In among trips this week, we managed to squeeze in some missionary work. Our trips were to Farmington to have my eye checked because I was seeing spider webs in my peripheral vision. Turns out things are okay, just getting older. The RV trips this week were to Kayenta, Chilchinbeto, Sawmill, and Polacca, plus two trips to Gallup to get parts and/or supplies for them. We now have added 'exterminators' to our missionary resume. We had to do some major patching of holes, cleaning, and putting out a lot of D-Con in and around the trailer in Polacca. They have moved the Elders out for a couple of weeks, and hopefully the mouse problem can be under control by then. They had already trapped 18 mice by time we got the call for help. The other two trailers don't seem to be having any problems, yet. But we are not responsible for them, thank goodness.

We met with several Branch members and continue to try to meet others or visit the ones we know and also know where they live.

We met several times during the week with our 19-year-old investigator to finish up reviewing some of the Laws and plan his baptismal program. It has been special to see the change in him during the last several weeks – the change that can happen when you let Christ into your life.

The baptism on Saturday went really well. He was baptized by his uncle, who is the Branch's 2^nd councilor. There were uncles, aunts, and cousins from his family there to share this special event and support him. His father, who is less active, was there and seemed touched by the proceedings. Another uncle gave a nice talk. He drove over from Albuquerque to be here for this special event. He mentioned that in just the last six or seven months, he has seen a conversion change in their family. There have been nine or ten people in their family who have become active, baptized, or received temple ordinances and how it has brought their family closer together. He also said that if you had told him a year ago that his nephew would be baptized, he would not have believed it, and now it has happened. We feel we were truly blessed to have been led to this young man and to be an instrument in the Lord's hand to help him accept the Gospel. We also feel very blessed to know this special young man and have him a part of our lives. We are going to continue to nourish and help him strengthen his testimony. Who knows – maybe someday he will be called on a mission.

Our Branch President confirmed him today in Sacrament Meeting and gave him a nice blessing. Owen was very touched and couldn't resist giving him a hug at the end of the confirmation. He is such a shy young man, but he didn't seem to mind and hugged Owen back. Now if that had been me giving the hug, he would have probably been embarrassed.

The owner of the truck stop in this area was at the baptism. He is a member of the Church. Owen took the opportunity to talk to him about Lupton's fire department. He definitely agreed there is a need, if for no other reason than to cover his place which has thousands of gallons of gas, diesel, and propane. Owen found out that he already has a fire engine, and he agreed to put up a building for it so that the tank won't freeze in the winter. He said he would like to have as many of his employees who want to, to be trained and ready to respond when a call comes in. He is even willing to enhance the pay checks of those who do the training and when they respond. That was another very exciting thing for Owen that day. He might actually be able to see his dream of a fire department in Lupton come true.  Sometimes dreams do come true.

Happy Mothers Day to all the special mothers out there. The days are quickly slipping away, and another week has come and gone hardly before we even realize it. The Lord's work is continuing to progress here in our Lupton area. The 19-year-old investigator that we have been working with passed his baptismal interview, so now we are finishing up a few details, reviewing, and planning the baptism program with him. We are all very excited.

We had the opportunity of going to the Albuquerque Temple again this week with the Senior Couples from our District. There were eight of the eleven couples there. The District Leaders were the witness couple. The prayer circle consisted of all the Senior Missionary couples. How awesome is that?! As I glanced around the circle, I felt a great overflowing of love for these very special people who have become our forever friends.

As we were driving home, we were facing a very strong wind. It was hard for us to stay on the road, so I don't know how the semis were managing. Then another day we had rain that turned into hail and laid down about an inch or so. It looked just like it had snowed. About an hour later, the sun was shining and it was all melted. We never know from one hour to the next what it will be like. One lady said that there are not very many places you can live where you can experience all four seasons in just one week.

Sunday our Branch President and family weren't to Church, as well as the 1^st counselor. They had called us earlier in the week and asked us to speak. Not only were we the speakers, but I had to pick the songs and lead the music. Owen helped bless and pass the Sacrament He was relieved when the teacher for Priesthood/Relief Society showed up so he didn't have to teach. I went to do the Primary. There were only two little brothers, ages 5 and 2, three young women, and a young mother. Just as we were getting ready to start, the boys' mother came and got them. So now I had to do some quick thinking and change the Primary lesson into a lesson for Young Women. The blessings of living in a small branch.

We got a letter from a friend from home. She told us that they had met Doc. Misler, our long rider that was here a while ago. Her daughter lives in Wellington, UT. She had seen Doc and his horses at a hotel. She felt bad for him and invited him to her place and took care of his horses for about a week. Her husband is taking the missionary discussions. When they came for the discussion, Doc noticed their Elder name tags and told them that he had met a very nice Elder – Elder Owen Olsen. So now we know that Doc has made it at least as far as Wellington. Interesting that he would meet up with someone who knew us and make that connection.

The Senior Couple that had to go home early for health reasons, the Kellys, are going to be staying in our home for awhile. They don't own a home and looked around Utah Valley for a place to rent. Some nice, but expensive places; so since we had offered them our place to stay in while we are gone, they decided to take us up on it. Course that meant the kids had to go in and clean out a couple of closets and chest of drawers, etc. in order for them to have a place to put some of their stuff. Sorry, kids – I promise we will work on dejunking when we get home. So if you are ever in the Cleveland area, stop by and say “hi” to the Kellys. They are a super nice couple.

What started out to a slow week certainly ended on a spiritual high. It was the first week of the month, and it is hard to catch people home because they go to Gallup to shop and pay bills. All of our appointments canceled on us for one reason or another. Three couples in our district are going home, two because their time is up, and the third one for health reasons. We are really going to miss all of them, but are looking forward to meeting the new couples that will take their place.

Saturday was a trip of a lifetime, as Sister Padilla described it. That was the day we went with her to the Albuquerque Temple so she could receive her endowments. It is close to a three hour drive to get there. We left early because we needed to go to the Distribution Store to get her some garments before entering the temple. So when we went into the temple, we were a good hour early. We waited a few minutes in the lobby; and the counselor in the temple presidency, Pres. Himas, who was presiding that day, came and sat with us and visited. It wasn't long before they came and got us. We had to wait for awhile in the chapel, so Sister Padilla pulled out the scriptures. The book opened to Moses 2 and she started reading. She was so excited when she realized it was about the creation, so she was reading as fast as she could while we waited.

Our Young Womens president, Branch President, and his wife joined us for the session. They reminded me that our youth were scheduled for temple baptisms at two. Was it just by chance that we had scheduled the one o'clock endowment session, or did the Lord have a hand in that, to? Any other time and the people from the branch wouldn't have been able to be with us. In fact, Pres. and Sis. Lucio were asked to be the witness couple. Things couldn't have been more perfect.

We were sitting in the Celestial Room waiting for Sister Padilla when Pres. Himas came up and handed us an envelope that had her name on it. He said that when we were picking up her clothing, there was a man in there that felt impressed he should give her some money to help buy her temple clothing. He told the President that he had had the feeling throughout the session. So when Sister Padilla came into the room, I gave her the envelope and told her what the President had said. She stood there for a minute, letting it sink in and then started to cry. I put my arms around her and we cried together. She said that the money was a Godsend. I told her that Heavenly Father loves her so much and is truly looking out for her. WOW! All in all it was a fabulous day!!!

Sunday was another day when we felt the spirit so strong. I can't describe to you what our Fast and Testimony Meetings are like. You just have to be there to experience it. The faith and testimonies of our members are so strong. It felt like there was a big blanket encircling all of us together in its warmth.

The brother that Owen ordained an elder was sustained and set apart to be the Branch Clerk. He invited us and another family to his place for dinner. We watched part of the video, “The Testaments”, ate, visited, and just enjoyed each others company. I was eating my fruit salad, and the two-year-old came up to me and pointed to a banana slice on my plate. I asked him if he wanted it. Of course, he did. So I spooned it into his mouth. Then he pointed to another piece of fruit and shook his head yes. So I gave him that one. It wasn't long until all my fruit salad was gone. He didn't ask for any from anyone else. I guess he can tell a 'sucker' when he sees one. As we were getting ready to leave, Bro. Jay gave us an Indian blanket. Owen told him we couldn't take it. He said we had to because we had blessed his life so much. Okay, time for more tears.

We are looking forward to more adventures and finding out what it is the Lord has in store for us to do this week.

This was a very busy and different week for us. I guess we could call it our RV week because that is what took the majority of our time. We made a trip to Steamboat to install a new furnace and another trip to remove a leaking water heater. We will be going back to Steamboat this week to install the water heater. The Elders have had to go stay in Ganado since they have no water at their place. I am glad I am just the 'gopher' on these projects. I haven't the slightest idea of how all the stuff works. Owen knew a lot before we got this assignment, but he has also learned a lot more about RVs with having to do the hands-on repairs.

We took a ride over to Zuni to visit the senior missionaries there. They are going home in two weeks; and Owen wanted to see how they had winterized their 5^th wheel trailer, so he would have an idea of what he needed to do for the Elders' RVs.

Another day Owen helped a couple of men get clay so they can make pots. We never realized how big of a process it is to make a pot. When you see one sitting on the store shelf, you don't realize all the time, patience, and effort that is behind it. They had to go over to the mountains by Keams Canyon. They dug the rocks out by using pry bars, hammers, and picks. The rocks were put in five-gallon buckets and carried down the mountain and dumped in the big barrels that were in the back of the truck. After they got the clay rock, one of the men said a prayer to thank Mother Earth for her gift of the clay. Then they all had to eat two pine needles so that now that sacred land is a part of them.

They will soak the rock in water until it dissolves; then it is strained through an old pair of denim pants (that have the legs tied shut). After it is strained, the clay is kneaded to make sure all the water is out of it. They roll some into coils and form a pot. A smooth rock is used to rub all the imperfections out of the pot which also polishes it. A design and paint is added. They make their own paints using burned squash seeds for black and red rock that has been crushed into a fine powder for the red. The pot is then put in a stove, covered with old pottery shards and sheep manure, and fired. After about three hours, the pot is done and removed from the stove. Hopefully, it will not have any cracks or imperfections and is ready to be sold. Some of them will sell for several hundred dollars and others for less. Even at several hundred dollars, they don't get much, if anything, for their time or labor.

When we went out for one of our appointments, his family was in the process of butchering a lamb. So we learned a whole lot about that process, too. Everything is used even the fat, intestines, stomach, and blood. The head is even roasted in a pit. They said that the eyes, tongue, brain, and meat on the head are all very tasty. We think we will just take their word for it! They are a very resourceful people and have learned to not let things go to waste.

Our District had made arrangements with the Curly family in Chinle to take us down in the bottom of Canyon de Chelly National Monument on Saturday. No one is allowed to go in there unless they have a guide or property owner with them. The Curlys own property down in the bottom, so we went to their place. Since this was a rare opportunity, we invited all the couple missionaries to go with. What a special experience. You don't really go down into a canyon. You are driving along and the canyon walls begin to rise around you. The Canyon de Chelly to the south is about 20 miles long with an adjoining Canyon del Muerto to the north of about the same length. There are several sites of dwelling ruins built by ancient Anasazi Indians between A.D. 350 to 1300. We didn't visit any of the ruins today. We drove in and out of the meandering river enjoying the breathtaking beauty of the red, sheer canyon walls and formations and the contrast between them and the green of the cottonwood trees and grass. We hiked up to a ledge on a mountain and saw petroglyphs and a few pictographs drawn by the ancient ones. We all met in the hogan and had Sis. Curly tell us what it was like growing up in the Canyon. She told of how they didn't have any sweets. They would sneak up on a bumblebee, smash it with their hands, and then eat the little bit of honey it contained. They did a lot of farming – raising peach and apple trees, squash, pumpkin, corn, and other crops.

When they would go on hunting trips, they would herd the deer into an entrapment. They didn't have guns or use bow and arrows. They had a bag filled with corn pollen. Someone would leap on the back of a deer, put the bag over its head, and smother it. This was to prevent the deer from dying from a puncture wound which was against their religion. Corn pollen is sacred to the Navajo people.

Today the families only live in the Canyon during the summer months when they are farming. The rest of the time they live in Chinle or surrounding areas.

She said that several scenes from various movies had been shot down in the Canyon. Some of the movie stars that have been to their property are John Wayne, Gregory Peck, Omar Shariff, and Johnny Depp.

We had planned on having a pot luck lunch while we were in the bottom, but it was just too windy, cold, and even started to rain a little. The zone leader called and made arrangements for us to use the church at Many Farms to have lunch. I don't think I was the only one who was glad for the change in plans, because by the time we got out of the Canyon and drove to Many Farms, the rain was really coming down.

As we were driving back to Lupton, it even turned to snow. It had snowed and had strong winds in Lupton while we were gone and the power was out. They said that the power had been out for nearly five hours. We got hit with a blizzard shortly after we got home. At 5:30 in the afternoon, our temperature was only 37 degrees. It has been blowing and cold all day today,too. I guess you could call it typical spring weather.

We continue to be amazed at the ingenuity of the Navajo people and their ability to survive. According to the Navajo beliefs, the coyote is a powerful being who has learned to adapt to human habitation. Like the coyote, the Navajo people have learned to adapt. They are a powerful and spiritual people, who believe in God, and have a strong spiritual tie with Mother Earth.