Those were the days

Dear Family and Friends,
Anyone recognize this young man? Could it be young Elder Olson? What a handsome guy!!
Two weeks ago when we went to the "Flea Market" he visited with some ladies that I buy jewelry from when we go. They treat us well and the jewelry is affordable.
He impressed them by his ability to speak Navajo and especially his accent. The younger of the two there asked about him this Friday when I went with sister McMurtrey. She was so taken in by his ability to speak Navajo with such accuracy. She then asked me if he was my son. I apologized and made sure that he was "my husband" and not my son. He does clean up quite well you know, so I wasn't offended and figured she recognized a handsome man when she saw him and I guess he hides his age better than I do.
I will continue to shop there, but I may keep Elder Olson on a short leash as we stop there. lol
I guess the big news this week is our upcoming trip to Durango. CO to see Dr. Jim Yousself. He was the surgeon who did back surgery on Pres. Justice last month. We sent a letter to OWCP (Workman's Comp) to which they replied much quicker than they ever have before. Sister Mc helped us write the letter and suggested we send a copy to our lawyer, which we also did. Whatever it was the response was quick and our appt is 8:45 am Thurs. Durango is 334 miles from here, but a lot closer than Jackson Hole for now.
We ask that everyone continue to keep us in your prayers and remind you that we pray for you as well. Remember the scripture Leath Henderson often quoted. "..The effectual fervant prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16. We know that this is true and appreciate all the prayers in our behalf.
We are looking forward to General Conference which they will broadcast at the church building right across the parking lot. We are so blessed to live on the church compound as I like to call it.
We did have a visitor at 1:00 am this week. The police referred her here and we able to calm her down, give her a special blessing, and then drive her home, which was boarded up trailer with no electricity. Be very gratiful for the daily blessing you have, and trust me you have many.
Life's trials sometimes takes away our peace, but reading and pondering, and especially remembering the Lord's tender mercies in our own lives will quickly put us back where we need to be in trusting Him and knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt that He is always there and will guide us and protect us as we strive to live the way we should.
"I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35
May all of us be more willing to give and daily recognize how great our belssings really are.
Elder & Sister Olson

Stroll down Memory Lane

Dear Family and Friends,

We were able to drive over to Lukachukai yesterday morning and spend the night in Chinle and return for church with the Lukachuka Ward. They meet in one of the gyms at the Dine College in Tsaille. They start at 9 with a combined Priesthood and Relief Society lesson, then Sunday School, concluding with Sacrament. There were quite a few there when Sacrament ended. The former Stake President knelt at a table to bless the sacrament and one deacon passed the sacrament to everyone present. Very humbling meeting to say the least.

The talk was given by a former Bishop who is now a high councilman. The Bishop also gave some comments about faith and prayer. They announced that they have approval to build their own chapel. It sounded as if the paperwork is in Salt Lake with whoever makes that happen.

Afterward we found the sisters you see above. The one next to me was about 2 when Elder Olson met her family. He had pictures of each of them except the one on the right who is a daughter. Jennifer, next to me had called her two sisters who drove over to meet Elder Olson. Elder Olson had asked about her in the local gas station where she works. They called her and she made the arrangements for us to come by after church and visit. It was somewhat emotional. Her daughters had a good laugh of the picture of her sucking on a bottle with her hair all askew. They gave us their addresses so we can send a copy of the pictures we took.

On Saturday they had a big celebration and an even bigger feast. Over 60 hamburgers and even more hot dogs were consumed along with salads, desserts and lots of soda pop and water. We walked around and saw the gardens that were close by. They are still very green and growing while ours are going the way of all earth. I must admit I hate seeing the plants start to die, but Elder Seeley assures me it is normal.

The couple above is Bishop Ralph Begay and his wife Priscilla. They are a great couple.

The other picture was taken up the canyon behind Lukachukia. The road is paved and it is a beautiful drive. We appreciated the opportunity to visit the school where I taught and see the front of the apartment where I lived and met Elder Olson so many years ago. It was truly a stroll down memory lane yesterday and today. I took lots of pictures and will try to post them separately.

We had an amazing couple of days, seeing old friends and old places. Things have changed a lot, but the memories haven't.

Elder & Sister Olson

Finding Waldo Pic Posting

Dear Family and Friends,
For some reason I could not add anything to the Finding Waldo pictures. If you look very closely, you will see a hand in the middle picture. That hand belongs to Mary Maloney, daughter of Gloria Babbit. Mary yelled to Elder Olson to take her picture. Obviously, she is well hidden behind the corn stalks. Their family is so proud of that garden and so they should be, it started slowly, but continues to extend, with big plans for next year. Neighbors have caught the vision also. I think there will be many more in that part of the rez next year. The best news is that Martin will be the mentor and he knows just how to crack the whip and get things going. ;o}
The top picture is Floyd and Mrs. Manygoats. It was their son, Floyd Jr., who was able to get things started with Elder Olson on a very windy day. I remember it well. I sat in the truck and wondered how they could work so hard with the sand in their faces, but they did it and look at the result. There will be several more in their neighborhood next year.
The last picture is one that has been on the blog before. It is a long distance picture of George Babbitt's corn field that Elder Olson put in as a surprise. It has not tasselled yet, but we still have another month or more of growing time.
It was pouring buckets of rain outside for a few mins., but the rain has moved on. The flowers outside our window were doing a very fancy dance of bouncing up and down with the gusts of wind. It was hard to see across the street in front of the church because of the gusts of wind and rain. It was awesome to watch.
Elder Olson bakes a lot of cookies and lemon pies for some of his "favorites", but tonight I am going to make chocolate chip cookies and main line all that I dare eat. :o] What better time to bake cookies than during a rain storm.
We had two amazing sacraments today, but basically I haven't attended one that wasn't amazing, of course I wasn't listening when we spoke ;o} I was to nervous.
Sister Claw spoke about how her faith had increased in the last few weeks waiting for some test results. The test results were negative. Then another Sister during Sunday School announced very calmly that she has breast cancer. Her husband had colin cancer surgery about 12 days ago. It is amazing how much faith these people have and how willing they are to share their testimonies.
Last night we had an investigator taught in our apt and she will come back next Sunday for another lesson. She said that Elder Olson's comment on 'female rain' which another lady had used to describe the dripping of the water from the emitter hose, had touched her in a spiritual way. She also said Elder Olson accepted people for who they were without ever judging them, which he has been known to do. ;o] His love for the people has had a profound impact on many of the people here.
My goal was to give out 10 Book of Mormons. I have given out 6 ;o] Elder Olson is reading the Navajo copy of the Book of Mormon. I like the pictures. ;o] The verses seem much longer and the words as not easy to get your tongue around, but I am going to try and memorize one scripture. The key word being "try"
The Relief Society had a family emergency so I gave the lesson on Faith in Jesus Christ.
What could I share about faith that they hadn't already lived. They are amazing, but I've said that a million times right?
Elder & Sister Olson

Finding Waldo

Dutch Oven Cooking, etc., and Gratitude :o}

Dear Family and Friends,

I know we stayed busy all week, but we can't always remember what we were so busy doing, perhaps it is "old age forgetfulness." ;o} Elder Olson walks in and writes in his journal the minute he gets home. He also carries a pocket notebook, which he writes in faithfully.

The Seeley 's did come earlier in the week and answered some of our questions about some of the things that are happening in our gardens. There is a gray tinge to some of the things and Elder Seeley explained that it had something to do with the humidity, but I can't find where I wrote it down, but I know it is some place safe. :o} the note that is.

We have a winter squash that is over 36" long and well over 30 pounds. I don't have any scales here, which is a good thing. ;o} All the winter squash is growing like crazy and I have learned to truly love yellow crookneck squash fried in butter with onions, garlic, and mushrooms.

Tomorrow we our going to Inscription House and have a lunch with the Howard's and some of the other gardening missionaries. That will be at 11, then we have a dinner here at 4.

I guess the most interesting thing was the dutch oven dinner that Elder Olson put together Friday night. We had bought a roast and he was suppose to put that in the dutch oven, which he did, but he also added a pepper, potatoes, carrots, etc. The etc was what was interesting, beets with the greens attached, a squash, and a cucumber. Elder Olson tends to think very creatively, but his creative thinking doesn't always go together in the "pot". It actually turned out well, but the cucumber had to go the way of all earth. There are some things that I cannot eat, which included boiled cucumber.

(I just checked the blog and it looks like the pictures appear differently than they do on the draft, but you should just be able to go top to bottom.) The top left picture is Arlene Begay, Lou Goldtooth, her respite provider, and our hero, Elder Olson. The picture to the right is her garden with the watermelon hanging from the fence. We encouraged them to put it in an empty milk jug, with the handle cut at the bottom and the top front cut out. That way you can slip the melon into the jug and hang the handle on one of the fence wires, the melon continues to grow inside the jug and it won't pull itself from the vine because of the increasing weight. That is called "In ja nuity" Brother Nez's favorite explanation for his creativity. You would all adore Brother and Sister Nez, they are two of the reasons it will be difficult to leave here.

Another reason it will be difficult is Gloria Babbitt, bottom right picture. I know I knew her in the pre earth life, because I feel so much love for her. She told her daughter Mary, who in turn told me that she wants me to take her picture and have it "made big" and put it on our apt wall.

She also wants me to dress in traditional dress and have our picture taken together. To know her is to love her. She fell in her garden the other day on one of the vines, but she did not let the watermelon she was carrying get damaged. Now we say she fell hard for a watermelon, it must be true love.

She was in the back seat of the truck of Martin and Mary the other day and we got that picture. Later Loretta Strong came by and Elder Olson saw a lady in her back seat. He looked and looked and figured it was Gloria's sister, perhaps her twin because the lady looked so much like Gloria. Well, it was Gloria, but Elder Olson didn't realize it. Gloria laughed for two days over that. Martin and Mary say that the garden has brought her new life. She is happy and laughs every day. She has called Elder Olson "her baby" in Navajo, but always her son.

I think I wrote some of this on facebook, but chalk that up to old age too.

The man I wrote about earlier, just came by and asked if he could sleep in the back of our truck. We hesitated just a little, then he said, "I will work pulling weeds, I just want somewhere safe to sleep." It is one of those moments when you think of all the things you take for granted, like a safe place to sleep and a bed to sleep in. We couldn't image sleeping on the truck bed and we aren't allowed to have him stay for a variety of reasons, but we did find a safe place for him and furnished him a sleeping bag. We fed him and I find it difficult to write the emotions I feel for this son of God, that most of the world had forgotten as a child of God. Elder Olson just said, "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief."

Even though we are within a 1,000 miles of our "safe" home, it is like we are in another country at times where people don't have the luxury of knowing where their next meal is going to come from and where they will sleep safely. This area is filled with good people, but the poverty at times is overwhelming. Please remember to thank God for all that you have, for you have been greatly blessed with the gospel, with education, close family and friends and people who care and are willing to help.

Be grateful that you can kneel by your bed and thank God for all that He has blessed you with and continues to bless you with. We love serving His children and count each of you as a blessing from God, and thank Him for all your prayers in our behalf.

We can feel of your love and support and pray that God will continue to bless you and yours in only the way God can, with peace, love, and forgiveness especially within the walls of your individual homes and families.

Elder & Sister Olson

Gardening Missionaries

Tuba City, AZ