So tonight we had spaghetti (MTC style) for dinner. That spaghetti we had at the MTC last Tuesday was so good, I wanted to try to duplicate it. So I did. I used the can of organic crushed tomatoes with basil that we inherited from Joel and Sarah, plus a can of Italian style diced tomatoes, plus a can of tomato puree. I added that to some sauteed onions and celery. Then I added a small can of mushrooms and a small can of sliced olives, then a 1/2 lb. of browned ground beef and let it simmer for awhile. Voila! MTC-style spaghetti. When Camden arrived and found out we were having spaghetti, she was very excited because spaghetti is one of her two favorite dishes. But, alas, I think she was a little disappointed in the MTC-style spaghetti--it was a little too crunchy and chunky. (What are all those things in there?) That's okay. She was brave and slicked up her plate. Riley did, too. As for Grampa and me, we thought it tasted as good as the MTC spaghetti did. I don't know if that's saying much, but we thought it was good.
I joined Steven at the MTC for sacrament meeting. We both got to speak. Our possible topics were chastity, Word of Wisdom, and fasting. Elder Silcox spoke on the Word of Wisdom and Elder Rodee spoke on chastity. Their talks were in Spanish, but I could tell which topics they were speaking about. I spoke about fasting, and how, when we combine it with prayer, we are more receptive to receiving answers to our prayers and blessings from the Lord. Steven spoke about chastity and the importance of being "clean." He told the story of Joseph F. Smith on his mission in Hawaii as a young boy and how, in a dream, he arrived at a mansion and was greeted by his uncle, the prophet Joseph. Joseph told him he was late; but young Joseph F. Smith replied, "Yes, but I am clean." President Hinckley had related that same story in a priesthood session. Then Dad told about the "miracle to Slovakia" which was reported in the Church News last year; about how an army of 60 missionaries from the mission in the Czech Republic went into Slovakia and gathered the necessary 20,000 signatures needed for the Church to be officially recognized in Slovakia, a seemingly impossible task. But, as Dad said, when missionaries are clean and worthy and desiring to do the work of the Lord, they can accomplish great tasks, even miracles.
Today we said goodbye to District C--the other half of the large group that came in several weeks ago: Elder Opheikens, Elder Lewis, Elder Cox, Elder Ortiz, Elder Lofgran, Elder Stevenson, and Elder DeKay (his dad is a dentist, get it?). For their departure number they sang "Senor te Necissito" (I Need Thee Every Hour). They were pretty bad singers, but the spirit was very strong as they sang. They put their whole hearts into it. So I was glad to be there to hear it. Also, Sis. Bankhead was there and she looked good. She hasn't been there for a few weeks as she is undergoing chemotherapy right now. She said this has been a good week for her, so it was nice that she could be there.
Cousin Brianna was supposed to report her mission today, but her talk was postponed because she had been sick to her stomach all night and Barbara said she was in no condition to speak. Plus her voice was almost gone when we saw her at the baby shower yesterday.
Tiffany called from Pennsylvania and said that she and Angie had gone to Fort McHenry (where the Star Spangled Banner was written) and to the Hampton House National Historical Site. It sounds like she is still having lots of fun.