Live and Learn..................

Tuesday we had worked out at the Wellness Center and as we came in the door Elder Hafen laid his wallet on the credenza by the door (as he always does until we leave for the office)....Well, a man came by the house at 8:20 - we were just getting ready to go to the office..........and he asked when the office opened (we said 9:00 am) and he asked if he could just come in and wait because it was so cold............So we let him in! We visited with him for about 20 minutes as we were getting ready and eating............in fact Elder Hafen was just ready to ask him to eat some breakfast when he stuck his head around the kitchen door and told Elder Hafen he was just going to the Giant Station and buy a cup of coffee while he waited.................well, he was gone and and yes...............You know the rest of the story!!! The wallet was gone too...............we called the police and they came. There were four young Elders here and they split up and went two by two up and down the road to check if he had just thrown it by the way after taking out the $$$. The police said "never let anyone in your home you don't know - day or night!! And also if someone did what he did to never confront them............." So we have learned that we just cannot be so trusting.............felt pretty vulnerable after that and it took us all day to stop payment, and reinstate cards, drivers license, insurance cards, etc. (I think after the murder of the nun in Navajo at Halloween - it made us even more grateful that all he did was take the wallet............)

December 26th

We had Victor, Roberta and Orianna come to dinner...............put a puzzle together and had a great night together............They have become very dear friends.............they gave us a wonderful Navajo weaving that will hang above our door that says "The Hafens"............we loved it! And we love them!!

December 26th

We had Victor, Roberta and Orianna come to dinner...............put a puzzle together and had a great night together............They have become very dear friends.............they gave us a wonderful Navajo weaving that will hang above our door that says "The Hafens"............it is so beautiful we loved it! And we love them!!

Christmas Morning Brunch....

The Prows family had us, the Cains and George Yazzie to Christmas Morning brunch and then gave us all gifts..........fun day!

Tina's Baptism

A family in Idaho had sent an "entire" Christmas for Tina and her four children. Tina came in our office and we introduced her to the church.............we loved her immediately....They were so excited for this Christmas because without it the children would have had NO Christmas.........Proving their are angels on earth!!!!

"Our Blessed Christmas Eve"...........

This was one of our most memorable Christmas Eve's that we have ever had.............Tina (Elartina) Nelson and her two boys Jonathan and Joseph were baptized in Steamboat Branch...she asked us to both speak at the baptism.............it was about an hour drive and the night was beautiful..............We felt so blessed and priviliged to have this experience.........

New Elders !

We have new Elders - Elder Rose (who was an Assistant to the President) from Texas - he only has 5 weeks left until he goes home.......And Elder White from Logan, Utah.......he has been out only four months.............they are again terrific!

The "Little Blue Christmas House"...........

We loved our little trees - the decorations - and the warm glow that came from just everything in our little blue house.............it was fun to have others come to enjoy with us!

Christmas Parade??????????

We walked down to the flea market one day and got caught in a "Christmas Parade"........the only thing - the police forgot to stop the other traffic...............we laughed pretty hard - I think there were about a total of 5 floats..............but hooray for the celebration!

The Ganado Missionarys with another Baptism...

Elder & Sister Monik are from Idaho - they are a nice couple. They serve in Ganado Branch....this little girl was a darling and baptism was fun.......Sister Hafen played the piano again!

Owner of "Zuni Traders" in Gallup.........

This is the store where get get our "treasures"..............no, he is not Navajo (ha ha)..........he is a nice man and is cute about the things we buy..........always saving us something special that he has bought...........he buys in bulk from the Navajo people and then puts on the mark up I am sure.....

Primary Activity -

The Primary did a fun activity................they made gingerbread houses (and then they gave them to the missionaries!! (After we took pictures we gave ours to a family with little ones.......) Hooray - it was fun! They served hot dogs, drink, salad and chips - kids had a ball.

Shanabah..............

Shanabah (my piano student)................in our chapel preparing to play in the Christmas Fireside...she played "Greensleeves" (What Child is This) and did a really nice job. I was so proud of her.............

Another Favorite........

Gene Chee is the carpenter who installed our doors...........he is in our office quite often and we love visiting him -he is the nicest man! We fax many of his documents, etc. He is from Keams Canyon - his wife teaches school........

Oneof our Favorite People.......

Annie Parker is our custodian at the church.........and one of our "favorite" people........she is faithful and wonderful. We gave her the "Ikea" shoehorn and she was to cute about it.....

New Rule........

We are now NOT supposed to open our door to "anyone" after 9:00 pm..........unless people have called earlier and made appointment..............since the Catholic Nun was killed in Navajo (which is about 1/2 hour away).................they are helping us be safer!

Birthday Party.............

Man - this was some party!!! Mixture of Hawaiian Luau and Navajo Taco's........lots of fry bread, Hawaiian Pork and Cabbage over rice...............pinata.............blow up jumping deal, table tennis, cotton candy machine, popcorn, karaoke.huge birthday cake..............you name it ......................... they had it!! Fun time. Sister Chun said their children only get one "big" birthday party all their life - that is the 8th..........the others are celebrated just with family!

Imona's Baptism.....

Imona is one of the little "angel girls" that makes her visit here every few days for our "treat jar"....it was her baptism. She is the daughter of the Chun's from Hawaii. She and another two children were adopted by the Chuns.............

This is her name........"Trustine Akuaokalani Namaka'imonaonaliani Leinaala Lan Kwai Chun" Can you believe it??????? Elder Hafen was happy he wasn't the one baptizing so he'd have to pronounce that one! She is an angel girl and we love her...........

Employment Resource Service Meeting....

President Boone and his wife Bernice planned the evening.......we started our meeting at 4:00 - it was in the same building as our Zone Conference........we had meeting and then they planned a meal (like the Savior would have eaten) and we sat on low chairs around a low table and had Jewish food..............fun. Afterwards, we went to Little America where they had us stay for the night and had a nice dinner before going to bed...........The Elders were still with us and so they went to our room to wait for the Zone Leaders in Flagstaff to pick them up so they could spend the night with them.............they were so excited about our hotel room there and wished they could stay.............Elder Bowen was taking pictures all over...............we laughed and enjoyed!

Employment

Navajo Carols...........

At the program we had these dear men sing.............The one sang "Silent Night" in Navajo - very beautiful. He was one of the first Navajo missionaries to come to the reservation years ago and briefly talked about the growth of the church here.........

The other is President Begay (he is a counselor in the Mission Presidency) - what a dear man....he sang "Jingle Bells" in Navajo...............we wished so much we had a recording it was a hoot!

Table Carols......

They had an activity after our "ham dinner"............called "Table Carols" - fun. They gave each table a bag of props to act out and sing their carol..........."Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer", "We Three Kings", "Away in a Manger",.......you can tell it was FUN..........

Christmas Zone Conference in Flagstaff.......

We had our big "out" as we traveled to Flagstaff for Zone Conference..........had Elder Wilson and Elder Bowen travel with us....Meeting went from 10:00 - 3:30 pm...........President Beck gave a wonderful, powerful talk on the Book of Mormon............they gave us all a new copy of the book with a challenge to begin on 01/01/2010 and finish the reading in 60 days focusing on the Savior and his teachings.........Beautiful devotional in the chapel there........there was a beautiful Spanish family just baptized a few months ago performed several musical numbers - the father played the piano (beautifully).......his wife played violin and two young daughters and a young son played the cello........Father did a piano solo and the young girls sang a duet - fantastic talent! Great spirit and fun to be with so many other missionaries............

We'll have a "blue house" Christmas......

Just a few shots of our Christmas decorations in our little house on the reservation!!! We look quite festive thanks to our friends and family who have supplied the trees, decorations and lots of LOVE! We love it......truly our thought are focused on the Savior this Christmas Season and we are grateful to be away from lots of the "stuff" that makes us lose sight and perspective of the true meaning of the holiday................we are grateful to be serving the Savior!

Winter has arrived.........

We are in "winter season" here........it is cold and we did have snow that is beginning to melt. The "walk" to the office has been pretty treacherous with ice...........as the sun doesn't hit the back parking lot too much. We walk pretty carefully!

The Priesthood men here had been out of two wood hauling excursions before the storms came. We have quite a pile in the back. Our hearts ache for many of the people here who just do NOT have heat in their homes. One woman came by to do job search at the office and in our conversations we found out that she and her four children had only one little electric heater and they were huddling around that with their coats on to try to stay warm. So we loaded up her car with wood, made sure she had food and sent her on her way.........it is that way with lots of people. A homeless girl came in the office last week also and we helped her fax some housing papers and gave her a hug or two amidst her tears to try to encourage her. Life is hard here and we wish we could do more.............

Dinner at the Kaaloa's.....

Invited to dinner at the Kaaloa's again..........baby is doing well and is scheduled for more surgery on his legs this time........GREAT family!! We are teaching them now in preparation for them going to the temple.

Fill the Font Again...........

Saturday morning was the baptism of Katrina Roan..............darling girl. When we first came to the reservation - it was Marie Roan (Katrina's Mother) who stopped us in the grocery store and talked to us about getting her daughter taught about the church..............and today was the fruition of that talk...............Elder Hafen conducted.......The little girl in picture has been a little friend has invited Katrina to do things at the church...............Katrina's father is not a member, but he came to both the baptism yesterday and today to her confirmation in church!!