San Carlos Week 3-Talk, talk, talk

We attended senior missionary FHE in Mesa Monday night.  Lots of good food and the couple in charge showed a movie called Lehi in Arabia that she said could be found on Netflix and is a researcher's study in finding the place where Bountiful (where Lehi and his family lived while Nephi built the ship) was located.  He has 12 criteria that must be met for it to be the place described in the Book of Mormon and apparently this place fits the bill. Very interesting.  

Had ARP and then RS on Tuesday night.  We held seminary at the church Wednesday, which has advantages and disadvantages.  The same 10 kids showed up and during the lesson we showed the BofM video about Lehi’s dream and they were actually quiet and listening.  Thursday it was back to the Detention Center but this time we taught the juveniles first. That was brutal! They were deadpan, uncommunicative, and refused to participate.  It was like Quinn and I were just talking to each other. If they don’t warm up to us soon, we will not be putting ourselves through that much longer. They did like the ginger snaps I brought though.  Teaching the men this time was totally different. We only had 11 this time (lost 4-gained 1). They asked questions, shared comments, and asked for BofMs when they left. At one point, I thought Quinn had asked me to look up a scripture in Hebrews 16 and when I got there, I saw that it only goes to chapter 13.  As I was trying to get his attention to ask him what the reference was, one man said, “Hebrews doesn’t have a chapter 16.” WHAT?! How impressive that he knew that! We just had a good discussion that night and we enjoyed it. They also loved the cookies. 

We drove to Globe Friday to meet with President and Sister Andrews for interviews.  We had a good talk with them. Of course, whenever we are asked how we are doing, the answer is always, “Fine”, but I did feel like I had to be honest and tell them this is a depressing place.  There is so much poverty, ugliness, filthiness, idleness, and decay that it can feel discouraging. I am trying and praying to overlook the negative and focus on the positive, but it is hard. The Andrews were understanding and tried to be uplifting--especially Sister Andrews (she is a fireball) as she became so animated and was saying, “But you are their bright star!  They are looking to you and they need you!” She made me feel better, though sometimes I feel like we don’t make any difference here.

We had to talk in Sacrament meeting today, so any spare time I had this week I was working on it.  Just felt like we were doing a lot of preparing to talk this week. Glad it is in the past.  

RS today was awesome!  The native sisters starting talking about family history, Apache history, local stories, census record mistakes, etc.  It would be SO SO hard to follow your Apache line. When the government rounded them up, they assigned them English names and sometimes the names aren’t even names, they are Apache responses that the whites wrote down as names because they didn’t know any better.  For instance, one sister said as she was going back and looking at census records, she came across the name, “###” (can’t pronounce the word) which is actually a phrase in Apache meaning, “What’s it to you?” So when asked by the census taker, “What’s your name?”, they said, “###” and it was written down phonetically as their name.  I find their history fascinating.  

Have started giving rides, delivered 3 loaves of bread, bought the neighbor cat food for his TWELVE cats, have been hung up on twice (am starting to think this is a native thing--will write more about it if it continues), and picked up our first hitchhiker (that is how MANY people travel here) and turns out she had been to Idaho many times to fight forest fires. 

 Our first experience with the local wildlife.  I found this on the side of our bedspread--flicked it off onto the floor and as it was crawling away, realized it was a scorpion.  In sharing this experience with the other missionaries, Sister Andrews shared one of her encounters with the creature in a clothes basket, and asked if we had a blacklight flashlight.  She said she regularly goes around at night checking with the flashlight because it makes them glow green!  We now have one en route from Amazon.  Good news: they are more prevalent in the "valley" - what everyone here calls Mesa.  Bad news: the little ones are more dangerous.   Audrey's response upon hearing about our visitor, "Burn it down!"  Hopefully, it won't come to that.

 On Saturday we drove to the Tucson Temple--just over 2 hours away, but a beautiful drive.  Our session had 6 women and 4 men, so things moved right along.  Met a couple there who had also married in the Idaho Falls Temple.

After the temple, we drove to University of Arizona so Quinn could purchase the obligatory logo trunks.  I took this picture to show the interesting rock walls that are all around the campus.

 I was just fascinated by the trunk of this tree.

 A mural we saw near downtown Tucson.

 Not a great shot.  I was so busy enjoying the scenery, I forgot to take a picture until we were almost out of the cactus/rock formation area.  These hills are covered with saguaro cactus, but you would have to zoom in to see them.

 Once we see Bucket Mountain, we know we are close to home.

We have officially arrived in our showcase.

San Carlos Week 2-Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads.

We have WiFi!!  Once we went back to SCATUI to see why no progress had been made on our internet, we got a different lady and she said we only had to take over the previous tenant’s router and it could all be done from their shop--so competent service is all a matter of talking to the right person.  We had internet within an hour. We attended our first FHE in Globe for the singles and it was interesting. It mostly was the missionaries--only two ward members, and they keep it short and sweet then on to the pot luck. Today (Monday) we are headed to Mesa to shop and attend FHE held once a month for just senior missionaries. 

Tuesday I helped branch member Sister Martin cook six little cakes to take to the sisters with January birthdays. Good thing we didn’t know ahead of time where some of them lived because we were off-roading; places where Quinn said he wouldn’t even drive his pickup. This is the procedure when you go to anyone’s house:  1) drive up to the house, 2) anywhere from 3 to 8 dogs come out and bark at you, 3) honk your horn and wait for someone to come out of the house. If no one comes, 4) honk again. I don’t know if it’s because we were in our car and they didn’t recognize it, but nobody came out of the houses. You DON’T leave anything--even a note if you can even get to the door through all the dogs. We were having a bad time of it, but eventually we handed out all the cakes--not necessarily to birthday sisters.  That night was pot luck for Relief Society which they have EVERY Tuesday. I made a crock pot of “cowboy beans”. Most people were calling it chili, but whatever. Sister Shorten came to the meeting late, but she brought fry bread. There was a mad rush to get a piece and apparently the best way to eat fry bread is with beans, so my beans soon disappeared. The bread was yummy.

Our 10 kids showed up for seminary again and it went well--especially the Rice Krispie treats.  I think I found something they like to eat. We had our first meeting at the detention center.  I was a little intimidated when 14 inmates came through the door in orange outfits, but they were respectful and some did participate.  We started with the Godhead, the Savior, and the pre-existence and you could tell who had heard the information before. I let Quinn do most of the talking since he has experience teaching in a jail setting, but I will try to help more next time.

The people here have a real testimony of priesthood blessings.  Quinn has been asked to participate in six blessings so far (I may have lost count).  The hardest one was for a premature baby born Saturday morning. We got a call from Brother Boni-the baby's great-grandfather.  He had already blessed the baby because he couldn’t find our phone number, but it just so happened when he reached us we were on the road that goes to the hospital, so he wanted us to come.  We got there and they were prepping the mom and baby for helicopter rides to Phoenix. Brother Boni wanted Quinn to say a prayer for the baby, so we formed a circle around its bassinet and he prayed.  Then the mother came back from the restroom and they let her hold the baby before she was to depart on the helicopter. Brother Boni was insistent that the mom get a blessing, so he gave the anointing in Apache and then Quinn sealed the anointing and gave her a blessing (by now we are in the hall leading out to the helicopter pad).  We hear from the great-grandma that the baby is doing well--she was 31 weeks and weighed just over 3 pounds, and the mom should be discharged soon.

We attended stake conference adult meeting Saturday night and went again Sunday morning in Globe.  Elder Torres-a regional seventy presided. He was very good and Pres. and Sister Andrews were speakers on Sunday too.  We fed the missionaries and had a good visit with them. After they left, we had our first visitor asking for food. Luckily we had left over bean soup and bread sticks.  He ate outside the front door (we’ve been told not to let strangers in the house, but they didn’t want to come in anyway) then he knocked and asked for seconds. When he left, he said he would come again so our food must be to his liking.

 Our humble abode.  No lawn to take care of.

 The living room.  I have started sewing a wall quilt for that big empty wall.  We were advised to NOT go out after dark, and there is a lot of dark this time of year, so sewing fills the time for me.

 Looking from the living room into the kitchen and dining room.  We use the white board for teaching seminary, but the floor right there is especially creaky, so I think next week we will try teaching in the church on solid floor.

 I spotted this beautiful red bird two mornings in a row.  I mentioned it to Sister Martin and she said cardinals migrate through this area.  I keep looking for it again, but instead, I spotted a road runner.

 We attended the Gila Valley Temple on Friday.  It is about an hour away.  It is small and we had a large group, so lots of folding chairs were brought in.

I have enough hair for Brother Boni's gift!

San Carlos-Week 1

I started to type this week’s blog and it turned into three pages and Quinn says my posts are too long anyway--so I have to keep telling myself, “These are the small plates, and the large plates are for myself.”  With that in mind, just know I am only sharing a portion of all we are learning and experiencing while we are here.  Every conversation and interaction is a learning experience.

When we arrived in San Carlos to our “gated” community, the elders were here to meet us.  They helped unload the car which was a big help. Over the course of the week I have tried to settle in and make it “our” home.  The trailer is old and let’s say 2-star accommodations, but fairly roomy. No dishwasher or garbage disposal and it goes snap, crackle, and pop all day and all night. The first night I hardly slept at all trying to place all the sounds. Now, my bedtime attire is nightgown, hoodie, socks, and earplugs and I can get some sleep. Compared to some of our neighbors, we have it pretty good.  Our routine is to walk the perimeter every night and check all the doors of the church and turn off any lights left on; which has turned out to be necessary, since lights are left on regularly and sometimes the doors don’t shut tight. We have measured a walking path and 5 laps around equals a mile--so we walk most mornings--and it is chilly!

We have been warmly greeted. The members have all been so friendly and kind.  We’ve had visitors and the elders stop by on a regular basis and they are helpful with understanding members (who all seem to be related) and how to navigate our way around.  We have been driving around to orient ourselves but this place makes no sense to me. It is made up of little housing developments with unusual names like: Moonbase (New and #1--but the “new” one is the old one), Tufa Stone, Chinatown, Jurassic Park, Hollywood Ridge, and Tarzan Valley, none of which are native sounding to me. Most houses don’t have numbers and their number system is different anyway.  House #1 may start on the left side entering a development and continues on the left side weaving in and out of cul-de-sacs until you come to the beginning with the last house number on the right side. So house #3 may be across the street from house #43. We just try to memorize a landmark.  

Our work so far has been to attend Zone Conference in Mesa, attend Addiction Recovery class, teach seminary with 10 students (quite the turn out), and we have turned in our paperwork and been fingerprinted to teach at the San Carlos Detention Center.  They said the background check would take 4-6 weeks, but the director said he wanted us to start Thursday (we must look honest). He assigned Captain Henry to give us a tour of the facility and answer any questions. She works on the juvenile side and she has us convinced that we need to come over and teach them too--which we will probably do.  

We have made two trips to Mesa this week which allowed us to visit Quinn’s mom twice.  We have also made multiple trips to Globe which is where the nearest Walmart is located.  I also found a little rock shop that is a gem hidden in a dumpy looking little establishment.  I will definitely go back to get some peridot which this area is famous for.  

The days seem to fill up and we will have more responsibilities as the weeks go by.  The senior couple before us was known for making loaves of bread and leaving them everywhere they went.  Quinn says we are following a trail of bread loaves wherever we go. We have made banana bread and Quinn made some homemade bread which we took around today to the members who have welcomed us here.  Now we will start using bread to meet the less active.  

Here is a cool thing I just learned today.  If you go to the Conference edition of the Ensign and go to settings and pick a language--type Apache in the search menu--then click on one of President Nelson’s talks and you will hear the voice of Brother Boni! He is a member of our branch!  Also, we heard one with Sister Boni’s voice (I think it was the first one), but there is one female voice that is NOT her. Now I can always remember them! We (meaning the elders and us) went to their home today to deliver bread and we were invited inside to give a blessing.  They speak Apache to each other, and if it is something Sister Boni thinks we need to know, she will tell us what he is saying. Brother Boni said some words in Apache and Sister Boni said, “He said to wait.” I said, “That was a lot of words for wait.” She thought that was funny, but he went into the other room and brought out a beautiful beaded hair barrette and gave it to me.  That is their way--SO generous. I may have to grow out my hair. I better stop here for now, because abridging into small plates is hard for me!!

 This  is a portion of the area map.  We live on Mormon Hill (there is a "you are here" label).

 San Carlos is the headquarters of the Apache nation.  This is downtown which could all fit inside a Salt Lake City block.

 This is the Catholic church.  It is made of tufa stone and so are several of the buildings in downtown.

 Another church made of tufa stone.

 This is the veteran section of the cemetery.  Each grave has its own flagpole.  Veteran's Day is the biggest holiday here as far as ceremony goes.  The Apache are a warrior people and they honor anyone who has fought, so veterans are in high regard.  You can see the church steeple on the right side.

We noticed this in the road driving up when we first got here.  The missionaries said it was a memorial to someone who had passed several years ago.  I asked, "Oh, did he live nearby?"  They said, "No, that is where he died."  You can see our trailer in the background.

The MTC (The last place we had internet service until tonight when I went over to the church to pirate their network.)

We survived our week at the MTC!!  Before leaving Kara’s house where we spent the night, Terry gave me a lovely blessing which included to “be calm and not to worry about the family-they would be watched over.”  We followed them to the MTC via the scenic route, and soon it was time for more goodbyes. The MTC is legit and nobody gets in without a pass card. They know what they are doing and how to organize people.  It was a series of classes morning and afternoon with laser focus on Preach My Gospel. Every class was Christ centered and you can definitely feel the Spirit. The instructors were young and knowledgeable and you hear constantly how much you are needed and how the mission president depends upon the senior couples to help them do their job. The first night for home evening we listened to a video by Elder Bednar given one Christmas at the MTC.  It was called The Character of Christ and was very good. The second night was a devotional with Elder McCune from the seventy and was about repentance. Afterward they opened a time capsule sealed 20 years ago into the wall. It contained lots of pictures, newspapers, and missionary tools of the day, meaning cassette tapes.

Night three was New Year’s Day so Quinn and I celebrated the holiday by going to In and Out Burger and when we got back, took a walk to T3 Building where they have 12 beautiful murals depicting discipleship. There are two murals on each floor and there are six floors. The last night there we walked to the Marriott Center and watched the girls basketball team play Gonzaga. Unfortunately they lost, but the Marriott is always a good idea especially with Cougar tails and $1.00 ice cream night. Friday we finished classes about 3:00 and packed the car and we were off to Kanab to spend the night. 

Some random impressions:

The young missionaries are so polite towards the seniors. They clear a path for you if you are coming their way and hold doors for you. 

It is fun to hear them greet you in the various languages as you pass: hola, bon jour, konnichiwa., etc. and they always greet you. 

The young instructors are uber encouraging and enthusiastic.

By the end of the week I was exhausted. There is so much to process and remember and you are immersed in the gospel all day every day. 

It is a beautiful place and I sort of wish everyone could go there and see what we saw and feel what we felt.

Our escorts to the MTC. They are pros at it and gave us lots of information and advice.

In front of the famous world map.

This was part of our group--we had about 70 senior missionaries come in with us.

 I should have this one last, but we are on the sixth floor of the T3 building.  The mural of Joseph in Liberty Jail is being reflected in the glass as I was taking the picture of the Provo Temple.  If you look close you will see the bright square that is the small window of the jail and on the other side of the temple you can make out Joseph's head looking toward the light.  Kinda hard to see, but I thought it turned out cool.

 Can't remember for sure, but I think this is the mural of Martha?

Mural of Joseph Smith on his farm.

Mural of Moses and the parting of the Red Sea.

Just thought this was a cool light fixture in T3 building. All that lights up are the end of each strand. It is made up of hundreds of strands and forms the Earth in the middle.

 Our darling instructors for our morning classes--Sister Eames and Brother Willey.  We didn't have afternoon classes the last day so I didn't get Brother Ellsworth and Brother Kidd.

Our group that we had all the classes with: Sister Eames from St. George, UT, the Mansfields headed to New Zealand to work in the office, the Murdocks headed to SLC to work security and family history, us, the Allens headed to Nauvoo, IL, and Brother Willey.

Here are Elder and Sister Richards--our "others".  We were assigned together to teach lessons and we got to know them really well.  We share the exact same wedding day: June 17, 1977.  They are headed to Hungary to serve a humanitarian mission and we have already exchanged stories.

Our view: the Provo Temple.

We had a beautiful sunset to watch as we drove south to Kanab.  

The Process, the Call, and the Visit

      Even though I have heard it said that anyone with a pulse is encouraged to serve a mission, the process of meeting all the requirements isn't as easy as a beating heart. First, you have to talk with your bishop so he can give you access to the portal where you fill out your information—and brief it is not. Lots of questions to answer and forms to fill out etc. Then begins the physicals, dentist trips, eye doctor, shots, blood tests, mammogram for me and stress test for Quinn. It seemed like everything took twice as long as we thought it would. In completing the application, I scanned all the medical forms and attached them to the document, but that was a mistake. Once you get the online application done, you are to take the medical forms with you to the bishop to hand in. We didn't realize this and neither did the bishop, so the stake was waiting to see the forms come through the office before scheduling an appointment with the stake president which they never did. After waiting two weeks and hearing nothing, Quinn called and we quickly got in to be interviewed, delivered the forms to the correct person who enters it all on computer, and our application was submitted within two days. It must have all been correct because we got our call 12 days later.

      We were notified by text that our call was ready to view online. We were delighted with our destination, but then I read down a little further and saw we wouldn't be reporting until December 30. That was a downer. We were so gung-ho to get started and really thought we would be gone by Thanksgiving—thus avoiding all the craziness that comes with the holidays. Our mission countdown said 90 days and it felt like forever. My solution was to go kill some of that time in St. George.

      Sometime in November we got a call from our mission president President Andrews. We had him on speaker phone and in the course of the conversation, he asked if we would be willing to replace the senior couple serving on the reservation and leaving in December. This is where the term 'pregnant pause' is applicable. There was a silence that just seemed to grow and grow as Quinn and I tried to communicate our shock silently with our eyes and facial expressions. Finally I said, “We will do whatever you want us to do.” He seemed happy to hear that. We also told him we planned to make a trip to Mesa to visit Quinn's mom and would like to swing by the mission office and meet him. Two days later we got a call from the senior couple on the reservation, Elder and Sister Payne. They conveyed their excitement for our coming to replace them and assured us they would have lots of information ready. We told them we were coming to Mesa and would like to come and see them in San Carlos and they immediately started making plans.

      November 18 we were on our way south from St. George. On our way to Cindy's house, we were very close to the mission office and decided to stop by and only gave the secretary a few minutes notice. Pres. Andrews made time to meet us and was positive and enthusiastic about our service on the reservation. We must have looked like we needed encouragement. Two days later we drove out to San Carlos. There is some beautiful scenery on the way to Globe: rock formations, green foliage, rivers, and cactus; however, San Carlos is less than lush.

      We had a good visit with the Paynes and they handed us a seven page document outlining our responsibilities, vital contacts, schedules, and miscellaneous information that would come in handy. They had gone to a lot of trouble to fix us a meal and invite others to meet us. They took us on a short drive to see where some of the members live, the buildings in the town, and a tour of the church. When we came in from touring the church with Elder Payne, the guests had arrived. We met the full time missionaries assigned there, the branch president, and two sisters (literally) from the ward. Bro. Payne called on one of the sisters to say a prayer and blessing on the food and she gave a lovely prayer—very heartfelt. We were driving all the way to St. George that day after visiting Sandra one last time, so as soon as we were done eating, we had to say our goodbyes and be one our way.  We had a pleasant visit and we appreciated the time the Paynes spent on our behalf. I can't say the visit made us more excited to get there, but at least I could envision the town, the home, and the people.

San Carlos in relation to Mesa.  It is about a 30 minute drive from Globe.