This might seem like an odd photo to begin my post
about BYU Education Week.
Roger took it so we could remember
how the pillows were arranged on the bed
where we slept in Patty and Hal's lovely home.
They graciously allowed us to stay for four nights,
though they aren't there but in Berlin, Germany,
on their third LDS mission.
Their home is in Elkridge, about a half hour drive south of Provo.
My sister, Kay, stayed there also,
and it was wonderful
to come home from a long day of running from class to class
to a serene, beautiful and comfortable retreat.
We so enjoyed staying up a couple of nights,
chatting and catching up with my special sister.
One of my favorite things about going to Ed Week
is running into friends, old and new.
The two couples in the pic with us,
Kathy and Jim Lillywhite and Randy and Alecia Osburn,
recently moved from our branch
to Washington Fields in St. George.
We haven't seen them since they moved,
and when we spotted each other in passing,
we threw our arms around each other,
chatting and laughing until the Tower Bell
reminded us that we had to hurry to our classes.
This pic represents all of the friends we saw that week,
but don't have their photos:
Marlene and Roger Grua,
Bishop of our ward when we first moved to Ogden;
Charlotte and Steve Nebeker (St. George Branch);
John, Barbara, Kim and Chris Sampson (Ogden Ward);
Pat Somner (St. Geroge Branch);
my dear friend, Karleen Bechtel;
Amanda Crane (married name?), Mindy's Ogden friend;
Melanie Pool Raymond,
a KD and now a missionary with her husband in St. George;
Jimbo Young's parents-in-law with Tom's mom, Sherry;
and, so exciting, Linda and Bob Balesteros.
Linda was my KD roommate in the sorority house
and such a special friend.
Roger knew Bob when he worked at Murdock Travel -
Bob worked for Delta.
We texted each other all week
and finally found an hour to meet up on Friday and catch up.
I love Linda - she is a delight!
Okay, now to the amazing classes!
I Googled some of the unfamiliar names of the teachers
speaking on Youtube before we got there
to get a feel for how they presented.
One Score! was Anthony Sweat.
He presented The Atoning Powers of Christ,
using an acronym of each of the letters in CHRIST,
covering one or two a day.
How Jesus offers to Cleanse, Heal, Restore, Identify, Strengthen and Transform us.
He's a 37 year old father of six who was just hired as a full time professor at BYU this year.
He has many accreditations,
including a PhD in curriculum and instruction.
He is a gifted teacher, humorous and engaging.
Most importantly, he can make you feel the Spirit.
We took notes furiously all week,
but a new way to capture some of the vast and wonderful material is to take pics of it with your iPhone.
Here is some of the wonderful info
that we were given by Brother Sweat.
Other classes we enjoyed and learned from were:
Russell Ballard's Devotional address expounding on the wonderful role of women,
Scott Anderson on Christ and the Atonement,
Randall Wright on Ways to Change Your Life and Destiny,
Craig Ostler on Living in the Last Days and
Robert Line on Gospel Symbolism and The Atonement.
We met up with Kay for lunch,
usually at the Museum of Modern Art (The MOA) Cafe,
which has a small but yummy menu
and is less crazy busy than the Wilkinson Center.
This photo shows us the one day we ate in The Wilk,
enjoying sushi and a salad.
We enjoyed good dinners together at
The Trolley Restaurant in Springville and Mimi's Cafe in Orem.
We got tickets on the day they were released
for two evening performances -
An Evening of Inspirational Broadway with Dalyn Vail Bayle
(he has performed as Phantom and Raoul in Phantom of the Opera in a Broadway touring company and he toured with the cast of Les Miserables internationally.
You might remember him singing Bring Him Home
and other numbers
at Monson's televised Birthday Party last year.
He's fabulous!
He invited two women to perform with him,
Sandra Turley and Savannah Stevenson.
Savannah is from Derbyshire, England, and will take the role of Glinda in the West End production of Wicked.
She had the honor of playing Mary, mother of Jesus,
in the recently completed Bible Videos of the LDS Church.
She is lovely with a voice to match.
Sandra Turley performed the role of Cosette in Les Mis on Broadway and was part of the original closing cast.
When Stacy and Tom lived in Connecticut
while Tom was in residency of med school at Yale,
Stacy and Sydney met her
and she took them backstage to meet all of the actors.
She has sung for Steve Young's ForeverYoung Foundation events, and they have been friends ever since.
We got to meet her after the show,
and when we told her we are Stacy's parents,
her face lit up, and she said,
"I love her. And how is darling Sydney?"
She is a wonderful actress, with a truly amazing voice!
We LOVED the show!
The performers shared spiritual thoughts and experiences,
and the performance level couldn't be beat!
Next night, we attended Josh Wright's piano concert.
He was magnificent on the piano and had an engaging personality.
He has won many national and international piano competitions,
and he played classical and popular pieces.
A highlight for us at Ed Week
is attending Janice Kapp Perry and Marvin Goldstein's classes.
What's not to love about the vast amounts of music
composed by Janice
and Marvin, a Jewish convert to the church, is a good pianist.
He plays the piano with such entertaining expression
and personality, it's hard not to love him.
He performed with Vanessa Joy,
a vocalist from Arizona,
again this year,
and we heard some beautiful music throughout the week.
Some notable quotes from Janice:
It doesn't matter if we have a beautiful voice.
It matters if we have something to sing about.
She talked about service,
and quoted from Les Mis:
To love another person is to see the face of God.
No one can go back and start a new beginning of his life, but everyone can make a new ending.
On the last day, Marvin told us how he began his music playing the accordion, because he signed up for free accordian lessons.
He told a touching story of how his parents had no money,
and when he yearned to play the piano,
two uncles bought one for him.
It was a complete surprise
when the delivery truck pulled up to their little apartment,
two uncles following in a car behind the truck.
He played the accordion while he played the piano - great fun!
Janice and her husband, Doug, led us in a combo arrangement
of, "Armies of Hellaman" and "As Sisters in Zion."
After we met up with our friends, Linda and Bob,
we went to a restaurant in downtown Provo called,
Communal, for a delicious dinner.
The chef prepares meals from local, organic, fresh ingredients
and you share each serving with who you are with.
We sat up to the counter (only seats available)
and watched the chef prepare the food.
We felt like we were watching a cooking show.
We chose the melon appetizer, which included water melon, cherries and cantalope that had been vacuum-sealed
in a simple syrup and topped with the yummiest finely-diced pickled watermelon rind.
The waitress told us to order it,
which we probably wouldn't have by the description,
but it was absolutely delicious!
We chose short ribs for the entree
with sesame, ginger broccolini.
Wonderful flavors,
and a great way to conclude our wonderful week!
We returned to Patty and Hal's home, made beds,
cleaned up and hit the road for home,
arriving just after midnight.
We got a big shot in the arm of learning, understanding and love.
Now if we can just maintain the high . . .
