JACKPOT! Photos from Elder Bellomy.

Okay...there aren't many...but at least there are a few.

Hot and sweaty from the humid Texas sun, Elder Bellomy and Elder Mulitalo are cooking up some African Chicken and Rice Stew.

Elder Bellomy and Mulitalo before Abraham's baptism.

for some reason Eldrew send the photos inside a "Fall" greeting card. Typical of his sense of humor.

This is the inside of the card.

We will report the latest news on Monday or Tuesday when we have heard from him.

Guitars against the wall.

Please excuse this overtly religious, long, and mostly un-mission-related blog entry from Eldrew’s Dad.

It has been a week of cascading nostalgia about Eldrew. It has been a week for me to ponder the some of the significance of Eldrew and his mission.

These feelings were triggered when we ‘de-junked’ the basement den. Leaning against the wall were guitars that Eldrew played before his mission. Seeing the guitars brought a flood of Andrew-related memories. Eldrew loves playing the guitar. Part of the rhythm and soul of our home were the sounds of Andrew singing and playing in one room or another. Each room had a different acoustic character and Andrew would choose a room to play in based on the musical mood he was in.

Playing the guitar has even been a part of Eldrew's mission. To his delight, Elder Bellomy discovered that he was allowed to play his guitar (with appropriate song choices) while on his mission. He found it very calming as he dealt with the stress of the new missionary transition. He and Elder Rios sang hymns to people they were teaching to Eldrew playing the guitar he had purchased. At one time, he even gave a few guitar lessons to the Bishop of a ward he was assigned to. However, the mission rules changed and Eldrew gave the guitar to someone in the ward.

This week's Eldrew nostalgia jumped a notch when Elizabeth (Eldrew’s older sister) found and posted a video of Eldrew playing and singing at a family get together in 2007. It was in the living room of his grandfather in  up state New York.



Seeing the guitars against the wall made me think of Eldrew…seeing the video of Andrew playing made me think of our trip to New York…thinking of the trip to New York made me think of our family visit to the Sacred Grove...thinking of the Sacred Grove made me think of the significance of Eldrew's mission.

To Mormons, the 'Sacred Grove' is a most unique and hallowed place. Located near Palmyra, New York it is the place where God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith the first prophet of the restored Church of Jesus Christ. Without getting into the theology of it all, visiting the Sacred Grove can be a profound experience for a Latter Day Saint (Mormon).

Here is a photo my kids and I at the Grove. (I love my son-in-law Spencer as one of my kids.)

In 1980, I (Eldrew’s Dad) visited the Sacred Grove while I was on my mission. At the time, I was a fairly recent convert to Mormonism. I had been an atheist and joining the LDS Church as the only member of my family caused quite a sense of cultural shock. As much as I loved the Gospel and the Church, I often felt as if I was a stranger in a foreign land. Mormonism was a life’s journey that I was walking by myself. When I knelt and prayed in the quiet of the Grove, I had a profound sense of loneliness and had only faith in the Lord as to how my life would unfold.

Fast forward to 2007 when I visited the Sacred Grove again. This time, I had my entire family with me. The fruits, miracles, and joy of living the Gospel flooded into my mind and heart. Words cannot express what it meant to me to be with Andrew and the rest of my family in the Grove. It was one of the most profound experiences of my life.

To bring this nostalgia full circle…Eldrew’s mission is an extension of that Grove experience. Andrew’s guitar playing brings joy into my life. Eldrew, as a second generation Mormon on a mission have created very deep reflective feelings within me.

I am deeply touched by the faithfulness and service of Elder Bellomy as he works so hard on his mission. I am amazed at the growth, commitment, and faith of a young man who is giving up two years of his life to serve the Savior and to bring light and hope to the people he meets. If the people he teaches experience a fraction of the joy I have had in the Gospel, then his time has been more than profitably spent.

Isn’t it amazing the feelings that can come from seeing a couple of guitars leaning against the wall?

Postscript:

No discussion of guitar playing in the Bellomy household would be complete without a shout out to Adam Bellomy — Eldrew's older brother.

Adam was the first guitar player in the Bellomy family and was the direct influence that led to Eldrew learning to play. Adam's playing has been every bit as much of the  rhythm and soul of our home as was Eldrew's. Adam came first and was more into amplified  rock and roll. When the two boys got to playing...the foundations of our home shook to the core!

"Stresses and blessin's." The week of September 13th.

A good week for Elder Bellomy. He describes it as a week full of "stresses and blessin's."

For starters, he got letters from three members of the family. He is always excited to hear from us. Three in one week is a great week for him.
Anyone is welcome to send him postal mail. He'd love to hear from you.

His address is:
Elder Andrew Bellomy
Texas Houston South Mission
4627 Austin Pkwy
Sugar Land, TX 77479-2146

More blessings and lives touched.
Elder Mulitalo and Elder Bellomy continue to teach and touch lives. This week Eldrew filled us in on the baptism of Ansu and Elizabeth. Steven, a recent convert to the Church...and newly ordained Priest performed Elizabeth's baptism. Eldrew is excited to see Steven grow and push himself in the Gospel.

Eldrew also reports that this week they began to teach a man named Ezekiel who has prayed and received a confirmation of the truthfulness of the 'Book of Mormon' and is going to be baptized early next month.

The missionaries also visit and teach members of the faith who have lost their way and no longer associate with the Church. Elder Mulitalo and Bellomy taught the Rodriguez family this week and the Spirit was very strong and they were able to answer the questions of one of the daughters who is about Eldrew's sister's age. He describes it this way:

We taught the first lesson and the Spirit was just very strong and everyone was paying attention and interested and it was just like D&C 50. When we teach by the Spirit of Truth, it is received by the Spirit of Truth and both are edified and rejoice together. There was just understanding on both sides...I could feel the spirit as I testified and the really less active daughter said, "you answered so many of my questions, I totally understand now." It will be cool to see them come back to church.

He finishes by saying:

Everything is going great here, I don't have much else to write about other than I love ya'll and I'm excited to have eternity with ya'll. It's all about enduring to the end (and no, I don't mean the last year of my mission...but that too).

And, of course...Eldrew PROMISES to send some photos home. (Have we heard that before?)

Elder Bellomy Trivia.

No photos from Elder Bellomy. He promised again this week that he'd send some. He didn't come through. I guess he can't email photos. I'm tired of these posts NOT having any photos. So...I am making up a pretense to include a photo. Eldrew trivia!

Did you know that before his mission Eldrew was in the original 'High School Musical' movie as an extra in the bleachers in one of the scenes?

It is true. If you squint really hard in a scene with a crowd of students you can see Eldrew. He earned $50. The interesting part is that he was offered a bit part to be a basketball player on the opposing team in the basket ball scene. He turned them down because he didn't think he'd go a good job.

There you go. A photo and some Eldrew trivia.

Hello home! A good week.

We got our weekly breath of fresh air from Elder Bellomy. He is doing well and is happy.

Hello home!


So, this week was a good one! The zone did great, my area did great, we had zone conference and moved our P-day to Tuesday so we could work on Labor day.

No weekly letter is complete without this promise:

I will get pictures and send pictures next week. Elder Bellomy Promise!

LOL...we will believe that when we see the photos.

One of Eldrews friends is serving a mission in Japan. Elder Turner is putting together a small photo album a way of 'introducing' themselves to people. I asked Eldrew if he thought this would be something he's like to do. He said:

Interesting about Mitch's mission. I've heard of that being done in Brazil and other foreign areas. I think it's because when you see a bunch of obedient, white kids they look like robots and you don't want them in your house. For us in Texas, everyone well knows us. In the more African parts we are called Church People or Preachers and in all the others we're the Mormons (angry and annoyed tone assumed and included). We strive hard to ask soul searching questions and teach with power and authority so they recognize us as servants of the Lord...I don't really care if they think I'm normal. ha ha

I guess that Elder Bellomy has been doing a little thinking about the time left on his mission and how he wants to serve.

I want you to look up a song and listen to it. It's an EFY song on 2005 track number 2. I think it's called "What will you do with the time that's left" It talks about life but I've been paralleling it to my mission. It's a great song...I've been thinking about it especially because 3 of the 4 district leaders [in the zone]are going home in 3 weeks. I love these great men...I couldn't help but cry when they bore their departing missionary testimonies in zone conference...No matter where we are in life or callings (or my mission), there is always time to make changes, repent and put it all on the altar. Like the song says, "What will you do with the time that's left? Will you give it all with no regrets?"

You can listen to the song here: Video: Time that is left

Here are the lyrics:

What will you do with the time that’s left
Will you live it all with no regret?
Will they say that you loved till your final breath?
What will you do with the time that’s left?

Oh, Hallelujah!
Oh, Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Amen

What will you do with the time that’s past?
Oh and all the pain that seems to last?
Can you give it to Jesus and not look back?
What will you do with the time that’s past?

Oh, Hallelujah!
Oh, Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Amen

What will He say when your time has come?
When He takes you into His arms of love?
With tears in His eyes will He say well done?
What will He say when your time has come?

Oh, Hallelujah!
Oh, Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
(Lord be present in all my ways,
help me follow You all my days oh Father God)
Amen

What will you do with the time that’s left?
Will you live it all with no regret
Will they say that you loved till your final breath?
What will you do with the time?


He finishes this week's letter with the following:

But, I wanna say I love you two very much and hope everything is going great. I love ya'll!

Busy times.

We were correct. Elderw sent his letter today.

Busy boy:
In the letter he describes how busy and stressed he is at the beginning of each month. In addition to all the missionary work he is doing...and wants to accomplish...he has three additional activities this week — Zone Leader Council Meeting, Stake Correlation Meeting, and District Leader Council meeting. Of course there is a lot of planning and preparation for these meetings. Eldrew also got to pair up with Elder Peterson who is one of the missionaries who is an Assistant to the President for what is called an 'Exchange." This is in a different area and a different missionary than his usual area and companion. This switching up is a training opportunity for Eldrew.

Eldrew seems to be very happy and is taking the extra assignments in stride. He is very grateful for Elder Mulitalo who is working hard with Eldrew over the holiday to put in extra effort. Edrew reports that even with all the extra duties, he and Elder Mulitalo were able to reach all of their goals.

Tropical Storm Hermine:
I asked Elder Bellomy about the big storm...he reports that the mission car was damaged:

Tropical storm huh? Now that you mention it, our car was tipped over when we walked outside today...We thought it was vandals... We must have slept through the whole ordeal. ha ha jk.

(I don't think we will get a real storm report until next week.)

Passing the Sacrament:
He also had this to report on the progress of two recent converts and their progress in the Church...

This last Sunday was also a special one for me. Abraham and Steven, our recent converts, passed the Sacrament for the first time. There was some bumps along the way but they were happy with themselves after. It's helping them grow. The mission has seen me look at the Gospel in a whole new way. Before, the church as something you just do... and the doing was the end result. For example, you read to read, or pray to pray, come to church to come to church...I didn't see really why we do all those things. It's not just the doing, it's the testimony and knowledge we grow.

That 'year' thing:
I also asked him if now that he has been out on his mission a year if he needed anything...replacements...new shoes...etc. He commented on the whole year thing:

In response to the Year mark thing...That was weird. I was too busy for the fanfare. I've heard you're supposed to burn a shirt. That's a retarded thing to do, so I didn't do it. ha ha.

I date however I feel is more important than my one year anniversary of my departure is the date of September 6th--yesterday. In one year I will be stepping off a plane on the 6th of September ha ha. Weird.

Gratitude:
Besides the blessing of Eldrew serving a mission, our entire family has been blessed this year. So far, we are weathering the recession, Adam and Lindsay's wedding, Spencer graduating from grad school, Sarah turning 18, Sarah graduating from high school and going to college, our first grand child, and an empty nest! We mentioned to Eldrew all the blessings we are having and that we are praying for him and his health, safety, and success. He replied:

Well, I wanna let you all know that I love you. And I pray for ya'll as well.

The name of the game lately for me and I think for our family is gratitude. We have been blessed with so much and the Lord deserves the get the props! I love ya'll, bye!

(Did you catch the double "ya'll"? He really has down South for a year!)

It is good to see him happy, working hard, and positive. The Lord is watching over him and blessing him. More to come next week.

He's going to get soaked.

We did not hear from Eldrew yesterday. He usually writes home from a public library computer. Since yesterday was a holiday, we suspect that their prep day gets shifted and thus we get delayed emails.

So the only news so far this week is not from Elder Bellomy...but from the weather. Tropical Storm Hermine is coming ashore Southwest of Houston.

As you can see, Eldrew is no where near the center of the storm. Even so, they are predicting that the Houston area will get between 2" to 3" inches of rain in the next two days.

We'll see if he mentions the storm in the next email we get from him.

A year ago today. A year to go, today.

It was a year ago today that we marked the beginning of Eldrew's mission by dropping him off at the curb of the Missionary Training Center. That means that we have a year to go before we see our hero again. Drive By Drop off. It is hard to believe that this year has gone by so quickly.

Eldrew seems to be having a wonderful mission. From all accounts he is happy, learning, working hard, and growng as a man and as servant of the Lord.

If the year coming goes by as quickly as this past year has gone, we will be seeing Eldrew in no time at all.

We pray that he will continue to serve with honor, that he will be happy, and that he will be blessed by the Lord.

Catching up.

Elder Bellomy has settled down into a regular, happy, and hard working routine of mission-only focus. His letters (in spite of teeing up many questions are short and sparse on the details.) He isn't even sending any photos.

So, it is with apologies that I have not posted in over a month. I will attempt to do a little catching up.

First of all, Eldrew seems absolutely happy. What he does write home is unfailingly happy and content. When he does tell of a hard day, unsuccessful lesson, or exhausting moments...he does so with humor and literally "ha..ha" laughing it off. This missionary has absolutely nothing bad to say about anyone.

It is a point of joy for me that he has not truly complained once his whole mission. Well...not quite. On Mother's Day, he gave us the exact time and phone number to call him. When the number didn't work because he gave us the wrong one...he finally called us about 15 minutes later and mildly chided us because he had timed the call so that it would least interfere with his appointment schedules.

A few highlights from his letters home over the last month.

August 8: Elder Bellomy and his companion were blessed to have a baptism. The wonderful aspect of this baptism is that the member of the ward that fellowshipped the person being taught was asked by Elder Bellomy and his companion to perform the baptism. (Mormonspeak: Fellowshipper is a member of the congregation that helps a potential new member learn about the LDS Church and is a friend.) The member's name is Brother Konobe. Eldrew tells the story that Brother Konobe does not speak very good English and has not participated in too many LDS priesthood ordinances. Baptising his new friend was to be a new and wonderful blessing. In the days before the baptism, Brother Konobe's arms became swollen (for no apparent reason) to the point that he could not move it properly and would not be able to perform the baptism. The missionaries gave Brother Konobe a blessing and told him that he'd be healed so he could do the baptism. On the day of the baptism, Brother Konobe's arm was healed! Because Brother Konobe is older, somewhat frail, and cannot read the English language very well, Elder Bellomy stood in the baptismal font and assisted Brother Konobe as he performed the baptism. It was a special experience for Elder Bellomy.

On a side note. One morning, there was a knock at our front door in Centerville, Utah. Susan was late answering and found and older, grey-haired gentleman getting into a large SUV. Susan thought he might be a salesman. He looked at Susan and said, "I'm going to have an unusual conversation with you."

He introduced himself as Brother Platt -- the former home teacher President Saylin and family. (Eldrew's Mission President.) It turns out that Brother Platt was in Houston visiting a daughter and met Elder Bellomy at the mission home. He had come by to tell us that Eldrew was healthy and happy. It just so happens that Susan has been having very strong mommy "I-miss-my-missionary-son" feelings. She made Brother Platt tell all about his visit with Eldrew. Susan was delighted.

When we mentioned the visit to Eldrew...he laughed and remembered meeting Brother Platt. He was surprised that Brother Platt thought him so happy. Eldrew explained that he happened to be at the mission home because his companion was in the process of returning home to China...and that he (Eldrew) had actually been quite grumpy sitting around the mission home when he wanted to be out working. Eldrew got a good laugh that his impatience didn't come through to Brother Platt.

Thank you Brother PLatt! You were just what Susan needed.

The August 8 letter ended with the note that Zhang returned home to China. We would learn of transfers in the next letter.

August 16th letter: Elder Bellomy has a new companion -- Elder Mulitalo from West Valley, Utah. Elder Bellomy thinks that Elder Mulitalo is great. He is a Polynesian from the west side of the Salt Lake Valley. He said that they often talk late into the night. Elder Mulitalo is a football player and is slated to play defense for the University of Utah after his mission. Elder Bellomy says that he is quite a large fellow (I think about 6'3" and nearly 300lbs. They are working hard and teaching a lot of great people.

Eldrew told us about an experience where he was conducting a Sunday evening Fireside. Attending the service was Elder Keith K. Hilbig an LDS General Authority and Seventy. Elder Hilbig is Sister Saylin's father. For reference, Sister Saylin is the wife of Eldrew’s Mission President. We have been impressed that she is a wonderful ‘Mission Mom.’ It means a lot to Susan that Sister Saylin is there for Eldrew. (Mormonspeak: A Fireside is a Sunday evening Church service. A General Authority is one of the senior leaders of the LDS Church. A 'Seventy' is roughly equivalent to a Cardinal or Archbishop in the Catholic Church.)

August 23rd letter: Not much news...Elder Bellomy and Mulitalo are working hard and are being blessed.

Elder Bellomy is excited that transfers are coming and he and Elder Mulitalo are staying together. Elder Mulitalo has had a different companion for every one of the last eight months...and Eldrew a new companion for the last five months. They are both pleased to be able to keep working together and have some continuity.

Elder Bellomy got to do a baptismal interview with a wonderful convert to the Church that has really changed his life. Eldrew was touched to see the blessings in store for this person and his family.

August 30th letter: Not much news. Still no photos for the last couple of months.

Okay...I admit it...there was more news than I remember...but Eldrew's letters still seem short to me. We are happy he is doing well and that the Lord seems to be blessing him so much.

I will be writing more in a couple of days.

Abraham from Liberia.

Elder Bellomy's reports that his current area is about 60% African immigrents. He recently wrote us about Abraham from Liberia.

Abraham had been attending a local church for four years without being baptized or becoming a member. The members of the Church gathered and prayed over Abraham. Elder Bellomy reports as an apparent result of the experience, Abraham had a dream after the prayer or later that evening. In the dream, Abraham saw people with white shirts and ties like the missionaries...but that the dream ended before he could introduce himself to them.

Abraham took the dream to have special spiritual meaning because he left that Church a few days later and began searching for the men he saw in his dream. His search ended when he found Elder Zhang and Elder Bellomy and recognized them from his dream.

In a special circumstance, Abraham had a Mormon friend, Brother Konoboe from Africa, that helped him take the missionary lessons.

Abraham from Liberia was baptised on July 17th as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

"Can You Imagine Me A Year Ago?"

You may remember that we did a post all about Eldrew's hair and how he has totally gotten over his obsession with perfect hair styling. (A parting of the ways) Well, Eldrew came to that realization on his own this week. In fact, the title of the post comes directly from Elder Bellomy's letter home this week. (More on that below.)

The letter home this week was back to the short variety. Susan thought that it would be a great idea to make the family letter all about announcing Preston's birth to his missionary uncle. No questions, just baby news. Eldrew responded with about as short an email as he could.

One of the things I admire about Eldrew is that he is obeying the mission rules. We weren't sure if he was allowed to view sites on Preparation Days at the library...but we included the professional baby photo site that has Preston's hospital photos.

(You can see the photos yourself until August 9, 2010. Click on this link: Bella Baby Website The password is: 0622PRESTONHANSEN.)

True of heart, Eldrew told us that he could not visit the site because it was against the rules. He asked us to send the photos seperately and that he'd want to see them.

We were able to send him this photo that he could see:

"Can You Imagine Me A Year Ago?"

Here is the one story that he did share from this week:

I will tell you a funny story. I call it, "Can You Imagine Me A Year Ago?"

Last preparation day I needed a hair cut. We went to the laundry mat and put our laundry in then set out for a barber shop or a hair salon. For some reason all the good ones were closed...so we succumb to "$3.99 Happy Cuts" in a strip mall more ghetto than anything in Rose Park. Ha, ha.

We sat down in the lobby and waited for the one hair stylist to finish. She was Vietnamese. Elder Zhang whispered to me, "I don't think she speaks English..." and I replied, "If she doesn't speak English, I'm not getting my hair cut here. " After a few minutes she was ready to cut my hair..."You wan hear cuah?" (misspelling intentional) I asked, "do you speak English" She was confident, "Yes." ....she lied.

I asked for a 4 on the sides, she gave me a 2 because..."4 too long!!" It was terrible...but I didn't care. It was weird, I parted my hair when I got home and did the best with it I could and I really didn't care in the end.

It left me saying...can you imagine me a year ago?

Three thoughts came to me regarding this "hairi kari:"

1. Elder Bellomy really has gotten to a place where he doesn't care about his hair.

2. I laughed at the notion of him doing his best to part this bad, short hair cut.

3. If the salon is named "$3.99 Happy Cuts" you are going to get a terrible haircut even if they speak King's English!

More next week!

Asked. And, Answered.

Every LDS missionary has a different letter writing profile. Some send long, detailed emails home every week. Others, you are lucky to get a paragraph or two. Eldrew falls on the few-paragraph end of the scale. When we mention this to other missionary parents, we ususally get a, "Oh-our-missionary-sends-wonderful-long-letters-full-of-details-home-every-week" sorts of responses.

Even though Eldrew's letters are short -- they are regular. Every week. And, we love knowing that he is alive and doing well. Even from a paragraph we can get a sense of his happy...stressed...tired...focused...excited...spirit.

But, I think we have broken the code for getting longer letters. We have taken to asking him the things we'd like to know about him and what he is doing. The result are markedly longer letters. The last couple of weeks he has taken the time to answer some of our questions. Here (in paraphrased form) are some of the questions and answers from the last two weeks:

Q: What are the missionaries in the zone like?
A: They are good missionaries. We have very obedient missionaries in out mission... our biggest struggle is the occasional elder that doesn't get out of bed until 7...so it's really good for us. There are some struggling areas but thus is life...I don't really know how to answer that question without taking a few pages ha ha

Q: How many zones are there in the mission?
A: There are 7 zones.

Q: How many English speaking zones?
A: 4 English, 1 bi-lingual and 2 all-Spanish.

Q: Do you spend a lot of time with individual companionships or elders?
A: We spend about more time with individual elders. We switch areas for a day and teach them by example...we apply the trainings, do everything right and inspire them... this week I took a brand new missionary out into our area...he'd been out for 3 weeks...we found 3 new investigators they all accepted baptism on specific dates and all our lessons were with a member present.

Q: By the way...how many missionaries in your mission?
A: There are about 140 missionaries so about 70 companionships. I think it's about 60% English[-speaking] and 40% Spanish[-speaking].

Q:What was the $85 bike shop charge on your account? Any problems with the bike?
A: I snapped my axis and I popped my tire so I had to get it fixed. Funny story...one day in my last area...I don't know if I've told this story. We were riding and nothing was going through all our appointments weren't there and I just looked up into the sky at the clouds and said...Heavenly Father, help me to have patience... then about 10 minutes later and hit a big nail and my tire went completely flat in about 8 seconds. I guess the only way to grow patience is to have your patience tested. Ha, ha.

Q: Does Elder Zhang (Eldrew’s new missionary companion from mainland China) speak English well?
A: Yes, he has great English. He has a very big accent but he knows the English language well.

Q: Is Elder Zhang a convert to the LDS Church?
A: Yes. He was an atheist all his life until 16 when he was invited to a cottage/baptismal meeting in his home town and after 4 hours of hearing the lessons and feeling the spirit, he got baptized. He hadn't ever prayed about the Book of Mormon, talked to his parents about it, he just knows it was right. He then converted is mom and after a year of reading the Book of Mormon with his dad, he got to baptize him. Their branch meets in his home and Sunday School is in his room. The branch is made up mostly of his family members.

Q: Where in China is Elder Zhang from?
A: I can't pronounce it. But, it's in central China. He is one of 100 missionaries in the world from mainland China...when he left one of the first 30 missionaries from his country.

Q: Tell us all about your new area.
A: It is very diverse. There is about every culture and religion here. In about 95% of the lessons I am the only Caucasian person participating. The major ethnic group is people from Africa — Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana. It's crazy. Right now we are teaching a Muslim. She had a dream the night we taught her where she was in the middle of a war and she was screaming, "Jesus Save me!" She was very confused because he doesn't believe he can...but she is slowly understanding why he is necessary as a mediator and feeling the spirit as she reads and prays

Q: What is the Ward like?
A: It's small and nice. The people love the missionaries

Q: How many missionaries in the zone you are in?
A: There are 16 Elders and 4 sisters.

Q: What areas does the zone cover?
A: Memorial, Alief, Richmond, Rosenburg and...well...the entire Houston area, including all 3 missions. We have the Vietnamese Missionaries and they cover that area. It’s called the Breaburn District. Bry Lines served in this branch when he was in Houston. If you ask him he was in the Richmond Zone.

Q: How many districts in the Zone?
A: There are 4 districts: Memorial, Alief, Richmond and Breaburn.

Q: What sorts of things do you do as a Zone Leader?
A:  Hmmmm…plan, pray, and get ulcers over struggling areas, ha ha. We help, lift and inspire the missionaries. We also do exchanges, calls, leading by examples, zone meetings, etc.

Q: How many splits (Missionary team-ups with members of the congregation)
A:  About 2 a week.

Q: Do you have a car?
A: Yes, a 2009 Malibu... V6!!!!

Q: What is it like to have a foreign missionary for a companion?
A: Interesting. He's been Americanized but he's hilarious. Some of the phrases he says make me laugh so hard.

Q: Do you like Elder Zhang?
A: Yes.

Q: I there anything we can do to help Elder Zhang?
A: He goes home in a month so, I don't think so

Q: How is the weather? Very hot, not a lot of rain yet.
A: Is it getting hot yet? Yes...see above

Q: What is your apartment like?
A: It's very big and clean. Zone leaders have to have clean apartments. We had bed bugs for a bit last week though...we killed them all though with some bug stuff....stupid buggers bit up my legs! Ha, ha.

Other letter-home items:
So, I had my first zone meeting this week...I conducted it and gave the training. I was really nervous...Elder Zhang said you could tell I was freaked out (ha ha) I will get better over time.

PS...If you could send some E.F.Y. CDs that would be great (‘E.F.Y.’ means especially for youth) It's approved listening and I need something other than Boremon Tabernacle Choir. Ha, ha. Send it to the mission home...Please?
I'm excited for pictures of Preston. I've been praying for him every night.

Phew, these weeks feel so long in retrospect but so short while living them. ha ha So many things.

------

That about covers the latest news from Houston. We will update the next time we hear from Eldrew.

Uncle Elder!

We just wanted to post a quick announcement. Elder Bellomy is a first-time uncle! His sister Elizabeth and her husband Spencer welcomed Preston Spencer Hansen into the world today. Here is a rather out-of-focus photo of the new addition and parents. (I wonder why they wouldn't let me use a flash?)

Little Preston's birth was something of a surprise. Elizabeth has been under constant observation due to the breech position of the baby and low ambiotic fluids. Tests today showed dangerously low levels of fluid. The doctor ordered that Preston be born today by C-section. Elizabeth was admitted and in surgery within hours. There were concerns that low fluid levels are an indicator of kidney problems. No worries. He is perfectly healthy and Elizabeth is doing well.

As Susan and I prayed before driving to the hospital to await news of the surgery, I was overwelmed at the fact that at the moment that we were praying, Preston was still with our Heavenly Parents and getting ready to come to this earth to begin this part of his eternal journey. To us, Preston is a son of God. He has come to this earth to learn faith, follow the Savior, and to become a part of our eternal family.

In many ways, Preston is what Eldrew's mission is all about. He is teaching other children of God that they are the sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father, that Jesus is the Christ and their Savior, and that by following the Plan of Salvation they can have eternal life and eternal families.

We miss Eldrew. It is a big family event to miss. However, we are so proud and happy that he is on his mission serving his Father in Heaven.

Congrats to Preston and his parents Elizabeth and Spencer. Congrats to Uncle Andrew for his faith in serving his mission. He will be one of many faithful missionary examples to his nephew!

Welcome home Elder Rios. Thanks for serving a great mission.

Elder Ryan Rios was Elder Bellomy’s first missionary companion in Houston. On June 1, he honorably finished his mission and has returned home to friends and family in Highland, Utah.

This weekend we had the privilege of being in the congregation when Elder Rios spoke to his home ward for the first time in two years. (A ‘ward’ is the Latter Day Saint equivalent of a parish.)

Every missionary has a ‘trainer’ who is the person who shows the ‘greenie’ the ropes and teaches him what he needs to know to be a great missionary. Mission presidents typically choose only the finest Elders to train new missionaries. As far as we are concerned, Elder Bellomy got the best trainer he could possibly have. Eldrew loved his time with Elder Rios. We can honestly say that Elder Rios set Elder Bellomy on the path to be the happy, hard-working missionary he is today.

Elder Rios gave a great sermon. He shared some wonderful stories. He is a confident, articulate young man. He bore a strong, spirit-born testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We enjoyed being the congregation with his family, friends, and ward members.

We are sure that one of the reasons that Elder Rios is such a great missionary is that he has great parents. When Eldrew arrived in Houston, we got a call from his father introducing himself to us. He told us that he’d arranged for his son to take Eldrew out to a nice restaurant. He and his wife were excited that their son would be companion to our son and that they were praying for Elder Bellomy’s success and well being. The Rios’s have no idea how comforting it was for us that they were rooting for Elder Bellomy and that their son would be our son’s trainer.

After the sacrament meeting, we were invited to visit the Rios' home and participate in a family meal. Relatives from several states had gathered to honor and see their returning missionary. The Rios’ and their family are wonderful people. We traded stories, learned histories, laughed, and got to meet the missionary who served so honorably and trained our Eldrew.

Welcome home Elder Rios. Thanks for serving a great mission.

Welcome world.

I thought it might be a good time to review some of the weblog statistics for ElderBellomy.com.

Since the site went live about ten months ago the site has had:

• 1971 visits
• 768 unique visitors
• 3,166 page views

From within the United States:

• Utah
• Texas
• California
• New York
• Iowa
• New Jersey
• Idaho
• Virginia
• District of Columbia
• Maryland
• Arizona
• Washington
• Oregon
• Georgia
• Tennessee
• Florida
• Ohio
• Massachusetts
• Nevada
• Colorado
• Oklahoma
• Illinois
• Missouri
• Minnesota
• Pennsylvania
• Hawaii
• North Carolina
• Montana
• Michigan
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• South Carolina
• Wyoming
• Maine
• New Mexico
• Indiana
• Alaska
• Wisconsin
• New Hampshire
• Rhode Island
• West Virginia
• Connecticut

If  you know anyone from North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Vermont, or Kentucky...send them a link to this website and invite them to visit!

Internationally, we have had visitors from:

• United States
• United Kingdom
• Canada
• Australia 
• Germany
• Brazil
• Sweden
• Spain
• France
• Italy
• Mexico
• New Zealand
• Poland
• Indonesia
• India
• Japan
• South Africa
• Colombia
• Romania
• Thailand
• Philippines
• Slovenia
• Guatemala
• Slovakia
• Denmark
• Hong Kong
• Turkey
• Dominican Republic
• Netherlands
• Venezuela
• Israel
• Fiji
• Taiwan
• Bulgaria
• United Arab Emirates
• Russia
• Finland
• Luxembourg
• Chile
• Puerto Rico
• Iceland
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Costa Rica

We want to welcome and thank all of our visitors. We hope that you will enjoy the strories of Eldrew's mission.

Best man, from afar.

Elder Bellomy could not be home for Adam and Lindsey's wedding. We missed him. But we were all proud of his willingness to serve. We were touched by his wedding toast to the couple.

A & L,

Congratulations on this great and important day. I know it is the start of great times for each other and for all branches of the family tree. On the brink of such a momentous occasion I can’t help but to think of complementary colors (even though it’s snowy in Utah, it’s not snowing in Texas and the gardens are in full bloom, trust me).

My biggest fear has always been losing Adam. I know, I know…call it a corny thing to say, maybe it’s because I wouldn’t have anyone else to rip style from or maybe it’s because there wouldn’t be someone else to clean the bathroom with me on Saturday mornings…but mostly it’s because Adam has always been my friend. He’s always let me know what is cool, what I should wear, how I should talk, and, unexpectedly, how to be myself. It is a privilege of mine to see Adam become who he needs to be. He’s always been good, but Lindsey…with you, he’s become great. You are his complementary color. You bring out the best in him. I have never seen him so dedicated, so responsible and so concerned for another person…not even me!! (I’m not jealous, don’t worry, I understand).

I’m thankful for you Lindsey for being the one my brother was looking for, I love you. Adam, I love you too. I’ll give you both really big hugs in about 15 months. Ha ha Have a great night, congratulations again.

Mission international.

Transfer!
Big news around here is that Elder Bellomy has been transferred. We are sad that he was with Elder Born for just one month. That is a very short training period for Elder Born. He must be a very good missionary to be ready for his trainer to transfer. Eldrew spoke very highly of Elder Born.

Alief, Texas.
Eldrew has been transferred to an area west of Houston called Alief. You can still send him mail at the mission home. Here is a map showing where Alief is:


View Larger Map

Mission international.
Elder Bellomy is excited that his new area is so diverse. He reports that about 60% of the residents in his area are new in the United States from Africa. 10% are Vietnamese, and 20% are Latino. His companion's name is Elder Zhang (pronounced Jong) and he is from mainland China! We think it is amazing that Elder Bellomy can serve in Houston, Texas and have such an international experience.

Special Experience.
One of the first experiences in his new area was to participate in the baptism of a very special person. Lia is her name. This wonderful lady is paralyzed from the chest down. Eldrew was one of six people who carried her into the waters of baptism on a sheet. As she entered the water, Eldrew says that she had the 'biggest smile' on her face. He was deeply touched at the meaning of the atonement, the gospel, and the opportunity to touch the lives of the people who need and seek the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

New assignment.
An aspect of Eldrew's transfer included a new assignment from the Mission President. Elder Bellomy is now a Zone Leader.

(LDS terminology explanation alert:) A zone leader is an administrative leadership position within an LDS mission. A zone leader is responsible for 3-4 'districts' of missionaries (usually 4-8 missionaries in each district). We have no idea how many missionaries are in the zone Eldrew is in. The zone leader facilitates communication between the Mission President and the members of the zone. He also helps, trains, and motivates the missionaries he serves. The position involves a lot of time travelling around the zone area and spending time with each of the missionaries.

Elder Bellomy reports that he is already spending hours a week doing administrative reports and various meetings. He is also meeting with Bishops and Stake Presidents in his zone. This is a great opportunity to share in many missionaries' experiences. I would expect that he has a car and does a lot of travelling and staying with other missionaries' apartments. He is excited and overwhelmed at this new responsibility. He hopes to serve the missionaries he is working with.

On the lighter side.
Here is a new photo sent by Elder Born's mom. This is from before the transfer. The Elders are showing off their watch tan lines. I don't know why a tan line makes the Elders so tough...(click to enlarge)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

More next week. Until then, God bless you!

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.

A parting of the ways

For those of us who know and love Eldrew, know how absolutely fussy he is about his hair. Prior to his mission, he obsessed about missionary haircuts. Never in his life has he parted his hair on the side. Under no circumstances was he going to have a regular missionary (parted on the side) haircut while he was on his mission.

When it comest to hairstyles, Eldrew has has almost every hair style imaginable...but NEVER parted on the side.

Imagine our surprise when recently he sent photos and announced he was parting his hair on the side.

For kicks, here are a few samples of the many styles of Elder Bellomy before his mission.

It goes without saying that we love Eldrew no matter how he wears his hair. We love getting photos from him on his mission. So, we will share one last photo we got last week. It is Eldrew sleeping with the new pet beagle of the owners of the home where Eldrew is staying.

We get to talk to Eldrew!!
One last note. Missionaries call home on Christmas Day and Mother's Day. Today is Mother's Day and we have our call with Eldrew scheduled at exactly 5pm Mountain time. He has scheduled that time so that it will least affect his missionary work. The whole family is looking forward to hearing from him. We will report in a later blog entry what he has to say.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

This week I'll call it "The Good, the Bad, and the Funny"

Susan asked me to share this entire email from Eldrew.

First, the Good:

To answer your questions about investigators: (not that anyone is counting...) I have been a part of 3 baptisms. Jimmy, Malonni, and Lacey. But the way it seems to go in missionary work is that you can't really claim any baptisms of your own.

The other day we got our mission newsletter, 'It Is Written', which contains articles from President and Sister Saylin and the Assistants, pictures of incoming and outgoing missionaries and baptismal statistics and names of individuals baptized. It was cool to see names of people whom I began or helped teach on the list. Oscar was going to be my first baptism...back in December on the 12th. He had some things to still work on so I never saw it happen. BUT he did. And the word was passed along that he is preparing for a mission! Edwin in my first area got baptized as well as a boy named Brooklyn.

Hopefully people I helped come unto Christ! Miranda moved to Virginia with her mother, she hasn't been baptized yet but she asked the sister missionaries if she could get baptized as soon as she got to her mothers. They told her yes...so...I'm confident she is going to be baptized. Currently we are working with a 24 year old man named Eric. He is going to get baptized this Saturday. He is overcoming word of wisdom problems and this week he is going through "detox". He took work of so he could sleep, throw up and feel miserable at home. Will you please pray for him this week that he can feel God's comfort and have the strength to endure. He is a very passionate young man and will go on a mission! ha ha :) I will send pictures of it home next week.

Some more good...My birthday. No breakfast in bed but I did get to wake up at 6:30 and exercise ha ha. My birthday present was given to me on Sunday. Lacey bore her testimony. I got all choked up and stuff. ha ha to feel the Spirit bear witness of what she said. She's thankful for the gift of the Holy Ghost. :)

Also, I feel great riding on my bike. I hope I stay on it my whole mission.

Also, today I read Alma 17...its amazing how diligence, faith, scripture study, pray, fasting, optimism increase our effectiveness in the Lord's work (Whether you're a missionary, a Sunday School teacher, on the High Council or a Laurel) Effective teaching, testimony bearing and even rock slinging and sword work! Ha


Second, the Bad.

There's none of that.

Finally, the Funny.

So here's an interesting encounter for you:

We were riding through a trailer park in the bottom part of our area when a car pulled up next to us and said, "Are you Jehovah's?" I replied, "No, Mormons!"

He said, "Nice, I'll pull over!"

So, he drove up a ways and pulled over and got out of his car. He was wearing black boots, black tight pants, and a black and white stripped shirt buttoned half way up with his chest exposed and over ten necklaces. His hands were covered in rings and his wrists with bracelets. On top of his head was a fedora hat covering is dreads that went halfway down his back. I laughed to myself as we rode up to him.

So! Tell me! What are you all about...maaaaan."

We told him, we're all about Jesus Christ and told him about the restoration. He was really interested but was really just interested in everything possible. He was "spiritual" and prayed to everything and anything people pray to...while he does yoga. He's studying to be a lawyer but the Man (American politics) is going to keep him from making a difference. He informed us early on in the conversation not to look up, because the airplanes and helicopters that were coincidentally flying above us weren't actually coincidently flying above us. It was the government keeping tabs on him. They are scared of him because he's going to do something for the people...probably a communist thing.

He also explained his ridiculous policy on guns which...I am afraid to say though it is stupid is kind of clever. He wants to take away everyone’s guns but not their arms. He will give everyone an arm...a sword. Because when everyone has a sword and no one has a gun, you'll think twice before you kill someone. His rhetorical scenario, "If I'm standing right there and you're standing over there and we both have guns are you going to think twice about shooting me faster than I shoot you? Probably not. Or if I'm standing right there and you're standing over there and I have a sword and you have a gun are you going to think twice about shooting me? No, because you have a gun! But if we both have swords you're going to think twice before you kill me because you may die first." ha ha ha ha hilarious. He told us to look at his face and remember it because it was going to be famous someday and then he was off.

Famous or infamous he will always be funny to me!

Your son,

Elder Andrew Paul Bellomy



Translation:

(Eldrew's Dad with a little Mormon-speak translation and commentary for those who may not understand all the LDS references.)

Andrew has never really spoken in detail about the people he has/is teaching who have accepted the restored Gospel and have been baptized. We were wondering and asked him in his weekly letter. The first part of his letter is sharing with us. Obviously, he is happy that he is teaching and people are listening to his preaching...but he is not boastful about it. (I will say that I am eternally grateful to the Mormons who introduced me to the Church and missionaries that taught me.)

Testimony meeting -- a once a month sacrament or communion meeting in the LDS Church where there is essentially an open microphone for members of the congregation to 'bear their testimony.' They can speak on any topic they want regarding their feelings and experiences in the Church. (One of my favorite meetings...very unscripted.)

Restoration -- Mormons believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its pure and authoratitve form was lost from the earth and that through a modern prophet, Jesus Christ has reestablished (restored) his Church. If  you are interested in the concept, you can read about it here: The Restoration of the Gospel

High Council -- This is essentially an executive board of Elders that assists in the administration of an LDS Stake. They are sort of like a board of Deacons in a traditional Christian denomination. A stake is an territorial/administrative unit of the Church made up of about 5-7 congregations. The closest equivilent is that of a diocese in the Episcipal or Catholic Church.

Laural -- a member of a woman's youth class aged 16-18. Eldrew's younger sister is a Laural.

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