Desert Flowers

Rhonda's father brought us on a hiking tour of the Tonto National Monument. We began at the base of the hill and climbed more than an hour toward the old cliff-dweller ruins. Along the way, a National Park Service guide showed us all the many flowers currently in bloom. We often think of Arizona as a barren desert, but quite the contrary, it is a place of abundant natural diversity and beauty.





I believe the guide spoke of this plant as miner's lettuce. It was the only plant on the tour we were allowed to eat, and to me it did in fact taste like a combination of spinach and lettuce.



Dakota standing with Rhonda's father on the trail.



A cactus flower.



Indian paint brush.





The teddy bear cholla looks all soft and cuddly until you get a closer look. It's tiny spines have small hooks that burrow into the flesh of any person or creature foolish enough to get tangled in its branches. Our guide made this warning, "If you're falling in the desert, it would be far better to land on a sharp rock than a cholla."



Certain birds nest in the cholla because they know that snakes will not even attempt to brave the cactus spines.





The desert is blooming with wildflowers. The Mexican poppies create patchworks of orange along the hillsides.

Easter Pageant

While visiting the Mesa Temple, we had the opportunity to witness the LDS Easter Pageant, along with thousands of people who gathered on the lawn of the Visitor Center. The pageant is quite a spectacle in its own right, with hundreds of actors, elaborate costumes, powerful music, and bright lights. It follows the Life of Christ through all the major Biblical events, but with special emphasis on the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus.



The crucifixion of Jesus, while a Roman soldier looks on.



The Last Supper.



Jesus heals the sick.



Dakota's cousin played a role in the pageant. Many characters in costume wandered about the audience handing out printed programs and encouraging people to learn more about Mormonism.

The Mesa Temple

My family and I flew to Arizona to spend time with Rhonda's father. We got free tickets last Christmas when the airline bumped us from the flight to Guaymas.

Rhonda's dad picked us up from the airport and drove directly to the Mesa Temple where we planned to watch the Easter Pageant. We arrived at sunset, so I was able to get a few pictures of the temple in the last rays of sunlight. I also got a few pictures of the Christus statue in the visitor's center.

Sacred Space

This last weekend, I facilitated a workshop titled "Sacred Space" for Twin Eagles Wilderness School. The purpose of the workshop was to assist participants in exploring ways to create greater points of access to the sacred in daily life. It was a powerful weekend. Participants shared personal stories and a profound spiritual connection to one another.

The workshop was first conceived a year ago when I attended the Jon Young workshop with Twin Eagles. I literally dreamed the workshop into existence.

Tim and I stood for this picture at the conclusion of the event. In the second photograph, the Twin Eagles staff play music.

Character Counts

My daughter recently received recognition for demonstrating one of the six traits of the Character Counts program: responsibility. Rhonda and I watched with admiration as the principal gave her a certificate in front of a school assembly. Her teacher later reported that the award was given to acknowledge all the ways McKenna helps in class beyond the average expectation.

Buttercups

Yesterday I stopped by Drumheller Springs to check the indigenous plants. The buttercups are more abundant this year than I have ever seen. As busy as I've been, I just could not pass by without paying respect to this harbinger of spring.



Without their pink flowers, the bitterroots remind me of sea anenomes with green tentacles reaching out from the ground.

Peace Pole

Eastern Washington University recently constructed a "Peace Pole" at the center of campus. Each side of the pole reads, "May peace prevail on earth," in a different language. I was asked to present a blessing of the pole, perhaps due to the fact that one of the languages was the Spokane Salish.



The Venerable Geshe Phelgye also performed a blessing.







This is a copy of the poster that the university used to advertise the blessing. I was surprised when people called and said they had seen my face on campus. You may click on the poster to see a larger image.

Birthday Number 39

On the morning of my 39th birthday, the sunlight reflected through my bedroom window at precisely the right angle and cast a rainbow onto my ceiling. In the last eleven years of living in this house, nothing like this had ever happened before, and yet on this day, a rainbow appeared just as I opened my eyes.

There is nothing unusual about a rainbow. The sunlight just happened to reflect and divide into its constituent colors, but the timing made me smile. This was the best birthday present in many years.



My birthday fell on a Saturday. Earlier that week, my students and co-workers threw a wonderful party. I kind of expected a card and certainly an occasional well-wisher, but I did not expect the outpouring of celebration and support. I'm not easily moved by birthdays, but at one moment, I felt tears welling up in my eyes from all the warmth.



Bob and Carole at my birthday party.



Pamm.



Ward looking for a file just before my birthday celebration.

Thyra Moses

In honor of my aunt, Thyra Moses (1953-2010), who made her journey on March 8, 2010. She will be deeply missed.

The Wizard of Oz

All three of my children are participating in Christian Youth Theater's production of the Wizard of Oz. Dakota has two roles: Uncle Henry of Kansas and the Ozian Guard at the gates to the Emerald City. My daughters are playing the parts of munchkins.

As a father, I take great pride in watching my children grow as actors, and most importantly as human beings. Christian Youth Theater has been a godsend to our home. Their confidence has grown as actors, singers, and public speakers. They have also formed many positive connections with their peers and the wider CYT community.



This is Dakota's first speaking role in a play. In this scene, he reads an order from the sheriff allowing Miss Gulch to take Dorothy's dog Toto.



After Dorothy lands her house in the land of Oz, Uncle Henry is transformed into the Ozian Guard at the gates to the Emerald City.



The Ozian Guard greets Dorothy and her companions at the gate.



After opening the gates, the Ozian Guard welcomes Dorothy into the city. In this scene, Dakota gets to sing his big solo.



The Ozian Guard brings Dorothy into the Emerald City.



My daughters make very lovely munchkins.



McKenna plays one of the munchkins. She also has a few brief speaking parts.



Whitney is also one of the munchkins.



As one of the lead characters, Dakota got to write a brief biography for the printed program.

San Bartolo

Recently my wife and I purchased an HP Photosmart C8180 All-in-One printer, scanner, and copier. As it turns out, this thing is able to copy old negatives, like the kind we used to get from 35mm film. After scanning the negative, the program inverts the colors and creates a positive image. Suddenly all my forgotten photographs are finding new life! There's no need to even pay money to get the negatives developed; I can process them right here in my living room.

I found these old negatives from my mission, some of which have not been seen in almost 20 years.

The photograph on the top of this post was taken in 1991 in a small town called San Bartolo Aguascalientes, famous for his thermal waters. In the picture, I'm kneeling near a small structure called a "tuj," which is basically a sweat lodge used by the Mayan peoples of Central America.

The second photograph shows women washing clothes in the river near San Bartolo. It's a little difficult to see any detail in this picture, but if you click on the image, you can see a slightly larger version.



This photograph was taken in 1991 in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. Elders Gudiel and Nicholl are standing beside me. We chose this location because of the storefront window which reads, "Licuados Super Moises." Notice my head is carefully placed over the letters to make it look like "Moses."



My companion Elder Ricardo Monroy is sitting near an adobe house with a Guatemalan family. This picture was also taken in 1991 in San Bartolo.

Fathers and Visions

Fathers are powerful. Like all the moods of the sky, they bring both warmth and desolation, one after another, and sometimes with barely a glance. In their sun-filled brilliance, fathers inspire confidence in their sons. But when thunder and hurricanes fly from a father's mouth, the son may bear the wound of a lifetime.

My father did both.

Sometimes I rebelled, but deep down I believed everything he ever told me. Right or wrong, his words became the gospel truth. When he praised me, I believed myself a king, and when he scolded me, his words became a standard of judgment that would drive my self-doubts for years to come.

I saw both faces of my father, and many shades in between. I saw his shadow as it emerged from the bottle, but I also saw his greatness.

Just before he left this world, he wrote a letter that may well represent the culmination of his life wisdom. I re-worked some of the grammar and awkward phrasing, but most of the language is the same. Certainly all the concepts belong to him.

Visions are sacred.

The spirits tell us what to do and give us visions that determine our journey in life. Nowadays, people are not taught to listen to spirit. Thus, our visions are often wasted and we fail to hear the songs in our hearts.

It has been said that songs made from dreams hold their power forever. Any power given in a dream is a gift from the spirit to help the people.

Indians forever lived in a land of mystery, seeing the un-seeable and hearing the voices that only they could understand. The spiritual world of the Indians included both humans and animals. The animals are holy messengers lighting a pathway to power and wisdom.

Nowadays, the people of this land live so far from spirit that all spiritual reality has been lost. The full power of spirit is now only a ghost, much of which we will never see.

Our quest in life could be so simple, with the help and guidance of spirit. The spirit within us will someday be called to follow the sacred circle to the spirit world, which is the true world. When that time comes, will we be ready, or will our attachments to the material world hold us back?

We must put down our possessions, our fears, and all the wrongs this world has taught us. They did not come from spirit. They came from all our wants and fears.
The Indian path is a true path. It was taught by spirit, so let us lead it in spirit.

Wizard Auditions

I am remiss to have waited so long...

Several weeks ago, my children auditioned for "The Wizard of Oz" at Christian Youth Theater in Spokane. More than 120 kids auditioned for about 60 roles, and I'm happy to report that Dakota, McKenna, and Whitney all got parts. Dakota was cast as Uncle Henry and the Ozian Guard. McKenna and Whitney were cast as Munchkins.

This is a big step for Dakota. He gets to sing, but he also gets a speaking role for the first time in his brief acting career.

For show times or to order tickets online, visit the weblink below and fill out the form. Please remember to write "Moses Kids" in the box that says "Student's Name."

Wizard of Oz Tickets