January 12, 2013  We are back on the internet!  Hurray!  It's been almost a month since we have been able to blog so it is good to sit down again and rethink our last 3 weeks plus and highlight events and share with loved ones.  We had a wonderful 4 days with Amy and family over Christmas.  We are so grateful that they are close enough to share time with, especially on holidays.  We got to speak/skype with each of our other children and families and it was so wonderful to hear/see them all!  I get really "weepy" at Christmastime, not quite sure why, and there are MANY homeless people here in Sacramento so a few tears were shed in their behalf.  We are often torn between giving them a few dollars, throwing them in our car and bringing them home for a good shower and food, OR pulling the car over and sharing the gospel's message with them.  One just wants to reach down and lift them up to a better standard of living and it is so frustrating to do nothing.  We just try to concentrate even harder on finding ways to motivate our own little group of Marshallese. Each 4-5 weeks we visit every home in our Marshallese Branch.  We still have a few that have never been at home when we visit, but as a whole, we are able to make contact with each member, one or more times, during that period of time.  We still have our 2x per week "Daily Dose" (English speaking class) at the church and do it also in 1 or 2 homes.  It is such a fun class.  As I have said before, I don't know if they come because we have so much fun or because they really want to learn English.  The children, of course, speak English quite well and the older Marshallese speak  from "a little" to "a lot" of English.  We have one brother that we love so much and is highly respected among the Marshallese that would be a great leader within the branch but English is such a struggle for him.  He has to be better in English in order to lead because all the training that he would receive would be in English.  The Book of Mormon has been translated into Marshallese so many members who are wanting to improve their English will study the scriptures side by side, one in English and one in Marshallese, and if they don't understand the English, they read it in Marshallese.  We go to several members homes, weekly, to read scriptures with them.  In one home, a sister wants to read in English but wants us to make a list as she reads of those words that she does not pronounce correctly.  Then we spend time helping with the pronunciation and meaning of those particular words.  Actually, I don't know who benefits the most from our one on one scripture studies with the members.  When you have to REALLY concentrate on every word and know that you may need to explain it's meaning, it adds a whole new depth to the phrase "pondering the scriptures."  "Elder John" has done some great work in teaching leadership and organizational skills to the leaders in our branch.  I have volunteered to teach the teenage Sunday School class.  Last Sunday I had 14 teenagers ranging between 12 and 18.  That's usually the most that there will ever be and it is usually around 9 kiddos which is a little more managable.  Most of them did not have their own scriptures but we looked around and found scriptures for every student for this Sunday that they will be happy to have for their very own.  Most of the students do not have many "things" of their own so I hope this will encourage them.  Always opportunities to grow here!  I'll leave you with a quote that has become one of my favorites: "Live,
think, breathe, act and speak with love."  (author unknown)  May we all learn to love more!