Week Ending August 24, 2013

Sunday we attended a Gallup ward to hear one of our students speak before her mission. We said a hurried goodbye then drove to Ft. Wingate to be there for my hastily planned seminary meeting. I grabbed one student after the first meeting to make sure I talked to her before she and her mom left. They have not turned in their online forms. We had a record number of people in our Sunday School class and there were no empty chairs. That is a nice problem.

Sister Kayla Haws

After church I grabbed a few kids and their parents for my 10 minute meeting. I explained that the online part was up in the air right now, but we were planning to move ahead. I passed out the supplies then told the parents that the success of their kids’ year in seminary was up to them—they needed to be the encouragement and support the kids needed. I suggested they do the lessons with the kids on occasion to see what is going on in the class. Everyone was OK, but afterward one parent told me his daughter is taking all honors classes and he doesn’t know if she’ll be able to do all the work I’m asking for. It is a big difference this year.

Two families have committed to online and I have the forms for one family. The other was supposed to drop them by the house this evening and didn’t. I called and she said they hadn’t had a chance to do them so she’d bring them tomorrow. It is looking less and less like there will be anyone in the class. We’ll see. I have a low level of confidence it their efforts.

Monday I went visiting with the Relief Society president. We stopped at the home of a recently deceased woman and her mom gave the president some of the lady’s earrings when we left. One pair was clip-ons so she insisted that I take it. They are nice, but I feel a bit guilty taking them. We stopped to see another lady and met her neighbor who will turn 90 on 9/19. She lives across the driveway and we had a brief visit. We visited another lady whose deceased son’s girlfriend and their daughter are living with her now. We had visited her several months ago and she was sad and lonely. Her house is now clean and she seems to be quite happy and well taken care of.

We stopped at another home to let the sister know we missed her on Sunday. When the president was walking up the ramp to the house, she caught her foot and landed on her knees, hitting her forehead hard on the wood. The bridge of her nose bled as well as her forehead. She was able to get somewhat cleaned up but she looked like she’d smacked herself something awful. When we left she had developed a headache so we decided to limit the rest of our time. We made a quick visit to invite some girls to seminary, stopped at a yard sale, then went to lunch in spite of the injuries. (As it turned out, she no longer remembers lunch or her drive home and her husband says her nose is broken, so she was probably hurt more than she realized.)

Tuesday I spent the day studying. We took a break to go to the senior center for lunch. I’m really not sure that is worth the effort, but we had a good visit with a lady and invited her to our quilting class. She seemed interested. I am really torn about whether to continue to prepare using the online materials or to just switch to the workbooks and try again at the semester change. I talked to the mom who was supposed to bring things last night. She wasn’t able to get the forms from her daughters. I told her that I needed them by tomorrow or I wouldn’t be able to get them in for online classes. She said she’d let me know if she couldn’t get them tonight. I was just beginning to lose hope when there was a knock at the door and there she was. I was shocked. She had the forms. There is missing information, but I am amazed it got this far.

Wednesday I redid the seminary schedule last night for the umpteenth time, trying to get it to work with all the school schedules, the various holidays, and conference schedules. What a nightmare! I finally decided Tohlakai and Ft Wingate could not be on the same schedule. I start Tohlakai next week and Ft Wingate will start online next week and the rest of the students will start a week later. Some days I wish I’d never heard of online. I have the forms for 4 students, but there is still missing information. I don’t like having the classes on different schedules. I did that last year and I was constantly trying to review for the one class and prep for the other. I’ll also have to go through the workbooks and do the online course as a student to know what the students are doing in order to figure out what to teach them. The online program requires it and the workbook students will need it. Whew! It might be easier if I just forget to collect the online forms.

I was concerned today about the quilting class tomorrow. I’m not sure how many will come. If we have a lot, I’m not sure what we’ll do. If it is only the regulars, we can just keep plugging away. We need to get a quilt on the frames so we can have whoever comes keep busy.

The weather here is bizarre. When we arrived at Tohlakai for seminary there were clouds in the distance (the direction from which we had come) that looked menacing and had long barbs of lightning in them. When we came out of seminary it was pouring rain hard enough that I got fairly wet going to the car parked 20 feet away. We drove out onto the highway to go home and had not gone more than one minute when there was absolutely no rain and the ground was bone dry. Go figure. All around us the clouds were black and there was lightning, but there was nothing where we were.

I went straight to the church for Relief Society night meeting. I had missed the lady from the Navajo Nation that was teaching how to wash hands and was apparently very informative. The ladies were in the process of making homemade noodles and were rolling the dough through a machine to cut them when I got there. The president’s face was totally bruised across her cheeks and she looked awful. She left shortly after I arrived. There were two other ladies. Another lady came a bit later just in time to eat. We had to wait for the noodles to dry a bit, so we spread them out on plates while we tried to clean the noodle machine. We cooked the noodles, put some sauce on them, and ate. There was quite a bit so we invited some of the kids to eat. We found some punch in the refrigerator as well. After I had eaten and done dishes I left for home. It was fun, but I really needed to get home.

Thursday morning I ran a little late but got to the church just in time for the quilting group. The lady we had met at the senior center on Tuesday came. Another lady came in just after we got there and the three of us laid out the quilt squares so they’d be ready to sew. Just as we were finished pinning, the lady who came last week arrived. We got her started sewing and were just getting ready to go through the rest of the fabric to find something for the two ladies when two more arrived.

The one lady sewed and the other five of us went through all the fabric in the cupboard in the hall. One lady was able to use some squares that had already been sewn by adding some fabric in between the squares. The new lady found some cute squares already cut that she mixed with some other fabric and was laying that out and cutting some additional squares. One lady found some pieces that had been cut that she wanted to work into a project. Her daughter found some smaller pieces she could make into some blankets for her dogs. I saw several things I would love to have picked out and made into quilts or quilt tops just for the fun of doing it. Maybe once we get the ladies going I can go back and do something like that. The president was not feeling well so she stayed home. When I told her there were six of us I thought she would cry. She had about given up on the quilting group.

After everyone had found something to work on, one lady wanted to organize the fabric before putting it back into the cupboard. It did make more sense that way. We grouped pieces that had already been cut and scraps and flannel and pieces that seemed like each other. I feel so blessed to have this fabric. What an amazing amount of stuff we have been given. I am so grateful for the ladies that gave so much to us. After it was all cleaned up we put out the food we had brought and enjoyed a light lunch and visit. The ladies had all visited with each other so it worked well. We put the tables and machines and projects away so we could all go home. I was thrilled with the day.

I was supposed to have my test for online seminary to certify me. I called my supervisor who told me that instead of me walking her through the process, she could really see what I had done online. She told me to go through the list and set up the things that needed to be done and let her know when it was done. Then she would go into the program and check it out. There are a lot of things I can’t do until the students have done some work, like grading and so on, so she wants to wait on those. She also told me one of the teachers for our stake gone so the stake is now in need of a teacher. They are turning over her class to another teacher who will have 9 students to start. I told her I could use a few more online students and I could meet with them virtually if they can’t come to our live meeting. She thought that would be a good idea to have more online kids interacting. So I may end up with more students in the next few weeks. I finished up the things I needed to do for the test and let her know it was ready to review.

Friday I went to the school dorm to try to help the two girls sign up for LDS accounts for seminary. I had talked with their mother so one of them was expecting me. Her immediate comment was that she was going to go in and do it herself but her mom said I was coming. The other one really didn’t want to do anything. For some reason my internet connection wouldn’t work. The one girl and I went outside on the steps—the other wouldn’t come outside the door. It still didn’t work. The girl indicated she would do it that evening and she would help her sister do it. She promised to send the information to me tonight. I checked just before I went to bed and she hadn’t sent anything.

I also received an email saying they had added two students to my class. I am so excited. They are two boys from Holbrook, AZ. I don’t know anything about them. I sent them the welcome letter, but I discovered that the email that was set up in the system is the mom’s email address, so I’m not sure if they got it or not. Anyway, I am excited to have additional students. I’m sure it will make the experience much better.

In the evening Ted and I watched a movie I’d received for my birthday and enjoyed that.Iit was good and we enjoyed the change of pace.

Saturday we were up early to drive to Farmington for our mission conference with Elder Paul Pieper of the Seventy. We made a quick stop at Sam’s Club to pick up a few things. At the conference it was fun to see several missionaries we’ve worked with over the last several months. It was good to see Elder Lords. He is our former bishop’s nephew. He was actually conducting the conference. The conference was wonderful. Elder Pieper reduced everything to understanding the doctrines and principles underlying issues. I know we are teaching that concept in seminary. Understanding leads to application and changing our lives. The premise was that most challenges are caused by not having a correct understanding of the underlying doctrines and principles. It was an amazing concept for me to grasp. I guess I need to examine my life and figure out what needs to change and what doctrine I need to have better understanding of to do so. Then I need to study the doctrines and principles to get the understanding I need to make the changes. Wow!

Landscape between Farmington and Gallup

After the conference we hurriedly left for Gallup to get to stake conference. We really enjoyed the beauty of the ride both directions. The land is so green right now that it really is beautiful. It started raining just as we arrived at the stake center, but it was not just a gentle rain—it was a deluge. We sat in the car for quite a bit waiting for a break to get into the church. We thought there was a brief break, but it was deceptive. We were soaked. It made for a chilly meeting being wet and in wet clothing. I think the rain didn’t stop until just as the meeting was starting.

I really enjoyed the meeting. We have some really good stake leaders. Once again I was challenged to live up to the covenants I have made. Pres. Haws spoke about covenants and how they can lead us to Christ. Again, I need to reflect on my life and the direction I am going and make the changes needed to follow Christ. Pres. Nielsen of the mission presidency spoke about being here because we are called. He said there is no mistake in our being here at this time and we need to ask Heavenly Father to help us know what we need to accomplish.

After the meeting we drove home. We were really grateful for the blessings of the meetings and the things we had learned, but we were happy to be home. It was a really long day.

Week Ending August 17, 2013

Sunday we were up early. Ted was banging around in the kitchen, but for some reason, Seth slept through it all until about 7:30 and then he chilled in his bed for quite a bit longer. He was very cheerful. Ted set about preparing blueberry pancakes while I fed Seth some cereal. The kids arrived with their families for breakfast before church. At church we sat on the back benches as usual so we can see people as they arrive. I introduced everyone as they came in—I am so proud of my family.

After church Heather’s family came back to our house to change and leave for home. It’s been such a good weekend and I have really enjoyed being together. It is hard to believe we won’t see them again for about 9 months. It is really the hardest part of being here. We said our goodbyes and they were gone.

After church one of my students that graduated told me she has decided to go on a mission and will get her papers in as soon as possible. I’m really thrilled. She has been sort of apprehensive about school and it just didn’t seem like the best thing for her. I hope she gets to go soon.

At home we enjoyed being with Steven’s family. We ate and visited, played a few games, then visited and ate some more. We played another game then they went home. I will really miss them when they are gone.

Monday early Steven called to say they were ready. We met them at the hotel and gave them a few boxes to take home for us. We went to breakfast together and enjoyed the food and the visit. I continue to be amazed at Steven’s insights into the scriptures. He recently edited a book his father-in-law wrote. They are a good pair.

After eating we said our goodbyes and parted. I am so sad to see them leave. I know it was a blessing having them here. I don’t think it makes it harder to serve, but it makes me more aware than every how much I love and appreciate my family. I told Steven's boys how much I appreciate their letters. It means so much to have that small connection to home.

At home it was back to reality, I got a text from a mom telling me her son wants to do the workbook in seminary now. I am really disappointed, but I may need to move all the kids over to workbooks. It won’t be much of an experience if just the one family ends up doing the online and I’m not sure if the other kids will do it. In the evening we had home evening. We had Snicker Salad because it was one student’s last night before her mission and she had requested it. We played Cranium and had a good time. There was a large group there. We invited all to institute, but we don’t meet until next week so we’ll see then. When we got home we were both exhausted.

Tuesday I had a long talk with my CES coordinator about teaching methods and trying to help the students get into the scriptures more. He gave me some good information and some good things to study. Most of it was what we got in the MTC, but I didn’t fully understand it then so I haven’t studied it in depth.

Shopping at the pawn shop--some new, some old

Wednesday we were supposed to read with a family, but we called and got voice mail. We left a message and said we would not come unless they called. It is too dicey to just go over there. We went to Gallup early and did some shopping. From there we drove to seminary. Only one girl had her assignment done. The next year is going to be a major adjustment for them. They need to do 80% of the workbook activities to get credit, so there won’t be room for slouching. We finished the Book of Revelation and I bore my testimony about the New Testament and the scriptures and the value of daily studying of the scriptures. I encouraged them to make it a habit to read every day and to reread the books over again to gain strength from them.

Next week I will pass out the materials and we will be ready to start the new year. I’m looking forward to finally getting going. It has been a bit frustrating to have to wait for the online program, especially since we may not end up doing it. In any case, Ft. Wingate will be starting soon as well.

Pollen Trail dancers

Pollen Trail dancers

On the way home we stopped to watch the Indian dancing at the courthouse. It was a group called Pollen Trail and it was probably the most interesting one we’ve seen. Cody Jansen, one of our early institute students, was crowned the Queen of the Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial. She was there so they introduced her and she said a few words. All the girls from the Wingate Elementary School dorms were there as well. It was a beautiful evening.

Pollen Trail dancers

Thursday I went early to the church to sort through the stuff Heather and Emily had collected. I was totally amazed at the good stuff that was sent. I was overwhelmed at the generosity of their friends. I nearly cried. I got everything sorted and set up for quilting. When it was time to start no one was there but me, not even the Relief Society president. I was almost in tears, but I prayed for help not to be discouraged and the Lord answered my prayers. I decided I would move ahead and work on the quilt and make the best of it. About 11 AM a lady wandered in. Apparently, she had found the door by the Primary room propped open with a rock. The lady sells burritos at the side of the road every weekday morning to people on their way to work or the school. We wave to her when we walk to the church to exercise. I gave her a flyer yesterday and invited her to come.

I had been having trouble with the sewing machine, but I rethreaded it just as she came. She knew how to sew, so she sat at the machine and I cut and pinned fabric. We worked until about 12:30 then I heated up my chicken nuggets and we ate. She stayed until about 3 PM sewing. Once when she was waiting for me to get some pieces pinned, she literally fell asleep. I let her sleep until I had pinned another piece, then I woke her and told her it would be OK if she wanted to leave. She stayed and sewed until I thought we were at the end. She said she’d be back next week. She asked a couple of times if we only do this on Thursday. I told her that was the only day. I told her to bring her friends.

We didn’t talk much while we worked because we were a ways apart, but we had a good visit while we ate.  Her granddaughter went to BYU. She has a granddaughter living with her that has a master’s degree in water resources and works for the Navajo Nation. It turns out that yesterday was Code Talkers Day so the employees of the Navajo Nation had the day off which is why there was no one at the senior center when we went there.

After she left I finished cutting and pressing the squares we’d made. I had to pin the last fabric strips on some of the blocks, so I went ahead and sewed them since the machine was still up. I cleaned everything up and put it all away. I even figured out how to get the tables back on the cart without too much effort. I checked the doors again then came home. I was very tired. It was almost 5 PM when I got home. It was a long day.

After Ted returned we tried printing a couple of talks we needed for the mission conference next week end. After the first page the printer made a loud noise like crunching then wouldn’t feed any paper. We tried everything we could think of. We found a broken plastic piece in a tight spot in the paper tray and several small white plastic pieces. We couldn’t see where it should have gone, but the printer wouldn’t feed paper no matter what we tried. After a long time trying we finally gave up.

Friday was my birthday. I heard from friends and family and it was a good day. My son left a voice mail wishing me a happy 46^th. When I called him back it was happy 48^th. I hope I don’t age that fast in the future but I guess he gave me several additional years so I shouldn’t complain. Since seminary workbooks are on back order, I had to copy the first week’s lessons to give to the students this Sunday. We’ll go a week at a time copying. It’s really going to be more challenging without our printer. We tried to print the talks from my flash drive but discovered the printer at church needed a different format. I resaved the file at home and we went back to the church later and printed the talks on our way to lunch. Ted took me to lunch at King’s Dragon buffet (Chinese food). We ate way too much but enjoyed it.

Sunset over Gallup

In the evening I went to the church with the president for the night quilting class for one sister. As it turned out, no one came but us, not even the sister who wanted it. We started to work on a pillow top. We cut some fabric and laid it out so it could be sewed next time, but she didn’t want to get the sewing machine out unless we were going to have someone come. We were both a bit disappointed. It turned out the lady who was going to give her a ride made other plans and didn’t tell us but she knew neither of them was coming.

Pyramid Rock

Saturday we left earlier than usual for the temple so we could stop to check out printer repairs. We took the Relief Society president with us. We had a good visit on the way. We actually had quite a good time all day. We got to Albuquerque in time to stop by the printer repair shop and drop the printer for an estimate. He said he would be able to tell us within the hour. While we waited we stopped at Trader Joes and got a few things. We then went to Kohl’s to use the balance on Ted’s gift card. He got three shirts. We had passed the beginnings of a farmer’s market, so we drove back by  and walked around and supported the local vendors. The most interesting place was a lady who knits and crochets things. She had some really cute things using some really fun yarns. We visited with her for quite a bit while I picked her brain. I bought a headband to use for a pattern. The repair man called to say it would cost more to repair the printer than buy a new one, so we drove back to his place to pick up our poor printer.

After having all that fun, we headed straight to the temple to catch the 11 AM session. Ted dropped us at the door then parked the car. We hurried up and got ready then waited. It became apparent the session was not starting until 11:30. They had recently adjusted the schedule and we hadn’t known that. We had a wonderful experience once we got started. There was a good Spirit there.

After leaving the temple we grabbed a bite to eat then shopped at Costco. We then went across the street to Office Depot to get a printer. One model only had the demo left. The other had just come in and was not on display. We got the new one. At the cash register an offer came up for $10 off if we bought the high capacity cartridge set. We had been told how much the standard cartridges would cost so I knew the high capacity was more than I wanted to pay. As it turned out they didn’t stock it. I suggested that since they couldn’t deliver on the deal we should get the $10 off anyway. The manager agreed and we got the printer for the discounted price. (It turned out when we got home that the USB printer cable was not included, so we still are without a printer.)

How green is our valley

After this adventure, and after figuring out how to get everything into the car, we started for home. It is a long trip and it had been a long day so we were tired. I was really grateful when we finally arrived. We unpacked the car then tried to find a home for the food in our limited refrigerator and cupboards. I tried to set up the printer and got really frustrated when I found we were missing the cable. We had returned home earlier than ever, but it seemed like the fates were against us getting a good night’s rest.

Week Ending August 10, 2013

Sunday at church Ted confirmed the little girl baptized on Saturday. Her mom had taken her sister home to Phoenix so she wasn’t there.

After church I visited with the branch president about seminary. He feels we should keep the class together. I had pondered our situation during the night and came to the same conclusion. But I also felt that it is wrong not to allow the students who want to do the online program to do it. They could meet with the workbook students for the weekly meeting. If it is a better program, surely it is better even if the class is smaller than optimal. I told the president I agreed with him, but that I was going to go back and ask for reconsideration of our situation. He agreed. There is so much to do to get this going I think it will wear me out.

We got home later than we had hoped from a home teaching appointment so we had to microwave the potatoes for our dish for the young adult dinner. We had a good, scratch that, GREAT turnout for dinner and the fireside. There were probably 16-20 kids from the stake in attendance. We had a yummy dinner, then the seminary/institute coordinator showed a video about Centers for Young Adults and the stake president spoke about making institute a priority in their lives. His comments were powerful and I’m hopeful the young adults will come more. We also picked up two of the sewing machines.

Clouds in the sky

I spoke with our supervisor at the fireside. I told him the branch president’s decision about seminary, but that I thought we should let those who wanted do online and have a hybrid. I could not see that having less than 7 would make it not effective. I realize the optimal size is larger, but that doesn’t mean that even the smaller class can’t be better than the workbooks. He agreed and said he would make a case for us. We’ll pray it happens. I need to know soon so we can move ahead.

Monday we went to home evening. There was a good crowd. We played spoons and ate Sister Mortenson’s leftovers. It was fun. We visited briefly with another senior couple and they gave us vegetables from their garden, which is amazing! As we drove home the sky was really dark and lightning was flashing all around to the south and west. There were several long streaks of lightning, but there were also many flashes where the entire cloudbank lit up. Just as we drove up to the house a few drops started falling. We got inside none too soon, as it started really pouring rain. It slowed to a gentle rain and kept up most of the night.

Tuesday I finished my online certification for seminary. I really hope we can move this direction, but it will be a ton of work and I will need to be right on it every day.

I texted my supervisor to see where we are with the seminary class and he said it was still undecided. We were attending the seminary teachers annual broadcast. The meeting was excellent. During the meeting I received a text from the supervisor saying the online class is on. I hope that means it is really resolved. I have requested some required information from a couple of parents but haven’t heard anything. Is nothing easy?

We were supposed to have branch council in the evening. When we got to the church, no one was there. We tried to reach the branch president but there was no answer. We called the missionaries and they said the president was out of town. I asked about the meeting. He said the meeting hadn’t been announced Sunday. I responded that it was in the announcements per the president. I feel that if there is some room for error, it should be announced that there is NOT a meeting rather than just not hold it. We went home feeling a bit disgruntled.

Wednesday we were at home all day. I cleaned up my seminary stuff so I could actually see what I had. In the afternoon we were rushing to get ready to go read with a family. Before we left Ted thought we should call her. Good thing we did. She was in Albuquerque.

We left a bit early for seminary since we needed to run some errands. When we used the new crock we purchased, it cooked too hot, so we donated the entire appliance to Goodwill. We stopped at Walmart and got a crock pot. We then headed to Tohlakai. A couple of Ted’s students have a garden behind the church that is doing really well. They pulled in just in front of us and were in the garden so we went out to visit. They gave us some vegetables that were really lovely. Seminary went well. One of my students was in the car for 20 minutes listening to her music. I finally went out and got her. I have no idea what that was about.

Toh-la-kai Chapel

Thursday I sorted the pieces of fabric at the church. When the Relief Society president arrived she had another bag of fabric pieces—some velvets and satins that would make a very nice quilt. We picked out some fabrics and I began cutting pieces and she began sewing. We were able to figure out how to thread the machine and it worked really well.

Two of our children and their families were coming for the weekend. As it turned out, they made really good time and arrived earlier than we’d thought. We ordered some pizza and all ate in Steven and Emily’s room. It was so good to see everyone. I was thrilled. The grandchildren were so sweet. Kate has grown so much.

Steven had agreed to teach part of Ted’s institute class so they left to go to that. The rest of us packed into the vans and went to watch the Indian dancing at the courthouse. It was nice, but it was jammed so we had to stand the entire time. Afterward we walked over to see what the vendors were selling. Heather and Scott took their kids and went back to the hotel. Emily and the boys and I went on to the parade. We went to the street near the beginning so we could finish up earlier. There was a police car parked blocking the intersection and there was a lot of front row seating right next to it, so we claimed our space. We had spread out the napkins we had found in my purse from dinner and sat down. Ted and Steven joined us just in time for the parade.

Omaha dancer at courthouse--jingle dress

The parade started a bit late, but it was fun to watch. There were a lot of princesses in native dress representing every city and school in the area. There were several dance groups and it seemed that they all decided to dance just in front of us, so we had a good spot to watch. The evening was really nice so it was good to be able to sit and visit. We were glad when the parade was over because we were all tired. Steven and Emily had brought a bunch of stuff they and Heather had collected for the quilting project, so we took it all to the church and stowed it in the closets.

Friday Steven and his boys came over early to see our home. Our cottage is small enough that once you’re in it, the tour is over. I took the boys to see the horses and they wandered around back to see the ducks. We looked at the ant hills and then walked through the little village to show them the neighborhood. There is a playground at the back so that was exciting to them. They played a bit then we left for the hotel to meet Heather and Scott.

We loaded up and drove to Ramah for lunch at the Stagecoach Café. It was fun visiting a bit. From there we drove to El Morro where the other adults and kids climbed to the ruins and I stayed with Seth and Kate. I decided to take the stroller out to Inscription Rock while we waited. I missed the sign for handicap access and found myself pushing the stroller up a significant hill. I thought about turning back and decided that was a cop out so I persevered. When I realized the trail went down a hill just as steep and that I would have to negotiate that coming back, I decided to head back. I got to the handicap turn and started down a ways, but I was too hot to go on any further and went back to the visitors’ center.

Steven and Emily and family at volcano

Scott and Heather and family at volcano

I think everyone was tired, but we decided to go on to the volcano and ice caves. We ended up carrying little kids most of the way up. We got to the crater, took a couple of pictures, then started down. On the way Scott noticed a wall of rain headed our way so he encouraged the group to hurry down. About half way down it started raining, then hailing, then raining again, then hailing again. Everyone was ahead of Emily and Cason and me because we were going slower than the group. I think they got the kids down OK. Scott tried to cover Kate but couldn’t really run with her. Steven helped get Leedoms kids down then ran back up to get Cason and carry him at a full run to the trading post. Emily and I came along as fast as we could. The owners had towels for us when we got in. The hail was actually fairly heavy so it hurt when it hit—what an experience! We decided to wait for the storm to go over before going to the ice caves.

Helping the little ones down the hill

Running from volcano to beat the rain!

Leedoms were not interested in the ice caves at that point so they went home to get the kids dry and warm. The rest of us waited a bit then started to the ice caves. The rain sort of slowed and they had umbrellas so we were able to go on OK. At the ice caves, it got really cold about half way down the stairs. It stays at 31 degrees all year. It was too cold to stay long since we were all sopping wet so we just took pictures to prove we were there then headed back. About half way back it started to rain again so we were glad for the umbrellas. We went straight to the car and headed out. It’s a beautiful drive, but I don’t think we were able to see as much as we could have because of the clouds and the rain.

Yes, we were at the ice cave, sopping wet from hail storm!

We returned to the hotel and got our car then headed home. We had invited everyone for a barbeque so we needed to get ready. The kids had a good time with each other which was nice. After we ate the kids went to see the horses and go to the playground for a while. We were all tired, so they didn’t stay long.

Parade dancers

Saturday we were up and ready early so we could get seats for the parade. We met up with Steven and Emily and drove to the parade. We parked a few blocks away so we could get out easily then walked the rest of the way. There was room near the east end so we set up chairs. Emily and I went across the street and looked in a few shops while we waited. The parade was a lot the same as Thursday night. I noticed a few additions, but it was difficult to tell just how many. Heather and Scott joined us just before 11 AM. They didn’t want to stay long, but they had told their kids they were going to a parade, so they couldn’t disappoint them.

Parade dancer

Princess in native dress

We took the group to Earl’s Restaurant for lunch. It is a local point of interest. Vendors come around to the tables selling their wares so you can shop while you eat. After that Heather and the big girls and I went to the rodeo. Steven and group joined us. It was fun but the sun was hot. We wanted to wait for the bull riding. Just as the bull riding ended—which was very unspectacular because no one stayed on the bull and we could only see half the riders as it was—it began to sprinkle. We were leaving anyway, but we picked up the pace and got to the car just as it began coming down full force. It was a deluge. 

Bull riding at the rodeo

We went back to the hotel and went swimming with the group. The hotel pool is indoors so we were out of the weather. The kids did well and we all had a good time. After everyone finished swimming, we picked up some food and brought it to our house. We put a movie on for the kids and the adults had a good chance to visit.

Week Ending August 3, 2013

Sunday we had a seminary meeting in the evening that had some strange outcomes. The six students at the meeting all registered for seminary. Two students I had thought would want online or had already said they wanted to participate said they would prefer to use the workbooks. One girl was not there and her mom and sister weren’t sure whether she would want to participate. Another young man wanted to do the workbook even though his mom is planning to get the internet. I ended up with three online students. I’ll try to convince two more to give online a chance. It is really a better program and they will get so much more out of it. After the meeting I talked with the online trainer. There were a few things I should have known before the meeting that would have been helpful.

Monday I was able to get all of Week 1 done for online seminary training. In the evening we attended family home evening. Only four kids came so Mortensons took everyone to get ice cream. A girl from our branch didn’t come. She texted another girl that she didn’t come because she didn’t have a ride. That’s bogus. We told her and her parents we would love to give her a ride any time. After we returned home I did another couple of lessons for seminary then went to bed.

Tuesday I was supposed to go visiting with the Relief Society president, but she cancelled. I spent time working on seminary lessons. I need to finish Week 2 and Week 3 before the weekend. The students need to do several things to participate in the program. The support specialist will get the kids set up in the system once she gets everything. We are supposed to start seminary in a couple of weeks so there is much to be done.

In the evening we picked up one of our institute students from the 1^st Ward to go visiting. We visited one family with two kids. They are on a baseball team that plays until mid-October so they won’t be able to come to institute until then. The boy leaves on a mission the end of October so he is out completely. The girl’s boyfriend is being baptized soon, so maybe he will attend with her after baseball. We visited the grandparents of another girl who was out with her boyfriend. We left the information for her. We drove way out to the west end of town to find a couple more kids. We couldn’t find one home and the other was not home so we left a flyer. We then stopped by a very nice home. There were some very noisy dogs in the courtyard. We were a little intimidated by the dogs and no one seemed to be home so we left a flyer in the mailbox for the kids. It seemed like an unproductive evening.

We took our student home and Ted suggested I go meet her parents. It turned out the mother of another girl was there for a book club so we talked to her about institute. Her daughter is leaving for school in two weeks so we encouraged her to enroll in institute there. One mom was wearing a t-shirt with something on it about collecting scraps for quilting. I told them we were starting a quilting group in Ft. Wingate. (She was probably horrified that we would tie a quilt out of sheets because she had made some really beautiful pieced quilts.) I then told them if they knew of anyone getting rid of a sewing machine to let us know. One lady said she had one that was missing the plate, but she has used cardboard on it to sew. She had just had it serviced and wanted to give it to us. They also said there were two machines at church no one used that we could have. I was so excited to have the potential for three sewing machines. The Lord does indeed answer prayers and provide for our needs.

Wednesday we went for lunch at the senior center in Iyanbito. We got there about the time lunch was to be served. Our Relief Society president was there. I sat and worked on a puzzle with her for a few minutes while we waited. Another lady was there and we visited a bit. Finally they started serving. It turned out that the van driver was running the kitchen by himself. The manager was in Window Rock for something—I hope she hasn’t left or the center will fall apart. We had lamb ribs, brussel sprouts that looked like zucchini, strawberries and bananas, corn on the cob, and a tortilla. I think it had been ready at 11:30 since it was well cooked.

As he was serving he would pick up one tray, put everything on it from various locations in the kitchen then hand it out. I would have taken several trays and put the meat on them, served the vegetables and fruits, and then put the silverware on and handed them out. I gave my tray to an older lady then got her some tea. By the time I went through the line again he needed to cut up more meat which took about 10 minutes. Ted and our friend were almost done by the time I joined them.

In the afternoon we went to read with a family. The mom wasn’t home but arrived just as we started. Her grandma also joined us which was nice. We invited them to the quilting day. It would be good for the grandma to get out and socialize with the ladies. After we read a chapter we reviewed some basic principles with the little girl. Her baptism date is finally set for Saturday. Ted and I are giving talks and her uncle is baptizing her. She remembered quite a bit of what we had taught her.

From there we went to get water. Ted dropped me at Goodwill to see if they had a crock for our crock pot base. If they didn’t we would get one at Walmart. I was totally surprised—they had a blue crock. When Ted arrived I brought the base in to see if it would fit. It did—totally amazing—even though it is a little snug at the top. Anyway, we got it. They said we could return it if it didn’t work.

We went to Walmart to pick up a few things then headed to Tohlakai. After seminary we had scheduled a meeting with kids and parents about the new seminary year. They have a temple trip on Saturday so the branch president wanted to interview them during the meeting. I told him that wouldn’t work since they had to be there to get the information. I had scheduled the meeting so he could be there, so that really surprised me. None of the kids have computers in their home and none have the internet so they have no option but the home study workbooks. The kids really are dedicated to keep coming week after week. I hope they are getting something out of the class.

Thursday I went to the church for our quilting day. Our Relief Society president and I went early so we could clean out the cupboards so they’d be ready for the material when it arrived. Our kids are bringing some with them when they come next week. She cleaned the cupboards in the Relief Society room and I cleaned the one in the hall. Mine didn’t really have anything in it so it was just dusty with a few cobwebs. She threw out a bunch of stuff. There’s a lot of room now.

When it was time for others to arrive we were still working. When we were finished and no one else had come we were a bit concerned. We had lunch and visited for a while. I suggested that we come each week and sew on quilt tops. When we have stuff to show, we’ll show the ladies and tell them what a good time we are having and encourage them to come. I think we can reach out to more people in the area and maybe get some increased interest. People need to see that something is happening before they want to join in.

In the evening we went to Gallup to watch the Indian dancers at the Courthouse. The evening was really great. It had just a bit of a breeze and a little coolness to it. The Olla Maidens from Zuni were dancing. They dance with pots on their heads as an honor to their ancestors who had to carry water in their pots for their families. We were there when they first arrived and watched as they put on their accessories for their costumes. They wore wide sashes around their waists and pulled them really tight—I couldn’t see how they could breathe. They had leather bands around their legs with fabric wrapped underneath. They also wore regular moccasins, but it looked like boots with the leg wrappings. And they all wore an amazing amount of turquoise jewelry—big necklaces, huge rings on at least two fingers on each hand so their hands were almost entirely covered.

Elder and Sister Roeth at Gallup Courthouse

The dancing was good. Basically they just do kind of a shuffle with their feet, with small steps either forwards or backwards. They also had flowers they waved while they danced. When they put the pots on their heads they sort of kissed the pot then moved it around on their heads to find the secure position. The pots have a concave base so they will stay on their heads better. They said they use green ware pots because the handmade ones are too expensive. One girl stopped in the middle of one of the dances to adjust her pot.

Zuni Olla Maidens dancing

They sang songs in between the dancing. Only the men write the songs. One of the songs was written by a father-in-law. The songs only seem to use a few tones but I’m sure the beauty is in the message. Afterward we took pictures—they wouldn’t let us take pictures before the performance even though that was the most interesting. I got my picture taken with the three dancers.

Sister Roeth and Zuni Olla Maidens

Friday I had a call from the CES supervisor. He said they had decided not to let me teach the reduced number of students online. They wanted to have just one class for all the online students in the Gallup area unless the numbers made it so they could have at least 7 in each class. I need to prayerfully consider what to do to make the class for the remaining students meaningful. If I have three students in the home study class, I can’t imagine it will be as good as if I have six. If I get all the students to go online, I still might not be the teacher.  I am really not sure what I am supposed to do at this point. The supervisor counseled me to talk with the branch president and let him decide how the branch wants to move forward—each student making their own decision, or all the students going the same way.  I feel jammed.

In the evening we had a heavy rainstorm. At first the thunder and lightning was in the distance, but at one point it felt and sounded like it either hit our house or very nearby. The house shook and the lights flashed, and it sounded like a gun had been fired next to my ears. It was a bit scary. It happened again about 20 minutes later. The rain was extremely heavy for a while then slowed to a gentler rain for several hours. We felt that we were protected and watched over.

Saturday I only had two students at seminary. We had a good discussion on learning, how we learn, who is responsible for our learning, and how that applies to our seminary class. Ted had gone to help prepare for a baptism, so I took the two kids with me to the baptism. The little girl we taught in February was finally baptized. Almost the entire family of her mother was there. Her brother had come from Denver and was dressed in a white shirt and tie. I congratulated him on his baptism and told him he looked like a missionary. Her mother and sister were there from Albuquerque and I congratulated them on their baptisms. Her other two brothers were there, but they stayed outside and goofed around. Lame! If I were their mom, I would have told them to come inside to the baptism and support the little girl. It was a good group.

Pres. Joe (uncle), Emily Joe, Sugar Joe (mom) with Roeths

Emily Joe (in pink) and family

After the baptism we went home to heat our food for the branch dinner then headed to the church. I’m not sure the Saturday meal is going to last long. The branch president is already saying it isn’t working. There were only about 35 people when everyone was there, but we enjoyed a good visit. No one had assigned food, so we had three main dishes and a baptism cake from the little girl’s family.

Elder Patterson, Claudia Thomas, Anfernee Begay, Elder Landon

In the evening we headed back to the stake center for another baptism. The young man’s mom welcomed everyone and was very emotional as she told us how happy she was that her son was finally able to be baptized. She was baptized a couple of weeks ago with a younger son. Some of her aunts were there along with her mom. She is now waiting for her mom to be baptized. It went well and was a very spiritual event. Afterward we went to the Indian dancing at the courthouse. It was less interesting tonight, but the dancer did a buffalo dance with the white buffalo headdress which was nice. The air was really nice and we enjoyed being out.

Celicion dancers with Roeths

Week Ending July 27, 2013

Sunday my lesson went OK in Sunday School. Two men answered most of the questions. In Relief Society we presented the finished quilt to the former branch president's wife. She was thrilled and it helped show off our work to the rest of the ladies. We had everyone there stand in for the picture so they all got to feel part of it.

Presenting the quilt to Sister Pine (tall lady in the middle)

After dinner we had planned to visit another girl in the branch to invite her to go to the temple with us. It looked like rain and they live in a muddy area so we decided to go a bit earlier. That also might make it so we could catch the mom before work. It began sprinkling a bit as we started then became fairly heavy. It was on and off, stopping completely when we got to Church Rock where she lived. The ground was dry. We talked with the girl and told her about the trip. They hadn’t come to church this morning because they moved to a hogan next to the grandmother’s house a couple of weeks ago and when they went back to the house this morning to get their clothes for church the grandmother had changed the locks. The kids are sleeping on the floor on mattresses because there are no beds set up yet. I know the elders would be happy to help set up beds if they knew when the family was going to be home. The kids looked like they were enjoying the slumber party.

It started raining while we were there, so we finished talking with her and hurried to the car so we could get out before the ground turned muddy. By the time we turned onto the asphalt, it was really pouring down. Ted had planned to take me home before his home teaching appointment, but it was raining too hard to see very far so we pulled onto the street where his companion lives and parked the car and waited.

After they finished, we drove toward home. We were on the frontage road and noticed there was a lot of traffic coming the opposite direction. We couldn’t see the freeway, but it was obvious it was closed to traffic. We noticed a tractor heading up the freeway toward Ft. Wingate and there was a fire truck on the bridge to home so we weren’t sure we’d be able to get through. We thought there was an accident. When we got near the bridge and could see the freeway it was a huge mess. It had flooded on both sides and was covered with muck and weeds and all kinds of debris. There was a tractor further up the freeway from us headed toward us scraping the junk off the freeway. The tractor heading up the freeway that we had passed was undoubtedly going to do the same from the opposite direction. There is a bit of a gully next to the freeway onramp and it was full of water so it looked like a river. It must have overflowed its banks and created the mess. The rain must have hit right after we went through.

Muddy Interstate Highway

Apparently, it rained in Iyanbito yesterday while we were gone. The road crews have been grading a road getting it ready for paving. We were really excited. The rain washed it all away. We haven’t been there, but a lady told us everything was washed out. She lives about half way up Iyanbito Road which is slightly sloped. She said her road was completely flooded yesterday as well. She lives right by a bridge—I wonder how much water is in the ditch. The rain is so strange. It comes almost without warning and is really heavy for several minutes then stops and moves on. It definitely has wreaked some havoc in its wake this time. We actually had flash flood warnings for the last couple of days, so we are right in the middle of the rain.

When we got home, we discovered the crock pot that had been washed after dinner and was at the top of the dish drainer had fallen to the floor and broken. Is this a case of “when it rains, it pours”?

Monday we had several errands to run in Gallup so we left a bit early for home evening. I got my hair cut by a lady that is cousin to a lady in our branch. She was an interesting person. And she gave me a fairly good cut. We checked out Goodwill to see if they had a crock for our crock pot base and to see if they had any more sheets. We did not have success on either count.

Home evening was good. We had six kids. They have a good time and mix well. Most of them know each other so it works well. I would really like to see more kids there and a better variety of activities.

Tuesday all our plans fell through. We couldn’t go visiting for institute and our scripture reading cancelled until Wednesday.

Wednesday I made bread and cookies. I tried using the dough from the third loaf in the batch to make rolls. It wasn’t a smashing success—they are good, but heavy. I also made cookies for the zone conference Friday. I made two different kinds. I’m not sure why except that I wanted to. I was really pushing to keep the process flowing and had put the dough from the chocolate chip cookies in a separate bowl so I could use the mixer to make oatmeal cookies. I had the canister for the sugar right next to the finished dough. I measured out the cup of sugar called for in the recipe and proceeded to pour it in the bowl on top of the completed cookie dough instead of in the mixing bowl behind me. I immediately realized my mistake and dumped out as much as I could. Then I had to guess how much more I needed in the mixing bowl.

When I was ready to add the flour, for some reason I doubled the flour in my head so instead of 1 ½ cups of flour I measured 3 cups of flour. Fortunately, I caught myself before I dumped in the third cup so I just added an extra ½ cup. Since high altitude recipes add a bit of flour and some extra liquid, I added a couple of teaspoons of water. They were a little hard and seemed to harden more as they cooled. They still tasted good, but not good enough to take to zone conference.

When I finished, I was exhausted. I needed to prepare for seminary at Tohlakai and managed to spend a bit of time working on that lesson before we had to leave. We headed over to read scriptures with a family. Their yard was a real mud pit, so Ted parked on the bridge over the culvert to their house. When he came around to open my door, he was unable to reach my door around one way, so he went the other way. When I looked out to see what the problem was, it looked to me like he had just missed going into the ditch. The car was right on the edge and the edge wasn’t solid. As we walked toward the house, the daughter came out to tell us her mom wasn’t home. When we left, I waited outside to make sure Ted got the car backed up and out of danger before I got in.

We decided to drop by another home to see how the family was doing. They were both home, just starting to fix dinner. We visited a few minutes, I shared a scripture with them and we had a prayer, then we left.

We didn’t have any other appointments so we drove to Tohlakai, arriving about an hour early. We got set up then Ted watched some church videos and I reviewed my lesson a bit more. I had three students. I talked with them about 2 Peter and the Divine Nature. I am not sure if I am reaching them or not. They agree with me and nod their heads, but the kids are so quiet. I need to figure out how to get them to speak up more and share their thoughts.

Thursday we picked up two of my seminary students for our CES inservice meeting. We had been asked to bring some students. We had a big discussion about the online seminary program that seemed to take forever. I was feeling a bit discouraged since I thought I was training so I could keep my students in my class and it turns out they would have to be in someone else’s class unless we have six students. They are suggesting that the students participate in the online program then attend my weekly class once a week in addition to their weekly work. I’m really not sure what we’ll do at this point.

In the evening we had institute. Our supervisor was visiting and was going to present part of the scripture block for the evening. We had three students present and it went well. There was good discussion and some good points made. When it was time for his part, we were basically out of time and he’d told his wife he’d be home to help. He talked for a few minutes, praising the students for their efforts and just making one suggestion: Since the focus of our studies is to bring us to Christ, seek to ask questions that will lead the discussion in that direction. I have a difficult time with getting the questions right so I need to work on that more. It was a good meeting. He later told us that was the best institute class he’d ever been in. I thought it was good, but I’m not sure the best. I appreciated his comment though.

Friday we had zone conference in St. Michael’s. I had wakened with many questions about seminary and how it was going to work. It had been a restless night and I was very tired. The conference was good. I was a bit distracted by my seminary issues, but I appreciated the comments that were made. Pres. Batt asked us as senior missionaries to watch over the young missionaries and help them be obedient. He went through several mission rules and asked us to talk to the missionaries about them if they were in question.

We had a good lunch. One of the sisters who is going home brought several quilts and quilt pieces to show what they’ve done in their area. I was amazed. They were beautiful. She had one piece a lady had made that was really beautiful. She gets about 29 ladies out regularly. She brought three machines from home and one other sister has one. If someone had another machine it would help in our branch. I have mine, but no one really knows how to sew yet.

Our CES supervisor came after lunch and we talked. He said he thought we could get an exception so I could be the teacher for the online students in my seminary even though we will only have 4 or 5 instead of 6 and then all my students could work together in the weekly meeting. I felt so much better. I had thought that was what we had already decided so I had been very confused and frustrated when I had been told that was not the plan.

After the conference we drove to the Hubbell Trading Post. It is a fun place to visit. There was a blanket on a loom in the shop that was really nice. The man there told us that when it was finished it would sell for about $800. When we got home we were really tired. I did a couple of online seminary lessons before bed.

Navajo Rug at Hubbell Trading Post

Saturday we met at the church at 10:45 with the others who were headed to the temple with the youth. One family cancelled and the other kids had not got recommends so it was just three kids, two parents, and us. We all fit in a van with the kids scrunched in the back. I was so relieved that we didn’t have to drive. It was a first time for one of the girls and she really enjoyed it. Afterward we took the kids to dinner. On the way home I was again so glad the other couple was driving because we were really tired. 

Group at Albuquerque Temple

At home I did a couple of seminary lessons and typed the branch announcements then went to bed.