4.4.26 The Talk. Cybertruck. CDA and Pullman. Temple? Office.

 Retired/Missionary Life. Sunday.

HAPPY SABBATH!! Here! Have a Jesus Picture. He LOVES YOU!! And welcome to the holy week........

We spent all day in town, even though church was supposedly only an hour long today. First, we attended Sacrament Meeting at our Spanish Congregation. (I was the speaker.......I'll write more about that below.....it's really a story on arrogance and humility....go figure...). Also, my Fitbit thought I was having some sort of heart attack when I gave my talk!! See the picture....

Ate lunch in the truck in the church parking lot while the boys watched closely, and then attended the congregation we used to attend before the mission to hear one of the young men I worked with give his farewell talk before leaving on his mission to Sweden.

And then we drove to the South Hill to attend a baptism that some of our other Spanish Missionaries were performing.

Did our reading and studying and napping in the evening.

So, I have been doing the public speaking gig, especially in church, since I was about 12. I'm fairly comfortable with it. And actually, as an introvert, I enjoy it. Casual conversations with more than a few folks or being asked on the spot to answer a question in front of people terrifies and exhausts me. But public speaking works out fine because I actually get to prepare what I'm going to say and no one will be talking back. I can handle that. So, over the years I've done a fair amount of speaking in church, for my business, and in scouts. And I think I got pretty good at it! Wood Badge, which is adult leadership training for Scouters, has been my favorite. Great topics. Months to prepare. Tons of excitement. Doing a lot of good. I usually had the presentation fully 100% memorized. No notes.

As I got better at it, I, along with others, started high-fiving when we wrapped up, talking about how well "we" did, judging our performance by whether we got a standing ovation or not, etc. Arrogance, right?

Well, today's talk was tough because I got to give it in Spanish. I know Spanish well enough to hold my own, but not well enough to present like I would in English or even memorize a talk. I felt it was lame to "read" it, but there really wasn't any other choice. I thought maybe I could read a quote or scripture and then expound on it, but no, I stumbled too much through it. Reading it was, which was depressing and discouraging. As I practiced it live out loud to Hanna last night, I was really struggling with it. I didn't think I was measuring up to my own arrogant standards and that folks would think less of me.

5am this morning, I was wide awake with nerves. So I got up and practiced the talk out loud, after some sincere prayer. And something different happen. The talk touched me. The spirit was strong. And it spoke to me. "God gave you this talk in the first place. It isn't yours. It's His. Your job is to deliver it, not get attention. God will help the congregation receive it."

And so I read it to the congregation, something I abhor and never do. And it was a good experience for me and the congregation. No high fives. No standing ovation (not in church anyways.....right?).

I may be old and some say wise, but I still got lots to learn. God is not done with me yet. Glory to Him for allowing me to be his hands and voice as a missionary!

Retired/Missionary Life. Monday.

Preparation and Recreation Day...

And to not starve to death, today we planned our stuffed week, made up delicious menus, created a detailed and too long shopping list. All ready to go shopping.

In the morning, a wonderful thing happened! Spring officially arrived to Fairfield! Right in front of our home, equipment was being moved to the fields while a yellow crop duster buzzed overhead......at the same time! It's definitely Spring!

We ate lunch at Harvest Moon (salads and Book of Mormon Rummy), drove to Idaho and filled up with cheaper gas, walked on the Trail of the CDA, bought the grub, drove home, unloaded, and put it all away.

We bought the boys a new squeaky toy which they immediately started fighting over, but in a cute way.

And today, Hanna finally let me buy a new Cybertruck! Woo Hoo! Actually, we bought one for our grandson and it looked so cool that I decided I needed one too. So I got one. (Is that even allowed??) Anyhow, it was a blast chasing Frivvy and Gussy around the house with it. And it does have an official purpose. I will load the back of it with treats, drive it full blast in the yard, and they no doubt will chase after it. Probably for hours! So on those days when I don't feel like going for a walk, I'll just grab the new truck!

The day closed with a nice Palouse sunset and us recreating by watching a pre-recorded football game, BYU vs Cincinnati. We remembered some of the players still, even though our memories at times don't allow such stuff.

Ended the night with a mission-wide Zoom Meeting where we heard testimonies of departing missionaries, got mission schedule updates, and heard from our mission leaders.

Finally, exciting news! This week 7 new Spanish-speaking missionaries will be arriving and apparently new "Spanish areas" will be opened up in both CDA and Pullman! The work is hastening!

Retired/Missionary Life. Tuesday.

Looking at the rest of the week and seeing what is to go on, we declared today "old folks go to breakfast day" and immediately drove to Plummer to eat at The Gateway Cafe. And play some Rummy. Walked on the Trail of the CDAs, which made the boys really happy.

We had a small bit of time to put together some quick messages and make some sugarry bread/cake stuff.

Next, we drove into town and worshipped in the temple.

Dinner at the Fancy Like place afterwards.

And then we went out to serve several families in our congregation, giving them the sweet bread stuff, inviting them to watch General Conference this weekend, showing them a video lesson about Easter.

On the way home, we engaged in a weekly telephone meeting with our Mission District Leader. He wants to make sure we are doing OK.

Minister to others. Be ministered to as well. That's how it works......

Retired/Missionary Life. Wednesday.

We called today "Project Day" because there is so many things that need to be done around here right now. So, we stayed home and worked on the list.

First up for me was to drain, scrub, and refill the hot tub. I had this plan that if I got going on it early enough, it would be heated back up by bed time. And it worked! It is nice and hot right now! But it is doing a drenching rain thing outside, so it is all for naught. (We really don't like hot tubbing in the rain...or crossing the deck to get to the hot tub in the rain...)

I also caught up the family bookkeeping, paid some bills including going through the County's awkward licensing system to renew Gus's license.

And before the day was over, I finalized our tax return and <drum roll....> we don't owe them a cent! Nice work, right?

And here........have a picture of us from two years ago standing by a canola field in full bloom. We had Frivvy, but not Gussy yet. And at this point, Hanna's hair was starting to come back in good and wasn't scared to go out with out a hat to hide it. Survivors!!

Retired/Missionary Life. Thursday.

Most of today was spent eating lunch with and visiting with some really good friends of ours that go way back. We served together in the 1980s in a ward in Pocatello. We served in the Elders Quorum Presidency and then later I was in the Bishopric while he was Elders President. We stood tall, together, while several families left the church to follow a man who claimed to be a prophet. Lots of drama and heartache as we watched good men leave and families blow up. We both live up here now and have since 1987, but haven't kept in close touch. Until today when we caught up. Close and supportive friends are a big deal. Trials make us stronger and make friendships stronger. We are still faithful and we know why.

Afterwards, we took Gus and Frivv on a very chilly walk on the Centennial Trail in CDA.

And someone posted this picture and said it is the Spokane Temple. Took me a bit to figure it out, I wasn't sure at first, but I think it is. Taken many years ago from the Southeast. Is it the Spokane temple??

Retired/Missionary Life. Friday.

Office Day!! (See the picture of our cool weekly colorful missionary calendar to confirm!) We spent most of the day in the Mission Office printing out, filing, and emailing to landlords, Insurance Certificates for all apartments in the entire mission. The pile of files made me nostalgic for taxes. NOT!!! But they looked cool. Hanna filed and read off data and I typed the stuff in. Teamwork. With the mission split coming up soon, the office missionaries need help and we are happy to use our skills and talents.

We ate lunch in the truck. You think I'm kidding when I say the boys watch us eat closely. Well, below is the proof. Gus wants my chicken.

Walked on the Centennial Trail. Picked up some groceries. Went to the bank. Typical "gotta do while we are in town" stuff...

Took a long nap when we got home. And then did our studies and such in the evening, just like the calendar says.

And here! Enjoy a Palouse Sunset!

We're not leaving the house again until Tuesday. That thought excites me! Seems like we run around A LOT!!

Retired/Missionary Life. Saturday.

Today we watched our church's General Conference on TV. (aka Pajama Church).

The boys refused to be reverent and kept wrestling during the conference.

Here is a picture of my favorite presenter, Brother Larsen. He gave the church's annual audit report, my favorite part! Us CPAs have got to hang together!

After conference, we did a few things around the house. Like I changed out the winter painting for our spring painting. And we spent time in the kitchen making up an Easter Feast for when the grown kids (and one grandson) arrive tomorrow evening. And Frivvy and Gussy closely supervised the making of the food (as usual).

A couple of basketball games were watched after that.

Other than a walk (in shorts and a T-shirt.....really nice out.....) we did not leave the property and that felt good. During our working days, the first Saturday of April would have been the day we tried to break the record for most tax extensions filed. None filed today!