Dear Family,
I’m not going to ready your dad’s letter before I write mine tonight. So you’ll probably get two reports of the same week. But of course, we are different people, so the reports may vary a bit. Dad’s reports will be profound and a bit spiritual, mine will be profound and a bit ornery.
I feel like we have very busy weeks but I can barely remember individual days as they fly by. Our week included another trip to Istanbul for Zone Conference. We had been invited to stay at the Mission Home with another couple that was travelling from Ankara. It is very comfortable and the MP’s wife always provides a variety of cuisine. We try to contribute to breakfast, but we notice that our contribution goes uneaten. We usually dine on yogurt and granola when we are at home. We take our own granola when we travel, but usually we leave a full granola box.
Zone Conference consisted of talks by the MP and his wife, the Zone Leaders (we have no AP’s), and talks by Dad and me. We were given the topic of the BofM and Joseph Smith. I told about my history of BofM reading and quoted a lot from Scott’s talk on what the BofM says about fathering. I figured that the elders would be fathers one day, and there are some wonderful examples in the BofM. Dad gave a very good talk about Joseph Smith. We almost always have pizza for lunch at Zone Conference. I was interested that they announced that you shouldn’t take more than six slices of pizza to begin with. Then, after everyone was served, you could take more. Some elders immediately loaded their plates with six slices. I ate two slices. I’m not sure how many dad ate. You can ask him.
We went to dinner one night with some of the senior couples. One couple from Ephraim is going home this week. WE have really enjoyed them. They have been the Office couple. They have invited us to stay with them when we go to Cassidy’s games. They were newlyweds when they first came. Both had been widowed. They have lots of children and grandchildren between them.
Most clearly in my mind is what happened today…. Sunday. I began some spaghetti sauce, and then walked to church lugging two heavy bags of stuff. Dad had gone earlier with other heavy items. The elders now bring the sacrament trays, so we don’t have to carry them each week. But today, they forgot them. So we had sacrament on hotel plates. Luckily dad had the sacrament cloth and the cups for the water. I had reminded the elders Saturday evening to remember to bring them. They said they’d for sure remember. But they didn’t.
Church went well, and we had 18 people in attendance, and a bunch on Skype. Dad gave the Fifth Sunday Lesson on the beginnings of the church. We need to be very basic in our talks. And since they are all translated, we have to write shorter talks.
BTW…. I’ve begun to sing all the songs now in Turkish. Our congregation is sounding better and better. I’m probably not pronouncing things correctly, but I’ve made a lot of progress.
After church I hurried home to prepare dinner for one set of elders. They were bringing an investigator to our apartment for a discussion, and I told them I’d feed them after that. So I fed them and the investigator.
After they left another set of elders arrived for a Skype lesson. I told them I’d feed them after that lesson and before the next lesson. As I type, they are giving a Skype lesson in Farsi to some Iranian refugees.
So I spent a bit of time in the kitchen preparing food, serving food, cleaning up, and then repeating the process with the second set of elders.
I’m enclosing a photo of a mother and daughter. The daughter was baptized a couple of weeks ago. She is eleven years old. She is very good with her hands, so I took her some yarn and told her how to make the sashay scarves. Today she and her mother showed up in church with finished scarves. I was very happy to see the finished product. She is a very talented little girl and pays the piano like a professional. She also speaks 3 languages, but English is not one of them unfortunately.
I am remembering that I took our YSA to lunch this week and Dad and I took a woman from the Hotel where we hold church to lunch. We are good at going out to eat.
I made a very good dessert for the elders today. It was actually vanilla ice cream with a fantastic hot topping. It is made from buttermilk. I will make it for all of you when we return home.
I hope you are all surviving the snow. Well, I’m sorry the Browns aren’t included. The Pearsons said their driveway was blocked by snow from the snowplow. I imagine you are all getting lots of exercise. I wonder how the elderly are surviving. I know that the Rowleys can’t shovel, and there aren’t reliable youth on their street to help out. Greg Moon often has a snow blower that does some sidewalks in our neighborhood. It must be a good investment this winter.
Time is speeding along.
I love you!
Mother
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