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.