Rainy Sunday, burnt cornbread and white gloves

Today we got some much needed rain. I always think of the farmers of my favorite local farm and how thrilled they must be on days like this.

I have not written about Sunday's for some time. They seem to be getting more and more tender and I see our family becoming more and more emotionally involved. I can't even begin to think of how or when we might leave and go back to our other ward.

His mother fixing his tie and him looking up at the Bishop.

A few weeks ago this sweet 8 year old boy in primary got baptized. He comes every Sunday often without his parents. He is so smart. He was so nervous. During Primary I took him into the font with the water running and the two of us just sat down and ran our fingers through the water and talked about being excited and being nervous and how sometimes they feel the same. After the baptism the Bishop had him come to the front to see how many people had come to support him. He said, "In a ward mostly made of up converts you are one of the few that has been a member his whole life." It was true. This has been the first congregation I think I have ever been in where the converts to the church totally outnumber those who where raised in our church. I thought it was awesome! This ward is truly a representative of a typical ward in our church around the world.

It is so hard to ever calculate when we think we are going to get home and this week I learned my lesson not to put the timer on in the oven. I made some green chile cornbread and it would bake and still have 20 minutes left when we walked in the door. So we could eat it warm with our meal.
Well our day got extended a little and we ended up not walking in the door until 6:30pm. The bread had probably cooked 3 times over and was charred on the top and a yellow rock on the inside. We were so hungry we tried to find some good parts, but there were none. Peanut Butter and Jelly and Lucky Charms are sounding like our new Sunday Meal. By the time we get home most of us are too tired to eat much of anything.

A few weeks ago our Church magazine (The Ensign) had sent a photographer and writer to spend a week with our ward and write a story about a tutoring program that our Bishop created less than a year ago. It is an amazing program. He invited some of the young D.C. interns to come to our Church building one night a week to help the youth with their homework. The youth started bringing their friends that brought their friends. Their friends started inviting any one from the neighborhood who needed help with a job application, adults who wanted to learn how to read etc, to come for hot dogs and learn or do anything they need. It in a matter of months it turned our building into a community center for the city to come to. It is a miracle on so many levels.
Today we had an awesome sharing time. Our chorister is out of the country for awhile and we are all taking turns doing music time. this is the scariest thing I could ever do for service. My voice is small, weak and out of tune. But my love for the kids and energy is high. I got everything ready but ended up not needing to do it because of our great sharing time. I was so relieved. This is good though to "stretch" myself and learn how to do new things.
A woman in our ward has a good friend who designed a sharing time around teaching children what a testimony is, through the symbol of a white glove. She had taught it to many children in the Philippines for years. As Barb, got ready to teach our children she looked for a song in the primary hymn book on the subject and could not find what she was looking for so she wrote one. It is amazing. The sharing time idea along with the song will be published in an upcoming issue of the Friend Magazine (our church magazine for children) to share with all the primary children around the world. Barb's friend ask that we take photos of the children learning the activity and the song for the article. It must have just been thrilling for Barb to see her song in action and hear those sweet kids singing it.
As you sing each part of the song each teaches you one by one the different parts of what make a testimony. I thought it was so cute how this girl counted them off as each part of the song was sung. (just as Barb I am sure intended it to be done)

Caroline learning the different meaning of each photo on her white glove.

Our primary with their "testimony gloves" It was really an amazing Sunday again we just feel so blessed for this opportunity to serve. It makes up for the charred corn bread for sure.