Monday, August 16, 2010

Missionary Journal

England (May 2010 Weeks 3, 4, and 5)


May Week 3
Monday was laundry, and cleaning. Not much else but working on lessons and some shopping.

Tuesday was District Meeting and we played a really fun game. You open your scriptures to a page and pick a verse, and then another person tells you what missionary/ gospel doctrine you need to liken it to. It was hilarious. We all got a turn.

This picture shows Elder Hillary (our District Leader) leading the discussion.


Here are Elders Reimers, Quaye (our six-week missionary), Kimberly, and Barber looking up scriptures. Elder Quaye is great and is working on his medical paperwork so he can submit for his full-time mission.

Tuesday evening was PEC which Walt conducted while I stayed home and read.

 
Wednesday we headed out toward Osmington Mills (for visits) and, of course, did some sightseeing as well.

While we were in Osmington Mills, Walt took me to see the UK’s version of a C.O.P.E. Course (PGL School Adventure). On Monday evening, we received a call from one of the sisters in the branch and were asked to take some clothes out to her son who was at the C.O.P.E. Course. 

We went out to see it in the day time and took these pictures. The courses are set up to help students make connections about how their behavior affects themselves and others while participating in adventure activities. Her son is shy and doesn’t participate easily in team or group activities. It was expected the three-day course would help and as far as I have heard it was great.

I was interested and looked COPE Course up in Google (of course): “What is A C.O.P.E. Course? C.O.P.E. is an acronym for "Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience." A COPE Course is a custom built challenge course or ropes course designed to meet the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Project C.O.P.E. installation and operation procedures. COPE Programs are based on attaining seven goals outlined by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). I didn’t know that this was instituted by BSA.

We left Osmington Mills and went further east to Corfe Castle. Here’s a picture of it from the road. It obviously is a ruin and we didn’t want to pay £10 (about $15) apiece to see it. We also went into Corfe Castle Village and stopped at the local bakery for a treat. Wikipedia states this about Corfe Castle: “Corfe Castle is a fortification in the English county of Dorset. It stands above the village of the same name. The castle dates back to the 11th century, and commands a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage. The majority of the road traffic to and from the Swanage area passes below the battlements of the castle."

We bought a Chocolate Cake at the local bakery (it was chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (melted chocolate). With some milk it was great.









After we finished eating I took a small path back behind the bakery and took some more pictures of the castle ruin.










As we were leaving I walked up and around the corner and took this picture of the village church.











Walt noticed some cows that looked like they were moving in the field near the road as we were leaving Corfe Village, so we circled around and sure enough, there they were crossing the road. Obviously they pasture during the day on the left and then cross the road to the barn for milking in the late afternoon.

Once the road was clear we continued east and toward the coast to Swanage. Wikipedia notes: “Swanage is a small coastal town in the south east of Dorset, England. It is situated at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck, approximately 10 km south of Poole and 40 km east of Dorchester.
The town has a population of 10,124 (2001). Swanage, originally a small port and fishing village flourished in the Victorian era, when it first became a significant quarrying port and later a seaside resort for the rich of the day. Today the town remains a popular tourist resort, this being the town's primary industry, with many thousands of visitors coming to the town during the peak summer season, drawn by the bay's sandy beaches and other attractions. The town is located at the eastern end of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site.” Our first and last stop was at the harbor. After that we headed back to Weymouth.

Thursday we were out and about in Weymouth. We have this absolutely beautiful rhododendron tree on Buxton Road that is wonderful in the spring. I wish I had gotten to the tree just a bit earlier (you can see all the flower petals that are on the ground). It is slightly past its prime. Nevertheless, it’s something to see.

Friday was an at-home day, working on lessons and speaking assignments.

Saturday, we were on Portland visiting and I took these pictures of the Victoria Roundabout.

As they were last year, the tulips are stunning!









Sunday was church and a good day.  I am really enjoying teaching the Old Testament. Teaching it means I really have to study well and know what I am talking about.

There are great stories here that I’ve never really thought deeply about or applied to my life. I do like to teach – I learn three times more than I ever manage to impart to those who are listening to me.

We had a visitor today – she is the sister of one of our “no contact” sisters (Sheila Coleman). Sheila is in Dorchester Hospital having one of her legs amputated. Walt, President Chasteauneuf, and I headed over to the hospital at about 3:00 pm to see Sheila and another sister who is in the same hospital. We were told she was by the “pencils.” I had no idea what was meant by that, but soon found out. The “pencils” is a modern sculpture of colored pencils that are balanced and move around on the tripod base.

We saw both sisters and had a very nice visit with Sister Coleman after which President Chasteauneuf and Walt gave her a blessing.





May Week 4
Monday we washed clothes, cleaned, and waited for the Gas Man who was coming to check all our gas appliances (heaters, stove (but not oven), boiler (hot water for the kitchen and bathroom sink), and water heater system in the shower. I believe they are supposed to have a yearly check, but this is the first time I’ve seen a “gas man” around.

Tuesday we didn’t have district meeting because we were having Zone Conference on Friday. We spent a goodly portion of the day out an about in Weymouth and found out in the evening that we were having district meeting on Wednesday instead.

Wednesday, we went to District Meeting where we discussed Christ-like Attributes and went through the “Attribute Activity” on page 126 of Preach My Gospel. I would suggest everyone who has a copy of Preach My Gospel take advantage of that activity and work on your weaknesses. It does a good job of pointing out problems.

After district meeting, we did quick Flat Checks in Yeovil and Salisbury. Then we had lunch and made visits in Dorchester. We also picked up Carol White to take her to visit Sister Coleman at the hospital since she is close and could visit periodically. Unfortunately, Sister Coleman was sleeping when we were there, so we didn’t get to see her.

Thursday was an at-home day as we waited for the Leasing Agent to come by for our 6-month house check and worked on lessons and other church-related activities (making an addition ten copies of the 2-disk set of Mormon Messages) since we would be out of pocket all day tomorrow, and I had missionaries asking for copies of the disks and we would see everybody at Zone Conference.

Friday we were out very early to pick up the Christchurch Sisters (missionaries) to take them to Reading (about two hours from home) for Zone Conference. Unfortunately, it was an hour to Christchurch and then was supposed to be an hour and one-half from there to Reading. It took so long to get out of Christchurch that we were late for the Zone meeting prior to the conference. As we were driving, my glasses broke. They were titanium frames and they just broke at the nose piece. That meant I went through the conference without being able to see anybody. Real fun!!

The conference started at 10:00 am and we were privileged to (first of all) shake hands and then hear from Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. It was a great meeting. Elder Cook explained why he was in the British Isles by telling us that he was here to record his testimony of Jesus Christ at the River Ribble (where the first baptisms outside the United States were conducted in July 1837). Elder Cook also told us he was on the organizing committee that oversaw the creation of Preach My Gospel. Interestingly enough, the goal of Preach My Gospel was that it couldn’t be memorized. For so long the missionaries had memorized the lessons and didn’t really understand how to digress from the script when questions came up. Now, the missionaries study to understand the Gospel principles and rely on the Spirit to guide them to what needs to be said as they are teaching. It makes for missionaries that are well acquainted with the Holy Ghost, are becoming scriptorians, and who really know the doctrine of the Church.

Saturday while I finished up lessons and other stuff for church tomorrow, Walt took my glasses and went into Weymouth to find out if they could be fixed. Unfortunately, since they were titanium they couldn’t. I am so thankful I brought another (old) pair so that I could at least see what was going on even if it wasn’t quite as clear as normal. I finished my lessons and dropped into bed.

Sunday was fine. I taught Gospel Doctrine and then did Primary Sharing Time. After we finished the tithing and other “after church” activities, we went home and had lunch.

Sunday afternoon we went with John Dadds and his boys, Daniel and Luke, to see the bluebells since we were rather late to see them last year.

First we went to the village of Milton Abbas. John described it was a “cake box” village. In other words, it looks like the pictures they put on cake boxes. Wikipedia: “Milton Abbas is a village in Dorset in the south-west of England, approximately seven miles south-west of the market town of Blandford Forum and 11 miles north-east of Dorchester. The village had a population of 766 in 2001 and is sometimes considered the first planned settlement in England. The original abbey and House is now a famous boarding school - Milton Abbey School.”

I looked at the property listings. These are two-bedroom homes (built for the peasants since the Lord didn’t want to be able to see them from his home). You can own one of the few homes available for £230,000 to 275,000. That would be ~$335,000 to 400,000. They only have one bathroom and it is probably upstairs, but for $400K you can get a separate dining room. For $335 you probably get a combination kitchen/dining room.

I took a picture of the reroof that was going on here. This is a typical “reed thatch” roof. Imagine having a roof like that?? Supposedly they last for 40-50 years (with the “ridge” needing replacement every 8-10 years) and cost more than a cement-tiled or slated roof counterpart.




So that you know what I mean by ridge, here is a picture of a lovely 4-bedroom home worth about $1M. You can see the ridge (scallops) at the top.









After we spent ten or 15 minutes in Milton Abbas we headed to Milton Abbey. Milton Abbey is a small (not looking at the buildings or land) school with a maximum of 250 live-in students.

This is the first shot I took from a distance as we walked toward the school.




Here is the front of the school and below a picture of some of the grounds out behind the school.










It just goes on for acres and acres around the school (35 hectares or 86 acres).











Here are John Dadds and his boys Daniel and Luke at the back of the school.  We really love this family - they have been so really good to us and helped us feel very much at home here.


















A picture of me and the boys at the same place.












Walt sitting in the shade. I know it’s hard to imagine having to find shade to sit in when you are in England, but sometimes it gets warm (rarely hot).















The building you can barely see in the trees is a small church (St. Catherine’s Chapel). You get to it only by walking up a long set of grass stairs.














This picture shows the stairs a little better.  Personally, I can't imagine walking all the way up those grassy steps without slipping  and falling.

It was a lovely afternoon. We went home and to bed.







May Week 5
Monday was hair day again. I realized none of you had ever seen where or who does my hair.

The shop is located in Littlemore, just a 20-minute car ride away in a small strip-mall center.











These are the two ladies that do my hair. Amy, the blonde at the counter does the color and Judith (in the red in back) cuts and styles it.

It is relatively inexpensive to have my hair done here: £43 (a little over $60). If I just want to have it shampooed and styled it is £14 or $20. Labor costs are so low! Amy and Judith are state of the art and great with my hair. I will miss them when I go home.

Monday evening I made chocolate chocolate-chip muffins with a borrowed muffin pan to take to Sheila at the hospital tomorrow. Then, while we were sitting down in the lounge (front room), we heard this huge “CRACK” upstairs. I ran upstairs and found the toilet just dumping water on the floor. I grabbed the bathroom rug and stuck it on the floor behind the toilet to sop up the water and hollered for Walt. It turned out that the toilet tank had cracked (I have no idea what caused it) and so we had to figure out what we were going to do until tomorrow (the soonest a plumber could be called) for bathroom privileges. Another issue was that there is only one water cutoff valve in the whole house (under the sink in the kitchen). This valve shuts off the water for the whole house!! Finally Wonderful Walt got a stick and a coat hanger and wired the shut-off valve for the toilet tank up so the water wouldn’t run into the tank and onto the floor. That meant we could have showers in the morning and actually could use the toilet if we poured water through the toilet bowl. It meant keeping a bucket in the bathtub for the time being, but it was close for getting water to pour. Before we went to bed we called our landlord and informed him of the problem. He is so good to us.

Tuesday was district meeting. Then we went looking for a switch for President Chasteauneuf’s office at church. They have very different switches in England - they are aren’t universal, but once a certain type of switch is installed, you either install another one just like it or you start all over again. We had to go two different places to get the switch, but finally got one. Unfortunately, Walt can’t put it in for two reasons: (1) He isn’t licensed and (2) it’s a public building and must have a licensed electrical technician. Fortunately, we have one in the branch (the Branch Executive Secretary). After that we came home and had lunch, hoping as we drove in that the toilet would be fixed. Oh, well – not yet. He came shortly before we were ready to leave for Dorchester to visit Sheila at the hospital to see what type of toilet we had. After that we left and they were busy working on the toilet when we returned. You can see one of the plumbers with the old toilet on the front lawn. There’s a long story about a toilet on the front lawn and that’s why I took the picture. Ask me and I’ll tell you when we get back in town.

I made dinner, printed an agenda for the Branch Council meeting, and we left for the chapel. Walt conducted and the meeting went briskly along with everything getting done.

Somewhere in between all the “stuff” that happened on Tuesday, I got a call from the Primary President asking me to pull together a sharing time for primary on Sunday (not my week since it is the 5th Sunday) as she was going to not be there due to family considerations. She wanted a video of Christ’s ministry and something for the children to do as a discussion tool for the video. I’ll think of something tomorrow.

Wednesday I grabbed the “Faith in Christ” DVD and ripped the contents. Then I cut out small vignettes and melded them into a 13-minute DVD of Christ and His Ministry. Most of the dialog in “Faith in Christ” is in the form of scripture quotes. I just wrote down the quotes I liked, looked them up in the scriptures, and pulled together a cross-word puzzle. I also downloaded all the New Testament Scripture Stories and loaded them on a DVD for Primary. No Problem!! Just takes time.

I worked more on my Gospel Doctrine lesson and touched base with sisters in the branch to make sure Sheila was getting visited.

Thursday we were up very early and out to Poole for Zone Training/Conference. The Poole Zone was there for training and interviews with President Shamo. At 11:00 the Plymouth, Portsmouth, and Bristol Zones joined us for Zone Conference. We heard testimonies from the Elders leaving at the end of this moves period (ten of them from our four zones). There wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd.

On the way home we did flat checks for the Zone Leaders (Bournemouth) and the Poole Elders. At the Zone Leaders flat I found a quote from Brigham Young taped to the window: “… live every day so that when you lie down at night you can look back on the day and say, in all honesty before God, ‘I do not know that I have done a wrong action, said an improper word, indulged in a bad thought, or neglected to perform any duty that I ought to have attended to this day, and I can lie down in peace, and submit myself to the Lord, and if I never wake again in this world, all right, I am just as ready to go now as I ever shall be’ ” (Brigham Young, JD, pg. 107). This is beautifully said. We could all do to live our lives to this thought.

In the evening we received a call from Brother Humphreys (Stake High Council). He was coming to Weymouth to give a 5th Sunday Relief Society/Priesthood combined lesson on Tithing. He wanted Walt and me to take part in the lesson. Walt told him OK. That meant I had two things to do 3rd hour. Well, I offloaded sharing time to the Primary Second Counselor (Fiona Payne: a mechanical engineer who designs airframes for helicopters) and started preparing our parts. Walt also realized he hadn’t made the second speaking assignment for Sunday and started pulling together a talk (he was scheduled to speak in June or July anyway – this just meant he was a little early).

Friday we went to Weymouth for an appointment to have our eyes checked (it’s been almost two years) and order some new glasses (two to three weeks before we get them). It was after lunch before we were finished and we did a few little chores and had a late lunch out before coming home. In the evening Walt worked on his talk and I worked on Gospel Doctrine.

Saturday was more of the same. About 2:00 pm I was sitting at the computer when the right lens of my old glasses fell out and into my lap (the screw had come out and we don’t even have a small screwdriver to put it back in). I couldn’t believe it – first one pair and then the other. Since I couldn’t see anything, Walt went to town and to the same place we bought our new glasses and got them to fix my glasses. Fortunately they did since I wasn’t happily anticipating giving a Gospel Doctrine lesson with not being able to see or walking around blindly. We finally finished everything that needed to be done (bulletins, etc.) and dropped into bed about 11:00 pm.

Sunday was good. Everything worked out fine. We got home about 3:00 pm and took a nap.

Our youth speakers need some help, so Walt gave them each a copy of the General Conference talk he was basing his talk on and asked them to critique him when he spoke. They were all at the chapel early to hear what he wanted them to do, they sat right up front, and listened very carefully to what he was saying, and (according to him) did a brilliant job of what they were asked to do. They also understood how they could apply that learning to their next opportunities to speak. It was kind of a “gutsy” thing to do.

After church I took this picture of four of the sisters sitting in the front lobby of the chapel. Left to right: Sisters Sharon Walker, Carol White, Linda Black, and Val Chasteauneuf.

That’s it for this month. Love you all. Jackie

Monday, June 14, 2010

Missionary Journal

England (May 2010 Weeks 1 and 2)


May Week 1
Monday was hair day, laundry, and cleaning. Not much else but working on lessons and a little shopping.

Tuesday was District Meeting and we visited folks in Weymouth in the afternoon.

Wednesday we spent the day in the house working on Gospel Doctrine, Primary Sharing Time, and the Speaking Assignments for the next three months (May through July) since we knew we wouldn’t be at home Friday and Saturday due to the trip to London for the Partial Conference with Elder Snow. Arranging speaking assignments is a lengthy task as it involves reading the talks from General Conference (I made up an Excel spreadsheet with the links to the talks for Walt), matching them up with speakers, and then getting acceptances from the proposed speakers. Once that is done, then another spreadsheet is sent to our Music Director (with the speakers and their topics) to put in the music. Once that is completed, doing the bulletin is very simple and quick.

Thursday morning Walt made peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies and we set off in the early afternoon for Salisbury. We visited ten families (mostly less-active) and enjoyed meeting the Salisbury folks. So far we’ve visited 42% of the Salisbury families.

Friday morning we headed to London to meet the Webers (another Senior Missionary Couple who are serving in Plymouth) at Kew Gardens in Richmond. As we were traveling I took this picture of the rape seed fields. It is so beautiful here in the spring when the trees are leafing out and the fields are brown (just plowed, green (growing), or bright yellow (rape seed).




We just made it to Richmond at the appropriate time, but couldn’t find a parking place near the Main Gate where the Webers were waiting (see map). We finally parked (very close) to the Victoria Gate (a quarter of the way around the park from the Main Gate) and walked over.

Wikipedia says the following about Kew Gardens: “The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to simply as Kew Gardens, are 121 hectares (299 acres) of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. The director is Professor Stephen D. Hopper, who succeeded Professor Sir Peter Crane. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is also the name of the organisation that runs Kew Gardens and Wakehurst Place gardens in Sussex. It is an internationally important botanical research and education institution with 700 staff and an income of £56 million for the year ended 31 March 2008, as well as a visitor attraction receiving almost 2 million visits in that year. The gardens are a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Created in 1759, the gardens celebrated their 250th anniversary in 2009.

“The Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is responsible for the world’s largest collection of living plants. The organisation employs more than 650 scientists and other staff. The living collections include more than 30,000 different kinds of plants, while the herbarium, which is the largest in the world, has over 7 million preserved plant specimens. The library contains more than 750,000 volumes, and the illustrations collection contains more than 175,000 prints and drawings of plants. The Kew site includes four Grade I listed buildings and 36 Grade II listed structures in an internationally significant landscape.”

One thing that was quite interesting was the “seed walk” which holds 28 very large willow sculptures of seed pods. This is the “Devil’s Claw” seed pod (left) and this is the Banksia seed pod (below).






















The trees here are absolutely beautiful. We really enjoyed getting close to these flowering trees. I believe they are called “double pink cherry.”












Here is a picture of Walt and I under this tree.














 And here are the Webers.
















Here is a closeup of the flowers.
















As we came in from the Victoria Gate on our way to the Main Gate we passed the Palm House Pond. The pond was surrounded by these stone vases planted with pansies and tulips. They were just gorgeous.










Here is a closeout of the flowers.















Our next stop was the Palm House. It was so muggy and hot in there that my glasses wouldn’t defog; I had to borrow Walt’s hanky and wipe them off. In this hot house, there was a walk way all the way around with circular staircases at each end (supposedly one up and one down, but people didn’t seem to pay much attention to the up and down.




This is a picture of Walt coming down – you can see his “dorky” hat and, of course, his white shirt and tie (we were the only women there in skirts and Elder Weber and Walt were the only men I saw in ties.

















We came through are some more of the formal gardens. There were many, many people working in the gardens the day we were there.












There was also this duck family. (I thought they were cute so I took the picture.)














One of the last things we (well, not me) did was the tree-top walkway. It was 107 steps up (59 feet).

Walt is looking down at me (sitting on a bench and waiting for them to come down) from up there in the tree tops. This is probably enough for Kew Gardens. If you want to see more, I have hundreds of pictures – thank goodness for digital cameras. 

When we finished at Kew Gardens, we headed out for the London Temple. We planned to meet the Webers at the Mission Office, go out to dinner, and then do a temple session. We brought the remaining cookies with us since Walt didn’t want them to go stale. We gave Sister Wege (the only person working in the Mission Office at the moment) a bag and chatted with her until the Webers showed up. Then we went to the Peacock to get dinner, came back to the Temple and did the 7:00 pm session, went back to the accommodation and went to bed (boy, was that bed hard and the pillow was big and hard). I woke up with a crook in my neck that wasn’t nice. Not only that, but Walt had set the phone to wake us up at 6:30 so we could be on our way by 8:00 to the Wandsworth Stake Building for a Missionary Conference with Elder Snow. Unfortunately, the phone alarm didn’t wake us up at 6:30 am. In fact, it didn’t wake us up at all. I woke up at 7:26 am and we rushed through cleaning up and getting out by 8:15 am. Fortunately, the traffic between the Temple and Wandsworth wasn’t at all bad and we made it there in plenty of time to get a good seat.

Elders Snow and Donaldson were in Wandsworth to attend their Stake Conference (that afternoon and on Sunday). Elder Snow is a member of the Presidency of the Seventy. Elder Donaldson was sustained in April General Conference as our new Area Seventy replacing Elder Kearon who was sustained as a new member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Whenever there is a general authority anywhere in the mission, President Shamo tries his best to get them to speak to his missionaries. Even so, this was called a “Partial” conference in that only the zones nearest to London were invited (which doesn’t include ours). However, all the senior missionaries were invited so we got to go.

The meeting was wonderful and we heard many great suggestions on how to be better missionaries.

We also heard from President Shamo that Elder Cook will be in England this month (I believe) and we will have another conference.

The mission fed us (sandwiches, etc.) and while we were there I realized that there were an inordinate number of our missionaries (those that served in either Weymouth or Yeovil and that we saw weekly at District Meetings or when the missionaries were on splits. I took this picture so I would have it to remember those that were going home shortly. Isn’t that a great looking bunch of young men? [Left to right: Elders Marchione (Weymouth), Mysyk (Yeovil and our District Leader), Bång (Weymouth), Allred (Weymouth), Ellsworth (Weymouth), Crockett (Weymouth), Harding (Yeovil and District Leader), Reimers, Kuhse (Yeovil), Rodriquez (Yeovil), and Arrington (Weymouth).]

When we left I put on the SatNav to get us out of the London area and it said we should be home at 4:05 pm. Oh, boy, plenty of time to rest and get things ready for church tomorrow. Well, not really. It took us a long, long time to just get out of London. It was Saturday and people were thronging the streets. We didn’t get home until after 6:00 pm. We did a little bit of shopping (tomorrow is Fast Sunday) and headed home. I did the bulletin and went to bed. For any of you who don’t know about Fast Sunday, we fast the first Sunday of each month for two meals (I usually fast Saturday dinner and Sunday breakfast) and pay at least the amount I would have spent for those meals to Fast Offering to help the needy in the church.

Sunday was good. I forgot to mention that on Friday I received a call from Ros Rowbotham (our Primary President) who asked me to switch Sundays with her for Sharing Time. I said, “Fine, as long as I don’t have to prepare another topic.” So, I was able to attend ReliefSociety. We came home, had lunch, and I took a Sunday nap.


May Week 2
Tuesday was the last District Meeting before moves. This was a short moves cycle of only five weeks rather than six weeks. Here we have (starting back row left to right) Elders Purser, Hillary, Hanks (current District Leader), Barker, and Tom Hagen (second row left to right) Elders Reimers, Greeley (suit coat, Zone Leader) (on floor) Elder Lee. Tom Hagen is one of the temporary missionaries helping the Mission for the next six weeks. Elders Lee and Purser and going home Friday this week. They are two of the 17 missionaries going home this week. In June we have another 18 going home.

Elder Hillary led us in District Study on the topic of Christ’s Teaching Skills. Each companionship was given scriptures to look up and to decide on what skill’s Jesus showed in the reading. Ours was Luke 4:32-37:
32 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.
33 ¶ And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,
34 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God.
35 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.
36 And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.
37 And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.

Therefore, our skills were (1) know of the doctrine, speaking with power, discernment, and example.

Then (Skill = Using the Spirit to Teach), Matthew 10-19-20:
19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

The next was Doctrine & Covenants 11:21 - Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men. The skill was great preparation. How many times do people procrastinate preparation and then can’t get it together at the very last minute. I am a firm believer in early and good preparation!

Lastly was Luke 10:36-37 (Skill=Asking Questions)
36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Questions to ask yourselves:
1. Where did you acquire your teaching skills?
2. What helped you become the teacher you are?
3. What attributes did Jesus have that made Him such a great teacher?

In Preach My Gospel (Page 176), we read: “Learn to rely on the Spirit to give you what you should say and do. By studying, developing, and using the teaching skills in this chapter, you will become a more capable instrument in the hands of the Lord. The Spirit will draw upon the knowledge and skills you have developed to help you teach more powerfully. The quality and power of your teaching will help others understand and feel the importance the restored gospel has for them. Their understanding will be influenced by your personal worthiness. Their understanding will also be influenced by how well you focus your attention on them, by how well you explain the gospel, use the scriptures, share your testimony, ask questions, and invite them to make and keep commitments.”

It was a lovely study led by our new District Leader. I still marvel at the dedication and abilities of these 20-somethings. What great young men!!

Tuesday after the meeting, we met President Chasteauneuf at Dorchester Hospital and did some hospital visits. We have two sisters at Dorchester. One sister is waiting for an angiogram and the other is on inhalation therapy for asthma. After that we made more Weymouth visits with President. One home we stopped at was Sister Sandra Scott’s. She promised us that she would come to church with us Sunday, 16 May, since she had to be out of town visiting her step-mother who has cancer. We have been working with her since we got here and I’m holding my breath and praying constantly that we can get her to sacrament.

Wednesday I asked our recent widow out for lunch and a walk on the High Street. We had a great time. Walt and I picked her up at 12:30 and he dropped us off on the High Street and went to vegetate for a while. We had lunch at a Chinese restaurant and then just walked up and down looking in shops (mostly window shopping). It doesn’t really make any sense for me to buy much of anything when I either have to give it away or give away something else so that I can take another thing home in five months. I did, however, buy a darling little angel sculpture (the angel is sleeping in a hand). I’ll find a place for it.

After window shopping we crossed over a street and walked along the Esplanade (next to the ocean). I took several pictures of the flower planters there.

Walt picked us up at 3:30 and we took her home. It was just a lovely afternoon. I haven’t taken time to window shop with anyone since we’ve been here. It was good for her and very good for me.

After that we more some more visits out on Portland Island and stopped at Sister Melanie Drinkwater’s to give Orson some cookies (well, we are the “cookie people”) and help Melanie her with computer and printer issues.

Thursday was an “in” day since we had the Landlord (Clive) coming over in the afternoon to check out some issues we have with the bathroom and we didn’t know exactly when he was coming. Unfortunately, he arrived just before 5:00 pm and left about 7:00 pm. We really like him – unlike most of the landlords we’ve heard about from the elders, when we have a problem, he is there as quickly as possible to remedy it.

Friday Walt was out and about in Weymouth seeing brethren. In the evening he went to the chapel to work on some electrical issues in the “Bishop’s Office.” I finished up Gospel Doctrine, worked on Primary Sharing Time and started pulling together a Family Home Evening (FHE) for the Walkers. They invited us to dinner on Saturday evening and wanted us to prepare a FHE on preparing for the coming day by scripture study and prayer.

Saturday Walt was out and about again while I made soft pretzels. This was the first time I’d tried it, but it was fun and they were good. The reasons I made soft pretzels: (1) Nathan Walker has to severely limit his intake of sugar and is allergic to all dairy products (and pretzels have no dairy and very little sugar) and (2) they went with the lesson on prayer.

History of Pretzels
In about 610 A.D. a very creative Alpine Monk decided to make use of the pieces of dough left over from baking bread. The Monk formed them into thin strips folded into a looped twist to represent the folded arms of children in prayer.

This scrumptious treat was given to the children as they learned their prayers. They began calling the treat "Pretiola", which is Latin for "little reward". Soon it was known the world over as a pretzel.

The secret of making great pretzels is not only in the baking but also in the shaping. We, like pretzels, are made from the best ingredients, by the best hands available, the hands of our Father in Heaven.

Have you ever seen a broken pretzel, or one that's lost its shape? We too, can lose our shape when we don't pray always to keep our spirituality intact. Even in the midst of our greatest trials, we must remember, as did Job, to call on the Lord. The simple shape of the pretzel, arms folded in prayer, reminds us to pray each day. Our "Pretiola" or "little rewards" the blessings we receive.

Every time you see a pretzel, remember prayer.

I took my camera, but the battery needed to be recharged. So, no pictures.

We went to the store for milk and bread; then when we got home, I did the handouts for Gospel Doctrine, did the bulletin, and made sure everything was ready for tomorrow. We went to bed fairly early. However, Walt woke me up at about 4:00 am when he remembered he hadn’t put the soup (potato leek) into the Crockpot before he went to bed.

On Sunday, we picked up President and Sister Chasteauneuf up and headed for the chapel (about 8:30 am). That was when the day started to go terribly wrong! My mind must have been “at the punchbowl” last night because I kept discovering things I had done wrong. First, I realized I had printed the front of the bulletin but not the back side with the announcements (which is used to make up the agenda for Sacrament Meeting). I ran into the clerk’s office and printed out a dozen bulletins and hand tore them (a little rough, but not too bad). I also changed the speakers since our first speaker was still in the hospital. Then I proceeded to set up for Gospel Doctrine. As I was pulling the handouts out of the sleeve I keep them in, I realized that I hadn’t put in the reader’s theatre the Primary was doing for Sharing Time. Back into the clerk’s office and I reprinted them. OK, I thought. Everything else must be all right. Well, when I got into Gospel Doctrine I found out that I had two Handout #1s. Fortunately, that was patched over easily. I still can’t believe I managed to mess up three different things for today. Boy, was my halo tarnished!

After church was Munch and Mingle and it went well. The weather has been in the mid to high 50s and rainy this last week. However, everybody that usually bring soup for this event decided it was “summer” and they weren’t going to bring soup. One brought a lovely macaroni salad, the second pizza, and the third home-made chicken wings. Ours was the only soup in sight. We also had home-made quiche, meat pie, Cornish rolls, etc., plus desserts. The only thing that didn’t get brought was drinks (we had water and that was just fine with me).

Love to you all, Jackie