3 December

As the saying goes, it never rains, but it pours.  Today we have new AJS candidates, nine to be exact.  We will be very busy getting them ready to go job searching.

We have also been assigned one DI associate each to work with.  DI has a program similar to AJS called APP.  One big difference in the programs is the DI people get paid to do their job search.  They only have one coach who teleconferences with them.  We've been asked to supplement their coach by working with the participants on their "Me in 30," Power Statements, and résumés.  The DI coach has several DI's he works with.  When he is not telelconferencing, he is expected to find job leads for the associates hew work with.  This is a paid position, so he needs to find leads.

6 December

Utah Ogden Mission Conference

Wow, what a day.  Our Utah Ogden Mission met in Ogden for an all day conference.  Elder and Sister Cook were visiting our mission conference and have just been called by President Uchtdorf to serve as a Mission President.  They have no idea where they will be going, but all of their mission material is in French.

Roomful of Missionaries

The morning was a round robin training session.  Since we are not proselyting missionaries, we helped set up the lunch.  We had the entire mission there, 240 Elders and Sisters.  If they get any more missionaries, they will need a bigger building.  The Mission office is in a Stake Center and that is where the conference was held.  Lunch was ham, baked potatoes, and salad with lots of apple and pumpkin pie for dessert. 

After lunch there was a talent show put on by the missionaries.  Even the office staff did a creative rendition of The 12 Days of Christmas.  A fun rap video started out the talent show.  We have some Polynesians serving in our mission.  The girls did a couple dances, then the guys did their presentation.  There was a cute and funny skit around teaching the first lesson.  We had guitarists, pianists, an accordion player and a harmonica play besides dancers and singers.  The show last almost three hours, lots of talent.  It was 4:45pm when everything was over. 

We had been there since 9:00am.  It was about a 50 minute drive home.  We had driven there in the fog, but most of it was gone when we left.  Some still hung in parts of the area.  When we past by Brigham City on our way out we couldn't see the Temple and it was still hidden in the fog when we went home.  Generally the Brigham City Temple looks like a palace at the base of the Wellsville Mountains when you drive along I-15.

 Relief Society Activity

 Our day wasn't over when we arrived home.  We still had a Relief Society Christmas activity to go to that evening.  We had arranged to meet one of our visit teaching sisters there.  The activity was a presentation of the Nativity creche with traditions suggested for each member of the Nativity.  It was a spiritual way to end the day.

7 December - Employment Center Mission Conference

Another Mission Conference, this time we had the opportunity to sleep in as it didn't start until 10am and we only had to travel to North Logan.  Becky shared thoughts of 2012.  She started with the last verse of "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," "For lo! the days are hast’ning on, By prophets seen of old,  When with the ever-circling years Shall come the time foretold, When the new heav’n and earth shall own The Prince of Peace their King, And the whole world send back the song Which now the angels sing."  She said compared how the "days are hast'ning on" to the events that we see going on in the world now.  The US Employment Centers are now united with the efforts of Deseret Industries.  Becky referred to Elder Scott's talk that nothing is temporal, it is all spiritual.  We have a new focus of helping members to become self-reliant.  Self-reliance is prerequisite to giving service which results in giving back to.  In the Center we can see the Lord's hand in the work we do.  President Monson said "The Lord is in the details of our lives."  Miracles are happening at the ERC and we get to pray for more. 

Our theme for 2013 is "Extending the Reach"  Logan's ERS mission goal is to place 2860 members this; so far we have placed 2776.  We are only reaching 10% of the members registered at the LDSjobs.org.  60% of people who register on the site do it from home.  Some come in or call the center for assistance.  The Church wants us to increase our reach from 10% to 15%.  There are a variety of ways we can do this, including contacting Ward and Stake leaders to share what we can do to assist them.  We will be learning more at our next mission conference in January.

Our lunch was provided by Church headquarters.  It was Chicken Cordon Bleu catered by The Bluebird Restaurant in Logan.  This is a historic restaurant in Logan and considered one of the finer establishments.  The food and service was very good.

After lunch, Becky's son Jonathan spoke to us.  He just returned home from his mission in Florida Fort Lauderdale on Thursday (yesterday).  He shared how his mission had been challenged to increase their numbers.  He told how he had set goals that seemed difficult and had achieved  them.  The key is to set goals, pray, and expect answers.  He quoted Proverbs 29:18:  "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he."

9 December - Driving on Snow

My car is on the right of the open spot.

I had my first real test of driving in the snow this morning.  It was a light snow, not a wet snow, but it packed down pretty good.  (I could hear it creak under my feet when I walked to the car. :->)  The roads were not plowed when we made our trip to the chapel for choir practice and church.  Now was the time for me to put into practice everything I had read or heard.  It went well until I turned onto the main street when I felt the car slide a little--turn into the slide not away went through my mind.  I don't know that Sister Bews noticed it because I was going slow and it was a little slide, but I felt the car do a short glide on the pavement. 

11 December - :-) Mutual Admiration Society

DI proved us with a wonderful lunch, sandwich fixings from Kneaders. Kneaders is kind of like Togo, but much better; they make their own bread.  If I remember correctly, they started in Provo.  I learned about Kneaders when daughter and son-in-law were attending BYU.  It was very delicious lunch.  

Deseret Industries appreciate us for helping their associates and we appreciate them for sharing the building with us. We have a mutual admiration society thing going on here.

13 December

12 Days of Christmas

What fun!  I have gotten a box from my family with fun little packages for the 12 Days of Christmas.  The first one is mix for making a dozen Peanut Butter Cookies.  I put on The Nutcracker and went to work.  It was quick and easy; I like quick and easy.  Now I have cookies to munch on (I squeezed out more than a dozen cookies).

Also in the box were new colored pictures for my bedroom walls.  :-)

Santa Visit

 










Santa came to the Center to visit the AJS missionaries.  Jana's husband dropped in on her invite.  He likes doing Santa Claus and is built for it.  She made the outfit.  Jana was one of our candidates and now works for DI.

14 December - A Job!

Hurray, Elizabeth has a job!.  She has been in AJS just barely two weeks.  It helped that Elder Humphreys had connections.  The Payless Shoe store manager is in his ward and told Elder Humphreys that he had an opening for a full time person.  We sent Elizabeth and Dawn in to interview.  Elizabeth was asked to come back for a second interview.  She did her second interview this afternoon and felt she had done well.  We had done a mock interview and I suggested that she try to get more background information about Payless.  Elizabeth did her homework and wowed them with what she knew.  However she felt her age would be against her because she noticed that they had younger people working in the store.  Then she received the call with the job offer.

15 December

Ward Christmas Breakfast

I must be getting old because The Ward Christmas Breakfast was nice, but nothing special.  The Bishop started the occasion out by reading a few verses from Luke 2 about the birth of Christ.  The Polar Express was the theme they chose to go with including a visit from Santa.  The children were told they could come in their pajamas if they wanted to. The food was good: fruit, juice & milk, blueberry muffins, and a shredded potato casserole.  We had lots and lots of left overs some of which was taken to Providence Place. It was just missing the reverence I would want for the occasion or the place. 

We were asked to help on the Ward Christmas Breakfast committee.  Our job was to be at the Stake Center by 7am to help set up, and then serve.  There was snow on the ground when I awoke at 5:30am and it continued to fall during the morning. There were quite a few people who showed up to help prepare and set up for the party.  A couple of the men shoveled the snow off on the sidewalks and cleared the parking lot.  Everything ran smoothly including clean up.  Most of the attendees helped clean up which made it go faster.  That is one of the impressive things about church; everyone pitches in at the end of an activity to put things away and clean up.   

Dinner and Theatre

This evening we attended a show at the Eccles Theatre, the Bar J Wranglers.  It was highly recommended by several of the missionaries at the Center.  They said it was good, clean, fun entertainment.  I wasn't disappointed.  If you remember Roy Rogers or The Sons of the Pioneers, the Bar J Wranglers play that kind of music.  They poke fun at each which brings in the comedy.  Some of the songs were Christmas and some of the songs were Western.  One of my favorite parts was when they sang "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" to the tune of "Ghost Riders in the Sky."  It was good!

The Bar J Wranglers have a place called the Bar J Chuckwagon in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where they serve food and entertain.  I guess they do that from May through September close the restaurant then tour the rest of the year.  I think their entertainment would do well in North Platte.
http://www.barjchuckwagon.com/Wranglers.htm  

We went out to dinner at the Coppermill on Main Street and parked behind their building.  The Eccles Theatre doesn't really have parking.  It wasn't more than a two block walk which some locals think is a long ways to go for parking.  The Coppermill is one of the nicer places in town to eat--nice atmosphere, decent food, and a little pricey.  Now we can say we have been there.  (Still partial to the Sizzler salad bar.)

16 December

Another snowy Sunday.  The streets were clear this morning when we headed out for choir and church.  It is not a heavy snow; it is just drifting down in feathery flakes.

Boy am I glad that I keep a spare set of glasses in the car.  I put my glasses on this morning and the lens fell followed by the screw.  Luckily I found the screw, but didn't have the means to put it back in my glasses.  I went the to car to retrieve my extra pair of glasses.  The last time I order new glasses my prescription had only changed minutely, so it is just adjusting to a different frame.

18 December

Yesterday at lunch it was raining; by late afternoon it was snowing.  We had a trip planned to Ogden today and I was getting nervous about the drive.  Sister Bews needed to get her flu shot from the mission doctor and her health insurance card from the Mission Office.

This morning our driveway was ice, but it wasn't snowing or raining.  The morning stayed dry so the main roads were dry and the side roads wet.  We took off for Ogden at lunch time.  The drive went smoothly and the roads dry.  After we crossed over the Wellsville Mountains into Brigham City and down I-15 the snow started to become sparse.  The storm we were expecting had stayed south of I-80 and we weren't driving that far south.  First we stopped at the doctor's home then went to the Mission Office.  It was fun to touch bases with everyone in the Mission Office.  President Hiers and his wife were in Salt Lake going to the temple with the newly arrived missionaries.  I guess he takes the new ones through the Salt Lake Temple when they arrive.  He also takes the departing Missionaries through the temple too.  They go on a different day.

We drove home along US 89 which follows along closer to the mountains than I-15.  US 89 is the slower and older route, but there is more to see.  When we looked to the west we could see how close I-15 gets to the the Great Salt Lake.  You don't realize it when you travel along that freeway.

It was after 4pm when we arrived back in Providence, so we didn't go into work.  Instead, we went to the temple.  Going to the temple is always such a good feeling.

I am having so much fun opening my 12 Days of Christmas from Jeanne and the kids (Carolyn helped too).  Today was the 7th day and I received a Bath and Body Works bath wash.  They all come with fun stories too. 

Thanksgiving 2012

Pumpkin Turkey

We were invited to join several families for dinner at the church.  One of the sister's we visit teach invited us.  There were four or five families there, 23 people.  Two other families had been invited as guests also.  It was a melding of two wards, Providence 1st and Cobblestone 1st.  They use to be in the same ward before it was split.  There was lots of good food and great company.  We had 12 pies.  Obviously, there were lots of left overs.

In the evening we went over to Sister Nielsen's and Sister Jensen's for desert, pumpkin pie.  I had brought a punch to the dinner and had leftovers, so I brought it to go with the pie.  It was excellent pie.  We ended up taking half of it home.

It was a very good day with special people.

Visitor :->

12 November 2012

My good friend and "Relief Society President" Kristen East came to visit me.  What fun! Her husband is in Salt Lake for business this week and they are staying next week to have Thanksgiving with family. She came up to Logan to visit with me and her sister. I enjoyed hearing about what is going on in the ward lately. After lunch I gave her a tour of our office (not much there) and took her over to DI to see what goes on there. She revealed that it was her first time in a DI Store.  They are easy to get to in Utah, but few and far between in California.

We no longer have any AJS candidates for our program. There are quite a few people who come through wanting to look for jobs online, but just aren't ready to make the commitment we ask in AJS. If they will do what we ask, the candidate could find a job in about 30 days.

Veterans Day -- Thank You for your Sacrafice

11 November 2012

DI pilgrims

Thanksgiving means pilgrims to me and I have been having a heck of time finding pilgrims to display (I have several in storage in Livermore).  I can find pumpkins, scarecrows, and cornucopias, but no pilgrims.  I finally found some figurines at DI.  Then yesterday I received a care package from North Platte.  I had been complaining to Jeanne about my struggles to find pilgrims.  I guess she and the kids had gone looking for some pilgrims without much luck.  They printed off pilgrim pictures from the internet and colored them for me.  I was so touched I wanted to cry.

Pilgrim pictures

Pilgrim tea towel

Thanksgiving pictures

Sad News :-(

21 October 2012 - Sunday

Sister Bews learned this past week that the wife of her oldest brother is in the hospital.  She had cancer and was sent to the hospital for treatment, but had a couple strokes while there.  It put her in a coma and she is not responding, although she is breathing on her own.  They will have to make a decision about what happens next tomorrow.

28 October 2012 - Sunday

Sister Bews has to fly out next Thursday.  Her sister-in-law died last Tuesday and the funeral is Saturday in Edmonton, Alberta.

1 November 2012 - Thursday

We were up by 5am and on the road by 6am so Sister Bews could catch her flight.  She went to Edmonton, Alberta for her sister-in-law's funeral.  I spent the last half of the day at the ERC.  I was very tired come the end of the day; I was in bed by 8:30pm.

5 November 2012 - Monday

I spent half a day in the center.  I had some personal business to take care of before I headed off to Salt Lake to pick up my companion at the airport.  Her flight arrived at 4pm, just when people were heading home from work.  We went to dinner in Salt Lake in hopes of avoiding some of the traffic.  We ate at the Garden Restaurant at the top of the Joseph Smith building.  I've eaten there a couple times before, but didn't remember it costing so much.  It finally dawned on me that I had always eaten lunch there which is less expensive.  The meal was good and worth the price.  We still encountered some traffic on the way home, but nothing like the Bay Area.


 

Halloween

31 October 2012

Utah Ogden Mission Conference

This was our first opportunity to attend a Mission Conference.  Besides, President Hiers, Elder Falabella from the Quorum of the 70 was there to speak and teach. 

President Hiers started the conference.  Emphasized looking for the Holy Ghost in the Book of Mormon.  He mentioned it might not always be in the words, but in the spirit.  We were asked to think about and share "I have felt the most love from someone when _____."  Consequently, it is showing love to others that we find and feel love.  President Hiers referred to President Monson's talk about the sweet experience of feeling a prompting, acting on it, and being the answer to someone's prayer.  We were encourage to do likewise.

Sister Falabella spoke next.  She spoke in Spanish and one of the missionaries translated for her.  She shared the conversion story of Elder Falabella's father.  Two ministers had come to his door in Guatemala and told him that he was living in darkness.  Two elders from the Church came shortly after that and were inspired to tell him that "they were bringing him some light."  He was curious about this light and invited the missionaries in to explain.

Elder Falabella asked what the missionaries had expected from him and had it written on a chalkboard, then asked what questions they had come with and put those on the chalkboard also.  He explained that he would use this information to guide what he would share.  He had us looking up quite a few scriptures and talked about what they meant.  In Moses 1:4, 6-7 Moses is repeated called "my son" by Heavenly Father.  In Moses 1:12 Satan refers to Moses as "son of man" trying to confuse his thinking.  Satan is trying to confuse our thinking so that we forget we are children of Heavenly Father.  We are being "proved."  In D&C 124:15, 20 we are to have integrity of heart.  We are a "covenant" people that are being tempted by Satan.  2 Nephi 2:14 speaks of agency.  We have a choice.  Things can act upon us or we can act upon everything.  Satan has limited agency because he is only a spirit.

Sister Hiers was the first speaker after a wonderful lunch of taco soup.  She had chosen for her topic "Sharing Faith."  Many stories in the scripture talk of faith:  brother of Jared, woman who touches the hem of Christ.

Elder Falabella spoke last.  He spoke to how to baptize more people.  He used the example of Ammon.  First give service; second teach the father first; third teach the mother.  The father and mother will teach children, family and friends.  Invite family, friends, neighbors, co-workers of investigator, ward members, and missionaries' neighbors to the baptism.  And ask for referrals from everyone.  He also said that doing temple work for ancestors will help to retain new members because it is a special spiritual experience.

The Mission Conference was very fulfilling.

Happy Birthday Bekah

It was Bekah's 6th birthday.  We did a video chat and she showed me how she dressed for Halloween and some of her presents.  I just love being able to video chat with my grandchildren! :-)

Boise, Idaho, Temple Open House

28 October 2012

Friday we left for Boise about 10:00am. It was a bit on the cold outside, but the sun was out. There were some clouds floating across the sky and some were even down on the ground at the base of the Wellsville mountains. As we travelled closer to Idaho the skies filled with up more with clouds.  It looked like we might get rained on but it never happened.  We stayed on 84 all the way out of Logan into Idaho.  We didn't stop until we reached Twin Falls about 12:30pm.  We ate a quick lunch at McDonalds then continued on to Boise.

Our first stop was the Employment Center.  I wanted to touch bases with Sister Lee and Sister Remnet, my MTC companions.  It was about 3pm when we walked into the ERC.  We compared notes on our two AJS programs.  Our next stop was the Boise Temple Open House.  Unlike the Brigham City Temple Open House, they had guided tours with explanations until we arrived at the Celestial level, then it is was silent.

I took Sister Bews to her family's place which wasn't more than 20 minutes away then headed over to Sister Lee's and Sister Remnet's apartment.  We went to Sizzler to enjoy their salad bar (I'm becoming a fan of the Sizzler salad bar), then back to their apartment to talk and catch up.  I stayed the night with them.  Sister Bews went Trunk or Treating with her family and spent the night with them.

Our trip home was much longer.  I wanted to go through Preston, Idaho, to see what the area looked like.  Our mission and ERC serves all the way to Preston.  We stopped again at Twin Falls for a bite and took pictures.  Sister Bews has been past Twin Falls but never stopped there to see the sights.  We only stopped for gas in Pocatello then headed down I-15 and took the Downy/Preseton exit to 91.  The rest of our trip was along 91.  It is pretty country and farmland along that route.  Most of the cities are less than 1000 in population until you get to Preston which is just over 5000.  Highway 91 is two lanes until you get to Preston then it goes to four lanes through Logan and Brigham City until it hits I-15 again.  We left Boise around noon and arrived in Logan at 6pm (I thought it would be 6:30pm).  We ate dinner at Sizzler then went to the apartment and crashed.

Snake River