I spent the day reading talks by Orson Pratt, George Q Cannon, Melvin J Ballard, and Marion G. Romney. These previous General Authorities talked about pieces of the Gospel that we don't hear about much in General Conference anymore, i.e., gift of discernment, false spirits, false prophets. These talks were just what I needed.
I am getting these talks off a wonderful website I found before we came to Fiji. It is a BYU website called LDS Scripture Citation Index. One can look up scriptures one wants more information about and up comes all the talks by General Authorities using that scripture as a reference. The index takes one right to the part of the talk where the reference was used. So informative. So helpful. And for me these old talks are very interesting.
Ended up doing some counseling tonight at the institute. What does one say to a 34 year old RM who is sure she has received a prompting that she is to marry a 23 year old RM? Coward that I am; I asked for time to think. Praying hard would be more like it. Gulp!
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
March 15
Ward Conference is this Sunday and so as is custom here in Fiji our ward had a cultural night tonight. It began with a dinner in the courtyard at the church. It is always a served dinner which we eat out of our laps while sitting on the benches in the courtyard. If there are more people than benches we may eat in the cultural hall.
We were served the ever present chicken curry and rice along with a shepard's pie casserole, and bele which is like our spinach. The shepard's pie was really good as was the bele.
The cultural part of the night were acts--called items in Fiji--done by each organization of the ward. Mostly it is dances from Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati, etc. The senior missionaries were asked to do an item that was typical American. Whoa!!! No one was willing to dance and what dance would we do. We tried to get President Klinger to play his teeth which we had been told was really good, but he refused. I am sure that it was wise of him. So we decided to sing, upside down. You have seen it. One lies on the stage, covers ones head from the nose up, paints or glues eyes on one's chin and then hangs one's head over the edge of the stage and sings upside down. It is really a cute thing, however, I realized as I watched the other seniors practice that at our ages our necks do not bend backwards enough for the head to really hang down. Not so good. We did it anyway. Ward members were nice enough to laugh at our participation which was all that mattered.
The Relief Society sisters had practiced a Samoa dance and had sulu jaba's (chamba) made out of matching blue fabric. They looked so nice. Blue is Samoa's color I take it. They had practiced while I was teaching, so I did not buy the material or have a dress made. When Sister Jackson found out, she hung her new jaba on our office door Friday morning. She has another blue jaba and was willing to let wear it instead. Nice. However I didn't want to lie on the stage floor in her new dress, so I am saving it for tomorrow when I direct the sister's choir for Sacrament Meeting.
The cutest dance was done by the primary. They did a dance from Kiribati. At the end each child was given a small sack of candy and were supposed to throw the candy into the audience. Most did. It was cute, however, to see one little boy who watched all the other children throw candy. He walked around watching and then when everyone else's candy was thrown, he just walked out with his full bag. Too cute.
After there was a dance, but we were ready for peace, and our beds.
We were served the ever present chicken curry and rice along with a shepard's pie casserole, and bele which is like our spinach. The shepard's pie was really good as was the bele.
The cultural part of the night were acts--called items in Fiji--done by each organization of the ward. Mostly it is dances from Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati, etc. The senior missionaries were asked to do an item that was typical American. Whoa!!! No one was willing to dance and what dance would we do. We tried to get President Klinger to play his teeth which we had been told was really good, but he refused. I am sure that it was wise of him. So we decided to sing, upside down. You have seen it. One lies on the stage, covers ones head from the nose up, paints or glues eyes on one's chin and then hangs one's head over the edge of the stage and sings upside down. It is really a cute thing, however, I realized as I watched the other seniors practice that at our ages our necks do not bend backwards enough for the head to really hang down. Not so good. We did it anyway. Ward members were nice enough to laugh at our participation which was all that mattered.
The Relief Society sisters had practiced a Samoa dance and had sulu jaba's (chamba) made out of matching blue fabric. They looked so nice. Blue is Samoa's color I take it. They had practiced while I was teaching, so I did not buy the material or have a dress made. When Sister Jackson found out, she hung her new jaba on our office door Friday morning. She has another blue jaba and was willing to let wear it instead. Nice. However I didn't want to lie on the stage floor in her new dress, so I am saving it for tomorrow when I direct the sister's choir for Sacrament Meeting.
The cutest dance was done by the primary. They did a dance from Kiribati. At the end each child was given a small sack of candy and were supposed to throw the candy into the audience. Most did. It was cute, however, to see one little boy who watched all the other children throw candy. He walked around watching and then when everyone else's candy was thrown, he just walked out with his full bag. Too cute.
After there was a dance, but we were ready for peace, and our beds.
Monday, March 25, 2013
March 12
Making the Institute Building into a resource center has come to an absolute stalemate. CES Auckland is waiting with, I think, the hope that if they stall long enough nothing will happen and this whole idea will go away. Welfare Auckland is just waiting to see what is expected of them. Everyone else wants a piece of the ERC building or the institute building. Rumors are floating everywhere.
Today we watched Elder Wakolo, our Area Seventy, decided something needed to be done, so he asks to have a conference call with Auckland Welfare, Facilities Management, and CES. Bless Elder Wakolo's heart; he was masterful at starting the conversation--Elder Hamula wants a resource center for YSAs started and it is time for us to make it happen--and then summing it all up. In the middle some tough questions were ask. The first one from Welfare asked if the computers for PEF could be put the back of our classroom and the question was directed to me. Easy answer. Absolutely not. We use every inch of that classroom three nights and one morning a week. I could hear a sigh of relief from CES Auckland. It was determined that the move would be made quickly--by next Monday. This is Fiji so that means within the month. CES agreed to pay for the internet, Welfare would send computers, desks, etc for the Jacksons, FM would get us desks, etc, and Welfare and CES would share the supplies cost. When asked if CES was going to provide Scott and me with a computer a "yes with conditions" was given. Which means they will stall awhile longer.
Sometimes I think it is hard for Elder Wakolo to wear two hats; Service Center Manager which is taking care of the temporal side of the Church here and a paid position, and Area Authority which is ecclesiastical, but wearing both hats really worked here.
We are thankful for his leadership.
March 11
We spent the day studying and then were invited to a movie by the Whitings. The Whitings love movies and keep track of what is showing here in Fiji at our one movie theatre. (notice the British spelling).
The movie was "Oz the Great and Powerful" I read some reviews to make sure that it was okay to see which ended up making me ambivalent about seeing it. I love "The Wizard of Oz" with Judy Garland. I never tire of watching it, so I was excited for a new take on the story, however, this movie received mediocre reviews.
Eight of us met for dinner and then walked to the theatre together. It was very entertaining. It was clean. It was a nice break in our routine.
The movie was "Oz the Great and Powerful" I read some reviews to make sure that it was okay to see which ended up making me ambivalent about seeing it. I love "The Wizard of Oz" with Judy Garland. I never tire of watching it, so I was excited for a new take on the story, however, this movie received mediocre reviews.
Eight of us met for dinner and then walked to the theatre together. It was very entertaining. It was clean. It was a nice break in our routine.
March 10
Today we were asked by Sister Tufoga (two fonga) to serve on the activity committee for the YSA conference next December--after we have been released. We are excited to do it for two reasons. We felt that there was much room for improvement in the activities part of last year's conference, but mostly we are excited because we love Sister Tufoga so much. She is the sweetest person. She teaches the other institute class for the Samabula Wards. She told me when she knew we were teaching that night also that it was OK if all the YSAs came to my class. She was willing to prepare for and teach just one student. It didn't happen. She has 20 on her rolls and has from 15 to 18 attend each week. They attend her class, because she is so loving, loves the Gospel so much, and prepares diligently. It will be fun to work with her.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
March 9
Scott has been experiencing some pretty severe back pain. Watching him walk is painful. Yesterday he got a priesthood blessing from Elder Hogge and Elder Whiting. Today the pain has decreased so much that he is only in pain if he twists wrong and then pain is just sharp and momentary. We are grateful for honorable priesthood bearers, and the power of God here on the earth.
This morning we attended our monthly training with the seminary and institute teachers in the two Suva Stakes. President Sefeti, our boss, is in charge of these meetings. This month he asked if Scott would give a demonstration lesson. CES has for several years tried to change the way their paid and volunteer teachers teach. Because of the lack of computer access, teachers in Fiji do not have the option of seeing demonstrations of the new techniques, so Pres. Sefeti tries to demonstrate each month a different piece of the better way to teach. Scott did it for him this month.
Scott's lesson was masterful. Teaching is such a huge labor and an art. He had to cover all of Mark 8 in less than 30 minutes and covered context/content, principles/doctrines, understanding those principles/doctrines, and helping the students see how to apply that understanding in their lives. One has to weigh every word one speaks, every question asked. Crafting questions that help students think, feel and apply requires so much thought on the part of the teacher. No ad libbing here. Scott did such a great job. I was so proud. He worked hard at the lesson. He reviewed his questions over and over until I was about ready to hide. Because he worked so hard, Heavenly Father blessed his efforts.
We practiced a new baptismal song in Institute tonight--When I am Baptized. It is the song that starts with "whenever I looked for rainbows." We played the music for the YSAs from the church CDs and then sang acapella filling in the parts as there are no written parts. After two or three tries it sounded wonderful. It will be nice to have a second baptismal song. The other one was getting old.
40+ in the institute. Home shortly after 10.
This morning we attended our monthly training with the seminary and institute teachers in the two Suva Stakes. President Sefeti, our boss, is in charge of these meetings. This month he asked if Scott would give a demonstration lesson. CES has for several years tried to change the way their paid and volunteer teachers teach. Because of the lack of computer access, teachers in Fiji do not have the option of seeing demonstrations of the new techniques, so Pres. Sefeti tries to demonstrate each month a different piece of the better way to teach. Scott did it for him this month.
Scott's lesson was masterful. Teaching is such a huge labor and an art. He had to cover all of Mark 8 in less than 30 minutes and covered context/content, principles/doctrines, understanding those principles/doctrines, and helping the students see how to apply that understanding in their lives. One has to weigh every word one speaks, every question asked. Crafting questions that help students think, feel and apply requires so much thought on the part of the teacher. No ad libbing here. Scott did such a great job. I was so proud. He worked hard at the lesson. He reviewed his questions over and over until I was about ready to hide. Because he worked so hard, Heavenly Father blessed his efforts.
We practiced a new baptismal song in Institute tonight--When I am Baptized. It is the song that starts with "whenever I looked for rainbows." We played the music for the YSAs from the church CDs and then sang acapella filling in the parts as there are no written parts. After two or three tries it sounded wonderful. It will be nice to have a second baptismal song. The other one was getting old.
40+ in the institute. Home shortly after 10.
March 8
If Scott and I ever sell our home, I want to move within walking distance of a temple. It is so wonderful to be close to a temple and tonight was the very best of the best.
We had been invited by Milika Taito to come to the temple to witness the endowment of her daughter, Grace. Grace attends Scott's Mission Preparation Class and has her call to--we are so excited--Temple Square. We were honored to attend. When we got there we realized that two other of our young adult woman were also there for the first time; Nola Sefeti and Allison Penjueli who are soon to serve missions in the Philippines. What could be better than to see these fabulous woman make sacred covenants with the Lord. I wept through most of the session.
Fijians for the most part do not ask friends or family to attend these things; Allison only had a woman in her ward with her , and Nola had only her great Auntie, but they were not alone. Nine of our YSAs knew what was happening and showed up to support them; three of whom were recently returned male missionaries. I can not adequately describe the spiritual power and love in that room, so I will not even try.
Sister Jarman, one of the temple missionaries, waved me to the front of the room at the end of the session even though I was sitting on the back row. Later she told me that she wanted me to be where I could welcome these wonderful young woman. What a thoughtful thing to do.
We are so blessed. Every time we think we am sacrificing to be here Heavenly Father overwhelms us with blessings like today in the temple. We are so grateful.
March 7
Eleven of our young adults showed up for the temple tonight. Because there was a fireside we needed to attend, we got everyone started and then left. I missed being in the temple with 'our kids'; they bring such strong spirits with them.
Tonight there was a fireside featuring President Wheelwright, the president of BYU Hawaii. Anyone who had attended BYU-H or is interested in attending BYU-H was invited to attend. We arrived right on time, 6:30 p.m. to find that President Wheelwright's plane was delayed. It was fun to watch the delay tactics of the two stake presidents.
I hate to admit it, but I had gone to prove once and for all that our Fijian kids going to BYU-H was a really bad idea. You see they do not come back which is a huge spiritual leadership and brain drain for the church. President Wheelwright and his wife both spoke and I was impressed. In his speech he answered many of the questions I had. When he opened it for questions, Scott immediately asked how many of our Fijian young adults who started at BYU-H graduated. It was 70+ percent. It did not used to be, but the school finally figured out that the islander kids were not successful because their understanding of English--written and verbal--was not good enough for university study. Now every entrant has to take an English proficiency test and if they do not pass it at 80% they must take an online English class through BYU-H and pass it before they will be admitted. According to Pres. Wheelwright that has made all the difference. He also spoke to the problem that many of our Fijian kids are graduating in areas where there are absolutely no jobs in Fiji and yet they promise to come back for four years and work so they do not have to pay all the money BYU has given them for their education. So many in the past have not come back to Fiji. I do not know what they do about the money they owe.
By the time the fireside was over, I felt so much better about these young adults going to BYU-H.
Tonight there was a fireside featuring President Wheelwright, the president of BYU Hawaii. Anyone who had attended BYU-H or is interested in attending BYU-H was invited to attend. We arrived right on time, 6:30 p.m. to find that President Wheelwright's plane was delayed. It was fun to watch the delay tactics of the two stake presidents.
I hate to admit it, but I had gone to prove once and for all that our Fijian kids going to BYU-H was a really bad idea. You see they do not come back which is a huge spiritual leadership and brain drain for the church. President Wheelwright and his wife both spoke and I was impressed. In his speech he answered many of the questions I had. When he opened it for questions, Scott immediately asked how many of our Fijian young adults who started at BYU-H graduated. It was 70+ percent. It did not used to be, but the school finally figured out that the islander kids were not successful because their understanding of English--written and verbal--was not good enough for university study. Now every entrant has to take an English proficiency test and if they do not pass it at 80% they must take an online English class through BYU-H and pass it before they will be admitted. According to Pres. Wheelwright that has made all the difference. He also spoke to the problem that many of our Fijian kids are graduating in areas where there are absolutely no jobs in Fiji and yet they promise to come back for four years and work so they do not have to pay all the money BYU has given them for their education. So many in the past have not come back to Fiji. I do not know what they do about the money they owe.
By the time the fireside was over, I felt so much better about these young adults going to BYU-H.
Friday, March 22, 2013
March 2, 2013
Spent the majority of the day studying. Scott went off with some of the other seniors to snorkel. I just could not stand the thought of sitting in the sand and rain all day. I love studying the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I took a break to eat lunch and while I was fixing it, the thought came to me that it would be good to make a huge pot of Fish Chowder to eat for dinner tomorrow and then have for lunches or suppers for the rest of the week. So I did and then went right back to studying.
Even though it rained all day here in Suva (but not where Scott was snorkeling) we still had more than 25 YSAs show up to the institute for game night.
Quick story about one of our YSAs. After game night, we took Maggie and Sera home. When we got to Sera's Maggie handed her a sack. Sera thanked her and left. I asked Maggie what was going on and she told me that she had walked from Nasinu to Sera's house on Friday because Sera needed help with her I-Pod and while she was helping her Sera mentioned that she could not go to church because she had not Sunday clothes. The sack was filled with clothes for Sera for church tomorrow. She did not say it, but I am sure the clothes were Maggie's. None of these kids have a lot, but what they have they share. I was so impressed.
Even though it rained all day here in Suva (but not where Scott was snorkeling) we still had more than 25 YSAs show up to the institute for game night.
Quick story about one of our YSAs. After game night, we took Maggie and Sera home. When we got to Sera's Maggie handed her a sack. Sera thanked her and left. I asked Maggie what was going on and she told me that she had walked from Nasinu to Sera's house on Friday because Sera needed help with her I-Pod and while she was helping her Sera mentioned that she could not go to church because she had not Sunday clothes. The sack was filled with clothes for Sera for church tomorrow. She did not say it, but I am sure the clothes were Maggie's. None of these kids have a lot, but what they have they share. I was so impressed.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
February 28
This morning Scott taught his Mission Preparation Class. I love watching him teach with such enthusiasm. He has 15/17 YSAs who seldom miss, in fact, Grace Taito, who is going to serve in the Temple Square Mission, scheduled her classes so that she can attend Mission Prep with Scott. The minute class is over, she rushes back to FNU for class. This morning he taught about prayer and the power of getting investigators to pray. Every week he has the class practicing as if they were missionaries. The students want so much to be prepared to do the Lord's work. This week after class was over he told the class that he had a treat for them (ice cream bars) but they had to earn the treat by memorizing two scriptures about praying that they would need on their missions. One, of course was Moroni 10:3-5 which is not short. I laughed (inside) watching these young adults work hard to memorize. One girl stood up, took her scriptures and talked to the wall. One walked up and down in the classroom mumbling. Another wrote the scripture on the whiteboard and stood there until he knew it. Thomas, a favorite, is physically challenged. I would guess that he is cerebral palsied. One side of his body does not function well. His arm is contracted and he walks on just his toes on that side. He is a delightful kid. I was worried that he would have trouble memorizing, but he did not. Scott was so cute with them. If they said the scripture and it was not word perfect, he would not give them the ice cream bar. He sent them off again with a "got to know it perfectly for your mission." All but the girl who waited till last to say the scriptures to Scott got it done perfectly. Scott gave her the ice cream bar anyway. I am guessing she will be back next week knowing the two scriptures perfectly.
Went to the temple with much trepidation. Scott was supposed to speak with President Davis this past week about the complaints, but the discussion never happened. We were welcomed, and treated wonderfully. President Davis did say that he would let us know each Wednesday what the numbers looked like for the next day and if the number coming was high we would not be able to do baptisms. Sigh.
Went to the temple with much trepidation. Scott was supposed to speak with President Davis this past week about the complaints, but the discussion never happened. We were welcomed, and treated wonderfully. President Davis did say that he would let us know each Wednesday what the numbers looked like for the next day and if the number coming was high we would not be able to do baptisms. Sigh.
February 27
I love my Preparing for Eternal Marriage Class which everyone calls Celestial Marriage. Our lesson tonight was on the Law of Chastity. The principal for the lesson was: through our dating and courtship experiences, the Law of Chastity points the way to peace of mind, lasting security and happiness.
To start the lesson I held up a piece of dark blue thread about five inches long. I asked the class to look at it, decide what it was, and come up with uses for it. I walked up and down the middle of the class as the kids in the back could not see what I was holding. I then asked that the second smartest kid in the class could tell me what it was. Without thinking one young woman said, "It is black thread." Right away the class laughed and laughed in fact, one of the men asked who would ever want to be the second smartest, and of course, she got it wrong; it was a blue thread. Then I asked whoever thought they were the smartest in the class raise their hand and then tell me how they would use it. Every hand went up. I loved it! The first answer was tie a knot in it. I ask what good a knot in this piece of thread would be and, again they all laughed. Someone suggested that I use it to floss my teeth, but when I tried to do it, the thread was too short. No one else had any other ideas. "Does this mean," I asked, "that this piece of thread is pretty useless?" They agreed that it was. I then taped the thread to the middle of the white board and since no one in the back could see it, I underlined and overlined it with marker.
We then went on to read parts of an article by Elder Jeffrey Holland about why it is important to keep God's Law of Chastity. It was deep doctrine. They had great conversations in their partnerships that read and in the class discussion that followed each section of the reading. It was heavy stuff and they were champs at staying focused, listening to each other, asking questions and contributing to the discussion.
I asked them how the physical side of a relationship got started (hand holding) and where it went
from there listing each more serious step in a stair format that went down. We then discussed each step. When we got to kissing which was the third step down because they included hugging, we talked about what kind of kissing is OK, and when to kiss. One guy, bless his heart, asked, "Sister Tennis, what about kisses on the forehead?" Sometimes I just hate my mouth--it runs away with me. Without thinking, obviously, I said, "Oh I know where those kisses end up!" while drawing a line from my forehead to my lips. I thought I had lost total control of the class. They laughed and laughed and laughed. I thought Scott was going to fall off his chair laughing. I know it isn't funny here, but it was so funny there. I finally gave up and laughed too. The interesting thing is that the laughter allowed us to talk of necking, petting, etc. without a lot of embarrassment. It allowed me to talk of sexual passion and how it is really not a good thing outside of marriage. We talked of when things had gotten beyond OK with the Lord and when one needed to see the Bishop.
I ended the lesson with the thread which I took off the board. We read pieces of the story of Lot and his fascination with the city of Sodom. He did not want to live in it, but he wanted to watch it and it got him into trouble. We read where Abram tells the King of Sodom that he does not want a "thread" of the King's. Then I bore my testimony that when it comes to moral purity we can not be fascinated with what the world is doing, in fact, we do not want a thread of what the world has to offer. The Spirit was so strong.
Afterwards, two of the YSA woman (both RMs) told me they had never heard the terms necking, or petting and thanked me for helping them see what was acceptable and not acceptable to God. I am sure they were not the only ones; it is why so many LDS young adults here are not married in the temple first. They have never been taught what is not acceptable and then they find themselves not eligible for temple blessings.
Tonight is why I am here.
February 26
I wish the we could just do our job here and not worry. Since Elder Hamula decided to make our institute a YSA resource center, we have been under the gun. CES Auckland does not want to pay for another renovation which is really necessary if PEF (the Jackson's) is going to be housed in the institute. No one wants to give us any equipment; computers which the Jackson's can not be without, a printer big enough to be networked, general office supplies, etc. Almost immediately the Facilities Management Department decided to take over the Educational Resource Center where the Jackson's are housed along with Welfare Volunteers. It seems that FM has money to renovate the ERC and is rapidly moving ahead with the project. This week we were told that a CES guy is coming to check out the institute, and that the Director of Welfare Services is coming from Auckland to check out our building hoping to move some of the welfare volunteer into our building. I do not like feeling that we are the only ones who care about the needs of the Young Single Adults.
This morning we got a call from our boss, President Sefeti, asking if we could meet the CES administrator at the institute building. We went with heavy hearts and a prayer. When President Sefeti introduced the administrator, He knew Scott. It seems that Brother Wilde was the Davis County Director for seminaries and he was very aware of what Scott had done at Viewmont. This was great; if he respected Scott's past work, maybe he would help us get what we need. He has been promoted and is one of three men who work right under Elder Johnson, Church CES administrator, and Brother Webb, Seminaries and Institutes Administrator. He asked great questions about the plans for the institute, about our recommendation for renovations, etc. He was great. In fact, he asked if we would be available to meet with the church's FM guy who came with him, because he liked our plan for the renovation and wanted him to see the building so he could visualize the plan, see any necessary changes, and speak with Auckland CES intelligently about it. We said that we would. He then called to set us a time. After the call, we asked who was coming and he said that it was Trevor Daw. I was in shock. Trevor Daw? Is his wife's name Melanie? Our old neighbor Trevor Daw? The one we loved so much???? Yes, it was.
Oh it was so nice to know that we had a friend! We went over the plans again, talked about what we were doing in the institute, and what we needed. Trevor asked some tough questions, but we had answers and we know that he will help us. We feel that Trevor was an answer to our prayers. An advocate at last.
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| Talking to Trevor and our FM guy, Lote in the institute. |
Thursday, March 7, 2013
February 24
We had a wonderful morning in church. Every meeting was filled with the Spirit. I was coerced into being the spokesman for our group in Relief Society. Our group says that faith is easy when we know in whom we trust--Jesus Christ and God his Father. I took the opportunity to tell about Grandfather's, James Freeman Royle, patriarchal blessing where he was told that seven times he would be tried in the crucible of life and if he endured it well, God would make of him gold. Grandpa Royle knew in whom he trusted. It is such a blessing to be born into a family of such great faith.
February 23
We are having a problem with cleavage. Not sure how to handle it here in Fiji. Must ask Sister Maiwiriwiri (my weary weary) who is the Stake Relief Society President. I feel so strongly that cleavage is not fair to our wonderful young men.
Took Sera home after. She informed us on the way home that she quit school after class 5. "You mean form 5" I corrected her. She assured me that she meant class 5 which means she quit going to school at ten years of age--fifth grade. How does that happen? I know that she has some physical difficulties, but she does well mentally. We are referring her to Elder and Sister Jackson. She needed to be able to support herself, so getting more education is imperative for her.
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| Playing Cram Board in the Institute |
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| The Pool Table |
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| The Ping Pong Table on the Institute Porch |
February 22
Scott went to the temple to think this morning and as he walked in Brother Bahn met him with "as long as I am in this temple you (YSAs) will always be welcome to be here." It made Scott feel better.
Borrowed Sister Klinger's sewing machine and worked this morning on a skirt, blouse, and finishing the table runner I started months ago. I also worked on the library books the ward sent. I am cataloging them so we know what we have and in what condition they were given to us. We are stamping them so if they get "lost" someone will know where to return them. It is a slow process, but I also watched movies looking for ones good enough to show in the institute. I watched one while sewing and two while working on the books. Nice to be doing two good things at the same time.
Every movie was unacceptable because of horrid language or sexually charged plots. None were rated more than PG. The world's idea of acceptable is horribly messed up.
Borrowed Sister Klinger's sewing machine and worked this morning on a skirt, blouse, and finishing the table runner I started months ago. I also worked on the library books the ward sent. I am cataloging them so we know what we have and in what condition they were given to us. We are stamping them so if they get "lost" someone will know where to return them. It is a slow process, but I also watched movies looking for ones good enough to show in the institute. I watched one while sewing and two while working on the books. Nice to be doing two good things at the same time.
Every movie was unacceptable because of horrid language or sexually charged plots. None were rated more than PG. The world's idea of acceptable is horribly messed up.
February 21
We have been having a little problem. We changed our YSA temple day from Tuesday Mornings to Thursday nights since school has started again at mornings do not work. We have had a complaint from someone in the temple every week since we began (4). It started of with you can not come without your own priesthood. We brought them, but then there were too many endowed in the baptistry. We had one week where the YSAs drifted in from 5:30 to after 6:00 which created a problem in the laundry, so we announced all week that anyone coming after we had entered the baptistry would not be able to participate; no one was late the next week, but then we had a complaint that the proper reverence was not shown inside the temple (talking). Tonight the complaint is that we are messing up the laundry again as the temple can not handle the YSAs and a ward's young men/women in the same evening. It was suggested that we come with the YSAs only two weeks of the month. It broke Scott's heart. I would like to wring someone's neck although it isn't just one person doing the complaining.
I wonder if I have ever been this kind of a problem for someone who was doing exactly what the Lord wanted them to do. Oh I hope not.
We left the temple pretty dejected. Our stake president told us "Attending the temple once a month is a trial. Attending once a week is a blessing." We took this literally and wanted our YSAs in the temple once a week.
We will pray for a way to resolve this issue. We are sure that one of the best ways to keep the YSAs strong in the church is to have them serve in the temple weekly.
I wonder if I have ever been this kind of a problem for someone who was doing exactly what the Lord wanted them to do. Oh I hope not.
We left the temple pretty dejected. Our stake president told us "Attending the temple once a month is a trial. Attending once a week is a blessing." We took this literally and wanted our YSAs in the temple once a week.
We will pray for a way to resolve this issue. We are sure that one of the best ways to keep the YSAs strong in the church is to have them serve in the temple weekly.
February 20
Taught The Family A Proclamation to the World tonight in the Eternal Marriage Preparation class. It is such an inspired document. It always amazes me that we have a prophet who is walking the earth receiving revelation from God and no one outside the church is listening or even aware.
We spent the class time looking for ways to prepare to be husbands and wives, mothers and fathers. The class was really enthusiastic in their study and it was a great review for Scott and me. I love lessons like this one. I gave each student a copy of the proclamation at the end of class.
We spent the class time looking for ways to prepare to be husbands and wives, mothers and fathers. The class was really enthusiastic in their study and it was a great review for Scott and me. I love lessons like this one. I gave each student a copy of the proclamation at the end of class.
February 19
Been thinking about the grandkids today. We had so much fun talking to them yesterday. They are growing up without me there to enjoy it. Ruthie is two and has become a real talker. She makes my heart sing because she is so excited to talk to us when we Skype. We generally only get to see the top of her head as she watches herself in the little screen. It is so cute. Seth at three is always so serious when he speaks to us. He is going to preschool two days a week and takes it very seriously. Allie will soon be three. She sings to us often and is becoming a real little lady. Chaya is so good to make sure we get to see Mason (1) every time we talk. Of course he doesn't say much, but it is fun to watch him walk around things and climb up the stairs. We love the one-on-one conversations with Kelsey Ann whose Spanish is coming right along, Ammon who is such a great athlete, and Tori who is moving into the teenage stage. Modern technology is wonderful, but not the same as being there. I know we are being blessed, but it will be interesting to see how Heavenly Father makes up for this in the long run.
It was my turn to teach Doctrine and Covenants. I love that book.
It was my turn to teach Doctrine and Covenants. I love that book.
February 18
Tonight I am to take a cake to the senior's FHE. As usual with women a regular cake from a cake mix will never do, so I was under the gun a little. Thankfully I had asked Abby to send me the recipe for a wonderful cake she makes, however when I went to the store to buy caramel and the candy bar one crushes to sprinkle on the cake there was none--NONE. I knew I could not get the Cool Whip the recipe calls for which was actually good as I like whipped cream so much better. Minus three important ingredients is not a good beginning. But I love the cake and it is impressive, so I proceeded. I got on the internet to find out how to make caramel and found a website that actually had a video--perfect. I the caramel step by step with the video which made sure I understood that to have caramel taste caramel one leaves the sugar on the stove just past the smoking stage. Done. I made the cake while waiting for the caramel to cool. When I could finally taste it, it was burnt. I could not believe it. So while the cake cooked, I made another pan of caramel. This time I decided to remove the pan from the heat when the sugar was liquid enough to boil; it never did because it got to the copper penny color before it boiled. Off the stove it came. By the time the cake was cool enough to use the caramel, it was cool enough to taste. Burnt! It was too late to make another batch even if I had had more cream. So the cake went to FHE with burnt caramel, whipped cream instead of Cool Whip, and no crushed candy bar on top? Why is it when I am trying to impress people I almost always mess up?
FHE was wonderful. Elder Wakolo spoke to us in a fireside type setting before we ate dinner. After dinner the senior couple who are the area doctor and his wife were asked to speak to us about medical issues. For me the best part of the entire evening was when the doctor's wife spoke. She quoted a general authority who had said to a group of senior missionaries something like this. "You were foreordained to be serving here at this time. And you are at your post." He repeated the "you are at your post" several times. She cried as she said it, and I cried listening. How wonderful it is to know that I am at my post. I have over my lifetime wondered if I have been where I should be, worthily doing what I should be doing or if because I was not diligent I have lost opportunities to serve God in His cause here upon the earth.
FHE was wonderful. Elder Wakolo spoke to us in a fireside type setting before we ate dinner. After dinner the senior couple who are the area doctor and his wife were asked to speak to us about medical issues. For me the best part of the entire evening was when the doctor's wife spoke. She quoted a general authority who had said to a group of senior missionaries something like this. "You were foreordained to be serving here at this time. And you are at your post." He repeated the "you are at your post" several times. She cried as she said it, and I cried listening. How wonderful it is to know that I am at my post. I have over my lifetime wondered if I have been where I should be, worthily doing what I should be doing or if because I was not diligent I have lost opportunities to serve God in His cause here upon the earth.
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