Can you imagine how fun it would be to listen to their stories and all the adventures they shared together??Sunday, November 20, 2011
The faces of history.
Can you imagine how fun it would be to listen to their stories and all the adventures they shared together??
Thanksgiving
Dear Family and Friends,
Thanksgiving is fast approaching and we will go over to Kayenta with all the other Senior Missionaries for dinner. I think there are over a 100, but I may be way off on the numbers. I am sure I will find out on Thursday. I do know they are taking 30 pounds of mashed potatoes over. ;o}
Time marches on very quickly and so do we. The picture (top left) shows what is going on now. Elder Olson takes great pride in filling the truck with manure and taking it to the furthest garden spots, speads it out then helps till it in.. Seems to me that there is a story about the furthest most part of the vineyard and how the Lord knows where to place things to get the best results.
Top right is Zonie if I remember right, they're way out on Black Mesa, very remote and a bit of a challenge to get there. She and the other family members took their turn tilling. They will have a garden next spring and are very excited to have the materials that the church will provide so that they can become more self-reliant.
Bottom left shows how cold it gets. There is no snow of course, but the temperatures have dropped to below freezing several nights now. Time to turn on the heat and get the chill off in the morning. ;o}
Bottom right is a shot of Sister McMurtrey and I walking across the parking lot to the church building to walk. We walk around and around for 20 mins or we to sit for a minute during the laps, but we get in a full 20 mins of walking. It really helps to walk every day. She is an amazing person and I have grown to love her. She and her husband are the counseling missionaries for the stake. I think they have the toughest calling of all. The Temple Sealer asked where they met and she said, "Prison" there was a minute of silence then she added. We were serving as "Counselors" then everyone took a deep breath. ;o}
Last weekend, Sister Thompson, Sister Dalton and Sister Esplin from SLC came to speak. They brought and an amazing spirit with them. Sister Esplin spoke in our 2nd ward sacrament and said that she had tried to prepare by reading the scriptures and attending the temple, but she then added that she was not prepared for the outpouring of love that she felt from the Navajo and Hopi sisters. To tell the truth that is what I also felt. You cannot describe the feeling that you get when you are embraced by the members and what they say and how you feel when they bare their testimony or give a talk that they have prepared after studying and going to the Lord for help.
The sisters met with the young women and the primary for two hours. They visited and got to know the young people as well as they could. They left a noticeable impression on everyone they came in contact with.
We had a member baptism. An eight year old girl was baptized by her father. They are "white" the mother works as a midwife at the hospital. She is expecting a baby any minute herself. This little girl's name is Piper and her older sister, Prudence, who is 9 or 10 gave the talk on baptism. It was very touching. Her grandparents, one aunt and two uncles drove up from Phoenix to attend.
We had the 2nd Ward Thanksgiving dinner Friday and in Dec the 1st Ward will have a Christmas dinner. The potlucks around here get pretty serious when it comes to food. If you go away hungry you must be blind because there is food everywhere.
They are planning to go Christmas caroling to the Emergency room staff, the Police Dept, the Ambulance service people and the fire station people. They also go to the four group homes that they have here in Tuba. AND to some of the member homes. They say they will divide and conquer. It will be interesting to see how it all works out. They won't use sleighs, no snow. ;o}
I worked in the Catholic Soup kitchen last Friday and we served around 800-1,000 people. We were really busy. Some time I may give you some little details about that adventure. I did help two older men who could not see when they came in from the sunshine. The people who come in are not allowed to really do much except take their plates to the table and dump the empty plates in the trash. Everything has to be served, so there is a lot of running to do, but it was a very good learning experience on how things are different. I was a little confused by all the rules they have to abide by and how much is donated by our church and other organizations to make it all happen.
Well it is late and I am tired, but it is the good kind of tired. We hope you all have a great holiday and give thanks for all that you have been blessed with. Be especially grateful for your health and your ability to work and provide in the Lord's way for your family. Don't take the fact that you can kneel and thank Heavenly Father for granted.
Be especially kind in word and deed to those you come in contact with daily. Your smile could make a difference and never forget that in the quiet heart is hidden sorrow that the eye cannot see.
Never forget that the past need not hold the future hostage. Forgive every day and don't ever forget that we will be granted the same forgiveness that we give to others.
Remember that faith and fear cannot exist together. A good scripture to remember is Isaiah 26:3 " Thou willt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stay on thee; because he trusteth in thee."
Remember Peter when he walked toward the Savior. As long as he kept his eyes on the Savior he could do it, but when he looked down and took his eyes off the Savior he started to sink. Remember to stay focused on Him who provides all things.
We love you.
Elder & Sister Olson
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Sacrament Meeting 6 Nov 2011
Dear Family & Friends,
May not post pictures this week. Seems like every week is busy in a different way. Sacrament is always a renewing feast to start a new week.
One of the wards attendance is down, so today a 96 year blessed the water, the one who blessed the bread is older too, perhaps in his 70's. He recently survived a heart attack. Both bore their testimonies of the gospel. I don't remember all the words, but I won't forget the spirit and the power of their words.
The men who passed the sacrament weren't as old as those two, but the youngest was probably in his 30's. Everything was done in such a reverent manner. The 96 year old took a while to get down to his knees and when he finished the other one helped him stand up, what an amazing display of compassion and charity for his brother in the gospel.
They didn't just bless the sacrament, you felt the power of each word of the sacrament prayer. You know that they know Heavenly Father and the Savior in a very personal way. It wasn't done quickly either each word was spoken clearly and with emotion. It still touches my heart to see them kneeling before the Lord and saying the prayers. I don't know the right words to convey what I felt. I just wish you could have been here to feel what we did.
All but two of the testimonies were by the brethren. Brother Mitchell thanked everyone for their prayers and told how much it meant to him to know we were praying for him when he had his heart attack.
Another Brother talked about praying to the Lord to know what the words were in the Bible and Book of Mormon. He had not had an education and could not read. He wanted to learn to read so he could know the words himself. He has taken the literacy course that the Church offers. He was the one who wanted to read every single word of every scripture in the lessons. He was not content to read just the excerpts that are in the manual. He wants to find the verse in his scriptures and mark them carefully, reading each word. Then he talks about them and if he has questions, he asks. He has an amazing testimony and desire to know the scriptures. Decoding new words is not always easy, but he wants to do it by himself, so when he is at home he can feel confident about attacking new words. He has probably been taking the lessons for over a year. He thanked Sister Droddy for being his teacher and helping him learn to read better. He had started with Sister Meldrum and then I taught him two lessons, but thinking that we were leaving we thought it best to have the consistency of one teacher instead of one for a couple of months then another. What a privilege to be his teacher for just two lessons.
I wondered today what it will be like for him when he passes through the veil and what the Savior will say to him.
Someone asked me what I had learned here on my mission. I have to honest, I have learned a lot about myself and the testimony of humble people. When they are asked to speak at church, they do not download a conference talk and read it. They go to the scriptures and they go to their knees and you get to hear what they learned from the Spirit.
Tomorrow we go to Durango for the second injection. They are predicting snow, so we are putting 6 bags of sawdust in the truck bed for the extra weight on the roads. I would say keep us in your prayers, but we already know you do and can feel the power of those prayers as we travel.
The appt after that will be Nov. 30. We will visit with Dr. Yousself and see what he feels would be the best "plan of attack"
The new couple arrived Friday night during a bad storm. They are from Rigby, Idaho, practically next door neighbors. They seem very nice and have a lot of family history experience. We are suppose to be updating our family history center. We got a new printer, fax, scanner machine sitting over there right now. Hopefully we will get a couple of new computers also, but won't know for sure until they arrive. The brother from Facility Maintenance has to come from Page to install things, so we are not sure when that will happen.
Next weekend, Sister Thompson, Sister Dalton, and Sister Esplan are coming from SLC. They will hold meetings in Kayenta and speak at our 2nd Ward meeting at 9 Sunday. We have a baptism on Sat, so we won't be going to the meetings there on Sat. Everyone has been invited to the 2nd Ward meeting on Sunday. Hopefully we will have a full house.
Guess that is all for this week. Grandkid letters may be a little late this week. We love you all and hope all is well in your part of the world.
Elder & Sister Olson
May not post pictures this week. Seems like every week is busy in a different way. Sacrament is always a renewing feast to start a new week.
One of the wards attendance is down, so today a 96 year blessed the water, the one who blessed the bread is older too, perhaps in his 70's. He recently survived a heart attack. Both bore their testimonies of the gospel. I don't remember all the words, but I won't forget the spirit and the power of their words.
The men who passed the sacrament weren't as old as those two, but the youngest was probably in his 30's. Everything was done in such a reverent manner. The 96 year old took a while to get down to his knees and when he finished the other one helped him stand up, what an amazing display of compassion and charity for his brother in the gospel.
They didn't just bless the sacrament, you felt the power of each word of the sacrament prayer. You know that they know Heavenly Father and the Savior in a very personal way. It wasn't done quickly either each word was spoken clearly and with emotion. It still touches my heart to see them kneeling before the Lord and saying the prayers. I don't know the right words to convey what I felt. I just wish you could have been here to feel what we did.
All but two of the testimonies were by the brethren. Brother Mitchell thanked everyone for their prayers and told how much it meant to him to know we were praying for him when he had his heart attack.
Another Brother talked about praying to the Lord to know what the words were in the Bible and Book of Mormon. He had not had an education and could not read. He wanted to learn to read so he could know the words himself. He has taken the literacy course that the Church offers. He was the one who wanted to read every single word of every scripture in the lessons. He was not content to read just the excerpts that are in the manual. He wants to find the verse in his scriptures and mark them carefully, reading each word. Then he talks about them and if he has questions, he asks. He has an amazing testimony and desire to know the scriptures. Decoding new words is not always easy, but he wants to do it by himself, so when he is at home he can feel confident about attacking new words. He has probably been taking the lessons for over a year. He thanked Sister Droddy for being his teacher and helping him learn to read better. He had started with Sister Meldrum and then I taught him two lessons, but thinking that we were leaving we thought it best to have the consistency of one teacher instead of one for a couple of months then another. What a privilege to be his teacher for just two lessons.
I wondered today what it will be like for him when he passes through the veil and what the Savior will say to him.
Someone asked me what I had learned here on my mission. I have to honest, I have learned a lot about myself and the testimony of humble people. When they are asked to speak at church, they do not download a conference talk and read it. They go to the scriptures and they go to their knees and you get to hear what they learned from the Spirit.
Tomorrow we go to Durango for the second injection. They are predicting snow, so we are putting 6 bags of sawdust in the truck bed for the extra weight on the roads. I would say keep us in your prayers, but we already know you do and can feel the power of those prayers as we travel.
The appt after that will be Nov. 30. We will visit with Dr. Yousself and see what he feels would be the best "plan of attack"
The new couple arrived Friday night during a bad storm. They are from Rigby, Idaho, practically next door neighbors. They seem very nice and have a lot of family history experience. We are suppose to be updating our family history center. We got a new printer, fax, scanner machine sitting over there right now. Hopefully we will get a couple of new computers also, but won't know for sure until they arrive. The brother from Facility Maintenance has to come from Page to install things, so we are not sure when that will happen.
Next weekend, Sister Thompson, Sister Dalton, and Sister Esplan are coming from SLC. They will hold meetings in Kayenta and speak at our 2nd Ward meeting at 9 Sunday. We have a baptism on Sat, so we won't be going to the meetings there on Sat. Everyone has been invited to the 2nd Ward meeting on Sunday. Hopefully we will have a full house.
Guess that is all for this week. Grandkid letters may be a little late this week. We love you all and hope all is well in your part of the world.
Elder & Sister Olson
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