After the Storm 13 July 2014

WOW  I am so excited, I tried putting the pictures I took after the huge storm that rolled through Tuba City earlier this week and I was actually able to get them all on here..  The thunder and lightening was amazing.  I got up at about 4:30 and watched for an hour.  It was awesome.  I did not have sense enough to be to scared because we are on higher ground, although I can't say that for the backyard which is lower than the surrounding area and a perfect place for the run off to settle into, which is exactly what it did.

Aunt Diane said she heard about it on the news.  The Boarding School maintenance man came over and dug a trench with his backhoe to drain off some of the water, but since the alley way is not level we still had water for several days.  The temperatures have been in the 90's this week, so most of it has evaporated.

One of the farmers in Moencopi had his whole garden covered with mud.  He and his wife dug around several of their plants and washed them off, but they could not get them all.  They did everything by hand including the water they carried in a bucket to wash the plants off.

The alley way that had been cleaned out by our community service men worked really well.  You can tell we had back up at the south end, but it is almost back to normal.  The erosion on the other side of the street was significant.  You can't get that much water in such a short time and expect no damage.

One of the saddest things, was having a mother loose her life during the storm. It took 3 days to find her.  We will have the funeral here on Monday.  There is also a funeral tomorrow, but they are unrelated.  Both funerals will be very emotional because of the circumstances surrounding their passing.

Tomorrow we are suppose to go to the Nockidineh Round-up, but no one has confirmed the road conditions, which may be such that they postpone it.  We went to that the first summer we were here.  It was so fun.

The new couple are so much fun.  They continue to pitch right in and do whatever needs to be done.  We have a lot in common with them which makes it even more pleasant to work together. He worked in the  navy and they lived in the Philippines when they were first married.  He is an Electrical Engineer and enjoys fixing things, nice huh?  She is a seamstress and loves to sew and can.  Henry and Maren (like Karen) Simpson.  They are from Layton, UT

I guess the pictures speak for themselves.  We love you and look forward to coming home for a couple of weeks in the next two months. ;o}

Elder & Sister Olson

Rain after 7 months without rain.

Rain, oh heavenly rain.  We could tell that it had rained a little last night, but boy, oh boy, did it rain hard for about 5-10 mins around 6:30 tonight. Elder Olson happened to be on the road when it started to pour.  It has not rained since November, so it was so wonderful to see, and hear.

The new Seminary teachers arrived on the 19th and we have already grown to love them.  They are wonderful to work with and live next door to.  They are from Layton, UT.  He was an Engineer in his other life.  Neither are afraid to roll up their sleeves and jump right in.  They are Henry and Maren (like Karen) Simpson.  They have plenty of time to meet the young people who will be attending Seminary this school year and get acquainted.  I know the kids will grow to love them also, so down to earth.

He was in the navy and they lived in the Philippines when they were first married for about 3 years.  They live close to Hill Air Force Base and she misses the planes flying over, but I told her we have the air lift helicopters fly over on a regular bases.

The Stake President, the Seminary Director, and their wives have been with a group of our young people on a Church History trip.  They are taking two weeks and covering a lot of ground.  It is so good to hear them speak after the trip.  Their testimonies bear witness of what they saw and heard when the visited the various history sites.

President Justice had them find family names to take on the trip.  They get to visit 3 Temples and do baptisms for the dead.  One of the girls who was really well prepared, got burned really bad with hot oil, so she was unable to attend.  I really felt bad about that because she had spent so much time in the history center.

Our Stake President is gone and so will the 2nd Ward Bishop and his counselors this week.  It is not that we can't manage, but it will be good to see them back.  President J will return next Sat. and Bishop Blodgett comes back around the 19th.

Bishop Luna is around, but he didn't come today because his back was really bothering him.

We have a Zone Conference for the young Elders Tues... They will have a vehicle inspection, so they asked for volunteers to help check the cars.  It takes a while because there are so many young Elders in our Zone.  When more people come to help, it goes a lot faster.

I have about a fourth of my newest rug left to finish.  I did it different this time, since I always seem to make the middle a little off center.  This time I did about 8 inches or so, then flipped it and started on the other end.  I am going to fill the center with a solid color which should solve the problem.

We will be having another of the people from SLC down to visit in a couple of weeks.  I am not sure what his exact title is, but he wants to look at what we are doing and what is being achieved in our Stake in terms of the garden and family history.

We have lost all our Garden Missionaries except the Kamkas who serve in Polacca and Elder Olson and me here in Tuba City.  Between Red Lake which is 2nd Ward and TC First Ward which is here in Tuba and goes out to Coal Mine we have 300 gardens this year.  Around 85% are planting.  Many have been totally independent and do not need much or any help really, so we focus on the 56 new participants.

We have 4 young Elders, Fonnesbeck, Livermont, Lewis, and Riley.  They are all great young men.  I always dread transfers, but I should know better because we always get to know and love all the elders who come our way.

Elder Livermont is actually going home on the 30th.  They transfer on Tuesday and he goes home Wed.  I sent pictures recently to their parents.  She is really excited and counting the days.  He is a great young man.

Sister Goldtooth is here right now, she is running a fever.  She is getting peppermint from Elder Olson.  She told us that her neighbor likes to eat from her garden, so she told them that had to weed if they wanted to eat.  The little girls came over and Sister Goldtooth's  daughter  showed them which were good plants and which were weeds.

The father blocked off the drain and diverted it so that it would go right onto their garden, which worked quite well actually.

Sister Goldtooth's granddaughter Lily who is 23 months old goes into the garden and eats the peas without taking the pod off.  They are going to try and get pictures of her stooping over and getting the peas.  That would be a very fun picture to show the folks from SLC.

Daryl and J'Lene are both back in Maryland, but I think Daryl has to come back sooner than J.  It will be nice to have them all out here and so close.

Madelyn turned 9 on the fourth.  When she was 6 they took her picture with 6 fingers up and just a little attitude. ;o}  We told her that we had that picture up on our family board.  They put a pic on facebook with 9 fingers up.  We are going to make a copy and put it next to the other one.

Elder O continues to work long hours  He goes to Red Lake on the 3 days I am scheduled in the Family History Center.  He tries to work in Tuba City, Monday, Friday and Saturday.  It doesn't always work out, but most weeks it does..

Well, the hour grows late and I would like to get to bed early. Old people like to do that you know.

Love you all.

Sister Olson