I haven’t recorded for a few weeks because it has
been pretty event filled and crazy.
I just read Carolee’s entry and she covers most of the
stuff I’m writing about, but as you know she only used about 4 lines, maybe 5
and only about 30 words. So, sit down if
you want to read mine. I just don’t know
how to do it another way. I’ve tried,
but the fingers just don’t work like hers,
and that’s a good thing.
Two weeks ago on Monday night late, we got a call from
JUSTIN REEDER, who asked us to teach for him the next day because he was so
sick. He told us lesson was at 7:30 in the morning. So, I work into the night
trying to prepare lesson, I was not able to utilize technology by i.e. PowerPoint, (time & ability restraint) so I just
decided to have a discussion with the chapter they were talking about in the Book
of Mormon.
So I taught the class at 7:30 and that was the only
seminary class, but he was pretty sick and so I started and spent the rest the
day to prepared the Institute lesson for that night. He kept saying that he was
going to try to make it made it so I wasn’t so serious in my preparation, but
by 5:30 I knew he was not going to be able to teach. So I taught the class, Carolee prepared the
refreshments and we did the whole thing, so that was a long day from seven in
the morning till 9:30 at night before we got home. During the day, I also made
some adjustments to the seminary class because I still needed to teach two more
classes the next day on Wednesday. So those two days were very exhausting.
Carolee is a very good at helping me prepare. She is a good sounding board and
offers excellent suggestions for presentation. So even though she’s not in
front, a lot, she is in on the preparation, so I can call her at any time for
help in class, and if I faint or have a medical emergency during class, she can
just push me out of the way on the floor and go on with the lesson, because she
knows what’s going on and helped me prepare.😂😂
yeah, well that happened once except for the floor part, so we’ve learned our
lesson. 😩 When she says we taught seminary or Institute, it
is very valid because of her valuable input to the lesson and willing
support.
So, after teaching 4 lessons in two days and the prep work,
it is very exhausting and takes a lot out of you. Teaching teenagers and adults
is strenuous work both physically & emotionally, trying to connect various
stages of life and experience.
That means that Thursday is kind of a wipe out day hard to
accomplish anything because of how drained we are.
That was the second time in three weeks, but he had come
down sick, the previous time when he had a case of the shingles. Well, on
Saturday, he texted and asked if we would cover his Tuesday and Wednesday
classes because he was going to be out of town for a session in Washington with
CES. So, this time we had more time to prepare, and I guess more stress
because we knew in advance. Sometimes I feel like my dad when I prepare lessons
because I way over-prepare. I remember my dad giving talk at church where he
would go to the pulpit with like seven books plus his scriptures. I mean when Brother
Cox spoke he was loaded for bear and talked for a long time. It was pretty
boring from the kids perspective. I don’t do that in the same outwardly
show with books and stuff but I do overthink things., get lost in the weeds,
And end up using about 10% of what I brought prepared to discuss. The bigger
emphasis now is on how to get the class involved and asking correct questions
that will initiate pondering as they answer the questions. Asking good
questions is hard.
So anyway 7:30 in the morning came and we taught the first
hour which is a difficult hour since the kids are all asleep and not in a frame
of mind to have a good conversation. So it was a disaster from my perspective, but
Carolee said it was OK. That night was Institute & I felt better about that
lesson. Then on Wednesday morning. I taught the class when Carolee was in the
temple so she wasn’t there. During that class, the Sr. Sister missionaries were
videoing me teaching for a video they are making for the mission to describe
what senior missionaries do so we can share with those entertaining serving a
mission. In the middle of the class there was a bang on the door, and a man
appeared there who said he was a code enforcement officer for the city of
Anchorage. He proceeded to tell us that we were not supposed to be in there,
because there was no occupancy permit for that building. No one was supposed to
be in the building at all until that was taken care of. I kindly ask him to
talk to the owner of the building he said that he had, and he was very rude and
demanding, that we should not be there. He left not very happy but we continued
with the lesson after I settled the class down.
After discussions with JUSTIN and the owner of the
building, it was decided that we should not meet there in the afternoon until
the situation resolved and so the owner offered for us to do the class in his
house. The house is right there on the property. So we went over to this
gigantic mansion, three-story family room with all glass facing the beautiful
forest and we watched a moose walked across the property in front of us. It was
a spectacular scene. So I sat on the fireplace hearth and the kids sofas
and chairs on the floor and we had a 35 minute class where we just talked about
the chapter and I let them out early and Carolee gave them a valentine
cookie.
Once again, we were so exhausted that it was hard to do
anything. And that’s OK, we can’t run faster and we have strength to run and
believe me we were out of gas. I am so grateful we are not teachers out here as
part of our mission—teaching seminary class or Institute class full-time.
Our schedule is pretty difficult as it is because we
usually start our day around noon and finish most days at 9:30 or 10 PM. There
are no senior missionaries in our mission that are doing those kind of hours.
But we are glad to do it, and hopefully what we are building here will be
sustainable with the young single adults, and will be able to touch lives for
years to come. That is the goal. So this last week was our five nighter of nightly activities
because we had a luau on Friday night. So Saturday we went to the Chosen movie
at the theater and out to dinner with Kincaids.
So the last two weeks have been kind of brutal physically and mentally, but at the same time very rewarding, spiritually. I learn so much more when I’m studying to teach than when I’m studying to learn. That is a really crazy thing and it really should be the other way around.
We’ve gotten posters up in buildings, new invitations
printed and ready to go, so we’ve been very engaged in a lot of moving
parts.
This week’s schedule seems less demanding so far, so it should give us more time to go out inviting!
Our miracle with Carolee’s headaches is ongoing and we are so grateful!!
I think I am experiencing
a miracle too with my feet. Although they
hurt more than ever, I have been sleeping through the pain and I just don’t
know how. I am aware of the pain and within
minutes of going to bed, I’m on the verge of rolling out and going through my
nighttime walking routine when I just suddenly go to sleep. I also seem to be sleeping in longer
stretches which enhances the quality of the sleep too. But I do get woken up several times a night
by the pain and have to get up to relieve it by walking around and standing to
change the pressure on the feet. However, there is a BIG problem here in our
apartment and that is that when I get up I am only 3 steps (literally) from the
refrigerator door and 4 steps from the pantry.
And that is not good on so many levels.
Carolee has gotten to the point, with my resentful approval, where the
chocolate chips and potato chips are stored under her night stand! What a sad example of my self-control. But, in my defense, who has self-control at
two o’clock in the morning and in physical and emotional pain???? I need
comfort food in the worst way. You would
not believe some of the things I’ve come up with to eat. And the hardest part is with the bedroom
being so close, I have to do everything in silence so as not to wake up the
queen or I would be in real trouble and not get anything at all to eat!!
Wa Wa Wa. Call the Wambulance. First world problem!
Nevertheless, we are loving our mission, loving the young
people here and feeling like we are starting to make a difference for now and for
the future. We are truly praying hard
for these young people here. They have
many challenges and trials and they need so much help. There are many who are trying so hard to do
the right thing and many more who have just given in. this world is really a different animal that
the one that I grew up in. so many more
challenges, but the kids have so many more tools. Now they just need to use them.
Love you all, gary
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