Sister Patti Tippetts
Primary Music Leader
Hello my primary friends! I am out of town this week in a place that makes it difficult to use electronics. So I don't have anything prepared this week from our lesson book.
A few weeks ago I related a story about some friends I have that were visiting us and are members of another religion. We are out here visiting them this week. As part of their religion, they don't have electricity in their homes and they don't use technology. So... no TVs, no movies, no computers, no cell phones, no tablets, no gaming systems, no microwaves, no electric lights, and no CARS. They use flashlights or other battery operated lights at night. They have bikes or horses and buggies to get to the stores and their family's and friends' houses. They wash their clothes in old-fashioned ringer washers and hang them outside to dry.
For fun, they find other things to do since they don't have TVs and video games. They play outside a lot and they do a lot to help their families with the chores. They have ponies and carts they drive around the yard. Some learn to play instruments. They play with their friends and enjoy lots of sports. Around the house here they play a lot of basketball, Frisbee games, and volleyball games. But they have other team sports they enjoy as well.
The families get together often in the evenings with other families and friends and sit around the fire and laugh and sing and tell stories. They have dinner or just pop popcorn or have ice cream-- they all LOVE ice cream!!!
They are very religious and devout people. And they dress differently than others. The girls always wear dresses and the boys wear pants with suspenders and their shirts cannot have pockets. They all wear hats or bonnets called covers. The women always wear their hair up and never cut it short, and the men grow beards once they get married. Their clothes are mostly homemade and very plain, and the fabric never has a print... just solid colors. Their church is 3 hours long (like ours used to be) but only every other week. And they stay ìn the same place for the whole 3 hours instead of going to classes. They don't have church buildings so they take turns holding church at their homes, either out in their shop or in a large tent on their lawn. My favorite part is that they sing for the entire first hour! Although I don't know the melodies and I can't sing their German words well, it is amazing and BEAUTIFUL to just listen to them sing. I've never heard anything like it! The community speaks Dutch to each other, but their church sermons are in German. (So we don't understand much at all when we go with them. Sometimes the preacher will speak a few English words so we at least know what bible story they are talking about. That is very kind of him.) After their meeting they eat a meal that is symbolic of their ancestors' pilgrimage across the ocean. They all treat us kind and welcome when we are there!
We often get to talk about our church and what we believe and they ask us many questions. Their friends and family are curious about the Utah people as well and they also ask lots of questions. It is important to be good examples and be prepared to answer those questions. While we're are not officially called as missionaries, we know that the time we spend with these people will determine how they feel about our church!
We are very blessed and grateful to be able to have these rare and wonderful people as our friends.
I love and miss you all! Thank you for letting me share my special experiences with you.
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