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.