Visitors at Church

We always look forward to Sundays because we get to associate with our cute friends at church. We start by going to choir practice at 9:00.  Our leader, Edith Lichtenstein, is elderly and feeble. . .not too steady on her feet, but she can really carry a tune.  She has a wonderful voice. The last two or three weeks the pianist hasn't been here.  I don't know where she has been, or if she is ill.  So we have been practicing without accompaniment.  Sister Edith can give us our pitches in a heartbeat.  We sound pretty good acapella, I might add.  Elder Kroff is the only faithful male singer. Once in a while another masculine voice will show up to practice, but not very often.  I think we sing this hymn in two weeks.  Next week is Stake Conference.

Today, we had a combined La Sociedad de Socorro (Relief Society) and Sacerdocio (Priesthood) meeting because President Argyle was scheduled to address them.  He goes around to each ward in the mission and teaches a lesson to these organizations.  He encourages the members to find people for the missionaries to teach.  He was well received and spoke to a very large group of people.  Our ward here in San Fernando is well stocked with leadership and has about 140 members. Each week the missionaries have investigators who attend also.  

Since he was teaching the class here, his family came to attend the meetings too.  It was fun to have them in church with us today.

After the meetings, they wanted their picture taken with Elder Clegg since he would be leaving the area soon.   So we captured their picture with all of the office Elders.  

      President and Sister Argyle are tireless servants. 

We have a sister who attends our ward that is 84 years old, almost blind, and has a hard time walking.  She has been in church almost every week since we came.  I have helped her get to Relief Society a couple of times. I thought she was a member, but found out today that she has never been baptized.  Well, today she was going to be baptized after the block of meetings.   During the Presidents class, she was on the front row, and she was trying to get up out of her chair with the help of a friend.  The President stopped and went to help her, and it was comical because she said, "I've got to go, I'm going to be baptized."

We were worried that the person baptizing her would not be able to handle her in the water since she was so feeble.  Luckily, they had two brethren assisting.  But, it was so sad because she was so scared to go under the water.  After the baptismal prayer was said, she resisted the effort to be lowered into the water.  She was afraid to go backwards. . . or forward for that matter. She held on for dear life and kept trying to make her way out of the water. They closed the doors to the font and several women went around to talk to her and try to work out a solution. 

We sang some hymns while waiting and pretty soon they interrupted our song, opened the doors quickly, because I guess it was now or never.  Then all of a sudden she went face forward under the water, and was brought up coughing and sputtering.  Whew!! We were glad that was accomplished.  Poor thing.    Hold on, there's more.  After she got dressed and returned to the room, she blurted out that her teeth fell out in the water.  Oh, my gosh!  It was so hard not to laugh right out loud. The Elders were dying.  She is really a cute lady and what a marvelous thing she has done at her age.  We were thrilled for her.

We came home and had a meat loaf, potatoes, and an acorn looking squash in the oven in minutes.  We were excited to try the squash.  It was delicious.  It could be used as pumpkin for my pumpkin cookies.  Hmmm, it's a thought.