The beautiful lights at the Temple
Sister Bullock with one of the beautiful trees at the VC
I told you last week about my car, that it wouldn't start..
So before I called AAA to come tow it to the garage I thought I would just try
once more to start it. First I said a
prayer that I could get it started and not have to have it towed. Since I park
in the lower level of a parking garage, it wouldn't be an easy thing to get a
tow truck in and my car out. It was a
tough start, but it did start, so I could drive it to the garage myself. I had
talked to the mechanic on the phone and he knew my problem. They said they
would check it all over, but didn't want to just start replacing un-needed
parts..which I thanked him for. They
kept it over night and it started right up every time they tried.. He called on
Tuesday morning and said they can't find anything wrong with it.. can you say
BLESSINGS....
Being assigned to work in the kitchen and get the meals out
for the missionaries and workers at the visitors center each day has been so
much fun. The meals that are being
provided for us are amazing and the wards bring so much food .I have had enough
to share. We were having sloppy Joe's
and the ward had provided 2 huge pans of sloppy Joe mixture and buns and salad
and dessert. We try to feed the young missionaries and the men who help with
the parking if we have enough food left each evening and so far it has been
going great.. That night I counted the buns and there were 44... we serve 40 in
the two shifts of sister missionaries and senior couples each evening.. I had Sister
Hardy count the buns just make sure my count was right..she agreed 44. I told Elder Hardy who is in charge of the
parking that we wouldn't have enough to feed the elders that night..so he said
he would give them hot chocolate and cookies.
Well the girls loved the dinner and everyone had a bun with with sloppy
Joe meat on it and so did the seniors.. when everyone had finished I looked at
the rolls and we had 12 left.. I contacted Elder Hardy and told him to send in
the young men missionaries and we could feed them. After they all ate I still had 4 buns left..
It was the miracle just like the loaves and fishes in our kitchen that night..
Our mission had a mission conference on Thursday. Elder
Allan F. Packer of the seventy and his wife were the special guests for the conference. We got to meet with Sister Packer before the
meeting started and she shared some insight to just the sisters. During the conference we were privileged to
hear from Sister and President Matsumori as well as the Packers. Each gave us
words of wisdom and inspiration and counsel.
- President
Matsumori shared thoughts on member retention and re-activation through
fellowship, friendship and working with the active members of the wards to
help bring those back who have strayed.
- Sister
Matsumori talked about how to be a more powerful missionary by being in
tune with the spirit, every day.
- The
Assistants to the President had a training session
- Sister
Packer shared thoughts on how to have and keep the spirit with us by being
worthy through daily scripture study, prayer and keeping the commandments.
- Elder
Packer shared with us many of the things that the leaders in Salt
Lake City do each week to serve. He said that
there will be an additional 20,000 to 30,000 missionaries in the field
soon. He said that the trainers are
the most important position in a mission. They train the new missionaries
when they first arrive in the mission and set the example for them.
I love to visit with the young missionaries when they come
in from the parking lot on break to eat.
I was talking to a couple the other night from
Idaho.
Since I grew up in
Idaho we had
fun talking about the great places there. One was from
Boise
and the other from
Idaho Falls.
I asked Elder Dillon what he was going to do
after his mission and he said he was going back to school.. I said " the
University
of Idaho".. he said "yes
how did you know".
We talked about
Moscow,
Idaho and how much I love going there to
visit my sister and her family.
We have
missionaries from all over the world serving in DC and it is really fun getting
to know them. We have 4
young sisters
serving from
Arizona, so we have
the "Zonies".
I was talking to
a young elder from
Australia
the other night and he told me that he has lost his accent since coming on his
mission.. I just laughed and said I don't know who told you that but you still
have a wonderful Aussie accent.... It is really fun to talk to the missionaries
each evening and get to know them each a little better.
The darling sister missionaries at the VC
I was asked to come meet a young man who had something he wanted to make for the sisters. When I came out I met Jovino Barrientos, he is from Lima, Peru and brought Peruvian hot chocolate and Panetone for the sisters. I shared with him about my grandson Dylan who has just returned from his mission in Lima and we talked for a few minutes. He is the only member of his family living in the US. He came here to go to school and work. He doesn't have a car and walked to the VC with the ingredients for the special treat in his backpack. What a special act of service..
Javino and me
Sister Wege's sister Mary Ann came for a visit on Friday and
will be here until next Wednesday. She came last year during the Festival of
Lights and wanted to come again this year, since she had so much fun. We have
been having a great time with Mary Ann.
Cardall's
One of the couples who work in the temple are the
Cardall's.. their son Paul Cardall is performing next Tuesday at the VC.
He and his daughter arrived in DC
a few days ago to spend some time with the Cardall's.
There is a room next to the kitchen that has
a grand piano and Paul has been practicing in there and it is so magnificent..
A real perk to have a International recording artist playing at the center and
I get to hear him practice.
He has
recorded 6 albums of beautiful piano music.
Paul Cardall & me
Sister Wege and I have been working on a book of remembrance for Joyce Hall.. Sister Wege wrote and typed the story of Joyce's life and I created the book. We took it over to her on Saturday along with the Dickey's. She is such a special lady and the Dickey's are very involved with Joyce and bring her to many activities and are being such a wonderful support to her.
.
Joyce and the Dickey's and us
A few of the pages of her book
After we left Joyce's on Saturday we drove over to see a house that one of the members of our ward was working on that is for rent. As we walked into the back yard we saw 2 deer, a doe and an 6 point buck. They were just standing there looking at us. I went to get my camera and I missed the doe but got this picture of the buck as he stared at us.
Saturday we had over 6,000 people come into the VC. Both performances by the DC Mormon Choir were
packed with great admirers. The main
floor of the center was so packed and I was sent on searches to find certain
people and it was almost impossible.. We had bus loads of people come from all
over the area. Our friend Barbara that
we visit every Thursday was able to come with Linda (the receptionist) from the assisted living facility. Linda had
gotten Barbara a new dress and she had a beautiful scarf on and looked so
pretty. Barbara was so excited to be able to come and loved every minute of it.
We were so happy that Linda brought her for the evening. Such a wonderful act
of service and love. I got to see
several of my friends from Southern Maryland on Saturday
evening and it was such a delight to reconnect..
The theater when it is empty.. we have 550 seats and they all fill up
Our performances this week were fantastic:
- Monday:
The Olney Big Band is back at the visitors center by popular demand.The award winning group of volunteer musicians has performed
in Europe as well as across the US.
The bands festival performance consisted of Christmas music played with swing,
jazz and dance beats. It was so much fun to listen to and I couldn't help
tapping my feet through their performance.
Olney Big Band
Tuesday:
The Young Colombians Glee club:
They were amazing and the show could have been on Broadway for
sure. They sang songs from the 20's, 30's, and each decade and had costume
changes and dances to go with each one.. It was one of my favorite
performances so far. The voices of these young people who ranged in age
from 10 to 17 were incredible many could be recording artists.
Friday night we heard from the
"Singing Sensations Youth Choir" : The Singing Sensations Youth Choir was founded with the expectation
of exposing youth in the Baltimore Metropolitan area to the diverse and
multifaceted aspects of the performing arts. There are about 60 of
them, chasing a dream. They range from age
6 to 18.
They are from all over Baltimore.
They come from broken homes, have ADHD, victims of led poison, experience
seizures, but they want and love to sing. We provide a myriad of performing opportunities
to students,
ages 5-18, exposing them to other
people, cultures and musical experiences in Maryland and throughout the country.
The Singing Sensations
·
Saturday we had the Mormon Choir of Washington
DC.. Founded in 1980, the choir is composed of singers and
musicians selected by audition with a current membership of 80 from
approximately 50 congregations in the Maryland
and Virginia regions. They are the spirit of
Christmas thru song. What a wonderful show they put on. I know 4 of the sisters
that sing in the choir, so it is really fun to see them.
Sunday was the Mormon Orchestra of Washington DC.. This is a group of some of the finest LDS
instrumentalists in the Washington Metro Area. Originating from the Suitland
Maryland Stake Orchestra, (started by Haleigh Vance, of White Plains 2nd
ward).. it has grown to include
musicians from Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. The orchestra
has performed numerous times at the Washington DC Temple Visitors' Center and
at various stake firesides around the area. The members give freely of their
time and talents and enjoy opportunities to praise the Lord through music.
Wishing everyone a wonderful week and a blessed Christmas season..
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