January 15, 2012
This week has really been a mixed bag...weather from 17 to 58 degrees, sunshine, rain, wind, sun, snow, back to sun...Sunday, the 8th, was ward conference in the WP 1st ward; we had such an inspirational Sacrament meeting with wonderful talks from the bishop and stake leaders. After, we went to dinner at Kristie's, the sister whose husband is deployed for the third time and is here with three sons, 10, 12, and 14. She really has a lot on her plate, but good news for them, her husband will be coming home in about a month.
Monday, after prayer for inspiration as to who needed our help or visits, we went to see two sisters, Chris and Maria. We had been to see Chris once before, with less than warm acceptance. This time she was so excited to see us and was really anxious to visit and show us all of her talents. She is an excellent quilter, artist and even makes baskets. We had such an enjoyable visit with her and ended with her extending an invitation for us to come to dinner and to please call her for anything we might need. Maria is a wonderful sister that is new to us. She was with the elders when we called, working with a new contact, but she was an absolute joy to visit. We were welcomed into her home, and had a great time getting to know her better and becoming friends with her...
Tuesday I went in for an MRI on my back. I will have the results on Tuesday and would appreciate your prayers in my behalf. I have been going to physical therapy for months without the results that the doctors had hoped for, so I have had more x-rays and now the MRI...in the afternoon we went to visit one of our favorites, Dorothy, a sister in her 70's who has a 30 year old son who is autistic and is raising her two grandsons, Jahare',10, and Jaden, 4. She struggles with her daughter, the boy's mother, who is in and out of their lives. The boys are very bright, cute and well behaved; Jaden is shy, but is warming up to us, and Jahare' is always willing to give us a recital on his clarinet, violin, or piano.
Wednesday, we visited Susie Kapeleris, a young mother of five who is expecting her sixth baby. When she answered the door, one of her little girls asked, "mommie, is it a partie?" Her oldest, Christopher, was baptized on Saturday. She has so much on her plate...she home-school's, as many families out here do. Her husband just lost his job, so a lot of their time is spent sending out resume's, but she is so upbeat and happy and when we asked if there was anything we could do to help she said that they are just fine. Often, it is felt that those in leadership positions or their wives don't need visiting but we have found this to be far from true. We visited Kelley the RS President of the 2nd Ward and had a most pleasant visit, finding how we could lighten her load and help in any way possible...then it was off to Haleigh's...she was still picking the kids up from school when we arrived, but Bishop Vance was there, so we were able to visit with him and discuss some matters of concern. When Haleigh arrived, we had a great visit with her also.
Thursday was spent at a zone conference with President and Sister Matsumori. President Matsumori gave a most inspirational talk encouraging us to be spiritually prepared and gave us several scriptures to help in time of trial.
The scriptures he gave us are: Isaiah 55:8-9
D&C 122:9
D&C 3:10
2Kings 6:14-16
Alma 7:11-12
We also had our one-on-one interviews with the president. It is always so wonderful to talk to him and recieve personal counsel. He is so encouraging to us and complimentary of the work we are doing. He always tells us that he is recieving wonderful reports from the stakes, bishops, and relief society's that we are working with.
Friday we went on a "Suprise Adventure" with our friend Bonnie, the sister that invited us over for Thanksgiving. She took us to Upper Marlboro, a city about 45 minutes northeast of us to an Amish owned market, the "Dutch Village Farmers Market". Those who sell goods there come down from Lancaster County, PA. every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. They sell furniture, quilts, and other crafts in one section. In another section there are all types of produce, a meat market, a bakery, an area with home-canned fruits and vegetables, and an area where they make pretzels and hot dogs in all different kinds of dough. They also have a restaurant of wonderful homemade food. We found lots of things to buy including gifts for birthdays and Christmas this year. It's always so fun to go with Bonnie and we're guaranteed that we'll always have a great time!!!
Saturday was the memorial service for Farran Phillips, a 25 year-old sister in the 1st ward, who passed away on New Year's Eve from a rare type of breast cancer. We didn't know her personally, but everyone who did said she was an inspiration to all and wonderful to know. We helped preparing the food for the luncheon and setting it out for the family. Afterward we spoke to her mom, Bobby, and will keep in close contact with her.
So you can see I had quite a diverse and interesting week, as they all are. We will start back at the temple this week, which I will be grateful for. I have missed going, even though it has only been two weeks.
