Wow! I didn't realize how long it had been since we last posted. We are alive and well and very busy in Redding, CA.
We have both completed the challenge by President and Sister Weston to read the Book of Mormon before the end of February. Along with the reading, we were to mark, in different colors, 1) any reference to Christ; 2) any words of Christ; 3) any attributes of Christ; and 4) principles and doctrines of the Gospel. We both enjoyed the challenge. It's interesting to see "in living color" a notation of the four topics.
Shasta College celebrated Lincoln's birthday on the Friday, the 8th so the college was closed and we didn't schedule any Institute classes either. It was nice to have a day off. That evening we "live streamed" the address given by Elder Dallin Oaks.
For our walk on Saturday we decided to drive over to the college campus and walk around there. It was a nice day and we enjoyed being in the great outdoors. It's great to walk at the mall, but being outside is so much more invigorating.
Sunday, the 10th, was "Break the Fast" at church. We made my mother's "Breakfast Casserole" recipe. Always was a hit - still is. The pan was scraped clean.
Just in case anyone is interested - Sunday, the 10th was the start of the Chinese New Year. This is the Year of the Snake. Got that little bit of info from my day planner.
There was a Zone Conference in Gridley (CA) on Tuesday but because we teach classes on that day we weren't able to attend. We did go to Mt. Shasta and give our 6 p.m. Pearle of Great Price lesson. We're fitting in quite nicely in Mt. Shasta. There are a few people who come every week and then we have about six others that come sometimes. All in all, it's turning out to be a great experience.
Although we had to teach classes on the 14th - Valentine's Day - it was still a nice day. Since we leave the Institute at 4 p.m. each day we decided to just make a dinner reservation for 4:30. (Are we starting to sound like old people - eating dinner at 4:30?) Anyway, one of our students works at the Cattlemen's restaurant here in town and Garret said, "If you're going - go early. It gets crazy early on Valentine's Day." We had a great meal. When we got there the Manager was standing in the lobby and he greeted us with "Elder and Sister Barlow - Welcome." He informed us that he is also LDS and was happy we had come to his establishment. He informed one of the Hostesses to take us to "Table 22" which turned out to be a large, side booth away from the hustle and bustle of waiters. He also told our waitress to take our order for any appetizer we wanted and charge it to him. Of course, we both had steaks which were cooked to perfection. We didn't do dessert. It was a nice outing.
Friday the 15th was a BIG evening. Before Thanksgiving, the Elders and Sisters had a contest to see which group could collect the most canned goods to be donated to a local food bank. The prize for winning was to have dinner prepared by the losers. The Sisters won - but not by much. The guys fixed dinner for the ladies on the 15th. The fellow in charge, Devon, was so excited for the whole thing. The guys met a few times to decide a menu and who would be responsible for which part of the evening. The menu was chicken Parmasean, fresh salad and green beans. They even had crusty bread and vinegar and oil for dipping. Kent slicked back his hair and wore a bow tie to fit in with the other Elders. The food was absolutely wonderful! One of the guys met the ladies at the front door as they arrived and escorted them to their seats. The boys were totally attentive to the gals the entire evening. After dinner, "The Battle of the Sexes" was fought. Racing in high heals, throwing a football through a tire etc. Kent and I didn't stay for that. Those kind of activities are definitely not for people our age. But we heard all about the Battle and that turned out great too.
Monday the 18th was another holiday from college - this time celebrating Washington's birthday. So - we didn't have Institute classes that day. I could really get use to only teaching three days a week.
Tuesday the 19th was our regularly scheduled day to teach evening Institute at Mt. Shasta BUT there was a major snowstorm up there. When we were making plans to have the Tuesday evening class we made sure everyone involved understood that in case of inclement weather we would not be driving up. So, Kent sent a "mass text" to all the students to tell them we weren't having class that evening. It was the exact right decision to make but it also made us feel badly we had to cancel.
Today, Sunday the 24th, we decided to attend services at the Anderson Ward at 9 a.m. and the Cottonwood Ward at 11. Both those Wards meet in the Anderson Stake Center which is about a ten-minute drive from Redding. Both Sacrament Meetings were inspiring and the Sunday School class at 10 a.m. (between Sacrament meetings) was well prepared and delivered. We felt "spiritually well fed" when we left the building.
Our Branch Relief Society had a "Craft Night" when the gals made L-O-V-E blocks. Since they were doing that on a Tuesday when I would be in Mt. Shasta, the Counselor in charge of the night made blocks for me as she demonstrated the painting, decoupage, gluing, and ribbon-tying. I now have a very nice set of blocks sitting on my mantle proclaiming "Love" to anyone who enters our "home." Such a sweet thing for Sarah to do for me.
That's it for me. Kent might have a few things to add. Everyone - stay safe and warm and keep in mind that summer will eventually get to you.
Smiles from sunny California. It cooled of to 60 F today.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Sunday, February 3, 2013
January 20th to February 3 - 2013
What a busy two weeks we just had. Tuesday the 22nd we drove the 1 hour to Mt. Shasta and taught our first Pearl of Great Price Evening Institute lesson to the YSAs there. We had 10 attend the class, which is great. The soup and salad dinner was a good way to break the ice. I taught the lesson and it went very well. There was a lot of discussion and it seems the young people felt quite comfortable with us even though we did not know most of them.
The same lesson was taught at the institute in Redding on Wednesday evening. It too went well. I introduced each lesson by breaking open a live oyster and discussing the 'mother of pearl' and the title Pearl of Great Price and its significance.
Thursday evening was sports night again and we went down to the Stake Center at 8:45. This has become an open gym and I am not sure if it any longer accomplishes what it was meant to accomplish - that being fellowshipping and friendshipping less active members and friends. There are 20+ guys that show up to play basketball but only 2-3 YSA from our branch. An opening prayer was even forgotten by the Elders Quorum member in charge. We will see what happens.
We were quite concerned that numbers in our Institute classes would decrease because of the recent announcement changing the age of missionaries. We know of 4, maybe 5, young women and young men who are not taking classes at Shasta College this semester because they either have their mission papers in or are preparing to do so. There were 60 enrolled in classes last year and as of today we have 67 for this semester. That is mainly because of those from Mt. Shasta but we feel good about our efforts with that. We still pray daily on what we should do to reach more of the young people.
Our day classes are also going well. We have about the same number attending as last semester but my class has a couple less students and Nan's has a few more. That is a good thing.
This week we seemed to cook a lot. Even a little more than usual. Monday it was decided to view the CES Broadcast by Elder Uchtdorf for FHE so we provided a treat after the broadcast. Only 2 attended the broadcast at the stake center on the 13th so we decided to show the broadcast again at Branch FHE. We were pleased with the attendance.
Tuesday we took a green salad for the Mt. Shasta group dinner. Wednesday we made another treat for the Wednesday evening class. Thursday night Nan cooked pulled pork, potato salad and apple crisp for Friday forum. We are encouraged by the attendance on Fridays. At the end of last semester we had 12-15 attending. There have been over 20 attending the two forums we have had this semester. We hoped to have some pulled pork left for dinner at Mt. Shasta but all 11 lbs. were gone when we started the clean-up. We bought another pork roast yesterday that we'll take to Mt. Shasta. Nan will be cooking again.
Another thing that we have felt good about - after the classes more and more of the young adults want to stick around and visit. Nan can be very entertaining. We have stayed 30-45 minutes and just visited with some of them. One thing I noticed at Stake Conference yesterday and today is that some of the young people seek us out and sit with us instead of us having to locate them. It has taken some time but we have made our place here in Redding and with the young adults.
Notes by Nan: Something that really touched both of us - last Wednesday Devon came to us after Institute class and asked if it was hard for us to step in where the Gardners (the previous Sr. Missionaries) had left off. We honestly told him - yes it was/is hard. Several times we were called Elder or Sister Gardner. Many times conversations would begin with "When the Gardners were here," or "I loved the way the Gardners ...," or "The Gardners were so ...." We told Devon we prayed often that we would be accepted by the young people and would be able to make a difference in their lives. Devon said he actually told the Gardners before they left that he couldn't imagine them ever being replaced and if the new missionaries didn't measure up he would drop Institute classes. But - and here's the part that touched our hearts - he said the minute he saw us he was drawn to us and he knew we were the right people for the job. He said he feels a bond with us and he's so glad we came to Redding. It was at that point I actually felt I was going to be a successful missionary.
Thursday, the 31st, I was invited by a member of the Shasta College Board of Directors to have lunch with her and several sisters from her Redding 3rd Ward. We ate at The Bistro, a little cafe the culinary students at the college operate every Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to test their cooking skills. The food was wonderful and presented in a very professional way. But even more wonderful was the opportunity I had to associate with some ladies within my age range - some older - some younger. I had such a good time telling about me and our mission and listening to them tell about their lives. Getting together with these ladies gave me a much needed boost.
Yesterday and today was the Redding Stake Conference. The speakers last evening made a great impression on me. They spoke about people changing their lives, embracing the gospel and becoming stalwart members of the Church; standing in holy places (which include our homes and even school if you are living so you can hear the Holy Ghost when he tries to guide you); giving service (even a small smile might make a big difference in someone's life); and going the "second mile" - doing more than required or asked and by so doing obtaining great blessings. It was a great Conference. Today we watched a pre-recorded broadcast from Salt Lake. Elder Perry was the key-note speaker. These were two great sessions.
Well that's it for this week. We hope all is well wherever you are as you read this epistle. Love to all,
The same lesson was taught at the institute in Redding on Wednesday evening. It too went well. I introduced each lesson by breaking open a live oyster and discussing the 'mother of pearl' and the title Pearl of Great Price and its significance.
Thursday evening was sports night again and we went down to the Stake Center at 8:45. This has become an open gym and I am not sure if it any longer accomplishes what it was meant to accomplish - that being fellowshipping and friendshipping less active members and friends. There are 20+ guys that show up to play basketball but only 2-3 YSA from our branch. An opening prayer was even forgotten by the Elders Quorum member in charge. We will see what happens.
We were quite concerned that numbers in our Institute classes would decrease because of the recent announcement changing the age of missionaries. We know of 4, maybe 5, young women and young men who are not taking classes at Shasta College this semester because they either have their mission papers in or are preparing to do so. There were 60 enrolled in classes last year and as of today we have 67 for this semester. That is mainly because of those from Mt. Shasta but we feel good about our efforts with that. We still pray daily on what we should do to reach more of the young people.
Our day classes are also going well. We have about the same number attending as last semester but my class has a couple less students and Nan's has a few more. That is a good thing.
This week we seemed to cook a lot. Even a little more than usual. Monday it was decided to view the CES Broadcast by Elder Uchtdorf for FHE so we provided a treat after the broadcast. Only 2 attended the broadcast at the stake center on the 13th so we decided to show the broadcast again at Branch FHE. We were pleased with the attendance.
Tuesday we took a green salad for the Mt. Shasta group dinner. Wednesday we made another treat for the Wednesday evening class. Thursday night Nan cooked pulled pork, potato salad and apple crisp for Friday forum. We are encouraged by the attendance on Fridays. At the end of last semester we had 12-15 attending. There have been over 20 attending the two forums we have had this semester. We hoped to have some pulled pork left for dinner at Mt. Shasta but all 11 lbs. were gone when we started the clean-up. We bought another pork roast yesterday that we'll take to Mt. Shasta. Nan will be cooking again.
Another thing that we have felt good about - after the classes more and more of the young adults want to stick around and visit. Nan can be very entertaining. We have stayed 30-45 minutes and just visited with some of them. One thing I noticed at Stake Conference yesterday and today is that some of the young people seek us out and sit with us instead of us having to locate them. It has taken some time but we have made our place here in Redding and with the young adults.
Notes by Nan: Something that really touched both of us - last Wednesday Devon came to us after Institute class and asked if it was hard for us to step in where the Gardners (the previous Sr. Missionaries) had left off. We honestly told him - yes it was/is hard. Several times we were called Elder or Sister Gardner. Many times conversations would begin with "When the Gardners were here," or "I loved the way the Gardners ...," or "The Gardners were so ...." We told Devon we prayed often that we would be accepted by the young people and would be able to make a difference in their lives. Devon said he actually told the Gardners before they left that he couldn't imagine them ever being replaced and if the new missionaries didn't measure up he would drop Institute classes. But - and here's the part that touched our hearts - he said the minute he saw us he was drawn to us and he knew we were the right people for the job. He said he feels a bond with us and he's so glad we came to Redding. It was at that point I actually felt I was going to be a successful missionary.
Thursday, the 31st, I was invited by a member of the Shasta College Board of Directors to have lunch with her and several sisters from her Redding 3rd Ward. We ate at The Bistro, a little cafe the culinary students at the college operate every Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to test their cooking skills. The food was wonderful and presented in a very professional way. But even more wonderful was the opportunity I had to associate with some ladies within my age range - some older - some younger. I had such a good time telling about me and our mission and listening to them tell about their lives. Getting together with these ladies gave me a much needed boost.
Yesterday and today was the Redding Stake Conference. The speakers last evening made a great impression on me. They spoke about people changing their lives, embracing the gospel and becoming stalwart members of the Church; standing in holy places (which include our homes and even school if you are living so you can hear the Holy Ghost when he tries to guide you); giving service (even a small smile might make a big difference in someone's life); and going the "second mile" - doing more than required or asked and by so doing obtaining great blessings. It was a great Conference. Today we watched a pre-recorded broadcast from Salt Lake. Elder Perry was the key-note speaker. These were two great sessions.
Well that's it for this week. We hope all is well wherever you are as you read this epistle. Love to all,
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