closer to Christmas

We woke up this morning to the first real snow of the Winter, to some that is a wondrous event but to us who have suffered through many years of cold and snow here in Zion it was just cold and slick.  I took some pictures of our forest under our window.  

Today is Sunday we have had a great day.  We were able to attend this morning the Tabernacle Choir annual Christmas Bells Concert.  Brian Stokes Mitchell, a Broadway singer and Edward Herrmann were the guest performers.  It was wonderful.  The story was told about how the song "I heard the bells on Christmas day" was written.  It wonderful story about how Henry W. Longfellow found hope during personal crisis in the 1860s in the midst of the Civil war by his faith in the Savior.  

We are really busy now as we have some new assignments to do on the Square. We are in charge of the Sisters Exercise Program.  We get up early, the building needs to be opened prior the 6:00 am,  Monday, Wednesday and Friday at a local Stake House so the Sisters can exercise.  Their favorite thing is to play soccer in the gym.  A couple of Sisters played for good teams back in their home countries.  It really gets loud and competive. 

 Dad has also the assignment of getting everything ready for Sacrament Meeting, making the assignments for preparing, blessing and passing the Sacrament.  We go early, 6:30 AM,  Sunday Morning to get everything ready, opening the building, turning on the lights ect.  We are turning in to early morning people.   

 

Mom gets to go early Saturday Mornings to practice for a special Christmas musical program. She will be playing the Piano. 

At the end of each day we walk home through the Christmas lights up the hill to our apartment,  to feel good about another day spent in the service of the Lord. 

Christmas time on Temple Square

It is Christmas time on Temple Square.  We Invited Melody, Marty and family to see the lights and then come to our apartment for dessert.  We are doing this with all the family except for Roy and Angel, they can't come to Utah this Christmas.  We will really miss them.

Jimmy came to the Statue of the Christ and sat down in front of It all by his self.  The dark bumpy thing in front is Jimmy's head with his bumpy hat on.

We had the funeral for Elder Wirthlin.  Security set up posts at all of the gates on Temple Square with metal scanners ect.  We had to work in the Beehive House during the funeral.  The Sister Missionaries take the people on the tours and we greet the guests and insure that everything goes well, when suddenly we rang for the Sisters to take a group of visitors on a tour and all the Sisters were gone.  They all went to the funeral with out telling us. We had a great time trying to greet visitors and take tours at the same time.  We found that the only way we could do it was by closing and locking the front doors between tours.  

Christmas Story 

We were a struggling family with three small children.  It was hard on our budget to purchase all the gifts for the kids and all of the other things that a good Christmas required.  I was working as an industrial radiographer taking x-ray's of welds in steel fabrication shops.  The work required being in the shops when no one was there due to the radiation hazard.  I had to work late on a night just before Christmas, when Mom called to remind me that I needed to get a Christmas Tree.   I stopped on he way home from work and got a pretty good tree and put it in the trunk of the car and started home.  The Christmas spirit seemed to be really strong because every one was honking and waving to me as I drove home.  It was great to have everyone be so friendly so I waved and honked back.  

I opened the trunk to get the tree only to discover that the tree had fallen out and that I had dragged the tree all of the way home by the rope that I had used to secure it.  There was no needles left on the tree in fact the limbs were pretty skimpy also.  We couldn't afford a new tree so the beat up one had to do.  The kids didn't even notice the difference,  so much for really pretty tree, little kids are more interested in the gifts, but Mom and I felt pretty bad especially when friends or family came to call.

Turkey day and Reunion

Thanksgiving this year was spent with all of our foster daughters, the Sister Missionaries.  We closed Temple Square at 5:00 pm and took all 160 missionaries to "Chuck O Rama" for dinner. 

President Stewart spent some time in the morning explaining the concept of the American Thanksgiving to all of the Sisters, many are from different cultures and have no idea of our traditions.  I am not sure that all of the Sisters had turkey and cranberry sauce.   I asked several if they liked the cranberry sauce, they looked at me and said what is that?

All of the Sisters have Digital Cameras, so a lot of the time is spent taking pictures of each other.  It is amazing to see all of the flashes going off all over the room.
Sister Glad took this picture with me talking with some of the sisters from left to right, Hungry, Chile, Mexico, Brazil, and France. Sister "K", from Hungry is on of our favorite. We use Initials or nick names as many of the names are very hard for the older English tongue to pronounce, 

Sister glad with some "Indians" from Tonga and Hawaii.  The gals love to dress up.  Mom is mentoring a new Missionary from Brazil.  They assign a senior missionary to met once a week with new missionaries to help them in the transition to the U. S. culture and learning English. Many of the Sisters have English as a second language and are struggling to speak it clearly. They are required to take people who speak English on tours many times each day, so they are thrown in to the fire quickly.  
We were working in the North Visitors Center Sunday night when who should show up but Wayne and Karen.  We had a good visit with them.  Wayne is here for a doctor appointment. He did not know that we were here on a mission and had come to see the lights, then LaVere and Diane walked in, they were here with Shaun, their adopted son, and some of Dianes family. They had came to see the lights.  It was a real unplanned family get together. Cami had also came in earlier with all of her family.  Temple Square is really busy during the Christmas Season.  

We had 900,000 Visitors come to the Square last year.  It seemed that that they were all here Saturday and Sunday.  We had to deal with, one bloody nose, a child that need a barf bag and help cleaning up s stinky mess, band aids, three sets of lost children, keeping track of wheel chairs, making sure that the Choirs were in the right place at the right time and some how getting the visitors out of the buildings so we could close up for the night.   Real fun !!

Story #3

I was a young 20 year old man going on a Mission, we went when we were 20 in the good old days, entering the Mission Home.  I was not sure what I was getting my self in to, was scared, very unsure of my self.  There was a large sign at the front door which read "Don't be a crank, be a self starter."  I said to my self that is what I want to be. Since then I have always tried to be a self starter.  My mission was some times hard, we went out every day knocking on doors from 10 in the morning to 10 at night as we had no referrals, but I started each day in my morning prayer by asking for the desire to work hard that day to be a self starter.  I think that it is important in life to go do what is right with out asking for some once else to motivate you, to really be a self starter.

turkey day comming

Thanksgiving is on the way.  Things on the Square are starting to pick up as we are preparing for the Christmas Season.  The musical "Savior of the World" is in full swing.  It is showing in the Little Theater in the Conference Center, part of our job for Wednesday night is to go after the production and escort the Sister Missionaries home.  The Sisters have the assignment of welcoming the guests and saying the opening prayer.  They are to be in the forefront as much as possible, so people with questions will be able to approach them.  The mission also has a program of setting aside 30 tickets for each performance for inactive or nonmembers.  A letter was sent to all of the Stake Presidents in the valley, with the information that if they need tickets for missionary purposes to call the Mission.  We have been working at the call center to reserve the tickets for any that respond to the letter.

The Choir had a really good Thanksgiving program the morning, one of the really wonderful events we have been able to attend.  We went to a program in the Tabernacle Friday night called the Bells of Christmas Square. Mom really loved it.  It just sounded to me just like a lot of people ringing bells with no lyrics.  I guess I don't have a appreciation of for the fine arts, or maybe I am harder to please.  

We went on a Tour of the Salt Lake Cemetery Tuesday.  It was really fun.  We visited the graves of all of the Prophets except for Joseph Smith, buried in Nauvoo, Brigham Young, buried in the Brigham Young Park, and Ezra Taft Benson, buried in his home  in Idaho.  The Sisters were assigned to give a short talk about the life of each Prophet.  The best part of the tour was an opportunity to have reminiscence with President Stuart about the old times. He was Student Body President of South High School when I was there.  He was my brother Doug's Counsellor in the bishopric.  He was Bishop of the old South Gate Ward while my Grandmother Glad was still alive.  My Mom and Dad both came from that ward.  

Second event from My life. 

 

I was eight years old when one day I came home from School to find my Mother in the front room talking with some of the other women from the Neighborhood.  They were discussing the poor behavior of many of the children.  I was in the back room so I thought they did not know that I was eavesdropping, when my Mom said "my Dwayne is a good boy.  He would not do any of those things."  It was one of that moments that sets the course of your life.  I knew that I was a good boy and I could not do bad things.  My Mom died when I was ten years old and I always felt that she was watching over me an her "good boy".

christmas Nativity

The Nativity settings have been put out on the Square in preparation for the turning on of the lights on the 28th of December.   The traditional one on the south side of the North Visitor Center and several others around the area South of the Church Office Building.  The one I have been most impressed with is in the Reflecting Pond just east of the Temple.  

The setting of being in the pond with the reflection of the Temple in the water makes it very special.  Mom and I walk by it every day on our way to serve on the Square. 

We had a very interesting experience on the Square last week.  Some nut sent a letter with a white powder in it addressed to the Salt Lake Temple.  The mail room for the Temple is in the Annex just North of the Temple.  The Temple was closed, all of the Tunnels were closed.  North Temple Street was closed.  Six Fire Engines and the Hazard Material People were sent to the area.  It was a real mess !!  The returned address was from California.  The press says that no one knows who or what group is responsible, "Duh".  Our friends from the gay community had another demonstration here Saturday night at the City and County and State Capital Buildings, at least they were not here on the Square. 

I am going to share some of the wonderful things that have happened in my life in the Blog, one each week.  

Mom and I were serving as the Assistant Baptistery Coordinators in the Nauvoo Temple on Wednesdays.  The Baptistery is normally very busy with all of the Young Performing Missionaries, Youth Conferences and Families from out of town coming to do Baptisms.  One morning there was no one in the Baptistery, very unusual, when the Coordinator cane down to tell us that there was a deaf woman come to the Temple to do Baptisms for some of her family.  She had not been to the Temple for many years.  She did not have any priesthood do the ordinance, so I went and put my white clothing  on to to baptise her.  

We were alone, just the Baptistery Coordinator , the witnesses, Mom, and the Temple Coordinator. When I started to do the Ordnance an over powering spirit filled the room.  I  looked up at the Witnesses and they were both weeping.  The Coordinator was weeping.  The Sister that was being baptised was weeping.  Then I understood what was going on.  The dear sister was understanding every word I was saying as I performed the Baptisms.  It was a time when the Lord reached out his hand to bless all of that were there with a demonstration of his love for us, that the Temple is really his Holy House.   

    

Birthdays and Butheads

We went to work in the Beehive House Sunday night.  The Christmas Tree was up and Decorated, really cozy.  I think this may be just a little early, but it was really warm and nice.  

It was Sister Glad's birthday Friday, we were busy, so we celebrated on Saturday night.  It was really great.  We went to the Garden room on the 10th floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for a nice dinner.   There was a nice concert in the Assembly Hall, the USU Chamber Singers and Chorale, they were really good, just the kind of thing that Mom likes.  

Friday night was really interesting, we were assigned to work in the South gate, when Security arrived to tell us that a demonstration was assembling to show support for the Gay People and against Prop. #8.   What do we in Utah have to do with with Prop. #8?  It seems that our former Mayor Rocky Anderson and Friends thought that this would be a great opportunity to attack the Mormon Church again.  They arrived with all of their signs, horns and what ever they could find.  The March was around the square on the Street, then they got on the sidewalk and walked around the square shouting and trying to make as much problems as possible.  The Newspaper said that it was a nonviolent demonstration.  

The security closed all of the Gates on the Square and then we sent all of the Sister Missionaries home though the Tunnels.  They all got home ok.  Security closed the Square at 7:00 pm so Sister Glad were able to get home safely.  

There some elderly folks that were coming to the Square to attend a concert and were caught between the closed gate and the demonstrators lots of fear and tears were shed.  Some people who were on the Square we afraid to go home and many of them were in tears.  Some nonviolent demonstration.

Some sick people just will never accept the will of the People or God in our country.

Park City and Crazy times

Last Night was Halloween, most of the Sisters are from countries all over the and have no idea about American holidays or traditions.  We closed up all of the buildings on the Square at 5:00 pm and they went to a local Stake Center to Party.

We all ate Pizza, "Dirt and Worms" and drank Apple Cider.  We then had Costume Parade, just like in Elementary School.  The Sisters then went "trick of treating" to some of the class rooms.  

 

We went as Elder Glad Bag and Sister Glad Wrap, simple but effective.  We then stayed up late to clean up the mess that all of the Hyper sisters left.  It was a great time had by all.  

Some comments from the Sisters.  What does Trick part mean?  I don't want to eat worms! 

what is it that we are celebrating?  Why do we cut up Pumpkins?  ect. 

We are serving at the "Family Tree" in Park City, a visitor center to attract the attention of all of the people who come there to vacation.  We are to help them to find some of their family history and introduce them to the Church.  We go Park City on Tuesdays.  

We have access to several Commercial Data Bases, such as Ancestor dot com.  I, Dad have found some interesting things on the other sites.  Such as Niels Peter Andersons' Passport application.  Showing the Ship he was on while sailing to America.  The ship was in a collision with another ship while returning to the old country and sank.  I am also finding a lot of information on the "Parents line".

 

Every week is a new adventure.