Updates from Elder Bellomy.

Wow! Time is flying by.

We get regular emails from Eldrew, but not a lot of news. He is focused and working hard. He loves his companion...and tells us a few funny stories.
To be honest, there isn't a lot of news to tell.

Houston is blazingly hot.

Eldrew and Elder Tufaga are teaching a lot of people...but not too many are willing to follow through. He speaks of constantly sifting. He loves the area he is in.

Some snippets from his last few letters:

Learning charity:

We have some really exciting things going on in our area right now and I am learning a lot about charity. I think that is the lesson the Lord wants me to learn right now. It's not that I'm having my charity tested all the time or anything, but there are a lot of elements to missionary work where charity is intergral and I am finding that if I'm having one of those days it is hard to muster that love. It is a great lesson to learn to go even farther to get outside of myself and love more. Like Christ taught, if I love those who love me, what reward do I have?

Gladys Knight.

Did you know that Gladys Night is a Latter Day Saint? Eldrew reports the following news.

Another cool thing that is happening, which I will miss but it is still cool, is Sister Gladys Knight and the Saints Unified Voices Choir is coming to do 5 free firesides in Houston (all with in our mission boundaries). She and her choir sing gospel music and she bears her testimony and shares her conversion story and makes some bold commitments to non members in the audience.

Elder Born update:

Elderew speaks of a great Zone Conference (a missionary get together for about 20-30 missionaries). He mentions Elder Born is an Assistant to the President...I think this is the same Elder Born that Eldrew trained and really thinks the world of.

Yesterday was Zone Conference where we recieved some awesome counsel from President Saylin and his 2 wonderful assistants--Elder Bayles and Elder Born.

Mormon moment...here is a video of Gladys Knight performing with the Mormon Tablernacle Choir.

Photos of Eldrew!!!

It has been MONTHS since we got a photo from Elder Bellomy.

However, the Mom's of a couple of Eldrew's companions have sent some photos in the last week.

In case you have forgotten what Elder Bellomy looks like (we have)...here are some photos. Click to enlarge.

Elder  Bellomy in a group photo. He is the second from the left. Directly to his right is Elder Born...one of Elder Bellomy's former companions. (Thanks to his Mom for sending us this photo.)

This is Elder Bellomy with his last companion, Elder Hesterman. Eldrew was his training missionary. (Thanks to Elder Hesterman's Mom for sending this and the next photo.)

Elders Bellomy and Hesterman. I think this may be the day the two were made companions and were heading out to their area from the mission home.

General observations...

• Elder Bellomy looks more grown up than ever...amazing.
• Eldrew's haircut is shorter than I think I have ever seen it. Well...the shortest since he was about 12-years old and he shaved his head for football season. Since then, he has always had pretty long hair.
• Notice that Eldrew is wearing an orange tie in all three photos? A close look seems to show that all three ties have a different pattern. I guess he likes orange ties.

Wow...it is so good to see him.

The Born Identity.

Introducing Elder Born!
This is a time when I wish I'd kept up with this blog on a more of a regular basis.

Last month, Eldrew wrote home and announced that transfers were in coming and that he would be training a new missionary arriving from the Mission Training Center.

Within a week we welcomed Elder Born into our mission family. We were very excited. I got a chance to call his mom and talk to her when he arrived. It was great to talk to her. Elder Born is from Phoenix, Arizona. Eldrew says that he is an AWeSOME missionary. In fact, Eldrew sees many qualities in Elder Born that he admires and wishes that he could be more like.

The pair have been working hard, teaching, and inviting people to accept the Gospel. Here is a photo of Elder Bellomy and Elder Born after a very heavy rain storm. It's not a great photo...but I remember working hard in rain, snow, and the heat. These are hard working missionaries braving the elements to preach the Gospel. (Click to enlarge)

The Mother's Day Call.
It was great to talk to Eldrew on Mother's Day. We were all prepped by Elder Bellomy. Being the serious missionary he is, he wrote in advance and notified us of the time when we could call him. He announced that he was timing the call with is Mom so that it would least interfere with his missionary work! At the appointed time, we called...and called...and called. No answer. Then after about 20 minutes, the phone rings and its Eldrew chiding us for not calling on time. It turns out that he'd given us the wrong number.

It was great to hear his voice. We did most of the talking...mostly asking him questions about how he is doing and what he is doing. The funny thing is that he kept giving us time checks. The call home is allowed to last 40 minutes. And, that boy was not going to go 30 seconds over.

"You have 35 minutes."

"You have 13 minutes."

"You have six minutes."

"You have one and half minutes."

Gotta love the fact that he is dedicated to follow the mission rules. It was great to get a sense of Andrew. We can tell he is happy because his warped sense of humor was in full force. He was teasing us, bearing his testimony, and generally glowing about his mission. Only six months until Christmas when we get to talk to him again.

The missing man at the wedding.
Last week was Eldrew's brother's wedding. We missed him. I confess that there has not been a moment since Eldrew left that I have wished him home. Last week was the exception. As we celebrated Adam's wedding, I really missed having Eldrew there for the big event. Eldrew wrote a very, touching letter to Adam and Lindsay. When we read the letter at the wedding dinner the night before the wedding, it brought tears to their eyes...it was a very special moment.

Playing dead.
Here is another random photo sent by Eldrew. It is of a possum doing what possums do...playing dead. (Click to enlarge)

The Wiki article on possums (opossum) describes the behavior of this indigenous medium-sized marsupial as:

"When threatened or harmed, they will "play possum", mimicking the appearance and smell of a sick of dead animal. When playing possum, the lips are drawn back, teeth are bared, saliva forms around the mouth, and a foul-smelling odor is secreted from the anal glands. The physiological response is involuntary, rather than a conscious act. Their stiff, curled form can be prodded, turned over, and even carried away. The animal will regain consciousness after a period of minutes or hours and escape."

Later, after this photo was taken, Eldrew reports that the possum had disappeared — resurrected you might say.

Meeting Elder Rios.
Elder Bellomy's first companion is coming home this transfer. We are planning on going to his sacrament service where he will be speaking. It will be great to meet him and his parents. Elder Rio's parents are top notch folks and have been super kind to us and Eldrew. We are looking forward to hearing from Elder Rios.

Transfers.
There are transfers next week. Stay tuned. More news next week.