Hotel pickup duties

 I got a call yesterday from our Stake Primary president. I wanted to blurt out as I answered the phone, "I got released last week, I'm not in Primary any more!" But I didn't, I waited until I heard what happy event brought her to pick up her phone and dial my number. She was in Utah, and she'd just found out that a member of the Primary general board was visiting our Stake conference this weekend, and she needed someone to pick her up from the hotel and take her to conference. I live close to her hotel and was glad to do that. But I did have to confess before she left that I wasn't serving in Primary any more. She was sad, but she still let me pick up our visitor. :)

Getting to the hotel on time was a bit of an adventure. We have a missionary in our branch, Elder Murrillo. He lives in Gaithersburg, a little over an hour drive from us. He needed a missionary haircut - his hair was getting bushy. So he took the bus down to our house (2 1/2 hours, all together) so I could give him a haircut. When he got here, I realized with shock that the hair clippers were in the car - the one Marriner had taken to the stake center for bishop training meeting. There wasn't anything else to do but drive over to the church and get them, which I did slightly more quickly than usual, or than the speed limit typically indicates. When I got back, we had 20 minutes before we needed to leave. I'd told everyone to eat dinner while I was gone, but the kids had gotten in a fight, so they hadn't eaten yet. So I started chopping hair fast, knowing that Elder Murrillo and I could eat dinner in the car if needed. Well, let me tell you, this Elder wins the "Elder with the most hairs on his head" award - probably in the whole church. The clippers jammed if I tried to run them over his head. I had to cut so slowly at first! Once we got the initial mop trim, it went more quickly. But not a fast job by any means. We got the haircut done, then bless the Saturday traffic, we didn't have to leave as early as I thought and had 5 minutes to grab some food. Elder M grabbed some rice, I made a peanut butter and nutella sandwich (easier to eat while driving), and we were off to pick up Sister Snow. As we took off, I realized that it might be against some sort of mission rule for an elder to be driving alone with a sister, but if it was, he didn't know it, and there was nothing we could do about it now. :) We got to the hotel right on time, and it was dark, so Sister Snow didn't see the bread crumbs all over our freshly vacuumed car, ha ha. :)

After conference, Elder M. caught a ride home with some members going north, and I took Sister Snow back to the hotel. We had a great time talking. It's funny how someone you don't know can be your instant friend when you have the gospel in common. What we knew about each other was that we both love the Lord, and we both have a lot of experiences feeling His love and presence in our lives. And once you start telling those sorts of stories, you can go on forever. And it's like Thanksgiving dinner - delicious and satisfying, and you don't stop until long after you probably should have. (Except that with testimony, it's not gluttony to keep going!) We pulled up to her hotel and just kept talking and telling stories - we'd both had a long and busy week, and it was just nice to sit and talk for a bit. I went home past my bedtime, but feeling so close to my Father, and so full of His love. It was lovely. I'm so grateful for the chance I had to make a new friend - the sort who fills your soul with the fire of testimony.

In the course of our conversation, I said one thing that I believe deeply with my soul, and I want to share with all of you. "If there's one thing I wish I could tell everyone in the church, it's that when you give your whole heart to serving the Lord, He takes care of your children." Sister Snow replied with the reverent voice of conviction, "And your grandchildren." What an exciting thing it is to serve a God who will bless my family through the generations for the meager service I render. 

Time flies

 It's been 5 years, guys. Five whole years have gone. Two of them were crazy covid years. Two of them were crazy learning ASL years. This last year has been pretty mellow. :) 

I looked back in my journal. President Sakai came to our house on Sept 28th. Marriner were sustained in branch conference on October 22. Branch conference has come and gone, Marriner's 5th time as the speaker. 

A few months ago, the idea of 5 years arriving had our house in an anxious mess. Rumors were circulating, especially around the hearing ward, who kept letting us know any time we ran into them how excited they were to have us coming back soon. And don't get me wrong - we love them, and we want to hang out with them. But...

I remember some years ago, someone pointed out that for every family formed through adoption, another family had to be broken up. That seemed like a sort of negative way to portray the situation, but it resonates with me right now. Our family moved. No matter what happens next, something is going to be broken. Either our ties with the hearing ward or our ties with our branch. 

Not kidding, I have a new calling.

 Well, it's been a long time. I just spent 5+ years in the same calling (essentially), and I loved it so much. And I was finally getting good at what I did. I know, I've said that every year for every calling. It turns out that there's always more to learn and more ways to grow. But really, that last day of Primary - we had everyone really engaged, and they were such angels, and I thought of all the times they were bouncing off the walls...we've come so far. But now they get to learn from someone else!

I was supposed to be called 2 weeks ago, but something happened to postpone the branch business. This week was a BAD week for it. First off, we had to leave RIGHT after church to get Lillian to her orchestra concert. We don't love Sunday orchestra performances, but we feel like uplifting community events that don't take our mind off the Savior are sometimes important in an area where not everyone feels the same as us about keeping the Sabbath day holy. So as long as they don't interrupt church, we participate. ANYWAY, we had to leave right after church, no pausing to chat, no quick I-have-a-questions in the hall. The other reason it wasn't ideal was because I actually left Ellis home when we went to church. :) She was being quiet up in her room, and we just left without her. When we got to church, I found the text and 3 missed phone calls. But I couldn't go home and get her, I sorta needed to be on time for church that day. :) So in some ways, the whole thing was a little chaotic, and I needed a couple of days to settle down and start to think about what I'm going to do now!

I was called as Relief Society (RS) 2nd counselor. Interestingly, I didn't know if I was 1st or 2nd counselor until 2 days after I was sustained. I don't think Marriner knew, either. :) But I did know that I'm over Temple and Family History work, which makes me happy, because I like family history. And I've put in some work to get a basic level of competency. So I hope I have something to share. 

Later Sunday night, we had our first presidency meeting, and we started handing out assignments. I admit that about halfway through the meeting, I started to feel a little panic. I'm teaching seminary. I'm in a RS presidency. I wasn't replaced in Primary yet - so I'm sure some opportunities to sub there will come up. As the assignments mounted (and some of them not my favorite things to do) I began to feel a little in over my head! But then, a moment of sweet reassurance from the Spirit came to remind me that a.) seminary isn't my "calling", it's my "job" so it's not fair to count that, and b.) I can go forward in faith, and the Lord will help me. So I caught my breath, reminded myself to be faithful not fearful, and stuck up my hand for the next assignment. :) 

For 5 years, I've sort of stayed out of the world of deaf adults. My husband knows everyone and talks to everyone, but I just keep to myself and talk to the kids in Primary. I've loved being in Primary, but one recognized trade-off is that my ASL hasn't developed as much as it would have if I talked to adults more. And now, I suddenly get the chance to talk to adults, but yikes, I have to talk to adults! Despite all the last 5 years, I feel like an outsider or a new move-in all over again. It's going to take some faith to get going in this calling, instead of hiding under the covers and hoping someone will plan my activities for me!!