Week Ending February 23, 2013

Valentine's Day at Ft. Wingate

 

Sunday we talked about the new program. I suggested to Ted that maybe we should just get a 4-wheel drive vehicle so we can do what is needed. He thinks that’s overkill and he’s right. We will just do a lot of walking. The elders are continuing to contact people that live down really ugly roads. They need to be contacted, but the only way we’ll be able to follow up is on foot. I guess the upside of this is that I will get lots of exercise. And think of how much it will mean to people to know that we loved them enough to walk all the distance to their home.

Alvin & Jack Surprise, Horse Hair Pottery Specialists

Monday we drove to Thoreau to pick up the vase Jack Surprise made for me. It was beautiful. He actually gave me a choice of two since I had said I would prefer it without etching. He had one with etching and a turquoise stone and one without etching. I’m not sure if it was the etching or the turquoise, but that was the one I selected. It is made of the red clay of the area and has the horse hair added on. Jack is actually half Irish and half Miqmaq Pottawattamie Indian.

My new vase by Jack S, Horse Hair Pottery New Mexico

When we returned home we did the wash and studied. I felt like we should go to a family’s to show the DVD on the youth conference. We walked over to their home and arrived just as they were leaving to take the daughter to the bus station to go back to school. They let us show the video. I felt like the Lord had prompted us to go when we did so we could catch them before they left.

Tuesday I typed up a list of youth age 14-18 in our branch to discuss with the branch president. Ted went with the missionaries about 1 PM to visit some people in Pinedale.  That gave me an opportunity to do some more reading for my classes.

In the afternoon we went to the final game for girls' high school basketball. We didn’t realize there would be three games and each would be about 1 ½ hours. My students didn’t play until the second and third games and it was parent recognition night so it was extra long. We didn’t get home until after 9 PM. We felt it was important to be at the games, but they lasted FOREVER.

I had a call from a sister I had called earlier to let her know I had missed seeing her at church. She told me about her schooling and her work and said she’d be at church on Sunday. I was thrilled that she’d called. I wish more people from the branch could reach out to the others when they are missing. I think it would make a huge difference.

Wednesday we woke to snow and wind. It was really cold. Our evening appointment was postponed until Thursday. In the evening we met with the branch president and the elders to discuss the Center of Strength program. It was a good meeting. The president discussed several people he wanted us to follow-up on. He told the elders he thought they should work in Ft. Wingate and Iyanbito and we should handle Sundance and Church Rock and Pinedale. He asked us to teach a monthly class in Financial Management. We showed him the DVD on the youth conference. He wants us to contact as many of the youth as we can since this could be life-changing. But at the same time he indicated his kids would only be going if there was no sports camp. Amazing!

Petrified wood we found at our neighbor's yard--1 ft long

Thursday morning we woke to snow falling fairly heavily. The roads were a mess and schools were cancelled. About ½ an hour before an appointment we had a call to say the roads in the area were very bad and we shouldn’t come. I wasn’t too sad at being at home since I still had lots to do for my lessons and we had a full day ahead. I studied for a while then we drove to Gallup for our CES inservice meeting. There was only one other lady there. We had a good discussion about keeping the lessons and the material on a spiritual level and not feeding the kids “fluff”. I found I am not the only one that is challenged in getting the kids to read. We discussed some ideas that may be helpful. After the meeting we went to Walmart. We ran into the lady we had the appointment with earlier. The weather had cleared about the time our appointment would have finished.

From there we went to teach a young girl a final discussion before her baptism. When we asked if she remembered the things we’d been teaching her she reiterated many of them back to us. When we asked if she was reading the Book of Mormon she said her mom took it away from her so she wouldn’t read it on the bus. (Her mom said she didn’t want it to get tossed around and messed up by the kids at school.) She understands most of what she reads, but some of the big words are hard for her. When we asked if she was praying about the things we’ve told her she said she was and she feels good when she prays. Our lesson went well. We talked about several commandments and stressed that baptism is not something we do and then forget. We have repeatedly said we need to “endure to the end”.

Her mom’s brothers and sister all sat in on the lesson. When we were done we told the girl this was the last lesson and now her mom needs to talk to the president about her baptism. We invited the rest of the family to listen to the discussions. They all agreed and we will begin teaching them next week. We invited them to the other activities in the branch. We forgot to invite them to church—not very smart. When we got home I was not feeling well. My throat was sore and I felt really achy. Ted gave me a blessing and I went straight to bed.

Friday I slept in late. My throat still felt a bit like it was threatening soreness, but it was much better and the rest of me felt OK. I spent most of the day studying. I worked up a flyer for the elders—they want to do service for people. After the elders reviewed the flyer we headed to Toh-la-kai. No one came until nearly 10 minutes after the start time. When my class finally got underway, and I found a Bible for the student that forgot his, it was nearly 5:50. I felt like really blasting them. I pointed out that our lesson time was cut by 1/3 then went on with the lesson. I felt a bit disjointed about it all. I don’t know if I had not prepared as well as I should have or if I was frustrated with them because of the tardiness. I guess it didn’t matter. After we came home I worked up a form for auditing our membership records for the branch. It will help to get the records in better shape. They are such a mess.

Saturday I woke up early thinking about the records and got up to check a couple of things. Before I knew it, it was time to get up. I tried to rest for a few minutes, but I had to get going so we could get to seminary on time. Three students were missing so I had three students and the two missionaries.

After seminary we went out with the missionaries to try to find some of the youth on the branch list. We started with an elderly sister because we had several youth of the same name on our list and we’d been told she would know where they all lived. She didn’t know any of the youth on our list. We were able to verify the member information on her household. There was a nephew fixing her sewing machine so she could make quilts. He originally was somewhat closed, but after we’d visited a bit and admired the lady’s quilts, he softened up. He lived next door in a hogan with his daughter and granddaughter. He invited us over there when we finished. His daughter was ill so she was in bed sleeping. He has issues with God. I’d really like to visit him again and try to help him realize God loves him. As we left his little granddaughter ran after us so we could give her a hug.

From there we drove to another home a bit down the road. The mom and their two sons were there. We talked to her about helping the missionaries find opportunities to do service and we asked her to let people know. She’s very involved with the senior center. We gave her a flyer with the elders’ phone number and she thought she could help. She gave us the information for the member audit. The elders left her with a thought and talked with her about faith. She sounds like she has great faith. She’d be such a strength in the branch.

We then went to the home of an elderly lady I’d met at the senior center a couple of months ago. I’d taken her picture then. While visiting with another family, I’d heard she was ill so I asked the lady we’d just visited where she lived. When we arrived her daughter answered the door. We explained who we were and said we wondered if her mom would like a blessing. She asked her and we were invited in. She looked so tiny and frail on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket. We had a prayer and Elder Chavez explained about blessings. The men then gave her a blessing. I was so touched by her. I gave her hand a squeeze and told her Heavenly Father loved her. We left our contact information with her daughter and said to let us know if we could do anything.

After leaving her we drove to a home on the hill that the Relief Society President and I had to pray before driving down when we were there before. There were two cars at the house, so the elders opened the gate and drove up. No one was home, so we left a note. At the next home there was a padlock on the door. That is typical if the door won’t lock securely. No one was home there either.

We looked for a couple of other homes. At one we met a young man in black clothing who was playing heavy metal in the background. Another was down a really wicked road. (This was the road where we finally got out and walked. The elders were amazed we had been able to drive as far as we had. I was very grateful for the elders’ truck.) The man at the house where we asked directions told us where to find the family we were looking for. He told us to honk so someone would come to the door because the dogs were vicious and would attack us. The elders chose not to honk, but the man drove up in his truck behind us to make sure we were OK. I really appreciated that. 

High School Banner--Wingate Bears (Shush)

After the visiting we got some lunch then headed to the basketball game for one of my students. It was a good game, but the home team lost.

Week Ending February 16, 2013

Sunday we chuckled when the branch president called to get the elders’ number. We figured he was calling them to speak in church—we were right. In the meeting he announced the stake president told him we would no longer have speakers from the surrounding wards—our members would be given the opportunity to speak. He said he would ask them in advance and to not be nervous because there was lots of help available. My thought was—it’s high time the people in the branch get to speak. There are good people in our branch and they need to have the opportunity to serve and to speak and to develop their talents and abilities.

Today was special for one of my students. He has been a Priest for several months, but he has a speech problem so he has never blessed the Sacrament. He speaks so fast that it is sometimes difficult to understand him. When he gets nervous he speaks even faster. He planned to do it a few weeks ago, but when he got to the chapel he found others were already there. Today he decided he really needed to do it. He practiced in a room before the meeting. Ted was blessing with him so he could give help and reassurance if needed. When it was time to bless the Sacrament, I was praying hard that he wouldn’t get nervous and not be able to do it. He did a beautiful job, very first time. It was clear and understandable. He was concerned because he mispronounces words. We assured him that it isn’t pronunciation that is as important as getting the right words. I was so proud of him.

I believe the new elders will be good for the branch. They are starting a Book of Mormon study class on Tuesday and an activity night on Thursday. They challenged the men and women’s groups to each come up with 5 names of people they can teach, either non-members or less active members. I feel the blessing of having them already.

Pres. Batt is coming Wednesday to talk to the leaders of the branch about a new program. I’m concerned because we have a branch activity that night and all the leaders will be in the meeting. I’m not sure what will happen with the rest of the people. Someone will need to lead the craft and games. I’m pretty sure who will get to do it.

Monday it snowed off and on all day. Ted took the car to get an estimate on the damage caused by the tumbleweed. It was worse than we thought, but we need to get it fixed. He was gone a long time. I began to be very worried when he wasn’t home by early afternoon and the snow was fairly heavy at times. I knew the freeway was not the best place to be in the best of weather and the snow could make it a little dangerous.

I was at home all day. I wanted to make bread to give to a young man Ted was going to see with the missionaries in the evening. I had asked them to take Ted to the home to share the youth conference DVD with the boy and his mom because he lived at the very end of the wickedest road we ever went down. When they went visiting the young man was not home. (Ted forgot to take the bread anyway.) Instead they went to the home of a lady we had been looking for a while. The elders had found an address in their area book. Ted was amazed to finally be able to visit her. She was very kind and invited them in. She has several young daughters and they live in an unusually nice home that is on a really ugly dirt road. They invited her to the party Wednesday and she indicated they would try to come.

Tuesday was cold—about 8 degrees. We sat in the car a while before driving to the church so the car could begin to warm up. In the evening we went to the church for a study class with the elders. It went well. I learned some things I hadn’t thought of before. There was only one family, the elders, and us, but it is a start.

Wednesday was still cold, but not as bad as Tuesday. I studied most of the day, preparing for Friday and Saturday and also our lesson for a child in the branch. The elders came for a “coordination” meeting. I went through the branch list and gave them the addresses and information on everyone we knew on the branch list. I served them lunch when we finished. We basically pulled out all the leftovers and they were very grateful. They had interviews with Pres. Batt in the afternoon so they were off right after eating. I made soup for the party in the evening. I also took the bread I’d made on Monday.

When we went to teach we were met outside and visited a bit with the child we’re teaching. Her grandmas were home. We talked about her homework until her mom arrived. The lesson went well. We talked about the first principles and ordinances of the gospel so it was pretty deep for a seven year old. Her grandma asked a couple of questions and her uncle and aunt listened to the entire lesson. When we were done Ted asked the grandpa if he would like to have the missionaries teach him and he agreed. Elders had been teaching him but he never finished the discussions and was never baptized. We invited everyone to the party then left.

We picked up the soup and bread and headed to the church. The party was a big success. We had two families that haven’t been to church in a while and the family of the young girl we’d taught. We also had another lady bring a friend. We all enjoyed the soup then the leaders left for the meeting. I was disappointed that I couldn’t go in, and it would have been good if one of us had been in there, but no one was left to run the show. The lady in charge of the craft wanted to help people one at a time. Someone needed to make sure everyone got up and got involved and stayed on track. Everyone liked making the boxes and I had a chance to visit with one of the ladies for a bit. One family left, but everyone else was involved. The teenage boys were all sitting around staring at the tables, so Ted got them up playing PIG. Two of the boys really enjoyed getting to know each other. That was good.

Thursday Ted surprised me with a cute card and a nice necklace. Apparently, he spent time shopping Monday while he was in Gallup. We visited with our grandma. We had her make a list of the things she thinks she needs to do to be ready to attend the temple. We discussed several of them and expanded the list a bit. We explained the connection between the Sacrament and repentance and baptism. She also realizes she needs to be much more diligent in attending and participating in meetings. She really is growing and stretching a lot. I feel like we covered a lot of ground in our visit.

After we left there we tried to find a lady who lives in the area. Her husband had been a member but he died about 5 years ago. I felt strongly that we needed to visit her. She answered the door and let us in. We visited very briefly and I told her Heavenly Father loved her. I also told her she could be with her husband forever. She was feeling very lonely. She is retired, but she didn’t have enough to pay for her home and food, so she has a part-time job cleaning. She cried when she told us her husband had passed away almost exactly five years ago and she really misses him. She also said she didn’t have any food. She said she was going to the senior center to get some lunch then she would work later in the day. I told her we would come back and would like to share our message with her.

At home I felt we needed to put a box of food together for this lady. We put a few basics into the box. I felt impressed to make bread and give her a loaf. The bread came out of the oven just a few minutes before we had to leave. I put the loaf in a separate box so dogs wouldn’t get it. We put the box with the bread underneath the other box. There was a dog sniffing it, so I hope she actually was able to get it. We went to dinner for Valentine’s Day. The restaurant gave me a long-stemmed rose.

At institute we had only one student when we started. About 15 minutes later another arrived. I’m not sure if he came for the lesson or to play Settlers afterward. Another student arrived about 2/3 of the way through. We had some good discussions on the last days and the signs of the Second Coming. Afterward we played Settlers. We set a time limit this week. I won just three minutes before we called the game. It was fun but we were exhausted on the way home.

Friday we made a list of all the people we know in the branch and have been in contact with. We grouped them by location and what their status is and what their needs are. We had a list of about 60 families that we feel need some attention for starters. We thought this would be a good place to start reaching out. I called a lady and told her we had missed her at church and wanted to make sure everything was OK. We told her about stake conference this weekend. I think it helped, but it was difficult to tell. I have been very concerned about her and really felt I needed to call.

After some additional study and preparation we drove to Toh-la-kai for seminary. When 5:30 arrived and no one was there we really wondered if it had been cancelled for some reason. About 5 minutes later a lady and her granddaughter arrived. Her son had hurt his foot and couldn’t make it. She sort of rolled her eyes when she told me that. No one else ever came. The girl and I had a good discussion. We talked about the signs of the Second Coming using Matthew 24. She is really a bright girl. We then talked about the parables in Matt 25: 10 Virgins, the King traveling in a far country, and the sheep and the goats. Since they are all about the Second Coming it fit together well. I was really grateful she had come, but I really wonder why the others didn’t come.

We were about ready to go to bed when the elders knocked on the door. They have a habit of stopping by on their way home. They wanted to borrow our key for the church so they could play basketball at 5:30. They also wanted to ask if it was OK to attend seminary tomorrow. Of course, I agreed. We talked about some of the people in the branch and what we thing needs to be done. It was a good visit.

Saturday morning everyone came to seminary except one. My lesson went well. We talked about Thomas and being faithless. It was sort of a repeat of last week’s lesson, but only two had been there and I reworked it so it wasn’t too obvious. We then talked about Peter and ways we can “feed the sheep”. I think that went well, but there are a couple of things I wish I’d said. I then shared the video “Finding Faith in Christ” which is an overview of Christ’s life. I find it very touching. I asked them to think about what they had learned from studying the life of Christ.

In the evening I took a couple of ladies with me to the stake conference adult meeting. It was outstanding. I really enjoyed it and was uplifted by the speakers. I gave one lady a loaf of bread and a cube of butter. She had liked the bread so much at the party on Wednesday that I wanted to do that for her. She called when she got home and told me they were all enjoying it so much. Wonderful!

Week Ending February 9, 2013

Sunday I read a talk by Pres. Eyring about helping his children discover their gifts and helping them learn to use them in the Lord’s service. That reinforced the impression I’d had the night before about discovering our gifts. I know at least one of Ted’s gifts is that he loves people. He has a sincerity about him that is obvious and people love him for that.

A young girl in the branch just submitted the papers for a mission. It will be interesting to see where she is called to go. The Church closed a school in Mexico and converted it to an MTC to handle the number of missionaries. New missions are being created and most existing missions are getting a large number of new missionaries. It is amazing how the work is moving forward. Incredible time to be part of it all.

Our branch had its monthly meal together. Ted made his specialty—Mexican Casserole—and it was enjoyed. I spent time visiting with a lady who was just called as Stake Relief Society President. She is finding as she visits the wards and branches that there is quite a challenge getting information out to the units. We have a great stake president and he has a vision for where the stake needs to go and how to get there. It just needs to get done.

Monday I modified the flyer for the social next week so we could post it on the Res. In the afternoon a sister went with me to post the flyers in the Chapter Houses in Iyanbito and Church Rock, the Senior Center in Iyanbito, and on the community bulletin board in Iyanbito. Then we drove to the home of a young man in our branch to talk about the upcoming Youth Conference. He seemed to be very enthusiastic about it, like he really wanted to attend. I hope his mom will let him come.

We had the sister and her husband over for dinner. We enjoyed a good dinner and a good visit. The branch is planning to start Home Teaching. The men will need to take their wives. They will do it in phases. It is really needed.

Tuesday I made some Zucchini Bread. I had planned to take a loaf to a family we were visiting today and one to another family on Wednesday, but we decided to eat one. Since today’s appointment postponed, the Wednesday appointment will be the winners of this round. I spent most of the day studying and preparing for seminary on Saturday. Our lesson is on the end of Christ’s ministry—the events after the Resurrection, especially the appearance to Thomas and the teaching to Peter to “Feed my sheep”. These are touching experiences and there is much to learn from them. I need to figure out how to present them so the students can make application in their lives.

Mid-afternoon the new elders in our area arrived from Farmington. They had been to their apartment and found they had no electricity and no gas. They had no phone numbers to call anyone. We gave them the numbers we had. After they left we realized we had not got their phone number. We also thought they possibly had made the same mistake we had with regard to the light switch by the door. It is for a porch light that is burned out so it appears there is no electricity. The switch for the light/fan in the living room is behind the door—not a very convenient or logical place to put it. Ted walked over and talked with them. They had electricity. A man had called about the gas and it will be turned on Wednesday. He also said he would bring a heater over for them. (He never made it.)

I worked on my lesson most of the rest of the day. The elders came for dinner around 5:30. They are Elder Busdicker (from Illinois) and Elder Chavez (from Bountiful). We enjoyed a good dinner then cleared away the dishes and talked about the area. We gave them copies of maps and talked about the people we had met and the people we had been teaching. We gave them the names of some people they should contact. We are keeping a couple of families. We are giving them the young man referred to us by his grandma in Zuni; maybe they can reach him. I remind him of his mother and that is not good, so he really doesn’t want to listen to anything I say. I think they might be able to relate better to him.

We talked about some of the things they would like to try. They want to start a Bible/Book of Mormon study class. I think that would be terrific. I think most of the people are fairly hungry to learn. I think they’ll do a great job. I gave them the extra rolls I’d baked for them so they’d have something to eat.

Wednesday the elders came by. They’d slept in their clothes since they didn’t have a heater.

Thursday we visited our grandma. She talked with her husband while he was home about going to the temple. He reminded her of changes they’d need to make and she said they would just take it in small steps to get there. Then he voiced his real concern—he’s afraid that he will be called to do things. She assured him that he would be given help and he would not be asked to do something he could not do.

She had invited her ex-sister-in-law to join us. That was a really interesting turn of events. We’d tried to contact her a couple of times. She said she had stopped coming to church when a lady had taught that we should look down on those who are less fortunate than us and we should withhold what we have from them. I can’t even imagine someone teaching that in any church because that is so foreign to the teachings of Christ. We assured her that the church does not teach that. I suspect she misunderstood the comment. She asked a couple of questions that indicated she was missing some basic understanding of the gospel. We suggested we could help her review some of the teachings of the church.

After we returned home I finally got my seminary lesson put together so I think it will work. I really want to summarize Christ’s life and ask the students to reflect on what they have learned and how they feel about Him and what differences the things they have learned have made in their lives.

We were tired in the afternoon and tried taking naps. I don’t usually sleep well during the day, but I really crashed. After about ½ hour there was a loud knock at the door as only the elders can make. They had contacted several people and had a couple of teaching appointments for Friday. I was excited to hear of some of the people they reached. It sounds like they are really reaching out to the people.

We had a call from a man in the branch. He had met a young man walking off the freeway while he was biking home. They talked for some time and the young man said he needed help. We called him later in the evening and set up a tentative appointment for Friday afternoon. We’ll meet with him and see what his desires and needs really are. We should probably hook him up with the missionaries who do Addiction Recovery and counseling. He said he is willing to learn about God so we can teach him that.

Friday the weather turned colder. It seems to be about the same temperature outside, but there is a strong wind blowing. The elders called and asked Ted to go with them to see a girl. No one was home. It was very disappointing. I spent time looking through some videos for a short clip that would help wrap up the segment in seminary. I also needed to put together a map (under the direction of my senior companion) to give to people so we can tell people about stake conference next weekend. We had a CES broadcast in the evening. Elder Paul Johnson, the Commissioner of Education for the Church, and Elder Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke to us. It was really a wonderful evening. We had a chance to visit with Pres. Hines of the stake presidency and he gave me some good ideas on getting the kids into the scriptures. I’m anxious to try his suggestions.

Saturday we woke to about 4 inches of snow on the ground, more falling, and the roads not cleared. One student called to say she wouldn’t make it to seminary. I wondered if anyone would. One family came—they are as faithful as they get. We had committed to take their two oldest to the temple. With the snow we were not sure we would be going, but they have more faith than I do and they were dressed to go. They were the only ones there for seminary. One of them offered the opening prayer and one the closing prayer and both of them asked that we would be able to go safely to the temple. 

As seminary finished up, the snow stopped. We (and their parents) made the decision to go for it. We dropped our stuff at our home and headed out. The roads were not wonderful, and they had not been cleared, but we were comfortable as long as we took it slowly. We had a bit of light snow, but nothing that made us question our decision. The real challenge was between our onramp and Grants. We passed a couple of cars off the road—one was overturned, which didn’t make us too happy.

Once we passed Grants, the roads were dry and there was no snow. The wind continued to be strong and blowing a lot. Suddenly we were hit by a huge tumbleweed. It actually rocked the car. I had been crocheting so I didn’t see it, but it felt like we’d been hit by a tire or something. A good-sized stick stuck under our windshield wiper. The casing for the mirror on the passenger side of the car was cracked. We couldn’t tell the extent of the damage until we arrived at the temple. It was cracked in several places that stemmed from a central vertical line on the back of the casing. I was amazed that the casing held together when I saw how bad the damage really was.

It took much longer than we’d planned at the temple, but everyone survived. We stopped to eat at McDonald’s—their choice, not ours. We stopped at Costco—they enjoyed tasting the samples. (The young man made sure to get a second taste of the orange chicken.) When we finished, it was super cold outside.

Again, everything was dry and beautiful until we got to Grants. As we approached the area we saw a black cloud (it was still daylight) in the distance. We saw it moving quickly to the north, so it blew past before we reached it. What we didn’t see was the cloud behind it that was even blacker. As soon as we passed Grants, and by now it was dark, almost without warning we were in the middle of a blizzard, very heavy and cutting visibility to almost nothing. We went very slowly, following the lights on the truck in front of us so we could stay on the road. When he went faster, we went faster; when he slowed, we slowed. The blizzard passed, but it still snowed lightly getting heavier off and on as we went. We continued to follow “our truck” and it kept us on the road. When the truck switched lanes, so did we. A couple of times there was really heavy snow that caused us concern. I prayed a lot; the kids were asleep in the back seat, fortunately; and Ted was very patient as I advised him frequently of how he should be driving. We were very grateful to finally reach the exit for Ft. Wingate. The kids lived another five miles or so further on, but the road was clear all the way to their home. We were certainly relieved and grateful for the Lord’s protection when we reached home.

Week Ending February 2, 2013

Sunday it was cool and muddy. I had to get to church early to make copies. At Toh-la-kai Ted had a large number of people in his class. It turned out they had thought there was a class on Strengthening Families that was scheduled for Saturday. They enjoyed his class, but they had taken all our handouts. Before Sacrament Meeting I asked a student if she would be the seminary class president. She said she really didn’t want to. I was really disappointed. I thought it would be a good experience for her.

After church a sister pulled out her knitting needles and ribbon yarn so I could help her get started on a scarf. I helped her do a couple of rows and she thought she had a handle on it. Ted gave a blessing to a sister with the branch president. Her husband was in the circle but didn’t give the blessing. People need to realize they can exercise the priesthood. The elders’ quorum president told me he had been in the hospital during the week with stomach problems. I asked if he’d had a blessing and he said he hadn’t wanted to bother anyone. I said when you are in the hospital it is time to have someone help and it is a blessing for men to exercise their priesthood. They need greater understanding.

At home I was tired so I took a nap and felt much better. I feel there is so much more we could be doing and are not. I looked at the assessments last night and my seminary students do not have even basic understanding of many principles. It made me want to cry to see that they are so unfamiliar with basic gospel concepts. I really need to focus more on just the basics.

Monday evening we went to teach a child in the branch to help prepare her for baptism. It had snowed off and on during the day and the weather was really overcast and wet. The family driveway/yard is really bad. About 20 feet in there’s a bump and there is nothing we can see on the other side of it. Once you go over it, it looked like there was no returning. The rest of their driveway was really rutted and full of puddles. When we got there we tried several ways to get in or find a place to park the car. We tried the side of the road, but there was a ditch very close and Ted felt the ground was too squishy to leave the car there. We finally decided to leave the car in the entrance to the driveway. As Ted pulled it in he got really close to the ditch, even with me guiding him. He couldn’t hear me and my hand signals weren’t the best, I guess. About the time we were about ready to leave the car, someone came out of the house to let us know that was OK to leave the car there. They had probably been watching our maneuverings and having a good laugh.

When we entered the house, it was obvious they were just about ready to eat. We had rescheduled because of our zone conference so we could get started this week. They all came in and sat down, some on the floor. The girl we were teaching is going on eight so we taught at a very basic level. I think that helped. The mom was taking notes and the grandma was listening intently. I was impressed with the little girl. She knew much more than I expected and she was very receptive. At the end, the grandma wanted her own Book of Mormon and said she’d read with her granddaughter.

When we were finished they offered us Navajo Tacos. We’d had dinner and were both quite full, but that was too good to pass up. They dished us a couple of plates and put them in a bag to carry. We said our goodbyes and left. It was a different world than when we’d come in. The sky was clear and there was no rain or snow falling. The ground was still a mess, but it was much easier to deal with. I was a little concerned about Ted backing the car out and not going in the ditch, so I tried to guide him. Thankfully, we got out OK.

Tuesday we woke to a good bit of snow on the ground. I studied most of the day, trying to get my lesson organized. I had a good idea what I wanted to do, but I was having trouble figuring out how to do it and involve the kids. I usually study in the chair near the furnace. It is not really good because there is nowhere to put my books and I am frequently piling them on the floor or balancing them on the arm of the chair. It does have the advantage of getting the heat when the furnace is blowing. In the afternoon we moved the kitchen table so it is out from under the counter and both of us can sit there to study. I’m not sure I’ll like it, but it is better in theory. I have an extra chair sit that I can use for a shelf when I need the table space. There is really no place to put everything, so we need to make-do with what we have.
 

Wednesday we drove to Chinle (Chin-lee) for a zone conference. The road goes through Window Rock then over a mountain before heading north. The road over the mountain was quite snowy, but hard-packed so we were clipping along. It was beautiful, like driving in a wintery fairy land. The trees were all covered in snow, so it looked like a picture on a Christmas card. I was working on a crochet project, so I didn’t look up all the time. Suddenly it got very quiet and the man in the back seat said, “Go around it! Go around it!” I looked up to see a school bus stopped in the road ahead with kids loading onto it. It had its flags up indicating traffic is supposed to stop. It was very clear that Ted was not going to be able to stop even though there was a good distance between us. It was not clear whether he could turn the car or whether there was anything he could do to prevent plowing into the rear of the bus. Just as we got nearly to the bus the car turned and we went around it. I was fearful there would be a vehicle coming toward us, but there was not. My next thought was that we were going in the ditch on the other side of the road, but somehow we did not. Then we were not sure whether we would be able to get back on our side of the road, but the car returned to our side and we proceeded on our way. I was nearly numb realizing how close we’d come to the bus. I was also very aware of the blessing that had been given us of protection and help when it was needed most. We said a prayer of thanks for the tender mercies of the Lord in helping us through such a dangerous situation.

Mountain road on trip home, after snow melted on road

The zone conference was really wonderful. It had nothing to do with the new elders coming except that they asked us to be of help to them. Our mission will be expanding from 129 to 220 within the year and that means at least 60-70% will either be trainers or trainees. We are getting a set of elders next week and I am really grateful for that. We will get mostly elders since it is not safe for sisters to be out on the Res. I was told that they disappear. Yikes!

An elder talked about Lehi’s experience being likened to our lives. He talked about how we’ve all left possessions and comfort to come to the mission field to follow the will of the Lord. It was an excellent analogy. There was a presentation on the multi-stake youth conference for the youth in our mission. It will be a week-long EFY-type experience at the university in Flagstaff. This has been done outside of the USA in several countries, but this is the first one in the USA. We were told we are beta-testing the concept. The total cost for each individual is $50. You can’t beat that for value. I hope I can get all the youth in my classes to attend. There were also talks by the stake president of Chinle Stake and his wife. He pled with us to help rescue his people.

Canyon de Chelly, after zone conference

President Batt quoted a thought he’d read in a book at the Aztec ruins near Farmington: “Remember to remember.” He referred to several things we should remember: remember our blessings; remember our covenants; remember Him who sacrificed for us; remember the promises made to us in the Sacrament prayers. He talked about Dan Jones and an experience he’d had in rescuing the Willie and Martin handcart companies. There were enough wagons to bring the survivors, but their possessions had to be left at Martin’s Cove. He and a group of others stayed to guard the things. Near the end some men came to try to take the things that had been left. He said the prophet had called them and they were determined to do what they were called to do. He said, “I will be true to that trust placed in me.” Pres. Batt asked us to do everything in our power to save the people as we were called to do.

Thursday we visited our sweet grandma. We shared our testimony that as long as we’re moving the right direction we’re on the path to return to Heavenly Father. We keep taking detours and Christ keeps beckoning us back. He will never force us, but He will do all He can to help us.

When we got home we had a note from the landlord saying the new apartment was ready and we could move in. We had decided we are comfortable enough where we are. I noticed the carpet did not appear to be vacuumed. The rest of the place looked pretty good. I told the landlord I thought it needed vacuuming and he wasn’t happy. (He’s been replacing a couple of hundred feet of pipe that froze 3-4 feet underground.) I told him I would do it. He said I shouldn’t have to do that. I told him I agreed, but that I could see he had many other things on his plate and I would be happy to do it. I think he was glad for the help.

After we had some lunch I loaded some cleaners and the vacuum into the car. I was fortunate to get a parking place where I didn’t have to walk in mud. It was fairly clean. We thought the electricity was off, but I bumped the light switch on the hood over the stove and the light came on. It didn’t dawn on me for a minute that that meant the electricity was on. I tried a few other switches and discovered we were in business. It took a couple of hours to clean and vacuum. When I was vacuuming upstairs I wasn’t watching closely where I was and stepped backward onto the top stair. Since I wasn’t expecting it, it threw me off balance and I nearly went down. Fortunately, I fell against the banister and recovered. Again I was grateful for the Lord’s protection and tender mercy. When I was done I was tired and sore, but I felt I had done a good work.

After I finished I did a couple of things at home, then we loaded the car and drove to institute. We had to stop at the water store on the way which meant we had to go an hour early. We had five people at institute, including a new lady. A couple of kids didn’t come, but we had a good group. After the lesson four of us stayed and played Settlers of Catan. We finally got out of there at 10:30. It was fun, but that is way too late for our weary bones. Ted was falling apart by the time we left.

Friday Ted didn’t feel well. I worked on some visual aids for the lesson for our young girl next week. In the afternoon a man came to get the keys to the missionaries’ apartment to move some beds in. The couple from the mission office arrived a bit later, but they just wanted to drop off their trailer so they could go to Gallup to get utilities set up for the new apartment. Since we would obviously not be able to help, we left early to do some grocery shopping on the way to seminary.

In Toh-la-kai my class went well. I had four students which works well for me. It was the first lesson about the last week of Christ’s life and we had some good ideas shared. When we returned home I got ready for bed just in time to hear a knock at the door. It was the couple from the mission office. We invited them to have some soup which we heated and served to them. They’d had a long day and we were all tired. We had a good visit while they ate and enjoyed the time together. After they left, I got things together for seminary in the morning and we went to bed.

Saturday morning we had all but one there for seminary almost on time. One student had returned from Albuquerque early and come to seminary. She seemed pleased when I told her how impressed I was that she’d made it two weeks in a row when I thought she wasn’t coming. Our lesson went well. We talked about the Crucifixion, what we could learn from Christ’s statements on the cross, and then talked about the Resurrection. I had them write in their journals about how they felt about the Savior after discussing the events of the last days of His life. I also suggested to them that if they have a testimony of the Savior they need to live it. If they don’t, they need to get on their knees and ask God to help them get one. This is the most important thing they can do.

After seminary I showed the video about the youth conference in June. It will really be a big thing and the Church is paying the bulk of the cost. There is no excuse for anyone not to go. They were generally excited about it. We need to contact about six other kids in the branch and hopefully get them on board.

The rest of the day I did stuff in our apartment. I worked on preparing some visual aids for a lesson on Wednesday. I mended a blanket that was previously made into a shawl/poncho as part of a Relief Society project—I made it back into a blanket. I fixed a yummy crock pot meal to test a recipe I’d been given. I worked on a scarf for the senior center sale in Iyanbito.

Ted and I discussed some aspects of the work and how we could do better. In our teaching we have a couple of times discussed gifts with the people we were teaching and told them how important it is to use our gifts in God’s service. I read something last night about helping students come to understand their gifts and it impressed me that I needed to really seek to know my own. In the zone conference a couple of the missionaries said how successful they had been when they took things with them to meet people—nobody ever turns you away when you bring gifts. I was impressed that I should make bread, I assume for the people. I brought my mixer to make bread but I have only done it one time and not very well. Practice might help.