The Exchange by Diane Rayner (adapted)

Throughout December, Marty had been the most spirited, and busiest of us all. He was my youngest at eight; a cheerful boy with a quaint habit of looking up at you and cocking his head like a puppy when you talked to him. Actually, the reason for this was that Marty was deaf in his left ear, a condition he never complained about.

For weeks, I had been watching Marty. I knew something was going on that he was not telling me. I saw how eagerly he went about his chores and how he silently collected his tiny allowance and tucked it away, not spending a cent. I had no idea what this was about, but I suspected that it had something to do with Kenny. Kenny was Marty's friend, and ever since they found each other they were seldom apart. Their world was in a meadow; a pasture broken by a small winding stream, where they caught frogs and snakes and searched for arrowheads or hidden treasure.

Times were hard for our little family, and we had scrimped and saved to get by. With my job as a meat wrapper and a lot of ingenuity, we were much better off than Kenny's family. They were desperately poor, and his mother struggled to feed and clothe her two children. They were a good, solid family.

Ours was a handcrafted Christmas of gifts hidden away and ornaments strung about the place. Marty and Kenny would sometimes sit still at the table long enough to help make decorations for the tree. But then in a flash, they would be out the door and sliding cautiously under the electric fence into the horse pasture that separated our home from Kenny's.

One night, shortly before Christmas, Marty came to me and said in a tone mixed with pleasure and pride, "Mom, I've bought Kenny a Christmas present. Want to see it?" So that's what he's been up to, I said to myself. "It's something he's wanted for a long, long time, Mom.” After wiping his hands he pulled from his pocket a small box. Lifting the lid, I gazed at the pocket compass that my son had been saving to buy, a compass to point an eight-year-old adventurer through the woods.

"It's a lovely gift, Martin," I said, but even as I spoke, a disturbing thought came to mind: I knew how Kenny's mother felt about their poverty. They could barely afford to exchange gifts among themselves; giving presents to others was out of the question. I was sure that Kenny's proud mother would not permit her son to receive something that he could not return in kind.

Gently, carefully, I talked over the problem with Marty. He understood what I was saying. "I know, Mom, I know! . . . But what if it was a secret? What if they never found out who gave it?" I didn't know how to answer him.

The day before Christmas was rainy, cold and gray. The kids and I all but fell over one another putting finishing touches on our Christmas secrets. Night came. The rain continued. I looked out the window and felt an odd sadness. How mundane the rain seemed for a Christmas Eve! Would wise men come riding on such a night? I doubted it. It seemed to me that strange and wonderful things happened only on clear nights, nights when one could at least see a star in the heavens.

I turned from the window, and as I checked the food in the oven, I saw Marty slip out the door. He wore his coat over his pajamas and clutched a tiny wrapped box in his hand. Down through the soggy pasture he went, then a quick slide under the electric fence and across the yard to Kenny's house.

Up the steps on tiptoe, he opened the screen door just a crack; placed the gift on the doorstep and reached for the doorbell, pressing on it hard. Quickly Marty turned, ran down the steps and crossed the yard in a wild effort to get away unnoticed. Then, suddenly, he banged into the electric fence. He lay stunned on the wet ground. His body quivered and he gasped for breath. Then slowly, weakly, confused and frightened, he began the grueling trip back home.

"Marty," we cried as he stumbled through the door, "what happened?!" His lower lip quivered, his eyes brimmed. "I forgot about the fence!" I hugged him to me. He was still dazed and there was a red mark blistering on his face from his mouth to his ear. Quickly I treated the blister and, with a warm cup of cocoa, brightened Marty's spirits. As I tucked him into bed he looked up at me and said seriously, "Mom, Kenny didn't see me. I'm sure he didn't."

That Christmas Eve I went to bed unhappy and puzzled. It seemed such a cruel thing to happen to a little boy on the purest kind of Christmas mission - doing what the Lord wants us to do - giving to others - and giving in secret at that. I did not sleep well. Somewhere deep inside I think I must have been feeling the disappointment that the night of Christmas had come and it had been just an ordinary, problem-filled night, no mysterious enchantment at all.

By morning the rain had stopped and the sun shone. The streak on Marty's face was very red, but I could tell the burn was not serious. Soon after we opened our presents, Kenny was knocking on the door, eager to show Marty his new compass and tell about the mystery of its arrival. It was plain that Kenny didn't suspect Marty, and while the two of them talked, Marty just smiled. Then I noticed Marty was not cocking his head. While Kenny was talking, Marty seemed to be listening with his deaf ear.

Weeks later, a report came from the school nurse, verifying what Marty and I already knew. "Marty now has complete hearing in both ears." The mystery of how Marty regained his hearing, and still has it, remains just that - a mystery. Doctors suspect, of course, that the shock from the electric fence was somehow responsible, perhaps so. Whatever the reason, I just remained thankful to God for the good exchange of gifts made that night.

Week Ending December 28, 2013

Sunday our lesson was on Alma 5 which asks many questions about the state of our spirits—it’s really good for self-examination. I shared a Christmas story and video. We’ll get together Tuesday morning for games, but I’m not believing that until it happens so I wanted to wish them well today. Sacrament Meeting was exceptional. There was a wonderful story about a boy and his Christmas. (See posting “The Exchange”) I talked to everyone that I needed to for the party. I really hope everyone comes through.

Monday was Mom’s birthday so we sang to her. We had an interesting day. I had planned to get some things done for the New Years’ Eve party, but we decided to make cookies and chocolate popcorn and take them out. We got everything made and loaded the car. We stopped and gave a less active family a plate of cookies. The mom was hoping her work schedule will change after the holidays so they’ll be able to attend church. We then went to The Nugget (a trading post) to give the owner some popcorn.

The other people we wanted to visit were not available so we returned home. Later in the day we were able to reach one of the families so we started out. We stopped to drop cookies off at another home. I felt badly that we now had no time to visit because they really need the visit more than the cookies. The mother passed away earlier this year and the daughter and grandmother are trying to make it all work. We headed to our last stop at the home of the family that gives us eggs and that lives on a wild dirt road. We gave them a bag of popcorn and a plate of cookies. We also gave them some copies of Christmas stories to read together. All of their kids were home so we visited a few minutes before leaving. We didn’t stay too long because it was almost dark and I wanted to get out before dark.

We had three new people at home evening, so we talked a bit before the gift exchange. We did a white elephant exchange. I had made a headband since most of the kids are female. This evening we had one female and about six men. One of Mortenson’s children, who is eight years old, picked the headband. After he asked what it was, his mom put some wrapping paper on his head and put the headband around it. He looked like a sheik. He even asked if he could keep it.

Matthew Mortenson, Excited to get his white elephant gift!!

Tuesday I began food preparation. I started the rolls raising, made crust for strawberry squares, and made soup for lunch. I baked cinnamon rolls for the seminary students then went to the church where we were meeting. I showed a piece of Mr. Krueger’s Christmas where he is talking to the Christ Child and shared the story of Christ’s birth from the Book of Mormon. I shared a few of the prophecies and the signs of his birth. One of my students said she hadn’t ever heard the Christmas story from the Bible. That really surprised me. I told her to have her dad read it to the family. We played some games and ate the cinnamon rolls. I had two kids there. Another had a dentist appointment and two others forgot. We had fun. They taught me a game and I taught them several. They decided they want to do it again next week.

When I got home the rolls were almost ready to bake. I mixed bread then ate some soup while it raised the first time. While it was raising the second time I baked the rolls. While the bread was baking I mixed the strawberry squares and did the dishes. When it was all done, I was exhausted.

In the evening we read the Christmas story from the Bible. I never get tired of hearing those verses. I think it’s sad to use another version besides King James—it just doesn’t sound the same. After that we talked about our family and our many blessings. We played a couple of games then Ted gave me a small nativity snow globe. That was a sweet gesture. I collect nativities and there is really not room for anything of any size in our home.

Our Christmas Nativity

Wednesday we were up and ate a good breakfast. We didn’t have anything in our stockings (made of Blue Bird flour sacks) so we opened our gifts. We received some lovely gifts and felt richly blessed. Ted received Ephraim’s Rescue and was so touched that he wept. We were able to talk with most of our children and express our love. We feel very blessed in our lives.

Mid-morning we met with the other senior missionaries at the stake center. There were 12 of us, including a new couple. We had a wonderful meal and did a white elephant gift exchange. I like used gifts rather than the $10 limit type—it usually turns out to be more humorous. We played games for a while but no one wanted to stay late. It was a wonderful Christmas.

Thursday we walked at the church and I put stuff together for the New Year’s Eve Party. In the afternoon we went to get some candy for party prizes. I didn’t get everything done I had hoped to.

Friday we called Elder Jensen.  He and his wife have been called to replace us. They go in the MTC on June 9. He had a lot of questions about what to expect. We had a good conversation with him. They will serve for 12 months which is ideal for this assignment. He served a mission here as a young man. We assured him not much has changed. A few roads have been graded and/or paved, but the people are just about the same. I think they’ll be really good here—at least he’ll understand the people.

In the afternoon we picked up some lasagna from Fratelli’s Restaurant and drove to Sheep Springs to have dinner with the Ashcrofts and watch the BYU game. We enjoyed the dinner. Elder Ashcroft helped Ted cut his bottles for planting. I’m not sure what we are going to do with the bottles or the plants, if they ever grow large enough for the bottles, but we now have them. It was very late when we headed for home but we arrived in good shape.

Saturday we walked through the flea market to see if there were any after-Christmas specials. We ran into Jack Surprise, the potter from Thoreau, and visited with him for a few minutes. He said the elders come over every week to see him and he enjoys the visit.

Virginia Smith, Artistic frame painting.

After that adventure, we picked up some things for the New Year’s Eve party and some pictures I’d taken at the Relief Society night meeting. We ran a couple more errands, including washing the car, then came home. I typed the announcements and prepared some things for the party. 

Doing my best to paint a frame.

Week Ending December 21, 2013

Sunday we were all set up for seminary but no one was there. Finally about 10 minutes late the kids came. I made the comment that we were ready to start and one of the kids said something about being on time. I said that none of them were on time—they were all 10 minutes late. We are taking two weeks off for the holidays, but they want to get together a couple of times for a thought and games. Surprising. In our lesson we talked about when the angel appeared to Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah, their repentance process, and how they changed. We discussed the need for all of us to be born again.

After Sacrament Meeting the branch president was asked which lesson we were supposed to have since we left early last week. He said it should be this week’s. It turned out that this week’s teacher didn’t bring her stuff. I told them I hadn’t brought mine either. A few minutes later she came into the room and told me I was on. I went home and got my things so I could at least review the lesson before I had to give it—fortunately. I live very close to the church. I really don’t mind giving the lesson, but it seems like that should be decided ahead of time and the teachers should know when they should be ready to teach. They should follow up with the teacher and make sure she was ready and helped her prepare. She’s a new member and I think it’s been assumed she understands what to do. Anyway, I gave the lesson. I think it went OK, in spite of the fact that I hadn’t looked at my notes for a week.

After dinner Ted and I played a game. It’s really more fun with more people but we had a good time. I wrote out my plans for the upcoming events and worked on grading seminary assignments and setting up the new week. There was a lot to do and I was very late working on it.

A few days ago we ran out of toothpaste. We thought we had another tube, but we didn’t. We also thought we might have a travel size or dental sample, but we had given all those away. We use a brand that we have to order online, so we immediately ordered it, but over the last few days we have taken some very interesting extreme measures to brush our teeth. After we had absolutely squeezed everything out of the tube, we scraped a bit more out of the opening. Next I cut the side off, thinking it would have some left that we couldn’t squeeze out. There was a little at the top where it is difficult to squeeze. For a couple of days we scraped that out, but it quickly dried out with the sides open. Monday I officially threw the now really broken tube in the garbage. In hindsight, we should have gone to the store and bought another brand, but we were challenged to see what we could do with it.

We didn’t have home evening. The singles had a joint home evening with the Grants Ward and we chose not to go. Sis. Mortenson was trying to get a ride for one of the girls who had said she wanted to go. She had left work early and the only way to reach her is by texting her mom. We did that and got no reply. We actually drove by their house to let her know a ride was coming for her, but she wasn’t home. We gave it our best effort. We tried to drop some popcorn by to another family but no one was home. It was really tricky getting out of their place because there were dogs everywhere and it was pitch black by the time we were there. We were grateful not to hit a tree or get stuck in a rut in the road.

Tuesday I spent the day working on a project and doing seminary. I finished the lessons for seminary, but I am struggling with how and how much to present in my lesson. I need to get a new student’s prior seminary attendance figured out so she’ll know how much she needs to do for makeup work. The coordinator in her area is checking on it. She’s doing really well and I am enjoying having her in the class.  In the afternoon we went to the school for a girls’ basketball game. There was no one there and obviously no game going on. I texted a mom and she said she had forgotten to tell me the game was an away game. Too bad.

Wednesday I got a Book of Mormon ready to give to a lady. I also worked on my seminary lesson. I think it’s ready to go. I heard back from the Albuquerque coordinator about my student’s seminary credit and it’s about twice as many classes as they had originally said she’d had. That will seriously reduce the amount of makeup work she needs to do.

In the evening I went to the Relief Society night meeting. I wish I’d had a better idea of what we were doing. We painted ceramic bases for picture frames and decorated them. It was messy and I was afraid I would get paint on my clothes. There were six ladies there which was really good. We had spaghetti and garlic bread afterward and visited.

Sister Roeth, Artist in Residence

Thursday I went early as a lady had requested, but she didn’t come. I did some cleaning then started sewing on my quilt. That was a mistake—it seemed like everything I did went wrong. The top row I had sewn the border on the wrong side so it has to be undone. The second row I didn’t line up the borders between the squares so it looks funny, so it has to be undone. The third row I ran out of bobbin thread near the end so it has to be finished. The fourth row I sewed right after the third row without noticing the bobbin thread was out, so it had to be pinned and sewn again.

I finally locked the outside door about 11 AM so I’d feel a little more safe. About 11:30 I heard a knocking at the door. (I actually heard something earlier, but talked myself out of it.) When I went to the door the lady was there and said she’ been knocking for 20 minutes. I helped her lay out her squares on the floor to decide how to arrange them. It became very apparent that she needs to square them up before she does anything else. She didn’t want to do anything more, but at least we have placed them in an order.

I spent the afternoon working on seminary. When it was time for class, three girls signed in without any phone calls—I was so excited. I couldn’t reach the 4th. I’m concerned that she has lost interest. We had a good class. I showed them a Christmas video at the end and wished the girls a Merry Christmas. We left immediately for institute to meet a young man who was coming early to take a test to get credit for the class. We had a good group of three students. Afterward we played “Chicken Feet” with the dominos. The kids were really crazy and laughing a lot. They said they were on a sugar high from the cookies, but I’d never seen them like this before.

Another student stopped by while we were playing games. Her sister had arrived home from her mission and was with the stake president. Our student was so excited to see her again. I have been so impressed with the closeness of their family. We visited with her and her mom for a few minutes until her dad and sister came in. They gave us a 6-pack of cream soda. That was very sweet of them.

Sister Leggett reading "The Orange"

Serving up a Christmas Dinner

Friday we went to the senior center and set up for our program. There were about 10 people there already. Several more came in as we started and the room was full when we finished. Our program was simple: We had a prayer, sang three carols, told a couple of stories, showed “Mr. Krueger’s Christmas”, Ted told the Christmas Story from the Book of Mormon, and we showed the video “Good Tidings of Great Joy”. At the end , Ted shared his testimony of Christ then he offered a closing prayer and blessing on the food. 

We helped serve the food. It was jammed so it was tricky to get to everyone. After the meal they passed out gifts from their gift exchange. Then they passed out big stocking-like bags from National Relief Charities and bags of candy.

Grandma Bessie with her gifts--earring in her hand!

At home we opened the bags of goodies. There was a homeless shelter blanket in each one and lots of odds and ends of toiletries. We each had two bags of sample size shampoos and conditioners and lotions. Two of the bags had leaky containers in them so the items were all gooey. I sorted it out and we figured we should give most of it away. It was interesting though. I’m not sure how these people use up all the stuff the NRC sends them on a regular basis.

Phyllis and Brenda and ?? passing out goodie bags!!

We had a wonderful surprise. There was a lady at one of the tables who we didn’t know. She pulled Ted over and thanked him for the blessing he’d given her. It was a lady that he’d given a blessing to a few weeks ago. She’d just had surgery at the time and looked awful. She had cancer in her facial area and had some bones and lots of tissue removed. Today she looked great—no swelling or bruising, nothing to distinguish her from anyone else. She still has a difficult time speaking, but she was understandable. I was amazed. I gave her a hug and told her how happy we were for her. What a miracle!

Saturday early we picked up a couple and drove to the temple. It had snowed lightly during the night so we were a bit concerned about the weather, but it was beautiful the rest of the day. We had to run a couple of errands, but we were still able to get to the 10:30 session. We saw some other missionaries and members. It was a good day to be at the temple. Afterward we stopped to get something to eat then did our shopping at Costco before heading home. We were able to be home before dark which was really nice.

I spent some time in the evening recording family history information and doing some seminary things. I called the student who had missed class to tell her we’d missed her. Her sisters had come home so she had skipped. I feel like she has checked out, but the circumstances haven’t been good either. I emailed the new student to let her know what makeup work she needs to do for the year.

Week Ending December 14, 2013

Sunday we woke to snow on the ground. Ted thought it was about 6 inches, but it seemed more like 2 - 3 inches. At any rate, it was cold and wet. The roads were icy and the sidewalk was slick. We got to church and Ted shoveled the sidewalk. I set up for seminary and waited. The kids came a little late. Church was really good, but there were only a few people there—probably less than 25. Church was cancelled after Sacrament Meeting so I didn’t teach my Relief Society lesson. By the time we left the roads were fairly clear and the snow had mostly stopped falling. Oh, well.

I worked on seminary in the afternoon. In the evening a couple came to our house so we could home teach them then we all went to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional together. It was really good. The prophet spoke, but neither of his counselors did. There were other speakers and nice music. It didn’t look as decorated as usual. It was snowing when we drove home which made me very nervous. We heated some soup then Ted went to bed while I did some seminary. I sent all my online seminary students their record of assignments and asked them to each prepare a plan to get the work caught up.

Monday was quite the day. It was really cold and had snowed more during the night. We went to the church to walk and had to really bundle up for the two short walks—house to car, car to church. We made cookies to take to the seniors’ dinner. We met with Elder England in the afternoon and went over seminary at Tohlakai. I had sent him several files and he wanted to understand them—my charts and attendance records and so on. We had a good discussion. Sister England was not feeling well, so he was alone. After we finished he got her cell phone to try out the holders I had made. Yahoo! They worked perfectly. I was so relieved.

After our meeting we visited until the other missionaries came. Sister Steele had made a really superb dip that I had a difficult time not downing all by myself. We had a good group and enjoyed a good visit. Thursday is our mission Christmas party, so the group wanted to meet for lunch before it. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to go because of the quilting class. I was planning to leave early, but I hate to not go at all.

When we went out to the car to drive to home evening, it was bitterly cold. We had to sit in the car for a bit before we could begin to see out the front window. I finally realized the ice was on the inside of the window and used the scraper and a chamois on it. That was very surprising that we had to scrape the inside of the window. We had a good time at home evening playing “Balderdash”. It was really funny because Bro. Mortenson has an unusual sense of humor and his two young sons picked his definition every single time. I laughed harder than I have laughed in a long time. One time the person couldn’t read Ted’s handwriting and thought he’d put something questionable down. His real definition wasn’t nearly as funny.

We’d been told the temperature was supposed to drop to minus 9 overnight. I didn’t believe it until I looked at the temperature in the car when we left for home. It started at 8 degrees, but it steadily went down until, by the time we reached the freeway, it was at minus 3 degrees. It was up and down all the way home as we went through pockets, but it was at a firm 0 when we arrived home. Brrrrrrr!

It was REALLY, REALLY COLD!!!

Tuesday I made bread and it actually turned out fairly well. I was very grateful. I spent most of the day doing stuff for seminary. I had to talk with all of the online students. I need to reach their parents as well, but at least I talked with them. We were able to get the seminary record for my new student, although she doesn’t think it’s correct. I put notes into the attendance record so everyone can see what’s missing if they go into it. That took a long time.

I don’t know why, but I don’t feel I am reaching all of my online students. It is really hard when we aren’t in physical contact. I’m not sure how, but I need to reach them better. I finally called all of the students and had pretty good conversations with them. I also made appointments to talk with a couple of students and their moms.

Wednesday we went to the senior center for lunch. There weren’t many people there, but we visited for a few minutes. Afterward we went to the homes of three people to deliver some gifts. None of the people we went to see were home, but there were others at two of the homes so we were able to leave the things. At home I worked on seminary, grading assignments and working on the lessons for tomorrow for a while. At 5 PM we went to the school for the JV basketball game. One of my students gave us a hug when we walked in and we sat and visited with the burrito lady. The game was a real squeaker. Our team had many opportunities to make shots, but they missed most of the time. Fortunately, the other team didn’t do any better. Wingate won. We didn’t stay for the varsity game.

Thursday I went an hour early to the church to help the burrito lady with her quilt. She had not bought enough material the first time, so she tried to match the fabric and wasn’t able. She got something close, but with fabric, that’s not good. I had come up with a few different plans of ways to cut the pieces to make it work by mixing the new fabric and old fabric within the quilt in such a way as to make it looked intentional. We talked about various options and settled on something I think will work best. We cut part of the fabric, leaving the rest until we’re ready to make the final decision on part of it, depending on how it looks. After we cut the fabric, I asked if she would like to lay the blocks out to decide how to sew them. She only wanted to cut this week, but she suggested we meet early every week. That works for me. So she was ready to leave around 10:30. We visited a while then left. The president drove up just as we were walking out of the building so she didn’t stay.

Elder and Sister Roeth at Mission Christmas Party

Is it a spoon or a fork? Seniors get easily confused.

Since we finished early we were able to meet the other senior couples for lunch before our Mission Christmas Party. We enjoyed a good visit. The Party was good. We started with talks by Pres. and Sis. Batt and the reading of the Christmas story. We watched the video of Elder Nelson’s talk at the Christmas Devotional Sunday. Then we all went into the Cultural Hall where an elder sang Christmas songs for us—he has a nice voice. Then we played games, with the young missionaries splitting from the seniors to play more active games. We played a domino game and had a good time. After about half an hour we had a closing prayer, brownies with mint ice cream and chocolate sauce on it for dessert, then cleaned up to go home. Pres. and Sis. Batt had small gifts for each of us. It was really a good time.

Pres. and Sister Batt

When it was time for class, one student wasn’t there again. Class went well and I felt good about it. Afterward we headed out for institute. We had three students and the lesson went well. One student gave the first half and Ted finished up. Afterward, we had refreshments then everyone wanted to go home instead of staying for games. I was glad to get home—it was a long day.

Friday I worked on seminary most of the day. In the morning I called one of my students and her mom to explain the attendance system and encourage them in the program. In the afternoon I talked with another student and her mom. I talked with her mom and expressed my concern about her daughter—I feel like she is really struggling to stay interested. Her mom said she thought she would really like a larger class. She is “very shy” and doesn’t feel as comfortable with just a few students.

I called my supervisor and talked with him about it. I said I thought it would be better to have more kids, but I also expressed my concern that she may just want to avoid being required to participate. He thought that might be valid. He indicated that he was thinking we might combine another class and mine and do some sort of joint teaching. I’m not sure how the joint teaching would work, but we could certainly combine the classes. The other class has 13 kids and I have 4 active kids and a 5^th that has a broken computer and may come back in a few weeks. There are 2 others in Pueblo Pintado that their teacher is going to talk to about participating. If all the kids come that might, it will be too big, but he thinks it might be a good transition for next year. We’ll see how it plays out.

In the late afternoon I made the mashed potatoes for our branch dinner. As it turned out, the largest pan I had wasn’t large enough so I had to use second pan. We got to the church and put the two pans on the counter where they were serving and went inside the cultural hall to visit. A while later I saw that another lady had put her potatoes there and mine had been moved to the stove. The dinner was good. We had a fair turnout, not nearly what I would have expected. When it was over the leftover food in the kitchen was distributed among all the people still there. We had a pan and a half of potatoes left over, so I was thrilled when people took containers of it home. In the end we only took about half a pan home.

Saturday was a weird day. I sewed bean bags for the New Year’s Eve Party. While I had the machine out I sewed some strips on my quilt. Ted fixed dinner and we had the missionaries over. Some of my students had done seminary assignments I needed to grade. And I typed the announcements for church.

More Glow on the Rocks and Christmas Parade Pictures

We enjoyed the balloons at night so much and wanted to share as much as we could of the experience.

Balloons in the trees

   

3 - 2 - 1 - Fire up the balloons!

 

 

Balloon with a scoop - the fabric on the side that scoops the air into the balloon.

Firing up the burners, looking inside the balloon.

Balloonist - He said he was an old hippie!

Firing up burners -- looking inside the balloon.

Inside the balloon

Balloonist firing up burners

Firing up the burners

Balloonist - He's had three balloons during his career!

Walking the balloon so it can be brought down with the wind; it took a seven member crew, mostly holding the balloon down!

The dancers were dancing in a circle with a bonfire in the middle. They had about a 4 foot wide space between the fire and the spectators. The costumes were really colorful.

Indian Dancer

Indian Dancer Costume

Indian Dancer with Elder Roeth (ER is on the right)

Indian Dancer

The Christmas Parade had lots of trucks pulling trailers with an assortment of people on them. There were several ballooning baskets on trucks and trailers. There were even a couple of floats and Indian Princesses.

Indian Princess dressed for the cold - Miyamura High School Princess

Kids on a float!

Balloonists love to fire up the flames, even with no balloon attached. I thought the trees might get burned--or the traffic signal.

More Kids on a Trailer

Week Ending December 7, 2013

Sunday I got more of a definitive picture of what the branch president wants for the New Year’s Eve Party. When we got home, I made Pumpkin Pudding for the single adult dinner in the evening. You’d think I’d learn. I spent time setting up seminary for the new week and Ted went to do home teaching. In the evening we went to the Break the Fast dinner with the young single adults and had a good time.

Monday I worked on the cell phone cases for Sister England. I wanted to have them ready for seminary on Wednesday. It seemed that everything I did had to be taken out and done at least twice. It was a fairly frustrating experience. When I was all done I looked at them and was sure they’d be too small. I used the template I made from tracing around her phone, but it still looks like it will be too small.

We were early for home evening, so we went to see the rug Sister Haney had made. It’s really nice. I’d like to learn how to weave and be able to make a rug. We had a fun time at home evening.

Tuesday I went to lunch at the senior center. I talked with the manager and got a date for the Christmas program. I also visited with a couple of ladies. The Christmas boxes and stockings have arrived, but they are not passing them out until the Christmas program.

At home, I worked on some seminary stuff, getting a lesson together for Thursday and grading some assignments. I need to go through the lessons so I know what they’ve covered. Late in the afternoon we had a knock at the door and could see a strange car in front of the house. We opened the door to see Pres. Batt standing there. He wanted to visit with us about the end of our mission and make sure we were really OK with extending our call to the end of school and not just feeling pressured. We told him we were OK with it, not requesting it, but we would be happy to stay if they need us. He asked if we would stay. So, I guess it is now definite that we won’t be leaving until May. We’ll go home for a few days in March, but then we’ll return. That will actually make it easier for us to get our stuff home because we can do it in two trips. Silver lining.

After a good visit with Pres. Batt, we went to the girls’ basketball game at the school. One of my students was playing on the JV team. They played a good game and she made some really good plays. She is a starter and they got so far ahead that she was benched a good part of the game.

Wednesday I started the day by wrapping gifts. I pulled out some boxes that I thought might work and got everything ready. Then Ted and I made some white chocolate popcorn and bagged it up to send. I thought I would be able to get some seminary work done, but we had to leave to get to The Nugget in time to get everything done. It was really windy all day (and all last night) and it started snowing about the time we were loading up the car.

We got to The Nugget in good time. Steve Coleman, the owner, hauled boxes in and we hauled our supplies in. Steve boxed everything up for us and we were ready to go. It was late when we got out of there, but we went straight to the post office and got everything sent off.

Elder England in Tohlakai called to say they couldn’t reach any of the kids for seminary and their car was still in the shop so they couldn’t go get them, so they were cancelling seminary. It was cold and snowy and we were really glad we weren’t driving far. I spent the rest of the evening working on my seminary lessons. I felt better about my class tomorrow.

Thursday the Relief Society president was home sick so she didn’t come to class. I set everything up and began working on my quilt. The burrito lady arrived a short time later. She had finished sewing her blocks together and wanted help figuring how to cut the window panes to go around them. I had a difficult time calculating and had to do it 3-4 times. Her blocks are not square—they are 8 ½ X 9 ¾. It was tricky trying to figure how to make it look balanced. We finally decided to put the blocks lengthwise across the quilt instead of up and down. We have to make the framing slightly smaller one direction than the other, but I think it will work. I then showed her how to use my rotary cutter and mat. We soon had all the fabric she had bought for the frames cut.

She still needed to buy more. I calculated she needed 36 ½ inches more so I told her to get 1 1/8 yds. She said to be safe she’d get 2 more yards. We had some discussion about that with me explaining that there was already 4 inches extra, but if she wanted more to get 1 ¼ yds. I think she believes me. (She got 1 ½ yds.) She had to leave early so I quickly heated up the lunch and we ate. I stayed and ironed and pinned the pieces for my quilt. I would like to have sewn them, but I needed to get home.

I had three students in my online class today. My new student’s mom called about 10 minutes before class saying they were out picking up kids and she would be late. That was refreshing. Another student signed in on time. The third was about 10 minutes late and I couldn’t reach the 4th. It went well and I felt like they are getting something out of the lessons.

I grabbed a quick bite to eat and we headed to institute. It was showing signs of light snow. When it was time for institute no one was there. The students sort of trickled in a few minutes apart, but we had a really good class. The students gave most of the lesson and did a great job. I was especially impressed with one girl. She had selected a few key points in her section and asked some good questions that created some discussion. She also led the music, which is very impressive since she has just been a member for three weeks.

After institute one young man wanted to leave and needed a ride home so Ted took him. I stayed and played games with three kids until they left. The new girl rides with a young man who is leaving shortly for his mission. After institute we asked who would be able to help her get rides to church, home evening, and institute. The kids all stepped up and offered to help her. I was very pleased. That’s what she needs.

Friday we were up early to go see the Hot Air Balloons. We waited and waited. Finally the trucks and trailers moved to a different place. We drove down the road and found a really good vantage point. No one was flying, but we could see. A group of kids came toward us, climbing over the barbed wire fence. A man drove up and asked what we were dong. I told him we were there to see the balloons. He said they were installing a high powered line right where we were and we’d need to take the kids and leave. I told him I was not with the kids, but we would be happy to move. The wind was too high—we could not even tell it was blowing—so the balloons were not launching.

I had my online teachers’ meeting in the morning. It was good and there is always good information. I had to chuckle when they said, “We’re really concerned that teachers try to move too fast through the material and keep going during the Christmas Break.” I’m not sure how we can move too fast since there is only one more lesson in the system and we’ll be lucky to be on schedule unless they get more posted soon. (They posted 4 new lessons.)

Glow on the Rocks

 In the evening we headed to Red Rocks Park again for the Glow on the Rocks, the balloons inflated at night. It was really beautiful. There was some Indian dancing which I missed most of because of trying to switch back and forth between using flash and not using flash. I got a few good shots of one of the dancers but not while he was dancing.

Indian Dancers and Drummer

The balloonists were interesting and we talked with a couple of them. The balloons cost about $24,000. One man has had three during his career. They actually fired up their burners so I could get some good shots. The wind was blowing quite a bit so one man had to have a crew “walk” his basket to the opposite end of the tarp so they could drop the balloon with the wind instead of against it. The balloons are really pretty and it was fun to be there. It was really cold so I wasn’t sad to get home.

Parade car - mock ballooning basket

Saturday we made another try at seeing the balloons in the morning. I think it was too windy again so they didn’t launch. We working on seminary and other things at home until afternoon then we headed into Gallup for the Christmas Parade. It was really interesting. There were lots of trucks and trailers with people riding in them throwing candy. There were a few Indian princesses. There were a few balloonists hauling their baskets on trucks and throwing flames in the air and candy on the ground. And there were a couple of floats. There was one very large group of motorcyclists who were honoring one of their members who was killed by a drunk driver after the Indian Ceremonial parade in August. His bike was on a trailer followed by probably 60-70 motorcycles. It was impressive. We ran into the sister missionaries and visited with them. But it was too cold for us to be outside so we were glad to get home.

Motorcyclists honoring friend

Week Ending November 30, 2013

It snowed through the night. The car had heavy ice on it in the morning and it had to warm up for a long time. I had a text from a parent asking if we were having seminary. When it was time to start no one had come. My regular students all came, but it took a while. After seminary we drove to Tohlakai for their seminary reorganization meeting. It was snowing and most of the roads were not plowed yet so it was a little hairy. We took it fairly slowly to be careful. The meeting lasted about 5 minutes and nothing changed except the couple in Tohlakai will be teaching the seminary class. We’ll go next time to make sure things transition. I feel a little sad to let go, but I know it’ll be good for the kids and the branch.

We drove back to Ft Wingate, arriving in time for the last hour. The roads were almost totally melted so it was much better coming home. I talked with Pres. Joe and told him we were more available now because we no longer had the Tohlakai seminary, so we would be happy to do whatever he needed us to. He asked us about teaching Temple Prep. There are a couple of ladies getting ready to go to the temple, so he wants us to help them prepare. In Relief Society the teacher had been unable to come due to road conditions, so we had a couple of short stories then the president asked us to share what we were thankful for. It was a very touching experience and I feel so grateful for so many things.

Monday we worked on things at home. In the evening we went to family home evening with the young adults. We had a good visit and played games. They are getting later and later starting. I’m sure the dark doesn’t help.

Tuesday we had CES inservice in the morning. Some of the people had gone to Thoreau last week, so it was just the Tohlakai couple and us with a lady from Ramah joining us part way through. The Tohlakai sister is concerned that she won’t be able to help teach because she is blind and there is no material available in audio. I told her the scriptures are the main source for teaching and she has that on audio. She also has a sweet spirit that will reach out to the students. We went to the senior center for lunch, hoping to catch the manager to find out when the Christmas program is scheduled. She was off this week, so that was a futile attempt.

We went to the Wingate High School basketball game in the evening. Just after we got there, one of my students came up to tell me her brother was not playing—his teacher wouldn’t change his grade—so he had gone home to do make up work. The JV game was close and the other team almost beat them. The varsity game was a nail biter.

Wednesday Ted’s foot was hurting him so we didn’t walk. I made the jello and Pumpkin Pudding for Thanksgiving. I also made bread since we were almost out. For some reason it has not turned out as it should the last few batches. I don’t know if it is the different flour I’m using or the cold or the fact that I’m trying to stretch the dough father than I should.

Breanna Salt and Sister Roeth

Thursday was Thanksgiving.  We were having dinner with the senior couples in our district in Zuni. I wanted to meet one of my online students who lives there before we met with the seniors. She had given me directions, but we missed her road because there was no road sign. We finally connected and had a good but short visit. They were in the middle of fixing dinner for a crowd. She is just as I see her on Webex—a cute girl with a great family. Her family actually moved here from Las Vegas. We had a brief visit, took a few pictures, and left.

Elder and Sister Roeth, Thanksgiving 2013, Zuni, NM

At the Zuni chapel we met with the other missionaries and played games and visited. We had a great meal and we enjoyed all of it. (We actually were given the turkey bones for soup when we left so we came away winners.) After we ate, we visited some more and played more games. I showed one sister how to knit the frilly scarves and looked at another’s quilt to try to figure out what was going wrong. After a couple more games we drove home.

When we opened the trunk at home we discovered the leftover Pumpkin Pudding had tipped over and spilled in the corner of the trunk. It looked like a mess, but not too bad. I got some paper towels and a picture of hot water and began mopping up pudding. As I got into it, I realized the damage was more extensive than it looked. The pudding had run under the carpet, under the edge of the tool container, and behind the plastic liner. I cleaned what I could see then lifted the cover for the spare tire—it had run down into the tire well. Ted lifted out the tire—there was even more underneath and on the tire. That was fairly east to clean.

When I had cleaned up all I could see, we decided to undo the bolt that was holding the tool container in place because the pudding had run under the edge. The bolt came out easily when we finally found the right tool, but the tool container was wedged under a bump in the frame of the car so we just propped it up about an inch, just enough to clean under the edge. We decided that was all we could do so I took most of the equipment back into the house.

Before we quit we decided to try again to lift out the tool container. There was another cup or so in the well underneath. At that point I needed to get the equipment back that I thought I had finished with. I was able to mop it up and we figured we had done all that we could do—in the dark with only the trunk light and a flashlight. I have come to really appreciate street lights since we’ve been without.

It was quite cold during all this, but I didn’t want to wear my coat because I was afraid it would catch on something and tear and also might get covered with pudding. The water was hot and I was putting forth quite a bit of effort lifting and scrubbing and stretching, so it wasn’t too bad. At one point I put on my coat while I waited for something, then took it off again to work. Apparently, that few minutes was enough to get pudding on my sleeve, so my efforts to keep it clean had been wasted. When we finally finished, I went in to get warm and go to bed. As I ran my fingers through my hair, I discovered my hair had clumps of dried pudding in it. What a disastrous ending to a fun day.

Friday Ted finished cleaning the car. Apparently, the carpet was not as clean as it looked in the dark, but he was able to do a bit better. In the evening we visited a young man who just returned from his mission to invite him to the Break the Fast on Sunday. We called a few more kids and made sure everyone we could think of knew about it.

In the evening we watched Ephraim’s Rescue, a movie we had borrowed from one of the couples. It’s the story of Ephraim Hanks, one of the rescuers of the Martin Handcart Company. He was an amazing man. His philosophy was that if you are prepared, the opportunities to serve will come.

Saturday I spent most of the day working on a couple of cell phone holders for Sister England that will go on her belt. We made several batches of popcorn for Ted’s home teaching families and our seminary and institute students. We need to buy more supplies—the project always escalates once we get started. Somehow I managed to review my lesson for tomorrow as well.