The Best of the Rez -- Week 4

The Best of the Rez Week 4

Are we there yet?  We actually were to leave on our mission on February 7^th so when I woke that morning my first question was “Are we there yet”.  Then on Saturday evening, the 12^th, the night we should have arrived at Many Farms, I asked if it had been good to have arrived a month earlier and had we done any good that first month.  I do hope we had and definitely there have been some great high points but the first lesson of a missionary is learning how to deal with disappointments as well.

So some of the best of the rez week 4:  I have tried to make you laugh a little!  Oh and I looked up the correct spelling for white person in Navajo – Biliganna.  Any other words you want to know?

1)      Best Laugh:  We went to our first district meeting in Pinon.  The missionary couple there, Elder/Sister Parkin, only had one week to serve and emotions were rather mixed as they looked forward to going home and were very sad to leave the people there they had grown to love.  As Sister Parkin stood up to greet us she said, “Okay all of those of you in Depends, just take them on out with you.  The chapel won’t be cleaned till Sunday and they will stink by then.”  I nearly died laughing.

2)      The Extremes:  Everything seems more defined on the rez.  The sky is more blue and larger, the sun is brighter, the dirt is redder, browner, and sometimes even blacker, the smells (especially of wood burning stoves) is stronger, the cold is crisper and the warm is hotter.  And the sunsets are absolutely beautiful.  The sun was so bright the other morning, Elder Parkinson said we would go walking for our exercise.  When he went outside it was below zero so the Wii won again.  We love Wii fit plus.

3)      Best Fun:  We had our party here for our Sunday School class.  Eight of them showed up and it was just a blast.  We played 100 (or whatever Mark Bates calls it) and Toss Up and Wii.  We had a great time—so fun.  And we had lasagna, salad, chips and dip, veggie tray, root beer, dump cake and ice cream with candy on the side.  We played for over 3 hours, and afterwards, Elder/Sister Parkinson slept hard.

4)      Best Comfort: Our mattress pad came.  OHHHHHH the JOY!!!! I cannot believe the difference in not having your bed attack you all night.  But our new memory pad foam does stink so we are sleeping with lots of Vicks in our nose so we don’t get sick from the smell.  You get one joy and a pain jumps in beside it. 

5)      Best News: Captain, Dr. Eric “C” Parkinson graduated from the Air Force Officers Training School in Alabama and is now home with his family.  They will move next week to where—New Mexico, Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis.  It will be the closest we have been to them for a long time.  Congrats Eric and Angella and girls.  We are sure looking forward to having you close.

6)       Best Tactic:  Our main responsibility is to seek out Less Active members that may not have been to church for years.  They left us all these cards with the wonderful addresses on them and then we try to find them.  Elder Parkinson’s best tactic is to find a name of someone in some direction and then stop at about every house on the road, and asked if they know where the man lives.  Then he will say we are missionaries of the LDS church looking for members and are they a member.  Amazedly enough, some are!  If they are not members he asked if they would be interested in learning and we have about 4 new families willing to listen—which most are turned over to the Elders.  Hope they can keep up to us.

7)      Best Biliganna Trick:  We had our dear Sister Tsosie and some of her family over to dinner this week.  I did not have room for all the food on the little table so I keep the meat and gravy to the side.  After they dished up their food, I asked for their plates back.  When they looked at me I said, “Old Biliganna trick, give them food and then ask for it back.”  I am still wondering if anyone but me thought it was funny.

And Elder Parkinson stopped a guy to ask for directions.  Then man went on and on and pointed exactly to where the person lived.  We then drove off in the other direction because we didn’t have time to go there that day.  As we drove off, Elder Parkinson cracked up laughing about the guy saying, “Stupid Biliganna—asks for directions one way and then drive off the other.”  We have no idea if anyone else thinks we are funny, but we are laughing a lot down here.

8)      Best “How stupid can we look” moment:  Since you cannot drink the water the local grocery store will sell you 3 gallon jugs and then you can go in and fill them up for 25 cents a gallon.  We really weren’t sure how to do it, but a nice young man tried to explain it to us.  We thought that since it was our first try, we would fill up our gallon jug for the car up first.  It just so happened that the machine was a little off and giving 1 & ½ gallons for a quarter so I am holding our gallon jar and all the sudden water is just pouring out everywhere.  Elder Parkinson is hitting every button on the machine but the water won’t stop.  We spilled 2 quarts of water all over with about 30 Navajo’s standing there wondering who let us on the rez.

9)       Best Fry Bread:  We stopped Sunday afternoon to reschedule an appointment and then walked back to our car.  One of the girls from the house—an investigator that we taught the 1 discussion to last week—came running and asked if we wanted a fry bread.  OF COURSE!!!  It was our first fry bread and I think you will agree when you see it—it was amazing.  We loved it.  They wanted us to stay for Navajo Taco’s but we said we needed to run so they are going to cook for us when we go back on Wednesday to teach.  They were all so excited.  We just love Sister Sam—she is a complete gem and thanks us so much for the spirit we bring to her home. 

10)  Best Discovery:  The Schwann man comes to the rez every Tuesday.  He has the same catalog and same prices as anywhere else.  That is cheap for here.  Yum yum!

11)  Best Moment So Far:  We had a very special moment this week confirming to us that we are to be serving in the Many Farms area.  I don’t think I have ever felt better than that at any moment in my life.  I do not know if it will ever happen again in the next 17 months, but WOW, does it ever put everything else into perspective.

Okay, and one final thing—A monthly contest.  We are going to hold a contest and give Navajo prizes to the winners.  So contest #1

There is more tumbleweed down here than any other aspect of life.  It is everywhere.  It can even block a fence and then catch the sand behind it until the sand is as high as the fence and you could walk right over it.  So:

Who can come up with a money making way to use tumbleweed?

The Church is True,

            Stay Healthy and Safe,

                        Love you all,

                                    Elder and Sister Parkinson

This is Ardawn Bitsinnie and her son Shubie.  She is one of investigators. 

They came to Sunday dinner.

Elder Parkinson really scrubbed up "Little Burro"

and the next day we woke up to this.

Our wonderful Schwann man with a few pizza's and ice cream for us.

The Elders on their first trip after the car wash and snow storm. 

Mud is pleantiful on the rez.

This one is mostly for Eric and Sarah (they have a Corgi). 

Dogs out here are not always so cute!

Here is the water trough that we spilled 2 quarts of water with our first attempt.

We took a new road the other day and found an original hogan. 

Doesn't it look comfy?

Here are 2 of my piano students -- Scott and Darrin Thomas. 

Since they do not have a piano,  they practice on the table. 

( I told them to Smile for Sister Andrus) 

Sister Sam with our first fry bread (and 2 of her granddaughters.) 

Sister Sam actually went to the Indian School in Brigham City, Utah.

Can you say, "I am happy!" 

You put a little salt and then dizzle honey on them. 

Wonderful!

Blog= 1- Sister P= 0.  I tried everyway possible to rotate pix. 

Sorry but this is some of Sister Sam's darling grandchildren playing dress up on the rez.

We do not have the right type of camera for sunsets,

but with the rez sunsets, you really can't miss.