Week 13

16 April 2017

Dear Loved ones,

It’s been a great week! I already wrote you about the Walk with Christ that I attended on Tuesday.  It has made this whole week a reflection on the things I saw and heard there -- making for a meaningful Easter week.  Wednesday night, David Linford’s niece invited me over for dinner at their place.  I love being around their 4 little girls that remind me of my own family.  The two oldest played their piano pieces for me and the two youngest are taking classes that teach them to sing the Do Ra Me method. I will attend their recital the first week in May,  I am anxious to see more of what they do.

I think I have already told you about my being the mission representative on the Just Serve council here in Pocatello.  Wednesday, a couple of our missionaries helped unload a truck load of food for the 1st Baptist church food pantry. Their food pantry is open on Thursdays from 3:00 until 7:00, so I went and worked there.  I can see that is not a good fit for our missionaries that have dinner appointments at 5:00 and teaching appointments in the evenings.  I think I will pursue the Food Bank which is where the Baptists get their orders filled.  It is sad to see so many people whose lives are dependent on others. Some look like they have recently fallen on hard times, others appear to have grown up in a culture of neediness, others are victims of their addictions, but they all have lost the ability to meet their own needs.  I couldn’t help wonder how they were going to put a meal together with the mix match of things that we had for them.  I worked with some great people among the Baptists and another LDS women who has worked with them for quite a while. They are loving and caring individuals that are genuinely concerned for the people they serve.

It again reminded me that rather than buy gold, I should continue to build up my home storage.  I wouldn’t want any of my family to be left with the option of food pantrys. Of course, the church has a wonderful program that provides enough for well-balanced meal planning, but I need my own food storage program.

Friday, Sister Kunze from my Ward came to the mission office because she didn’t have my phone number, to invite me to have Easter dinner with her and her husband. I appreciated the invitation and enjoyed a wonderful dinner with them today.  They served among the roast and potatoes, deviled eggs that tasted like Grandma Nonie’s.  It was delightful.  Just as we were cleaning up Shirl Dyer called me and told me she was on the way to Farmington, to babysit Jeff & Laura’s kids, but was about to come through Pocatello and would stop if I were home.  I excused myself from my Ward friends and got home just as Shirl was pulling up in front of my apartment.  We had a great visit, she is looking for somewhere to hold a Dyer family reunion July of 2018.  I told her about my plans for 2019 after our trip to England.

Earlier this week my cousin Cherianne and her husband Fritz Atzbach came by. They had been to their grandson’s graduation at BYU Idaho.  They stayed with Winston and Shirl but they came by to see me on their way home.  They are hoping we will do a Dyer reunion sometime soon. Their son, Eric, said the last one changed his life.

I hope everyone enjoyed this Easter and the opportunity to reflect on the magnitude of the Savior’s matchless gift to all of us. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of his reality, his love, and his endless concern for each of us. May our lives reflect our devotion to him!

Love and hugs,  Grammie/Sister Shill