Dear Loved Ones,
This has been a marvelous happy week. Elizabeth and Heather came up Sunday Night, so I could see the twins. They are so adorable!! I also enjoyed getting to see Clare and Will and how much they have grown. Monday, they came to the office, so I could introduce them to the staff, and we went to lunch together. They didn’t stay long, but I feel so blessed to be in a mission that is accessible to my family.
Tuesday, we had to say goodbye to some of my favorite elders. Elder Boatright has been an assistant, so I am used to seeing him around the office. For this farewell dinner, Elder Stringham asked Sister Hancock if he could grill pork chops for us. He also made a cheesecake for dessert. Then at dinner he had us in stitches as he told about signing up to feed the Elders in his ward. His companion is Elder Potter, so he signed up as the Potter family. It only got funnier from that point on. He did fix a great dinner for the missionaries and they in turn gave him a spiritual message and asked if they knew anyone that would like to hear about the gospel. Then we went from laughing to crying at the testimony meeting held after dinner. These meetings are my favorite part of my mission. It is amazing to see the growth and maturity that 2 years of serving the Lord creates in these young men and women.
Wednesday, a new batch of missionaries arrived from the MTC. Some are very impressive. Sister Freeman from Falls Church, VA and Sister Jensen from Oregon stood out to me. Elder Bailey from Arkansas, Elder Williams from Cardston, Canada, and Elder Grant from Pennsylvania look like they are well prepared to serve. Elder Bailey’s closing prayer showed his love for the Savior. All seemed eager to begin to serve.
Thursday, a little chaotic as usual for Transfer Day. My job was made harder because the internet has been blocked in our building with a new firewall that unfortunately is blocking the office from the internet. I had to go over to the Family History Center to use one of their computers to email the pictures taken yesterday of the new missionaries with President and Sister Hancock, to send to their parents. Elder Rasmussen had to go with me and figure out how to get in IMOS, the Church missionary site, from the Family History computer.
Friday, was a day off for me. The office was closed, because the Housing Couple was scheduled to be there, but the President wanted them to take care of another housing situation. He told them to just close the office for the day. I can’t go in alone, so I had a day to get my P-Day chores done ahead of schedule. I kept the Family Chat up on my computer, so I could keep an eye on the family fun happening at Lagoon. Thanks for posting all the cute pictures! It reminded me of the great day we had there in 2016 and all the fun times my Grandpa took me there.
Friday evening, Jennifer Finlinson came down for her son’s football game. We met at Costco, ate our dinner there, and then went to the ISU’s indoor stadium for her son’s game. Watching football indoors without the Idaho wind blowing was fabulous! I left in the 3rd quarter when I realized that I was breaking mission rules by being out too late. I’m glad I left when I did, because Andrew’s team was ahead then. I’m grateful I didn’t see the tragic loss by one point.
Saturday night, my Ward put on a Neighborhood Smoked Meat Dinner at the park. You can’t believe all the smoked or barbequed meats the men in the Ward prepared: ribs, roast, chicken legs, pulled pork, and even salmon. Half the ward brought salads the other half desserts. It was a feast. It was cold though, but these Idahoans are hearty. The Bishop was working in just shirt sleeves. Whereas, I had my coat over the jacket I had been wearing in the afternoon.
I am sending a letter about Thanksgiving that doesn’t need to be put in my blog. I want it to be a google doc, so people can fill in the blanks and report how many of their family will be coming and what time they think they will arrive in Pocatello. You are invited to stay at my Logan house Wednesday if you want to shorten the drive on Thursday.
Love and hugs,
Grammie/Sister Shill
P. S. Today we had our second rehearsal for the Primary Sacrament Meeting that is next week. (if you are not a Primary Chorister or worker you don’t have to read the rest of this letter. You may find it boring.
Again, our rehearsal went smooth as clockwork. I heard no announcement for a rehearsal next Saturday, so I guess we are ready to go. Let me tell you about last week’s success. After Sacrament meeting the children were invited to come to the front pews. Their class names were on the pews, even my 4/5- year-olds found their spot before I did. Then the Primary president asked who knew the Scripture that we recite in the program. Various kids raised their hands and were called on. Then the Primary all recited the Scripture together. This gave time for the counselors to set up necessary chairs. Each member of the presidency then led a group up and showed them where to sit according to their part on the program. ( I wondered how we would get through this practice because our Sacrament meeting went overtime. A missionary home from Russia was reporting.) The children were led up by class when each speaker finished they walked over to the counselor that handed them a treat and showed them how to get back to their seat. When it was time for a song the Chorister had them stand and told them which song they would sing at this point, but they didn’t sing. They sometimes had to practice standing and sitting again, but no singing. That meant that we were able to have every child practice at the pulpit. The President had to help most, but I was surprised at today’s practice that most of the children had their parts memorized. This week, we took time to sing the numbers that were the weakest. The third hour last week, Senior primary went to class and junior primary went to the Primary room. There was a long table set up in front. After opening exercises, the chorister invited her special guests to come in and judge the children’s singing performance.
1. Larry Loud, wore a green hat with L on it and had a frog puppet that opened his mouth to encourage the volume to go louder.
2. Wanda Wordsmith looked to be on her way to a garden party with a big hat and excessive jewelry. She was there to judge if she could understand the words they were singing.
3. Can’t remember Mr. Bodily’s first name, but he was there to judge what they were doing with their hands. He had fake buck teeth and silly curls that fell on his shoulders. He told the girls that he understood how fun it is to play with their hair, but not while we sing!
4. The Last judge was Tina Tuner wearing enormous plastic glasses, she was listening to hear how well they stayed in tune.
After each song was sung, the judges, one at a time, would explain why they were giving a number from 1 to 10 as they held up the number.
The kids stayed fully engaged and I was amazed at how much their singing improved. If the frog got them singing too loud. Wanda Wordsmith gave them a lower number because their shouting made it hard to understand the words. Tina Tuner objected to their losing their pitch. At the end they got 10’s in everything
This week the Senior primary went to the Primary room for a similar experience and I taught my little class.
If this comes off next week as well as it was rehearsed, this will be the easiest Primary Program preparation that I have experienced. Of course, I haven’t been in Primary for decades. But I do remember Cherie couldn’t come to Nancy’s wedding because she had a 5-hour Saturday practice where she had to play the piano for the Primary Program. I am grateful I am spared that.
