PIZZA!!!! with ketchup, the Trinidadian way (also mustard and/or pepper sauce)

Delivered from Pizza Hut, just like home.... (well, except for the ketchup!)
Sister Atkins is showing how it's done.

So glad we know that death is not the end...

Today we mourn the passing of 92 year old L.Tom Perry, one of our Church's Twelve Apostles. He gave a talk in April 2015 General Conference about marriage and families called "Why Marriage and Family Matter Everywhere in the World", telling about the the Vatican colloquium he recently participated in.

But I'll always remember his talk about riding the (NYC?) subway and reading his newspaper "the right way" - even though I never found out what that was!

Here's a beautiful sculpture, with an explanation that it shows a woman passing through the veil of death, looking back a little longingly, and then, her earthly body left behind, her vigorous spirit body runs to meet her Savior.
It's entitled "Come Unto Me" - photo by Mike Wood, not sure who sculpted it. (Google let me down).

Love it.

I'm missing the smell and the look of the lilacs just now....

...but thanks to my friend's Facebook posting at home, I got to see some! I'll just have to imagine/ remember the smell... In 1972 when I attended BYU-Prove, I saw lilacs bloom first in California at Easter, then in Provo end of April, then at home in Edmonton in June.

BEST . YEAR.  EVER!!!


In Red Deer we lived just off 32nd Street, nice and close to the Bower Chapel - the lilacs hedges lining both sides of that busy street were gorgeous in the spring.

Talent Show coming up...

Thanks to Sister Emma Turner for taking some basic information and making it look beautiful! Our ward choir will be SUPERSTARS!!!!  :D thanks to Sister Renee Ramdhanie's  superb leadership....

Fellowshipping

I am involved in fellowshipping the lady below, Sylvia, and her grown son, Christopher. It's been a real joy to watch them learning the gospel and almost "coming to life" as it were....They are very proper and polite people with impeccable manners...

I borrowed this post from my friends' Facebook page...

"We went to a baptism in Arima. This sister has a wonderful testimony. She had a dream about two young men coming to her home. When the missionaries actually arrived, she was prepared for them."

the official distance I am from home

(Valsayn is the suburb/village/borough near Port of Spain, Trinidad, where we live)


6,398 km

Distance from Valsayn North to Cardston, AB

(sorry the cute picture didn't copy well!)

Just kidding about the white sand beach and palm tree photo :D

This week was actually another round of "chaperoning" at the office, planning the big end-of-June talent show, and teaching more music lessons (at both the mission office and the church).
And I attended another baptism! I think that's 4 Saturdays in a row....wonderful!

My most interesting moment was donating my insulated plastic grocery "cool" bag (which I brought from home, so as to tote ice cream and other frozen goodies home from the grocery store) to a greater cause - that is, getting perishable rabies vaccine to a smaller island, to a missionary who was bitten by a dog. (Then unfortunately the vaccine got stuck in Customs on that island overnight :(  The senior sister/medical advisor who sent it, lost a lot of sleep over it, as the flight arrived at 2am- I haven't heard if the vaccine's released yet...hopefully the airport kept it refrigerated as promised...as she went to a lot of trouble to follow protocol! And hopefully the "bitten" missionary is ok...)

My computer has been down - but it's apparently self-healed "just now" (whew!)- late enough here that I'm tired - so I will just post this much, and go to bed....

Enjoy your spring, I hope the snow's all gone by now!

What I did this week....

Another view of the Curepe Ward Primary choir singing for Mother's Day dinner

Ward Mother's Day party and dinner

Primary children singing for their mothers at ward dinner yesterday

I love belonging to a ward

The structure of a church ward provides a "family" when mine is far away; and I am getting to know people better and enjoying my ward more each week. Yesterday, I travelled alone 45 minutes by public transport to the church, planning to arrive early to give piano lessons. (I ended up cleaning and decorating for the ward party instead - but that's another story...) I was thrilled to see the gate already open, and this car in the church parking lot; meaning I wasn't going to be there alone. Turns out that some men from the other branch that shares the building were having a Home Teaching meeting....so I said "hi"and chatted a bit, then went over to the other side of the building to use the piano/keyboard...when the men left, they came to inform me first, so I could lock myself in (for safety) .
Soon the Young Women's President and a friend arrived to clean the church before the party; then some Young Women came to help blow up balloons etc. and the fun began! (And later yesterday I got to teach a piano lesson, and another one today - it's always rewarding).
Happy Mother's Day!

Church entrance (street-side half)

Staying out of trouble (no time to do anything else!)

The picture below isn't my own Sunday School class - it's the earlier branch that meets in the same building. By the time our ward had classes, someone turned the a/c on in our little serving area/classroom, so we stayed inside.... (I didn't know it had a/c! I've only ever used the ceiling fans).

We talked about covenants - promises with God - and discussed the Bible story of Noah and the ark. Someone mentioned that maybe there hadn't ever been a lot of rain in Noah's area, in his days - it kind of reminded me of Trinidad - I hear legendary stories of rain and flooding, but I've seen hardly any yet - even if rain is forecast (when I occasionally check) and there are clouds in the sky, I seldom carry my umbrella anymore...if someone told me the earth here would be flooded out, would I believe them?

In other news, I now feel officially overwhelmed (some days at least). I teach some piano lessons, teach my Sunday School class of course, help with church music, including playing for choir - for which I'm learning a new song; and choosing Sacrament meeting music, for which I'm simplifying two hymns - and I've started advertising and planning for the big multi-unit Talent Show at the end of June.
It's all very rewarding but sometimes challenging to keep all my projects straight.

Any returned missionary reading this knows the dilemma I'm sure - at the end of your mission, it seems you are just hitting your stride! and altho my time has been short, it seems it's been intense...

Just writing about it makes me feel tired, so I think I'll go to bed early! ;-)
And I do like being busy.

Til next week...

A nice Sunday at Arima chapel

Holding Sunday school class outside today smile emoticon