Tuesday, September 15, 1970

At 6:00 sharp the alarm sounded, and Elder Blackham and I hopped out of bed and dressed down to only a pair of shorts and shoes and socks and took off running around the block, circling the engineering college and the far edge of the Praça Sinimbú. For such a short jaunt I sure was puffing by the time we made it back to the house. I guess for the first time I can expect to be a little out of shape.

Upon return we both continued with our regular exercises. We place the old hammock on the floor of our room and do the exercises on it. Elder Blackham usually does 50 six-point leg lifts and some sit-ups. I have been doing an ever-increasing number of leg lifts, push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, and various stretching exercises. The running will be a valuable addition. I am now probably in as good a shape physically as I have been at any point in my life. Elder Blackham says he is completely out of shape. He comes from a very athletic family, although he says he was the least endowed.

Today and last night Elder Blackham and I have been preparing a slide show that will portray the history of the branch of Maceió. We are using almost exclusively Aldo’s slides with a few recent shots from Elder Blackham’s collection. The slides will be shown in the fireside Wednesday night.

Tonight Elder Blackham went home teaching with Paulo Filho and I with Edmilson. We visited at Aldo’s, although he was not home, and at Vitória’s. The others saw Pedro do Nascimento, Adélia, and Nádia and Hévia. They learned that Nádia is trying to kill herself off. She just contracted to teach nights at the Escola Técnica. She already teaches every morning and studies at the university in the afternoon. She used to use her evenings to study and prepare her classes. What she’ll do now I don’t know.

District meeting last night was interesting. I had elders think up an ending to the story associated with the scrolls we are reading. Then I set that aside and gave a brief talk on Paul, the greatest missionary. I had arranged with Dona Creuza to bring in on a plate with candle the end of the story rolled up as a scroll as soon as we finished the closing hymn. I read the story’s end. The scrolls were given to Paul. It was so sharp.