Elder & Sister Knowles

Transfer 15 Week One Sept. 5-11  Week B13

     If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.

Preaching:  We have been having lots of discussions with the missionaries in district meetings, about what to do to increase faith.  There are lots of ways we have come up with, several that you can invite people to try.  One of the ways we have found that works for us in making correct choices.  When we pray for increased faith we will be given opportunities to exercise faith and by choosing wisely our faith will increase.  Come up with your own list of what you can do or invite others to do, to increase faith.  Study Alma 32.

Monday:  Today is a work day because of the holiday and transfers.  We would be working anyway to move Karen.  We met Sister Pineda and Yost at Karen’s (West Wind Motel) , loaded the pick-up and drove to her new place in Kirkland.  Everything fit in the pick-up, but it was crowded and we forgot to bring her bike from our place.  After unloading at her place, Karen wanted to go walk around a park and eat so we drove to several places and walked a bunch before deciding on a place.  There were some cool old ships on the lake where we walked that we got to see, snd two “pirate ships”.  After a late lunch we needed to get back so we dropped Karen off at her place and drove back to Renton.  Karen was a bit nervous but she should do all right.  Sister Jackson, our Primary President, was having a small birthday party for the twins and we were going to play games.  When we arrived there we

found that Jenefer had cooked another big meal.  It was more Filipino food but we did recognize what it was and we did have cake and ice cream. She had made yummy soup and spaghetti,   So, we mostly ate and visited.  Jenefer was very friendly and talked a lot which was very good.  She told us all about being pregnant with the twins and how it felt.  The twins loved all the attentions. Sister Sablan sent Dylan with the ice-cream, because her baby is due and she is not feeling well. Sister Jackson, brought her young family and she had made cake and a Filipino fruit salad.  It was very good and made a big impression on the twins and on Jenefer.   

Tuesday:  Today was our p-day so we were able to leave the mission. Since the Bloedel Reserve is closed on Mondays and our p-day was today we took a little trip out of the mission.  Sister Stevensen went with us but not Sister Beck.  She is having trouble with her

feet and can’t walk too far.  We rode the ferry over to Bainbridge Island and caught a bus to the Reserve. The Reserve in at the opposite end of the island from where the ferry lands. It is the property of the Bloedel family that they didn’t want developed.  It looks like they were pretty rich.   Its about a two mile loop and and takes about one and a half hours to walk it, plus time spent touring the huge house they once lived in.  We took a lot longer because of all the pictures we take.  We did have to catch the last bus at three twenty.  The bus doesn’t have much of a set route (except for the last pickup at the Reserve), so you tell them where you want to go and they take you there.  If you miss the last bus then you have to walk back to town which is a long ways.  We had them drop us off at the pizza place in town.  It is one of the few places to eat that we know of.  After lunch/supper, we walked around town then rode the ferry and link back to our apartment.  It was a pretty fun day.

Wednesday:  The rain and cool weather is back.  It is starting to feel like fall.  Our district meeting was in the morning.  We have two new missionaries from other areas of the mission and one new Elder from the MTC.  After the meeting we did some shopping for achievement days tonight.  After a quick lunch we walked down to the Acostas and Joyce helped Michelle prepare a primary lesson for Sunday.  Michelle, Princes Joy and the twins all came to achievement days, (we picked them up), where they worked on their scrape books.  We took them home which keeps us from going to the missionary meeting with the Bishop because of the distance of delivering them all home.  Art talked to the Bishop while the girls worked on their scrape books so it’s okay that we missed the meeting.

Elder Sidyk and Richards

Thursday:  We got an early start shopping with Joyce Johnson.  She wanted us to take her to the mall in Auburn so she could buy clothes for Gideon and Eric.  We ended up going to K-Mart in Kent first, because they were supposed to have his uniforms, but they didn’t. Then, we went to the outlet Mall in Auburn.  Art stayed in the pick up.  Joyce told Sister Knowles to take Gideon and look for him and Joyce would take Eric and look for clothes for him.  That did not last long because Gideon kept leaving and would not mind.  So, we traded and that worked out much better because Gideon is naughty.  After lunch she asked if we had after noon appointments and we told her they were cancelled.  She asked is we had a Costco Card.  She needed food for Gideon. We said we did not have a Costco Card.  She said that was okay.  Would we take her to Costco so she could get a card and shop?  So, we were on our way to  Costco in Federal Way.  We tried to keep the boys in the pickup.  Sister Knowles was not feeling too good.  First Elder Knowles took Gideon in to look for Joyce.  Then, Sister Knowles took Eric in.  You could not believe her shopping cart when we found her.  It was a balancing act!  Then, when we got in line, she had forgotten two things and had to go back,  That took up most of our day.  It was a good thing our afternoon appointments had cancelled.  We had a pick-up load from Costco, plus the two huge sacks from the outlet mall, so Art had the Spanish Elders meet us at Joyce’s apartment and help us carry everything in.  She lives in an upstairs apartment.  After being around Gideon we understand why she never goes out shopping by herself.  He is a handful. Everything is new to him so he wants to touch and look at everything, plus he is smart so he wants to figure out how things work.  She is worried about how he will do in school since he doesn’t mind.  He starts school next week so it will be interesting.  Pray for his teacher.  She is going to need lots of prayers. We are hoping that when he learns English he will behave better.  We came home after our day of service and rested. Sister

Knowles still is not feeling well so we skipped the missionary meeting.

Friday:    We didn’t have much going on today that we couldn’t reschedule so we took it kind of easy so Joyce could get feeling better.   We needed another catch-up day, too.  We did have three appointments in the afternoon that we wanted to keep.  The first one with Diane Whitney had to be changed because of her work schedule.  We rode the link and then walked to Diane Nardi’s for lunch/supper and a lesson.  We went to our favorite fish place so we could visit with the owner.  They are very friendly.  The lesson went well. We taught about the Articles of Faith but only got through three of them.  She has lots of questions which is good.  We are supposed to be practicing but it is a round about way of teaching her.  It is kind of fun and she enjoys the visit, So do we.  It was later than we planned so we rode the link back to our apartment and stayed in for the night.  It was a little tough on Joyce.  Our last appointment was a health lecture at the Filipino Community Center that we said we would attend.  We did want to go to it, but, oh well.

Saturday:  Today was the Renton Day of Service.   Art went and cut trees with Bro. Reckling, his two boys, Reymark, Eleazar, Ivar, Dylan, Bro Weaver and Skyway A Elders.  He had to wake the young men up and wait for them to get ready. Two hours didn’t make much of a dent in what needs to be done, where we worked, but the trees did get cut up. 

We also went to the Freylingers to cut down some trees but there was a mix up and the chain saws didn’t show up. We are guessing that Bro. Reckling  got lost.  Bro. Johansen, Stephens and Meldrum were working there.  We will have to go back another day and cut down the trees for them.  The Sisters cleaned the church and then sewed burp cloths.  Art made Joyce stay home.   There was a picnic, after the projects, for all those who worked.  Art didn’t go, he came home to check on Joyce. Dylan took the boys to the picnic and then home.  We were going to stay home the rest of the day until the Spanish Elders called because they needed a third person for their dinner appointment with the Elder Sisters.  Art went and Joyce stayed home.

Sunday:  We had a pick-up load for church, Estrella, Michelle, Eldrex, Princes Joy,

Reymark, Diane Whitney, Debra Driggs and us.  Joyce Johnson was there but she has a hard time staying awake.  She did have to leave early.  She is trying so hard but has her hands full with two little boys.  Gideon is still a behavior problem in Primary.  He may need some one on one teaching.  The Elders had three investigator at church and they all stayed for the three meetings.  We took the Acostas to our house and made homemade pizzas for lunch, after church.  Michelle had wanted to invite us for pizza, but when we found out that she was going to buy pizza for us and it would be Sunday, we quickly invited them to our house for our famous homemade pizza, even though the twins could not come today.  Dylan Sablon brought the boys home because of youth committee meeting and he stayed and ate.  So, they all ate with us all of us.  Even Eleazar liked it, and of course, you can’t fill up Reymark.  No baby yet for the Sablans.  Beverlyn wasn’t feeling good so she wasn’t with Dylan and Sister Knowles surely missed Beverlyn during Primary class, even though Donella Mitchel and Michelle are there.  After pushing Eldrex home and delivering Estrella, Princes Joy, Michelle, and the boys home, Joyce finally agreed to go see a doctor and get some medicine.  That took up the rest of the afternoon so we stayed home in the evening and talked to the kids when they called. We haven’t heard how Karen did on her first Sunday in a new ward.  It was a slower week with Joyce not feeling good but the rest was welcomed.  Love Joyce and Art.