There are many a budding blossom and magnolia here! Not everywhere, but round about. It's just lovely, and of course I haven't gotten a picture yet. I need to soon though, because flowers go fast! It's been very nice weather of late, and we've enjoyed the sun and the breeze, as has everyone and their dogs, bikes, and rollerblades.
This week we visited Bernice (93 years old) and she read us some lines from the upcoming Spring play at the nursing home. She's Malificent in The Quest for Sleeping Beauty (mind you, names and other info have been changed in the play, and it's much shorter than the real thing). She's pretty dramatic with her lines, so it works well. I so hope we're here when they put it on, because it will be amazing!
We've been sorting through the people the Elders taught, and they were mostly all old men. So we've been told to wait until Elders come back to teach most of them. We are however going to continue teaching Don, an 89 year old man who is quite the little gentleman. He opened the door and introduced himself, and asked which one of us was the timid one. We both weren't sure, as we're both sort of timid. He asked which one he'd spoken to on the phone, and I raised my hand. "Now, I'm going to teach you something. And don't be offended--it's just to help you. When you're on the phone, you don't have to say "umm." It sounds as though you aren't confident. But you're clearly an intelligent young woman who knows what she's talking about, so don't be so nervous on the phone." He is such a sweet, spunky old fellow, and I'm excited to continue teaching him.
After moving in, we got a call from the Websters (the senior couple in charge of housing) saying we're getting a washer and dryer in (actually, it's the same one from our old apartment). So, yay! We don't have to go to the laundromat!
Also, we had green eggs and ham for breakfast on St. Paddy's Day. It was quite tasty, as Sister Call blended spinach into the eggs to make them green. The local Irish pub had a crowd of people swaying outside of it all day, but we steered clear (obviously).
The youth in the ward are doing something "kewl" this Friday: A readathon! They all read the Book of Mormon in 3 or 4 months at the end of last year, and I think they're trying to finish the Doctrine and Covenants by the end of the school year. So they are going to the Church on Friday and reading for 30 minutes, then playing games for 30 minutes, and continuing for however many hours. What a blast--you guys should do that!
Also, I can't say enough about how cool these young folks are. The Stake President's daughter, Addie, had a great experience recently. She's a senior, but taking some college courses, and right now she's in a sociology class. They were discussing how it's a good, smart decision to live with someone before choosing whether or not to marry them. The whole class agreed, but she didn't want them to think she did, since they all know she's a Mormon. So she stated her views and what she thought, which led to a gospel discussion with her whole class, and ended with the teacher inviting Addie's father to come give a lecture on Mormonism. Awesome!
That's probably it. I miss you kids. Keep being awesome together. Fly kites, take walks, play with Winnie, and enjoy the sunshine. And share the gospel with people whilst enjoying the sunshine. Here's something you could say while the kids are on swings and you and [insert name of real person--Maude, for instance] are looking at the children affectionately: "So, Maude, you've been reading Hunger Games, right? What did you think about [insert event or character name]? [Insert talking more about that thing]. Well, you know who I think is also courageous in the face of adversity, Captain Moroni. Oh, you've never heard of Captain Moroni? Well, he did [insert things he did]." Maude will probably say something like: "Gee whiz, he sounds neat! Where did you read about him?" Then you say, "Well [insert Book of Mormon discussion and then give Maude a Book of Mormon]." See--super easy and totally normal and natural.
I love you guys!
sister mister
