Week Ending March 23, 2013

Sunday we had a good turnout for church. I was asked to offer the opening prayer and lead the music. Ted played the piano because the regular pianist wasn’t feeling well. We had two kids there for the youth conference class. I asked the kids that had come last week to stay so the others would feel more comfortable. One mom stayed with us and she said she thought it was good. We still have three more kids to pick up.

We had invited the Relief Society president for dinner, but she called to say she needed to take a rain check. We had something for another family so when they came by to get it we invited them to stay for dinner. It was their chance to have a real Irish meal of corned beef and cabbage. We had enough plates and we pulled together enough chairs. I sat in the rolling chair and Ted sat in the stuffed chair. The two youngest didn’t want corned beef and cabbage. I fixed some hot dogs and that kept them happy. Their son had a meeting at the stake center so they had to rush. I was glad to see we were able to have that many people eat at our table in some degree of comfort.

Monday we went to pick up the basket and ring we bought Friday. The owner of the trading post had cleaned up the ring and made it look nice. We talked to him for a long time—he’s such an interesting person. He has had some great finds. Someone once gave him a Book of Mormon signed by Brigham Young. He also has received several things over the years from people’s attics, etc.

We then went to get a bite to eat. The waitress told us she couldn’t give us water because it was running brown from the tap. That made me a little uneasy. It turned out they were working on pipes in the area. I got an enchilada and a taco but I couldn’t tell them apart. Both were on the plate, lettuce and all, when they were cooked. Ted had a local special and enjoyed it.

Wednesday we got ready and headed to the Iyanbito Senior Center for our Easter program. We visited with people as they arrived. The program went well. We played three video clips of apostles and prophets bearing their testimonies about Christ. We also included some lighter stories that illustrated the concepts of the Atonement. The Relief Society president read a story about a parent and child bunny that sort of introduced our theme of love. One of the elders was on splits with the district leader so we had a brand new missionary from Dallas that stepped in and took his place. We shared the teachings about Gethsemane, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection. We took a bit longer than we’d thought, but the people did not appear to be restless. We had the center’s chairman give an opening prayer and one of our members gave a closing prayer. They also asked Ted to offer a blessing on the food.

After the program, three ladies talked in Navajo. The third one inserted some English phrases to welcome us and tell us thank you for coming. It turned out she was Bessie Gilmore, the lady that was sick originally when we went to give “Bessie” a blessing. I asked one lady later what she had said. She said they usually complain that they don’t have Navajo’s do the programs. She had told them that they can’t get the Navajo’s to come. They say they will, but then they don’t show up. She told them that when we say we’ll come, we do. That was good of her. She seemed pleased with what we had done.

We ate with the group and visited with the people for a while. Ted and the elders helped serve the plates to the people. They had soup (water with meat and vegetables—no seasoning), fried bread, Jello, and carrot cake. We had a good time. When they all went outside to do the Easter egg “hunt”, we left to go home and study.

I am really struggling with the Epistle of Paul to the Romans. I understand the doctrines he’s teaching, but I do not understand what he’s saying. I spent most of the day reading the commentaries in the teachers’ manual and that gave me some hope. Ted and I also spent time reviewing my seminary lesson so could teach my students in the evening and I could go to the Relief Society dinner.

Late afternoon we visited some members to read scriptures with them. The grandma had read one chapter and asked a couple of questions. The mom was also there. After we finished there, Ted dropped me at a member’s home so I could go to the dinner with her. We enjoyed a good visit, but there has got to be a way to get more sisters involved.

Thursday I woke up about 4 AM thinking about some issues. I did a few things then I went back to bed. Our morning was slow. I continued to read from my teacher’s manual and came to somewhat of a solution as to the topics to teach. A lady stopped by just after lunch time to give us a couple of fresh tamales she’d made. She had made them for her aunt to sell to her co-workers to raise money for a trip her son will take to Washington this summer.

I spent the afternoon reading the manual and organizing my thoughts for the lesson Saturday. The wind has been blowing a lot the last few days. It has been overcast for a couple of days and looked like it was threatening rain or even snow. It is still chilly outside.

Friday morning I made brownies for the party at the church. I tripled the recipe, but I failed to make the high altitude adjustment to the recipe. I also forgot to set the timer. I sort of guessed when they were done. They were fairly moist, even when they cooled, but they tasted OK.

I spent time putting final touches on my lessons and making some calls. We left a bit late for seminary in Toh-la-kai. We had to stop to do some quick shopping, but we split up and were out of the store very quickly. We actually arrived for seminary about 15 minutes early. My class went well. I really felt like we connected and the kids learned something. We finished talking about the life of Christ—this week was the Resurrection. It has been a good experience to study this part of the Bible and learn so much more than I have in the past.

From there we drove straight to the church. When we arrived we were disappointed to see there were only a few cars. The branch president and his family were there along with another family. The lady in charge and one other lady were there as well as the missionaries. They told us we could eat then they’d start the games. I think they should have gone ahead without waiting for us. We played a couple of games that were fun. I did OK in the writing game and won both times, but I really didn’t do well in the game where we had to be observant. Not my forte. Someone did the clean up while we were playing games. Yeah!! It was a fun evening for those who came.

Saturday was cold and windy. My seminary lesson went well. I only had three students plus the missionaries. The kids usually don’t add a lot of comment and the missionaries were quiet today. After we finished there we dropped off some papers for the youth conference. We have tried so many times to meet with them and decided this was the best we could do. We went to another home to try to talk to the mom, but she was sick.

After we finished there I felt really discouraged. We headed to the Flea Market to look for a blanket to match our pillow cases. We looked at a couple of stalls, before one lady told us the man that sells that pattern was not there today. It was really cold and windy and the dirt blew in our faces. It was not fun. We had planned to get something to eat, but it didn’t even sound good. I bought a loaf of bread and piece of pie that was wrapped in plastic wrap. We looked at some more pots, but we didn’t buy anything.

From there we went to a Chinese restaurant with a buffet that we’d heard was good. We really enjoyed it. As we were finishing Ted ran into a counselor in the branch presidency who was there with his daughter and granddaughter. The Relief Society president also came over to our table and took our bill. She had paid for it and just needed to give them the paper. Very sweet of her. The rest of the afternoon was spent doing some family history work.

Week Ending March 16, 2013

Sunday we were up in plenty of time and had a leisurely morning. I got out of the shower about 9 AM just as the phone rang. A sister was calling to remind us it was the start of Daylight Savings and church was just starting. It was the first time we’d missed the change in time and the first time church has started on time. I hurried and threw myself together. We were in church 15 minutes later just as they finished the Sacrament Hymn. We were supposed to have our youth conference meeting during third hour. We only had four of the ten kids there. We had a good meeting. I was really grateful for the ones that were there. I guess we’ll try again next week for the missing persons.

After church we waited to get a check for the youth conference. Then, just as we were about to leave, the branch president came out of his office and we started visiting with him. He’s a good man. It was about 2:30 when we finally got away. At home I worked on stuff for the senior center program.

In the afternoon we went to teach a family. We decided to read the scriptures with them since we weren’t sure they’d been reading. The kids had read two and five chapters each. We talked about what they had read and did more reading. We read 3 Nephi 17 where Christ heals the sick and blesses the children—one of my favorites. When we finished the son said, “That’s really interesting!” I told him to read the chapters just before where we were reading. The daughter will be going to Albuquerque to live with her mom this week. They must be a good family because things are really difficult for them.

Monday the elders came by looking for a missing badge. They asked if they could do their wash at our place. Since we were going to be home we agreed. I thought they’d be back in a couple of minutes. About 10 am they arrived with all their wash. I thought they’d put a load in and leave, but they set up camp and stayed for the duration. I told them I’d be happy to call when the load was finished, but they were intent on staying. They used my computer to check emails. They did 4 loads of wash and were there until 3:30 pm. We invited them to eat lunch. The soup I had planned for us needed to be extended to provide for twice as many. I was happy to do it. After they had checked emails I worked on some family history because that would allow me to be in the room and converse with them. I did get a lot of crocheting done.

Tuesday morning we took the elders with us to attend the funeral for a sister’s mom at the Sacred Heart Cathedral. When we arrived we all expressed our love for the sister. We picked a bench to sit on and turned out we were sitting next to another lady in the branch. The service was nice. The priest said the woman was not baptized but she would still be prayed for and remembered which I thought was nice. One of our friends from Toh-la-kai is a granddaughter of the deceased. She came over and talked with us and told us she felt the gospel would bring her comfort during this time.

After the funeral which only lasted about ½ hour, we visited with our Relief Society president while she waited for her son to pick her up. She was not feeling well so Ted and the elders gave her a blessing. We returned home to read and prepare for seminary. We were really shot—between the time change, the not feeling well, and the general lack of sleep we were worn out and took naps.

Wednesday I spent most of the day studying. In the evening we visited with a family and read some more of the Book of Mormon together. This time the son offered the opening prayer and did a great job. He has not done that in the past. After we finished we went to three homes to try to catch youth to invite them to come to youth conference or to remind them about the meeting Sunday. We drove to the church for seminary class. After seminary I joined a meeting with Ted and the branch president. When we were ready to close the branch president told me I brought a sweet spirit to the branch. That surprised me a bit because I don’t think of myself as a sweet spirit. I appreciated that.

Thursday was spent studying and putting final preparation together for seminary. In the early evening we drove to the stake center, delivered the check and enrollment forms for youth conference and set up for Institute. We had a bumper crop of students this week—7 kids including a couple of girls who were home for spring break. After the lesson we played Apples to Apples. The kids had a great time and kept going a long time. It was crazy because there was no way to predict what someone would pick—there was no correlation between the definitions and the selection and there was a lot of giggling.

Friday we were supposed to have lunch with our district followed by a meeting to share ideas. Just as Ted was getting in the shower the elders asked if he could go with them. I told them we were leaving in a bit for a district meeting. They needed to see someone they were teaching, and they needed him to go with them. We decided that was more important than the lunch so he told them he could be ready in 20 minutes. He got back about 11:20 so we headed to the restaurant for lunch. We arrived late, but we weren’t too far behind. We enjoyed a good visit. The meeting was excellent with every couple sharing what they are doing to reach the people. There were some good ideas.

Afterward our district leader took a few couples to The Nugget, a pawn shop owned by a member. One of the couples was buying some serious stuff. It was a fascinating place with almost anything we could think of. There was tons of jewelry and some beautiful baskets and kachinas. There were also lots of stuffed animals and fetishes. The owner is an amazing person. He was the only one working there and he was helping the three couples that came. He told us of Indian traditions and the story behind all the things he showed us. He knew the designers and what the quality was of each thing.

From there we drove to Toh-la-kai for seminary. I had decided no one was coming when all four of my students walked in. One came in with his eyes closed trying to find his way to the room. He then left and came back a few minutes later with his niece who also had her eyes closed until she got into the room. The others followed quickly. I had asked one of the students to prepare a devotional. She got up and we went through an entire chapter reading every verse with the girl asking questions of the other students. I was impressed. It took a huge amount of time, but it was worth it.

Saturday we started with seminary. I ended the class which was about Paul’s imprisonment by showing a video clip about Paul. I thought the lesson went well, but it didn’t have the pizzazz I’d hoped. We then headed to the temple in Albuquerque. We met a couple in the sitting area upstairs to do some work together. They wanted her to do the work in Navajo. We explained that she is not Navajo and does not speak the language. They hoped the workers knew English. Very unusual turn of events.

At one point I was waiting for a temple worker to come and another lady was also waiting. We got talking and it turned out she was from Salt Lake. I told her I grew up there. She asked where I lived and I told her 4^th Avenue and U Street. She said she had lived at 8^th Avenue and A Street. I asked if she knew Mable Farnsworth and she said she did. I told her that was my Grandma Farnsworth. She is the daughter of Briant and Cecile Smith that lived on the corner. She told me she remembered going trick-or-treating at Grandma’s and having to do something to get the treat. She said kids were always lined up at her home to play the piano, sing a song, or do something so they could get the treat. That sounds just like Grandma. She talked about seeing Grandma frequently because all the garages were in the center of the block. It was a really fun experience to visit with her.

Week Ending March 9, 2013

Sunday I still was not feeling well. However, I was glad I made it to church. We had over 60 people there. It was truly amazing. We had a testimony meeting after the lesson in Relief Society. I told them I had been blessed to be in their homes to teach and had felt the spirit there stronger than I had felt it before. I told them how grateful I was for the opportunity to teach seminary because I was learning so much. I am really grateful for these good people. Our Break the Fast meal went well. We had Navajo Tacos and they were good. I prefer the taste of salsa or some kind of seasoning on mine, but they are good.

Late afternoon we taught a family a lesson on the Plan of Happiness, talking about the pre-earth life, the purpose for life here, and the hope for the future. I suggested to them that, if what I was saying was true, it would be important for them to know it and put their lives in line with it. They all agreed and said they would read and pray about it. We then invited them to attend the CES fireside with Elder David Bednar. The two young girls wanted to go but the boys wanted to stay home.

The fireside was excellent. Elder and Sister Bednar both spoke. Elder Bednar spoke of the need to “not shrink” quoting Elder Neal Maxwell. He told of a couple that was married three weeks when the husband was diagnosed with bone cancer. After operations and chemo and much fasting and prayer they were visiting with Elder Bednar prior to him giving the husband a blessing. He was prompted to ask them if they had the faith “to not be healed”. He told of the struggle to answer, but the couple actually found the decision brought peace and freedom. When we can totally submit our will to the Father’s we can receive the blessings He has for us and can follow the path He desires for us. It is a soul-searching question to be asked, but it is the basis of totally turning our lives over to the Lord.

I had an interesting insight today. After Sacrament Meeting I was visiting with a lady. I asked if Bessie Martinez was her mom’s sister or her grandma’s sister. She said she was neither—she didn’t know her. I said that when we had visited her mom a few weeks ago she had commented that Bessie was ill and not doing well. The Relief Society president and I had made the deduction that it was Bessie Martinez since she was the only Bessie I could find on the branch membership list. The lady said that it was Bessie Gilmore that was sick. So when we went to give Bessie Martinez a blessing, it was not because I had heard she was sick. It was a case of our going to give someone a blessing when only the Lord knew she needed it.

Monday I was still sick so I didn’t do much during the day. Ted had to take the car in to get the damage fixed that had been caused by the tumbleweed when we went to Albuquerque last month. When he returned in the rental car we drove to the senior center. I had made white chocolate popcorn for their bake sale and I’d made another scarf for them to sell. There was no bake sale set up and no one but the two cooks there. They were still getting ready for it. We gave them the stuff and left.

We went by the home of one of our youth to see if we could catch his folks at home. His mom does taxes and is a missing person during tax season. They were home and we had a good visit. The husband is related to all the people our sweet grandma is related to—they are in the same clan, I think. They were just heading out to feed their sheep. We talked to them about the youth conference. From there we went to a former branch president’s home. He was sitting on the porch. They had run out of gas by the post office and he had walked all the way home. They were waiting for someone to bring them some gas to get the truck back home. A couple of kids were home at the grandkids’ home so we said hi. They had pushed their porch stairs over when they saw us come. The steps were really dangerous—one was about half there and breaking up. They need some new boards to fix them. We stopped at another home to trade a magazine. I’d loaned the son my conference issue a couple of months ago. I wanted my copy back since it had some markups and things in it. Typically, a loan is a permanent gift here so we have to be on top of who has what.

Tuesday I felt better but still not very good. The elders came and gave Ted a blessing then he went with them to a teaching appointment. I printed up the stuff we need for the youth conference presentation. The kids are required to have dress shoes and I’m sure most of the boys do not. I can understand the white shirt and ties and I’m sure we can find enough of those to help out, but I’m a little concerned about the dress pants and shoes.

Ted went to pick up the car and get a couple of things at Walmart. When he came home he was about dead. We ate dinner then he went to bed. I read the scripture block for my seminary class. It was quite interesting. Some of my students now have track meets every Saturday so I offered to teach them on Wednesday night, so now I’ll have three classes for the rest of the year till school is out.

Wednesday was a beautiful day. We have had such beautiful mild weather the last few days. We taught three kids in a family. I made cookies so we could give some to the oldest boy because he is leaving for Denver to work with his uncle. After we left there we went to the church to teach my track students the seminary lesson they missed. It went well. The branch presidency was meeting there to discuss home teaching assignments. I think it may actually happen.

A sister called to tell me her mom had passed away early in the morning. They will wait four days for the funeral—a purification period. During that time they will go through her things then they will burn everything.

Thursday we didn’t have any appointments so we were able to stay home. I studied most of the day and worked on my lesson. In the afternoon we went to visit a sister about youth conference. From there we went to a young girl’s home to give her a card and a bracelet I’d made for her birthday. She was thrilled that we came. It did not appear that there was much celebrating going on. There was pizza on the table and a cake, but there did not appear to be anything else. I felt so bad for her. She was so excited for her birthday and we have watched her gradually let the air out of her balloon.

Friday we woke to a really gray sky. As the day progressed it began to snow quite a bit. It melted quickly, but it was coming down fairly hard for a while. Elder Chavez came over to get a blessing because he is sick. The elders came again later and had lunch and we discussed our program at the senior center. I showed them the flyer I had put together for the chili cooking contest (a derivative of the chili cook off that now includes anything with chili).

We left early to do some shopping at Walmart on the way to Toh-la-kai. The sky was still fairly gray with just a few flakes falling off and on. The wind blew quite a bit and it was very cold. We got to seminary and met the man who had been high councilor for the branch. He told us he had been put in as branch president the Sunday before. He gave us a key to the library so that resolves that issue. One family had called earlier in the day to say they would not be at seminary. When the second family had not shown up by 5:45 we tried calling but got voice mail. I had packed up my room and was ready to put my coat on when they arrived. Only one of my students came, but, we had a good discussion. I pretty much gave the same lesson I’d given the week before when they hadn’t come so they’d been in sync next week. It went well and I kept her until about 6:50.

When we got packed up and went outside it was a full-blown blizzard. Since Ted had forgotten his wallet I had to drive home. There are no street lights and the snow was in full swing. It was really scary. It was difficult to see the edge of the road so we stayed close to the center divider when we could see it. With the roads being full of pot holes and the snow covering them, it was a bit of a risky ride. We only hit one set of bad holes so we did well. When we got on the freeway toward Ft. Wingate I stayed in the center lane. At one point a car was riding my tail. I thought it was stupid since there was no one in the lane next to me, but I decided to pull over and a police car passed me. The weather was still fairly stormy, but it had let up a great deal. We thought the worst part of the trip would be on the hill into Ft. Wingate because it is always icy and slick. It turned out to be about the least worrisome stretch in the trip. The ground outside our yard where we park was very wet and very slushy, but Ted gathered the groceries and we left our books in the car for the morning.

Saturday it was still a bit snowy, but the ground had firmed up considerably. I had four students at seminary plus the elders. I thought the lesson went OK, but I was really not up to par yet so it was difficult to be very enthusiastic. I had not allocated my time well enough so I was rushed at the end when there were some important things I needed to cover. After seminary we stayed and helped clean the church. At home I worked on taxes most of the rest of the day. I got them far enough along to finish quickly.

Week Ending March 2, 2013

Sunday a branch member told us about her mission call to the Pocatello Idaho Mission. She goes in the MTC on April 10. I invited her to teach discussions with me if she’s interested. They organized the Home Teaching partnerships in Priesthood today. They haven’t got families assigned yet, but it’s a start. The elders started a Gospel Essentials class. After Relief Society we talked about Break-the-Fast next week. There was a request for Navajo Tacos. I would like to learn to make the fry bread but was told it wasn’t possible. I think I can learn. At home I hurried to get dinner on before the missionaries arrived—it was Elder Busdicker’s birthday. We enjoyed the meal and had a good visit.

Ted, Elder Busdicker, Elder Chavez

Monday, at the time we figured kids would be home from school, we set out to visit several youth about the youth conference. We went to five homes. At one the son was home, but his mother was not. We made an appointment to see her. At one the father was home but the daughter was going to school in Phoenix. We gave him the information and a form. We left notes at two homes. At one the uncle was home but the mother was not. We’ll go by later. I am amazed at the conditions people live in.

The uncle is the son of a former branch president. He sleeps in the shell in the back of a truck. Since his mother died a couple of years ago he can’t sleep in the house—it is an emotional thing. That wouldn’t be a big deal except someone stole his sleeping bag and blankets when he was at some event a while back. He has three sweaters he puts on then he prays. I’m not sure that’s the whole story, but it was uncomfortably cold yesterday in my parka. I wouldn’t want to face the night without a good blanket.

We headed to the basketball game that would start at 6 PM. While we were sitting in the parking lot waiting for the doors to open, a mom texted me that the game was at 7 PM and her daughter really wanted me to come. We tried to reach the last home we’d visited so we could go back. No dice. Instead we went to get sandwiches at Subway. The elders pulled in right after us—apparently they like the food there. (It is actually the only fast food in our area besides Dennys and the café at the trading post.)

The game was a real squeaker. Our team led for a while then the other team took over. Our team made a basket just as the bell rang for half time to tie the score. In the second half the score went back and forth. The other team pulled ahead then for several minutes the lead changed several times. We finally pulled ahead the last few minutes. We won 53-49. One of my seminary students is co-captain and we’ve tried to support them. I’m glad we saw this game—it was a good one.

I saw a lady at the game that has not been to church in years. She made the comment that she had missed church on Sunday but she’d be there next week. Apparently, when we visited her on Saturday something had happened a few days prior and she told her husband she was quitting the ministry they had in the church behind their house. She said she was going to find another religion. Then Friday night she had prayed for guidance. When we showed up on Saturday she felt it was an answer to her prayers. When Elder Chavez asked about her faith she was very touched. She asked us to pray for her.

Tuesday I made bread so we could take some with us to our appointments. We tried to round up some warm clothing and blankets for the man in the truck. Mostly it was Ted’s clothes and a mattress pad. We went to the Iyanbito Sr. Center to ask if they had any blankets. At Christmas they’d said there was a warehouse full of donated items. They said they had given away most of the stuff in the warehouse, but they gave us an emergency blanket. They also asked us to do an Easter program on March 20.

Back at home I spent most of the afternoon trying to finish a second scarf for the craft sale since I’d promised it would be ready by Monday. I got it done while we were driving to our appointments. We had to do a makeup lesson for seminary. It was really difficult. The mom was cooking dinner and the noise of frying was almost deafening. The girl ate snacks the entire time we were there. I think the lesson went OK and I think they got the point, but I could hardly hear myself think.

From there we went to show a family the DVD on the youth conference. The mom had locked her keys in the car so she didn’t get home until about 6:15. We hurried and showed the DVD, told her about the meeting on Thursday, and left two applications. Her kids are very enthusiastic about the conference. We went to another home to show the DVD. We were late and the younger son was anxious for attention so it was difficult to get the point across, but they thought it sounded good.

Rocks (larger than a fist) from neighbor's yard

Wednesday I made another batch of bread. I reviewed the lesson we would teach in the evening and I also read my manuals for the chapters we’re studying in Acts. I made assignments for the kids to do parts of the material, so I had to plan the transitions that I need to do. The lesson went well. We taught two brothers and a sister in a family. We invited the grandma to come to church as well.

Thursday I spent time putting final touches on my lessons for the seminary classes. In the afternoon we went into Gallup to do some grocery shopping. We had a meeting at the stake center for the youth conference at 6 pm and got there just in time for the meeting. As it turned out the meeting had really been scheduled and held on Wed evening at 7 pm. One family was also there looking for the meeting. We found the stake presidency and they said someone would talk to us. After a long wait Pres. Hine came out and started. Right after he started the branch president’s family arrived, coming straight from track practice. Pres. Bloomfield started to talk, but Pres. Hine returned and said they had too much going on this evening so Elder and Sister Roeth would do a presentation at church Sunday. Ted started institute in another room while I stayed with this meeting. It was a crazy evening.

Institute went well. We had four students and two missionaries, so we had a good group. One guy who usually doesn’t participate was asked to read scriptures. One of the sisters gave him her scriptures to use. After it was over he offered us a plate of sandwiches he’d picked up in the pinewood derby that was going on. That was a real breakthrough. He usually doesn’t say a word. I asked if he was going to stay for games and he said he couldn’t tonight, but he would next week. Wow!

More rocks--petrified wood

Friday the elders came over to discuss the branch party they’d like to have. The biggest issue is not planning the party but in meeting with the lady in charge of activities in the branch to get her buy-in. We came up with having a chili cookoff. We planned it for March 23. I offered to plan some games. I think it will be fun.

In the afternoon we headed to Toh-la-kai for seminary. Ted was feeling bad enough that I had to drive. The branch had taken the TV out of the room I use, so I won’t be able to show videos without arranging with the elders to get us a TV. Pres. Bloomfield got there shortly after we did for a meeting. He asked how we were doing. I told him we were frustrated with the youth conference meetings and the seminary things. He told us a story, I think to try to cheer us up, but maybe just to illustrate that life is full of frustrating things.

I had two students at seminary. We had a good discussion, but I passed a paper out for them to make notes on for part of the lesson and the boy doodled on his throughout the lesson. It was quite distracting. I think he must have been listening to the lesson because he drew pictures of Peter cutting off the ear of the guard who came to arrest Jesus.

Pres. Bloomfield’s story: There was a small town where a man wanted to build a bar. Many of the residents of the town were very religious and were opposed to the bar. They attended the Baptist Church where they all prayed mightily that God would prevent the bar from coming to their town. The bar was built and just before it opened for business it was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. The owner of the bar put a claim into his insurance company for damages but was refused because they didn’t cover “acts of God”. He then sued the Baptist Church for damages. When the suit came to trial he accused them of destroying his bar. The people claimed they had nothing to do with it. The judge had a real dilemma: a bartender who believed God answers prayers and a Baptist Church where they did not.

Saturday seminary went OK. The assignments to the students were a disappointment. Mostly they just read the scripture block. A couple had some idea of what they’d read. One student did what I had assigned—she gave us a summary of what the scripture said then gave a comment about it. I guess I need to explain it better next time. I thought this would be a surefire way to get them into the scriptures. After seminary the elders drove us to Pinedale to visit the homes of some youth in the branch. The roads can be bad there and their truck goes where our car does not. We visited three homes. At the first we met a lady with five children. They do Bible study every day, but they are partial to the Baptists who come every summer. We left a spiritual message. She was very nice. We left notes at the other two homes.

After we returned home I made white chocolate popcorn for the bake sale on Monday. I made the pudding for the meal at church on Sunday. It turned out runny. After that I was beat and took a nap. It felt really good. Elder and Sister Hunt from the mission office stopped on their way to Farmington. They are going home in 10 days.