Week Ending January 26, 2013

The people have a habit of coming late--"Navajo Time" they call it. There were only 19 people there when the service started Sunday, but there were almost twice that many as the meeting wore on. We had the last temple prep lesson for one man. He has been staying for all three meetings in the block which is huge progress. He is a good man. We will go to one couple’s house on Tuesday to do a make-up lesson. It seems we do more make-ups than regular lessons. The other couple was not there. 

I taught in Relief Society. I felt that I was prepared, but the lesson seemed flat. After I finished the president shared her feelings and did more in five minutes than I had done during the entire lesson. I was very touched by her testimony. Afterward we discussed the Relief Society night meeting. It was moved to the week of Valentine’s so we could have a branch party. Those of us that had been working on a branch party talked with her to offer our help and we will abandon our efforts to have a separate party. That is the way it is supposed to work—she just had more faith than I did.

Our neighbor Barbara is moving to Georgia and has been packing her truck for over a week. It was parked right in front of our window. She was in the last stages. I watched her try to get a couple of boxes up on the top level of the piles in the truck while balancing on the ledge. I felt like we should go help her. When she came out to put the car on the trailer she was having some difficulty. I put on my boots and went to see if I could help. The instructions were not clear and she was having trouble with the trailer hitch. It had come loose when she drove the car on the trailer, so it wasn’t locked properly. It took a while, but between the two of us we finally got it to hook up right. She had to move her truck a smidge a couple of times and it finally lined up. She used a crowbar to move the trailer the bit it needed to. She is one gutsy woman.

Then I helped her put the chain on the back of the car to keep it on the trailer. I didn’t do anything, but I suggested a couple of different ways to do it until she found one that seemed to work well. She wanted to leave, so I wished her well and left her to finish packing the car so she could leave. About half an hour later she knocked at our door. She had a small pin made of beads that she had made. She wanted to give it to me as a thank you gift for the help I’d given. I think I mainly gave her support and that might be what she needed most. She’s a sweet lady and she has a long road ahead. I pray God will help her.

Pin from our neighbor

It was a beautiful day. The temperature got up to about 60 degrees. Yesterday at the temple I left my coat in the car. I complain when it is cold, but I don’t give thanks for the wonderful days we have. It has been beautiful the last couple of days and it makes the cold nights bearable. I am grateful for that.

Tuesday we visited our sweet grandma. We challenged her to hold a home evening with her family and commit all of them to getting ready to attend the temple and be sealed. She would really like that, but she is the only one that can make it happen. We told her it is time to put things behind her and not let them keep her and her family from returning to Heavenly Father. She was in some pain—she and her granddaughter had hauled dirt to fill in some of the holes in their driveway. Ted gave her a blessing before we left.

I studied most of the day. The next lesson is on the Crucifixion and Resurrection. There is so much that can be said and so little that should need to be said. I really hope all the students can grasp the importance of these events in their lives. I also need to give a basic assessment to the students. I think I will give it this week.

In the evening we taught the makeup lesson in the temple prep classes. The parents were the only ones home and it was good to have the discussion with just them. This will complete the series for them. I offered the idea that we could go with them. They have already been through the temple, but I think they may be more comfortable with someone beside them. Since their daughter will be going on a mission fairly soon, they need to move ahead.

Wednesday when I turned on the shower black water came out. It quickly turned to gray and then was clear within about 30 seconds, but it didn’t give me a really comfortable feeling about washing in it. I’m not sure what the next problem we’ll have with the shower will be, but I really can’t wait to see.

I went visiting with the Relief Society president. We spent our time with a lady in the branch. She is having spells of confusion and disorientation that are of a concern to her. Her mom is also having some issues. They are both discussing their funeral plans. That was sort of sad.

After we left their home the president invited Ted and me to go to lunch with her at Denny’s. We called Ted and he met us there. We enjoyed a good visit. I showed her how to make the frilly scarves—easy. She is such a sweet lady and has such a good spirit about her.

In the afternoon I studied some more. Our appointment cancelled because the husband wasn’t going to be home. They are trying to move into the apartment next door to us that our neighbor just moved out of. They said there was about $2000 worth of work needed to get it in shape. In the evening we went to visit a lady in the branch. When we got there she was out doing her laundry. Her mom was home so we visited with her until the lady got home. We visited for a while and she asked us to come every week to read scriptures with them. Her oldest daughter is almost 8 and would like to get baptized soon. She lives with her grandparents. Her grandpa had a stroke recently and just came home from the hospital. Ted offered to give him a blessing. After he had finished the blessing and we were on our way out, I asked the mom if she would like a blessing. She is struggling with finding a job and getting back to her husband in Phoenix where he is also looking for a job. She was receptive to that so Ted gave her a blessing as well. There was a good spirit while we were there and I am very impressed with the lady. She works two jobs and is going to school to be a legal assistant and eventually a lawyer.

Thursday I studied and prepared for talking with a young man in the branch. We spent some time coming up with a list of several questions to ask to determine where he is and what his needs are so we can be of more help for him. At his home in the afternoon we explained that we had been coming for quite some time and needed to know how we could best help him. We suggested that we could continue to share our thoughts and important scriptures with him and he thought that was a good idea. We talked to him about several principles and he indicated his testimony had grown a great deal while we had been coming. We seemed to have a good connection. I asked him to turn to Moroni 10 and we read the entire chapter. I stressed that each of us is given gifts so all can be benefitted as we share and serve each other. We also discussed the promise of Moroni and his invitation to come to Christ and then his last testimony. There was a really strong spirit as we read and I know he had felt a strong witness of the book. I have rarely felt such a strong witness of the spirit. It was an amazing experience. After we were finished I shared my testimony then we had a closing prayer. When we asked if he would like us to come next week, he said “no”. It really surprised me and I didn’t know quite what to say. We thanked him and left.

When we arrived at institute it was starting to rain. We were early, so it gave us a chance to set up our new room. When the time came to start, we had only one student. I went to the old room in case anyone went to the wrong place. When I returned to the room we had 5 students besides the missionaries—our largest crowd ever. We had a good lesson on the lost sheep, lost coin, and prodigal son. It went well. Only two students stayed for games, but we had a good time playing Farkle. As we headed home we were surprised to see that the temperature in the car displayed at 44 degrees. I hadn’t realized it was that warm. It is starting to get muddy again as the ground thaws.

Sunrise in Fort Wingate

Friday we walked to the church to exercise. It was warm enough that the ground was soft and a bit squishy. We had a tricky time on the way home and had to walk at the side of the road. It had rained during the night and was a bit wet off and on during the day. I planned to do a basic gospel assessment in seminary, so I made some cinnamon rolls for the kids. As it happened, I had only three students. I had asked a student to be class president last week. This week he told me he didn’t want to do it. He said he has been president in several classes and does a good job, but he doesn’t really want the responsibility. I asked him to think about it and let me know next week.

On the way home we stopped at Little Caesar’s to get pizza. We ate a couple of slices in the parking lot while it was hot, then drove home to finish. The place was really busy. It’s amazing to me that with so few places to shop in town there are tons of fast food and eating places. It is crazy that so many people eat out so much of the time.

Saturday we did assessments at seminary. I had six of my students there. One student had returned from a band practice in time to be there. That impressed me. And everyone was there for the beginning—I believe that has only happened once before. The assessment took most of the students the full hour. A couple finished early and had to wait for parents.

The stake was having a youth activity right after seminary. Because of the rain they had moved it from McGaffey (up the road from our building) into our building. There was also a big rain storm expected later in the day they wanted to avoid. I encouraged my students to stay, but I think the only two did.

 

At home I spent the day mending some furry slippers I have. I patched the soles so they could be used again. They should be warmer than what I’ve been wearing. It rained off and on during the day and I was really glad we were inside.

Week Ending January 19, 2013

Sunday I slept in a bit then read before getting ready for the day. It was about 10 degrees outside, not a pleasant thought. Ted’s knee was really hurting still so he planned to have some men give him a blessing at church. I talked to a couple of people about helping with a Valentine’s Party and got the branch president’s OK. Our meeting was good—the branch presidency all read talks from the Ensign. I think it was last minute because they all said they had short notice. They were good talks. The Relief Society president gave a good lesson. She talked with each of the sisters that was there and asked how things were going. She really looked nice today and seemed really happy in spite of everything going on in her life. She has a really good spirit about her. I feel so fortunate to be associated with her.

In the evening we took a young man with us to the CES Fireside at the Stake Center. Pres. Uchtdorf spoke and we really enjoyed it. Several people from Toh-la-kai came and a couple of our institute students were there.

Monday we woke to cold weather. It snowed a tiny bit during the day. We drove to the church and walked in the cultural hall. I wore my gloves, hat, and scarf while we were there. We had an appointment at 10 AM, but the sister wasn’t home when we arrived. Her son-in-law told us she had gone to town for a couple of hours. That was really disappointing. As it turned out, she got there right after we left and he had misunderstood how long she’d be gone. We stopped at a couple of other places, but didn’t find anyone at home. Having struck out, we returned home. I studied most of the day. I took a break in the afternoon and made some quick cookies.

One of our children sent me a book about teaching that arrived today. I read a chapter and scanned the rest. It looks really good. I think it will be a big help. I also read some in the Lorenzo Snow book since I volunteered to teach next Sunday.

Tuesday when I got up the outside thermometer said 0 degrees; the phone said -9 degrees; the car said -5 degrees. I figure if you take an average it comes out COLD!!! We went to the church to walk and found the outside door in the cultural hall was ajar. That was a bit of a concern. It felt good to walk and it warmed me up a bit.

We had an appointment to see a lady, but she had company so we’ll have to go another time. We delivered a flyer for Relief Society night meeting to a neighbor and picked up our mail. We also had a conversation with our landlord about what he would suggest to cut down the drafts inside the cottage. He really had no ideas, but he was willing to let us try almost anything as long as we didn’t damage anything. He said he had insulated the walls with Styrofoam when he put the paneling on. We might try plastic on the windows, at least in the bedroom. Or we may just opt for a room heater. When I measured for plastic I found there was a ¾” gap at the side of one of the windows between the paneling and the cinderblock wall. It had never been finished. That is responsible for at least part of the cold.

Institute was interesting. We had two new people, two regular attendees, and two sister missionaries—the largest group we’ve had—ever. Since we’re moving to Thursday, this was the last time we would meet on Tuesday. Ironic to get such a crowd the last night we are at that time and place. We had a good lesson, but no one stayed for games.

Wednesday we walked at the church again. I like getting the exercise. We had an inservice meeting for seminary teachers in the morning. It used to be held on Tuesday nights but moved to Wednesday morning to accommodate our schedule—another irony. I asked a lot of questions and got some good helps for my classes. The coordinator had called earlier in the morning to ask if we could visit some potential institute students after the class so we called the sister missionaries to ask who in their ward could be coming. The prepared the list, but then the coordinator said he couldn’t stay. It may have been that we ran over or visited too long afterward, but it was a strange turn of events.

I spent the rest of the day studying and preparing for Saturday. This week’s lesson is on Christ’s suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, the betrayal, and the trials prior to the Crucifixion. There is so much there, but I’m not really sure how to impress on the students the impact on their lives and what they can learn from it. I need to let them do more learning and me less teaching.

In the evening we went to a Relief Society meeting on Diabesity at the church. The RS president’s husband read several books to help her and he presented a great deal of information. Afterward we visited and had stew and rolls. It was a good meeting. Ted went with me to hear the presentation and to visit with the husband and pick his brain about surviving in winter weather.

Thursday it was supposed to be warmer, but it was still around 5 degrees when we got up. We have had delayed starts for school two days this week due to the cold. I had never heard of that happening, but I guess they don’t want people out in the extreme cold and they assume many will be late because cars won’t start, etc. When I went to shower I could not get better than lukewarm water in the shower and that doesn’t work for me. It was not a good start. After we ran the hot water taps for a while we got hot water again, but we realized we needed to run the hot water faucets at night as well to keep them from freezing. Apparently, the pipes had ice in them or something because there was water but it wasn’t hot.

In the afternoon we visited with a young man in the branch. We read scriptures together to help him get better understanding of them. I started by having us read Matt 13 where the Parable of the Sower is recorded. We talked about the various kinds of hearts people have as depicted in the parable. Then we turned to Lehi’s dream of the Tree of Life. We read quite a bit of the dream and Nephi’s repeat of the dream. We identified the four types of hearts depicted there as well. There are actually a couple more in Lehi’s dream, but the parallels with Matthew are clear. I think it helped him see how symbolism is used to teach principles and how there can be multiple ways of teaching and multiple interpretations.

We studied for a bit and ate dinner then headed for the stake center. Ted gave a presentation to the missionary prep class, inviting them to participate in institute on the weeks when they are not in mission prep. We also visited a bit with the Seminary and Institute assistant director who was visiting. He gave us some encouraging words and said they’d help any way they can. What we really need are students. After that we can work on other things, but without students nothing else is very meaningful.

Friday we were up and exercised at the church. I was able to have a hot shower and my internet worked again so I was a happy camper. At the post office I picked up the heated mattress pad I’d ordered. We spent quite a bit of time getting the pad on the bed. I was so excited.

I studied rest of the day, preparing for Saturday morning and Friday night. I need to make the students more responsible for their learning instead of spoon feeding them. I prepared a couple of handouts to help them learn the Scripture Mastery verses—I hope they take the challenge. They are good kids—just a bit too cared for.

On the way to Toh-la-kai, we had to stop for water and gas. That took longer than anticipated so we got to the church just in time to set up and get things organized. Of course, my students were late arriving so there was no worry. I think they appreciated the challenge. One student surprised me by wanting to pass off a Scripture Mastery (a first) and by actually having read every day the last week. I think he only read one or two verses a day, but that is a start. He was pretty rough on the scripture so I told him to try again after class. When he tried again, he didn’t really have it word perfect, but I think he would be able to tell me the main components, so I passed it off for him. He really needed the success. I also asked him to be class president. We haven’t had one to date, but I told him that meant he had to be at seminary every week and he agreed.

After we got home we ate dinner then went to bed. It felt like heaven to have the bed warm and not have cold sheets. I think this was close to pure joy.

Saturday was busy. We got ready for seminary and went to church. I put all the chairs in a semi-circle so the kids wouldn’t be scattered around the room. We had a good class. I assigned each student a different scripture that talked about the events of the Garden of Gethsemane and asked them to pick out the most important thing in the verses. I was a little disappointed with the results, but we had a good discussion. One student touched me with her response. She said something in effect that she was touched by the anguish Christ suffered. She said she was sorry Christ had to suffer so much for her. She answered most of the questions I asked the rest of the lesson to the point that I almost said “besides her” when asking, but I felt it was good for her to participate so much. It is totally unlike her. She also was the only one that had read the scripture block and she had read scriptures every day.

After seminary we headed to Albuquerque. We ate lunch on the way to save time at the temple. We ran a couple of errands on the way. We got to the temple and I got cards printed so a couple of my students could do some work. I was on my way to take them the cards when I met their parents on the stairs. They’d had car trouble on the way and the kids wouldn’t be there. They can do them next month.

After we finished at the temple, we had a couple of car fixes to do. The first appointment finished early, so we headed to the second one to get the windshield fixed. Just as Ted went inside to see if they could possibly take us early they called to say they had an early opening. We were finished there about an hour ahead of schedule. That was a tender mercy. We did a bit of grocery shopping on the way out of town then headed home, trying to watch for the family with car troubles in case they had broken down on the road home. When we got home we unloaded the car, put everything away, had some soup, tried to reach our friends, and went to bed. We were worn out.

Week Ending January 12, 2013

Sunday after church we had our traditional meal. We thought the food was heating while we were in classes, but when we went to the kitchen, the food was not hot. A couple of us took the food out of the oven and heated it on the stovetop and in the microwave. Finally everything was ready and we were able to eat. We enjoyed the meal and the visiting. I sat next to the Relief Society president’s husband who rides a bike to church. By the time I ate he was on his second plate. His wife was sick so he was saying he’d got a plate for her and he’d be sure to tell her how much he enjoyed it. I don’t think she would have been able to eat much anyway.

We told the branch president that people had said they had enjoyed the party and would like to have more activities. He said it was OK and we could go ahead and plan them. I suggested to him that perhaps some of the branch members would like to help—he replied that we were branch members. I suggested that maybe each of the organizations take part of the assignments. I suggested that a week night activity might be good as well, for the entire family. He liked the idea but I’m pretty sure he will just wait for us to do it.

Monday we took a trip to Thoreau (Thuh-roo) to visit Jack Surprise, a pottery maker. I expected a Navajo man, but Jack is half Irish and half Potawatomie Indian. He looks more Irish than Indian. He is literally a jack-of-all-trades, having settled on making pottery because he does a fair job of it and other jobs have served their time and gone. He originally came to the area to work in a saw mill. When the industry began to decline, he and a friend wanted to buy the mill because it was the only profitable one around. They didn’t. His wife is from Peru and he is a bit of a nomad. He showed us around his shop and showed us how he applies the horse hair to the pottery. He had some beautiful pieces. I ordered a vase like one he had almost finished. He gave me what he called a lumpy pot because it was very misshapen. It is only three inches tall but it has etched designs on it and I really like it. It reminds me a lot of people—beautiful and does the job even if it is not perfect.

Lumpy jar - 3" tall

At the post office there was a package from our neighbor in Las Vegas. She had picked pomegranates off our tree at home and made jelly. She sent two jars. They were so carefully packed and cushioned I was amazed. How sweet. That stuff is really a lot of work to make.

Pomegranate Jelly -- Yummy!!

Tuesday I studied most of the day. In the evening we went to institute. We were going to discuss with the students the switch to the new night and schedule. I was very concerned that we would be losing the opportunity for a couple of them to participate fully in the classes. However, no one came. One student was sick and another usually doesn’t come unless the first one does. Another was supposed to come, but she got a new job and her sister-in-law was late picking her up so she still wasn’t there at 7:15. Another was going to come after work, but he still wasn’t there when we decided to leave. I know it was discouraging for Ted. He works hard on his lessons. I reminded him that we were teaching the other classes so this wasn’t the only thing we were doing.

Wednesday Ted had the idea to walk to the church and walk in the gymnasium to get some exercise so we did that this morning. It is still quite cold outside but we waited until about 7:30 to go. It still nearly froze my eyebrows—the rest of me was bundled up. We enjoyed the walking and think this will be a good idea.

After we got back we went to our grandma’s to show her a video. She said that her granddaughter had asked them to have Family Home Evening on Monday so they’d showed the movie we’d left with her. They are planning to make this a regular thing. I suggested that she could assign her granddaughter to prepare a lesson for them. She is a good kid and could do a great job. We have challenged her and her husband to prepare to go to the temple. She asked about what that would mean for her family. We told her that they will follow her lead so they would be right behind her.

After we left there we came home and studied most of the rest of the day. (I took a much needed nap mid-afternoon and enjoyed it.) I am teaching from John 13-17 and I have read it a few times. I need to have the students share their thoughts about these chapters—they contain some of the last teachings of Christ to His apostles before He was crucified and have some really meaningful scriptures in them.

Thursday we walked to the church again. On the way home Ted slipped on some ice and mud and fell on his back and skinned his knee. He was in a lot of pain the rest of the day. We had to run a quick errand then we studied a short while before visiting a young man in the branch. He had asked us to teach him about the Holy Spirit. We talked with him to see if he’s ever felt the spirit and he identified a time in his life. We told him we thought he’d felt it more than that one time but he hadn’t recognized it. We reminded him of when we taught him a week ago and how he’d felt then. We gave him a couple of articles to read and read part of Joseph Smith’s testimony to him. I bore my testimony and asked how he felt. He said he’d felt the spirit while I read. We suggested that he read and pray more and ask for the confirmation from God. We are going to read scriptures with him and try to help him understand them better. I felt good about the meeting.

Friday we woke to snow. It was supposed to have been a light dusting, but a fair amount had fallen. Besides that the wind had blown quite hard and there was a lot of drifting. (We could hear it blowing throughout the night.) Before I got out of bed I had my arm resting on one of the pillows. I could actually feel the breeze blowing on my arm. I tried to figure out how we could arrange the furniture so we wouldn’t be under a window. We decided to drive to the church to do our walking. There was quite a bit of snow at the church. It had drifted so the back door was pretty much blocked by a small hill about 2 feet high. It was really cold in the cultural hall. I noticed as I walked that there is a gap between the double doors to the outside so quite a bit of air comes in. Ted actually got his gloves to wear because it was so cold. I just kept rubbing my hands together. Ted walked much slower than usual and he was in pain by the time we quit. It may not have been the best thing to do.

About mid-afternoon I remembered I was going to make bread for my Toh-la-kai seminary class. The lesson is on Christ as the Bread of Life and I wanted a visual symbol. I hurriedly put the bread together. Fortunately, it is a quick recipe. It came out just as we needed to leave. I wrapped it in a towel and put everything in a bag and we left for seminary. (It was the ugliest loaf of bread I’ve ever made.) We got to church about an hour early so I had plenty of time to set up. We discussed my lesson a bit before the kids came. I only had two students come. They are two students who usually read the scriptures each week, but they don’t usually talk much. I find when it is just them they are more inclined to say things and they have some good insights. We had a good lesson in spite of the others not being there. On the way home the temperature got down to 8 degrees. It was really cold in the car because the heater needs to be on defrost the entire time. My toes were numb.

Saturday we were up and ready for seminary early because Ted needed to shovel snow at the church. I got the things set up in my classroom then I helped shovel and sprinkled salt. I had 5 students in class. We talked about the events following the Last Supper and the first Sacrament. Then we talked about John 13-17 including Christ’s sermon on love, the vine, and the Intercessory Prayer. There is so much in these chapters. I wish I could help the students realize they would be so much better off if they would read even just a bit every day. I keep telling them. I wish I could convince them they really need to feed their spirits a bit more.

After seminary we were supposed to clean the church. One of my students and his dad stayed and Ted and I stayed. When we were ready to start the dad said, “Where are the reinforcements?” I told him I thought we were it. They are always there and always do the lion’s share of the work. I mopped the kitchen, the two bathrooms, and the cultural hall. The first parts went quickly, but I was still mopping at 12:30. It took forever to mop the cultural hall. My body was really sore by the time I finished. The rest of the people did a good job cleaning in the chapel and classrooms and did a pretty thorough job.

We had a baptism in the afternoon. As we drove to Gallup, the sky was dark and looked really heavy. About half way there the snow came down in a flurry, very heavy and very suddenly. Then, just as suddenly as it started, it was over. It was really cold—really, really cold. There were still a few flakes falling from the sky, but the worst was passed. At the baptism lots of extended family members were there. It was a sweet baptism and I think the family could feel the spirit. Ted gave a good talk on the Holy Ghost. After the prayer we enjoyed a lovely meal prepared by the family.

Tiffany Joe Baptism

After we returned home I read a bit before bed. It took a while to get warm, so I wanted to stay in front of the furnace as long as possible. We have been told we will be getting a pair of young missionaries on Feb. 4. Someone suggested we take the new apartment that’s opening up and give them our little cottage. I’m not sure what Pres. Batt would think about that. We’ll see. 

Week Ending January 5, 2013

Sunday dawned clear and cold with no snow. After Sunday School today a family asked if they could talk with us. After everyone else had left, they gave us a card and two small gifts. Ted was given a tie clasp with two turquoise stones on the side of a coral stone. I received a silver heart with designs on it and a turquoise heart in the center. It is beautiful. They told us how much they love and appreciate us. I was amazed and overwhelmed. That was very sweet of them.

 

Gifts of love

At home, I set out more rolls to rise. We had more than 50+ people sign up for the party and there are several that didn’t sign up. I then began cutting the meat. We had more than would fit in the roaster oven, so we put it in a large soup pot we found. After the meat was cooking I began making syrup for the pancakes. I got the water hot then measured out our brown sugar. When that was gone I measured out our regular sugar—I was short. Ted reminded me that we had raw sugar, so I used that, coming to the exact amount of sugar needed. Tender mercy.

Monday morning we woke to about an inch of snow. I started the day slicing the rolls for the party then moved to shredding the beef. Most of the meat was really tender so it shredded easily, but it took forever. When we were done, the meat nearly filled the roaster oven. I stirred in the barbecue sauce as I went along. That was a good thing since it became very difficult to mix because of the quantity. It tasted really yummy when we finished.

After we cleaned things up a bit headed to the church. It was just starting to snow. It got colder and snowier as the evening wore on. We set things up and Ted was starting to shovel the sidewalk in front when the Joes arrived. Sis. Joe had made some yummy nachos. It was really good. The men finished setting up the tables and chairs and we had everything ready about 5 PM. About 5:30 we decided we should all eat a bite so we would be free to serve when the group arrived.

At 6 PM one couple arrived. They had something to eat with the rest of us, but no one else came until 6:30. (We had all but given up.) After that it seemed like we had a steady flow of people. We counted about 50 people total. After eating we started some group games. It went really well. Everyone seemed to have a good time. We had a paper airplane contest and the visiting minister won. 

Bubblegum blowing contest finals

We had a balloon popping relay and then did a cake walk the Joes supervised. About 9 PM we started Volleyball and that was the beginning of the end. People gradually began to leave. About 11 PM we made pancakes. 

Pancakes at the party

At midnight we passed out noisemakers and wished everyone a Happy New Year. We stayed and cleaned up. We were finished about 12:50 and went home. We put the perishables away and went to bed.

Happy New Year!!

We had some touching experiences. Ted’s tooth has not hurt since the blessing Sunday. I was on my feet all day Monday from early morning until we got home. I usually have very sore legs and feet when I stand a lot. I had absolutely no pain or soreness in my legs or feet the entire time we were at the church and cleaning up. We got home and brought the things in the house. When I started to take my boots off, it was like a wave of pain washed over me. My legs and feet were so extremely painful that I had trouble finding a comfortable position. I count it as a tender mercy that I was able to function pain-free the entire evening and do everything I needed to do at the party. I was very grateful for that blessing.

Tuesday we talked about the good things that had happened at the party. We were so amazed that we had such a good turnout in spite of the snow. I was very pleased. I got all the stuff put away.

Wednesday I slept late, partly due to lack of sleep and partly because it was so cold. I spent most of the day studying. We are studying the last week of Christ’s life and this week focuses on signs of the Second Coming and the Last Supper/Sacrament. I was deeply touched as I read the accounts of when Christ told the apostles that one of them would betray Him. That must have been so exceedingly painful for Christ to know that one of His closest associates, one that He loved and served with for at least a couple of years, one that had been through so much with Him, would not just turn his back on Him, but would sell Him for the price of a common slave. I know Christ suffered much that was painful and agonizing, but this had to be one of the really bad things He had to suffer—the betrayal by one so close to Him.

I also spent time preparing for teaching a young man in the branch. I will teach a section on temples and family history. He has also asked about patriarchal blessings so I will teach that piece. I spent time reading about blessings and found an excellent lesson in one of the manuals. I have really enjoyed the opportunity to teach him—he has a good spirit and he has a desire to learn.

Thursday it was still really cold. We walked up to the church to make some copies. On the way one of the members rode up on his bike and visited with us. He comes to the local café to use the free internet. We stood and talked for nearly half an hour and nearly froze our toes off. After that we were lucky to make it the rest of the way. When we got home I heated the bean bag and put it on Ted’s feet to thaw them out—he couldn’t feel them at all.

In the afternoon we went to teach a family. The grandpa answered the door and said no one was home and he was just leaving. We were devastated. Then he told us to come in and we could teach him the temple prep class he’d missed. In the middle of the lesson the young man arrived home. He came and joined us. We finished with the grandpa and he left. We taught the young man the last discussion, spending a lot of time on priesthood responsibilities and quorums. I taught a short bit on family history—I could have gone on at length, but I bore my testimony and offered to spend more time if he is interested. Then I taught the section on patriarchal blessings. I think it went well. Toward the end, as I shared my testimony, we both had tears in our eyes. I bore testimony that the Lord loved him and wanted to bless his life. I think that means a lot to him.

Friday I got up and studied a bit then went to shower. There was no cold water. At one of our zone meetings one of the sisters had commented on how grateful she was for warm showers. I now know how she feels. Our cold water pipe had frozen. I called maintenance about the shower and was told we should have left the cold water running all night (just a drip is fine) and there wasn’t much they could do to help us. I put a heater on the front of the tub, but the pipes are behind a panel in the wall and we can’t really get into it. I had to explain to Ted how to wash his hair in the sink.

The stake president called to suggest we move institute to Thursday night and alternate with the mission prep class to increase attendance. He had talked to our supervisor and he was OK with it. I’m willing to move the institute class, but it will short the number of lessons we can teach. It would essentially be half time and possibly not eligible for credit. That may not be a huge concern. He also said there will be young missionaries in Ft. Wingate in February when a studio apartment becomes available. That will be a blessing.

In the afternoon the maintenance man came by to check out our shower. We had a tiny bit of water run out of the tap then it stopped. He came a couple more times and tried different things. I tried taking the handle off the tap to see if I could see anything, but I couldn’t. He came back at 4 PM and opened the panel. He put the heater behind the wall—I would think he should have done that originally, but I am not in charge. We had to leave to go to Toh-la-lai, so we told him to lock up and turn off the heater on his way out. It was interesting that when the man opened up the panel, there was no insulation. He said there is no insulation in the houses.

We drove quickly to Toh-la-kai and set up for seminary. When I got all the things out of my bag I realized I had left my notes for the class at home. I switched to a second notebook when the first one ran out. I had brought the first notebook, but this was supposed to be the first lesson in the second notebook. I felt like sitting on the floor and crying. Instead I offered a quick prayer. I borrowed a pen from Ted and made some very brief notes about the topics that were discussed in the chapters we were studying. As it turned out, I had five students, the most I’ve had in a long time. We talked about the gospel of John and its unique characteristics. We talked about a few things in the chapters, like the visit of Nicodemus to Christ. We talked about the importance of reading scriptures on a daily basis. I asked the students if they couldn’t carve out 5 minutes for the Savior who gave His life for them. I challenged them to read one verse of scripture every day this week and think about it. I suggested they take just 5 minutes a day and pray and ask God to help them feel the power of reading the scriptures. They all committed to do it.

At home we found the water running full blast in the tub. Apparently, the pipe had thawed. The faucet that I’d taken apart was backward, so it needs to be fixed. We left the water dripping in all the taps and went to bed.

Saturday it was cold when we got up, but the water was still running in all the taps. I had a nice hot shower. It felt really good. It was 11 degrees outside when we went to seminary. Afterward I worked on a couple of things in the house like fixing the faucet I’d messed up in my enthusiasm.

In the afternoon we went shopping at Walmart. “In Gallup everyone meets at Walmart.” (In Gallup that is the only place there is to meet.) After that we went to pick up the food for the meal on Sunday. We took the food to the church and went home. I made cookies since there was no dessert ordered. At least one sister would be very upset because there were no pies ordered. The cookie recipe made about twice what it was supposed to, even though the cookies were an adequate size. I think the Lord multiplied the loaves and fishes.

A few Christmas pictures 2012

Christmas Eve 2012

 

No room for a tree--our Christmas "chair"

Christmas pillows--Navajo basket pattern

Gifts from home

 

Warm socks for Christmas

Baptism of Phae-Ann, our seminary student

Week Ending December 29, 2012

Sunday morning I sang Happy Birthday to Mom. She would be 96 on the day. I did a lot of thinking about the New Year’s Eve Party and about my seminary students. Church was amazing today. We had about 80 people there. It helped that several were visiting for the holidays. After church we were eating dinner when Ted received a call from a family asking him to come help give a niece’s baby a blessing. He is in the hospital and is having trouble keeping his oxygen levels up at night. We hurriedly left for the hospital. When we got there Pres. Pine was on his way so we visited until he arrived. The men gave the baby the blessing and I visited with the mom and daughter in the hallway. They are a sweet family.

Monday was Christmas Eve. It was a beautiful clear day. We started the day with a Skype call with Steven and Heather’s families. They were having a special breakfast together. I think that sounds like a great idea. We enjoyed the visits. The grandchildren were too busy playing to do more than say hi, but it was good to see them.

I spent most of the day preparing food for Christmas dinner. We were having a replay of Thanksgiving. The Relief Society President called to say they would be coming for dinner. Just as Ted finished telling them the weather would be good I looked out the window to see a blizzard with the car covered in snow already. It was crazy. It snowed off and on the rest of the day. I studied some when food preparation was done. In the evening we read the Christmas Story from Luke 2 and also from Helaman where Samuel the Lamanite prophesied to the Nephites. We sang a couple of carols and went to bed.

Tuesday we woke to more snow. I made some monkey bread for breakfast. We had our scripture study then began opening gifts. We received some wonderful gifts from our children and friends. We talked to each of our children and their families during the day and got to watch a couple of grandchildren riding their new bikes via Skype. Technology is wonderful. One of our grandchildren had made us a card and enclosed a dollar bill and four mints in a little pocket inside the card—very touching. Ted gave me a necklace of turquoise stones that we’d seen at a craft fair a couple of weeks ago. Very sweet. We felt very blessed by all the wonderful gifts and all the cards and remembrances we received.

After we opened our gifts we had a light meal. We put a puzzle together to see if we could do it in a short period of time—test run for the New Years Eve party. It took us 1 hour and 20 minutes, both of us working on it. It was fun to have Ted help with the puzzle and I think he enjoyed it. When our dinner guests arrived we enjoyed a good meal. We played a couple of games with the wife—the husband read. It was good and we laughed a lot. It was a good day and we have much to be thankful for, not the least of which is the gospel of Jesus Christ and the opportunity to be here. What a blessing for us.

Wednesday we woke to more snow. The forecast was for clear weather, so it seems to change quickly. I spent the day studying, trying to make up for the time off for Christmas. We are studying the last week of Christ’s life for the next several weeks. This week I needed to read about 12 chapters and it was overwhelming. I also spent time working on party plans. I’m not sure what I’ve gotten myself into.

Thursday we woke to more snow and cold weather. I worked on the party quite a bit, putting together some of the materials for games and relays. I studied some more. In the afternoon we taught a young man. We have one more lesson with him. We dropped some popcorn off at some friends’ home. After we finished there we drove to Gallup to shop for the party. It took about 2 ½ hours to get the food and prizes and everything we needed. We filled the cart to the max. We took most of the stuff to our house and put it in the refrigerator then we took the water directly to the church. Poor Ted had to do a lot of hauling. We were glad to get home.

Friday I studied most of the day mixed in with stuff for the party. We left early to drive to seminary so we could drop off our last popcorn to two families in Sundance. One lived on Sundance Loop. We had never been on that road before. It looked OK at the start, but it quickly degenerated into a muddy, icy, pitted mess. We weren’t sure what we were looking for since the numbers aren’t really a prominent part of the home. We went up one driveway. We were looking for 13 and it was 17 so we turned around and went back down. Since we didn’t know which way the numbers progressed, we kept going the same direction—bad idea. What we thought must be the place was up a really icy hill, rutted and ugly. When we got as far as we could go, Ted got out and walked to the house to see if we were in the right place. We were not. We had passed it, but when we turned around to go back, it wasn’t at all clear where the road to the house was. We finally parked on the road and walked up a very steep and snowy hill to the house. It was 13. Fabulous. We knocked and the lady answered the door. I didn’t recognize her because she usually wears her hair down in curls and she had it pulled back from her face in a pony tail. We weren’t sure we’d get out, but we carefully drove back to the main road.

The second house we were looking for was surrounded by a tall wooden fence. Ted parked just off the road at the entrance to the driveway and we walked in. He is getting a bit leery of seemingly safe driveways. The lady’s grandmother came out to meet us. We invited her to the party and gave her some popcorn. After these two stops we were ready to head out.

We arrived at Toh-La-Kai with plenty of time to spare and got everything set up. Just after 5 PM a new student for Ted’s class arrived. He wasn’t sure if it was 5 or 5:30. We visited with him for a bit while we waited for the others. I have been feeling rather disheartened lately. I sat in the seminary room for a while and reflected on my challenges. After a prayer I felt the Lord’s blessing and felt much better. I had three students come. After class the grandmother of one of my student’s told us the girl was being baptized on Saturday. Wonderful!

Saturday we woke to hard frost on the car. We got ready and headed over to the church for seminary. I started cleaning the cultural hall—it really is in desperate need of a deep clean. We talked about Christ cleaning the temple so it would be a proper place to worship. After my lesson I asked the kids to stay and help clean. We worked for about an hour and it looked markedly improved. We then rushed home where I got rolls onto pans and started them raising. We drove to the stake center for my student’s baptism. They had trouble finding her a baptismal outfit and her dad didn’t arrive until very late, so it was delayed in starting. There was another young girl being baptized as well. My student is really a sweet girl. Everyone thought she was a member until I asked at our first class if everyone was a member. She shook her head. I told her we would be happy to change that. That was when the elders began teaching her. We enjoyed the baptism, expressed our congratulations, and drove home.

All afternoon I baked rolls. I could only get one pan in the oven at a time, so it was a slow process. That worked OK because they didn’t raise much faster than that. I finished putting things together for the party. We have several boxes lined up in the living room that will need to be taken to church. It feels good to be this ready. I just need to do the meat and cut the rolls. A couple of women are doing a couple of games, but I want to do the food and the rest of the games so I know they’ll get done.

When I finished baking we went to pick up the roaster oven to cook the meat in. The people’s driveway is like a loop, but their car made it so we couldn’t drive around to get out—we had to turn around. Ted backed up, hitting a rock on the underside of the car. I got out to guide him, but I couldn’t see the rock because it was under the car. When he backed up again he hit it again. We were a little concerned that we had punctured something on the underside of the car, but as we drove out, the snow in the driveway was still white, so we must have been protected. Tender mercies.

Back at home I made pizza and Ted did dishes. His tooth is getting worse and he wasn’t feeling at all well so he went to bed early. I stayed up finishing a few things. Just before I went to bed I checked the weather. There was a weather notice that we should expect snow to some degree on into Monday. We’re hoping it doesn’t scare people away from the party.