Third Week March 5th -March 11th

 Monday the 5th we got up at 6 AM to get to the gardening meeting at 9 Am in Tuba City which would take about an hour to get there.  We meet all the gardening missionary’s and Elder Seeley.  He is such an awesome man.  He has been over the garden project for the past three years and has been released but still is working like he is not.  He certainly has a great vision as to what this project can do for the people on the

At the Meeting, Chapman's in front

reservation. We learned a lot about gardening. We learned that if you don’t put manure on the garden at the end of the gardening seasons then you need to put it on in the spring and then wait 30 days before you can plant anything.  We are certainly getting a lot of tips and instructions.  We had pizza and salad for lunch that was from President Justice pizza place called the Pizza Edge.  It was pretty good pizza. After the meeting Willard had help loading the fencing and fence post but we could only carry enough for 10 gardens.  We will be given enough materials for 20 gardens and 40% of them need to be Friends of Other Faiths so that the gardening project can qualify for humanitarian services.  So we need to find 8 Friends and 12 members. I think it will be easy to find them.

Willard loading the fencing

Anyway, we got home about 5:30 pm and it was getting dark so we decided that we would wait until the next morning to unload the trailer.  We were too tired to do it anyway. Then Sister Williams came knocking at my door seeing if I was going to go with her to the nutrition class at the Seventh Day Adventist church.  I told her I would because Sister Zigler wasn’t going to go.  When we got there we meet a new lady that had come out from California to help out at the Seventh day Church.  She was a very sweet black lady and was so friendly. Her name was Tamra West. We only stayed a bit and then told the lady that was doing the nutrition class that we weren’t going to be able to come anymore because we were getting to busy.  She was disappointed but we parted as friends

Tuesday we had planned to go out with the Williams to talk to gardeners and let them know that if they hadn’t put manure on their gardens in the fall time that they would need to be tilling in the manure now so it would have time to get worked in.  However, the wind was blowing so hard and the dust was everywhere.  The Williams had to go in to work at the employment center because Sister Zigler still wasn’t feeling up to par.  So I offered to make some chicken noodle soup, breadsticks and peanut butter cookies for dinner.  Then we went out to unload the fencing.  We found it was easier to just roll it out of the trailer and then stand it up and roll it into place.   While I was cooking,  that afternoon, the Harvey’s, which are the gardening missionaries, in Chilchimbeto stopped over.   Chilchimbeto is about 25 miles down the road. They are from Northern Idaho where he is a bee keeper and she is working for a small town newspaper and it sending stories about the mission back home over the internet.   They brought their trailer, plus a freezer full of Beef, pork and turkeys.  So we are planning to have a turkey dinner soon.   They came over so that we could co-ordinate our arrival time in Tuba City for the next day.  We both needed to get fertilizer for our gardens.  We were also going to pick up the Chapmans fertilizer for them the next day.  So we wanted to be there about the same time so that we could help each other.  After they left,   we took the meal to the Williams and both couples were so happy that they didn’t have to fix dinner because it had been a hard day at the center.  We had a good time talking and shared different experiences. We were quite exhausted by the time we got into bed but I did get my excises in.   I slept soundly because of the gentle rocking of the RV by the winds.

Wednesday turned out to be a cold bitter day with some blowing snow when we woke up but it stopped about the time we were to leave so we took to the road.  When we got there the Harvey’s hadn’t arrived so we loaded half our load of 104 bags of 25 lbs and 3 bag of 50lb of gypsum.  Then we loaded 58  25lbs bags of fertilizer and 3 more 50lb bags of gypsum for the Chapmans. After we had gotten about half of it loaded,  the Harvey showed up and helped us with the rest.  I was so thankful for their help.  My hands were getting so tired.  Then we loaded the Harvey’s pickup with the fertilizer that they needed.  They followed us home to make sure we got home.  They are a very sweet couple.  We got home about 2pm and didn’t unload it until after our appointment with the McMurtry’s.  It was a good meeting and they told us that they thought we had a pretty good handle on some of our concerns and that we should just keep in touch if anything else comes up. 

While we were working at unloading the fertilizer, a one of the friends of faith, Steve Cluason,  showed up to get sawdust.  We went over to talk with him and Willard helped him load up his sawdust.  We told him he might as well pick up his fertilizer now.  So he drove over to the other side of the parking lot and we gave him his bags and he jumped in his truck and was about to go on his way but then he jumped out and helped us unload the rest of the bags.  I was so thankful for his help. 

It was a  busy and tiring day but it wasn’t over, Bishop Gillmore called to ask us to speak in church.  This will be Willard’s third Sunday of participating in the ward sacrament meeting. I think they will soon get tired of us.  Right after that Bishop Axlilne called us and wanted us to meet with the priesthood that night to talk about when we were going to have our first gardening meeting. Since I was already committed to practice with the young women for them to sing at sacrament, Willard went to represent us.  After, practicing with the young women I went to the meeting and was very surprised that they decided to have the gardening workshop on the 13^th, which doesn’t give us very many days to prepare or find new gardeners.  But somehow it will all work out.  We plan on having another one on the 27^th to teach them how to install the fence.

Then after the meeting Bishop Axline, asked us to stay a bit to talk to us.  He then asked me to be the primary pianist in their ward and teach 5 or 6 children the piano.   It looks like I will be spending 4 hours in primary on Sunday which is something that I enjoy and they are desperate for someone that can play the piano.

Thursday I made some flyer and Willard put them around the chapel and also ran into  a sister who said that she would put it up at the school.  I spent most of the morning typing up a list of gardener that were in both wards and that night I began to call some of them.  In the first ward there are 40 gardens evenly split between members and friend, the 2^nd ward they have 12 members and 4 friends.  We really need to beef up the 2^nd ward.  We found that it is hard to get a hold of people here.  They may have used up all their minuets or the reception is bad.  I know sometimes it is hard to get through on our phone too.  The wind really affects the reception here.   

Sister McCarty

Our next project is to get in touch with the fellow at the high school that can give us some manure to spread.  In the back of our place there are two gardens and one small one in the back of the Zeigler’s place.  So we also have our own garden to take care of.  The Howard's, the other missionary couple won’t be coming until after April 17^th when the Williams go because they are going to take over the Williams home. I sure hope she will let me use her oven. Sister Williams is so accommodating.  That afternoon Sister McCarty came over and I spent most of my time showing her how to do Family Indexing.  We had a great time talking family history. That night we called all the numbers we could get a hold of or left messages in the 1^st ward and the Williams called the numbers in the 2^nd ward.

Great face painting Job

A son painted his fathers face

Friday was one of the more frustrating days for Willard but ended wonderfully for me.  In the morning we noticed that the toilet wasn’t going down. Willard went out to flush it but it didn’t move.  He tried everything he could think of.  Then he went down to Ace’s to get an auger but they were sold out and wouldn’t have them in until Monday.  In the mean time, I was making goodies for the 2^nd wards movie night that was going to be on Saturday.  While Willard was working on the toilet, Tamera West came knocking at my door, offering two cookbooks.  I had mentioned that I had a daughter-in-law that was a vegetarian and she brought over the cook book that was filled with good tasting recipes.   She admitted to me that recipes that the other lady had didn’t taste very good to her but she was so thoughtful and sweet.  I think that Holly and Sarah would both enjoy the recipes that are in these books.  She was living in a trailer too so she tried to give Willard some pointers but nothing she suggested worked.   We worked and worked trying everything to unclog the toilet.  Then Tamara came back with her husband.  He educated Willard about how the system works so when we did get it to work we would know what we were doing.  Then Elder Williams took Willard down to check at a place that might have something to help him.  Just as they were coming home Elder William has a flash of inspiration to ask Elder Zeigler if he had and auger.  Well he did and they got it from him just as he was
leaving.  Willard handed me the auger and went to help someone with the sawdust.  I went in and worked with the auger and after about 5 minutes and a little prayer, IT FLUSHED!  I have never been so relieved. 

Then the Williams asked us if we would like to go to a POW WOW up at Monument Valley.  We were just glad to get away from the stress.  It was so awesome.    We meet a sister from the ward and she educated us about the dancing and drumming competition.   The regalia (not costumes) were indicative of the type of

A fancy Dancer

dance they were going to participate.  There were the fancy dancers with shawls and the jingle dancers, the grass dancers and traditional dancers.  They perform dances from all over the nation.  I was sad that Elder Williams wanted to go home early so we didn’t see the most experienced dancers.  I hope we get to go to another one before we leave.

At the cemetery

In the cleaned up grave site

Saturday was another busy day.  We were going to all go to the soup kitchen that was going to be held at the Catholic Church but when we went the gate was closed and so we went on down to help out with the cemetery clean up.  Sister William and I stayed there to help with the clean up and Willard and Elder Williams went to set up for the movie night and then went on to the soup kitchen.  When we got through we went to the church and found that they were all most done serving.  They didn’t have very many show up, only about 30 actually came and ate.  By the time we got home it was 2 pm and I was tired.  After taking a nap I finished the cream puffs that I had made the day before and worked on my talk.  

At the Soup Kitchen, Nellie in back

About 6:30 pm we went up to the church for movie night but I took my laptop so that I could work on my talk.  We had all of about 10 people who came.  The only leader that was there was Nellie the primary president.  Evidently it was a bad night to hold a movie night but it was the night the leadership wanted.  When I got home, after reading over my talk, I decided that it just wasn’t right so I started again and went to bed about 11.  Then as I was lying there I  still didn’t like the way it sounded so all night I was reworking my talk.

Sunday was daylight savings time change so I even got less sleep. Willard had to get up early to go  PEC meeting. I got up and prepared the rump roast in the crock pot because I was doing dinner for the group after all our meetings which is about 5 pm. Then I proceeded to change my talk.  I got it done just in time to get to the 2^nd ward Sacrament meeting.    Willard gave a great talk and my talk served its purpose.  Then I went to primary and sat in on a class that had to be combined because a teacher was missing.  Then at 10:30 I went to practice with the 1^st ward  young women who were singing in the for their sacrament meeting.  Then I rushed back in to play for the 2^nd wards primary.  Then at 11:20 someone came to get me from the 1^st ward telling me that the young women were waiting for me to play.  I rushed back in to play for the young women and then back to the 2^nd ward.  After they got out at 12 the 1^st ward primary begins. They have opening exercises and then the older kids go to class and the younger one stay and sing and then they switch.  So I am through at 2pm.  We were told that the Bishop wants the primary kids to sing next week, so next week with be just as hectic.  

After church Willard was asked to go with Brother Black to rededicate some land so when I got home I had to quickly clean up the house and get the potatoes and carrots in the Crockpot for dinner because the 2^nd ward we were going to have a presidency meeting at our trailer at 3 pm.   The presidency consists of the president Nellie McCarty and Sister Musman who will be moving out next month.  About 4:45 Becky McCarty is knocking at my door wanting me to show her how to get on the Family Indexing sight.  I showed Nellie how to do it so she could help her mother.  I ushered them all out the door and quickly made some gravy and took the fixings over at 5pm.  We had a great dinner and great conversation.  I could feel myself fading fast so I excused myself to come home and work on my blog.  When I was just getting towards the end of the week, Sister Wheatly the primary president of the 1^st ward was at the door with a plate of cookies.  She just came by to welcome me to primary.  She had been so busy that she hadn’t had time to even talk to me and she felt bad.  We had a great time getting to know each other and she left after 9.  Then I thought we certainly wouldn’t be getting anymore visitors and just as I as getting back to work another knock was at my door.  This time it was Brother Gibson wondering if we wanted the heater back.  We took up the big space heater that we had been borrowing from the church house but the furnaces weren’t working and so they used it to heat the chapel.   I have learned on Sunday, I had better not get in my pj’s until after 9:30 because you never know who will be knocking at your door.   When I was ready to post my blog, the wind had kicked up and the internet was down,  so I gave up and went to bed.