"Defend your beliefs with courtesy and compassion. But defend them!" - Jeffrey R. Holland
"Whoever you are and where ever you may be, you hold in your hands the happiness of more people than you can imagine." Henry B Eyring
And since it is tax day this week, I thought I would include a couple of thoughts on taxes....
Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. -Ronald Reagan
The hardest thing to understand in the world is the income tax. -Albert Einstein
EVENTS
April
13 Stuart
15 Adelaide Barlow (Natalie and Kenny)
24 Savannah Smith (Davis and Asislene)
27 Dena
30 Magdalyn (Maggie) Smith (Trent and Lyndi)
May
1 Caden Ouimette
2 Erik Mordecai-Smith
MISSION UPDATES:
Easton in Canada: General Conference!!!! Enough said. I loved pretty much every second of the meetings and just soaked in the Spirit. I love General Conference. My favorite session was definitely priesthood session. The talks were perfectly geared to my investigators and to
me. It was just an all around great experience. You all watched it. You know how good it was. :)
We are so blessed to have a prophet on the earth. The power and authority of God is back in full force. We do not have to guess or worry about the doctrines of salvation. They are laid out to us in the scriptures, ancient and modern. We just heard the Lord speak to us through His chosen servants. We had better heed the warnings and invitations given. Do not ignore the voice of the Good Shepherd for those that will hear His voice will be called His sheep. I love you all. Make this week count!
Cameron in California: Conference was awesome. This is the first time I have gone to conference with questions and got some good answers. My big focus right now, I think, is to improve my studies so that I can learn the gospel more quickly and have good habits for when I get back. I am doing well and our investigators watched conference. We also may have a baptism coming up this month, not sure yet. There will be another wedding of investigators I have taught at my first church building in Encinitas.
Keiren in Brazil -In a brief ward council meeting, Bishop started talking about the need for rescue and retention, and started talking about specific families about which he is concerned and what needs to be done to help these individuals. He had tears in his eyes as he discussed the needs of the people and I couldn´t help but think of him as a good shepherd, truly concerned about his sheep. It is so nice to receive the help of the ward and the members. It makes us as missionaries feel happier and less alone. I would encourage all of you to continue praying for and helping the missionaries. All of your efforts are appreciated!
After yesterday morning´s session, a group of us missionaries grabbed a bunch of pass-along cards and started distributing them to people outside the chapel at the traffic light. We gave them to people walking along the sidewalk, and we also went up to people´s cars and gave them through the windows while the light was red. Here, doing stuff like that is part of the culture, but for me it was super daunting at first. But as soon as we got going, it was hard to stop. It was actually really fun! I talked to this one lady in her car and started talking and she interrupted and said "I don´t have any money" and I was like, "No worries! What we are offering is free!" Her face immediately changed from glaring to a happy smile and she kissed the picture of Jesus and then drove away. People here really love Jesus. Another lady got really excited when I showed the picture of Jesus on the front and motioned me to go to the other side of the car for her to roll down the window. She said, "That´s my friend!" And I told her He was my friend too! It was a great moment for friendship. When you have a friend like Christ in common it makes things so much better.
FAMILY UPDATES
Erik Mordecai-Smith sent an update... (!)
FAMILY UPDATES
Erik Mordecai-Smith sent an update... (!)
Family trip: at the end March, the family spent the night in downtown Seattle to attend the annual Emerald City Comic Con. This was the first year we brought along all the kids. The crowds, spectacular costumes, and attending celebrities dis not disappoint. The kids met Nichelle Nicoles (Star Trek original Uhura), Karl Urban (the new Dr McCoy), and Ron Perlman. The lines were long.
Jeffrey's (and Erik's) trip: Over our spring break (the first week of April), the Port Angeles High School band took its quadrennial trip to the DC area. This year, the band played on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, visited the National Mall, took a Potomac River cruise, watched the '25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee' at Ford's Theatre, and competed in a music festival competition held (in part) at Woodrow Wilson High School. PAHS's wind ensemble took first place honors. The trip provided a good first-time experience for many of the kids to visit the Capitol. It was interesting for me to revisit and realize that time and adult perspective do augment one's appreciation of history.
Calista's (and Erik's) trip: the Olympic Peninsula has formed its first high school girls lacrosse team. As a provisional group, it has to go far and wide to play some teams. This weekend, we traveled to Wenatchee to play a double-header in the blazing sun (that yielded a player-melting 68 degrees). We spent the previous night in nearby Leavenworth, a Bavarian-styled town with lederhosen, bratwurst, and pretty views (Shar's parents lived there for a few years after retirement). The girls had a lot of fun and learned quite a bit over two tough games that they narrowly lost. They also got to bond on the way home as downed power lines in the mountains delayed us for about 4 hrs. This was more significant than usual as I had Carson and Ewan (9 and 6) with me (Angela had school in Tacoma). Coaching a team of high school girls has been a very interesting experience. It's been important to Calista, so it's important to me.
_____________________________________________________________________
Cara sent some posts. Here are a few of them.
Liam is studying roller coasters for school and was able to build one in his classroom. He did it completely by himself and he was so proud!
Hallie was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society.
Back in October when we did a family 5K, we were all entered into a raffle and
Ethan ended up winning two season tickets to Creighton baseball games. So fun!
We've been taking turns going (Barry taking each of the kids one at a time). Last night
we finally had a chance to make it a date night. And I finally got to try the funnel
cake fries (with maple cream dipping sauce) I've been hearing so much about!
_________________________________________________________________________________
and stolen from Facebook--
Lissa posted this and this picture. Girls trip! Hanging out with my mom, sisters, sister-in-laws, and cousin.
our L to R... Lissa's cousin on the Baker side, Lyndi Pratt, Dena, Cara, Kelly, Janae and Asialene.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Addie had her 3 year old birthday party. A Frozen theme. Here are some pictures.
___________________________________________________________________________
We just got word that Rachel and Greg Hyatt had their baby. Vital stats:
Clara Annabelle Hyatt
Date: 17 April 2014
Time: 2:18 pm
Weight: 8 lb 4 oz
Height: 20 in
Finally, Paul and Verna Smith family, remember the Smith Family Reunion will be July 24, 25, and 26, 2014. Get off work and school, book those flights. It's coming soon.
Everyone have a good week. Work hard, study hard, pray hard,
Carol
No comments:
Post a Comment