Week Ending October 20, 2012

Sunday we were up early and out the door to be at Toh-la-kai Branch at 9 AM to meet with the leaders. Elder Freestone was just opening the gate so we introduced ourselves. We walked around to the back to find his wife. She was excited to have us at their branch. They are garden missionaries, helping the people learn how to grow things in this area. It was amazing the amount the gardens produced. They are done for the season since it dropped below 30 two nights ago, but they still had a few things in the ground. They took us to a shed behind the church. They had a counter full of produce. I was amazed.

We visited while waiting for the meeting to start. He came about 10 minutes before Sacrament Meeting was supposed to start. We told him our announcement, he made a few arrangements, and the meeting started. There were a good number of people. I was impressed with their meeting. There was a good spirit there and the people were friendly. We both bore our testimonies and told them how happy we were to be there. After the meeting we introduced ourselves to most of the people.

Back at our branch we took our food for the meal with our branch into the kitchen and went to Sunday School. There were definitely more people in attendance—quite possibly the meal afterward. Pres. Pine said he had counted 85 people in Sacrament Meeting. There were a few new faces but most looked familiar to me.

The women are having a meeting Tuesday night. They are making jam. I wish I could be there. None of them has ever made jam. I could definitely be of help. It is going to be sad to miss all the Relief Society activities—it would help to get to know the sisters if I could attend.

Monday we got ready for our visit with our grandma. She welcomed us and got her scriptures. We had a good discussion. We talked a lot about forgiveness and not letting others determine our relationship with the Savior. We gave her some scriptures to read and prayed with her.  She’s a good woman. At home I made some soup—the weather was clear and fairly warm with just a slight chill in the air. (Our heater had turned on during the night so it is getting colder.)

Tuesday I spent most of the day preparing for my seminary lesson. In the evening we drove to Gallup for our first Institute class. We set up the room for Institute but had no idea how many would come. At 6:30 we had five students and two missionaries. Two of the people were from the Tohlakai Branch; a girl who is being baptized Saturday and a friend from the branch who just came to be with her. Two of the students were a brother and sister from Tohatchi. Tohatchi is about 10 miles north of Tohlakai so they had about a ½ hour drive. They were really funny together, with the brother continually volunteering his sister for everything. The fifth student was a member of one of the Gallup wards, a young man I had met at conference. He is 18 and is now getting his mission papers ready to submit. There were also the two young missionaries from the Tohlakai Branch who came with their investigator. Ted gave the lesson and it went well. He did a great job of introducing the course and teaching about the Savior’s mission. We felt good about the start but hope we get more students. After the one young man leaves on his mission, it would make more sense for the others to attend in Tohlakai.

Wednesday we had our first Zone Conference. Elder Paul Johnson of the Seventy, the Commissioner of Education, was there. I was amazed at the number of senior couples—our mission has the most of any mission in the church. Sister Batt spoke about not comparing ourselves to others, seeing ourselves as Heavenly Father sees us, and doing our best. Pres. Batt spoke about being obedient with exactness. He also asked us to refocus our efforts to include the Book of Mormon along with the other scriptures in our personal study. We need to feel the Spirit of the book even if we have already read it many times. I was very impressed with both of them.

We heard from Sister Johnson. She talked loving others and letting them know the Savior loves them. She said the best solution if we are having trouble loving someone is to serve them. I can attest to that. We then heard from Elder Johnson. He also spoke about not comparing ourselves to others. If we spend time complaining, we are wasting our time and the Lord’s time.

After lunch we heard from Pres. Haws, our stake president. He spoke about finding some pieces of Indian pottery while visiting a niece and compared it to finding the remnants of the Lamanites. We need to gather them home. He also said it was time to stop walking and start running. I am so impressed with him. We heard from Elder Johnson again. He spoke about recognizing and teaching with the Spirit and being sensitive to the needs of the investigators. I was so impressed by the entire conference.

We ran a couple of errands in Gallup then drove to Tohlakai. We set up everything for the seminary meeting in the evening. We had no idea how many to expect. At the time for the meeting to start we had about 10 people, including parents. As the meeting progressed, we had more people come. We ended up with a full room of about 25-30 people. Sister Freestone had told them we would be teaching an adult class as well, so they wanted to hear about that. We had 9 students sign up for seminary. We had several that wanted to attend the adult class. It will be interesting to see how many actually come.

After the seminary meeting, we stayed for the gardening meeting. We visited with some ladies that sat at our table. One is the wife of a minister of a church in Gallup. This was the last gardening meeting for the year because Freestones are going home. They really had some amazing gardens. There were 15 set up in the area. After the meeting we had a huge feast.

When we got home Wednesday night there was a message from the Relief Society President in Ft. Wingate asking me to go visiting with her Thursday morning, so when I got up I called her. We had a great time. We visited a mother and daughter. They were two of the people on the elders list that we couldn’t figure out where they lived. We had a good visit except that I asked if they were sisters. After we left there we visited with a mother, daughter, and grandmother. We got home later than I’d hoped. I spent some more time preparing for a seminary class for two girls whose volleyball game conflicts with our regular class on Saturday. In the evening when they arrived they brought two girls with them. They said they were just checking us out. At least they were honest. We had a good lesson and had a lot of participation. They are so intent on the lessons in class, but they don’t do a lot outside of class.

Friday I did some vacuuming. The vacuum made a loud knock then it stopped sucking. The filters were really dirty, even though I had thoroughly cleaned them 3 weeks ago so I cleaned them again. I took several parts of the vacuum apart but couldn’t see anything that was causing a problem. I had to wait for the filters to dry before I could reassemble it. Fortunately, it seemed to work after everything was dry and reassembled. I needed to review the lesson for the evening class. Then the Relief Society president called to ask me to teach Sunday. I agreed although I was not sure when I would be able to prepare. I spent the trip to Tohlakai reading the lesson for Sunday and trying to gather my thoughts.

Our first seminary class in Tohlakai went well. We had a new student come—niece of one of the boys. The family of four (the ones we are meeting on Friday at 6:30 to accommodate) did not come. Only three students brought their manuals and only one brought her scriptures. Most of the kids had no idea who Moses was and they really had not had any experience with the Bible. I need to be sure not to make assumptions about basic gospel knowledge. Most of the kids have not attended any church during their lives. Sister Freestone said she really learned a lot. I hope the kids did as well. Ted had about six in his class—three were with the kids, but the others were branch members who just wanted to learn.

Saturday we had seminary early because the branch had a temple trip. My class had three kids there. I thought the discussion went well. We talked about parables and how to better understand them. We spent quite a bit of time discussing the Parable of the Sower. One of my students said she has read the scriptures before but this time she is getting more out of it. That felt good.

After seminary we drove to the temple in Albuquerque. (Because it is out of our mission, we only go with our branch.) We got there early, so we walked around the temple and took some pictures then had lunch in the cafeteria. Our branch came for a Native American session at 1 PM. It was in English, but those who wanted to could listen in Navajo. At one point they announced that part would be in Navajo. They said not to be afraid if you didn’t know the language, but it was sufficiently daunting for us.

After we left the temple, we got the car’s emissions tested so we could renew its registration. Most of the state does not require the emissions test, but Albuquerque does. The guy at the testing station was wearing a BYU t-shirt and he was listening to the BYU/Notre Dame game on the radio. On the way to the temple and on the way home I worked on the lesson for Relief Society. I felt like it would be a good lesson for our branch. The scenery continues to amaze us here and the sunset was really beautiful. 

Albuquerque Temple

Week Ending October 13, 2012

Monday we hoped to meet with Pres. Tulley of the Toh-la-kai Branch but weren’t able to connect with him. We emailed him outlining our plans to meet with parents and kids to kick it off. Ted made several calls to young adults in the stake inviting them to the New Testament Institute class we are starting.

In the afternoon we visited the homes of a couple of young adults that live in our area. One was asleep. Her father told us he’d give her a flyer we’d prepared. At the second stop an elderly lady answered the door and let us in. She had no idea who the young man was that we were looking for, so he must have moved. She had just moved here from Florida. Her son was recently hired as Assistant Pastor at a Christian community church in Gallup. We gave her a Proclamation on the Family with our names and phone number on it. She said her son would call us. He didn’t.

Tuesday we had an interesting experience when we went to teach one of our students. She had not been able to make the first two seminary classes so we told her we’d teach her at home so she could stay up with the class. She lives with her grandma. Her grandma was doing some beadwork on the sofa. I expected her to leave, but she stayed. As we taught about the Purpose of Life, we asked Kyree a question. As she thought about it, her grandma asked if she could answer and gave us the answer. She paid close attention while we were teaching about coming to earth, why we are here, and what happens when we die. At the end she said she had really learned a lot. She said she had not been sure about some of the things and appreciated the chance to hear about it. We asked if she would like us to come over and share with her more of the gospel teachings. She was very grateful for that so we are going next Monday. She is a member of the church but she hasn’t been very active for several years. She is really a sweet lady and we look forward to spending more time with her.

Wednesday we worked at home some more. When we went to the post office we ran the girl who had been asleep when we visited on Monday. We invited her to institute. We decided to try the café at the Trading Post. While we   were waiting for our food we visited with the owner. He had fallen and his shoulder was in a sling. A year ago he fell off a roof and had some brain damage. The doctors told him not to fall again or he might not recover. We told him we were starting seminary and invited his boys to participate. He told us they were involved in another church so they wouldn’t be interested.

We received a text message late in the afternoon from Pres. Tulley in Toh-la-kai asking us to meet him at 6:00 PM at the church. That was a surprise. Our meeting went pretty well. He is a seminary graduate and he feels it is important. He’s a little fed up with some of the attitudes in his people relating to education. They are given money for college, but they have a 94% dropout rate. He is the COO for the Navajo Nation and is in charge of all construction. We are going to have a meeting next Wednesday to kick off seminary. We need to visit the branch Sunday to make the announcement, but we are planning to do that anyway. His clerk came and showed us the room he had set up for seminary.

On the way home we stopped at Sizzler to eat even though it was quite late. (They give missionaries ½ price on their meals.) While we were eating a lady came over and asked if we were missionaries for the Mormon Church. They were less active members. She and her husband were on their way to Albuquerque to see doctors. Her husband has a tumor in his chest and they were very concerned. She wondered if we would be able to find someone to give him a blessing before he left town. They were leaving straight from the restaurant so there wasn’t time to locate anyone to help. After we were all finished eating, we went out to their car and Ted gave the man a Priesthood blessing. We told them we would give their names and phone number to the missionaries who would be able to help them.

Thursday I studied some and worked on my lesson for seminary. The weather is turning cold, so I made some soup from our meager supplies. In the afternoon we went to the volley ball games for some of our students. It was really quite fun. The girls are really good. One girl is a freshman on junior varsity and varsity. Her sister is a senior and was the captain of the team for the night. During one of the games the rain began to come down in such force that it was really noisy on the roof of the gymnasium. We could see it pouring outside—very worrisome considering we would have to go out in it shortly.

We had to leave the varsity game early to drive to the stake center for a meeting with the stake president and the bishops and branch presidents. The stake president presented their vision. (They were called a month ago and had put together a plan for what they wanted to do.) The vision statement was an amazing one. After that they introduced a missionary training program for the young adults in the stake. I was totally blown away by the comprehensiveness of what they are doing for their young people. They have a program to prepare the young people to be ready to serve when they want to go. After that presentation, Ted introduced us and told about the institute program starting. This should work well with the other program and also assist the returned missionaries to stay involved in learning and studying the gospel. We asked for the help of the leaders in announcing our program in their wards and branches and gave them flyers to put in their bulletins. There was such a strong spirit in the meeting it was incredible. The youth and the church will really be blessed by the work of this presidency.

Friday I made a chart for my seminary students showing the Beatitudes as the Constitution of a Christian Life. I was very impressed with a quote from Pres. Lee on the subject and wanted to share it.

Saturday in seminary we talked about the Sermon on the Mount and the miracles of Christ. I learned a lot in studying and preparing, so I hope I was able to help them get something from it. After seminary we dashed passed some kids walking home. There had been hard frost on our windows so I was concerned about them and offered them a ride. They declined, indicating they just lived through the block from us. The two girls were wearing hoodies, unzipped. The two boys were in T-shirts. The church is only about a ¼ mile from our cottage, but it still chilled me through watching them.

We hurried and changed to jeans then drove to Crownpoint to meet with one of the other couples who had a truck to visit some Pueblo ruins at Chaco Canyon. To get to the ruins we had to drive 20 miles on rough dirt roads. There was no way we would have been able to make it in our car. The loop we drove on to see the ruins was paved. We guessed they kept the access road unpaved to dissuade visitors. The ruins were fascinating and we were able to walk through many parts of them.

On the drive home we admired the scenery of the area. It is really remarkable. The mountains are red rock, usually in a mesa formation. The valley we live in starts about where the road from Crownpoint intersects Interstate 40. The mountains begin there and continue all along the valley. It is beautiful.

Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Canyon

Doorways In Rooms

Pueblo del Arroyo at Chaco Canyon

Week Ending October 7, 2012

Ft. Wingate historical marker

Sunday I wasn’t really sure if the program was planned in advance or if the speakers were called up from the audience. The first speaker was sitting in the audience. Then the branch president spoke. Both talks were very good, but it makes me nervous for future meetings. There were a couple of additional kids at church today so I invited them to seminary. We had a call from Heather. Five of the wards in their area had their boundaries realigned to make a new ward. Scott has been called to be in the bishopric of their new ward. He’ll serve under Bishop Downer who Steven was counselor to before the change. Steven was called to be counselor in his new ward but didn’t yet know who the bishop is.

Monday we got two doors from the shed behind the house and cleaned them up—no small task—and installed them on the bedroom doorways. Our apartment has a living room/kitchen combination and a large bedroom/study area combination. The bedroom was originally two rooms that have had the common wall removed to make one larger room. Since neither doorway had a door, it has been difficult for us if one of us stayed up later than the other or got up earlier than the other to turn on a light to read or work without disturbing the other person. Anyway, we are now the proud owners of two doors. It was really sort of a fun project to work on together.

After we had the second door in place, I was holding it on the hinge while Ted put soap on the two pins. Just at that moment the phone rang. Also at the same time, I felt something crawling on my neck, reached up and found a large bug. I’m not sure if it was a wasp or another variety of bug, but it wasn’t something I wanted on my neck. So, holding the door, I knocked the bug to the floor and tried to capture it with my foot without letting the door fall.

Ted Studying-- Reminds me of Mom (Grandma Hales)

Tuesday afternoon we went to Kyree Sky’s to teach her the first seminary lesson. She wouldn’t be able to attend the first two lessons, so we are teaching her at her home so she isn’t behind. We got lost going there—there are virtually no addresses and the directions we were given were incorrect and we got her house mixed up with another one we visited the other day. Her grandma Patsy Tommy was making tortillas while we were teaching and gave us some fresh, hot samples to eat on our way.

After leaving Kyree’s house we drove to Gallup to run errands and attend our class. We tried to find a store to get something. Garmin took us on a wild goose chase so we finally gave up and stopped at a grocery store. As we were checking out, the man behind us started talking to us about the church. He said he’d been in the placement program for 9 years and was just getting ready to try to find the church. He lives in Iyanbito—pronounced Yan-bih-toe—and I couldn’t tell what he was saying at first. That is a small community in our branch. He told us his name and how to get to his Hogan—the large purple one by the community church. He even drew us a map. We gave him the time of the meetings, told him not to come this Sunday because it is general conference, and said goodbye. I hope he really does come. After leaving him we drove back to the mall and found the store. I’m certain that we needed to meet Lon to help him find the church again.

We had the Strengthening Marriages class in the evening. After class we needed to go to Walmart to get a few things including a few more groceries. We had thought the lines would be much shorter at night, but they are really long all the time. We have never waited less than ½ hour in a line.

Wednesday I slept in late. It is nice having the doors up—Ted was up reading and I didn’t even notice. I tried to get the fax to work with the new ink cartridge we’d bought. I was about to give up and decided it was missing a part. In desperation I turned it on and the print cartridge holder came into view. After a few minutes I was able to change it out and get a sample page to print. We are good to go.

A rough map of our branch-- Left by the Elders

Down the street (there is only one main street)

We went for a walk all through our “neighborhood”. I had no idea it was so extensive. It goes back behind the street several blocks. Scott (the owner) told us there were 106 units, but I couldn’t figure where they were. There is a nice play ground at the back and a small picnic area. It was a nice walk. We also walked up to the old school. The gate was open so we went in and did some exploring. On the way out we saw the “No Trespassing” sign so we were glad we had not been caught. It was a really nice campus at one time.

Old Indian School up the street

Thursday we spent time preparing for seminary and the adult class for Saturday. I spent quite a bit of time making charts for attendance, scripture mastery, and reading the New Testament. It was sort of fun getting those together even though it took a lot of time.

Friday we planned to attend the football game in the evening. When the time came for the game we took our jackets. (We are at about 6,000 feet altitude so it gets a bit cool at night.) We made our way down the dirt path. We could hear the festivities going on at the field—it was homecoming and this is a big deal. We thought they must have a big band, but it turned out to be a recording. It was still light so we had no trouble finding the grating to cross and found our way to the entrance. We were the only pale faces in sight so we turned a few heads.

Presenting the Homecoming royalty candidates

There was only one set of bleachers so we asked where the Wingate fans were sitting. They told us “we all sit together”. At home the fans would have strangled each other, but it turned out to be very workable. Everyone just cheered for who they wanted to and had total disregard whether they were next to someone for the opposite team. The kids were all decked out—green and orange powder in their hair, faces painted, hair ribbons, spears with ribbons. Just before the game the band came in and they had to move a group of people to seat them. There must have been 8 – 10 band members and their leader was the only other pale face in the audience besides us.

The game was sad. The other team scored a touchdown in the first minute. We then scored and got two extra points. Throughout the game there was not one attempt to kick the extra point—they always wanted to run the ball. There were several long passes with the receiver not quite there. They did connect for one beautiful touchdown so that was good. There were so many penalties during the game it was difficult to keep track. A couple of times the ref would walk the ball one direction then walk it back to indicate there were off-setting penalties. There were a couple of penalties called “horse collar” with 15 yard penalties. One of our players was down for about 10 minutes before they got him off the field. Another time we kept getting penalties so it was 30 yards to get a first down. Our team lost 38 – 20. We did score a touchdown with 3 seconds to go so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Our branch president is the football coach and he was really disappointed. His son is on the team—first string as a sophomore. I hadn’t realized he was on the team because he is a wiry kid, but he can run fast.

When the game was over we made our way back over the grate to the dirt path. We were OK as long as we were near the football field with all the lights, but when we walked by the trailer homes it was pitch dark and we couldn’t see the path or our feet. We were grateful when the ambulance came to back into the station across the street and gave some light. Then we got to the trading post so we had a bit of light. I had not realized how dark it really is here. There are no street lights and even porch lights only shine a small distance. It was a fun experience and I’m glad we went.

Across the street, not a bad view

Saturday we had seminary at 8:30 so we could go to conference. We enjoyed all the sessions very much. We were especially pleased with the announcement that young men can now go on missions at age 18 and women at age 19. That will change a lot of plans for some of the kids. We went to lunch with another missionary couple during the break between sessions. At the afternoon session another missionary couple told us their trailer had been broken into during the morning session. The only thing taken was a couple of pieces of Indian jewelry. They left the computer. I felt a bit unusual attending Priesthood, but no one else seemed to care. After it was over we talked with Pres. Haws, the stake president, and got a list of the young adults for institute. We’ll plan to start a week from Tuesday so we need to get the word out quickly. We also met the former stake president—he competes in horse roping competitions. Very impressive.

Week Ending September 29, 2012

Sunday we went to church early to try to meet with the branch president. We talked briefly about getting the seminary program going. We’ll try to hold a kick off meeting this week to pass out materials and explain how the system works to parents and students. We were asked to share our testimonies before the speaker. There were about 30-40 people in attendance. There was a good spirit and it was a good meeting.

We met the Joe family at church. After lunch we went to visit them to get acquainted. They have a son that is a junior and a daughter who is too young for seminary but who we will probably include in the program. They are a sweet family.

Monday Ted spent time with Verizon trying to figure out the internet and cell phone situation. We called the RS president and she is going to go with us in the morning to visit some of the places or at least find out where they are. I feel like we are finally making progress.

In the afternoon we drove to Gallup. We did a bit of shopping, including getting a device to give us internet. We arrived home just as the rain started. We were glad to be home. We put things away and tested the internet. I feel like I am back in touch with the outside world again.

Tuesday we went with the Relief Society President Sister Debra Leggett to visit several families in the branch. She drove all over the place on dirt roads mostly unmarked. I had thought we’d note where people lived with Garmin, but I forgot until we were about done. We invited several youth to attend our start up meeting for seminary on Thursday night. In the evening we went to the Stake Center to attend the Strengthening Marriages class. They would like us to teach that eventually so the thought was we should attend and see how it is done. I’m not sure we would teach the same way the couple taught because they are both professional counselors.

Wednesday we worked at home for a bit then drove to Gallup to get help with Ted’s computer. They helped port my old cell number over as well and copied my contacts to the new phone. We then drove to the water store to get bottled water. The owner gives water to the missionaries (and a lot of other groups) for free. We walked up to the church to scope out where to hold the meeting and where to hold seminary. In the evening we called as many of the youth as we could reach to remind them of our meeting Thursday night. We have several so we should have a decent turnout. Ted talked with the stake president. He has 15 young adults in one of the Gallup wards that would like to participate in institute and 30 youth in Tohlakai that would like to have seminary. Yikes!

Thursday we spent most of the day getting ready for the night’s meeting. I made cookies for refreshments. We also made dinner for the CES coordinator who came down to help with the meeting. We decided who would do what and tried to cover the “what ifs”. After dinner we drove to the church to get set up. At 5 to 7 we had no one there. Then the people started to come. We ended up with 7 youth and 5 parents. One of the youth was a less active boy that is friends with the branch president’s son. The meeting went well and the kids were all very enthusiastic. Ted suggested that we have a class for the parents while they are waiting for the kids and everyone thought that was a great idea. I was elated—I had thought no one was coming and we had a great group.

We had an unexpected turn of events. We had thought to hold the class on Thursday nights, but that is volleyball night for two of the girls. The group had a discussion and decided to hold seminary on Saturday mornings at 9 AM. Wow—that was really unforeseen. I’m excited they want it that much. After we finished they were talking about which friends they thought they could invite. There are at least two other girls in the branch that live in the boarding school that will probably come and there are several non-member friends they want to invite.

Friday we took a trip to the school to try to reach the girls in the boarding school, but they needed parental permission for us to talk to them (as I would expect). We left them a note so I hope they get it. They go home on weekends, so I’m hoping they’ll come to church. The rest of the day was spent preparing our lessons for tomorrow. There is only one problem with two day’s notice and that is that there is a crunch when it comes to preparation.

Saturday morning we were at the church early to set up for our classes. At 9 AM no one was there. I was really disappointed but still hopeful that they would come. And come they did. First the Joes came then the BP’s wife dropped off their three kids and their friend. One student was out of town, so everyone came. I was so relieved. I gave an overview of the New Testament and I think it went well. They commented when asked. I think with time they will participate more. Ted thought his class went OK.

After seminary we went home and I pruned the elm shoots that were all over our sidewalk and yard. Then we checked out the chest of drawers that was in the shed behind the house. We hauled it out and cleaned out the cobwebs then moved it into the house and transferred our clothes. It takes less floor space and the drawers actually pull in and out. I think it will be an improvement.

I picked up Sister Joe for the RS Women’s Broadcast. Our Relief Society was meeting at the Golden Corral for dinner before the broadcast. Six of us came and we had a good visit. It was really a good conference and I’m glad I went. I also learned a lot about people in the branch.

Week of September 24, 2012

Monday we got everything together then left about 7:30 AM. We had good driving conditions but there were a couple of road delays that put us later than expected. We were supposed to have dinner with Pres. and Sis. Batt at their home. They invited us to stay the night so we wouldn’t have to drive down to Ft. Wingate so late. The mission home is lovely, and we stayed in the General Authority Room. We had a good visit and really enjoyed the evening.

President Batt, Elder and Sister Roeth

Tuesday, after a lovely breakfast with the mission president and his wife and a stop at the mission office to meet the couples there, we took off for Ft. Wingate, arriving about 1 PM. Our home is called “The Cottage” by the missionaries. It is H16 Sonya Circle, Ft. Wingate, NM 87316. It was described to us as “rustic”—I would say it is more “hammered”. There had been a 3” crack in the floor caused by ground shifting. The office couple had patched it, put new linoleum over it, and tucked it under the carpet. The carpet/linoleum junction is not good and there is a metal piece on the carpet that I’m afraid is going to slice my toe off before I am through. The floor is quite uneven, also due to the ground shifting. I can stand at some places in the bedroom and it feels like I’m wearing high heels. Someone came in after the fact and paneled the rooms. They probably also added insulation, because the wall plugs are all inset into the walls instead of flush with the surface. The paneling job was not terrific—some of the edges are quite raw. The water is not drinkable—apparently it was contaminated in the 70s by a uranium spill. We will have bottled water the entire time we’re here. The bathroom is OK—the toilet paper holder is on the inside of the under sink cabinet. That makes it a little hard to find if you are not familiar with it. The bed is comfortable and the shower is good. They put several new pans, cooking items, dishes, and towels in the kitchen. They replaced all the curtains—they were previously dark purple. They said it took three washings to get the windows clean. This was previously an apartment for elders and I really appreciate all the work that went into getting it ready for us. There is still much for us to do, but I know they did a lot before we came.

"The Cottage"

In the evening we met with the CES coordinator Bro. Croft and Pres. Haws, the stake president who was called 1 ½ weeks ago, to discuss what they want us to do. We had thought the CES program was all set up and we were just walking into it. As it turns out, they would like us to set up a seminary program in Ft. Wingate. Ft. Wingate Branch has 700-800 members (corrected to 976) with 40 attending. We will need to recruit the students there and get started. They would also like us to start an institute class in Gallup at the Stake Center. Both classes are New Testament, so they suggest using the same approach in both classes to keep things simple. They would also like to start another seminary program in another location when we get this one going. No problem!

Wednesday our Zone Leader called and wanted to visit us. We had a good visit with them. They are over all the senior couples so they do a lot of traveling. After they left we went to the trading post and post office which are three doors down the street. Our combination to the PO box didn’t work. Then we walked up the street to the church—it is about ¼ mile up the street. We ate a late lunch, both of us very tired. Ted actually asked me if I could see us living here for 18 months. Thursday morning our Sr. District Leader Elder Brown called on us (unannounced). We had heard he was coming, but we thought he would call first. As it was, I was just getting dressed and we have no doors on our bedroom, so it was a bit of a surprise. We enjoyed a good visit with him and his wife. After they left we walked to the post office where the lady showed us how to open our PO box. I am pretty sure I tried it just the way she did it, but I’m not going to argue.

Johnny Joe Family

Friday we had to get up early to be at an 8 AM inservice meeting in Gallup. It was actually an inservice for the full-time teachers in the area covering Flagstaff, AZ to Albequerque, NM. They were a good bunch of people and we really learned a lot. The meeting lasted most of the day. We got some threshold stripping for our home then got some food and a few basic supplies we need then headed home. After putting everything away, which was a major trick, we ate dinner then talked a bit and went to bed. Saturday we celebrated Ted’s birthday. After a late start, we drove down the old Highway 66 “just for the fun of it”. We located an auto repair shop that was recommended to us. We stopped at Baskin Robbins to get ice cream. We went to see a movie, “The Last Ounce of Courage”. It was a “must see”. We got a different size threshold for our floor then headed home. When we got home we prepared the floor and put the threshold down. We needed to hold it in place for several hours so we got out everything we had that was heavy: bottles of water, sugar, milk, laundry soap, and our case of tuna. We did a great job and it looks really good. We just have to step over the bottles for 24 hours until it cures.

Fixing the floor

Week of September 17, 2012

Elder and Sister Roeth at the MTC

Sunday evening we went to a Departure Devotional. It was amazing to sit in a very large room full of missionaries going to all parts of the world. The singing was awesome—it really filled the room. After that we went to the weekly fireside. The speaker was Richard Heaton who is the Administrative Director of the MTC. He called up two elders from Brisbane, Australia. They had been good friends and one had told the other about the church and he was fellowshipped and baptized. Now they were both in the MTC together.

Monday we started our CES training. We had several sections based on a method of teaching the scriptures. It was amazing—I wish I had been taught this much earlier in my life so I could have better understanding of the scriptures. The church is so concerned about the 18 – 30 age group they devote a great deal of resources to them. Our class included those going to military installations, SYSAP (Stake Young Single Adult Program, formerly Centers for Young Adults), and Seminary and Institute missionaries.

Tuesday we continued our CES training. It was fantastic. I really wish I knew more about teaching, but I guess that is something I can learn. The instructors talked to us about methods for teaching once the “what” is decided upon. There was a long discussion on Questions and the types of questions to use for different steps in the process. I really felt like I learned some things, but I also felt like there is much to learn and so many skills I need to develop.

Ted called our mission office to find out more information about when they expect us and where we are supposed to go. He also called and talked to Pres. Batt. He is expecting us on Monday, so we won’t leave home until Monday morning. We will go to the mission home for dinner that evening then drive down to our apartment. I feel much more comfortable about this now that he has talked to the president.

After classes finished for the day we went back to our room and packed everything we could. I thought we’d be short of room, but it looks like we’ll have enough room to comfortably carry stuff. (I tend to be a bit more optimistic than I should be about space in luggage.) We then went over to the devotional. We heard Elder Carlson of the Seventy. He and his wife both spoke about the impact of 9/11 on them and on us. Elder Carlson was a general at the time and was assigned to the Pentagon. It was very interesting to hear how moved his wife was by the tragedy of the day. His talk was also really good and I took lots of notes. I’m really going on information overload at this point. When we got back to the room I went right to bed but I had a lot of trouble sleeping—too much going on in my head.

Wednesday morning we finished packing then went to class. Our classes today were more on the reality of our call, working with local leaders, and how our calls are made. It is really a very interesting process.

When we got to Las Vegas the traffic out of the airport was closed due to Obama being in town so it took us a while to get home. We picked up some dinner and went to Leedom’s to eat and visit. It was really fun.

Thursday we spent the day packing and organizing things for the trip to New Mexico. Almost everything was already done, but we finished up a few things.
Friday we spent some time with Emily, Landon, and Cason. We spent a couple of hours at their house then took the boys to lunch and to see a movie. We had a good time then headed for home. When we were nearly home Heather called to invite us to get dinner visit at the park. We turned the car around and headed to the park. We had a good time. We commented that this was really the first time since I retired that we did just fun stuff—it felt really good.

Saturday we put nearly final touches on our packing. I was getting nervous about waiting until Sunday to pack the car so we did a start on the trunk to see what we could get in. It was amazing what all we got in. We then piled up the remaining boxes in the house to simulate the back seat. I began to feel more confident about getting it all in. In the late afternoon we picked up a pizza and went to stay with Leedom’s children while Scott took Heather to see Wicked for her birthday. It was sort of a trade off—Ted wanted to see the BYU-Utah game on TV and we haven’t had any internet while we’ve been home.

Sunday Ted fixed a birthday breakfast that we enjoyed. Heather was teaching in Young Women’s so I stayed with her. She did an amazing job of relating to the girls and teaching them. They were really connecting with her. After church I ran into Emily and Steven and said goodbyes again. We went to Leedom’s to have lunch. We had a good visit, then we said our goodbyes. It was really sad for me to say goodbye today. I will really miss being so close to these families.

At home we organized a few things, changed our clothes, and started loading up the backseat. It didn’t work quite the way it had in the living room because of seat contours, but we got almost everything in. Ted checked the air in the tires. Our biggest concern is the weight of everything—it is quite a load. We will need to be very careful in our driving. I am glad to finally going and anxious to know what we will be doing. Ted talked with our supervisor on Saturday and it appears the program is not quite as developed and in place as I had thought. I guess that means we get the opportunity to get it going.