Surprise!

 Two weeks ago, On Sunday April 30th I took a trip to Utah. I had arranged for Andres and Jami to pick me up from the airport and to stay with them over the night so I could surprise Bianca the next morning. I had once surprised my dad on Father’s Day before he passed away and I also surprised my mom on Mother’s Day and her 75^th birthday.  The memory I still have today when they saw me is unforgettable!

Last October we were surprised by Analia and family who came to Utah for Joseph’s baptism and when I saw Daniel’s face of unbelievable happiness, I thought, I’ll do that someday. That is why I decided to take the long trip from Manila to Utah. A short but very sweet trip. I even got to see Rachel and Owen which was the icing on the cake.

While I was there, I attended Women’s Conference with a good friend of mine. She was the editor of the book we wrote together with ten other Authors. The book is called In the Spirit of Jershon. I have started reading it and It is quite good. When people asks what the book is about I say what Mary Vawn has explained: "The Spirit of Jershon is the spirit of compassion, kindness, unity, and Christian service in action. The Spirit of Jershon is the spirit of Zion. How can we apply principles of Christ's gospel during these contentious times? Finding common ground and learning how Diversity and Unity can thrive within groups of people is possible."
On May11th an article by Jerry Johnston "What it means to be LDS and Hispanic" was printed in the Deseret News Mormon Times section of the paper about the chapter that I wrote. This is what he said in the article:

"You’ve probably never heard the name Veronica Flores Rodriguez de Almeida. And — like me — if you have heard it, you’ve misplaced it in your memory bank.

But in a better world, I believe her name would be a household name.

Currently, she and her husband are in the Philippines serving The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the past she has been a teacher, a real estate agent and Utah’s honorary consul for El Salvador.

Her list of church callings over the years would fill a roll of cash register tape.

Last week, in a book sent my way (“In the Spirit of Jershom,” edited by Mari Vawn Tinney and Scott E. Ferrin), I came across some of her thoughts about Hispanics in America, in the LDS faith and in all of our lives. And since my wife and I have been teaching English to Spanish speakers in Box Elder County for the past year, I carefully read the piece with both eyes.

The poet William Stafford said when we think about certain things we need to find the right way to tilt our heads. And Sister Almeida, I think, shows us the perfect angle to hold them when we think about Hispanic people.

She asks, “What do Hispanic immigrants want?”

Then she answers: “They want respect, love and opportunities. They want to be successful.” She goes on, “At a meeting I had with the former county mayor, Peter Corroon, and the Salvadoran Consul General Oscar Benavides, the mayor asked, ‘What do Salvadorans export?’

“‘People!’ the consul general responded.

"When the United States no longer represents the land of opportunity, immigration will stop.”

Sister Almeida also has some suggestions for hard-headed souls like me.

“Don’t pre-judge,” she writes. “Focus on qualities, not stereotypes. While working for the Family Support Center, I have witnessed firsthand the empowering difference in a child who feels special. … It is the difference between a Sterling Scholar and one who ends up in juvenile court.”

As a teacher, she says, she once brought a basket of brown eggs mixed with white eggs to class. When the kids cracked them open, they found all the eggs were alike on the inside.

So it is with God’s children.

“We are all a ‘chosen generation’ possessing desirable qualities like resiliency, generosity, resourcefulness and civility, to name a few,” she writes.

What’s more, she says parents everywhere want the same things for their kids.

“Immigrant parents are aware of the challenges their children face,” she writes, “and they emphasize the importance of trying hard.”

Then she sums things up.

“The propaganda against Hispanics has increased tremendously (but) I hope you begin to see how similar we all are and how important it is that we learn from each other … after all, we are all brothers and sisters and equal in God’s eyes. Simple as that!”

Nice job, Sister Almeida.

Amazing! That made my day to say the least. It was a hard day for me. My heart once again was broken but I will explain later. 

I got in the Manila airport last night around midnight and the time difference coming and going is always challenging for me. Right now, I don’t know if I should stay awake during the day or if I should take a nap because a nap sounds so good.

Today, I am getting ready to go out again and this time to attend a Mission President’s Seminar but before I go, I just want to say how much I love you and hope those of you who are mothers have had an amazing Mother’s Day and those who are not mothers yet that you were able to in some way celebrate this special day by remembering those wonderful women who have shaped your life. Today I was thinking of my mom, my aunts and grandmother.

Now it’s time to start packing again,

Con amor,

Vero