Week Ending June 1, 2013

Sunday we had Branch Conference. We had a meeting with the Branch Council before church. The stake president gave excellent instruction on what a Branch Council does. He asked for the major problems in the branch and addressed those as if we were in council. It was very good. We then went to Sacrament Meeting. We had visiting stake leaders that boosted our numbers. We had about 60 branch members in attendance which is good. The rest of the meetings were all very good. The stake president had a Q&A session during Sunday School. One man asked what to do when we feel our prayers are not being answered. It was a good discussion.

Head Hamburger Chef

Monday was Memorial Day. I prepared a large dish of chopped onions for the hot dogs and 4 good-sized packages of onions to grill. When we got to the church we helped get things set up. When the barbecues were ready Ted put the onions on to grill. When it was time to serve them we found someone had taken them off the heat too soon. They were not really great so not many were eaten. When people started arriving it was obvious we would be short on food, so the branch president drove to Gallup for more hamburgers and hot dogs and buns. I think it all turned out in the end. There was some good food.

Lots of help with cooking!

We had about 80 people. There was a couple from the senior center who said they want to start coming to church. There were quite a few friends. I hope they felt welcome. A man and his son came early to set up and he cooked most of the time. The son set up a couple of extra tables when it became obvious we were going to be short of room. Then the man and his wife helped clear up the tables and chairs. A sister and her daughter started washing them off. I asked everyone to help put tables and chairs away and it was amazing that everyone pitched in to help. All in all I think it went well.

Good crowd!

We did a bit of relaxing in the afternoon before heading to family home evening with the young adults. They were supposed to have a barbecue but opted for pizza in the end. That was a good idea. We had a good time and played a game and visited and were home before too late.

Tuesday we were able to walk again for the first time in weeks. It felt good. We studied most of the day. In the late afternoon our new CES supervisor came to visit. We talked about how the programs are going. He had just had lunch with the stake president who would really like to get the institute program going better. He gave us some good ideas. We will try to meet with each bishop/branch president and get at least 5 names of young adults in each ward. We will ask the bishops or counselors to go with us along with an institute student to invite the young adults to attend institute. He suggested having rescue nights regularly as part of the institute program. He said they tried this in his institute and it went from 9 attending to 47 in the course of a year. That would be exciting.

He also gave us some good ideas for seminary. I think he’s planning to do some summer training sessions which should help us. I hope we get our books soon. I am going to try an Ironman competition for the seminary students. We’ll have a dinner or barbecue at the end of summer for all participants with awards for the finishers. He’s asking his students to 1) read the Book of Mormon; 2) memorize the scripture mastery verses; 3) read the conference issue for the April 2013 conference; 4) read scriptures 15 minutes a day (which can include any of the above).

Wednesday we were supposed to meet the lady who was making a pot for us. She called this morning just as we were ready to leave to tell us the shop was closed so we’d have to postpone it until tomorrow. She sounded a bit like she had a hangover.

At noon we went to the senior center for lunch and to visit. Ted needed to check some details on the Father’s Day program. I was pleased when a lady we know came over to visit. She reminded me that I need to visit her sister and niece. We spent the afternoon studying. We watched several video clips to select some for the Father’s Day program. Since it is on Thursday the elders aren’t available.

Thursday afternoon we went to read with a family. We delivered a scarf I had made to another sister and had a brief visit with her. We then went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in town. I bought a necklace from one of the several vendors that came while we were there. The vendors walk around with trays of their crafts, usually jewelry and probably fakes, going from table to table to try to sell it. The necklace is white buffalo stone and hishi sea shells. I really like it.

At institute we only had four students. Three of the students had assignments to present part of the lesson for the evening. It went well. We had some good discussions surrounding what they talked about so Ted assigned more for next time. I thought it worked very well. We had a good time playing games and we finished about 9:30 so we got home fairly early. Yeah!

Friday I finished preparations for the lessons. I spent time reading. In the evening we went to Tohlakai for seminary. Only two of my students were there. A mother had called to let us know her kids wouldn’t be there, but she must have called after we left. I had a talk with one girl to let her know she needs to be there every time to get credit for the course. I will probably have to give her some make-up work. The lesson went well. We didn’t get far—we only covered the armor of God—but we had some good discussion. Afterward we came home and Ted fell asleep.

I was eating some toast and reading a talk when the missionaries knocked on the door. They wanted to know how we thought the party had gone Monday. We talked about whether they will get transferred or not. Ted woke up and came out, so they gave him a blessing—he is not feeling well.

Saturday I was up very early (5:30) to make bread. I made a few last minute preparations for class and we headed to the church. I had 5 students plus the two missionaries. We discussed the divine nature Peter talked about and had some good contributions. My graduating student told me she and her parents had checked online and found a church close to the school, probably the institute, where they have a singles ward and lots of activities. I am so thrilled. I gave her a big hug.

After we got home, I made a double batch of cookies so I could take some tomorrow for the Break the Fast meal. I wonder how that will go. I also did some wash, including the tablecloth from the Relief Society room that had spots and was wrinkled.

In the late afternoon we drove to the church to see if we could connect to the internet. I had taken my laptop along just to do a couple of things, but having no hope I would be able to connect. After we got there and I put the Relief Society room back in order with its clean tablecloth, I decided to take a walk around the church and pick up the garbage I had seen in the gardens and along the fence. I took a bag from inside the church and started walking. Every bush was full of buzzing things and I felt like my skin was crawling while I was doing the picking up. When I finished I was beat but it looked much better.

Inside I decided to do some serious cleaning. I got some gloves and cleaner and cleaned the bathroom fixtures and mopped the floor. I even cleaned the mirror. It looked and felt much better. No one will notice, but it looked good.

When I went in to the classroom where Ted was I tried the internet on my laptop just to see if it worked and it did. I sent a couple of emails and then started downloading some stuff I’d tried before. It was taking too long and we needed to go home, but at least my computer worked there. We have now found a place where we can download without using our data allowance. Nice! After we returned home I stayed outside just enjoying the cool air. It felt so good.