June!

Welcome to June everyone!   An interesting phenomenon living so close to the equator (about 3 degrees north) is that every month is pretty much like every other month.  So as I sit here thinking about home, the subtle differences in the months seem to take on an added importance to me.   June is one of my favorites.  Summer is all leafed out and growing.  The days are long and warm and full of life.

Yesterday we had the Elders over for dinner.  A couple of weeks ago we had the sisters over and served tacos.  This time we invited the Elders and a couple of friends from the branch, Miow Linn Yap and Graham Doxey and we served roast beef with potatoes, carrots, onions; a zuchini dish and green salad.  Brownies and ice cream for dessert.  We like to serve something that the American missionaries might miss from home and they were not disappointed.  During dinner one of the Elders told us that he has finished his mission and is actually leaving for home today (Monday).   He lived in Draper during High School and went to Alta HS, but his family has now moved to Heber City.   I told him that when he is at his mom's table next Sunday he needn't tell her that he just had roast beef and mashed potatoes last week at the Sanders.  He said he would keep that to himself.

Our sea shipment finally arrived on Friday and that day and Saturday our place looked a little chaotic.  But we (mostly Tobi) whipped it into shape in short order and now it feels a lot more like our home.  She has it fixed up very nicely with lots of family pictures and familiar artifacts on the shelves, etc.  (I tried to do a walking tour of the apartment on Skype with Robyn, Craig and my Dad, but every time I got more than 25 feet from our internet router I would lose the connection.)

I will be going to Youth Conference a week from today.  We are going to some resort area a couple of hours away and I have been put in charge of a service project involving building and installing a couple of soccer goals at a school out in the country for an Orang Asli community school.  (Orang means people and Asli means native or aboriginal.)  So getting that all ready to go and the materials purchased and delivered etc, will be my main project for this week.

I'm still not working.  I don't exactly know what the holdup is.  Something about my nefarious background apparently.  I am looking forward very much to starting work.  I love my workouts and swimming and reading by the pool, but I need more to keep busy with and to bring in some vacation money.

Tobi is loving her job more and more all the time.  She was very stressed at first and thought she may have made a big mistake but as she has gotten accustomed to her job and has done them a few times, she has become more comfortable.  Her boss, the new Legal Attache (LEGAT) arrived a week ago.  We had lunch with him the the Assistant Legal Attache (ALAT) last week.  They are both very nice guys and I think Tobi will enjoy working with them.

One of our favorite things to do in the evenings is to read blogs.  They have become very important to us.  Keep posting!  We find ourselves reading blogs of people we don't even know simply because they are on your friends lists.  

Please know that we love you all and miss you like crazy.  We can't wait until October when we get to see our kids and dads and many others.  Looks like we are going to be taking a cruise to the Greek Islands and then come home for 2 full weeks.  We will be home in Utah from the 17th or 18th of October until the 30th.  Let's plan some get-togethers.

Scott