Sunday was wonderful! Church starts at 11am and we never have to change to the other block times because the Chinese branch’s schedule is what they call a barbell to ours. Essentially they tag on to the last two hours of our meeting so the their YM/YW and Primary can meet with ours. Here is the tender mercy for Jessie in being able to continue to use her Chinese. However, she really hasn’t come forward with her Chinese skills, at least not yet. We saw fireflys as we were walking this evening, a first for most of us. We love the tree-lined streets of Sugarland. The walking paths throughout the community are amazing….they are great to run on too. Only real down side thus far, the time change of an hour is still kicking my butt. ;)
Monday brought my first real assignment as the “missionary mom”. On Monday I taught the new missionaries (came in 2 or 3 weeks ago) about "Adjusting to Missionary Life". It is a great new training tool the church has put together to help the missionaries with the stress and changes that come from serving a mission. The purpose is to help the missionaries know how to take care of themselves physically, but most important emotionally. I walked them through how they can manage their stress and what they can do to reduce it when they are ready to jump off a bridge or go postal (we had a missionary last night rip off his tie and tag and almost throw down after being harassed).
Aaron taught the fall and the need for the atonement. Many of our missionaries are just coming to learn why the atonement matters. When they can help their investigators feel the power of the atonement, hearts change. We are really focused on their missionary purpose of inviting others to come unto Christ, by helping them receive the restored gospel, through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. When we teach this and do it well, we will see miracles here. This evening Aaron had my first emergency transfer that ended up sending a missionary home. His mental health and ability to serve was just not going to allow him to be effective. It's not only hard on the missionary, but their companion and area; even the bishop called me.
While I was away the kids enjoyed some time in the pool. I sure hope they don’t get tired of it. Bode and Zac have figured out that they can go out Zac’s window and leap off the roof into the pool. Yeah, I don’t like that one bit. When I got home I took the boys up to the Bering building to meet with some of the elders for their p-day. They took their Lacrosse sticks to challenge the elders to a couple of games. Jessie and I scoped out a Target to buy some household items that were needed (cleaning supplies, hampers, muffins tins). Jessie and I made some FHE treats with those newly purchased muffin tins. Jessie loves to bake and help cook in the kitchen. :)
The rest of the week Aaron will be spending all day every day interviewing the missionaries. He’s learning a lot about what motivates them, their families, what they've learned on the mission, how good they are at speaking the language, if they are obedient, devoted, etc. He’s also having them teach the Restoration to our AP's so we can understand if they know how to teach the apostasy and need for Christ's church to be restored. We have some great teachers and some that are not so great, but we at least know where we're starting from.
Tuesday I worked out with couple of the sister missionaries and then the kids and I had a swim day together at the house. Later that evening I went on splits with the sister missionaries in the area and had the opportunity to chase down media referrals. They made a few contacts, but the highlight was that she was able to place a Book of Mormon and commit the brother to read the 2nd and last two paragraphs from the introduction page, to read 1 Nephi 1, and set up a follow up visit for next week. She thought she did great, the sister missionaries she went with thought she did great as well
On Wednesday, the kids and I met up with a set of sisters and set of elders to go bike riding. I got the kids up at 6 to meet the missionaries at Memorial park by 6:30 am. It was great until Jessie hit a sandy area and was unstable on her bike. Sad to say she tipped over and scraped up both her knees pretty good. That afternoon the kids and I went to Kemah park. It’s an amusement park about 40 minutes away. It was small and had a carnival feel to it but the boys loved the roller coaster. Jessie and I really liked the train ride.
Jessie has really bonded with the Bishop’s daughter, Avery. They are a little over a month apart but Avery’s birthday is in September so she is a year behind Jessie in school. It so reminds me of Jessie and Syd Hardee. Thursday we, along with Avery and her sister Kate, went to a place called the Glazery. It’s kind of like Color Me Mine. You select a ceramic piece to paint and leave it to be fire and glazed. Afterwards we enjoyed Hawaiian ice from a place called Bahama Bucks. It’s like a Swig but with Hawaiian ice as the main attraction.
Friday we headed for the Houston Space Center. It really was interesting and fun to see. Great exhibits, films to watch and a tram tour. We had a great time being tourist.
I hate to say this but I can’t remember what we did on Saturday. I think it was a family movie that we all enjoyed! Obviously we had a busy week. :)