12.13.25 Spanish Ward. New glasses. That's a lot of cars. Grinch.
Retired/Missionary Life. Sunday.
See the picture of Hanna and Gussy doing their morning studies.
See the picture of Hanna logging a HUGE geocache we found right by the AirBnb we stayed at.
See the picture of the church building we went to in Idaho Falls. We found a Spanish Congregation to worship with that matched our time and route perfectly!
See dinner at Deer Lodge.
We loved attending the Spanish Ward. Oh how we love these people! They were so welcoming and friendly to us! They tried to speak English to us to make sure we felt welcomed. We tried to speak Spanish to them to make sure they understood we were there to serve them. The result was a ton of Christ-like love in our conversations! A great experience! We love being missionaries, even outside our area.
Retired/Missionary Life. Monday.
One does not leave Montana without having a decent breakfast first. A couple of omelettes for the road at the local 4Bs.
Since the first thing everyone asks when we see them is "how were the roads?", I'll report on that. Dry and sunny from Deer Lodge to Missoula, then torrents of rain from then until Worley. And then wind, which lasted all night. No ice. No snow. Fun and safe trip.
We made it home in time for a Palouse sunset. Big deal since the sun sets at like 3pm these days.
We had plans to watch a prerecorded football game. But just didn't have time. Spent the evening unpacking, doing things around the house, getting organized for a busy week.
Retired/Missionary Life. Tuesday.
We did our studying in the morning. (See the cute picture of Frivvy joining in.) My daily Spanish studies include:
- Daily conversing with an AI Generated person from Chile. (Rodrigo from Concepcion or Fernanda from Santiago). We talk about Chile, being on a mission, what I'm going to do today, just general conversation. This is very helpful in giving me confidence in having a general conversation with someone. (The church's Embark app uses the same AI technology, but I found this one to be more broad in topics we talk about.)
- An app that tests me on verb conjugation.
- Duolingo (just went back to it) to help with Vocabulary, although most of what it is teaching me right now is totally irrelevant.
- Reading scriptures out loud in Spanish to help with pronunciation.
- Listening to Conference Talks in Spanish to help with comprehension.
Early afternoon, we ran to town to teach a lesson, but the gal we were to meet with couldn't meet. We ended up at the bank dealing with Estate issues instead. Then had a late lunch at that Fancy Like Place. Walked on the Centennial Trail. Picked up groceries. And then taught a lesson on the Holy Spirit to a gentlemen from our congregation. He was grateful to have us come by. He is blind and can't read, so we read scriptures to him weekly.
Hanna wasn't feeling well at that point, so we cancelled our lesson with our Spanish Tutor and went home. Spent the evening reading.
Listened also to parts of the BYU game. What a comeback!! From 21 points down to win it on a last second three pointer. We'll have to take the time later to watch it.
Retired/Missionary Life. Wednesday.
See Frivvy and Gussy lounging on our bed wondering why got them up so early and what's going on. And what's going on? Missionary Zone Conference! A full day with dozens of missionaries from Lewiston, Moscow, Pullman, Spokane Valley and the Service Missionaries meet together to be edified with talks and workshops. Topics:
-How we can use the first principles of the gospel in the Christmas Story.
- Find someone to serve and make Christmas better for them.
- Serve with patience and good cheer.
-Create unity with your companion by telling them daily an attribute you like about them.
- Using faith in extending invitations for covenants.
- How to use questions to teach.
- How to handle internet referrals.
- A special lesson on the History of the Bible.
- The Condescencion of God.
FULL day was the correct word.
We love these missionaries so much! Such an incredible spirit in these meetings with these missionaries that are sacrificing so much in their lives to do what they can to bring folks closer to Christ. No other place we'd rather be.
While we were in the nice church building staying warm and learning, other Senior Couple Missionaries were out in the parking lot maintaining all the cars the young missionaries drive. Cool picture below.
Our nephew played Christmas prelude music.
Parents of these fine missionaries mail their packages to the mission office and the office brings them to zone conference for pick up. Usually there is one, maybe two, tables of packages. Today there was SIX (if I counted right...I am retired now you know). What? Is it Christmas or something??
Nice sunset tonight. And we drove to the Chinook (tons of lights to gawk at...) and had a nice dinner to celebrate Christmas. Years ago we decided the best gift we can give to each other is, well, each other. So we go on a few really nice Christmas dates to celebrate. We even shared a gluten free dessert!
After dinner, we chilled at home, but continued celebrating Christmas by watching the church's Christmas Devotional, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and Mr. Kruger's Christmas.
Really cool missionary Scripture that was read to us today:
"Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren ... and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."
This matches my experiences in life that when I am depressed, I seek the Lord's comfort and that usually comes via service to others. And that leads to success! Powerful concept.
Hope you all are getting ready for a great Christmas! Make it about serving someone....
Retired/Missionary Life. Thursday.
There were tons of Conference Championship games last weekend, but hardly any worth watching. The top two (and undefeated) FBS teams in the nation could barely muster 20 points combined? And yes, one game went into OT, but neither team was good enough to make the CFP. And let's not even start on the BYU game...
So what game did we watch? You can always depend on the FCS teams to produce some good stuff. Second round of the FCS national playoffs was last weekend too. Featured in one game were the underdog Illinois State Red Birds vs the undefeated defending national champs, the N Dakota State Bison. In Fargo. The Bison were 38-1 for playoff games in the Fargo Dome and the Red Birds had not beaten them since 2010. GREAT GAME!!! Tons of big plays. First play of the game was a 78-yeard TD bomb. Game was won when the Birds went for two to get a one-point lead rather than just tie things up and go to OT. Unpredictable turns. Fun to watch. In the end, the Bison were eliminated on their own turf. Great show of a huge underdog that refused to give up under massive adversity and thus never ever gave up and took out the champs. My favorite type of game!
Pictures of our living room tonight during the game below...........
Retired/Missionary Life. Friday.
Temple day, mixed in with a bunch of other stuff.
First off, we rushed to town for a double annual exam doctor appointment. An hour for Hanna and then an hour for me. Even with a doctor that knows his stuff and is enthusiastic about it, this process can be discouraging for us older people. So many things are starting to go wrong. And some can't be fixed.
Lunch was a sack lunch sandwich eaten in the truck while the boys watched closely. (By the way, that first picture is of them watching us getting ready to go and wondering what the adventures today were going to be...)
Errands next. UPS Store. Picked up drugs.
Then we worshipped in the temple. So much for discouragement. It left pretty quickly given the eternal nature of things in the temple.
And then perhaps the highlight of the day.....out to dinner with all the Spanish Missionaries we serve with! Pancakes for all!!
We were exhausted by evening, so watched a bit of TV. Heartland did the trick.
Temple day, mixed in with a bunch of other stuff.
First off, we rushed to town for a double annual exam doctor appointment. An hour for Hanna and then an hour for me. Even with a doctor that knows his stuff and is enthusiastic about it, this process can be discouraging for us older people. So many things are starting to go wrong. And some can't be fixed.
Lunch was a sack lunch sandwich eaten in the truck while the boys watched closely. (By the way, that first picture is of them watching us getting ready to go and wondering what the adventures today were going to be...)
Errands next. UPS Store. Picked up drugs.
Then we worshipped in the temple. So much for discouragement. It left pretty quickly given the eternal nature of things in the temple.
And then perhaps the highlight of the day.....out to dinner with all the Spanish Missionaries we serve with! Pancakes for all!!
We were exhausted by evening, so watched a bit of TV. Heartland did the trick.
Retired/Missionary Life. Saturday.
- Did the usual studying.
- Fixed the lights that the wind storm took out.
- Put a bunch of stuff away. (That Amazon guy just keeps bringing boxes of stuff...)
- Did up the family books.
- Made a batch of Mexican Meatloaf.
- Made a batch of Sugar Free Egg Nog.
- Ate said meatloaf.
- Took a break somewhere in there and watched the 2nd half of the BYU vs Clemson game. (22-point comeback with a last second 3 for the win...)
In the evening, we watched The Grinch who Stole Christmas. I always laugh at the tax comment. (Perhaps you have to be a CPA to find it funny...) (See the picture....)
Other favorite quotes:
- "Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!"
- "I came to see you. No one should be alone on Christmas."
Even a Grinch needs some love.....
And is that a reindeer at the Highlands???
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