Week 9

This week our institute director and his family went on vacation. Both Elder Perona and I had the full run of the institute and taught all the classes!  Attempting to take the place of Brother Knowles was daunting. He is such a professional, so loved by the students, and an amazing teacher. We prayed a lot that we wouldn’t scare off students while he was gone. It was a busy, busy week, but we were blessed  with many tender mercies just when we needed the help. 

The Lord blessed us to teach and to work together. Elder Perona and I have such different teaching style, but we found that when we use the learning and teaching pattern as taught in our Institute training manuals, it makes it easier to blend our styles. The Lord blessed us and we were able to deliver powerful and spiritually uplifting testimony and discussion for the classes we had this week.

My birthday was on Thursday, September 8th, so we made some extra yummy snacks for after class that night. The students loved the charcuterie tray and the two flavors of cupcakes we made to celebrate not only mine, but one of the students whose birthday was also that day. 

Here's what it looks like after a class at the institute. There is a ping pong and pool table, piano, amazing young people and food! All this adds up to a great place to gather and feel a sense of belonging. 

On Friday night, for my birthday, Elder Perona found a very nice restaurant in the town of Dublin, just a few miles north of our apartment. It has a cute main street with a lot of great restaurants. It was such a beautiful evening that we decided to eat out on the patio. There was live music and a surreal ambiance that made the night special…not to mention the delicious food.

On Saturday, September 10th, we went to the Indianapolis, Indiana temple with some of the young adults. We drove several of them in our car and enjoyed getting to know them. You learn a lot about someone when you are with them for six hours of driving (3 hours each way). Our temple here in Columbus has been closed for renovations and it is anticipated to open next spring. It is only about 5 minutes from our apartment!

Our focus is on gathering Israel (meaning those who will let God prevail). We are working to make the institute a gathering place for our youth and missionaries. We want it to be a safe place where they can gather in from the world and find respite.  This week, one of the students asked sister Perona if he could adopt her as his grandmother. That was a highly paid compliment. This is what we are trying to accomplish here; provide a place where the Spirit can help heal, make safe, and inspire our youth.

We love the gospel, we love this mission, we love this area where we serve and we love you all.