spinning wheels
I believe time is a tremendous healer and a tremendous drug for removing certain memories. When I look back at Texas, I remember the long days of tracting but my memory seems to tell me about the Edwards family that lived at the end of the street, at the end of the block, at the far edge of town, that answered the door in the 11th hour. In reality, many days we arrived back at our dingy, hot and humid apartment without anyone saying yes. The memory comes more clearly after a day of "spinning wheels" like yesterday.
Our washing machine died a few days ago and Elder Stoker had ordered a new one and said they would call yesterday morning with a delivery time. So, I missed a chance to help a family move while we sat and waited for the call. When they finally called about 2:30 they informed us it would not arrive until late next week. I shouldn't complain because we have a cooler on the roof and there are many things to read but it felt like a wasted day. I've read all of the released chapters of Saints, volume 2, read the scriptures, Jesus The Christ, and about 10 other books. I did enjoy "Boys in the Boat" which created a lot of memories along the shores of Lake Washington.
It really does feel like yesterday, and yet another lifetime, when I remember those 13 years in Seattle area. That is the place where most of our boys call their "childhood home". Teaching at the Institute adjacent to the University of Washington was amazing. Working with people like Alan Hunt, Myron Horne, Larry Beall, John Lund, Kathy Morgan, Doneen DeMeester, and so many others that blessed my life. It was across the lake, in Bellevue, where I was so blessed by amazing leaders, community members and students. It was there that I first met a young man who had just returned from serving his mission in Indiana and I felt impressed to call him to be the president of the LDSSA. Steve Southward would bless so many lives by his willingness to speak up and share the gospel. It didn't surprise me at all when he called, nearly two years ago, to tell me that he'd been called to preside over the Idaho Pocatello Mission. The only real surprise was when he asked me, that next summer, to serve as his counselor. My heart still goes back to the IPM on a daily basis. When I see their posts of baptisms and conferences, there is a joy that frequently manifests itself on my face. I love them all.
Anyhow, we went to church this morning in the Red Hill Ward and they had a single hour of worship so that families could spend the remainder of their sabbath together and prepare for Christmas day. The speaker was a woman who grew up in Hereford, Texas. How small this world can become. That was where I was serving 46 years ago, today.
It was good to see some family postings on Marco Polo and see the grandkids performing at the Blackburn family party. It was also reassuring to receive an email from our friends, Stan and Shirley Kauffman who are serving a mission in the Upstate New York area. They've become good friends with the Cranes who worked with us in the Star Valley Temple.
Our washing machine died a few days ago and Elder Stoker had ordered a new one and said they would call yesterday morning with a delivery time. So, I missed a chance to help a family move while we sat and waited for the call. When they finally called about 2:30 they informed us it would not arrive until late next week. I shouldn't complain because we have a cooler on the roof and there are many things to read but it felt like a wasted day. I've read all of the released chapters of Saints, volume 2, read the scriptures, Jesus The Christ, and about 10 other books. I did enjoy "Boys in the Boat" which created a lot of memories along the shores of Lake Washington.
It really does feel like yesterday, and yet another lifetime, when I remember those 13 years in Seattle area. That is the place where most of our boys call their "childhood home". Teaching at the Institute adjacent to the University of Washington was amazing. Working with people like Alan Hunt, Myron Horne, Larry Beall, John Lund, Kathy Morgan, Doneen DeMeester, and so many others that blessed my life. It was across the lake, in Bellevue, where I was so blessed by amazing leaders, community members and students. It was there that I first met a young man who had just returned from serving his mission in Indiana and I felt impressed to call him to be the president of the LDSSA. Steve Southward would bless so many lives by his willingness to speak up and share the gospel. It didn't surprise me at all when he called, nearly two years ago, to tell me that he'd been called to preside over the Idaho Pocatello Mission. The only real surprise was when he asked me, that next summer, to serve as his counselor. My heart still goes back to the IPM on a daily basis. When I see their posts of baptisms and conferences, there is a joy that frequently manifests itself on my face. I love them all.
Anyhow, we went to church this morning in the Red Hill Ward and they had a single hour of worship so that families could spend the remainder of their sabbath together and prepare for Christmas day. The speaker was a woman who grew up in Hereford, Texas. How small this world can become. That was where I was serving 46 years ago, today.
It was good to see some family postings on Marco Polo and see the grandkids performing at the Blackburn family party. It was also reassuring to receive an email from our friends, Stan and Shirley Kauffman who are serving a mission in the Upstate New York area. They've become good friends with the Cranes who worked with us in the Star Valley Temple.
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