Monday - didn't leave town until 4, but eventually got to Williston. There are a lot of things we saw along the road that we would like to take time to see on later trips.
Tuesday morning we visited the Ray seminary - one good woman teaching 3 kids in her living room. We took them sweet rolls and gave a large candy bar to any student who is consecutively reading the scriptures. We met the 2 missionaries serving in Williston and bought them lunch. The substitute seminary teacher in Williston asked us to teach the lesson the next morning, so we spent part of that day preparing the lesson. (Romans 8 and 9)
Wednesday morning we taught seminary and took sweet rolls to the church in Williston, and met 8 great kids and their Seminary substitutes, the Quallys. They have already served 2 missions and are preparing for their 3rd. Their first mission was in Nauvoo, because Bro. Qually could drive a horse and buggy. Their second was to a church dairy farm in Alberta, Utah, where they did a variety of things, but mainly taught English to people from Burma who were working there. The church as amazing assignments for Senior Missionaries.
We drove to Minot and met their 4 missionaries for lunch at a place called "Space Aliens", where they were having an all-you-could-eat-ribs day. Those young men didn't go home hungry! We drove 2 of the Elders to the church in Minot where they were meeting a ride for a teaching appointment, and then came back at 5:30 to go with them to see a single sister they are visiting. Back at the church at 7:00, we attended the Young Single Adult Institute class, and provided apples and caramel dip, and oranges for treat afterwards. There is an amazing amount of snow on the ground in Minot. Diane, two of the young men at Institute are from Nigeria, going to college in Minot. We took some pictures at the church that we will post later. As we have driven between these cities the sun has been shining, and there is snow as far as the eye can see. It is very beautiful, but it will be fun to watch it melt and all turn green in a month or two.
Thursday morning we attended the Minot seminary (sweet rolls again) and enjoyed the large class there. Afterwards we headed for home in a minor snow storm, but got back to Bismarck without any difficulty. That evening we attended the Bismarck Institute again.
Friday was sort of our "P-day" (preparation day, for those who don't know.) We ran errands, got our hair cut, etc. That evening was a satellite broadcast for CES teachers (seminary and Institute) called "An Evening With a General Authority", where we listened to an address by Elder Quentin L. Cook. His comments were excellent - I will try to send you a printed copy when it's available to us. As the special number, they had a chorus of missionaries from Temple Square who sang phrases of "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" in different languages. Dad/Steve set up the satellite and we planned for treats afterwards there also for the teachers who attended with us. We taped the broadcast, and are making copies to take to the teachers in outlying areas this week.
Saturday we worked in the temple until it closed, around 3:00pm. We had a variety of assignments there, and got to meet more people. We had the 4 Elders from Bismarck/Mandan to dinner, so we prepared that when we got home from the temple. After they left we got thinking about the meal the Young Single Adults in Bismarck are having tonight before the CES Satellite Broadcast, and decided to go to Sams and buy more food. Things have been assigned, but we didn't think there would be enough. Guess we'll see in a few hours. We made flyers to take to church today to remind all the singles of the broadcast. Elder Hales is speaking. Some of you might see it on BYU TV.
his morning I got to accompany a vocal duet and play the hymns for the Visiting Teaching meeting during Relief Society. I practiced at the church Friday when we went over during the day to make sure the satellite was working correctly. (reception was fine, but the language was Spanish...we eventually got that corrected.) This morning the hymns had been changed, and the opening song was one that I have never even heard, much less played. What are the odds? It's hymn #311 "We Meet Again As Sisters". The women seemed to know it, so apparently they sing it up here. I came home and listened to it a couple of time on my CDs to hear the measures I didn't get right. :(
Well, it sounds like lots of driving and lots of sweet rolls and other treats. Yes, it's been all of that, but we have really enjoyed meeting some of the teachers, students and missionaries in our stake. We have been interested to see parts of North Dakota that are new to us. We are happy to be busy. The trip we took this week is called "the Northern Tour", so in future letters when I say that's what we did, you will know without me taking many paragraphs to describe it all. I imagine there are some of you even in my own family who will not want to read this much about our activities here.
One more interesting thing. Friday at the church we met two men who were waiting to receive temple recommends from the Stake President. These men are close to our age, and were converted when they read the Book of Mormon in a Greek Orthodox abbey. They were cloistered monks who never cut their hair, on their head or on their face. One had his previous driver's license with his long beard to his waist - scary! Someone left a BOM in their mailbox years ago that was in the monastary library, and when they read it they knew immediately that it was true and joined the church. They gave up their vocation and all the security of being there. They now live in Minot and have jobs and all the stresses of our world. Very interesting to talk to them. They have very firm and strong testimonies.
This Tuesday there are mission transfers, and the Elders and Sisters move to different locations on what the missionaries call "the Transfer Train." The mission owns a 15 seat van, which drives around the mission picking up and delivering missionaries. (our mission is all of North and South Dakota and come pieces of states that touch. It can't be a fast trip) We may have Elders or Sisters spending the night with us during some transfers. It's nice to know that we won't ever have to ride the "transfer train" and can stay comfortable here in our apartment.We love all of you. We pray for you, and and grateful for your prayers for us.
Elder and Sister Harris :)
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