Family Week

From the whirlwind of last weekend the kids have slowly begun to drive or fly off into the future leaving behind traces of their adult spirits and the sweet sounds of their toddler and baby laughs and cries. They also left a few errant socks and dirty diapers. I view it as a pay day from being blessed as parents with incredible children. I loved raising infants, playing with kids, and trying to keep up with teenagers as the family aged, but to have healthy, stable, and spiritual adult children is the absolute best thing in the world. I didn’t even mind the mostly gentle teasing of how goofy or clumsy I am. I best loved the quiet conversations related to politics, raising the next generation, and even intense discussions of family struggles. It is the mixed salad of personalities, and choices, and feelings, and ideas, and habits brought together under the roof of ultimate love and caring that makes for a dynamic and fun family. And we have it in spades. I’m so thankful for the blessings of the gospel that have so enriched our lives and built this structure of home.
The intense activity of kids arriving started with Don’s April 2nd appearance, and will come to an end today as Don leaves for the base at 29 Palms. Thanks goodness Dave and Danica will stay in the area for a while, because amid the mess and noise I loved everyone around and have a glimpse of what heaven will be like.

Tiana was slowly returning to the real world by the day, but would retreat to thoughts of the mission by talking with an elder recently released from West Virginia at night. She is now in Salt Lake to visit with him in person. She is also there to find a place to live, get a job, sign up for school and move on to the next phase of life. It was great as she drove off alone to Utah and stake her claim to her new future armed with experience and the spirit from her mission. It might be rough for a while but she is prepared with some impressive weapons of self confidence developed over the last few years.
Don is planning on driving all night to arrive at his sister’s place in Southern Utah tomorrow morning and then finish the trip to 29 Palms. He is packing his new car and lots of rest from 30 days of visiting friends and family. We didn’t get enough racquetball in because of his broken knuckle and he said he will ‘tough it out” to keep from telling anyone on base.
I had an interesting appointment this week. It was basically a job interview to work with a large national company that uses life insurance to help with charitable giving. It could mean a ton of new business and we will see how it goes. Yesterday we worked outside with Dave to repair the falling wall on the side yard and it snowed on us. I thought about you and wondered if it was still cold and snowy in Canada.

Lots of action and very little progress

It feels so weird not to address this to all three kids, but Don is safely back home with all his body parts. He is one happy kid to have us replace his hard nosed sergeants. We let him shower daily as opposed to once every month or two as he did in Iraq. It is nice to start the tidal wave of returning family in April with Don’s safe and happy return. I can’t wait to hear his talk next week.
It has been a fairly active week of odds and ends that makes me feel I’ve been really busy but didn’t accomplish much of anything. On Monday my new partner, Dennis Graves, and I met to hash out our deal. We met months ago in the temple and finally figured out a way that will allow him to serve the Lord on a mission. Then he will repay the favor when we want to go on our mission. Good things happen in the temple. Mom also came over because they offered to feed us and I didn’t have to buy anything and Mom didn’t have to prepare anything. They made the mistake of teaching us a new card game and the women took on the men and thoroughly kicked out butts. It was embarrassing.
Tuesday was move day as I borrowed a truck and began moving my office to the Tech Center. I’ve been in that office with Scott for 3.5 years and it is weird to move away and I feel rather lonely. The phone and internet didn’t work; and there wasn’t anyone around to talk to. The office was full of boxes and papers and I couldn’t find anything to work from and I thought it can only get better from here. I keep asking myself, “What in the world am I doing?, Will I make it here?, Is this the right thing to do?” I need a mentor.
Wednesday was a great day, because Don came home to a crowd at the airport Linda had arranged. We got special permission to greet Don at the gate and he was surprised and pleased. There were ribbons, banners, balloons, and lots of people taking pictures. All that was missing were the pretty girls wanting to kiss Don. He didn’t waste much time; I handed him off to mom and within an hour Don was the proud owner of a new used car. And mom still had enough time to make it to the temple. We even got to work the veil together. Only one little problem, I made her nervous and she didn’t give the right instructions to the patron and it was hard not to laugh. Then as I reached out during the ceremony I placed my hand on the lady’s shoulder or so I thought. The lady happened to be very short and I had my hand on her head. It felt funny for a shoulder so I felt around and couldn’t find her head. Then I got completely lost and missed a huge part. At that point all three of us broke out in laughter and struggle through the rest of the ordinance. I’ve learned not to work with mom across the veil.
On Thursday I tried to organize my office and finally get some work done. Through all of this crazy week we had been trading bids with this couple selling their house. We really liked the house and really only had two criteria. Mom wanted a view, and granite countertops, and a view, and a three car garage, and a view, and a finished basement, and a view, and a nice study, and a view. I wanted it to be a great deal. On Thursday we settled on a price and the new house was going to be ours. That night I reviewed the comps and there was a problem. The house was everything mom wanted but was a terrible deal and bless mom’s heart she said she would give up the house because he didn’t meet both of our criteria. That was a very difficult decision for her because she loved the new place, and we backed out of the deal. I love mom for giving up on something that important to please me…Thank you Mom.
Friday I went to Ft. Collins and signed a large contract. It was a good to have at least one day during the week to work. We had dinner with the Rodel’s and found out why we weren’t supposed to buy the house. We are going to buy a house in Branson, MO for investment. Rick is the head of a development firm there and has the perfect family resort type home that will be a great deal and provide extra income. We will be able to have our family vacations there. There is a huge lake for swimming, boating, fishing, etc., woods for hiking, shopping, entertainment, biking, tons of outdoor activities and the area is booming. I was thinking of buying there a year ago but didn’t have the information we need, but now we do. So what if it is humid and buggy, we’ll love it.
I finally saw Don again Saturday night. After he bought his car he has been fixing it up and he finally broke the bank with the purchase of a huge stereo system for the vehicle. The rear of the car rides lower because of the weight of the subwoofer. The box takes up most of the trunk – but it puts out a sweet sound. Talk radio will never sound so good. I also had a relaxing stint at the aquarium Saturday morning and found a couple of shark’s teeth.
Yes we have been listening to conference and even though I missed President Hinckley it was a great conference. There was about a dozen times my spirit was tweaked and I thought to myself, wow what a cool inspiration, or I need to do better at that. I love the Savior and listening to the general authorities ends a crazy week on a good note.

This will be good news for everyone this week. It’s a short letter – just not much going on. Most of it is future stuff. On Monday we will hash through the negotiations on a new house for us. I don’t know if they will match our price point but we hope so. I’m moving into a new office on Tuesday where I will be co located with a CPA and we will share leads. I’m looking forward to that. On Wednesday Don arrives back in town and that will be fun. I’ll keep you posted on the racquetball scores. And hopefully on Friday I will have a successful trip to Ft. Collins and write some good sized contracts. Just last week there wasn’t much going on. Except……..
The aquarium dive was fun yesterday. The animals were very active and while I was siphoning next to a 5 ft. Morey Eel and little girl on the other side of the glass kept jumping up and down and pointing franticly to warn me of his dangerous presence. She was worried I was about to be attacked. I was able to master the art of getting parents to take pictures of me with their kids while I was in the tank. One of the other divers has a little plastic board. She wrote her email address on the board and through hand gestures asked people to email her copies of the pictures. She would even take off her mask and remove her mouthpiece so they could get a great short with a recognizable face.
I will share with you a story from Fast & Testimony meeting. The young man’s basketball coach talked about yesterday’s basketball game. Our ward was doing well and winning by a narrow but healthy margin. As the game progress the coach notice that we were getting a little cocky and the defense was really falling apart and the other team was catching up, so he called a time out. He wanted to stop any problems before we lost the game, because our team had lost by only two points last week. He asked, “What is going on out there? We have these guys by the throat and you’re slacking off on the defense?” After a few seconds of silence one of the boys responded, “Well coach, we know we are going to win this game, but #8 on the other team hasn’t scored a basket yet and so we are trying to let him scored.” The coach swallowed hard and said, “Carry on, that is what church ball is all about.” By the end of the game #8 was able to score a basket and was so happy to have earned points for his team. And our ward won the game and an important lesson of life.

Happy Easter

March 23, 2008

Dear Tiana, Don, and Austin;

Happy Birthday to Danica and Mom, my mom, who was born this day in 1921 and received her third grandchild as a birthday present on this day in 1982. Birthdays are great to celebrate but can be complicated. I’m in Utah for the weekend and with Danica on this Easter Sunday but we haven’t been able to celebrate her birthday properly. Between conflicting church schedules, flight schedules, departures schedules, nap schedules, and eating schedules I blew it and didn’t coordinate so as to honor Danica very well today, plus mom isn’t here and I miss her on this important religious holiday.

We attended the English speaking ward and head some excellent talks about the Savior and the Atonement. One young lady quoted Elder Holland who said that “we are not what happens to us, but what we progress to in this life”. I was standing up, holding Lilly and thought about her future life. She has this cherubic face with two deep brown eyes and a consistent smile, will more of a giggle in her countenance. She just glows with promise and joy and delight in life itself. The choir then sang a familiar Easter hymn about how the Savior overcame the temptations of this world to pave the way for us to return to our Heavenly Father, I thought of this beautiful young life in my arms. Just as it is with all of us; life can through some pretty ugly stuff our way – illness, sin, financial challenges, unwanted temptations, broken hearts, and the list goes on. As a parent or grandparent as I looked at Lilly’s face I wanted to protect this precious daughter from all that pain and sadness, but knew I couldn’t do any more than hold her and love her for the moment. She will grow up and face mounds of garbage that will be thrown at her. Hopefully most of the bad stuff will miss her but we all know that rough spots will happen and that is why I felt drawn out in thankfulness for the Plan of Salvation and my Savior Jesus Christ. He provides the way for happiness in this challenging life.

Heavenly Father at one time held us all in his hands and looked into our eyes and said, “Oh, you beautiful child, I would like to hold you and love you and protect you from the world and all its evil intents, but I can’t. You must go out on your own and find your own way. You will get stained by the battle maybe even hurt or seriously injured, but your elder brother will resist the world and provide the example and the way to clean those earth stains and repair the broken bones and even heal the broken hearts. It will not be easy for him but he is willingly to pay the price because his deep and personal love towards you. All I ask as you venture forth is have a broken heart and a contrite spirit and you can return home after earth school. Never again will you have to suffer or cry, but will have cause to rejoice over the eternities that will gloriously unfold into the future.” I’m so thankful for my Savior on this Easter Sunday and for the Plan of Salvation. I’m also grateful for your willingness to spread the good news of this gospel to those in Virginia, the Marines, and in Ontario. God’s speed be with you.

On a newsier note – there has been some interesting progress in my work that has yet to gel, but I’m excited about the future more than I have been in the past. I will be moving offices on April 1 to the DTC area and working with an account there. Also it looks like we will be moving into a new house as soon as we find something.

I’ve had a lot of fun working and playing in Utah for the weekend and you can check out my blog for some pictures from the various Easter egg hunts, “Peeps” show diorama contests, and quiet walks with the grandsons I was able to enjoy. I only wish mom had been here to enjoy the sunshine and the family.

Cozumel!!!

This is the best time of the week when I can spend an hour or two with you on a calm Sunday afternoon, after a nap and with some beautiful church music playing in the background. How is everyone doing? So sorry about missing last week, we were flying to Cozumel and I didn’t have the opportunity to write. I know that mom is a better parent because she wrote and sent you a card even while we were traveling, please forgive my laziness.
Mom had planned this week long trip to Cozumel because the winter just got to be too long here and we missed that week in Costa Rica. I guess we shouldn’t complain about the length of winter to someone working in the wilds of the Canadian north. While in Cozumel we met a man from Toronto and he said it has been a very long and brutal cold winter. Austin I want you to know that at that very instant mom and I collectively sent you a warm thought from our white sandy beach with the crystal aquamarine waters. I hope you enjoyed the thought.
This was designed as a diving trip and it lived up to its name. We spent our first afternoon planning out dive trips and negotiating with several dive shops for good rates. Even that was fun. Ohh... yes, we also checked into our hotel which rated 4 red apples on a 5 apple scale. I think some of those apples were missing a bite or two and had worms but we didn’t plan on spending a lot of time at the hotel so it was OK.
The next morning the dive boat picked me up at the hotel dock and whisked me away into blue water nirvana. We headed out to Palencar Reef and dropped down to about 100 feet. The diving in Cozumel is called “drift” diving because the current is constant and you just carry along with the flow above a wall or rock formation. It is a lazy man’s way of diving and I loved it. The visibility was incredible. We were at 100 ft and I could see down at least another 100 ft. The colors of the fish and reef were spectacular. Everywhere there was movement of darting fish or waving of sea fans and anemones. The rock formations were out of some Dr. Seuss dream of columns, arches, tunnels, and caves. The sense of flying achieved while drifting along above the action on the reef gave me the surreal feeling of power. The silent depths where all you hear is your own breathing while colors flash and dart before you is magnificent.
On the first day’s dives we saw spotted and green moray eels, turtles, sharks, big groupers, tons of angel fish, deep blue parrot fish, red checkered snapper, and barracudas. All the bottom seem alive with shards of colored glass; florescent blue, bright green, deep red, glowing yellow and black stripes all moving to the rhythms of the current. As I looked up from the reef you could see spots of blue and silver fish out into the dark sea. It was great and too soon we had to rise to the surface. Again during the ascend you feel suspended in time and space with fellow divers; 30 ft from the bottom and 30 ft to the top. When you hit the surface, then you have to struggle with the awkward tanks, the hefty weight belt, the clumsy fins and tangled regulator hoses. It all makes me want to stay down there for a long time and not worry about angry clients, market losses, bills to pay, and hard decisions to make. Thanks goodness for vacations and a loving wife that plans surprises.
When I got back to the hotel, mom gave me the best news ever (for that afternoon) and no it wasn’t a new hotel, she wanted to get certified and go diving. After the wonderful experience I had enjoyed I wanted her to experience the same thing. It was a big deal for her to get over the fear of breathing and actually relax in the water, but she wanted to do it and I am so grateful for her new found bravery. Gosh conquering both skiing and scuba diving within the first quarter of the year would be wonderful and much more expensive, but so worth it. It kind of dampened our evening activities because she had to study her diving book, but it is all good.
The next day I got in three dives – two during the day and one at night. It was my first night dive and was really different. We saw animals that were usually hiding during the day such as crabs and lobsters, squid and octopus, and strange little florescent flecks of colored light that shined in the water when you waved your hand. I could see other groups of divers off in the distance with their lights and almost ended up in the wrong group at one time. When we got out after the dive I looked down in the water and could see the lights of these different divers and it was bizarre.
Oh, by the way while we weren’t diving or studying mom hit a few jewelry stores and we munched down on some good genuine Mexican comida. The hot sauce got a bit much for me and I tried to wipe it out of my mouth with a paper napkin. Now back to the diving.
On our last day mom was able to join us and the dive master pulled the tail of what he thought was a normal moray eel. Well the eel didn’t like the pulling and came after the short little Mexican man. Our dive master jumped and sprinted away and dodged the attack but the moray eel had come out of his hiding place and he was as big as the Mexican. It was the biggest eel I have ever seen. On this last we didn’t see anything way out of the ordinary, but it was memorable because I got to dive along side and hold hands with mom. What a cool and great feeling. The water didn’t seem as cold on that last dive.
On the rest day before the flight home we rented a car and drove around the island to explore the sites. Cozumel is really a place for diving and not much else, but we were able to find some fun spots. We went to a park with many replicas of famous Mayan, Aztec, and Olmec carvings and our own personal guide. They also had a snorkel beach and again we got to hold hands and swim around. On down the road to another beach with a lunch spot for fresh grilled garlic fish. Wow was it good. We played at a couple more beaches with the most perfect water ever
and had lunch at the fun Coconuts restaurant, famous for its calamari according to the guidebook. Well there was no calamari on the menu, but the shrimp quesadilla was to die for.
That night, our last night, we walked down the road a bit to go to Pirates. We were the only people there and so the owner came by and talked our ear off while we ate. I had the money thing planned so well because I didn’t want to go home with a lot of American or Mexican cash. It worked great until he presented us the bill and didn’t accept VISA. He had to leave his restaurant and drive us way into town to hit an ATM machine so I could pay for dinner. Mom giggled in the back seat while I was embarrassed.
On the last morning in Cozumel the beach in front of the hotel called to me and I answered the call with a quick snorkeling trip. It was a nice slice of dessert. During that dive I saw huge schools of yellow and striped angel fish and the largest barracuda I’ve ever seen. To top it off I saw another barracuda attack and eat another fish about 10 ft away. It was great. Too bad I have to come back to reality.

Decisions? Decisions? Decisions?

Its mom’s birthday and thank you all for remembering and wishing her the best on this happy day. It looks like to me that she is getting younger every year. Yesterday it was this incredible sunny warm and gorgeous “spring” day. The sky was crystal blue and mom and I had lunch at an outdoor café with a spectacular view of the entire mountain range. It allows you to put up with a bitter cold and snowy winter just to take in the majestic mountains capped with fresh snow on a sunny day in the spring. WOW!!! Good company and good views, life couldn’t get any better.

Then we wake up this birthday morning to a complete blizzard. The snow is falling so hard that we can’t see the recreation center. Its mom’s birthday and she actually complained that its snowing. She said it often snows on her birthday. Why complain it’s never snowed on my birthday, so I never even got a snow day and stayed home from school. Come to think about it I never had to go to school on my birthday either.

This has been a tough week, racked with too many unsolved problems and dilemmas, and I’m mentally exhausted from pondering all the “What about this alternative?” You would think it is easy enough to decide to get the car fixed. The Explorer is in the shop and has prompted this decision process.

If we get everything fixed it will cost $900, but we can do the basics for only $700. Why pour $700 dollars into a car valued at $1,500? It won’t increase the car’s value. But Danica needs it to move and we have to be able to drive it across country. Well let’s get a newer truck. What about a car for Don? Tiana? But I don’t want to make an additional car payment for a vehicle that we only use occasionally. And think about the extra car insurance. Ugh!!! But we need a trailer hitch and an open back. Well I can turn in the Lexus and just drive a nice Sports Track. But if my office moves to AmCheck in Stapleton, the gas bill will kill me? What about that office thing. I have to move out of my office by April 1 so where do I go? Scott doesn’t have room unless I pay big bucks. Dennis’ office is in his home and that won’t work. I could office with Kevin, but I don’t know if he will send me leads and tax season is over with soon. And it is a less spectacular office and away from Scott. What about John and where to put him? Can I get a month-to-month lease so I could move sometime in the future? What do I use for my phone number on the business cards or the address? Should I move to where the leads are? Scott wants me to commit to space in May of ’09 and I don’t know where I’ll be in May of ’08. We have all these people coming in April and if I spend money on the car repair is there any left over to fix up the dinning room? Sales are slow right now and that means no money for a while? Arrrgggg…. I had a hard time picking what I wanted to eat for breakfast. It is a simple question of fixing the Explorer, isn’t it?

It was a great Stake Conference and Pres Jenkins was released. He and his counselors did a great job and they will be missed. Drum roll please…..the new Stake President is Ralph Walker – Sean Michael Walker’s uncle, Celeste’s seminary teacher, and Brother Hammond is the 1^st counselor. They are good brothers and the stake continues to be in good spiritual hands. Most of the talks were tributes to either the past or future stake leadership, but one really hit me.

Elder Snow talked about William W Phelps who contributed 15 hymns to our current hymnal. Bro Phelps was a dear friend of the Prophet Joseph Smith and was called to be a stake president. Something soured him on the church and Joseph and he went a far as to be the key individual that allowed for an execution order to be placed against the prophet. Joseph narrowly escaped death, but was captured and thrown into Liberty Jail because of WW Phelps. About two years later Bro Phelps repented and meekly asked to be reinstated into the church. He appealed directly to the prophet. Elder Snow then read us the letter Joseph wrote in response to Bro Phelps’s request. Here is his letter –

Dear Brother Phelps: . . . You may in some measure realize what my feelings . . . were when we read your letter . . . .

We have suffered much in consequence of your behavior--the cup of gall, already full enough for mortals to drink, was indeed filled to overflowing when you turned against us . . . .

However, the cup has been drunk, the will of our Father has been done, and we are yet alive, for which we thank the Lord. And having been delivered from the hands of wicked men by the mercy of our God, we say it is your privilege to be delivered from the powers of the adversary, be brought into the liberty of God's dear children, and again take your stand among the Saints of the Most High, and by diligence, humility, and love unfeigned, commend yourself to our God, and your God, and to the Church of Jesus Christ.

Believing your confession to be real, and your repentance genuine, I shall be happy once again to give you the right hand of fellowship, and rejoice over the returning prodigal.

"Come on, dear brother, since the war is past,

For friends at first, are friends again at last."

Yours as ever,

Joseph Smith, Jun. [HC 4:141–42, 162–64]

Four years later WW Phelps spoke at Joseph’s funeral and penned the hymn “Praise to the Man”. He may have understood more than many others the capacity of Joseph had for others because of his experience.

This is the heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which allows us the free agency to make mistakes, then repent and he will love us back into full fellowship. The Savior does this with full measure and I’m so thankful for the atoning sacrifice that makes our sincere repentance possible.

Fish teeth and I-Pods

Hey everyone and greeting from sunny Colorado. I just spent the last 30 mins talking to Don in Iraq. He is on a much bigger base now and has access to phone and email. He is doing great and will be here for the month of April. He is winding down his tour and really ready to come home and as he said “beat my butt in the racquetball court”. He is celebrating his two month anniversary of not smoking and is now working with a Navy captain on base to conduct church services. He has asked us to look for a car for him and we’re hoping for some kind of military discount. He’s got a boat load of pictures to show us and stories of goofy things he’s eaten. He said Lewis and his are doing better although they are still reeling from losing the baby. April will be a great month and a busy one for the house.

While in the temple on Wed night I was working the new name booth and talking with a real nice guy who said he was a mining engineer. Well he was being modest; he really is the CEO of a gold mining company operating around the world. I told him about Dave graduating from BYU – Idaho in April and the CEO wanted Dave’s resume. I called Danica the next day around noon to tell her of the hoped for opportunity and she responded immediately and emailed the resume. Dave called him the next day and did an impromptu interview with the CEO and the VP. It appears that they may be putting together an offer for Dave to work there permanently. They have mines in Mexico, Australia, Indonesia, and other exotic places in the world. It could be a great deal, because the family would be here in Colorado…YIPEE!!! Grandkids!!! It is funny because within in the hour from when I had called Danica was going to cash the check from the other company which would have committed Dave to them. I love the temple for lots of reasons.

I did get some bad news this week. The doctor’s group I was working with for their 401 K business decided to go with someone else. My contact there really didn’t know what he was doing and it caused a lot of problems and I lost the business. So we pick up from where we are and move forward. I’m still holding out hope for the AmCheck deal, which is alive and well.

I had a great dive at the Aquarium yesterday. It was my first time in the “Reservoir” which is a cold fresh water tank. It looks like a mild mannered lake with lots of calm friendly fish. Not so. It was a mad house. The fish knew it was feeding time and they were piled up where we get into the water waiting for food. They are very aggressive and hungry. We were feeding these Garr (fish with a very long needle nose mouth, full of sharp teeth) and they weren’t shy, but the food (another small fish) would hang out their needle mouth and the other fish would attack the slop over and it was wild. They constantly were pecking at my hands and several kept biting my scrubbing rag as I tried to clean the windows. The worse was a large fish that bit the back of my neck and got its teeth caught in my hood. It jerked me back until it let go. I jumped at first and then started laughing. It is hard to jump when you’re suspended in water. The fish would come up and run right into my mask looking for something to bite. It was so fun and helped me forget about the lost sale.

Next weekend is Stake Conference and we will get a new Stake Presidency so I will fill you in on all the details when that happens. I got to teach priesthood this week and wanted to share a story I told the quorum. I know a man in another stake, who left an excellent teaching job on the east coast to move to the Denver area, but teaching doesn’t pay nearly as well here and they are struggling financially. His kids were sad about leaving their friends and he ran into some marital problems. Unfortunately he was also disfellowshiped from the church and very discouraged about life piling on grief after grief. He loves music and under great financial distress his wife sacrificed here and there to buy him a slick new I-Pod. He was elated and downloaded a ton of music to enjoy. It was an oasis from his struggles. Then someone at school stole the I-Pod and he was devastated. He pleaded with his classes to return the music – it was a gift and he didn’t care to punish anyone he just wanted his I-Pod back. Then after two weeks of pleading it wasn’t returned to him and it really sent him into severe disappointment. The I-Pod was the last straw and he decided to stop going to church and wanted to give up.

He got up that Sunday morning thinking he wouldn’t join his family at church, but that didn’t seem right and so he went to church. Just as he entered the building the bishop pulled him aside and handed him a large envelope. The bishop told him that someone in the ward had felt impressed to put this package together and give it to the bishop. He told the bishop that someone in the ward needed it, but didn’t tell the bishop what it was. The bishop prayed about it and decided to give it to my friend. My friend took the package outside and opened it to find a brand new I-Pod inside. He just sat out on the church steps and wept big tears to realize that the Lord loved him and had heard his prayers. There is so much power from listening to the whisperings of the spirit.