Sep 27

September 27, 2006

New arrivals at the MTC today: 400. There were dork dots everywhere! They’re so cute. Dinner was a zoo with all those new ones. Last week we ate out on Wednesday night so we missed the chaos. It was worth staying in tonight just to see it and see that it could actually be managed in a crazy sort of way. And, Beckie, we finally got chicken fried steak and it was just as good as you said it would be.

We were in class from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Long day, but very worthwhile. Tonight we had a great class on the computer. It was basic, but there were lots of shortcuts I didn’t know and they reviewed Excel in a way I could understand. Dad enjoyed it too. He said this was the first time he could actually keep up and do the stuff being taught, so it was really fun for him.

The rest of the day we spent working on how to initiate humanitarian projects. The church is currently focusing on five areas worldwide: clean water, vision, distributing wheelchairs, family food and neonatal resuscitation training. All were chosen after research in various countries indicated these were needs. In order to have a project there has to be a partnership with another organization. Some examples were government organizations, a chamber of commerce, Islamic Relief, and the Red Cross. The key to getting the project approved by the church is that it has to in some way help the people become self-reliant. For example, a current Family Food project in Cambodia teaches families a new way to plant rice that increases production. A project in another country is helping a company build 3-wheeled wheelchairs that can travel across rough surfaces better than the one we have here. The neonatal project was developed because they realized that there was a high mortality rate among newborns with breathing difficulties in the first few hours of their lives. It’s just amazing to me. I love that the church is doing all these things, and I love that they partner with other organizations to do them. The trainer today said that everywhere in the world there are people who want to help others. He said that even in the poorest areas there is usually some kind of effort by the community to help the very neediest among them.

We’re so excited that we get to be a part of the humanitarian program. We very likely will work with the church’s addiction program, or their family and marriage programs. They also have a new program to teach families how to do a family home evening. The manual they use for this program makes no reference to religion, scriptures or anything else, except to suggest that a family have some sort of prayer or meditation time. The goal is not to push our religion, but to teach families how to spend quality time together. I hope we get to use this program, as it would be near and dear to our hearts.

We managed to escape from the compound for an hour before dinnertime to get a much-needed caffeine break. It’s been a bit of a miracle that I’ve never had my usual withdrawal headache. Nevertheless, we miss our little addiction and can’t resist the urge to indulge occasionally.

Robert continues to keep up the knee treatments. The leg massage is such a favorite I may have to fake injury for some time just to keep him giving it to me. If we find we need additional income in our retirement years I think he could successfully open a massage parlor. He has hidden talents I’m only now discovering.