My humbling experience

We are so blessed!  Sister Call and I have just returned from a visit to a Carmalito Nun Institution run by Las Misioneras del Calcuta after the order of Madre Teresa.  What a humbling experience to see the devotion of these sweet nuns as they minister to the needs of homeless and abandoned souls.

Last year we got together with the other American missionary couples here to do a program and give some service to the Salvation Armey Children's Home.  That was a sweet experience as we could interact with the children and see their faces of delight as they broke a piñata filled with candy and toys and received pillows with their names printed on them and stuffed animals.  We took pictures and sang songs and it made a memorable Christmas for us.

Later  Hno. Garcia told us that there were other places with greater needs,  gave me the name of  this "home."  It is down near the harbor in the poorest part of the city.  There are 44 "grandfathers" "26 "grandmothers" and 23 handicapped young girls who live there.  The madre superior didn't want me to take pictures.  The adults sat in hallways and rooms without anything to occupy them.  There were toys and a playground for the children, although most wandered the room uninterested.

We were taken into a room to see a 28 year old woman.  She lay in a heap.  Twisted bone and skin could hardly be identified as legs and arms, but as I touched her and spoke to her she turned her head and her eyes answered me.  That was an unforgettable moment. 

We were impressed with how clean things were considering the circumstances, and also with the fact that there were some young volunteers from the social services department who were trying to interact with the people.

I asked what their needs were.  "Diapers and detergent" was the answer.  Yes, how blessed we are.

--
Wendy W. Bentley

Oink! Oink!

That's right.  The swine flu it is.  At least that's what the Docs are saying without actually testing.  (Apparently they are only testing people that are sick enough to go to the hospital because of all the cases.)    The thing about this flu, that I haven't seen in the media, is that is tends to come back.  This is the 3rd week that Elijah has felt fine during the first half of the week, and then spiked a fever on Thursday that lasts about 2 days.  He gets better and someone else starts to feel sick.  Israel's had 2 rounds with it, Levi has been fine since he got out of the hospital and then spiked a fever Friday, Maggie is on her 2nd go around, and today I started feeling crappy for the 2nd time.    It's like the plague over here.  The good news is that we won't have to worry about getting the vaccine.  The other good news is that so far, Cecelia hasn't gotten sick at all, and Francesca has only had 1 mild bout of it.    I think we need a do-over, starting at the beginning of the school year.    Hope you are all well....unlike us.   Steve, Rachel, Elijah, Israel, Levi, Cecelia, Francesca, Marguerite, and the "Oink, Oink"

The Williams are at it Again!

Kaite and Liza are so big now and having a really great time playing together.

This was Kaite's first experience painting. SHE LOVED IT. Painter on our hands??? How exciting... and messy. :)

Is Liza big or what??? Can you believe that she will be 1 in 2 weeks? Since we got home she's just grown up! Lots more interaction. What a cutie.

So this is a ride at Marine Land, our favorite place this Summer. It's in Niagara Falls and SO worth the drive. Our Kaite is a total adrenaline junkie.

They are so BIG and this was Liza's first slide experience.

We love going to the beach! You just can't beat the sand and FRESH water combo. September has been BEAUTIFUL. Better than July that's for sure. It's a nice transition to Fall.

ALRIGHT! last week we went to the Fair and Kaitlyn decided she wanted to go on the rides BY HERSELF. This rollercoaster was really big. There were teenagers lined up but she went by herself and was so proud.

The fair was the greatest. They had a building full of farm animals and 1/2 of them were new borns or pregnant animals giving birth. facinating. These were chicks being hatched before our eyes. The kids LOVED it.

Kaite's first pony ride. It totally remined me of Mom and Dad with Steve and Rick in Uraguay.

Oh yeah, my 2 girls COVERED in mud, don't worry it gets worse.

Zach just finished the triathalon! Way to go!

Zach and his classmate Daniel before the triathalon yesterday. They are a really great family we're having a great time with. They are tough though, it's a good challenge.

Caught with her hand in the cookie jar! I was talking to Mom on the phone when I realized it had been far too long since I'd heard Liza. Here she was in a pile of TP. A fresh role ofcourse.

Love you all!!!

Viva Mexico

Yesterday was a record day.  We had 7 bus loads of people come to the temple and did over 1,960 ordinances.  We ran out of baptism overalls and had to give the youth white pants and shirts to be baptized in.  I was on my feet for 10 hours, but hardly noticed it because the Spirit of joy in the temple was so strong. 

In the evening we joined the three other American couples (Noltes, Misbachs and Calls) at the mission home to watch the BYU game.  It was fun to be together but, unfortunately, the game was a disaster.    Interestingly enough I've discovered that we are related distantly to both the Noltes and the Calls on my mother's side of the family.  It is a small world in the Church.

Last week Mexico celebrated Independence Day (Sept 16^th).  The night before we were invited to a wonderful evening of patriot celebration (Noche Mexicana) in the Stake.  Everyone who wishes dresses in native costumes, and each ward serves a different typical Mexican food (tacos, pazole, quesadillas , gorditas, mole, tostadas etc).  There was dancing and singing climaxed by "El Grito"(the yell) and throughout all of Mexico fireworks.

 "El Grito" remembers their night of independence  when at 5:00 in the morning of September 16, 1810  Padre Miquel Hidalgo in the village of Dolores began the freedom march by waving the flag of the Madonna, ranging the bell of freedom  calling the citizens to rise up and free themselves from the 300 year rule of Spain.  From the president of Mexico to each small group of people gathered to celebrate, one man leads El Grito waving the Mexican flag and yelling:

"Viva Hidalgo, Viva Morelos, Vivan los héroes de la independencia, Viva México " (Long live Hidalgo, long live Morelos, long live the heros of Independence, long live Mexico).  It is thrilling to witness and be part of.  When we served at the CCM Dad would lead El Grito, with all the missionaries echoing.

Our mission is passing quickly, and we will certainly leave a part of our heart in Mexico when we leave.

Dear Children & Grandchildren

                                                                                       September  15, 2009

Like the apostle John in 3 John 1:4 I can echo that "I have no greater joy than to know my children walk in truth."  And by truth I mean, as I think John meant, the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  What a comfort it was to Dad and me last weekend to know that Steve and Rick were worthy to give our precious Levi a priesthood blessing of healing as he lay in the hospital. We are so thankful he is home again, and feeling better.

What a blessing it is to us, when people ask about our family to be able to say that all of our sons, sons in-law, and one daughter served full time missions, and that all of you were sealed in the temple, and that all are active and serving in the Church.  We rejoice to visit in your homes and see you carrying on the traditions of FHE, family prayer and scripture reading.  And we congratulate you on doing those things better and more faithfully than we did.  We know that our dear grandchildren are being blessed as they observe the righteous examples of their cousins, aunts, uncles and read about the histories of their ancestors. 

May I recommend again byu.tv.org along with the radio.lds. org.  I especially enjoy the round table discussions of the scriptures.  If you can't listen when they are live you can go to them later on byubroadcasting.org

Although I took the class at BYU, the writings of Paul to Revelations have always been difficult for me to understand and enjoy.  Today I finished studying Revelation (it is not Revelations as we sometimes refer to it) and thanks to the insights from these discussions I now can say I really love these scriptures.  They, like the temple, testify of Jesus Christ and his atonement so beautifully.

It is no surprise to any of you that I sometimes struggle with impatience, pride, judging and selfishness, especially, I'm sad to admit in my relationship with your dear Father.  For years I have, worked, worried prayed and tried to master these faults on my own only to fail when little irritations or differences of opinion have arisen.  During this mission and our service in the temple, and more recently in studying the scriptures from Acts to Revelation, I have realized that I can never overcome these shortcomings on my own.  I need the Savior's atoning grace, which He is not only willing to bestow, but anxious to give me.  All He asks is that I have faith in Him, and keep His commandments.

Not long ago I heard a quote on the byu.tv.org station that really hit home: "If you want to improve your relationship with your spouse, improve your relationship with God."  The next morning I lay in bed before dawn pondering the situation and two clear impressions came:

1.       I need to have faith in Christ that with His help, I can one by one overcome bad habits, and become more like Him.

2.       I need to go to the scriptures and study Christ like characteristics as numerated in 1Corinthians 13, D & C 4:5 & Moronic 7:45 and other places.

3.       Then I need to work on these one at a time, and in bite-size pieces I will be able to, if not master, at least make progress on these qualities.

When I was 17, and a senior in high school Elder Howard W. Hunter, then an apostle of the Church was our visiting authority at Stake Conference.  During his talk Elder Hunter turned towards the choir and Said,

"Would the young woman in the red suit, on the second row please come to the podium?" 

I was sitting on the second row of the choir wearing my mother's red knit suit.  With legs shaking I stood and made my way to the podium.   Elder Hunter reassuringly put his arm around my shoulder and asked me some questions, and then he invited me to share my testimony of Jesus Christ.  Thirty-one years later, sitting in the office of President Gordon B. Hinckley, I would be asked that same question.  I would like to share it now with you:

 I know Jesus Christ is the son of God.  I know that He was the creator of this world.  That He was the great Jehovah of the Old Testament.  That He came to earth as a babe in Bethlehem, lived in humble circumstances, organized His church and set the example for us to follow.  I can't explain how He did it, but I know that because of His love for us, He willingly took upon Himself all of our sorrows, sickness, suffering and temptations, sins and wickedness.  There is nothing any of us will ever endure that He hasn't experienced.  He is our personal Savior, our friend, our advocate with the Father and it is only through His saving grace that we can overcome our sins and failings to be worthy to return to the presence of our Heavenly Parents, and be exalted as an eternal family.  I bear this testimony humbly in His holy name, Amen

May we all keep striving to live True to the Faith.

Your loving Mother and Grandmother, Wendy Josinette Whiting Bentley

Levi...update

Levi is home from the hospital.  He'll be home from school for a few more days, but he is on the mend.  Thank you for all the prayers.

Levi

Just a quick note to let you know that Levi is in the hospital today.  He has pneumonia and his stats were low enough that they wanted to have him on IV antibiotics to get everything under control.  Any extra prayers would be great.  He's not in any kind of critical condition, but he'll probably be there for 2 or 3 days.   (The doc says that a lot of kids in his office are coming down with H1N1 that is mild to moderate, but then getting pneumonia after that is fairly nasty. Wanted to let you know, because Levi first showed sympotms two days after we got back from the reunion. Understand, we don't know that it is H1N1, but it is a fairly good possibility.)

Sept. Birthdays

Happy September & Happy Birthday to:

Zach on the 6^th,  Lincoln on the 11^th Sharon on the 12^th,  & Elijah on the 29^th