Our Turn to Host

Our Turn to Host                                                                                                                                              May 7, 2013

This has been an incredible week. You know you are home from the mission when you are asked to host the dinner instead of being the guests of honor. We had three opportunities this week.

The first was the Ward's Cinco de Mayo party at the Nielsen's Grove Park. We were given two weeks to prepare. We had great help from so many, especially the youth. The young women set up the party and did a fantastic job with the decorations. The Teacher's Quorum handled the piñatas. There was one for the Primary aged children and another for the youth and of course a piñata that was filled with sugar free candy for the older saints. It was well attended and the sister missionaries were there and three nonmember families that live in the neighborhood.

On the next day, Saturday, Aya Karaba had her 17^th birthday party in our back yard. She is a Japanese high school student who has been living with Grandma Duncan. She had never had a birthday party with friends and Grandma asked around to see what "teenagers" would think was a fun party. Bonfire was one of the ideas and she thought of our backyard with all of the trimming that needed to be done. So, we worked hard and cleaned everything out and had a huge pile of limbs and branches. It was great fun and our new neighbors came with their hotdogs and another neighbor toasted marshmallows. Aya has another American experience to remember.

On Saturday evening during the birthday party we went to the mailbox and found a letter with a return address of Missionaries, Salt Lake City. "What could this be?" we wondered. It was from a missionary companionship in North Salt Lake who wrote to say that Richard Stanley was planning on being baptized on May 11^th, Richard and Jenni requested that we be part of the program. We had taught this couple in Visalia and had helped them get married. The incredible thing about the letter was that it had been mailed on Friday and we received it Saturday. That was crazy fast delivery. We sent a text to the missionaries and told them that we would be in Salt Lake the next day for a baby blessing and we wanted to know where the church was and what time. We met Richard and Jenni at church and went to their little house afterwards. We are excited to be able to go his baptism.

Also, on Sunday we attended church in the University 6^th Ward, Chinese speaking. This is where Ren was blessed, Mike and Jamie's new baby boy. He is so cute and looks like Jamie in the face and has her fair skin, we hope it doesn't burn as easily, and he has Mike's eyes. He is adorable. We helped a little with the food for the family's get together after. We enjoyed driving Grandma and Grandpa Sheffer to this event.

While at Grandpa's we asked to use his truck to haul fertilizer for the garden. Monday was spent fertilizing the yard, irrigating and moving the bed back from Grandma Duncan's for Sister Sarah Sheffer's bedroom. We miss not having a truck. Thank you Grandpa.

Nicholas stopped by and helped to dig ditches in the garden and move in the box spring and mattress. Thank you for the help.

We are so happy to have wonderful family and friends. We thank the Lord every day for the Gospel and the peace that comes from living and improving each day. We love you all. 

David and Gaile Sheffer