Another quilt and mission updates

We hadn't gotten any assignments during February from our mission branch, so we put on another quilt. This one is for us. Max pieced it a year or so ago. We ordered extra wide backing fabric from one of my catalogs and didn't like it when we got it. But we finally decided that it would do--don't expect it to ever be put on the bed with that side up. We are about 3/4 done. It is looking great and we can't wait to get it off.

I meant to keep the posting more current. So here is a sort of update of our mission activity which I wrote on Feb 25th in an email to my sibs.

We have been to 2 sunday's of block meetings. 1st sunday, "sender" part of the translation machinery wasn't connected right, so no translation in Sac. Mtg. Last Sunday, everything was set up right and we enjoyed Sac. Mtg. 3 youth speakers all spoke about prayer--excellent talks. Actually I thought they were some better than the high counselor who followed them.

Sunday School and RS/Priesthood are hard for us because we don't know what they are saying. We can catch occasional words, but not really enough to know where they are in the lesson and exactly what they are saying. I told Max on the way home, that the hardest part for me, was not being able to make comments in class. Maybe eventually, I'll feel comfortable about just raising my hand and saying what I'm thinking. We try to be sure that we read the lessons ahead of time and have our scriptures/lesson guide/lesson manuals open with us, but it is still hard to know where they are.

Tonight we had a formal meeting with Pres. Gonzalez and our lead couple (kind of like district leaders, I think, for you former missionaries), Good meeting, but still no specific assignments other than a strong interest expressed by Pres. Gonzalez in the music program developed to teach hispanic members to play well enough to play simplified arrangments of hymns. Currently our branch sac mtg organist is a sister from somewhere in the stake who was called to be the branch organist. In Priesthood, they sing acappella; RS uses a CD; and the Primary President plays the piano for Primary.

We went to Branch council the 1st week after our training and almost the first thing that was mentioned was a need for us--a 13 yr old girl had had foot surgery the previous week and needed a wheelchair. That was easy--we had one in our garage and her dad came and got it after the block. I saw her tonight at the church (Mutual) and she said she uses it all the time at home. We were pleased that we could help right off the bat.

After our meeting, we were standing in one of the foyers talking with the new Elder's Quorum President. He is Puerto Rican, born in NYC (and that accent comes thru quite often in his English). When he first came to Utah in 1997, he attended Granger 10th Ward. So I asked him if he knew Christine and Mario Gonzalez (my sister). He said he did, but that he hadn't seen them for a long time. Hno. Santiago says that when he came to SLC in 97, there were 15 hispanic units. Now in the Salt Lake Innercity Project, there are 64 units--2 are Portuguese and the rest are Spanish. (And did I ever mention the newly formed Swahili Branch?)

We have high hopes for our mission. Pres. Gonzalez is a great man and a good branch president. He expresses his appreciation to have us in the branch, but as I said, no assignments yet. If they are not forthcoming, then our supervisor-people may pull us out of this branch and assign us somewhere in the SLC Valley. So, we are hoping that this official meeting with him tonight will start something.

We are working some on our Spanish, but haven't yet gotten to a set study schedule, so I know that we won't make much progress unless we do. Tonight, Pres. Gonzales gave us an MTC style book. We have Jamie's but this one looks a little different. The first pronunciation lessons went fairly well, but I'm stuck on the rolling r's--can't quite get it. Max has no trouble with that sound, but struggles to remember the vowels. I think I can remember the vowels easily because they pretty much sound like the Hawaiian vowels. Anyway, we're moving slowly, but with optimism. Nearly every week we go into SLC for some kind of training meeting--all aimed at hispanic needs and all very helpful.

Now, as of tda, March 6th--we have 3 pages of assignments/notes! I missed last Sunday (sick) but Max went to Branch Sac Mtg. The Branch Clerk gave him a 2nd hand assignment, so Max scheduled an appt with Pres. G for Wed. Night. He clarified that assignment and then went thru the branch list, giving us assignments for about 6 or 7 families. One is a sister who has left her husband and gone to a women's shelter in SLC. She doesn't speak much English and the Pres. is not sure exactly why she left--only guesses because of past history. We are meeting with one family tda at 5pm. So, it looks like we are finally "starting" our mission.

Max only went to Branch Sac Mtg. last Sunday so he could go to Priesthood Mtg in our home ward. He was being released Sunday as an asst. to the HP Group Leader and wanted to be there again. The Stake President was there and thanked him for our willingness to serve. Pres. Rockwell asked how the language was going and Max told him about some of our struggles, but then said that Pres. G had told us that apx 85% of the branch spoke English, so hope that overall we will be able to work well in the Branch. Pres. R was surprised that there were that many English speaking members of the Branch.