As many of you know, I was released last month from my calling in the Young Women after six fun, fun years serving the teenage girls in our neighborhood. I was sad to move on, but I have since been asked to take on a new project. I have been called as a ward missionary with a special assignment to fellowship a new family from Burundia, recently baptized into the Church. They have lived in a refugee camp in Tanzania most of their lives. All of the seven childen were born in the camp. They finally were selected to come to America as part of a special program. My assignment is to help aculturate them and mostly to help them learn English. I try to give them a "daily dose" of English, by dropping by their house and playing word games, flash cards, bingo etc. Today we learned food and kitchen items. After the lesson, we went through the cupboards and refrigerator and named everything. I was surprised to find a package of chicken thighs sitting on the shelf in the cabinet. I tried to talk to the mom and dad about the importance of refrigeration, but I am not sure they understood. They resisted my efforts to move the chicken to the frige, but finally they did place the chicken in the frige. The frige, by the way, was completely empty except for one large cabbage. (They store the toaster in the dishwasher.) It is rewarding service and I hope to make a difference in their adjustment to this new way of life in the US.
