District Meeting Dec. 24, 2014

District Meeting Dec. 24, 2014

We suggested that if the Elders held District meeting in Colstrip we would treat them to Christmas Eve dinner at our home afterward.

The Zone Leaders who work in Billings, called to say they would like to attend District Meeting too, so we planned on feeding six Elders afterward.

We arrived at the Ward Meeting house at 9:00 am.  The Zone Leaders Elders Organ and Topham came shortly there after.  No one else came.  By 9:30 a short call came in from the Harden Elders Kharazi and Wilden saying they were a little bit lost and low on fuel.  Later we learned that the Forsyth Elders Brewster and Weaver were following them in their truck.  Cell service on the Reservation is really sketchy so calls and texts to them didn't go through.  One other message came through an hour or more later just saying that they wouldn't be making it to Colstrip, but they were ok.

We had figured out that they probably had taken the back roads which on a map looks like a straight good road, ran out of gas and who knows what else.

Elder Allsop came to our house and got a gas can, filled it with fuel and in the meantime he told the Elders to take me home so I could tend the meal cooking in the oven and crock pot then they would make a plan to go looking for them. We decided to sit and eat since everything was all ready. Luckily, before they got off the four Elders showed up.

They had a tale to tell about how they had taken a "shortcut" from Hardin to Colstrip which landed them in a pasture.  Elder Kharazi's truck was low on fuel.  They climbed a hill to see if they could see Colstrip or any civilization.  A grouchy rancher came in a vehicle and told them that he had trouble with trespassers.  He angrily told them to get in and he took them back to their vehicles and told them how to get to another place that could tell them how to get back on the Hiway.  That man helped them and even gave them some gas.  They ended up in Busby then drove on to Lame Deer.

 Aside form muddy pant legs and shoes they were in ok shape, and their appetites didn't disappear either.

Shown above:  Zone Leaders Elder Organ and Topham.

Shown above:  Elder Weaver, Elder Wilden and Elder Kharaze.

So the gift bags shown on the right side of this picture filled with snacks and goodies became less important as they rehearsed the saga of the day.  But they were glad to take one home.