Sunday

One of the most exciting parts of Mom and Dad's mission has been the work they and the missionaries have done with some aboriginal communities in Alice Springs. On Sunday we got to go out bush and it was wonderful. It took almost three hours to get out there, but it was well worth the trip.

This is a picture of Adrian. He came up to me at one point and said in his broken English, "Your dad is a great man. I like the way he talks. And your mom. She always hugs me." That pretty much summed it up. Hugs all around when Delsa was on the scene. I can't tell you how much I loved watching my parents interact with the people there.

Mom, Adrian, Dad

Here's a picture of Dorothy. She and Sammy (left) were both baptized that morning. Her sister was there and used a walker. So when we all got up to walk over to the baptism a couple missionaries picked her up in her chair and carried her. So here is this old, stone faced woman, and as soon as they lift her up, she starts quietly giggling. Belly giggling if there is such a thing. I would defy anyone not to smile if they heard her. What makes it even better is that my mom was holding Dorothy's arm while she walked and muttered, "I'm older than she is." She was a little salty that she didn't get the ride.

Sammy, Dorothy, Clifford

Dorothy's sister is the one on the right

As a side note, Abram and I have an ongoing argument about whether or not I am high maintenance (in terms of getting ready in the morning). I always bring it up in front of my family because I can always count on Garrett and Lisa telling him he is crazy and better be grateful for what he's got. So after the baptism we weren't waiting more than two minutes when Dorothy walks out of the house ready to go. I leaned over to Abram and said, "Whoa, talk about fast, we are not at a typical baptism, huh?" Abram replied, "When you are as fast as Dorothy, I will stop calling you high maintenance."

So don't be surprised if in a few years I quit showering, wearing underwear, and brushing my hair. I'm just trying to make my man happy ;)

One of the highlights for me was helping a couple of the missionaries teach primary to the the kids while the adults had a Sunday School class. I love that getting kids to sing louder is the same all the world over. And I loved Junior. He is 11, wore a white shirt, and seemed so pleased with himself when i said, "You know how I could tell you are the oldest? Because you know all the answers." You know when there is a kid that is super eager to learn? That's him, and I love it.

There was another little girl I had been watching boss all the other kids around the whole day. It was clear that she was in charge, end of story. I asked her how old she was and she said "six." I really was shocked, but playing around I said, "Really? I thought you were at least 10." At first she looked a little confused, then she looked at me as if to say, "really? You did?" And then, I assume because she just couldn't find the words she wanted, she just threw her arms around me and gave me this great big hug. It was so cute. Melted my heart.

I think this was my favorite day of the whole vacation.

P.S.  I saw a wild kangaroo and a wild dingo on our drive.