Ma's Place: My flag, my flag, my country's flag

Wow!! Where has the time gone??? It has been over a week since I wrote last. Where to begin?

Tuesday I spent at the mission home helping to prepare dinner for the departing missionaries. Anthea is on vacation so I was helper #1 and only. Sister Reynolds (mission president's wife) had most of the main course, baked beans, put together so all I had to do was put it in the oven and cut up vegetables and fruit for trays. President cooked hamburgers and hot dogs. The missionaries loved having a BBQ dinner.

As always, I was touched by their departing testimonies and the spirit I felt there. Each of the missionaries has experiences they shared and stories of how their testimonies were made stronger on their missions.

Elders Osborn , Cottle, Bingham, Chinchilla

Elders Johnson, Ng, Hussein

Sisters Seo, Lemmon, Cluff, Batsuuri

Sister Batsuuri going home to Mongolia and Sister Seo going home to Korea came back with me to my apartment after dinner and devotional to spend the night. All of the other missionaries had to be at the airport at 7:00 AM Wednesday morning. The two foreign sisters didn't have to be at the airport until 4:00 PM. They didn't want to get up at 5:00 AM and then sit in the van and office until they left for the airport, so I got to take them to lunch and entertain them most of Wednesday. Glad I had the air mattresses and bedding. We had a good sleep-over. Sister Batsuuri would take 2 days to get home with an 11 hour layover in Russia. She speaks Russian so she was set. Sister Seo's flight was 16 hours. Sister Batsuuri also speaks Korean so it was fun to listen to them babble back and forth.

I spent Thursday and Friday playing catch up on the work I hadn't done on Tuesday and Wednesday and preparing and sending my weekly reports. Saturday is the day we get ready for Sunday. Right? You know the song: Saturday is a special day. It's the day we get ready for Sunday. We clean the house, and we shop at the store…. And we prepare singing time so we won't have to work until Monday. I enjoy my calling as Primary chorister. We have 15 children if they are all there. I walked to Target and bought 15 flags just in case they all came (We have never had more than 11 or 12 in attendance since I've been here.) so they could wave them as we sang My Flag, My Flag. They didn't know the song but it is a "catchy" one so they learned it quickly.

I first talked about Moroni and the Title of Liberty. Alma 46:10-13

10 Yea, we see that Amalickiah, because he was a man of cunning device and a man of many flattering words, that he led away the hearts of many people to do wickedly; yea, and to seek to destroy the church of God, and to destroy the foundation of liberty which God had granted unto them, or which blessing God had sent upon the face of the land for the righteous' sake.

11 And now it came to pass that when Moroni, who was the chief commander of the armies of the Nephites, had heard of these dissensions, he was angry with Amalickiah.

12 And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it-In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children-and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.

13 And he fastened on his head-plate, and his breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the title of liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land-

It brings tears to my eyes to think of the blessing that my freedom is to me. I next talked to them about our modern day flag or title of liberty. Many people have died to give us liberty and to protect our freedom and country. I shared that some of my ancestors came to this country in search of religious freedom. Francis Eaton, my 12th great grandfather brought his family to America on the Mayflower and then many more of my great grandfathers since 1630 helped to build this country in New England and west and then fought to preserve this liberty in the Revolutionary War and other wars since.

It gave more meaning, at least for me, when we waved our flags and sang:

My flag, my flag, my country's flag,
I love to see you wave;
My flag, my flag, my country's flag,
The banner of the brave.
Wave on, wave on forever,
The banner of the free;
Wave on, wave on forever,
The flag of liberty.

I was happy I had 15 flags. We had 5 visitors. I used 14 flags. The rolls in the basket had random songs or an option to choose a favorite song. Fun singing time.

At the end of Primary I gave each of them a flag to take home. I told them to respect it. To keep it clean. To not let it touch the ground. On my way out of the building, I smiled as I heard one of the older children reminding a younger one that he needed to be more careful because his flag was touching the ground. I love my calling!!

Medically, it has been a bit busier than last week. More bedbug bites, cut thumb, influenza, strep throat, nausea and vomiting, constipation, costochondritis (an inflammation of the cartilage that connects a rib to the breastbone), depression/anxiety, dermatitis, a filling that fell out, an allergic reaction to seafood, warts, mosquito bites, TMJ, twisted ankle, knee pain, etc. Luckily no ticks nor poison ivy. All are surviving and healing.

I have only walked two days this week. I hate when I don't force myself to get out and go. I want to tell you about a neighbor. Mrs. Ghandi lives in the apartment building across the street. She is afraid to walk on the streets so she walks either in the church parking lot or in the driveway next to my house. Back and forth. Back and forth. BORING!! I talk to her frequently especially when I am on my way to my own walk. I've invited her to come to church with me but she says she is afraid to come into the church. (She seems to be afraid of a lot of things.)

Monday there was a 4th of July breakfast at the ward. I was pleasantly surprised to see her at the 4th of July breakfast. She enjoyed the pancakes, breakfast casseroles that didn't contain pork, and fruit. She took a large plate of food home to her husband. Cute lady.

Mrs Ghandi

Horsano family

After the breakfast, I went to the mission home for a senior missionary BBQ. The mission home is in Port Washington. The neighborhood where the home is located reminds me of Pepperwood. It is not in a gated community like Pepperwood but the streets and homes are similar.


Mission Home/neighborhood

I returned home just after dark thinking I would go up on the bridge crossing the Long Island Railroad lines and see if I could see fireworks in Manhattan. I saw some neighborhood fireworks through the trees but it started raining before anything occurred in Manhattan if it did. So I retreated to the cool, dry air of my home and listened to the fireworks around me. I missed my family. I knew that somewhere in Sandy/Draper/Herriman/South Jordan there would be a party going on with lots of squeals of delight and oooo's and awwww's. I looked at last year's pictures fondly and with good memories. The next morning on my walk across the bridge, I saw the empty fireworks containers that had landed there.

Last year

This year through the trees.

Tuesday I went to lunch with Sisters Snow and Brinton. They took me to a great Thai place.
Enjoy my Thai food! Then when I returned home I found several sisters waiting to greet me. Their companions were at the temple so I got to visit with them. When their companions returned, we made pancakes and bacon.

Pad Thai noodles, drunken noodles, red curry

Dessert was coconut custard with pandan sauce.
Pandan is a tropical tree or shrub with fibrous, edible fruit.

Sisters Brinton and Snow

Sisters Fields and Krause

Sisters Fouts and Cate

Sisters Zambito, ?, Fields, Krause, Fouts, Anderson, Cate, ?, Dos Santos
(The two question marks I'm embarrassed to say, I don't know their names.
They are staying with the sisters upstairs until they can go to the Macedonian Embassy tomorrow.
They are serving in the Adriatic South Mission. I will learn their names before they leave though!)

It has been a wonderful week. I love the missionaries. I love my calling. I love my Savior and the Gospel.

I love you my family and friends.