29 September 2013

"If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child.     -Linda Sunshine

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.    -Dr Seuss

EVENTS
September
29- (today) Jenna Baker
October
3- in 1997, Mom tried email for the first time.  Fun.  And funny that she recorded it on her desk calendar year after year.
8- Cort and Alicia 2004 (for some reason, Mom didn't put what temple....let me know, Cort or Alicia)
12- Sawyer 2011 (Timm's)

MISSIONARY UPDATES:
First, we have a new missionary to add.  Kieren Smith (Dan and Val's) had her farewell and headed to the MTC this week.   This is what her parents wrote, "Kieren gave a great talk today, two days before leaving to the Brazil MTC.  Yes, her visa came on Thurs. the 12th.  She had received alternate plans to go to Provo MTC, but they were switched to go to the Brazilian MTC when her visa arrived. "

I have a copy of her farewell talk.  Putting a file in a blog is a tricky thing....too tricky for me!  So at the end of this letter, I will put a copy of her talk.  Read it there.  For updates on Kieren,  her mission blog is sisterkierenhadleysmith.blogspot.com.  

Cameron in California--"This week was kind of empty till Saturday when we met with all three of the people we have been working with. We talked about the ten commandments, moved some logs, and avoided dog poop. We then talked about where we came from, and why we are here. Right before mass we talked about Jesus Christ and the things he did for us on this earth with the Buddhist family.

All in all a fun day that was kind of interesting."

Easton in Canada--" It feels like only yesterday that I was heading into my first winter. It is absolutely CRAZY how fast the time goes. I am seriously scared by how fast the past few months have felt.We met with Javid this week and it was amazing. He has been prepared for a very long time. We talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he ate it up. He explained to us how, ever since he was a kid, he has noticed that if he prays, he receives an answer. But only if he is being a good person and keeping himself clean. He has been living the Word of Wisdom, the Law of Chastity and pretty much everything else for his entire life "because when I feel clean, I can feel the guidance." Elder Pitre and I just shook our heads and smiled. He is incredible. We have set a baptismal date with him pretty far in the future but he said that if he feels ready he will move it. We, Elder Pitre, his fiancee and I, feel confident he will. It is really exciting to be working with him. "

Liam in Madagascar-"To end I would just like to share a small thought. I don't know if you all have seen the new church videos called "Introduction to Mormons." It is a wonderful video and we feel it will really help teach the Malagasy people more about the temples and especially help our members understand them better and feel the spirit and excitement of the temple. 

In the temple video there is an Indian family that went to the Hong Kong temple. They had the family speak, especially the oldest daughter because she spoke the best English. Well, the mother had a portion as well and she spoke in Hindi. At the end she has a very touching part in which she speaks English and says emotionally, "My family...many blessings...so happy!" It is so simple, yet so touching. I have never felt such a desire to attend the temple and such gratitude for MY eternal family until now. I loved the temple, I loved going. I love my family and I was grateful for the eternal blessings from the temple that we have. Yet now, I feel it so much stronger. So much deeper. It is more alive to me now. After seeing, meeting, teaching, helping, and lifting up so many people here in Madagascar and seeing their desire to receive those temple blessings I felt so blessed. The availability of going to the temple alone is a HUGE blessing. Something that we take for granted. With the temple so close we should make it a priority to attend it VERY regularly!"

FAMILY UPDATES:

it sure is nice to get family updates and blogs from folks!  Here are some.

Candy wrote, " Yesterday, our oldest grandchild, Tim Stevenson, was ordained a deacon! Here's a picture of all of us who were there. Tim is standing in the middle right by me. "

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Stuart sent an update on his recovery. "Every day I make progress that I can see.   I now (as of yesterday) can get out of bed myself.   Short trips around the house I use crutches instead of wheelchair.

 On Wednesday, had to go to the orthopaedic clinic in Seattle for X-rays and tests.  I got 5 out of 5 on every test and they said I'm doing exceptionally well for 2 weeks out from the accident.   (must be the hour to hour & half I do exercises in the middle of the night when I can't get back to sleep)

I now can lay on my right side for 40 minutes.   Couldn't at all at first.  Then 5 minutes, then 10, 20, 30.    Still can't turn to my left side.  My right side of the torso from the ribs to below the hip is even more colorful than before.   Great purples !

I'm putting in 3 hours a day at the office.   Just not enough stamina yet to do more.   I come home, eat a bit and sleep until 4 !  Lazy bum ! "

Shar added these pictures...

Singing time today

When kids put on the bandages,etc

Of course they got carried away

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Monta wrote, " Greg was called to be scout leader for 11 year olds in his ward.  There's one.  :)  When Greg first met with this boy he (Greg) asked him (the boy) what his expectations were.  The boy said, "For you to wear a uniform."  So Rachel went out to the scout store and bought Greg a shirt and all the patches.  So now Greg is official.  Last weekend was his first campout and it went great.

Rob (brother) is staying with us and doing some remodeling.  He's a godsend!!!!!  Our house was falling apart at the seams and he is saving it.  The biggest project is bathrooms.  We had 2 leaky bathrooms.  One had already been gutted.  Rob gutted the other, and the wall in-between.  Then he re-configured the two so they are different sizes and shapes than they were before.  Now he's starting to make them into bathrooms!  Right now the 4 of us (Rob, Robbie, Rob, and me) are sharing one bathroom--the one downstairs.  It's working out better than I thought it might.   Also, I'm getting a bathtub with jets.  That will be nice!  I love baths.  And, finally, the vanities in both bathrooms will have drawers.  Seems like a dream!  Not a single drawer in one of our three bathrooms.  Can you imagine?  Thirteen years of living with no vanity drawers.  Oh, the first world problems I endure.

Last Saturday I went on a 32 mile bike ride with friends and had a super time.  We met in Murray and rode the Jordan River Trail to Bountiful and then went to lunch at a favorite Mexican restaurant.  Then we rode to a Front Runner station and took the train back to Murray and a short ride back to our cars.  We mostly had great weather, but we did have a bit of a downpour.  I've attached a picture of us looking kind of dorky with helmets on over our coats and hoods in the rain.

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Katie blogged, "We just got back from a trip to California.We stayed with my Grandma Baker, who lives about 25 minutes from Disneyland. Somehow she has never met Emmeline before, so that was really fun for us to spend time with her. I loved Emmeline being able to stay at her house when going to Disneyland, just like I did when I was a kid. Emmeline also enjoyed a lot of the things I loved doing when I used to visit my grandma—playing in the playroom, picking oranges from the backyard orange trees, and making and drinking orange juice from the oranges. Emmeline warmed up to my grandma pretty quickly and called her “Grandma Baker.”

Katie has two hilarious posts.  One talks about ridiculous situations when Emmy is mad!!!.  Check out this link. why emmeline is mad  Dont skip this one!

and here is the other post I thought was very funny........ "Awhile ago, we gave Emmeline an old digital camera that we don't use anymore. Tonight when we were putting her to bed, she wanted to take a picture of us. So Connor and I leaned in to each other, and Emmeline got her camera ready. She said, "Say cheese!" Then she told us it was a good picture and wanted to take another. This time she said, "Say cheesy cheesy pizza. Body on the top!" We were like, uhhhh...but repeated it and laughed. She was laughing pretty hard at her own words. Then she wanted take another picture and this time said, "Cheesy cheesy pizza, body's on the top, baby [something, something--can't remember], daddy [something, something--can't remember]." It was the longest thing ever, and she was laughing hysterically at herself for coming up with this weird, long thing for us to say. She was having trouble getting more words out because she was laughing so hard. We were laughing too at what a goof she was, so I guess that's how she got such an awesome picture of us. Impressive for a 3-year-old photographer!"

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Thats all the news.  I hope I didn't miss anyone or anything.  

Work hard, study hard, pray hard.

Carol


KIEREN'S TALK

15 Sep 2013

Kieren Smith 13-15 min Called to Serve: Go Forth into All Nations

On Tuesday I am flying to Brazil to begin an 18 month mission. I have been Called to Serve and to go forth into the nations of the earth following the Savior’s call to “Preach my gospel.” But what does that really mean?

Today I would like to speak about how God’s love for each of His children inspires missionary work and how God’s love is made manifest.

I will begin by reading the words of the Intermediate hymn, number 264

Hark, All Ye Nations! Hear Heaven’s voice, Thru every land that all may rejoice! Angels of glory shout the refrain: Truth is restored again!

Searching in darkness, nations have wept; Watching for dawn, their vigil they’ve kept. All now rejoice, the long night is o’er. Truth is on earth once more!

Oh, how glorious from the throne above Shines the gospel light of truth and love! Bright as the sun, this heavenly ray lights ev’ry land today.

Having the gospel light in my life has been the most wonderful blessing. All throughout my school years, especially in high school, I never had to wonder what my purpose in life was or what choices I should be making. I had a strong testimony of Jesus Christ to guide me and I had a light in my life that made the hard times bearable and the good times even more wonderful.

I had a fantastic group of friends that also had the light of the gospel, but I also had many friends that  who fit the description in the song, where they were ‘searching in darkness’ for a light that they did not know where to find, who, like the scripture found D&C 125:12 “are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it.”

This is why we are commanded in Matthew 5, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven” This command to share our light is because God does not want any of his beloved children to walk in darkness.

God’s love extends unconditionally to all of His children, whether they have the light of the gospel or have not yet had that opportunity. In fact, He loves all of us so much that he wants to make sure that each individual has an opportunity to come to know Him. In Moses 1:39 God states “For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” God’s greatest desire is to exalt and save us, His beloved children. I testify that God has great love for each of us and that we can know of His love through prayer and scripture study.

I remember the first time that I was old enough to be home alone. I reassured my parents that I would be fine, but as soon as they left, I looked around me and panicked. With a child’s active imagination, I started imagining every worst-case scenario and everything dangerous that could possibly happen. In that moment of darkness, I remembered what I had been taught my whole life, that power, safety and comfort can come from the scriptures. I ran and grabbed them and sat on my mom’s rocking chair and just hugged my scriptures and cried. I began feeling better and as I sat I felt a peace and warmth enter my troubled heart. I felt close to God and knew that He loved me and would protect me. Even at a young age, I was blessed to have the gospel light in my life and knew where to turn for peace. Even though looking back I know I was in no real danger, my feelings of fear were real, but so were my feelings of peace and love that I felt and will never forget.

My gratitude for this experience and many others has helped me see how blessed I am and helped me develop a desire to share this light with others.

For example, when I was going around finding people to teach and serve with the Sister missionaries yesterday, we saw a group of about young children ranging from 6 to 10 years old who were playing around the apartment complex. As we walked around, they noticed us, and started peeking out from behind cars and running away laughing when we saw them. Eventually Sister Sofele offered them some starbursts and they stopped being so shy. As we went to visit their families houses, they followed us and flocked around us. I started talking to a 9 or 10 year old girl named Unique who was visiting her cousins in the complex. In part of our conversation, Unique asked me “what are you guys looking for?”

I replied: “We are looking for people who want to learn about Jesus Christ”

She simply replied “I would like to hear about Jesus Christ”

I have thought a lot about her reply. Even in her young age she has a desire to know about Christ. I was reminded of my experience that I mentioned earlier about how I knew where to find Christ and I desired the same for her. Getting to meet Unique was such a blessing. It helped me see God’s love for her and reminded me why I am going to serve a mission, to testify of Jesus Christ to those who want to come to know Him.

Doctrine and Covenants 18:10, 15-16

“Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God...And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!”

The worth of souls is truly great in the sight of God, which is why he sent Jesus Christ. In John 3:16-17 we read “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

In the November 2012 General Conference, Sister Linda K. Burton reminded us that

“The Atonement is the greatest evidence we have of the Father’s love for His children”

I recently came across a story in an LDS magazine online about how a woman named Maurine Proctor relates her experience being healed of a chronic illness helped her came to understand better the healing power that comes through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

She says “I suffered with a chronic sinus infection for so long, I couldn’t count the number of years. I had come to think that using up boxes of Kleenexes and struggling to breathe was just my lot in life. Breathing easily seemed like a distant memory as my head always felt clogged and heavy.

I had talked to doctors about my problem. A doctor in Virginia said I could have a CT scan to see if I had polyps—but she shrugged it off as unlikely. Another in Utah told me that studies have shown that some people just have sinus infections for no reason. The best thing to do was to endlessly treat the symptoms.

When I first got a sinus infection, it really bothered me, but over time I learned to accommodate myself to this misery that ran through my life like a buzz on a microphone. Taking my doctors’ collective advice, I felt I just couldn’t expect better. Life was dimmed, but I had almost forgotten what it was to breathe.

Then, my husband, Scot and I were on a cruise with a Good Doctor. One day he said to me, “Maurine, how’s your health?” I said, “Great.”

He answered, “I don’t think so. I can hear in your voice that you have a really bad sinus infection—and I’m certain you’ve had it for a long time.”

I nodded and he continued, “I can fix that for you. You need surgery, and I would like to give that to you as a gift if you will just come to my home where I have an office and a surgical center.” As it turned out his home was two states away, but his offer was like none I’d heard before.

From long experience healing people with my problem, he could hear what was wrong with me. He had done 3,000 of these operations already. He was absolutely certain he could heal me—and then what’s more he offered it as a free gift. Unheard of. How could anyone care enough about how I was feeling to offer to lift me from my misery, but what’s more have the skill to do it, and the heart to make it a gift?

Scot and I traveled those two states and the Good Doctor put us up at his home. He furnished a meal the night before surgery that he thought would be fun and ease my tensions.

The next day, as they were prepping me for surgery, he told me it would be a two-hour surgery. When I awoke it had been four. Of his 3,000 surgeries, I was among the worst. The infection had eaten through the flesh in my sinuses and had gone straight to the bone. Next stop for the infection was my brain and orbital cavity. This could have led to meningitis or other life or vision threats.

As I lay there in bed, recovering, I got a note from my son, Andy, who helped me understand more clearly what I’d just experienced. He wrote, “I just can’t stop thinking about how this Good Doctor is a type of Christ.

“We think we are ‘okay’ and that we should be able to handle everything well enough, given our circumstances. There are many who are not fully qualified to tell us (like your other doctors) who say, “Well, that just the way it is and you’ll have to live that way and figure out how to treat the symptoms.”

“Then there is the Lord. He doesn’t even hesitate. He asks, ‘How are you doing?’ We respond, ‘Oh, I’m well enough off.’ And then he says, ‘No, you aren’t. You are sick, and I can help you. Come to my house and I will heal you.’”

We answer that we are okay, of course, because we have come not to expect much better. As citizens of a fallen world, we have become used to our weaknesses and the dim cloud of misery they cast on our lives. ...and we don’t ...fully comprehend what keeps us from joy and wholeness.

With my sinus infection, I felt its devastating effects, but did not know its seriousness, its causes, or its life-threatening possibilities. So it is with ...weaknesses ...we feel their effects, but we do not know their causes, their eternal life threatening possibilities. And we certainly don’t know their cure without the Lord’s patient, divine intervention.

“If,” as my son Andy wrote, “we go to the Lord’s house, he will heal us and He finds things that we didn’t even know were there or didn’t think needed fixing. The root of the problems is addressed and the repentance is comprehensive.

I was touched by this story and the parallels it has to Christ’s role in our life. Through the atonement of Christ, we can repent, be forgiven of our sins and be healed. We can also access the enabling power of the atonement in our lives to make “weak things become strong” in Christ.

I think this story applies to the burning questions of the soul: “what is my purpose in life? Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going after death?”

A lot of people have just come, like Maurine, to accept that this is an issue that cannot be understood or resolved. They have settled to continue on in life, doing wonderful things and understanding a lot truth, but living with small holes that yearn to be filled, lingering questions that need to be answered.

As missionaries throughout the world, we declare the joyous message that the truth has been restored to the earth. The atonement of Jesus Christ is real. All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. These questions of the soul can be answered and you and I and every individual can know these things for themselves. We go into all nations of the earth to declare these glad tidings. That is what it means to be called to serve.

President Boyd K. Packer has stated, "Wherever our members and missionaries may go, our message is one of faith and hope in the Savior Jesus Christ."

Testimony

Opt:

Spread to North and South America

Sons of Mosiah and parallels to Christ’s ministry

Stryder