QUESTIONS:
What did I send to you last week?
Pez! like I asked. We got the big envelope as we were going to an appointment, so I just grabbed it and brought it into the car. I opened it quickly just to check and see, and I said to elder Gallagher "It's the pez I asked for, also there's a letter. I bet it has a pun!" sure enough we got to learn that a vampires favorite bean is the...... Human Being! (I guessed kidney bean). It was fun and funny. Also, Elder Gallagher had never tried pez before! now he is hooked. We ate half the pez you sent already.
What happened on Halloween….did anyone come to your house to trick or treat, during the day did you have much luck sharing a message….did you see people dressed up….what was the weirdest thing you saw….was it a cold day?
I was actually in exchanges in our district mates area for that day, we had moderate success. No one thought we were trick or treaters. I don't think anyone ever knocked on our door. It was pouring, so it was a small turnout for everyone. Halloween was canceled 2 years ago because of storms here. They never get good luck. I didn't get a chance to see too much wierdness. Did I tell you about the little fountain we have in our apartment? it is like a foot tall. We bought red food coloring and put it into the water, so it was creepy looking for halloween.
Sister Sotis sent me a letter with just a couple pictures of some Arcadia Ward people. I saw Cave Man Dunham, which was funny and goth kylie too.
How did you hear/know about the time change? Did you enjoy your extra hour of sleep??
we forgot. Woke up early. While I was brushing my teeth Elder Gallagher remembered. We were very disappointed we missed out on the extra sleep. It made the morning easy though since we had a bonus hour. Our phone automatically does the time change. They also announced it at church, so we could have known. Later that morning, Sister Packard sent out a text reminding us, but by then we were already awake and changed and everything.
How was your Sunday?
Good. One of our investigators got surgery on Thursday (Halloween) and came to church! we were very impressed. He was very sore. Another investigator also came, but he only ever stays for the 1st hour because he likes to get home to his (catholic) family. It's kind of a tough spot for him.
Did you sing some good songs?
sort of. Actually we sang some songs I didn't know (or like as much) and they were slow and we sang allll the verses. Then during priesthood one of the branch presidency counselors gave a shpeel about how important he thinks it is to sing all the verses (if you were a poet, but people always cut off the last 2 verses of your song/poem how would you feel?? was part of his thought).
What was the best thing you ate yesterday?
food. The guy we do service for gave us some ravioli and he ate that with the last bit of ground beef we have and with red sauce. It was very good, especially being fast sunday.
What are your plans for today?
We play magic every p-day. The pittsfield elders (district mates) are coming over also. To play magic. Got to fit it all in before Elder Gallagher dies. Not sure what will happen to magic after that. Also we're going to go read the BoM with a mostly active member in the branch who just moved in, who is working his way back. Great guy. Not sure of his story, not going to ask. We've talked a little with branch leadership about how they want us to help. He took us out to a buffet for lunch 2 weeks ago, which was fun.
Things have been solid here. We were happy to to have of our people than usual to come to church, and also some of the members are really becoming friends with them, which is awesome.
It's been fun here for a while because we have lots to do. There are many people to work with. We're getting to learn more about how to plan effectively and be organized so we can make the most of all our meetings. There's no point in having a lot on your plate if you can't handle it! we're doing well though. It's always kind of intriguing to work with our WML and others to see how we can better work together. he (WML) sometimes does a great job, and sometimes is hesitant to really jump into our ideas. He's a good guy, often the epitome of a new RM as a WML (always talks about his mission, and often has good insights) and a newly wed (somehow forgot that it's weird to the missionaries when he stops and flirts with his wife for a while during the meeting).
That's all. Not much out of the ordinrry going on. This week should be fun, we have a lot set up, including helping roof someone's garage. Our investigator who just got surgery can't come help, but was quick to donate his nail gone, compressor and hose to the cause, he is a great example of someone who is willing to accept service, and does whatever he can to give back as well.
President Packard sent a really good email last week I forgot to tack on, i'll put here. Thanks for everything! (I'll be looking forward to the mail you mention this week!)
Dear Elders and Sisters,
A few days ago, my 95-year-old grandmother passed away. Although she had been very fragile for some time, she was not acutely ill when she passed. Thus, there was no family gathering or vigil to mark the event. Rather, the Lord took her as she was peacefully taking a nap in her home with my 98-year-old grandfather sitting next to the bed and holding her hand. They have been eternal companions for 74 years.
I could never capture the potent and positive impact Grandma left on her family, her community and, by extension, the entire world. The best I can do is note a few anecdotes from my own life, knowing that many others could share similar stories.
Nicodemus once said to Jesus: “We know that thou art a teacher come from God.” I say the same thing about Vivian Hayes. She was always teaching and I will be forever blessed as a result.
When I was a young child, Grandma wrote a number of short narrations of Bible stories and then recorded them on a hand-held tape recorder. At the time, I thought the recordings were just for me, and I listened to them often. I learned a lot more about the Bible, but I also learned something about how deeply Grandma loved scripture. You could hear it in her voice. Moreover, the fact that she did the project in the first place spoke volumes about how she felt about me and the Lord. Although I have not listened one of these recordings in more than 30 years, I can still clearly hear Grandma telling these stories, and I can still feel her passion for life, for the Gospel and for her posterity.
During my elementary school years, my teachers had me evaluated by the experts who diagnosed me with ADD and dyslexia. When my performance at school continued to lag, Grandma began to invite me to her house “to spend extra time with me.” I was happy to have the attention, but I soon learned that we were not going to be watching cartoons and eating cookies. Grandma wanted to teach me the English language. She helped me memorize all the forms of “be” as well as the 43 most common prepositions. We diagrammed all kinds of sentences and learned how to spell common words, but mostly, Grandma had me write short essays – what she called “themes.” I would write, and she would make corrections and suggestions. I would then re-write the theme and she would make more corrections and suggestions. I wrote and re-wrote dozens of themes during those summers, and slowly, I started learning how to organize my thoughts and articulate them in a coherent way. I was never anything special, but English went from being my worst subject to my best, and writing became my strongest academic subject throughout high school, college and law school. Honestly, I still rely on the things I learned at Grandma’s dining room table.
As I reflect on the experience, it seems remarkable that a hyperactive 4th grader who had both dyslexia and ADD would be willing to spend hour after hour in this way. I didn’t like diagramming sentences and writing essays any more than the next kid. But I felt truly loved during those sessions with Grandma. Moreover, I was fully cognizant of my academic failures, and I had an unexpressed but profound fear that I did not have the mental horsepower to make it in this world. Grandma was giving me what I really needed. I felt it at the time, so I went cheerfully and received her generous gift of love and knowledge. For me, Grandma Vivian Hayes truly was a teacher come from God.
Love,
President Packard
Dear Elders and Sisters,
A few days ago, my 95-year-old grandmother passed away. Although she had been very fragile for some time, she was not acutely ill when she passed. Thus, there was no family gathering or vigil to mark the event. Rather, the Lord took her as she was peacefully taking a nap in her home with my 98-year-old grandfather sitting next to the bed and holding her hand. They have been eternal companions for 74 years.
I could never capture the potent and positive impact Grandma left on her family, her community and, by extension, the entire world. The best I can do is note a few anecdotes from my own life, knowing that many others could share similar stories.
Nicodemus once said to Jesus: “We know that thou art a teacher come from God.” I say the same thing about Vivian Hayes. She was always teaching and I will be forever blessed as a result.
When I was a young child, Grandma wrote a number of short narrations of Bible stories and then recorded them on a hand-held tape recorder. At the time, I thought the recordings were just for me, and I listened to them often. I learned a lot more about the Bible, but I also learned something about how deeply Grandma loved scripture. You could hear it in her voice. Moreover, the fact that she did the project in the first place spoke volumes about how she felt about me and the Lord. Although I have not listened one of these recordings in more than 30 years, I can still clearly hear Grandma telling these stories, and I can still feel her passion for life, for the Gospel and for her posterity.
During my elementary school years, my teachers had me evaluated by the experts who diagnosed me with ADD and dyslexia. When my performance at school continued to lag, Grandma began to invite me to her house “to spend extra time with me.” I was happy to have the attention, but I soon learned that we were not going to be watching cartoons and eating cookies. Grandma wanted to teach me the English language. She helped me memorize all the forms of “be” as well as the 43 most common prepositions. We diagrammed all kinds of sentences and learned how to spell common words, but mostly, Grandma had me write short essays – what she called “themes.” I would write, and she would make corrections and suggestions. I would then re-write the theme and she would make more corrections and suggestions. I wrote and re-wrote dozens of themes during those summers, and slowly, I started learning how to organize my thoughts and articulate them in a coherent way. I was never anything special, but English went from being my worst subject to my best, and writing became my strongest academic subject throughout high school, college and law school. Honestly, I still rely on the things I learned at Grandma’s dining room table.
As I reflect on the experience, it seems remarkable that a hyperactive 4th grader who had both dyslexia and ADD would be willing to spend hour after hour in this way. I didn’t like diagramming sentences and writing essays any more than the next kid. But I felt truly loved during those sessions with Grandma. Moreover, I was fully cognizant of my academic failures, and I had an unexpressed but profound fear that I did not have the mental horsepower to make it in this world. Grandma was giving me what I really needed. I felt it at the time, so I went cheerfully and received her generous gift of love and knowledge. For me, Grandma Vivian Hayes truly was a teacher come from God.
Love,
President Packard
No comments:
Post a Comment