The End… which is just the beginning.by Angie

Mon
15 Sep 2008
1:09 pm
1

I have tried  with all my might to come up with an appropriate conclusion to the intended three-part saga of my Prince’s new calling, but my creative juices have been diverted of late and have left my writing skills high and dry.  I’ve decided that I shall finish the story in modern-day prose, with an anecdote that happened yesterday:

We were introduced to a wonderful woman named Andrea (pronounced “ahn-DRAY-uh”) a few weeks ago by the Elders who were teaching her the gospel.  She came to our home for a lesson and dessert, and I liked her immediately.  She is from Bolivia (I think), and has a darling accent.  She works at a hospital, so her schedule is pretty hectic and prevents her from attending church every week.  Yesterday, she didn’t get home until late into the afternoon, so she missed the meetings, but she called the Elders and asked them if they would come over – and to please bring the Hoffmans, if they could come!  So the four of us went to see her and had a great talk about the Godhead and the importance of having a living prophet in our day to help us better understand the nature of God.  Jim, of course, had his scriptures out and brought up several points that were specifically based on verses from the Old and New Testament.  He is such a wonderful teacher – I love listening to him!

Well, apparently, Andrea felt the same way.  She suddenly sat straight up on the couch and said (referring to Jim and myself), “You know what – he is like FIRE!  She is so sweet and quiet and teaches nice, but he is like PAUL:  he is so strong, and has a testimony like fire!”

And she is right.  This is a wonderful calling for my amazing husband, and it’s only just begun!

Trinity Arts Dance Academyby Angie

Tue
11 Mar 2008
2:03 pm
3

km2-custom.jpgSunday before last, I was talking to Jollene Berghoff at church about where to find an adult tap class (since she teaches dance). She told me that she only teaches clogging, but I should ask Kjelene Deakin, who owns the dance studio where Jollene works. In fact, she found Kjelene right then and introduced us. There isn’t an adult tap class right now, but she’s been thinking of starting one and said she’d get back to me. At Enrichment meeting two days later, Kjelene found me and asked for my phone number, saying she had “had a brainstorm” about me… I didn’t think much of it, figuring it was just about starting up the class.

Wednesday morning, Kjelene called me and asked if I would be interested in being an instructor at her dance academy! I was completely floored. I tried to figure out what I might have said on Sunday that would give her the idea that I was qualified to teach dance – that “I’d taken tap and jazz and a little ballet years ago” didn’t seem to fit the bill to me. She explained that she wanted a new teacher to share her “Tiny Tots” classes – kids from 2-5 years old – which required much more in the way of personality, patience, and “storytelling” than perfect technique.

So, today was my first day at Trinity Arts Dance Academy, where I first attended Kjelene’s Pilates class to get warmed up, and then shadowed her for Tiny Tots and KinderBallet. She had half a dozen extra kids and moms there than usual, taking today’s class to try it out for free. It made for a pretty crazy morning. It was really fun, though, and I loved being back on the dance floor. I only had my tap shoes on for about ten minutes, but it felt so great! I’m still a little amazed at what I’ve gotten myself into, but it’s been fabulous so far!

Tagged as: ,

My New Callingby Angie

Thu
6 Mar 2008
2:03 pm
5

Joseph Smith ManualWell, when I wrote a while back about being asked to teach Relief Society at the last minute, I didn’t realize that it was an audition!

Yep, I have received a new calling and was sustained and set apart on Sunday as a Relief Society Instructor. I’m very excited! I’m a little nervous, too, but I hope that after a few lessons I’ll get over that. I get to teach once a month (every third Sunday), from the new Joseph Smith Manual. This will be so fun!

Off the Cuffby Angie

Sun
17 Feb 2008
6:02 pm
1

So, Jim and I had a lovely quiet morning – slept in a little, got up and got ready, walked to choir practice, had a nice rehearsal, peaceful walk home… Then, just a few minutes after we walked in the door, the phone rang. It was Carolynn Hoopes (one of the counselors in our Relief Society), calling to ask me if I could teach today.

Wow. I have never taught a Relief Society lesson before in my entire life, and now I had less than three hours to prepare one. Luckily, it was about Joseph Smith as a special witness of the Savior – so, having been a missionary was strongly in my favor. The chapter in the manual was beautifully written, so that made it fun, too. I regret to say that I have not been in the habit of reading the lesson before going to class, so I was even less prepared for the call than I could have been, but I am now determined to do my reading every week like I should.

I was very nervous but the lesson went well and, amazingly, took just the right amount of time! It was a scary experience but, overall, a good one. To thank me for my impromptu lesson, Carolynn and her kids walked over to our condo after church and brought us an angel food cake and a huge package of fresh strawberries!  That definitely made it all worth the effort.