August 2014

As July ended I found myself struggling with several things and had no idea how to move forward.  I needed some help, someone to confide in and a break from pressure I felt here at home.
It's a long story and I won't share the details but at the end of July I flew to Tulsa Oklahoma to have a long weekend with my brother and his family.  I was touched that all four of them took time off work while I was there so that we could be together.
My nephew is a member of ARMA and I enjoyed having an opportunity to watch a demonstration of his skills with a sword and other period weapons.  Mark needed to stay longer and took his car so that gave Brent and me a chance to talk about my struggles and some options as we traveled out to that little town and back.
Here's Mark with one of his swords:

During the practice session the strap on Mark's protective headgear broke so later that weekend my brother showed my nephew how to repair it, using the heavy-duty sewing kit that had been my dad's.

The pliers held clear fishing line which he used as thread

My niece does competitive ballroom dancing and is very good.  I don't believe I've seen her dance since she was about 4 years old, so on Saturday evening my brother and sister-in-law, my niece and her dance partner took me to a dance studio where there is open dancing some evenings.  It was a nice atmosphere - no booze, no smoking, just lots of music and people who like to dance.  There are 12 years difference in our ages, so my brother and I had never danced together before - it was fun to do that.  I also danced with a young man from Lima Peru who was my partner for several dances once he learned I spoke Spanish.  My brother snapped a picture of us together and threatened to put it on Facebook if I didn't make a strawberry pie.  (I made the pie the next morning before church.) Here's the photo - terribly unflattering but it was a fun experience anyway. 

But the best experience was doing the tango with Nikki's dance partner Randy.  Randy is a long-time professional dancer and it was great fun to dance with him.  Here are Nikki and Randy posing at the house before we left.  I wish I had video of the two of them dancing together at the studio - they were amazing!

Sunday we went to church and then came back for family pictures, a blessing for me, and then a family meal of Brent's BBQ ribs and my strawberry pie. And I need to just mention the jalapeño coleslaw! Yum!

I don't remember the last time I had a Priesthood blessing from a family member.  Brent pronounced the blessing with Mark standing in, and I felt surrounded by loving family as I listened to the words and felt them in my heart.  I knew that was the reason I had to go to Oklahoma, and I know I received direction and help from being there.

Moving on...

While I was in Oklahoma I was sustained to a new stake calling here.  If you are keeping track, I now have 3 callings plus visiting teacher.  The organ is a calling I share with several others so I only play for church once or twice a month.  My second calling is ward choir director and that is going well.  Our first performance was last Sunday and 27 sang!  The most we have ever had at any choir practice has been 21 but some faces are different each time, and on Sunday we even had one man who had practiced at home but joined us on Sunday morning for the final run-through.  I was thrilled with the turn-out.  We sang a lovely two-part arrangement of "If The Savior Stood Beside Me" and it went very well.  I was overwhelmed with the support and the result.

My third calling is the new stake calling.  Officially I am a Stake Public Affairs Specialist.  That means I'm responsible for our stake's involvement in serving the homeless in Renton.  We work through REACH (Renton Ecumenical Association of Churches) to feed the poor or the homeless.  I'm not responsible for the Warmup Breakfasts at Harambee (a church in downtown Renton) because that's already been assigned to the full-time elders.  But all the evening meals that our stake has committed to help with? Those are mine.

We have scheduled three meals each month - the 3rd Tuesday, the 4th Thursday and the 4th Sunday.   I've been busy creating a spreadsheet of which ward goes when.  Plan A was so simple but it was rejected by the stake presidency, so a more detailed version had to be created.  It's harder to explain and will take more time on my part, but I understand their reasoning.

In between my quick trip to see family and last week I served as a temporary missionary companion to one of the senior sisters.  Sister Greer needed to return to her home in Utah for a few weeks which gave me the chance to spend time with Sister Evenson during her absence.  Sister Evenson is very sweet and was so appreciative of my help.

The confusion I'd felt before I left town has gone away.  I am grateful that I've been able to find answers and that prayers have been answered. Heavenly Father has been very kind to me.