Dear Ones,
I know I'm late, and I'm grateful to Susan for her patience and forgiveness. Somehow I thought I would find time this past weekend (!) to write, but it didn't happen, and today also filled up with unexpected and expanded projects.
So this doesn't get to be a tome, I'll try to give just a "highlight reel" of some of the things that have been keeping us busy. In August, I had two training trips, one to Seattle (where I got to see Susannah because she met me at several of the meetings, bless her generous heart!) and another to Los Angeles. We were delighted to take a trip with Jarom to Washington, DC one weekend, and were thrilled to spend another weekend participating in and celebrating Sara Richins' baptism in Newbury Park, CA. At the end of August, we enjoyed celebrating Sabrina Trubnikov's birthday and sharing a family home evening with the family in their new apartment in Lehi.
In September, much of my focus was on preparing my talk for the women's session of General Conference. Thank you each for your prayers of support! Susannah flew out to come to the meeting in person, and Natalia was able to drive up from Lehi, and I could feel the rest of you sending prayers and thoughts across the miles. That month Bruce and I attended a small luncheon for the ambassador of Romania and his wife, and were reminded again of the many good people in the world who are working to lift and strengthen others within their circles of influence.
In October, the pre- and post-general conference training meetings took much attention, and I was also preparing a talk for a North America Central stake conference broadcast, speaking with Elder Ronald A. Rasband, Elder Ulysses Soares and Br. Devin Durrant of the general Sunday School presidency. We also got together with the Trubnikov's for Alex's birthday and a fun family home evening. Bruce had business trips to San Francisco and Chicago in September and October. His temple sealing assignments on Friday nights and Saturday mornings are treasured as well as time-intensive. Our Friday night date is often spent doing sealings together--he as the voice, me as a proxy.
At the first of November Bruce went on an elk hunt in Oregon with Dave Buck and his family's "band of brothers" while I took a weekend trip to Connecticut to be with my wonderful sisters and brother Rob. We surely missed David, but were grateful he was willing to hold down the fort so Megumi could come. The hunters shot no elk but Bruce thoroughly enjoyed his time in the great outdoors. I, too, was blessed to spend that weekend enjoying the beauties of nature as we hiked a small mountain and gloried in the landscape of rich autumn colors. Don't the creations of Heavenly Father lift your spirits and astound you with their variety and beauty? I was bitten by a deer tick, which resulted in a bright red circle the size of my pinky nail, but miracle of miracles, Ruth had just the prescription on hand that I needed, so the doc says I should have no trouble with Lyme disease.
We were delighted to spend Thanksgiving weekend with Susannah and Dave. We had fun walking in the rain, touring the underground city, exploring Bruce's old haunts as a missionary, attending the temple, eating great food (all Susannah's!), seeing Dave's new office, and meeting the puppy that may become their new pet. We were amazed at how effectively they have set up their 550 square feet of apartment space, and it was fun to see Dave zip away on his motorized scooter towards his downtown high rise office. We even caught up on the last three Harry Potter movies, so it was a full and fun weekend.
The day after we got back, I flew to New York to participate in events surrounding UNICEF's successful implementation of a world-wide maternal neonatal tetanus immunization effort. The Church partners with groups who have demonstrated excellent use of resources and full reporting on projects the Church feels are compelling in alleviating suffering for people around the world, and this is one of those projects. My part was to represent the Church in a panel discussion, listen to a day full of presentations and discussions by the various partners, and attend a black-tie gala. The fancy dress my sisters helped me find in Connecticut proved to be comfortable and just the right thing to wear, so thank you each for your good taste and patient searching!
The day after I returned from that trip, I went to Denver to do auxiliary training. This was a "guinea pig" experience: the first time training has been done with each of the RS, YW and Primary leaders simultaniously speaking from stake centers in 3 different cities, connected to each other in an interactive format, and being broadcast to 100+ other buildings. It seemed to work pretty well, so we'll see if the Brethren choose to expand that experiment. The rest of the three days was filled with home visits, focus groups and dinner discussions with Primary and priesthood leaders. I always feel so inadequate, but the Lord blesses me to be able to do what needs to be done, and I am so grateful!!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Bruce was changing the sheets and preparing a dinner for me so I could eat between arriving at the airport and attending the Christmas Devotional at the Conference Center. He is so supportive and helpful, I don't know how I could do it without him! We laugh sometimes that this is a flip of roles for us, after so many years of him being gone on assignments and me keeping the stew warm on the back of the stove.
Bruce is leaving tonight on a business trip to New York. When he gets home in a few days, I hope I have a few Christmas decorations up! My meetings are slowing down and I'm looking forward to doing some of the traditional preparations, but since we'll be with the Christensen's for the week between Christmas and New Year's, I'm only going to put up some of the nativity sets and skip the time-consuming tree. That is the focus of the season anyway, yes?
We're hoping that the repairs on our water-damaged floors and walls will be completed while we're gone over Christmas. A few months ago (!), the powder room toilet didn't shut off after being flushed one night, and the next morning found us with a serious puddle that had not only soaked into the travertine floor of the bathroom, but had spread to the hardwood floor of the hall and the carpet of the next-door guest room, not to mention the baseboards--AND gone through the basement ceiling! To put all of the pieces of the puzzle back together has taken more time that I thought, but I'm grateful it can be repaired--and that we aren't expecting a houseful of guests for the holidays!
Know that we pray for you daily and think of you often. We send our love and encouragement to you as you work to keep an eternal perspective in the trials of life. We applaud and SO appreciate the efforts you make to teach your children the gospel of Jesus Christ through word and example, and the way you reach out to strengthen other's testimonies. May the Lord's choicest blessings be yours, may you feel His love surrounding you in your difficult days and may you look for the goodness and beauty and blessings in your life.
All our love,
Bruce & Jean
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