It has been a busy week. Yesterday I went to Relief Society Super Saturday with Maren and we make a vinyl lettering tile with the saying, "Christ is the center of our home, A guest at every meal, A silent listener to every conversation." (I have always liked Michelle's.) Maren made a flower bow for Brinlie's hair and I made a watch with a beaded band. It was fun. Brinlie enjoyed the nursery so much she did not want to go home.
Before that I went to a garage sale that I heard about on the FACS listserve from the state. They were selling fabric that a lady had collected that has now passed away. I bought three boxes full of fabric for my students projects for $115.00. I could not believe that one women had collected so much fabric. Their were two garages full of boxes.
When I got home Larry was not feeling well. He was nauseated and had a headache and said he felt like his eyeballs were going to pop out. I was concerned because of his diabetes and after listening to him I decided to call the doctor and take him in. They did not have lab facilities on Saturday so after checking him out the doctor suggested that I take him to the ER. After 5 hours of tests and two bags of fluids because he was dehydrated, they decided that he had a virus and sent him home. He had a really rough night last night with diarrhea but after being on a liquid diet for 24 hours he is starting to eat the BRAT(Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast) diet and feels a little better.
Needless to say I went to church alone today. It was Tyler Wall's welcome home speech. He just returned from a mission in Bulguria. He said that people are really suspious of the missionaries there and often not really kind so they are trying to show charity to them by serving them so that they can see that we have good intentions. The theme of the meeting today was Charity. He talked about some of the challenges he had and pointed out that he had learned as it says in D&C 82:10,the Lord is bound to help you if you do what he says. One of the things he learned was that he could love his companion no matter what with the Lord's help. He talked about a rainy day that they decided to go out and track even though it meant that they would get soaked. About half way up in the building they were in they found someone who would listen to the message and got excited about it. He felt like it was a blessing for doing what they were supposed to do. He mentioned that he was in a singing group that toured the mission for a while introducing new hymns that had been translated into Bulgarian and what a powerful influence for good music can be in helping others to feel the spirit.
The have a primary song this year in the presentation that really is inspirational, I think. It is called, "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" by Sally DeFord.
Rod Page talked for a few minutes and introduced the way he likes to think of Charity. Moroni defines charity as the pure love of Christ. Rod suggested that we think of it as, "Charity is loving like Christ." I thought that was a good idea for implementing Charity in our lives. He also quoted Pres. Hinckley, "Security lies in the virtue of our lives." and "Try a little harder to be a little better."
Last Monday after school, I worked on homework I had for my class. I was working on a document on Google Docs with Jennie Hogle. We had to give a presentation on a chapter in our book about developing Problem Solving lessons. I also had to read an article and then comment online on some questions about the article. Larry was at his class.
Tuesday I worked on some of the homework again but before we got home Larry and I went to get some of his prescriptions and decided to try and vote early. We went to the Layton Library and the line was completely around the inside of the library. They said it was a 35 minute wait and we decided it was not worth the wait that night. I think it was Tuesday that I was reading my email and got an invitation from Nikki to be her friend on Facebook. I went in to confirm that I would be her friend and ended up spending about a half hour there doing things and chatting with Nathan who was also on line.
Wednesday I had students staying after school until 4:00 p.m. work off their U's for citzenship. Then I had an insurance meeting to attend at the district. Maren and I had talked about going to the YMYW Halloween Carnival that they were sponsoring for the Primary kids but I almost forgot and when I called Maren she was in Salt Lake so we didn't go. I had also talked to Kirsten about going but I could not get hold of her on the phone so I guess that means they decided not to go.
Thursday was my class. Larry went with me. He did not want to drive home even though the traffic has been wonderful ever since Legacy opened. The presentation went okay but I was not feeling estatic about it. Larry got bored and went somewhere else after about two presentations.
Friday I was hoping to work on recording papers but Larry and I were so tired we went to bed at about 8:15 p.m. after eating at Taco Time. I thought I might get something done on Saturday but we already know that did not happen so I am going to have to work harder this week because it is the end of the term.
Nathan just called and said that they have some cute pumpkins on Sara's blog so I guess I will go look at those.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
It has been a beautiful weekend in Utah. They call it Indian Summer. It was in the 60's and 70's all weekend and at the end of the week. Today is really a beautiful day.
We had ward conference at church today. They changed one of the counselors in our bishopric and put him in a Stake position so we got a new counselor, Steve Savage. It is interesting because on Fast Sunday his wife told of how they had gone back to Missouri and interviewed for his dream job but he did not feel that he should accept it after praying about it, even though he did not presently like his job. They came back to Kaysville and within a week he was called by a company in Farmington about moving there. It was a job he liked and he was able to switch. I thought it was an amazing story in and of itself but now that he has been called to the bishopric it shows even more that the Lord will support you if you put your trust in him.
The Bishop talked today about being prepared for every NEEDFUL thing. He pointed out several statements by the prophets that have pointed towards what we need to do. He empasized the talk by President Hinckley where he talked about the dream that Joseph interpreted for the Pharoah about the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine. He point out that the Prophet admonishing us to get our houses in order at that time has proved once again that it pays to listen to the Prophet and follow his counsel. He also talked about Providentliving.org and admonished us with the Stake President to go to the website and find one thing that we can work on to get further prepared. I wrote down three quotes from others that he mentioned but I did not get who said them all. Elder Scott asked,"Do you fill your life with good things at the expense of essential things." Choose carefully and try not to choose it all. If we live wisely and providently we will be as safe as in the palm of his hand.
The theme of the conference was D&C 38:30, "I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear." President Heard said that he had read all of the scriptures in the Topical Guide on wisdom and he felt that they basically fell into Three categories. 1. The great and limitless wisdom of our father. 2. The need for us to develop wisdom. 3. How to develop that wisdom. He mentioned that the way to develop wisdom from the scriptures was to Read the Scriptures daily, Pray often daily, ask for wisom in our prayers, and do what we can to draw nearer to the Savior. He will bear us up through all things. I know this is true. I have tried for nearly 20 years now to constantly apply these things in my life and I am not perfect but I have developed wisdom and understanding beyond what I could do on my own. Heavenly Father has helped me to do the things he has asked me to do beyond my capacity and I know he lives and guides the Prophet today.
Obviously it was a good meeting.
Yesterday was a fun day. I had to work at the Family History Center from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Jake and Nikki has asked me to tend Abby while they went to Lagoon. Holly was here while BJ went to reserve so she tended her while I was at the FHC. When I got home she was asleep so I was able to get some homework done for about 2 hours. Holly was taking a test. Erick came over in the afternoon and worked on cleaning out the pond for winter. It was such a nice day that I mentioned that I would have to mow the lawn when Abby left. Holly said she would tend Abby so I went out and mowed while Larry edged and pruned and a few other things. It looks so much better. Maren and the kids came over just as Jake and Nikki were picking up Abby. BJ came home from reserve about the same time. It was a fun half hour when everyone was here.
BJ gave Ashton a Ninja headband from when he was in Asia. Ashton came in saying,"I can't wear this I'm not a guy" We all laughed be cause he is a boy but I think he meant that he wasn't an adult.
Brinlie was sad because we took down the trampoline for the winter. When it was starting to come apart she came over and said, "What you doing?"in a very confused voice. Then she said, "I need to jump" Later she brought me some yellow chrysanthmums she had picked and said,"Look Grandma, sunshine flowers!"
Erick and Heather came over a little later and visited before they went to Kirsten and Jon's for dinner and then they came back after. They were having a ball teasing and playing with Brinlie.
Friday I had off of school because of UEA or Fall break as they call it in Davis District. Larry worked until about 4:00 p.m. I worked most of the day on Homework. I had promised to have Kirsten and their family over for dinner for Brooke's birthday but I ended up taking it to their house because they were working on getting a new roof on the house. Friday they took the old shingles off and then they were working on it yesterday. Jake came up to help for a while so we were able to see him that night also. I was excited because I fixed a roast and it turned out perfectly. Something that would not have happened without my new stove.
BJ and Holly came down on Friday evening and spent some time at Maren and Landon's and then we stayed up late putting on patches on his uniform. He had a new work uniform and he had to put a different rank on his dress blues because he had a rank advancement. It was fun to talk to them but I did not get up early enough on Saturday for what I needed to do.
Thursday I spent part of the day working on my school website. Larry had to work again also. Maren came and got me in the afternoon and I rode with her to the beauty supply in Bountiful so I could stay in the car with the kids, after they fell asleep from riding, while she went in. When we got back I went to Maren's and she painted my fingernails. I tried to call Larry about three times to come and get me on his way home. Finally I decided to let Maren take me home because I did not know when he would come. When I got home he was already home and mopping the kitchen floor. He had his phone on vibrate and couldn't feel it.
Tuesday and Wednesday I stayed home from school with a bad sore throat and aches and chills. When I felt like it I worked on my scope and sequence for Foods and Teenliving. We watched the debate between the presidental candidates Wednesday night also. Larry came down with the same thing on Wednesday so we just rested together. It seemed to pass fairly quickly. Maren said she felt like she had it on Saturday when she came over.
Monday was a good day at school. I felt like a lot got accomplished. I went home earlier than usual after school with Dan McClure because Larry had school. I worked on school and the blog. I think I also worked on reconcilling the check book and trying to figure out where we were there, but I may have worked on that another day this week.
I think I reported what happened on Sunday last week in the last posting but if not it is lost to humanity. I know that some of the kids were over but that is all I remember.
Michelle and Daniel and Jeff and Misty are both taking their families to California this weekend. They are visiting with Marie and vacationing. Maren was going to go but they have decided to go the 28th through the 30th with Landon's family. BJ and Holly had planned to go but they went to Park City to celebrate their 1st Anniversary instead. Erick had thought about going but he is now busy trying to go to school and prepare to get married. He and Heather had their pictures taken on Friday afternoon. Amanda said that they should be posted after Monday and they are not locked so you all can see them sometime this week on her website. Just Google Amanda Hadlock.
We had ward conference at church today. They changed one of the counselors in our bishopric and put him in a Stake position so we got a new counselor, Steve Savage. It is interesting because on Fast Sunday his wife told of how they had gone back to Missouri and interviewed for his dream job but he did not feel that he should accept it after praying about it, even though he did not presently like his job. They came back to Kaysville and within a week he was called by a company in Farmington about moving there. It was a job he liked and he was able to switch. I thought it was an amazing story in and of itself but now that he has been called to the bishopric it shows even more that the Lord will support you if you put your trust in him.
The Bishop talked today about being prepared for every NEEDFUL thing. He pointed out several statements by the prophets that have pointed towards what we need to do. He empasized the talk by President Hinckley where he talked about the dream that Joseph interpreted for the Pharoah about the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine. He point out that the Prophet admonishing us to get our houses in order at that time has proved once again that it pays to listen to the Prophet and follow his counsel. He also talked about Providentliving.org and admonished us with the Stake President to go to the website and find one thing that we can work on to get further prepared. I wrote down three quotes from others that he mentioned but I did not get who said them all. Elder Scott asked,"Do you fill your life with good things at the expense of essential things." Choose carefully and try not to choose it all. If we live wisely and providently we will be as safe as in the palm of his hand.
The theme of the conference was D&C 38:30, "I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear." President Heard said that he had read all of the scriptures in the Topical Guide on wisdom and he felt that they basically fell into Three categories. 1. The great and limitless wisdom of our father. 2. The need for us to develop wisdom. 3. How to develop that wisdom. He mentioned that the way to develop wisdom from the scriptures was to Read the Scriptures daily, Pray often daily, ask for wisom in our prayers, and do what we can to draw nearer to the Savior. He will bear us up through all things. I know this is true. I have tried for nearly 20 years now to constantly apply these things in my life and I am not perfect but I have developed wisdom and understanding beyond what I could do on my own. Heavenly Father has helped me to do the things he has asked me to do beyond my capacity and I know he lives and guides the Prophet today.
Obviously it was a good meeting.
Yesterday was a fun day. I had to work at the Family History Center from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Jake and Nikki has asked me to tend Abby while they went to Lagoon. Holly was here while BJ went to reserve so she tended her while I was at the FHC. When I got home she was asleep so I was able to get some homework done for about 2 hours. Holly was taking a test. Erick came over in the afternoon and worked on cleaning out the pond for winter. It was such a nice day that I mentioned that I would have to mow the lawn when Abby left. Holly said she would tend Abby so I went out and mowed while Larry edged and pruned and a few other things. It looks so much better. Maren and the kids came over just as Jake and Nikki were picking up Abby. BJ came home from reserve about the same time. It was a fun half hour when everyone was here.
BJ gave Ashton a Ninja headband from when he was in Asia. Ashton came in saying,"I can't wear this I'm not a guy" We all laughed be cause he is a boy but I think he meant that he wasn't an adult.
Brinlie was sad because we took down the trampoline for the winter. When it was starting to come apart she came over and said, "What you doing?"in a very confused voice. Then she said, "I need to jump" Later she brought me some yellow chrysanthmums she had picked and said,"Look Grandma, sunshine flowers!"
Erick and Heather came over a little later and visited before they went to Kirsten and Jon's for dinner and then they came back after. They were having a ball teasing and playing with Brinlie.
Friday I had off of school because of UEA or Fall break as they call it in Davis District. Larry worked until about 4:00 p.m. I worked most of the day on Homework. I had promised to have Kirsten and their family over for dinner for Brooke's birthday but I ended up taking it to their house because they were working on getting a new roof on the house. Friday they took the old shingles off and then they were working on it yesterday. Jake came up to help for a while so we were able to see him that night also. I was excited because I fixed a roast and it turned out perfectly. Something that would not have happened without my new stove.
BJ and Holly came down on Friday evening and spent some time at Maren and Landon's and then we stayed up late putting on patches on his uniform. He had a new work uniform and he had to put a different rank on his dress blues because he had a rank advancement. It was fun to talk to them but I did not get up early enough on Saturday for what I needed to do.
Thursday I spent part of the day working on my school website. Larry had to work again also. Maren came and got me in the afternoon and I rode with her to the beauty supply in Bountiful so I could stay in the car with the kids, after they fell asleep from riding, while she went in. When we got back I went to Maren's and she painted my fingernails. I tried to call Larry about three times to come and get me on his way home. Finally I decided to let Maren take me home because I did not know when he would come. When I got home he was already home and mopping the kitchen floor. He had his phone on vibrate and couldn't feel it.
Tuesday and Wednesday I stayed home from school with a bad sore throat and aches and chills. When I felt like it I worked on my scope and sequence for Foods and Teenliving. We watched the debate between the presidental candidates Wednesday night also. Larry came down with the same thing on Wednesday so we just rested together. It seemed to pass fairly quickly. Maren said she felt like she had it on Saturday when she came over.
Monday was a good day at school. I felt like a lot got accomplished. I went home earlier than usual after school with Dan McClure because Larry had school. I worked on school and the blog. I think I also worked on reconcilling the check book and trying to figure out where we were there, but I may have worked on that another day this week.
I think I reported what happened on Sunday last week in the last posting but if not it is lost to humanity. I know that some of the kids were over but that is all I remember.
Michelle and Daniel and Jeff and Misty are both taking their families to California this weekend. They are visiting with Marie and vacationing. Maren was going to go but they have decided to go the 28th through the 30th with Landon's family. BJ and Holly had planned to go but they went to Park City to celebrate their 1st Anniversary instead. Erick had thought about going but he is now busy trying to go to school and prepare to get married. He and Heather had their pictures taken on Friday afternoon. Amanda said that they should be posted after Monday and they are not locked so you all can see them sometime this week on her website. Just Google Amanda Hadlock.
Monday, October 13, 2008
I feel very rushed tonight. I have been working on a test for UTIPS, the online testing service that Utah has and I finally have that finished for my class tomorrow. But I started about 4:30p.m. so it took longer than I wanted it to. I had to go in and make a post on the class I took on webpages for the district and now I am here. I wanted to post here because I had some things I wanted to say but I also was hoping to get more of my Scope and Sequence up on my school website for Teenliving and Foods. If you want to see my school website it is at www.davis.k12.ut.us/staff/dpresser/
Brooke had a birthday party at Classic Skating last Saturday so Larry and I went to that. Jake and Nikki were there with their family and a lot of Jon's family. They had rented the Karoke room and the kids enjoyed the singing and laser tag before we left. Larry enjoyed the BYU Football game on big screen the most. They had Pizza and drinks and cake and ice cream complete with Halloween spiders and dracula teeth. My cousin Kimo was there with his family as we got there so it was fun to see him. He has several children who live around here even though he is still in Mona.
Saturday morning we went to part of Ethan and Jaron's soccer games. It was really raining at Ethan's but it wasn't too bad at Jaron's. It started raining and then snowing after that. Sunday morning we woke up to a couple of inches of snow. It has dramatically cooled off, too. Today it was really cool at the school because the district does not want to turn the boilers on because it might get hot again (which is what the weatherman was predicting tonight for next weekend.)
Friday Night we went with Maren and Landon to their stake's production of "Savior of the World". It was wonderful. I have never been to a stake production that had so much talent. Everyone who sang had such a wonderful voice. Shelly Coray was the music director for the production so that is one reason that Kimo was up this way. They were at the production also. Jimmy was also in the production. They both did a fabulous job. Maren said that Shelley was also involved in the hair design, she is a beautician like Maren. Maren and Landon had to leave a little early because Brinlie had had enough but they got to see most of it.
My class this semester is on Thursday's so I was busy there. Larry came home to work on homework and I went home on the Trax and Frontrunner. It worked out well so I was happy. We are working on a project for the Huntsman Cancer Center to help patients understand their chemotherapy in my class this time so I am getting some experience in the real world of IDET.
Wednesday I had Parent Teacher Conferences. Larry had homework to work on so he came and picked me up after. I should have had them on also on Thursday but I was able to take off for my class and leave notes for the parents on how to contact me. The conferences went well but it was a long day.
Tuesday Larry worked on Homework and I worked on grades for Parent Teacher Conferences so everything would be up to date. I was up quite late getting it all done but felt good that I could face parents with everything caught up.
I have decided that while I am alone on Monday evenings I will do something that will help me keep in contact with my children and grandchildren on Monday evenings. Sometimes lately Maren and Landon have invited me to be with them on Monday's but last Monday I spent the evening finally getting everything ready for Misty's birthday (which was August 28th so there is nothing slow about me.) I also prepared some things for Leah's birthday which was that night, Oct. 6th, but then I didn't get it to the post office until Saturday. I tried to call Leah but no one was answering so they were probably out having fun.
Last Saturday and Sunday was General Conference for the LDS Church. It was really a good conference to listen to and I told you last week that some of the kids came for dinner that evening.
Yesterday was a good day at church. Rigo Gutierrez was one of the speakers. He told how his Mom was converted to the church when she was a young lady in Mexico. She came from a family of about 15, I think he said, and they were very poor. She was the only member of the church in her family and she wanted to go on a mission. The missionaries contacted church headquarters (this was in the 1950's)and a man named John Vernald agreed to support her on her mission. He lived in Garland,Utah. He did not know Rigo's mom and he was not a wealthy man. He worked as a postal worker. After her mission she was able to come to Utah to meet the family and she stayed with them for 2 or 3 years. Finally she went back to Mexico and they lost contact for a few years. Several years later the Vernald's went to Mexico to find her and found her with her husband and young child and pregnant with her second which was Brother Gutierrez. They were not in the best of circumstances so he helped them move into an apartment in a better part of town and paid for them to live there for a year. He also bought the husband the tools he needed to be a mechanic. Many years later they heard that he was dying of cancer so Rigo's mom went up to see him. She also died shortly after that of cancer. I am not sure if Rigo met him then or if there was one more tripp before that. Mr. Vernald showed him a little about how to play the organ. He wrote the words for the Hymn "For Homes of Saints Glad Songs Arise". Rigo sang the song in tribute to this wonderful man whom he described as an "Angel" to their family. It made me realize that we can do more to help others go on missions and to reach their potential.
Brother David Whittaker told about his great-grandfather who was born as the illegitimate son of a upper middle class lady in England. The father was off to war and did not know he had a son until 7 years later. The mother taught him many things but kept him at home in the back yard. She taught him two languages and many more things. He was talented at art and seemed very well educated but he eventually ran away and stowed away on a ship because he felt like he was not wanted because of the stigma of being born illegitimate at that time. He went around the world for several years and then settled in Tahiti for several years and married his first wife there. He eventually ended up in San Francisco and then joined the church and came to Utah. He settled in Centerville and became a farmer with several polygamist wifes. Anyway his son and Dave's dad were farmers. Dave's dad, Olene, owned much of the land that our ward is situated on. He bought the land with his brother and when his brother died he raised not only his own nine children but his brothers 6 as well. He pointed out that through service to others you learn to love others and draw closer to the Lord as well.
The meeting ended with the song "A PoorWayfarring Man of Grief" I noticed as I sang it that each time the person had to sacrifice something for someone else of substantial consequence before the blessing he sought came back to him. I have made a commitment to be of better service to others after listening to this meeting. I love the Lord and want to do all that I can to help others find the happiness of the restored Gospel.
Last night Maren and Landon and kids, and Erick and Heather came came for dinner. Maren had given us a winter squash and so we cooked it and shared it. Larry wanted meatballs so I fixed those with baked potatoes. I made a cherry cobbler with the cherries off our tree. We had a good time visiting and talking and playing "Apples to apples" Heather has her official ring now and it is very pretty.
Well I hope everyone is having a great week. I know this will be a better week for me. There are only three days of school this week. I love school but it is always nice to have some time off.
Brooke had a birthday party at Classic Skating last Saturday so Larry and I went to that. Jake and Nikki were there with their family and a lot of Jon's family. They had rented the Karoke room and the kids enjoyed the singing and laser tag before we left. Larry enjoyed the BYU Football game on big screen the most. They had Pizza and drinks and cake and ice cream complete with Halloween spiders and dracula teeth. My cousin Kimo was there with his family as we got there so it was fun to see him. He has several children who live around here even though he is still in Mona.
Saturday morning we went to part of Ethan and Jaron's soccer games. It was really raining at Ethan's but it wasn't too bad at Jaron's. It started raining and then snowing after that. Sunday morning we woke up to a couple of inches of snow. It has dramatically cooled off, too. Today it was really cool at the school because the district does not want to turn the boilers on because it might get hot again (which is what the weatherman was predicting tonight for next weekend.)
Friday Night we went with Maren and Landon to their stake's production of "Savior of the World". It was wonderful. I have never been to a stake production that had so much talent. Everyone who sang had such a wonderful voice. Shelly Coray was the music director for the production so that is one reason that Kimo was up this way. They were at the production also. Jimmy was also in the production. They both did a fabulous job. Maren said that Shelley was also involved in the hair design, she is a beautician like Maren. Maren and Landon had to leave a little early because Brinlie had had enough but they got to see most of it.
My class this semester is on Thursday's so I was busy there. Larry came home to work on homework and I went home on the Trax and Frontrunner. It worked out well so I was happy. We are working on a project for the Huntsman Cancer Center to help patients understand their chemotherapy in my class this time so I am getting some experience in the real world of IDET.
Wednesday I had Parent Teacher Conferences. Larry had homework to work on so he came and picked me up after. I should have had them on also on Thursday but I was able to take off for my class and leave notes for the parents on how to contact me. The conferences went well but it was a long day.
Tuesday Larry worked on Homework and I worked on grades for Parent Teacher Conferences so everything would be up to date. I was up quite late getting it all done but felt good that I could face parents with everything caught up.
I have decided that while I am alone on Monday evenings I will do something that will help me keep in contact with my children and grandchildren on Monday evenings. Sometimes lately Maren and Landon have invited me to be with them on Monday's but last Monday I spent the evening finally getting everything ready for Misty's birthday (which was August 28th so there is nothing slow about me.) I also prepared some things for Leah's birthday which was that night, Oct. 6th, but then I didn't get it to the post office until Saturday. I tried to call Leah but no one was answering so they were probably out having fun.
Last Saturday and Sunday was General Conference for the LDS Church. It was really a good conference to listen to and I told you last week that some of the kids came for dinner that evening.
Yesterday was a good day at church. Rigo Gutierrez was one of the speakers. He told how his Mom was converted to the church when she was a young lady in Mexico. She came from a family of about 15, I think he said, and they were very poor. She was the only member of the church in her family and she wanted to go on a mission. The missionaries contacted church headquarters (this was in the 1950's)and a man named John Vernald agreed to support her on her mission. He lived in Garland,Utah. He did not know Rigo's mom and he was not a wealthy man. He worked as a postal worker. After her mission she was able to come to Utah to meet the family and she stayed with them for 2 or 3 years. Finally she went back to Mexico and they lost contact for a few years. Several years later the Vernald's went to Mexico to find her and found her with her husband and young child and pregnant with her second which was Brother Gutierrez. They were not in the best of circumstances so he helped them move into an apartment in a better part of town and paid for them to live there for a year. He also bought the husband the tools he needed to be a mechanic. Many years later they heard that he was dying of cancer so Rigo's mom went up to see him. She also died shortly after that of cancer. I am not sure if Rigo met him then or if there was one more tripp before that. Mr. Vernald showed him a little about how to play the organ. He wrote the words for the Hymn "For Homes of Saints Glad Songs Arise". Rigo sang the song in tribute to this wonderful man whom he described as an "Angel" to their family. It made me realize that we can do more to help others go on missions and to reach their potential.
Brother David Whittaker told about his great-grandfather who was born as the illegitimate son of a upper middle class lady in England. The father was off to war and did not know he had a son until 7 years later. The mother taught him many things but kept him at home in the back yard. She taught him two languages and many more things. He was talented at art and seemed very well educated but he eventually ran away and stowed away on a ship because he felt like he was not wanted because of the stigma of being born illegitimate at that time. He went around the world for several years and then settled in Tahiti for several years and married his first wife there. He eventually ended up in San Francisco and then joined the church and came to Utah. He settled in Centerville and became a farmer with several polygamist wifes. Anyway his son and Dave's dad were farmers. Dave's dad, Olene, owned much of the land that our ward is situated on. He bought the land with his brother and when his brother died he raised not only his own nine children but his brothers 6 as well. He pointed out that through service to others you learn to love others and draw closer to the Lord as well.
The meeting ended with the song "A PoorWayfarring Man of Grief" I noticed as I sang it that each time the person had to sacrifice something for someone else of substantial consequence before the blessing he sought came back to him. I have made a commitment to be of better service to others after listening to this meeting. I love the Lord and want to do all that I can to help others find the happiness of the restored Gospel.
Last night Maren and Landon and kids, and Erick and Heather came came for dinner. Maren had given us a winter squash and so we cooked it and shared it. Larry wanted meatballs so I fixed those with baked potatoes. I made a cherry cobbler with the cherries off our tree. We had a good time visiting and talking and playing "Apples to apples" Heather has her official ring now and it is very pretty.
Well I hope everyone is having a great week. I know this will be a better week for me. There are only three days of school this week. I love school but it is always nice to have some time off.
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