Odds and Ends Week

On Dennis' morning walk, he saw this group of school children walking along the street wearing these pointed hats. We never did figure out what it was about--a celebration or initiation?

Happy birthday to our granddaughter, Lizzy, who turned 15 this week. Here is the gorgeous cake her Aunt Jordan made for her. We ordered a phone cover and a CTR ring for Lizzy, and when the ring came it was a size 9.5! She probably wore it as a belt to church the next day. We had the privilege of talking to her by FaceTime. Thank you, technology.

Monday evening, a home evening was held for temple workers who live in the housing. Dennis and I arrived a half hour late due to my bad memory of the starting time. We took a box of Oreos--which none were taken.  This is Thailand.

Tuesday, President Khanakom came to us, sounding very urgent. "Come to my office. I have important business." So we hurried downstairs, not knowing what was in store. He smiled big and opened a huge box of chocolates. "Take one. They are from the Russians to show their appreciation for all our help." 

Yum! I'll never turn down chocolate from friends.

We had a busy week at the temple as usual. A large group came for the week from Indonesia. They are kind and gentle people. One of the men was Brother de Jagger, the son of Elder de Jagger (now deceased) known for the Parable of the Popcorn. He came to learn in preparation for the opening of the Indonesian temple. 

A group from Cambodia also came. The baptistry kept busy during the first of the week in preparation for initiatories and endowments. You could feel the high energy of members doing the work for deceased parents and grandparents and other family members.

 Dennis and I spoke in sacrament meeting today. We sent our family the Zoom link, but when the meeting started, the substitute tech guy couldn't get the camera to work, so we spoke to a full chapel and hall only. Sorry to anyone who tried to tune in.

I first spoke. I usually shake like a leaf in the wind when I'm nervous, but today I was blessed that only

The chapel before it filled up clear back to the stage.

my voice shook. My talk was based on Elder Alexander Dushku's talk "Rays and Pillars", and Elder Neal Maxwell's talk "Spiritually Defining Memories." 

Two sisters from the Philippines sang a duet. Sorry, I don't remember the title of the song, but it was about coming unto Christ, and was beautiful.

Dennis spoke on Elder David A Bednar's talk from 2014-, "Bear Up Their Burdens with Ease." He did great, but had to cut his talk a little short due to the meeting starting late. (When the sacrament hymn started there was no bread at the table! But before the first verse ended, the bread appeared.)

Then I taught Relief Society. The discussion was based on Dallin H Oaks' address from April 2024, "Covenants and Responsibilities." What an experience! The room was packed. There were sisters from many countries and everything said was being translated in whispers into other languages. The discussion went well until the last five minutes when I realized I hadn't planned how to wrap up the conversation. I tried to speak by the Spirit, and I hope what I said made sense to those who listened. 😌

Mary brought this bouquet of real flowers to Relief Society.
It made a lovely centerpiece for my lesson.

I had made a Texas sheet cake for Potluck Sunday. We'd found no sour cream under $10 (just a few ounces in a pouch), and found no powdered sugar for the frosting, so I made some with granulated sugar and cornstarch (for which Dennis made a late night subway run to the supermarket). The frosting was a little grainy but it worked. We haven't found pecans either. The cake turned out delicious and we brought home an empty pan. Sorry no photo of the cake. We also took our box of Oreos and they were snatched up quickly.

The potluck draws a large crowd.

We found a grocery store that sells American products, and bought actual cheddar cheese, ham, hotdogs, cereal, mixed nuts, and salsa. Ah, comfort foods! We missed picking up powdered sugar for the cake frosting, if they even had it!