Ted had a call this morning from a man in the branch asking him to ordain him an elder today. His name was presented in conference and they did the ordination right after the meeting. The man’s sister was there from Albuquerque along with a sister in our branch. It was nice that he asked Ted to do the ordination—he said Ted had made an impact on their family and he wanted him to do it. Nice.
We invited another senior couple to come to dinner. We had
to wait for the food to cook, but it was worth waiting for. The lady had made a
blueberry pie so Ted was thrilled. We enjoyed a good visit. The wife is blind
and it has been a challenge for them to get out on their mission and I think it
has been a challenge to find just how to do things. They are actually the first
missionaries to use a guide dog.
Toward evening there was a knock on the door and the burrito
lady was there. She had gone to the store to get a cookie and it was closed. We
just happened to have two cookies, so we offered her one and a glass of milk.
She needed to visit a while so we stopped what we were doing and visited. She
is thinking of moving home—her family lives closer to Albuquerque and she goes
home most weekends. However, her sisters live at Naschitti, so it would be a
long drive to see them if she moved. She is an interesting person.
Monday I spent most of the day researching quotes on
seminary, looking for statistics on impact of seminary on temple marriage,
missions, activity, etc. I called the help desk and was told that they only
track attendance, but if information was available, it would be published in
the Church magazines. I found a little bit, but it will be challenging to pull everything
together into a coherent talk. (A couple in another branch has asked us to talk
about the importance of the seminary program to help increase their
enrollment.) Toward evening I got out my quilt and sewed on it. I hadn’t
planned to do any sewing until the talks were done, but I really needed a
change of pace.
We are trying to use up the food we have in our freezer and
on our shelves. We are doing a fairly good job, but we find we run out of
things we need to pull the meals together and need to be creative. I’m sure
we’ll use most of our stuff, but it’s a bit like a puzzle trying to make it
happen.
Tuesday we went to the senior center for lunch. Some of the
ladies were working on the puzzle I had given them. Several pieces were out of
place because the pieces seem to fit multiple places, but even the ladies
working on it could see the colors didn’t work right. I told them to throw it
away. They had been trying for a week and that is plenty of time for 500
pieces. I invited several of the ladies to come hear us speak on May 11.
In the afternoon I worked on the seminary assignments for
the last two lessons. I need to finish that up. I also spent quite a bit of
time trying to combine all the notes I’ve taken for the talk Sunday and get
them into one place in somewhat of an orderly format. It needs a lot of work,
but I think it’s close to what I want to do.
We planned to visit the Gallup Institute in the evening, so
we left early and ran some errands in town. We had to pick up a few groceries.
We also got water—we have to pay now because of new ownership. Institute was
great. There were only two students—a young woman who is going to BYU Idaho in
the fall, and a young man who is waiting for his mission call. We had a great
lesson on Ether 1-3. There was a really good discussion of faith, prayer, and
light. The teacher played a series of videos by Elder Bednar on the light of
Christ that was really wonderful. It is a shame that there are not more
students coming.
I didn’t sleep well. I’m sure a lot of the problem is all I
have on my mind. I am trying to get some things done so I have less to worry
about, but I know I will still be stressed until we are actually packed and
ready to go.
Wednesday the bulk of my time was spent writing my talk and
working on seminary assignments for the rest of the year. I was able to make
some order out of the rough draft I had written of my talk. The original was
pretty much a hodge-podge of thoughts in a rough attempt at gathering
everything I wanted to use. Today I organized it into a general flow that
seemed more organized and cohesive. I was able to add some thoughts that I
think will tie it together, but it is mostly quotes and references to talks by
general authorities. I feel good about where it is.
Ted wanted to see the man he had ordained Sunday to give him
some instruction on using the Priesthood. He spent quite a while talking with
him. I visited with his mother-in-law. She gave me some instruction on doing
bead work and showed me some jewelry she had made. I knew she made beaded hat
bands and necklaces, but I didn’t realize she used other stones as well.
Thursday we were up early to attend seminary in Thoreau.
They start at 6 am and are an hour away. The class went well and we had a brief
visit with the teacher. There were some strange ideas from the students, like
the Lord confounded the languages at the Tower of Babel because when it got
tall enough the air would be too thin to breathe. Also there was not enough
strength in the foundation of the building to hold the structure and it would
have collapsed and killed many people. I said I thought it was possibly because
the Lord was angry that they thought they could get to heaven by building a
tower and didn’t have to be obedient. I also suggested that the prophet might
have warned the people to repent or their language would be confounded. When
they didn’t repent, the prophet knew what was coming. There’s not a lot of information
available, but I think my guess may be closer.
At the sewing class I sewed 6 burp cloths and cut pieces for
a few more. I’d like to get more blankets, but most of the pieces are too
small. I might try piecing some blankets for the hospital. The burrito lady is
making progress on her quilt. She told me she needs to finish before I leave. Another
lady also came today and was able to finish sewing her blanket for her
brother’s baby and tied most of it. She is almost done. I was really tired so when we went home I rested a bit. It
seems like it has been colder the last day or two. The winds have picked up and
that always makes it colder. It seems warm at night, but I get chilled during
the day.
Friday I reviewed my talk. I made some follow up calls about
seminary and spent time preparing food for Saturday.
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| Pictograph on wall in Canyon de Chelly |
Saturday I was really dizzy during the night. I didn’t think anything about it, but in the morning when I got up I felt the same way. I got ready for our trip to Canyon de Chelly with the other senior couples to see the bottom of the canyon. (It is necessary to have a resident or a paid guide in order to go into the canyon itself. A member in Chinle had offered to take all the senior couples.) While Ted showered I sat in the chair feeling not so hot, but thinking I could probably make it if I took it easy. Then I began feeling really ill and decided I’d better stay home. Ted gave me a blessing and that was reassuring, but I still felt like I should stay home. I insisted that he go so he could get some pictures and enjoy the day anyway. As soon as he left I went to bed and slept. I really needed that.
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| Curley family hosting the seniors at Canyon de Chelly |
Around 3:30 I heard drops on the swamp cooler and looked out
the window. It was snowing! What a shock! The wind had been blowing fiercely
all day. At one point I thought the roof would blow off or the house would fall
apart, but nothing happened. A short time later it sounded like a machine gun
was going off outside. I hurried and looked out the window and it was hailing! Ted
enjoyed the trip and was able to see some great things, but it was really windy
with the wind whipping through the canyon.
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| Inside Canyon de Chelly |
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