My project

I have been working on publishing a book. Forever. More than a decade. I gave up on a publishing company. I was I overwhelmed at the idea of self-publishing, but that was the only way to go. 

I edited the pictures, formatted the pages and built the pdf file. I had to redo it over and over and over. I didn’t know how to edit the file without starting again. I created the cover, front and back. I thought I had it done before we left, but Amazon told me I had to fix a few things. 

So I’ve worked on it a bit on the mission. I have felt bad about that, but I was so close. 

Here we are almost a month into the mission, but my little book is live on Amazon. 

I found Bobbi at the Lemhi County Fair. I went looking for artists. She has been so fabulous. It’s taken me probably two years since she created her amazing illustrations, and I’m finally getting to the end of the project. This is the proof. I had to change a few things. But now I think we are good. 

Here I am live on Amazon. The easiest way to find it is to search by name or author. The keywords haven’t really kicked in yet. I’ve been told I need at least 25 reviews to get Amazon to promote it, or whatever it is called. 

So today I texted family and friends. I don’t feel I can put it in Facebook, original plan, because now it is a missionary platform for me. So I’m networking. I hope I can get the 25 reviews. 

But I am so excited. I have a book out for sell. One I have worked on for over a decade. It has finally happened. Yippee!!!!

Dinner with Uncle Gary

It was so fun to meet together and catch up. I don’t think I’ve seen Uncle Gary since Aunt Renee’s funeral. That is too long. 

All the siblings in Salt Lake came. 

I love times like that. 

Craig was behind the camera. 

A happy evening. 

Happy birthday to Deb

We made dinner and chatted and laughed and puzzled. Not a super exciting birthday, but we were so glad to spend it with Deb, the birthday girl. 

We should have gotten a picture of her. Instead we got a picture of Agatha. 

She’s going to frame it. Some of the pieces were almost identical. We thought we had the right piece and had to re-evaluate again and again. 

She brought the puzzle over half way done. She had a great tool, a piece of felt rolled over a blow up cylinder to transport the work in progress. 

We read all about Agatha Christie and her amazing career. There were over 70 (I think) clues about her life and the books she wrote. A fascinating evening. 

418 years ago

Today I found myself indexing records that were four hundred and seventeen and four hundred and eighteen years old. 

The style of writing was very different. Some e’s were backwards. The h’s went below the line. The s’s at the end of the word looped up line a footnote. 

It took me all morning to do a record of 51 names. I took frequent breaks. I was distracted a lot. I found it hard to stay motivated. 

But when I think that I was reading records that were older than the United States, I was flabbergasted and amazed. 

It is still a miracle that I could decipher as much as I could. 

Visa Waiters

We had a break the fast with the rest of the Visa Waiters. We are all in the same building. 

We are so happy to be part of such a group. Sweet people. 

What is what

Our dear friend told us this. 

If you work for the Church and get get paid, you’re an employee. 

If you work for the Church and you don’t get paid, you’re a volunteer. 

If you pay to work for the Church, you’re a missionary. 

Sorting Hat Day

This week was geared up for this day, where we got our assignment. It reminded me of Harry Potter and the Sorting Hat. 

Another sister said it felt like Draft Day for football. 

I told Craig that this day was probably way different for him than it was for me. He was an athlete. He was picked first and they were thrilled to have him on their team. 

I was always picked last, and they were not thrilled to have me on the team. 

Craig was the pitcher, and they wanted to keep me on the bench. 

I thought it is so important to own our gifts. We, at least I, are so good at seeing the strengths of others and compare them to our weaknesses. I know I am so worried about being humble and meek, I don’t want to be conceited. But we need to be sure that we own and are grateful for the gifts that we have been given. 

Tunnels

We have meandered the tunnels under Temple Square. It's an adventure. Be sure to have a guide. A perk of being a missionary.

Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square

We are less than 10 minutes from the Tabernacle. So we have the opportunity to attend. We attended this past Sunday. The Sunday broadcast is from the Tabernacle, unless it is Summer (busy season) or December (the lights). So we found ourselves in the Tabernacle to listen to and be a part of the Sunday broadcast.

I took a picture of the program. We attended with the rest of the visa-waiters. A sweet couple is waiting  to get to India. He had a time of inactivity. He was deciding to get back to church. One of his favorite songs is "Climb Every Mountain" and he was thinking if the choir sang that song it would be a sign. The choir sang that song. Sunday they sang the song again, and it reminded him of his personal tender mercy. I love that.

A sweet reminder to us of the important things.

The official picture of the Choir.

My picture of the organ. We were pretty close, but the picture is always a bit farther away.

I was fascinated by the different colored lights. The lighting was dramatic and gorgeous. I love the pipes, they are so beautiful.

I love Mac Wilburg. He is a musical genius. I am intrigued by his directing style. It is flowing and artistic. I think it is hard to find the downbeat, but I am sure it is there. Practice would be helpful. I fell in love with Ryan Murphy a bit. He is more athletic in his directing. He reminded me of a sweet  sister in California that said she would dance for us as we sang in a choir. She was coaxing out of us what she wanted, a more lyrical feel. Brother Murphy danced a bit for the Choir. The music lives in him and flows from his body.

A fabulous day, I had to put it here to remember.

Diet

Craig and I are eating to loose weight. That means protein and vegetables. 

We are trying to cut the carbs. 

This morning I woke up remembering my dream of a beautiful golden loaf of bread. 

Sunday Meeting

Today was fast Sunday at our new branch. We meet in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building or the JSMB. We feel blessed to be able to be part of this part of town that we have just visited before. 

The first two people that got up were from Korea. I had to pay attention to understand their testimonies that they had written out. I looked over at Craig and asked if he was a bit home sick for Korea. 

This sister spoke about the temple in Seoul and when it was built. Craig was there when they announced that temple. She also spoke of the new temple announced in Pusan. Craig served there. 

He got up and bore a short Korean testimony. The words came back to him and he was able to once again testify in his first mission language of his love for Jesus Christ. 

The sweet couple were so happy to hear their language. 

We count this experience as a tender mercy from the Lord, and perhaps one reason for our visa delay. 

Singing in the MTC

We both sang in the devotionals on both Tuesdays. It was an amazing experience to sing with so many others. Our director was fabulous. He was so knowledgeable and fun to sing for. 

A surprising thing for me was how hard it was to not watch the screen while we were singing. It was right there bigger than life. The director told us multiple times to keep our eyes on him. If we looked other places, other than the music, it would distract the audience and call attention to us instead of the message. 

It was difficult to not look at the screen. 

The second week, we were told by multiple people that the camera showed Craig sitting in the middle of young elders a lot. Like he was the star. I wish I had a picture. That would be fun to see. But we missed it, because we were being good and following directions. 

Our new home

This is us in our new apartment. 

We were greeted by a sweet sister who took us shopping so we would have food. We unpacked and put things away. 

Now we can smile. 

Hmmmm

Today was moving day. We are relieved. It was a bit of an anxious day. We had to pack up, meet deadlines (really not hard ones, but important ones.)

In out last class I told Craig he had a bad attitude. He retaliated by taking this picture. 

My sister, Willa, texted me, “No one likes a frowny face. Haha”

I look totally irritated. I don’t think I was. 

Hydration

The week we were packing up the house and cleaning I didn't drink enough water. We were working hard and I was super stressed. I didn't fill my water bottle and make sure I was drinking, like when I went to work. Basically my schedule was disrupted.

The result was the first week of the MTC I noticed my feet and ankles were swollen. I had forgotten my water bottle at Debbie's. So I focused on drinking water at meals and at breaks getting a drink from the fountain.

This past weekend, we met with my family and my sister brought my water bottle. I have an unnatural affection for this thing.

When our office went to  Sun Valley we got these flasks, water bottles, camel thermos thing. So with multiple identical items, we found stickers to mark our individual bottles. Because, yuck if we mixed them up. When I was in Challis, I found this cool wolf paw. Defiantly marked as mine.

Because we were working at an eye doctor's office, we put eyeball tattoos also.

This second week at the MTC, my bottle has traveled with me around during the day.

The extra effort of keeping hydrated, along with more effort at walking during the breaks has given me the desired results. My feet and ankles are back to their normal size.

Moral of the story, drink water. Even if it means more trips to the restroom.