Arizona Week 45 - Dogs

Hey everyone,

It's been a bit of a slow week. They say that holidays are a good time for visiting people because they are together as families and at home. In reality, it's very different than that. Most people are out of town not just on the holiday but several days before and after. And if they are home, they don't really want missionaries around. We understand though. Easter was good. We had stake conference and it was a wonderful meeting. We have a very strong stake presidency and it is wonderful to work with them. 

So, there are many dogs here. I now know many of them, and they know me. This makes for some interesting dynamics. One dog that lives at the home of someone that we have been trying, unsuccessfully, to contact for a while really doesn't like me (or anyone for that matter). I have learned something interesting. It is that the viciousness of a dog is in direct correlation with the thickness of the chain links that hold it. This particular dog has very thick chain links. There is a metal post that the chain is attached to. So, the dog is able to travel in a defined circle around the post. When I say "defined" I really mean it. The dog is so often on the boundaries of that circle that there is actually a well defined line that the dog has made herself. Inside this circle is a dog house where she lays in wait for her prey to approach too closely. When we draw near she is out of the house and to the end of the chain in a time that would make Usain Bolt weep like a child. (Usain Bolt is a Jamaican sprinter who is widely regarded as the fastest person ever – added by Mom.). Well suffice it to say that we want to make this situation more exciting…so, the first one of us to touch the post that her chain is attached to receives a reward. 

There are nice dogs here also. They are few but there are some that will walk around McNary with us. We have begun to name many of them but are starting to run out of names to give. 

We may soon go to a meeting at a Baptist Church in McNary. We invited a family that we teach in that town to come to church with us. The kids kept asking us when we would go to their church. Their mother has told them that since we invited them first that they needed to go to our church first and then we would go to theirs...this deal between the mom and the kids (and us) was made without us saying a thing. We asked our mission president what we should do about this situation. He told us that we could go as long as it didn't interfere with our own church meetings, and we needed to tell the clergy at the church what our purpose was for attending their meeting in the first place. We are determined to find a time when we can attend. And if there be "Amens" and "Hallelujahs" flying through the church, 50 % of those will be from my mouth. If I go there, I am going to GO there! 

Happy Easter everyone. I hope yours was enjoyable.

Elder Kirk