Week Ending May 25, 2013

Sunday I stayed home, but I had given Ted a list of things to do while at church. One of the items was to let the seminary kids who missed yesterday know we didn’t have any evenings this week to make up the lesson for seminary and the best thing would be for them to complete the workbook exercises for the Book of Hebrews. They should be doing that anyway, but that will let them do the work instead of me.

In the evening we had seminary graduation. One of my students gave one of the talks. She was a little nervous so I felt her pain when I saw she was the first one on the program. She did an excellent job. She even used one of the scriptures Ted had used in his lesson Wednesday night about Paul the apostle. She had really felt the spirit and learned from it. Afterward Ted told me there had been a good spirit there during that part of the lesson. Her mom thanked me for what I am doing. Nice.

Bethany Pine at seminary graduation

Monday I studied a lot and did work at home. Ted is starting to come down with the cough. I’ve started reading a book by Elder Bednar about learning. It has a DVD with it so we watched the Q&A session with young adults. It was very interesting. Basically, he told them they need to reduce everything to doctrines and principles because without them applications don’t work. We also watched the interview with Elder and Sister Bednar. They are amazing. He again stressed that we are responsible for our own learning and it must be based on doctrines and principles, although it is possible to start with an application and work backward to understand the doctrines and principles.

Tuesday we drove to Gallup to get water. We also went to Walmart and bought an air purifier. It makes the air easier to breathe, but it is quite noisy and on the top two speeds it sort of stutters, giving us the impression there is a short or a flaw of some type.

In the learning book it suggests noting the way the Lord teaches Nephi in 1 Nephi 11-14 so I read that and highlighted several bits. It was an interesting experience. Learning is hard work.

Wednesday we had lunch at the senior center and visited with several people there. Ted is doing a Father’s Day program there in June so he talked with them about that. The meal was not very exciting. We had soup that was water with some gristly meat chunks and noodles that were about 2 inches long, nearly half an inch in diameter and solid. It had no seasoning—I think they have to watch salt so they don’t season things. The noodles were rather tasteless as well. There was zucchini and summer squash that were pretty good. There was mandarin oranges that had seen better days—they were tasty but not very good looking.  I didn’t want milk and they didn’t have water so I was thirsty. They also served half a piece of fry bread which the people use to dip in their soups.  I worked on a puzzle with a lady for a bit before we ate. She said they had done the one I brought. I wasn’t sure if this one had all the pieces or not—my bet is not. I spent the rest of the day studying.

Thursday we studied in the morning. In the afternoon we went to read with a family. This time we had them tell us what they noticed in the scriptures. I think that is good for them. I’m impressed that the young man really wants to learn about the church. He doesn’t come to church, but he joins us every week to read and he offers the prayer part of the time. The wind was blowing hard at their house. The air was so full of dirt it was difficult to breathe. It was awful.

In the evening we had institute. We recognized a couple of kids with birthdays. We had two students that just graduated from seminary—one of my students and another young man from Gallup. We had one girl who announced her mission call to the group. A second one had received her call that day but hadn’t yet opened it because she was waiting for her family to be together. (She left after the lesson but called to tell us where she is going.) We had 9 students there—our best night ever. Four of the students have mission calls, including the young man that just graduated from seminary. By end of summer, all four will be gone and three others will be returning to school. We need to do some recruiting while we have some numbers to draw people in.

Friday we started the day with a pre-school graduation for a young girl in the branch. The kids actually wore caps and gowns. They recognized each of them and told a few things about them. Afterward there was a luncheon of Navajo tacos or hot dogs. By the time we got through the line there were no seats available so we went out to the car and ate. We shared some of our food with a dog that was in the parking lot. One of my students also had his birthday today. I made him a stocking hat.

Theresa and Melina Joe at pre-school graduation

We spent time at home studying, doing a bit of family history, and taking naps. In the afternoon we had to do the shopping for the branch party on Monday. We had two cartloads full of hamburger and hot dog buns, drinks, and briquettes.

We headed to seminary at Tohlakai. One student didn’t come again. It was the last day of school and I suspect she was having an emotional crisis since her school was closing. After the lesson a couple of the parents asked if we could change the night to Wednesday for the summer. We thought that would work. On the way home we remembered a couple of meetings we have on Wednesday nights. We could still do it if we make a few changes. We’d really like to get it off Friday night so we’d like to make it work. They would like to move it back in the fall when school starts, but I’d like to form the habit and let it stay.

Never know who you'll run into!

Saturday I had four kids at seminary. One is attending institute and another had graduation today. The lesson went better than usual. The kids seemed to be very responsive. When I asked one student what impact the restoration of the gospel has had in her life she said she used to be mean, but since she was baptized two years ago she has tried to be better. We talked about how it is difficult to make the changes all at once, but as long as we are trying to be better every day the Holy Ghost will stick with us and help us. She said she sometimes hears a voice telling her “it is enough—be kind” and she changes what she is doing. That takes a lot of strength to do that. On the way home we found a snake in the road--he looked like he had been fairly dangerous at one time.

Kyree Sky with mom and grandma

In the afternoon we attended my student’s graduation. We sat with the family and visited with her grandma a bit. Our student offered the opening prayer. When her name was called to receive her diploma, her mom and aunt set off a popper full of confetti. She said she was a little embarrassed by it, but that’s OK. We didn’t hear anything they said about her, but we all had a good laugh. It was a nice ceremony and I was impressed with the group. Probably a third of the class wore the gold cords of the National Honor Society and all but one indicated they were going on to college. Our student was apparently third in her class.

Kyree Sky at graduation

The family invited us over for sandwiches afterward. We enjoyed that and had a good visit. The food was yummy. When we were ready to leave they asked if we’d like a sandwich to take with us. I thought they meant an individual serving, but they gave us an entire loaf—about 18 inches. The girl has a week off then she starts summer school in the BA/MD program at UNM in Albuquerque. She goes for 8 weeks then gets a 3 week break before fall semester starts. The program only has 28 students in her class. The state pays for everything—dorm, books, tuition. She’s done with everything and is a doctor in 8 years. What a deal!

On the way to becoming an MD!

Week Ending May 18, 2013

Sunday, Mother’s Day, was a good day. We had great attendance at church. The meeting was a little unusual in that the counselor conducting said they had not assigned speakers so they asked the youth to talk about their moms. That took about 5-10 minutes. They asked if there were any others that would like to speak. A visitor stood up and spoke for about 15 minutes about families and the Atonement. He was the foster father of a man in the branch whose daughter had graduated the day before. After he spoke, the daughter of the lady that died two weeks ago stood up and shared her feelings. It was a very emotional experience for her but she said she and her grandma wanted to be in church because that was where her mom would have been. I was very touched by her expression of love for her mother.

The branch president talked for a few minutes then asked me to come up and share my thoughts. I told them how touched I was by their feelings for family, that they, as a people, have great care and loyalty for their families. It is rare to find a family that is not multi-generational and that does not include more than just parents and children. I told them we felt we had been welcomed into their family and were grateful for that. After church they passed out flowers and bags of chocolate drops to the mothers. It was a good gesture. Also one of the ladies had brought me a corsage which I thought was sweet.

Happy Mother's Day!

After church we were told we needed to select a site for the picnic on Memorial Day, so we took another couple and drove up to McGaffey to look around. We decided the dry lake bed would be a great site, with plenty of parking and a restroom nearby. Then we drove to a picnic area and found tables, barbecue stands, shade, and restrooms all in a close vicinity. There would be a $5 charge per car, but that seemed like a good site.

When we finally got home Ted barbecued steaks—that was a nice change. We talked with all our children and some of our grandchildren. That was the highlight for me. I am very blessed to be the mother of wonderful children and I am grateful to Heavenly Father for the immense blessings He has poured out on our family. In the afternoon we had to deliver some of the Primary cards to the homes of kids who did not come to church today. Fortunately, there were just two families to see. The first was straight forward since we knew where they lived. The second was a little dicey. We had directions, but it took three tries down some fairly interesting dirt roads before we got to the right house. We did meet some nice people having their own family gathering and we found an abandoned house in a patch of very soft dirt, but it was an experience.

Monday I spent the time doing stuff in the house and studying. In the evening we went to the Young Single Adults Family Home Evening. We hope that our attending will help them want to come to institute. Some of the kids there already attend, but there are a few we could recruit. One young man fixed Navajo tacos. He actually cooked the fry bread outside while everyone else played a game. I thought it was unfortunate he was not able to play the game, but the food was yummy.

Tuesday I wasn’t feeling too well, so I walked slowly during our exercise session at the church. I was really glad when the time was up. I studied a lot during the day.

Wednesday I was still sick. I studied all day. In the evening Ted volunteered to take my seminary class for me so I went over the lesson with him. When he got to church two kids were there but their brother came later and went into the cultural hall to play ball until his sister retrieved him. While Ted was at the church the branch president told him he thought the picnic should be behind the church since we didn’t want to spend $5 a car for parking. I think that’s a silly decision, but I guess they have decided.

Thursday I studied more and rested a lot.

Friday I was tired. I seem to be getting better, but I haven’t been sleeping well and I don’t have a lot of energy. In the evening we drove to Tohlakai to teach seminary. I was thrilled when one of my students showed up that has missed the last four weeks. I asked if everything was OK and she said it was. She acted like nothing was wrong. I really can’t figure her out.

Saturday morning we woke early. I remembered a family was dropping their kids at the church to watch videos until seminary started. We had told them we would get the TV out of the library for them and we had forgotten to do it. Ted hurried and showered and drove to the church to get the TV out then returned home. Since the parents are temple workers now, Ted didn’t have a class so he came to mine. When we got to the church it was obvious the kids weren’t there. When the missionaries arrived a short time later they said the two kids weren’t coming. I was a little concerned since they were supposed to go to the temple with us. Another student was on her senior trip and another slept in so I had two students, the two missionaries, and Ted. It was a fairly disappointing show of kids. I talked with the kids about their end of year assignment that will be due in two weeks.

After seminary we dropped our stuff at the house then drove to the temple. I had planned to go with the kids to assist them. Ted had committed to help a family from our temple prep class who were bringing the lady’s father with them. We had told them the session would be in Navajo and they were looking forward to that. As it turned out, there were more English speakers than Navajo speakers so they decided to do the session in English. I was concerned that I would be disruptive to the session if I started coughing, so I did some other work. The temple ladies were really sweet and very grateful for my help. One of the first ladies turned out to be the mom of one of our institute students and we had a brief chat. Then a later worker had a last name of a friend from college and I asked her if she knew my friend. It was her husband’s cousin. Such a small world. Anyway, I was able to enjoy that experience.

Ted had talked with parents of the missing seminary kids while he was in the temple. They had asked when the kids could make up the lesson. I have no problem making up a lesson when there is a conflict or when it is pre-arranged. I don’t like to do it when they stayed up too late and didn’t want to come. I need to be more clear about what we will and will not do in the future. I also need to have a better system for them to do more of the learning and me less of the work. (I ended up suggesting they could do the workbook assignments for the chapters we'd studied and hand them in--that should give them opportunity to review what we talked about.)

Week Ending May 11, 2013

Sunday we got to church early to copy the announcements and set up for Primary. There were nearly 70 people at church. It was testimony Sunday so I shared my testimony, expressing my gratitude to Heavenly Father for all He has done for us and our family. Primary went OK. I took the kids’ pictures to put on cards for Mother’s Day. I took my seminary stickers and they completely ate up the glittery stars. It went well. I told the executive secretary and the counselor that was a trial of faith—they told me it was a qualification for sainthood. I hope so.

In the evening we went to the CES Fireside. When we arrived we found out there was a group in the kitchen. The Young Single Adults were having a “Break the Fast” in the kitchen area just prior to the fireside. We were invited to join them for fajitas—yummy. Elder William Walker spoke about prophets and gave us a “life and times of the prophet Thomas S. Monson”. It was really good. We had a good time visiting with the group and will try to join them for home evenings in order to encourage them to attend institute. We may be able to help increase their attendance as well.

Monday was a crazy day. I had a list of things to do a mile long, mostly having to do with non-studying things. I wanted to make some bread for us since we were nearly out. I made the same recipe I always do—my fool-proof recipe—only it doesn’t count on me being a fool. We had some half and half that had been sitting in the refrigerator so Ted suggested I throw it in. I’m not sure if that made the difference or if it was the stone ground floor I included, but I have added the flour before without problem.

Everything went well until I tried to dump the dough out after the first rising to shape into loaves. The center part dumped onto the counter, but the part touching the bowl didn’t come out. I’ve had a similar problem before so I got my spoon and started scraping the stuck dough. It didn’t really loosen the dough—it just stuck to the spoon and then to my hands. I tried kneading the dough and then both hands were in and covered with heavy dough. Usually when that happens I can add some flour and it gradually balances the mixture and the dough starts to pull off the hands and come together in a ball. Not this time. The more I added the heavier the dough got, but it just continued to be really, really, REALLY sticky.

I tried scraping it off my hands and off the counter but that just got the spoon stuck to my hands. I have never seen such an awful mess. Ted kept pulling my sleeves up to keep them out of the mess, but I was really not sure what to do. Finally, I scraped about a third of the mass onto the spoon and then scraped it off the spoon into the first pan. I repeated the process with the other two pans, finishing by scraping the counter and my hands and trying to pull all I could off and into the pans. I couldn’t touch it to give it any shape, so it was just a messy glob of goo in the pans.

I left them to rise for the required time, hoping and praying they would. Meanwhile, I tried to get the stuff off my hands. Ted was good enough to clean up the counter for me. When it was time to put the pans in the oven, they had raised to the tops of the pans, but they weren’t round and pretty. I put them in to bake. When they were done, they were still flat and sort of lumpy on top but they looked OK. After they had cooled a bit I had a slice and it tasted good. Fortunately, they were no longer sticky. The first loaf I cut had a big air bubble inside of it, probably due to the pieces of dough thrown into the pan in a disorderly manner. It is a bit crumblier than usual, but it still tastes good so I guess it turned out OK.

Tuesday I spent quite a bit of time studying, or trying to. We had been trying to locate a package that had not arrived. We finally found it at the UPS building in Gallup. Apparently they sent the package UPS with a PO Box which doesn’t fly. However, instead of telling us that was the problem, they told us they had tried to deliver and had been told to hold the box. Since we didn’t know how long they would hold it we drove to Gallup to get it before it was returned or dumped.

Colten on trumpet (in red shirt)

In the evening we attended the band concert for Wingate High School. Two of my students are in the band. The pieces were all very basic and very short and it was clear the music program is in its infancy. It was also one student’s birthday so I gave him a stocking cap I had made for him. I hope he likes it, but at least he knows I made it for him.

Bethany on flute

We went to the Iyanbito senior center for lunch. It turned out to be their special Mother’s Day meal. Their program had not shown up, just as they said at the Easter program. They asked Ted to do Father’s Day. They had a nice meal and gave out bags of donated food and stuff. Ours had several things in that we could not use, so we will pass it along. It was sweet to include us. They also had a raffle of some very nice donated items. There was a beautiful necklace I would love to have so I think I’ll ask the person who donated it if they have more.

 I finished the Mother’s Day cards for Primary. I picked up the pictures from Walmart, so I just had to match them to the cards, crop them to fit the space the kids had left, and glue them down. I think the moms will like them. In the evening we went to the church for seminary. The one student made a real effort to participate and I appreciated his coming. I was glad Ted was there to fill in the ranks.

Thursday we spent most of the day studying. I tried one last recipe for the Relief Society meeting. The elders came over just before it was done. We waited a few minutes then told them we were ready to eat and invited them to join us. They declined. We didn’t want to eat in front of them so we waited. The dinner cooled considerably and we were running out of time so we finally said we needed to go ahead and eat and invited them once again. This time they agreed. The casserole had cooled considerably and dried out quite a bit. I’m not sure if it would have been any better, but it didn’t help to wait so long.

After the elders left Ted hurried and put the final touches on his lesson for institute. He was a little frustrated because he had counted on time for review. We had to do some shopping then headed to the stake center for CES inservice. We have a new supervisor. I think the new man will be really good.

Seminary graduation is going to be May 19. I think my student told me she is not available that night—I hope not. I was so thrilled that she had agreed to speak. I volunteered another student to say the prayer. I am pleased that my students will get to participate. After inservice, I joined the institute meeting. We had seven students—five are semi-regular attendees that all came at the same time and two are home from school for the summer.

Friday I made the dish for the Tohlakai funeral on Saturday. I did some studying, trying to formulate some better idea of what to do with my lesson on Saturday and reviewing for Friday night. I discovered I had left my scriptures at the stake center so we had to go by there. In our confusion and haste leaving, we left the dish for the funeral which meant we would have to take it Saturday. Oh, my. The Relief Society president called to say the night meeting is being cancelled this month, so we don’t have those preparations on the calendar this week.

We got to seminary in good time and got set up. I tried to figure out what hymn to sing that the kids would know—I’m surprised that they know so few that I do. So I spent the time before the students came singing some of the hymns and really enjoyed the experience. I have one student that has not come for four weeks. I sent a note during the week telling her we missed her, but she still didn’t come.

I was glad when we got home. It started to rain right just as we were driving into Ft. Wingate, so we missed the worst of it. The weather here is really crazy—one minute it’s beautiful and the next minute it is pouring rain. I hope the rain has stopped before tomorrow since high school graduation is outside.

Saturday it was a rush job to get ready for seminary. As it turned out we got there about 15 minutes early. Two of my students were there decorating for the graduation party. They had a table set up with all of the awards won over the years--they said there were more, but they didn't take time to find them. They weren’t going to be able to get to seminary since they had to finish up and get to the graduation ceremony. I told them I would do seminary on Wednesday night to help them since Relief Society cancelled. I just had two students and the missionaries for class. I felt like all but one student were asleep at the switch. I really felt they were disconnected during the lesson.

Did one person really do all that?

As soon as the lesson was over we picked up the dish for the funeral and drove to the stake center. When we passed the football field we saw that the bleachers at the high school were already half full. We were hoping there would still be seating by the time we returned. We got the dish to the stake center and headed home. As we pulled off the interstate toward Ft. Wingate the rain drops started falling, some of them fairly big. By the time we reached the hill going into the valley we’re in, it was passed, but we were worried for a minute. We shouldn’t have been—when we talked with our graduating student later she said she had prayed we wouldn’t have rain. She has great faith. When we got to the school the parking lot was already full and people were parking in the flood ditch and on the road. We decided it would be better to park at home and walk down. Ted dropped me off and drove the car home.

How much longer do we have to sit here?

As I got near the bleachers I heard a voice calling, “Sister Roeth”. There were two kids from the church at the top calling to me. I was glad I wouldn’t have to sit alone while I waited. I was also pleased that I could sit at the top of the bleachers where there is a backrest. The graduation went well. There were a few sprinkles, but it was good weather the rest of the time. I was amazed when I looked at the program and found my student was the Salutatorian and the Student of the Year. She went up a couple of times to be recognized. She’s in the National Honor Society and was part of the graduation committee. I think the graduating class probably only had about 70-80 kids, but that is still a big accomplishment. She is a really sweet girl and very involved in sports and music.

Enthusiastic graduates!

Bethany and parents

 After the graduation Ted noticed he had lost his name tag so he left to retrace his steps and find it. I went onto the field and took a picture of my student with her parents and one of me with her. While I was talking with her, her sister walked up and handed me Elder Roeth’s name tag. She had found it on the fence. I suspect someone had picked it up and stuck it on the fence to protect it until it was found. Talk about a small world and a tender mercy. I walked home and met Ted walking back, still looking for it. I showed him the tag and told him how it had been found. He had been praying he’d find it—a real answer to prayers.

Bethany and Sister Roeth

We rested a bit then we headed to the church for the reception. When we got there I helped in the kitchen. There were others there, but the mom was trying to do a lot herself and she had her hands full. We enjoyed a huge meal. The parents talked about their daughter a bit then she talked a while. After that they opened gifts which I thought was an interesting thing. I offered to help clean up, but they me they could handle it. I just felt so bad because the mom looked so tired.

Pine family at grad party

Week Ending May 4, 2013

Sunday it felt good to go back to church in Ft. Wingate. A couple of people told us we had been missed. That was nice. We taught the Youth Conference class. We had brought back some dehydrated carrots and gave them to a couple of ladies. I have two cans left to give away so I’m hoping I can win some friends with them. Ted went home teaching in the afternoon for the first time with his new companion and wanted to spend some time with him talking about home teaching.

Sunset at Ft. Wingate

Ted said he’d had a dream during the night. We’d been talking about buying a truck the maintenance group is selling and pretty much decided we would be OK without it. We just need to be very careful driving on some roads. In his dream he said we decided not to buy the truck. Instead we got an RV that you could put a car into and we came down here for six-month missions every summer. Wow! That’s some dream. I think it would be more prudent to buy the truck.

Monday I spent most of the day studying and trying to get ahead for my lessons for the week. We received word that a lady in the branch had passed away. She was a good friend of our Relief Society president, her “sister”. She had been ill for some time, but she fell a few days ago and that apparently was the final trigger.

Tuesday in the late morning we drove to Sundance to visit with a lady. We talked to her about a month ago when we first met her then took her a box of food. She was glad to see us. I’m not sure she was as interested in us as in the possibility of having more food. We did not give any indication that we were bringing more. She invited us in and we had a good visit. Her water meter is leaking, but the company hasn’t come to fix it yet. Her truck is not working and the mechanics are not sure how to fix it. She thinks she’ll have to quit her job as soon as the car she borrowed is returned since she won’t have any transportation to work. Ted gave her a blessing and we told her we would keep her in our prayers.

From there we went to visit our grandma. She is working on a beaded hatband to sell. Her husband has been asked to come back to work, but he is having a problem with his shoulder and needs to find out what is wrong before he does any more driving. Ted gave both of them blessings. They gave us a copy of a school newspaper article about their granddaughter, our seminary student. We didn’t know she is student council president and a member of the tennis team. She is quite the girl.

After that visit we went to see another lady. Her sister is in the hospital in Albuquerque. She was so glad to see us and really just needed someone to listen to her. She is going back and forth to Albuquerque on weekends and the doctors don’t seem to be communicating as much as they would like. She was just relieved to be able to share the situation with us so I’m glad we went by.

Early evening as we were studying a fire engine went by with sirens blaring. That has not happened the entire time we’ve been here. It was going up toward the church, not into the Ft. Wingate housing. I went outside to see if they were headed to the church, but couldn’t see anything. I saw some lights flickering in the trees above the church, but they soon went out. Soon a paramedics truck went by with sirens on so I watched it go up the hill past the church and followed the lights where I’d seen the first ones over along the mountain. I couldn’t see anything more so I went inside. After a few minutes another fire truck went roaring past in the same direction then a second paramedic truck. We walked outside but still couldn’t see anything. There were a lot more people outside now than before. We never did hear what had happened, but it was some excitement for a few minutes. The winds are really strong so maybe they stirred up something in the dry mountains.

Wednesday started out with a call asking me to schedule the stake center for the funeral Saturday. That required several calls to find the right person. The agent bishop gave me a lecture on caring for the building and the requirements for using the building. I called the family to determine if they could live within the criteria for using the building. I then had to schedule the building. About an hour later we confirmed that we had the building. Whew!

When that was taken care of we drove to the family’s home and took a loaf of bread and a card. The family was going through their mom’s papers and trying to figure things out. The one in charge is super stressed by all this, but she is being brave for others. 

El Rancho Lobby

We then headed to Gallup to go to lunch for our 38^th wedding anniversary. We ate lunch at the El Rancho Hotel, an old hotel with tons of memorabilia from early days. There is a huge map on the wall with all the sacred mountains and quite a bit of history written on it. There were dozens of pictures of old movie stars all around the second floor. It seems this must have been “the” place to be in former years. I saw several rooms with movie stars’ names on the doors. It was really interesting.

Display at El Rancho

El Rancho Hotel Lobby

Lunch was really good. Afterward we stopped in the gift store for a bit. They had some beautiful pots that I would love to have bought, but I really didn’t think I should justify the cost. The saleslady, who works on commission, was very helpful and very friendly. Fortunately, my willpower was greater than her salesmanship.

Partial map of Four Corners

We arrived home and Ted had just started a nap when the missionaries arrived to talk to us. They want us to help plan another activity. We came up with some ideas they could present at Branch Council in the evening. They also told us one of them was going to be the Branch Mission Leader, something I thought was proposed by the branch president but was evidently an idea they were going to propose at the meeting.

Happy Anniversary!

When they left we went to read scriptures with a family. We decided to start at the beginning of the Book of Mormon and give them all the introductory material now that we’ve been reading in 3 Nephi for a few weeks. We had a good discussion and gave them a reading assignment for next week. After we finished we talked with the mom for a minute. She wants her daughter to be baptized, but they haven’t attended church for a few weeks. We told her it was important for her daughter to have her support in attending church if she is going to be baptized.

We stopped by home for a bit then headed up to seminary and Branch Council. Seminary went well. Two kids came. The lesson went well. I was especially impressed when I talked about reading the scriptures and asked them to listen to what the Holy Ghost is telling them when they think of the answers to the questions I would ask. I asked if they were reading every day. If not, what excuse do they have? Will that excuse be acceptable to the Lord? I watched one student close her eyes as I asked the questions. Her eyes were somewhat moist when we finished. I watched the other look at the floor so he could think. I saw his head shake when I asked if the excuse would be acceptable. I encouraged them to read even just a couple of verses each day and promised the Lord would bless them as they did.

There was a terrific dust storm outside. We couldn’t see even further than just across the street. It made it really cold outside though and we thought maybe winter was here again. We had heard on the news that we are expecting cold weather to come again this week. It felt like it had come.

Afterward I waited for Ted who was in Branch Council. It seems the meeting was very successful. We are having an activity Memorial Day at McGaffey. I was also volunteered to type announcements so we can let people know what is going on. I believe the missionary was assigned to be Branch Mission Leader. And they talked about having a branch fast and discussed members that are in need of help.

Thursday we woke up early to a knock at the door. The Primary president was delivering the materials for Sunday. It was not really a good way to start the day. In the evening we attended a band concert for one of my students. The band was pretty good. The choir and drama departments gave disappointing performances. A young woman who just moved into our branch gave a dramatic reading, using a book, but at least she spoke up so we could hear her and put a bit of expression into it. The jazz band was the best part of the evening. The played really well.

Friday I reviewed my lesson for seminary in the evening. In the afternoon I helped dress the body of the lady who died earlier this week. One of the ladies who helped was the daughter of the lady who passed away just a couple of weeks earlier. It was very difficult for her because it brought back all the memories. She did a great job and was a big help. This lady was fairly large so it was a challenge. One of the men from the mortuary came to help us or we never would have been able to do it.

Ted picked me up and we drove to Toh-la-kai to meet with the new branch president. We talked about seminary enrollment for next year. He didn’t know most of the kids on the list I had, but he is going to visit them during the next few months and invite them to seminary. We also talked about the possibility of calling a teacher from his branch. I enjoy teaching them, but it limits what we can do at Ft. Wingate some of the time and we are not familiar with the area or the people.

Saturday we started with seminary. From seminary we drove quickly to the stake center for the funeral. We got there in time to attend the viewing. I agreed to lead the music. As it turned out, we really didn’t need to hurry—they didn’t start the funeral until almost 10:40, about 40 minutes after it was scheduled. I was surprised at the number of people that kept arriving right up until it started. The funeral went well and was well-attended. We then ran to the store to buy tablecloths for the luncheon while the funeral party went to the cemetery. We had everything set up and looking much nicer by the time everyone returned. After the luncheon the family did most of the clean-up. We helped a bit with the chairs then we told them to go home and we hauled out the garbage and vacuumed.

It was about 3 PM when we got home. I spent time on the Primary lesson for Sunday. I also typed the announcements. Too late I started making the dessert for Sunday. I didn’t have time to do things the right way, so I had to ad lib. It took longer than I planned to spend and didn’t look the way I wanted it to, but I knew it would taste fine. That was some consolation.

Week Ending April 27, 2013

By way of explanation, Ted and I returned to Las Vegas to be with our daughter and her family for a week and to help with the new baby. We did not tell many people we were coming or that we were there because we would not be able to spend time visiting. Our time was primarily spent holding the baby and helping with the big brother and sisters. We had the wonderful experience of participating in the blessing of our sweet new granddaughter and we were thrilled to have all four of our children there to participate in this event. It was a wonderful experience to be able to be together and visit and share the love we feel for each other.

You know you're back when you see the trains!

Monday morning we were up and got ready to go. Our sons came over around to have a last visit. We loaded the car and said our goodbyes. Then we were on our way home to New Mexico. It was hard leaving again, but we know the Lord has blessed us tremendously in our lives, and blessed us with this brief opportunity to be together, and we feel a deep obligation to serve Him and express our gratitude for all He has done for us.

Welcome to Gallup, courtesy of Walmart and friends.

When we arrived back in Ft. Wingate we were both very tired and it was cold and windy. We had the temperature turned down in our cottage, so Ted turned the heat on, hard to believe after being in Las Vegas for a week. Since we had been in a hot car all day, our blast-furnace was a bit overwhelming. We unpacked the car, realizing we had brought quite a bit of stuff with us. We spent time putting stuff away and getting things somewhat back to normal. It was late when we went to bed since our internal clocks were in Las Vegas. I had trouble falling asleep and kept thinking of things I needed to add to my list to do tomorrow. I wondered if the car was locked and tried to wake Ted to ask if he had locked it. I finally ventured out in my pajamas and found the car was unlocked and Ted’s keys were in the door to the cottage. Apparently, we were much more tired than we thought.

Pyramid Rock

Tuesday we spent time putting stuff away and getting things taken care of that needed to be done around the house. I had hoped to work on my lessons but didn’t get to it. The elders came by to talk for a few minutes. They said we’d missed a snow storm while we were gone. Generally, not much has changed. There are a couple of new ladies in the branch so that is encouraging. When it was time for bed, we were well ready for it.

Our casino--parking lots are ALWAYS full!

Wednesday it was 32 degrees at 7 AM. We managed to exercise at the church then I spent the rest of the day studying for seminary. In the afternoon we ran into Gallup for a couple of errands before going to read scriptures with a family. We came back to the apartment for a brief regrouping before going to the church for seminary. I was very disappointed because my student didn’t show up again. One of the new sisters, Sister Toledo, came for a meeting with the branch president who also did not come. We visited with her for about 45 min before we all decided to call it a night. She is a sweet lady with a bundle of challenges.

Church Rock--typical houses/trailers

Thursday I had to make cookies for zone conference so I figured I’d do bread while I was at it. It also gave us something to take for a treat to institute in the evening. I made Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies. As it turned out two of the girls have a sister that is highly allergic to peanuts and even the oils on their hands sometimes sets her off so they wouldn’t eat any. The missionaries were asked to teach a lesson to all the seminary and institute students, so they taught the first half of the evening. Unfortunately, they forgot their material and had to go back to their apartment so it delayed us about 20 minutes. Ted gave a good lesson during the second half that really was uplifting. He had just concluded teaching about the Atonement and Resurrection in his last lesson, so he wrapped up the teaching of the four gospels.

Before institute we had CES inservice meeting. There was a good group there. We discussed seminary graduation and summer activities. I was not aware seminary graduation was coming so soon. I need to ask one of my students to speak and give a testimonial about what they learned in seminary. I only have two seniors, and only one of them has done any work, so I hope she accepts the assignment.

Coming into Ft. Wingate

Friday we went to the stake center for our zone conference. We had about 10 new couples since our last conference. We also had 10 couples going home before the next one. One couple came out the same time we did so I was surprised they were going home already. There was another couple that had come on a six month mission that was leaving. Most were sad about leaving. One lady said she was really excited to get home to see her grandson who was coming to stay for a week. Another said she had thought it would be difficult to leave, but she was ready to go home. I wonder what feelings I’ll have when it’s time to go home.

Pres. and Sister Batt talked about faith and the need to let faith guide us. He referenced a couple of accounts in the scriptures that illustrated people with faith and people without faith and the difference it made in their lives. The zone conference was really good. There is a new couple at the Grand Canyon that is from Las Vegas. We had a good visit with them.

After conference we did some quick shopping and then headed to seminary. Three of my students came. One had been assigned the devotional and I wasn’t sure he would remember, but he had planned a great presentation and discussion on the Tree of Life vision and what it means in our lives. I was very pleased. The lesson went well. I talked to them about how the Lord qualifies those He calls and how He always gives us what we need to accomplish what we’ve been asked to do. One student told me afterward that it was a good lesson, so I felt good about that.

After seminary we headed to the high school for a dance recital for two of the girls in the family we read with. We were surprised they were charging admission. We got there just in time for the first group. Our little girl was the shortest one by a head and was on the back row. In the next group our little girl was shorter than all the rest again and on the back row behind a very large girl. We thought the teacher could have arranged the children better. Both groups did a second dance after some other numbers. Most of the dances were to the same type of music—not very pleasant to the ears—and all of them did basically the same moves over and over. After the second round of groups they had individual dancers—it seemed to go on forever. When they announced that was the end of the first round of individual performances, we decided we wouldn’t stay for the end. We watched each of our girls perform one more time in their groups then we left.

Our flower garden

Saturday I thought no one coming for seminary. One student got there just as I was about to give up. We were just getting started when two more arrived followed shortly by the elders. Our lesson was on putting on the armor of God. I think it went well. I also talked with them about studying the scriptures as part of their putting on armor.

After seminary a couple talked to us. They have been called to be temple workers on the Native American Saturday. Since they will be going early and staying later than before, they asked if their two kids could go with us to the temple so they could continue to go. I think it’s touching that they want their kids to have that experience. They told us they’d missed us while we were gone. They said it just seemed strange to look out and not see us in the congregation. Nice.

Just before we left for Las Vegas I accidentally deleted our tax return so I spent Saturday trying to put it together again—not my favorite pastime.