Jacob Arranges For a General Authority To Meet With His Grandparents While In Salt Lake For Conference

Jacob asked me in an email if I or Cherice would have one of his friends from Brazil to dinner.  Of course, I said yes.  Several months later when Cindy talked to me about it, I had totally forgotten and figured it was with Grandma Anderson.  Then Cherice reminded me that she was probably supposed to have the dinner because Efrain speaks Portuguese.

Plans were made to send shoes, water bottles, Tide to go pens, razor heads, toothbrushes and at the end footballs and a flash drive. 

Jacob sent his next e-mail that said, “well I have got my friends in contact with Cherice!! talk with her about them please!! they will be arriving sometime tomorrow. Please
meet them with my stuff, they will be staying next to salt lake city
west temple. Offer to go out to dinner with them and show them a
 place with really good ice cream!! please give them a box of
chocolates. I am really grateful for all of their help! They will not
have a car and do not have any friends or family in utah. So if you
could offer to give them a ride if they need one that would be great
to!!”

Well, Efrain first heard from them on facebook with the name similar to Heleman.  He figured that was the American version of the name but he still didn’t know what their real name was.  Eventually he got the address of their hotel and phone number but they did not respond to his phone calls.  We didn’t know what to expect.  We wanted to meet with them on Monday night because that is when Efrain doesn’t have school.  Plans were somewhat made for a Monday night get together – maybe at the Iceberg for hamburgers and malts.  Ray and Aloa had spent the day getting the items for the package to go to Jacob so the house wasn’t cleaned and there was not time for cooking.  Finally at about 8 p.m. we were finally able to find out that their name was Cruze, they were at 440 West 5300 South, the hotel telephone number and their room number.  The phone was finally answered and plans were made for Tuesday at 6 p.m.  We would pick them up for dinner.

Well, Efrain has school from 10 in the morning until 8 p.m. at night on Tuesday and this is finals week.  He could not miss school.  The suggestion was given to get Joshua Astill to translate for us. Luckily he could come to dinner with us.   We had planned to get Meiers chicken but Joshua said Brazilians were not used to greasy food and a rotisserie chicken from costco would be better.  He said a Sunday dinner would be good.  At first we planned on roasting a turkey but Ray had already made plans with the repairman to fix Punchy the Clown which took most of the day so we had to give up the turkey idea as it was in the freezer at Hill Avenue and Ray didn’t get away to go get it. I had gone to the temple so wasn’t around but had made the jello and got the potatoes peeled.  It was 4:00 before we left to go to Costco but we were home by 4:30 and had the potatoes cooking by 4:50.  I cut them in small pieces so they were soft and ready to mash by 5:20.   We went ahead with mashed potatoes and gravy, steamed carrots, salad, emerald green jello and strawberry jello.  Everything was ready by 5:55 when Cherice came and finished the green salad, set the table, made the punch and cleaned the bathroom!!!!  She was late coming because she had stopped to get the football.

We didn’t get to the hotel until about 6:10.  I knocked on their door but no answer.  The clerk said I could sit on the couch to wait and see if they came on.  I, of course, worried that we were too late and they had left.  But then remembered that things work out.  Probably 6:25 they came – a lady, man and young boy.  I asked if their name was Cruze and the lady haltingly said Elder Anderson.  We shook hands and I pointed out Ray sitting in the mini-van.  We finally met:  Rogerio and Deshy or something and the two boys were Helaman and Ammon only pronounced different.  We stopped at Costco to get hot fresh chicken and were home ready to eat by 7:00.

Joshua did a good job of interpretting.  I told them to tell of Jacob wanting a fast food place and Joshua telling me not to.  Luckily Diana, Joshua’s new wife, asked if they were born in the church.  Wow, what a wonderful story as he told how his dad fought with his mom and she cried a lot.  She did notice the missionaries and wondered what they were doing in the neighborhood.  One day Rogerio came home and told his mother that they were there and he asked them what they were doing and an appointment was made to come to their house at 7:30.  They were all baptized.  Rogerio was 12 years old.  They were able to be sealed in the family after that.   When he was about 18 his mother was killed in a car accident.  His dad went into depression and quit going to church.  By 19, Rogerio wanted to go on a mission but had taken over the role of taking care of the family and hated to leave.  He talked with the Bishop who told his to pray about it.  The next day his father said to him, “Son would you like to go on a mission?”  I will get a job and take care of the family so that you can go!!!!  What a quick answer to a prayer.  While he was gone on his mission, the father met a woman who he started to date.  He told her about his son being on a mission for the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints and she asked about 3 times which church he went for.  She had heard the missionary lessons but hadn’t agreed to be baptized years before but she started

going to church with him and wrote letters to Rogerio.  Soon she was baptized and they were married.    To this day, Rogerio loves her as his mother.  He was called to be a Bishop when he was 26 years old, a stake president went he was 30 years and sometime after that was called to be a Seventy.  He has come to Salt Lake 5 times for conference.  

His wife told of her conversion.  She was thirteen and sitting on the porch when the missionaries walked by.  She agreed to see them but when they came she was in the shower and told her mother to tell them to go away.  The mother said, you made the appointment, you will come and see them.  But the missionaries agreed to come the next night.  At that time several members of the family and a nephew was there to hear the missionaries.  She missed the last discussion when all of them agreed to get baptized.  The missionaries asked her about it and she said she would get baptized if everyone else was.  She loved going to church but didn’t want to go to seminary.  The nephew was going and loved it.  She finally agreed to go to a seminary party and always went after that.  Darren Day was in her Seminary class.  I asked if they knew Orville and of course they did – he was the mission president.  

At this point, I tried to call Orville but it was 10:30 p.m. in North Carolina so they didn’t answer the phone.  How fun to tell them about my relationship was Orville and how I made him take me on dates when I wanted to go somewhere.  

Efrain finally came at 8:55 and they were all happy to see him.  By this time, Joshua was exhausted as he had had an operation on his knee and was in a lot of pain.  While Efrain ate, Cherice and I went to the store to get “Tillamook” ice cream as the bucket I had from Western Family turned out to be strawberry revel.  We had got an apple pie to go with the ice cream.  If you haven’t tried Tillamook, it is the best.  We got some vanilla and some chocolate with nuts, etc. in it.  They all had the pie and ice cream and then started on the chocolate.  Joshua went home  and Efrain took over.  Efrain has the ability to translate as a person is talking.  

The Cruze’s were willing to take all that we had for Jacob and took two bottles of peanut butter - ne for Jacob and one for themselves.  They got a box of candy and a pecan roll for themselves.  They said they had to go now and expressed kind words of thanks for having them.   Cherice and Efrain when with Ray to take them home and I stayed home to load the dishwasher.  What an enjoyable evening to have a “Servant of the Lord” in our home.

I am going to stop here as I have to leave but will add more if I feel like I have left something out.    But again – what a great experience!!!!