Road Trip to Washington D.C

Last week, we (the Relief Society sisters in my ward and I) took a road trip to the temple in Washington D.C.. The drive to our destination and back is about 9 hours. It took me a while to recover from it, I guess every since we moved here to West Virginia road trips just haven't been the same for me. I've lived in many places, but never has a temple been so far away. Even when I lived in Costa Rica the temple was only 30 minutes away. I was grateful for the opportunity to get to know the sisters in my ward better and thankful for the time I was able to spend in the temple.








On Sunday Derek was called to serve in the Bishopric. He accepted the call to serve as the Executive Secretary. We no longer get to be complacent and just attend church. Alot is expected of us and we are happy to serve. I've had so much fun teaching the children, they always surprise me with how much they know. Derek is trying to plan his time more effieciently now that he has meetings on Wednsdays and early Sunday mornings. Overall, we feel blessed and we are thankful for the opportunity we have both been given to serve the Lord.

As for secular matters, Derek has just completed and tested on the Somatic Body...which encompasses a whole lot of information. Whenever he studies at home he paces around the house stopping occasionally to explain how various body parts functions, what their connections on and so forth. It really is like another language, so Derek is not surprised when I have a glazed over look on my face because my mind is obviously off somewhere else. He has done very well so far on his written tests. The practical exams are a bit more difficult but I know with time he will get used to identifying parts on the cadavers. We celebrate after each test, thanks again to the Sorber family for letting us grill at their home once again.


I love this man!
Last week I met up with Derek for lunch just shortly after he had completed his lab. I try to provide a variety of foods for lunch and on this particular day I packed coconut cream pudding with banana slices and coconut flakes in it. The conversation went like this, at the time I was a bit offended but it's humorous now that I look back on it.

Derek: He proceeds to open the Tupperware container and spoons out some pudding. He takes one look, seals it back up and says, "I can't eat that!"

Me: I respond, "why?" (keep in mind, cooking and cleaning is my only job and has been since we arrived here. I get a little sensitive when my husband doesn't like the food I prepare for him)

Derek: "It looks like Coagulated Blood!"

Nativa: "What's Coagulated Blood?...and do I want to know what it is?"

Derek goes on to explain that in lab, he had been extracting the Heart out of the Chest cavity. It's been over a month since school has started and he hasn't had any problems with cadavers but now that they're digging into the cavities the smell has worsened. Coagulated blood is when the blood has transformed from liquid to a soft semi solid mass that looks very similar to curdled milk and pudding . There are four students to every cadaver and typically the stronger students are doing the extracting. Derek never imagined how difficult it would be to peel back skin and remove body organs.It's a good thing he explained why he didn't want to eat the pudding, I simply responded, "no more pudding for the remainder of Anatomy?" In relief Derek sighs, "Yes, please!"

This week we look forward to Derek's White Coat Ceremony on Saturday. My father-in-law (Derek's Dad) will be visiting for the occasion. We're really excited to introduce him to our friends, take him on a tour of the school (Derek really wants to show him the body he has been working on eh!) and go on a few hikes to see the water falls out here. We're so excited to see family, we miss them so much!