I had a new experience today. The
YW presidency in our ward was reorganized, and I was called to continue as
Personal Progress adviser. The bishopric set us apart today during YW. It was
the first time I had ever been set apart for a calling in a language other than
English, and understood it better than I would have expected. Dad was still
stuck in Nicaragua as of this morning, so I drove to and from church on my own.
With Dad’s detailed directions, I was able to navigate the route smoothly both
ways, so I can chalk another one up. I can also easily drive from our house to
Funval and to Paiz, our grocery store. No telling where I might venture next.
We now have 3 couples in the
Institute teaching rotation at Funval, which has been a tremendous relief. I
continue to volunteer at Funval on Wed afternoons with Susan Rhoades (who also
does Pathway). Wed we had a discussion with a group of about 12 advanced
English speakers on U.S. presidents. I began by creating a chart on the
whiteboard of the three branches of U.S. gov’t—Executive, Legislative and
Judicial--and who serves under each. Then we shared the biographies of six of
the most well-known presidents—George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy
Roosevelt, Franklin D Roosevelt, JFK, and Ronald Reagan. The students had a lot
of questions; thankfully, between the two of us, Susan and I were able to
answer all of them. This Wed the topic will be U.S. Holidays. Susan is creating
a power point with information and graphics for each of the major holidays—New
Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Presidents Day, St Patrick’s Day, Easter, Memorial
Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New
Year’s Eve. I will bring a few food samples and some little tokens to represent
each, if I can find them. For example, for New Year’s Eve, Hershey kisses to
represent kissing at midnight and some hats and/or noisemakers.
On our trips to Pathway on Thurs
evenings, there is a roundabout along the way where a woman dressed as a clown,
in full costume and make-up, solicits money from passers-by. Traffic at that
time of day (rush hour) moves very slowly, so there is plenty of time for her
to quickly walk from car to car. It is
is a very poignant moment for me every week. You see, she always carries a baby
in a sling across her chest. I think perhaps the costume is not only an
attention getter but perhaps for anonymity. A mother and baby are hard to resist. There
are four people like this who stand regularly along the streets we frequent.
Besides the clown lady, there is an amputee, a little woman who appears to be
mentally compromised in front of a small grocery that carries many U.S. products,
and a very old woman in native costume, who is always at a certain intersection
on our way home from church. Perhaps she does well there when our block is over
and the ward members are driving home.
My Pathway group is small this
semester. There were 10 students to begin with, but only 8 are apparently going
to stick. Eight is the minimum number allowed, as I may have mentioned
previously. Two weeks ago during a discussion, one of the class members, who
happens to be a bishop, kept answering questions with quotes from various
recent prophets and apostles. Two of the other students in the class started
referring to him as “Mr. Quote.” If you were there, it was really funny. The
room where my group meets is just downstairs from the one where Dad’s group meets.
There is one student upstairs who has earned the reputation of being “The
Cookie Hog.” He’s not overweight, but boy, does he love cookies. This semester,
after he gets as many as he can upstairs, he comes downstairs to see if I have
any leftovers. On Thurs, when Dad was already in Nicaragua, Elder and Sister
Searle were substituting for Dad. “The Cookie Hog” came down after class saying
he needed to try my cookies to see if they were as good as Sis Searle’s. In
reality, I had made all the cookies. I think he already knew that, but was just
trying to avoid getting razzed, as he always does, by my students.
This Tues (10/22) it’s my turn to
teach Institute. The lesson is on Ether 1-5. As I have been reading and
re-reading these chapters, I have noticed the emphasis by the Lord on “fasting
and praying oft” in order to draw close to God the Father, the Savior and the
Holy Ghost. It is an opportunity open to all of us. A real challenge in our
busy modern lives, but what a strong shield against worldliness to have the
constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. I certainly am learning more about
the Book of Mormon than I ever have before. We’ll finish the year with a couple
of review nights, and then start with 1 Nep in January.
If I have already written about this
previously, forgive me, but a large new room on the second floor of Funval was
just completed a few weeks ago. I haven’t taught in it yet, but it can’t
compare to anything we would be familiar with in the states. It’s a large,
deep, rectangular, white (floor to ceiling) box accessed at one end by a very
steep flight of outdoor-type stairs and at the other by a small door at the
very end of the 2nd floor hall. There is one white board that can be
used, but it has to be propped up on two chairs and nearly always needs a good
cleaning. The lights are fluorescent and very bright so the whole room gives
the impression of being lined in white patent leather. There is pretty good
ventilation from two windows along one wall of the room, but with none on the
opposite wall, there is no cross-breeze. Each student has to tote a plastic
patio chair up to the room when it’s time for Institute. I’m sure none of them
has any idea of the contrast between this set-up and what we have in the U.S.
However, that being said, you couldn’t find a more pleasant, cooperative,
enthusiastic, grateful group of students anywhere.
Friday was the 6-month mark of
our mission. One-third down, two-thirds to go.
So glad we are far enough in to be well-adjusted to our assignments and
surroundings. My Spanish is improving as I learn more and more vocabulary and
grammar. I was able to make a little Personal Progress presentation to the YW
today with not much help from the leaders and girls. Our group is so small that
we always meet together in the same room. About 8 girls attend each week. We
have to sing a capella, as there is no piano. But everyone just accepts this as
normal. Next month we are planning to have a PP Activity Day on a Friday,
probably the week before Thanksgiving. YW camp is set for Oct 30-Nov 2, just 3
days, at a church-owned camp outside the city. Both of these activities will be
during school vacation mid-Oct to mid-January. It’s amazing to see how the
Church functions basically the same anywhere you go.
We will be going on a little getaway
at the end of this week for 3 days in Antigua. Senior missionaries are actually
encouraged to do this occasionally for R&R. Great perk of serving a senior
mission. We’ll be gone Sat 10/26 to Wed 10/30. That’s if Dad isn’t delayed getting
home from another trip this coming Thurs-Fri to Honduras on more church real
estate business. We’ll be crossing our fingers that things go according to
plan.
