the MTC and this drove me forward with enthusiasm. Elder Watkins didn’t plan on changing my mission that day. He didn’t have some master blueprint that he was going to use to help me. I doubt he even knew what was bothering me. He hadn’t gone through years of schooling to learn how to teach others. What he DID was follow what he had been taught by his leaders. He did the right thing. He chose to follow a path that might have been harder and taken longer but reaped real results. Because he chose to do what he was asked to do, I was blessed. My companion was transferred very soon after my outing with Elder Watkins. I had many companions and learned and grew with each one. I was also humbled MANY times as I learned that I was not perfect in my missionary work either. A mission can be a very challenging, yet very rewarding experience. I hope that lessons I have learned from my mission can help me throughout the rest of my life. Lessons like how doing the right thing, the right way, can bless the lives of others even if we don’t know it.

La Segunda Venida

LDS Missions are hard. Don’t let anyone fool you They are hard. There are plenty of good times and lots and lots of blessings and spiritual outpourings if you are doing it right BUT they are still very hard. There is pressure to see results from your work. There are feelings of loneliness.  There are many insecurities that you try to hide. During one of the harder parts of my mission I received one of my greatest blessings on my mission. Elder Vidal.

Elder Vidal was my first junior companion. He was with me when I was supposed to be strong and lead and be in charge of the work in our area. I had just been forced away from my companionship with Elder Baggiore. Baggiore and I didn’t have much in common. He was tall, I was short. He loved everything about cars, I knew very little about cars. I loved everything about girls, he knew very little about girls. What we did have was a wonderful time together as companions. The days flew by and we worked our tails off. Things were going great when I was called to leave the shadow of Baggiore and fly on my own for the first time. Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when I was assigned Vidal. I was transferred to the area right next door to the area where I was with Baggiore and so that helped. I remember the night before I left and Baggiore sat with me telling me that I was ready and that I would be a great senior companion and all those things you tell people when they are stressed about climbing the mountain before them. I went forward in faith. I stumbled, I fell, and I made plenty of mistakes. Through it all Vidal supported me and stuck by my side.

Elder Vidal was a recent convert from Las Vegas. His father was from Cuba and his mother from Puerto Rico or something like that. They met working at a casino in Vegas. She was a blackjack dealer and he worked security. These details could all be wrong but this is how I remember them. The point is that he wasn’t raised in a stereotypical LDS family. He was baptized somewhere close to his 18th birthday if I remember correctly and went on his mission somewhere close to his 19th birthday. He was solid. He had talents that were needed. Talents I didn’t have. When we were teaching a man who was trying to quit smoking he came up with a great idea of cleaning out the tobacco from the cigarettes and then rolling up scriptures and putting them in each cigarette so when he wanted to smoke he could read a scripture and help him stay strong. He knew how to empty cigarettes from things he had seen in his former life before joining the Church. I remember him telling me he never thought this particular skill would come in handy while on his mission. Irony at its best.

One day while in the city on one of our free days we saw a man painting. He was making cool pictures with planets and such using only spray paint and various objects to make the shapes he needed for the picture*. Vidal was fascinated, well most people around were fascinated... Vidal was utterly captivated. We watched for probably an hour or two. Vidal was absorbing as much as he could. We headed to the store, bought some paint and paper and spent the rest of that p-day and a few more painting in the little area behind the house where we lived.

I don’t have any artistic ability in me. I can see things in my mind but to make my hands do what is in my head is not a gift I possess. I was amazed at how Vidal could take a paper and create a painting full of heavenly orbs and vibrant colors using only spray paint. I wanted to try. I had an idea, an artistic vision. I didn’t have any talent. I am not being modest here, I am being honest. My “art” successes consist of a pottery mask I made in high school and a picture of a dinosaur I drew while in college.  The mask looked ok because the goal was to make it look abstract. If looking messed up meant abstract then I succeeded. The picture of the dinosaur was a success because my roommates hung it up on the wall of our kitchen. When people would come over to visit they would ask what 4 year old little brother or sister had drawn the picture. Everyone got a big kick out of it. I like to make people laugh so I was fine with it. I hope you now understand that art is not on my list of things I am going to use to get rich. I had my vision...La Segunda Venida...The Second Coming. I was so excited. Vidal patiently worked with me and we completed what I would call a masterpiece. I was so excited. I cherished that picture from that day on. I packed it each transfer with care in my suitcase and moved it around from town to town. When I got home it hung in my room. After I got married it hung in various rooms before all the children took over my extra rooms. It has since been forced out to the garage until I get a bigger house where it can take it’s rightful place back on the wall of my office.  If you look at the corner of the painting it is signed by C. Anthony Vidal y RGL. His signature deserved to be larger and first since he did most of the work.

My life is like the painting. Elder Vidal is like our Savior Jesus Christ  (don’t get a big head Vidal, it was only meant in an analogy not a direct comparison!) I will do everything I can do and it really isn’t that great. Jesus will then take the talents I have and make it like a masterpiece. Others may laugh and say that my life isn’t a masterpiece just like some do with my planets painting but I know and Jesus will know that it is my best and it is good enough. I will be proud of my work and I know he will be proud of my work.

I’m not sure we had much success in the time Elder Vidal and I were together. I take the blame for that. Vidal never got on me, never doubted me that I know of. I left him stronger than when I became his companion. Thanks Vidal for teaching me how to paint planets, but more importantly, thanks for teaching me how to be more Christlike.

*You can watch a short video here that kind of gives you idea of how these paintings are created. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXC7ol2Mmtc

Old writing

I actually wrote this back in 2004 the day after we put Preston down. I planned on putting it here around Carlie's b-day but I forgot. Here it is now. I will put it here without fixing the mistakes. This was written through tear filled eyes. I still think we made the right decision. It is funny how we have one picture of Carlie with Preston when she was a couple of weeks old and she loves looking at it. She feels so bonded to him. Little girls are funny and precious!

4/12/2004

They gave me a receipt. Well they didn’t really give it to me cause I was too chicken to take him in. I had to have my dad do that. A 26 year old as scared as a little child and turning to dad for protection.

Preston died today. The guy who has been my best friend for 11 years. Preston is my dog. He went in to be put to sleep and all I got back was a receipt for $35. That is what his life surmounted to on paper I guess. I think sometimes we focus too much on what can be listed on paper. Can all the joy he brought our family be listed on paper? Can the tricks he learned to do be listed on paper? He learned those tricks to get love. He could have very easily just hurriedly eaten the food placed on his nose. He knew that would make me upset so he tried to listen to what was needed to keep me happy and do that. The decision was not easy. I could easily say off the cuff that he is an animal, just like a chicken or a cow and those die everyday and I couldn't care less. Well I lied. He was not some chicken raised up in a large group for purposes of eating. He was a dog, MY DOG, which loved and lived. He had many odd quirks and habits. He got excited when people came over, and not just for the small chance he would get some food. He got excited because he loved people. He loved the interaction with people. He would sniff other dogs and say hi but that was boring to him. He wanted the interaction only people could bring.

The day he came in to my life was special. A gift from a loving mother, a very concerned mom who knew the difference a dog can make in a boys life. I hope I remember that and have the same amount of patience as my mother when I see that need in my child. She brought him to my school and called me to the office as if I was in trouble. The purse starting moving and out he came. A little puppy full of life. That life energy never went out, I put it out. Sounds harsh I know. I didn’t put it out without good reason though. See as I stated earlier Preston loved people. People like my wife and my newborn child. See Preston loved too much. He wanted the baby to be cared for at all times. Anytime a peep was made he was there barking like crazy to have you love her and take care of her needs. That is the type of guy that he was. This type of behavior was not easy to live with when you have a wife and child that needs to sleep. Not to mention you need to sleep as well. He had burned his bridges elsewhere due to his nature to try to be the boss. Sometimes animals don’t understand the way humans are supposed to act. Even though they try, the animal instinct can find its way out sometimes. That is how they are born and programmed. Interesting that he tried so hard to overcome the animal instinct in him and yet you have humans who have to allow the Holy Ghost to leave their lives and turn into animals. That is for another discussion though. He was too old and weird to put with some unknowing family. Someone not already attached to him to put up with the crying and such. Someone who didn’t understand that the reason he didn’t eat unless you were there was because he loved you and wanted to share that with you. (Some people will say that dogs don’t really feel those things. I am going to ignore that for now and think what I want.) Since I didn’t want to wonder forever what happened to him I made the decision. The best part of all is that if he could talk I would think he would tell us that he understood why we had to do it. He understood how Carlie is a child of God and that he is just a dog. Well maybe he doesn’t really understand it, but I do. And that is why I got a receipt for my dog today.

Great Room Accessories

We recently added a rug and some accent pillows to try to liven up the family room. We are trying to decide how it looks. Some people think that it doesn't look that great. One of them may even live in this house. We are not going to say which one though (it wasn't Joe). Please place your vote above. BE HONEST!!!

Destiny

Some times in our lives we experience things or go through trials questioning why. We wonder why we have to persevere through difficult circumstances. Sometimes we don’t realize until later in our lives why we experienced some of these things. I want to share a story from last night to illustrate my point.
Yesterday I started the day planning on going to a concert that night with either my wife or a friend of mine. This didn’t really work out. When that fell through I was disappointed. Later that day I got an email from the EQ president saying they needed one more person to help clean the Temple that night. I decided that since I now had no plans I would volunteer to go. After work I had to meet Monica in South Jordan to take the kids while she got a cavity filled. We then took the kids to eat and waited for her parents to get home so the kids and she could visit with them. I had my own car so I wanted to go home and take a nap before heading to the Temple at 9:30. This did not work out. Needless to say (then why are you saying it?), that after driving back to Kaysville to change and then BACKTRACKING to the Temple I was tired by the time I arrived at the Temple. I had already decided that even though we had plenty of people signed up to go and they would probably not miss my presence, I should still go.

As I sat in the waiting room and talked to two other brethren from my ward I mentioned to them that when they ask for volunteers to vacuum you just raise your hand with enthusiasm. Vacuuming always looks better to me than cleaning toilets!! So after our 15 minute long initiation speech from the janitorial supervisor we all went out into the hall. Lined up along the hall wall were about 15 of the blue church style vacuums. These were slightly different though. They were covered in a tan colored pleather type material. I walked over and stood next to one that looked like it had a fairly new cord that wouldn’t get all tangled up and such. Sure enough he asked people who wanted to vacuum to go stand by the vacuums, since I already had mine picked I just stayed where I was. A sister came over and took the 3 of us (the other two brethren from my ward and myself) over to the elevator. I told her she must have done something wrong to get stuck with the three of us. She laughed and said that we must have done something right to get stuck with her. We asked why and she said “well you get to clean the third floor.” This is where the Chapel and Endowment rooms and Celestial room are. One of us was assigned over to the area near the sealing rooms so I assume he had to vacuum all those rooms. I did not see him again till the end of the night. The other two of us were walked over to the Chapel. We each did half of the Chapel and then headed out opposite of each other cleaning the halls and then we each headed into an Endowment room. I got the whole endowment room cleaned and then our Sister supervisor came and explained that we needed to vacuum on the other side of the curtain and showed us the only spot where we could walk through it to get to the other side. I vacuumed the small area back there and earlier she had told me to just keep vacuuming if I finished that. She said I could do anywhere as long as it hadn’t already been done because by the end of the night (it was already 11:00 pm) it would all get cleaned anyway.

I cautiously proceeded through the door in the middle of the walkway and walked into the dark Celestial room. It looked different with all the lights turned off and empty. I was dressed in a white jumpsuit but still felt out of place in the room. I went over to the switch on the wall. It wasn’t like a normal light switch but more like a little control board with a few buttons all lined up in a column. I hit the top button. The lights in the room came on. Not like when you flip a switch but slowly like if you were slowly turning the old dimmer switch in the dining room at the old house. The room quietly filled with light. I looked around and found an outlet on the wall behind a plant. I plugged in my vacuum and got started. I worked hard to make the lines just right. The years and years of vacuuming the living room and getting it just right were now paying off. I pushed and pulled at just the right angles to get the triangles to look perfect. The large room as you know is filled with furniture so I had to slowly work my way around all that. After about 25-30 minutes all by myself in the room the Sister Supervisor walked through and told me it was looking great. I felt so proud. I continued to work alone and finish it all up. Right when I finished she stuck her head in and said to wind up the vacuum since it was now midnight and time for us to return home to our beds. I looked over my masterpiece. Not the room itself and all the decorations and beautiful furniture, those were already here and placed by people who have fashion sense and talents I couldn’t even begin to understand. No, my contribution was the clean perfectly lined carpet. As I was admiring the carpet the Sister Supervisor walked into the room with another Sister Supervisor and they proceeded to walk around and dust the vases and arrange the scriptures just right. As she walked back to me to take me back downstairs she noticed the tears in my eyes and commented on how the spirit can be strong here even as we clean. I quietly nodded my head and moved on. If only she could know that even though the spirit was nice in the temple the tears were not from that. The few tears dripped down my face because her and her partner had just WALKED THROUGH ALL MY HARD WORK AND PUT FOOT PRINTS EVERYWHERE!! Were they not raised in a home where once a room was vacuumed you NEVER entered it!! What was wrong with these women!? Where was their mother? WHERE!!?? We proceeded to the elevator where the two women told me that my Mother would be proud of the job I did in the Celestial room. I told them my Mother would NOT be proud of what they did in that room. Ok maybe I only thought it.

I will forever remember the opportunity I had to contribute ever so slightly to the beauty of the temple. I finally now understand why I had to go through years and years and years of training under the guide of the greatest vacuumer ever! I Love you Mom!

p.s. This story is based on a true story. Some parts of this story may be a bit exaggerated in order to get just the right effect. I think that is ok isn’t it? I mean all the other emails do it so why can’t I?

21 Blessed Days

We were saddened to hear yesterday that one of our new nephews, Logan, returned to his Heavenly Father. Due to their early birth and fragile state we were never able to actually meet him. Nevertheless, his life has opened my eyes and blessed my life. One thing I know that the spirit has testified to me numerous times is the truthfulness of eternal families. I know this to be true, I have no doubts. Please keep Rachel and Clint and their family in your prayers.


21 blessed days
Three short weeks
You came and left far too soon
All watched as your life bloomed
The oldest brother of a group of three
Come here to earth to fulfill your Fathers command
Left too early to re-join your family waiting in heaven
Touched the hearts of so many while you were here
The joy on your parent’s faces as they spoke of you makes eyes well with tears
As they long to hold you and look at your little hands
The joy of your life and ache of your loss is something
Only one who has loved and lost a child would understand
Logan, your time here on earth was not long till Father called you home
The lives you have blessed will never forget you and with God’s love we are never alone

Blessing of Family

I know this has been said many times before but I wanted to say it again. Family is such a wonderful blessing. Last Saturday was Joseph’s blessing. We did the blessing at Monica’s parents’ church instead of doing it during a meeting at our church. We just thought this would be a more personal experience. We were right. What a wonderful evening. My grandfather, the original Joseph Lambert, bore his testimony and commented how wonderful and different the world would be if all children were brought into this world with the same loving family situation as Lil’ Joe had. What a true statement. I watched many people expressing love to one another and pondered on Grandpa’s comments throughout the rest of the evening and on the drive home. Thinking of all the sacrifices and hard work that went into this simple event is just a small illustration of the devotion and selflessness that happens in everyday life with a family. One example of this family dedication is how my Aunt Elaine and Uncle John drove my Grandma Chandler down to the blessing from Pocatello so that she could be there and then rush back home that same evening for another family event the next day. Another is how Monica’s mother helped get everything ready for the blessing and stayed after and cleaned most everything up after she had already been working all weekend long. My 92 year old Grandpa and Grandma Lambert made the long drive down from Burley to be there. Bette & Marilyn left another family event in northern Utah to race down so they could be changed and make it on time. These are just a few of the many examples of love and commitment I have been taught come with being a family. I hope and pray that I can teach my children how important family really is. I know I was raised by two wonderful, intelligent parents who worked very, very hard to make sure I was taught this important lesson. I try hard to appreciate it and always remember how blessed I am to have the family I have (this includes my wonderful in-laws). More importantly though I will strive to continue the traditions I have been taught that make family a blessing.