We do find time to have lots of fun in our Branch! Here are a few more enjoyable activities here in Al Ain!
We are at the Sinclair's for a PI day Party (yes, I am a little behind in my entries 😛)! Both Gayle and Seth are teachers, Gayle teaches at the HS and Seth is a Professor at the University so they are both really creative in getting everyone engaged in the activities. As you can see everyone brought all kinds of Pies, both dinner and dessert pies ~ Completely scrumptious 😋!
After all the eating and visiting we got down to some serious games. We've played these games with our family back home but just so you know it was way more competitive here and that is saying a lot if you know our kids 😜! We played a game like Kahoots but I can't remember what this game was called. All I know is that I was in, pretty much, last place the whole time (I think I passed Zuri, age 7, once or twice 😂). Anyhooo, it was great fun and I did learn a thing or two! There is nothing better than to get together, play games, eat delicious food and visit with wonderful friends.
With many of our members traveling for their yearly "month off" we did make a few runs to Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports. The bus takes 3 hours and the taxi's take $100 so if we are available we will take them there! We took Josh, Kath, Kahliea and Kyler to Abu Dhabi for their month in the Philippines. Many times there have been some miscommunications (pic of text) between Josh and me over our texts but each month it seems to be improving 😉!
Wow! Wow! Wow! Brian and Jennifer took us to TeamLab/Phenomena and it truly is a Phenomenon. I mean it was the most amazing place I've ever been to. It blew me away! We first walked into a forest where the trees looked like they were moving and designs would climb up and down the trees and change into amazing scenes. It is so hard to describe but a must see if you are ever in Abu Dhabi.
Another absolutely cool thing was this huge area that has all kinds of creatures all over the walls, floors and ceiling. You get to design a creature with your name on it and then it appears in the room and roams around. Mine is the lizard ~ you can see it if you look real close! After looking all over I finally found mine and kept following it and watching it dart back and forth and travel every which way. Crazy cool!
It's really hard to describe this place so I've just taken it from their website: "TeamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi is an immersive digital-art experience where light, sound, movement, and interactive installations transform the space around you. It’s designed to feel more like stepping inside an artwork than visiting a traditional museum." (source: T teamlab.art).
It's one of those places where you just have to see it to believe it! We spent hours and hours there because there is so much to see and experience!
Afterwards we went to Ferrari World where the DeLeon's (pictured: Zuri and Victoria) were spending the day and we (Brian, Jennifer, Billy and me) met up with them for a visit. There are definitely some cool places in the UAE. And, as you can see, I took 1st place in the race! I think, perhaps, if I had never gotten married I would have liked to have been a race car driver 😎😏😛!
Patriarchal Blessings
Your Patriarchal blessing usually contains personal and inspired direction and counsel from Heavenly Father. A patriarchal blessing also includes a declaration of a person's lineage in the house of Israel or as a descendant of Abraham.
We’ve made two trips to Abu Dhabi for Armando and Taonga to receive their patriarchal blessings from Patriarch Woodhouse. Because of everyone’s different work schedules, it can be difficult for them to get the same day off and make the trip to Abu Dhabi together. What a sacred and special experience this has been for both of them. We always stop on the way home to grab something to eat and take some time to visit and talk about their experience. It’s such a wonderful opportunity to reflect together on this beautiful and personal blessing from Heavenly Father.
Adrena's parents brought her up and made it a wonderful celebration. The bottom left picture is the Abu Dhabi chapel ~ it is gorgeous and right across the street is one of the Labor camps (bottom right pic) where many of the workers here in Abu Dhabi live.
Because we had three more members lined up for blessings this past month, instead of making three individual trips to Abu Dhabi, Patriarch Woodhouse traveled down to Al Ain to give the blessings here, which was so nice. Teena was first, then Gabriel, and last, but certainly not least, Prince. What an amazing gift this is to each individual member of the Church. It’s like having your own personal letter (like scriptures) written just for you from Heavenly Father. I love it! There is something so special and sacred about receiving personal guidance and knowing that Heavenly Father knows each of us individually and has a plan and purpose for our lives. I’m so grateful for these beautiful experiences and for the opportunity to witness each of them receive their own special blessing. 
It was a busy, fun-filled and spiritual day at the Villa. My two bodyguards, Hygiene and Sunshine, were just hanging out, studying Pathways and taking a little break for a few laughs. These two truly keep me laughing! They may be my bodyguards, but they’re definitely not very serious about their job 😆!
For their summer vacation the Sinclair's (bottom right corner) went to Thailand and bought themselves a retirement home! Fortunately, they will still be in Al Ain for a few more years until they actually retire! Above them the Deleon's went to Disneyland both in China and Japan. We took Hygine (left pics) to the airport as he was going home to Nigeria for the month and Taonga (middle) is actually going home to Zambia for good. After just a few weeks she decided this was not the place she wanted to be. The expectations are never what they think they will be and their employers don't follow the rules that the UAE has set up; no one checks on the employers to make sure they are following the rules so it is always a surprise to those that move here. Taonga was such a sweet woman and we will miss her. She said that she is still grateful that she moved out here because she learned a lot more about the Gospel and she also received her Patriarchal Blessing. Her husband and 4 children are very excited that she is coming home as she has been away from them for about 6 months. Another Misc collage: the 1st pic is our friend, Innocent, from Pakistan who we went out to the far western part of Al Ain to visit. He was interested in learning about the Gospel but he ended up going home to Pakistan to get married. Hopefully he will contact the missionaries back in his homeland and learn more about Christ and His Gospel. The 2nd picture is of our 'laundry' man! He and his co-workers are the sweetest people you'll ever meet. It only cost $1 per item which is amazingly fantastic. The funniest thing is that they will come out to your car and grab your laundry. There is even an older man that will come out in the heat and I will tell Billy that he can't let that old guy come out and carry things back in when the temp is 114F; he's going to pass out or have a stroke. Billy reminds me each time that he is also an old man 👴! We are not quite sure how they remember to keep everyone's clothes separate and in order cuz he'll just grab them all with the car next to us and take them all in together. So far we've always gotten all our clothes back cleaned and in order! The 4 lower-left pics are: 1)Three bags of groceries we’re delivering today. 2) Passing one of the many camels we see riding around in the backs of trucks. 3) Piles and piles of termites infesting Billy’s office 😵😱😧. 4) And the last one is me pointing to one of the four corners where LOTS of ants keep finding their way into our house 😠. We’ve had the pest guy come out three times and after much complaining, he finally brought the owner over. They’re now going to, hopefully and finally get rid of those little buggers!
The last 3 pics on the bottom right show our “accidents of the week.” First, we got a call from a sister who had a bump sticking out of her wrist after whipping up desserts at the cafe where she works (ice pack and ibuprofen to the rescue)! Then another sister had a little carpal tunnel surgery and last but not least, a brother had a pretty serious cut below his thumb. Just a totally normal week of injuries 😂!
The picture above the 'accidents' is just the parking situation at our favorite grocery store. There are absolutely no rules or lines to follow, so everyone just parks wherever they want; even if it means completely blocking someone else in. Pretty bizarre 😂! When we got back from Norway, I went back in to shop and it honestly felt like I was a celebrity. Everyone was so nice and so happy to see me! One of the little workers followed me around the whole store, helping me reach things on the high shelves and directing me to anything I needed. At first, I thought he was following me because he suspected I might steal something 😂, but after a few minutes I really got into it. I decided I quite liked having my own personal shopper!
The middle bottom pic is of a bird who decided to take up residence on our window ledge. We actually have another bird who is a permanent figure outside our bathroom window, but there’s a pane of glass between us, so we can only hear it singing in the morning. This bird, though, I was seeing every morning, but the minute she saw me, she would fly away. And since the window was at the bottom of our stairs, she would see me each morning. Clearly, I was a little too invasive for her liking 😂! She didn’t get many sticks gathered for her nest before she must have gotten tired of me and found a new location to build her nest. It really was fun seeing her each day and I miss her.
I don't have a picture of this next paragraph (for obvious reasons) but here in Al Ain, during the summer months when the weather reaches anywhere between 113F to 120F, we go without . . . cold water 💦😰💦. We do have warm water that will come out of the faucet and shower for approximately 45 seconds. After that it is just scalding hot water. Billy is unaware of the first 45 second rule so he usually lets the water run before he gets in ~ for this reason (on the days that I do shower 😉) I always try to get in before him, that way I can take advantage of those first 45 seconds to get completely wet then step away from the steam and wash. The rinsing gets a little hard but somehow we manage. But this isn't even the funniest part ~ our toilet water is the same way. For most of the summer months the water in the toilet is HOT, I mean actually hot. When you sit down it's like having a little steam sauna on your bottom 😳. It is definitely a bit strange, but I'm just glad to report that we are finally able to enjoy some less-hot showers and slightly cooler bathroom visits now that our weather is starting to cool down to 106F - 112F; who would have thought we'd ever consider that temperature refreshing 😜?
Doctrine and Covenants 110:11
“Now, this is the word of the Lord: the gathering of Israel is one of the greatest events that shall take place in the latter days, and it is the work that is now going forth.”
