More Wedding Belles!

Marty came over again today and worked her magic on Cindie and Granny Slash. Don't they look super??

Cindie brought us all cupcakes from The Yellow Bowl, so we nibbled, played with hair, and had a blast!

200 Miles Down, 320 to Go!

Check it out! I hit 200 miles on my bike today!

Livestrong.... whoo hoo!

Wedding Belles!

My hair stylist, Marty, came over and did a consultation for Leslie, Jenny, and me in preparation for Leslie's wedding next week. We loved the results! Take a look!

Zone Conference in Kokomo

This one is for Kyle, Curt, and Cole!

I thought about them all day yesterday. I drove over to Kokomo to help the Kokomo Relief Society presidency with a Zone Conference lunch. We served about 100 hungry elders and a few sisters - BBQ, chips, watermelon, and ice cream sundaes. Those elders were so polite and kind - their mamas would have been proud of them.

Before eating, they all stood and sang to us to thank us (do you do that, Cole?? Kyle and Curt, did you?) The song? The Armies of Helaman - a family favorite, and one we sang at Kyle's mission farewell. The sound of all those young men singing nearly made me cry. Knowing somewhat of their sacrifices as they leave their homes to serve the Lord and those in Indiana, and then to have THEM thank ME... Pretty humbling.

It felt really, really good to serve them lunch, and I felt like I was thanking those who have served my sons as they were away from home and serving the Lord.

(I never did find out why those suit pants and jackets were on the stage. My guess is they are up for grabs, having been left behind for others to use by elders who had completed their mission and were going home.)

Mugged!!

By a couple of birds!!

A pair of tree swallows built a nest this spring in a birdhouse I put out for decoration next to the patio. Craig and I have been watching them feed their young and have enjoyed listening to the tiny peeps from the babies get louder and louder as the babies grew.

Yesterday we noticed a head peeping out of the entrance hole throughout the day, and figured they were just about ready to try their wings.

Sure enough, I came home this afternoon and sat down to use the laptop in the kitchen when I heard a loud tweeting outside the patio door. I got up and opened it, only to have the male swallow dive bomb me, nearly coming inside the house! He screamed and buzzed and squawked at me. Right behind him came the female; same behavior. Each would circle away and then come right back at me, scolding and screaming. They were very bold, and came so close I could have touched them.

No wonder - one of the babies was desperately hanging on for dear life to the middle of the kitchen window screen, right next to where I was standing.

Little Baby got himself off the screen and clumsily flew to the ground. I went back inside and grabbed the camera. When I stepped back outside, I was attacked again. Got some good pictures regardless, and didn't stay out too long as I didn't want to disturb them too much.

I wonder when they'll give me back my patio??

More on Jessica

Jessica just sent me a text - the Washington Post has mentioned the lobbying she's been involved with in today's section about health care. Go here to read the article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/22/AR2009062201658.html?sid=ST2009062201875

Jessica Takes on Capitol Hill

Jessica has been in Washington DC for a week as Iowa's Dental Hygiene organization president and representative. She's been lobbying on Capitol Hill for causes that affect dental hygienists.

She proposed an amendment and offered testimony on behalf of the district which was adopted by the reference committee and is now headed to the House of Representatives!

Her proposed amendment? That hygienists be accredited to practice in all settings and not within the limits of a private or public practice.

Way to go, Jessica! Taking on Capitol Hill!! You rock, girl!!

Stake Relief Society Temple Trip

Last Thursday was the Stake Relief Society Temple trip. As the president, I was in charge of it. ::gulp:: Fortunately, I have Shannon, secretary supreme! Between the two of us, we got the temple scheduled, the wards and branches notified, numbers estimates so I could tell the temple how many to expect, etc.

Shannon, like me, detests Chicago traffic. She came over Wednesday evening and stayed with us, and then Craig drove us up in the morning. We did fine despite the severe weather forecast and a few rainstorms, although in a construction zone, the car right behind us got rear-ended by someone and then nearly got us!

We did two wonderful sessions in the temple, then grabbed a snack at TGI Fridays and headed home. Attendance by the rest of the stake was good, so I could breathe a sigh of relief (haha, no pun intended) that, despite the change-over of presidents, things were still running smoothly on the stake end of it!

100 Down, 400 to Go!

Earlier this week, I completed the first 100 miles of my goal of riding 500 miles this year. I began with 5 miles a day and easy gears; now I am riding 10 miles and in the toughest gears. My legs feel so much stronger, and I definitely have more stamina.

It's already 76 degrees and humid; better go for today's ride now.

Hi Ho, Silver, AWAYYYYY!!

Mothra!!

The flora and fauna of Indiana never cease to amaze. Last summer? An encounter with Turtlezilla - a monster in the creek with the shell the size of a manhole cover (and speedy, too!)

And don't forget the giant praying mantis who parked himself on the hummingbird feeder, much to the dismay of the birds, and the three hour tussle over shepherd crook supremacy that ensued!! (See last summer's blog entries for pictures of this.)

Add to that.... MOTHRA.

I was cycling by Amberleigh Lake and noticed what I thought was a large leaf tumbling in the wet grass. Odd, since it had recently rained and all the other leaves were wet and not moving in the wind. I stopped for a closer look, and discovered a damp Polyphemus moth. His wings were too wet to really fly, so he was fluttering around on the ground. (The bushy antennae indicate this is a "he".)

I picked him up, got a few pictures, then took him to the woods where he might find a higher perch and dry out.

Pretty exciting! They're nocturnal and uncommon. Sure hope he survived. And I wonder what I'll stumble across next?

Craig - a Patriarch

A few weeks ago, Craig received a call from President Connolly, asking to meet with both of us the following evening. With me having so recently been called as Stake Relief Society president, we could not imagine why he wanted both of us - it had to be something for Craig. 

Counselor in a bishopric? (For the 11th time, maybe the 12th - we could handle that!) Possibly something to do with the Spanish Branch? (Having served in Rantoul without me for two years [I was ward Relief Society president, and they didn't want to release me from that] we knew he could do that, although it would be a hard go alone.) Temple workers in Chicago? (Doable, although the traffic gives me the heebie-jeebies and would be a trial of my faith.)

President Connolly arrived the following evening, and we sat down together in the living room. He asked if he could see Craig alone so I excused myself. That was a little unusual in light of my own calling - usually if the wife is going to get a calling, the priesthood holder asks to chat with the husband first. But I had just gotten a pretty hefty calling.... Surely he wasn't going to release me already?? (Okay, I admit I tease President Connolly and call him "The Grand Poobah" and other such grandiose names sometimes.....)

I went and waited in our bedroom, but the wait wasn't very long. Craig came back after only a few minutes and it was MY turn to meet alone with the Stake President. He asked me if I felt there was love and harmony in our home. (NOT the kind of question you usually get in priesthood interviews!)

Curiouser and curiouser!!

And then Craig was asked to return, and President Connolly, with a wonderful, almost beatific, smile, said that he could feel the Spirit in our home and that he was authorized by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (GULP!!!) to ask Craig to be Patriarch of the Lafayette, Indiana Stake.

We did NOT see that coming.

President Connolly explained that this was not a calling, it was an ordination. That Craig's priesthood would actually be higher than his own, but that he could ordain Craig with authority from the Quorum of the Twelve (and he showed us a letter from Elder Packer which he also later gave to us.)

Curt, Lisa, and Jessica were able to join with us for the ordination on Sunday, June 7. We had invited all our children to come, but we also knew they were busy with their families, school, etc., and that this might not be a good time for them. We told them we understood if they did not make it, and spoke to Kyle and Sarah later on the phone (and Cole via email that evening.)

President Connolly invited me to come to the Stake Priesthood meeting that morning and "hang out in the back" (I sat with Jessica and Lisa in the foyer) and listen while Craig's name was read in and then he was sustained. I admit I was shaky and nervous, and glad my girls were with me! (And glad that President Connolly extended that privilege to be present!) Curt got to sit with his dad -  a real treat on such a day.

Afterward, we met with President Connolly and he, and he alone, ordained Craig. Jessica, Lisa, Curt, and I were the only others present. And as President Connolly was ordaining him, he said something that was almost near verbatim from Craig's own patriarchal blessing. I felt such a witness then about what Craig was being asked to do.

It is an honor for Craig to serve - he is the first patriarch called in 33 years and replaces Brother Hafen. And now begins the flurry of meetings, preparation, reading of handbooks, etc. Just last night, Brother Castro from the Spanish Branch told him that 13 members there have been waiting to get their blessings in spanish. (Fortunately President Connolly stepped in and responded that Craig needed some time to prepare and that it would be a while before he was ready to bless in spanish.)

This is a lifetime calling, and Craig will never serve in that 11th or 12 bishopric or other callings. That's a big change, but he is more than up to the task.

 

Cool Book!

I got goosebumps when this happened.... Dr. DeWoody has a first edition copy of Huckleberry Finn signed by Samuel Clements. His parents found it at a rare book store, and bought it for their family. He was willing to bring it in and show us.

My students are SO into classics, and so they were able to appreciate just what they were looking at. I was not the only one in the room with goosebumps!

Wowza, what an opportunity!!

End of Year Picnic!

The tornado sirens were screaming, but I set off anyway and went to the BBQ the 5th grade parents were throwing to celebrate our three years together. The party was moved indoors to the DeWoody family's home, and we had all 12 families present. I surprised the kids with a classic book chosen just for them. They were sooooo excited, and even asked me to sign their books. 

I'm going to miss these twelve kids!

Cole & Tender Mercies

I have never published any of Cole's letters on my blog, but this week's is so full of faith and tender mercies, that I just have to. As I read it, it was so obvious that the Lord was watching over my son, and I feel very, very grateful. Enjoy!

--

Dear Family and Friends,

I haven't even been conscious this week, it seems like. I don't know where to start, what to talk about, what to do, how to organize my thoughts. I don't have a lot of time so I'll just try and quickly relate the important events of the week.

On Monday, Sergey's baptism finally went through! We had another bus crash on the way (very very minor fender bender, no one was hurt), but still were able to make it on time. Sergey was really happy and a lot of the branch came out to support him, so that was great. We had a fun service and food, and then went home. We're so happy that everything finally worked out. It was a good relief to end the transfer.

We were searching for a second apartment for a new companionship to be in Tyumen, and spent a good amount of time doing so. I remember being with Elder Sergeev on splits when I was in my third transfer and he was a ZL. We had to look at apartments for one of the companionships, and I thought to myself "This feels like preparation for something I'll have to be doing in the future." Well, I guess I now know where that idea came from. It was really helpful to me.

We found out during the week that I was to be transferred to Perm to serve with, what do you know, Elder Sergeev! So I am staying ZL for a little while longer, which I wasn't expecting, to be honest. I have now served more as a ZL on my mission than as anything else combined. I'm in a new branch now. When I served in Zakamsk and we came into Perm for meetings, we were in the Parkovy branch. Now we're in the Moto branch, so I don't know many people. It's alright though, it'll be fun. But yeah, I didn't move here until Monday. The rest of the week we were just kind of getting ready for the move and for the conference, saying goodbye to people when we had a chance.

On Saturday we got on a train for Yekat with the Palmers. We got there, dropped off my luggage, and went over to the APs' apartment, where there were a ton of elders that I haven't seen in a long time. It was a good reunion. Everyone was kind of jittery about the conference, we didn't know what to expect. But Sunday morning, we all got together beforehand to practice for the choir. I found out I was playing piano for a missionary choir "I Know that My Redeemer Lives." Needless to say, I was pretty nervous. I didn't know the hymn that well and this performance was for the missionary meeting, meaning a small room with 50 missionaries, a mission president and his wife, a member of the 70, and two apostles and their wives. I found out that I even had to play a couple lines in the middle with no singing, a real test of nerves. Our practices went well though, so it was alright. Then we headed to the conference, walking across downtown Yekat.

As we approached the hotel, I saw two women walking in front of me that looked familiar. I caught up with them to find that they were two members from my Zakamsk days, one that Elder Vierig and I baptized (Nadia). It was really good to know that they had made the six-hour trip to see the conference. I was pretty happy then, but even happier when I noticed the man in front of them was Roman from Kurgan, my first convert! As I ran up to hug him, I realized that it was May 31st, exactly a year since he was baptized! That was definitely a good moment, a very rewarding thing on a mission.

The hall was packed by over 600 members. We luckily got there early enough to say hi to a lot of the people we know. They had to put up an extra row of seats in the back because there wasn't enough seating. I was grateful for that, since I was one of the last people in the hall to get a chair. When President Uchtdorf and Elder Anderson walked in, everyone stood and a strong spirit entered the room. They asked us to be seated and then everything began. It was a perfect conference for the members. I can't describe it all, of course. President Paul from the 70 spoke, then Elder Anderson's wife read a small talk in Russian, then Elder Anderson spoke, giving a lot of talk about tithing and the reality of apostles on earth and bearing testimony of their calling. He told some really good stories and emphasized principles that were perfect for the people here. He wasn't the focus though, so he didn't speak for too long. After a short musical number, Sister Uchtdorf spoke and expressed her love for the members. Then President Uchtdorf had his turn. He spoke so powerfully about so many things. His main focuses were living worthy of a temple recommend, showing courage and faith in living the gospel, living by the principles in For the Strength of Youth, and he put a very strong emphasis on how the Russian people in this area are the pioneers of the future of the church. He told them that there will come a day if they show their faith and worthiness that they will have a temple to attend in Russia. He expressed their respect for the government and gratitude that they allow religious freedom for the church. He blessed the people and gave powerful testimony. It was pretty amazing and I think it deeply affected everyone who saw it.

Right after that meeting, a lot of members came up to shake hands. While they did that, the missionaries moved to a smaller conference room to await the next session. It was a much more intimate setting. They entered and we started the meeting. As President Allen was getting things started, President Uchtdorf asked if it would be okay if they could shake hands with all of the missionaries, which absolutely no one was opposed to. After we did that, President Uchtdorf talked for a bit, telling us of the great spirit they felt and calling us the 'extended arms of the apostles,' and asked for any questions we would like answered during the conference. Then we proceeded as normal. They addressed us in the same order as the member conference. I loved every second of it. Elder Anderson talked a lot about his mission. He served in France, where the work goes at about the same pace as it does here. He told us that he wanted us to know that the Lord accepts us and our sacrifices, and that if he didn't, the spirit wouldn't have been there so strongly. He encouraged us a lot and kept telling us that he respects our mission. It was good to hear from someone who had been through similar circumstances. He told us to keep going and to expect miracles. I was so into his talk that I had temporarily forgotten my nervousness about the musical number. I was snapped out of it when Elder Anderson sat down and I realized I had to go up and play. It actually went pretty well, I had a small mess-up but no one seemed to notice. I was glad that it worked out.

President Uchtdorf talked to us a lot and answered our questions. He has a lot of good stories and analogies. It was so amazing to just watch him teach us. He never missed a step. He was funny and entertaining and serious and you can tell that he has vast knowledge of the gospel. He stressed the importance of the work in this mission and commited ourselves to putting every day on the altar as a sacrifice to Heavenly Father. He talked about the long-term effects of our service and why we should continue to give it all we have. It was so good.

So that was definitely the highlight of the week. Everyone received such a huge spiritual boost from the two conferences. On top of that, they had a mission dinner at the office and we were able to see each other again! Then we had a short ZLC session in the morning to discuss how to apply the teachings, and Elder Sergeev and I left for Perm. This week is going to continue to be as busy as ever, and the schedule will be just as unsure as the last! We have zone conference tomorrow (already!), and then I should be leaving on my visa trip sometime in the next week. They're closing down Yekat for a visit from Putin, meaning we'll either have to leave early, or we'll be gone for a while before we can return since they close down all transport in and out of the city for a few days when this happens. I don't know why, but it's the way it is. So, there's actually a chance I won't write next week at the same time. I don't know, I'm sorry. We'll just have to be patient, wait, and see!

So yeah, things are busy but good. We have to get running off to a meeting though, so that's all I can write at this time. Thank you to everyone who wrote! Thanks for all of the love and support! I love you all.

Love,
Elder Isenbarger