Pray like a Rabbi

Danny on his 15th birthday

Danny, trying out his gift from Noah

The teachers, Sage and Joyce, pose with their class for a Class Photo.  Their class lesson on this day was "Imagination."   

Class Photo - 2 Teachers and 10 Pupils

Time to worry about my kids?

Noah:  "Wait...do they have 25-dollar bills in the States?"

Danny, in a draft message to the BYU admissions office:  "Because I am living internationally, the history classes at my school wouldn't apply to my studies at BYU..."  (there is a big emphasis on NZ/Maori history in the history classes at his school, but still....)

Mercy:  "You know at group class today...there was a new boy, and I felt like I was playing to try to impress him, and I don't know why I felt this way...."

Sage:  "What's a graham cracker?"

Inspiration of the week-

This week I realized that there is no good reason for me to give quick, matter-of-fact prayers when we have dinner guests.  

Since we've had a teenage party every Saturday night for the last 2 months, we've had a recurring opportunity to pray over our food with guests in the home.  

When it's time to eat, I gather everyone into our kitchen.  We go around the room and everyone tells their name and answers the question of the day.  Then I usually explain a couple of house rules and say a quick blessing on the food.  

It occurred to me this week that I should be praying for these teenagers and not just praying for the food.   And there's no need to make it so quick.

When I lived in Jerusalem with the BYU Jerusalem Study Abroad program, a couple of friends and I visited a small, historic synagogue in the Old City.  We had a conversation with the rabbi, and when we turned to go, he asked us if he could give us each a blessing.  

Jerusalem, 1993

Although not of his religion, I still remember the compassion and warmth I felt as he specifically prayed for my success and happiness.  I would love my guests to feel this way as well. 

I can pray that my teenage guests will be courageous, honest, and true to themselves.  I can pray that they will be able to make tough decisions.  I could pray that they will be kind to each other, that they will be able to work hard to accomplish their goals, and that their minds will be alert and creative. 

Fun read-aloud for the girls.

Books in Spring

Mercy, Danny, and Oak listening to Noah tell about his latest adventure race.  On the table are the mud-spattered maps that guided each part of the race:  kayaking, biking, rogaining (hiking and navigation), rappelling.  It was a 12-hour race, but Noah's team finished in 9:45.  He said, "it wasn't such a hard race" but he also described his muscles cramping up mid-race so badly that he lay on the side of the road, hurting like one of his worst migraines.

Springtime!  We have two magnificent magnolia trees blooming outside the kitchen window.  Running over the giant, beautiful petals in my car feels like driving on riches.  The smell of honeysuckle is sometimes so strong that I can taste it on my tongue.  Forget-me-nots. "Rhodos" (rhododendrons).  Giant white lilies growing wild along the road.

I like it when Dan and Megan put their books on their blog, so I'm including the books that I finished in the last couple of weeks.

World's Best Short Stories: I started this enjoyable book almost one year ago after picking it up at the annual, 24-hour used book sale in our local sports stadium.  It's a long book - almost 500 pages, which is only part of the reason that it took me so long to read.  I always felt that one short story was enough for one day.  Sometimes one story carried enough punch that it felt disrespectful to start into the next story for a week or even longer.

World's Best Short Stories, Reader's Digest compilation 

Women at Church by Neylan McBaine

Thanks, Melissa Kemmerle, for this intriguing book, Women at Church, by Neylan McBaine.  Once I started it, I could hardly put it down.  An interesting discussion of LDS gender roles and how the role of LDS women might be expanded within the framework of the current church policies.  This book includes many practical suggestions gathered from wards and stakes around the US.

The Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum

Wizard of Oz:  A fun read-aloud for the girls at night.  A few parts that weren't in the movie, such as the tin woodman chopping the heads off of all the wolves and making a big pile of the bodies.


Kiwi moments this week...

• "Fancy Dress" night at the elementary school.
• Discussion in Relief Society of how Maori powhiri (traditional greeting to welcome visitors on to the marae) relates to the temple
• Dropping Noah off at Will's house before the race, and seeing the classic Kiwi-country way that these good people live:  old, wooden farmhouse tucked in between green hills, gumboots and shorts, soft-spoken and hard-working people. Taranaki Hardcore.  

Mountaintops

Noah doing a backflip - what a moment!

Oak said, "it's like Hobbiton made out of snow!"

When Noah was about 9 years old, I remember him saying, with reverence, as we looked up at the snow-capped point of one of the Swiss Alps, "It looks like, if I were to get up there, something important would happen."  

He looks a little scary...

Noah spent last week on an expedition for his Outdoor Ed class.  He came back with some great pictures....

See the figures on the edge of the snowfield?  

 Phil Hewlett is Noah's outdoor ed teacher at Boys' High.  He is also the adventure racing coach, Oak's geography teacher, and the source of an endless stream of puns.

Mr. Hewlett accompanied boys on the expedition.

Sage and Jay after school

  

It's been over a month now...the bunny ears are the first thing that Joyce puts on in the morning and the last thing she takes off at night.  

Sage and Jay are going through a block-building phase.  

Fathers' Day in NZ.  Gingerbread (6-timed the recipe) and Ambrosia, cards and painted "Dad Rocks" rocks

Links to last weekend's concerto concert:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-Q2llVkEgE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vYt2BuwUqg

Concerto Concert - Mendelssohn g minor and Beethoven C Major

Throwing rocks before the concert

It was a memorable, amazing, THRILLING day to have Danny and Mercy both play piano concertos with the combined New Plymouth Orchestra and Taranaki Youth orchestra.  Noah and Oak were also in the orchestra - Noah on viola, and Oak on percussion.  These pictures were taken just an hour and a half before the concert.  We showed up at the back door of the theatre, and had to wait around for a bit before someone showed up and unlocked the door. 

Mercy's holding a darling thank-you note that she wrote for the conductor.  

There's just something cool about a tux...

Danny also played percussion in the concert.  

Gotta love The Gong

Sage at the park

Mercy's 3rd week as Primary pianist.  Tiffany Gaastra is a suburb song leader.  I selfishly hope that her mission call is very delayed.  

Our three girls at the beach.

Noah and Oak returned from their 5-day trip to Tonga.  

 

Keep an eye out for Noah's blog about Tonga - it won't happen this week, though.  He is gone for the entire week on an mountain expedition with his outdoor ed. class.  

I feel very grateful for all the wonderful experiences our family is having.  Reading the news always reminds me how grateful I am to have healthy kids and to live in a safe land.   

Sponsor a Stake?

Valerie, a LCF coordinator, and a traveling companion

Would anyone like to sponsor a stake in the Philippines with Mike and me?

If we all chipped in a regular amount every month, we could support all the malnourished kids in one Philippine Stake.

Since I'm volunteering as country supervisor for the Philippines, I can guarantee that all of the money is going directly to local coordinators and recipients.  And, I mean ALL the money.  I help to decide where the money is going, and I know the people in the Philippines who are running the program.  I collect the reports from the coordinators.

You would receive the pleasure of regular updates and pictures from the families in the stake.

Donations tax-deductible.

If you are interested, email me directly at imagine.inspire.inquire@gmail.com.

For more information, I would recommend the Liahona Children's Foundation website, an article from the Wall Street Journal called Smart Aid for the World's Poor, and an article from the Meridian Magazine by Bob Rees, who was one of my colleagues in the Philippines last May.

Here are some pictures that were recently sent to me by one of the coordinators in the Philippines.  She took a trip to a remote ward in her stake to find out if any of the children qualified for the program.

It has been a pleasure for me to receive email like this on a regular basis.

Sister,
I am sharing with you some pictures Sister Valerie shared with me today.  I can feel her joy to be able to reach those people in the island!
I am sharing with you smiles in my face as I am doing this .  Enjoy! 

Note from Valerie:

"There is a Boy named Iyanan, John Carl who caught may attention because he is very thin. His age is 32 months old. Until now he cannot stand or sit alone."

Mothers waiting at the church to have their children screened for malnutrition.

John Carl is quiet while being measured. 

I am no expert, but after spending a week in the Philippines measuring over a 1000 children, I can see some of the classic signs of malnutrition in this boy - the thin arms and legs, the patchy hair, and the flaky, scabby skin.

When measured, his height and weight are in less than the 3rd percentile for healthy children his age.

Kids like John Carl are often calm (or lethargic) and will hold still when measured.

In contrast, here are a few pictures of our Joycie, who is almost the same age as John Carl.

The Grocery Store That Changed My Life

Sage spotted these birds in our backyard last week, and Mike captured the moment by taking a picture.

My #1 goal for the week - clean out the girls' room.  Old toys and heaps of too-small clothes are making it difficult to keep clean.

Noah and Oak are going to Tonga on Thursday!  They will be back again the following Monday.

They will be staying with the parents of a friend from our ward (I hope, anyway.  Communication has been spotty....)

They are going to Tonga mainly to renew Noah's USA drivers' license.  A US citizen can drive on a USA license for 1 year after entering the country, so Noah has to re-enter NZ in order to keep using his USA license here.  Oak is going along to keep him company.

Danny is going to Wellington on a band trip, and also practicing for the concert the following weekend.

The grocery store that changed my life is called Countdown.  I have been shopping at Countdown all year, without realizing that they have a fantastic home delivery option.

On Thursday, I entered my loyalty card number on the computer, which immediately pulled up all the groceries I buy in any order I might want (frequency purchased, aisle, sales, etc.)  I clicked on the items that I wanted.  I gave personal instructions for picking out produce and was informed about all the sales.  I paid for almost $300-worth of groceries online, which were delivered to our kitchen table the next morning for $8.50NZD ($7.20USD)!  I couldn't believe it.