Amazing Expansion of Missionary Work

Elder Jeffrey R Holland visited 7 African countries in 16 days. Among other things, he dedicated the countries of Cameroon and Rwanda for missionary work. There are already members there. In one stake conference 56 brothers were sustained to receive the Melchizedek priesthood. It is amazing that the work goes on at the rate it is. During one of the meetings a children's choir sang, conducted by a 9 year old boy.


In this picture, Elder Holland is dedicating the country of Cameroon for missionary work.

This is a portion of what he said in the dedicatory prayer on a hilltop in Rwanda:

"We are doing all we can, Father in Heaven, to reach to heaven. We ask Thee with great affection, loyalty and love that Thou would bring heaven down to us. We ask that Thou would receive us here, as we stand tip-toe to enter Thy presence, feel Thy Spirit and build Thy kingdom."

The sweetness of what he said brought me to tears.

Trials and Tribulations

Not mine, just in general. I read this the other day:

"It is wrong to assume that the more righteous one is, or the more diligently one strives to keep his or her covenants with the Lord, the less suffering one will have to endure. The promise is that he or she will be blessed, though the blessing may be the strength to endure suffering. All suffer -- the just and the unjust. But the unjust live as well with the consequences of their own sins. This is the way life is arranged. God does not sit around wondering what test to throw up before you next. Such tests are integral to life -- they go with the territory."
- Robert S Wood (The Complete Christian, p 95)

Two scriptures come to mind. First, Mat 5:45 ....for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Every day the sun rises, the birds sing and the flowers bloom. On the other hand, storms come, disease and disaster strike. And those things happen to everyone, good, bad or indifferent. There is no gurarantee that if we are good little boys and girls that we will be rewarded in this life. Too bad about your luck if that's what you were expecting.

The second scripture is 1 Cor 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

My mother, when she was feeling particularly put upon, did not believe this scripture. She thought that whatever happened, God would get you through it with little or no effort on your part. If she had to work at it, or if she had to make the move toward God, to lean on him.. that meant he wasn't making her able to bear the burden. But as Elder Wood says, the blessing may be the ability to endure.

My life has been an easy one compared to many, difficult compared to some. But the more I lean on the Lord, the easier the burdens are to bear. They don't go away, at least not most of them, but they are easier to bear. Sometimes so easy that I forget they are there. A final scripture, Mosiah 24:13-15
And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.
And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.
And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.

Lessons I Thought I Learned

My neighbor died the other night. He was in his jammies, sitting on the edge of the bed, laid down and was gone. There was no sign that he struggled at all. Just the way I want to go some day, decades from now. We called 911 of course, and they tried to resuscitate him. I understand that they did get him breathing, briefly, but he was pronounced dead later.
His wife is coping, but she has some difficult times coming up, not just the loss of the husband that she loves. Bob handled all of the finances for the family, and he did it online. I'm not sure she knows how to turn on the computer; she definitely doesn't know any of his passwords. She has a friend who promised to teach her how to use it, and of course, Ronald darling volunteered me to do it. lol
He took her to the funeral home today to get everything straightened out, she had prepaid for cremation for the two of them last year. She's gotten meals from a couple of friends, including Ronald darling. Her best friend was over today, helping to clean up Bob's bedroom; her son is coming up from North Carolina. I helped move the area rug in while I was there.
So, these are the lessons that I thought I learned when daddy died, and again when mama died.
But I look around and talk to Ronald darling and realize that I ain't learned nothin' yet.

• Husband and wife should know how to pay the bills.
• Husband and wife should know where the policies are.
• Passwords should not be secrets in a marriage.
• Declutter, sort and pitch.
• Declutter, sort and pitch.*
• Clean, sweep and mop.
• Make sure the laundry is done and put away.
• Keep the dishes done and put away.

If I don't do these things, someone else will when the time comes. It may be family, which will be bad enough. They know you pretty well. But it might be the Relief Society, and even though they love you, they will find out they didn't know you as well as they thought. They will ask "Why on earth was she keeping this?" and "How did she ever find anything?" and "Why didn't she ask for help?" and (maybe) "Why didn't her visiting teachers tell us she needed help?". And if it is the he who is gone, they will put the questions in present tense, but whisper.

I also need to learn how to make funeral potatoes; they taste great and I won't get any when I'm gone. If you've got a good recipe, let me know.

*This item is listed twice on purpose because it takes twice as long as anything else you have to do.

Midnight

I hate midnight phone calls, I really do. Unless there is a baby due somewhere, they rarely bring good news. The one tonight, although slightly before midnight, was not about newborn babies.
Our neighbors across the street are older (yes, even older than us!) and in poor health. We got an emergency call from them a few months ago. Bob was unresponsive - I thought stroke. But his wife called us instead of 911. We called for the rescue squad while trying to get him to respond. It took 8 days in the hospital and a diagnosis of "We don't really know", but he came home and did great. He went back to doing all the cooking and took care of his wife when she had a second knee replacement last month.
But tonight, he was not breathing. And his wife called us instead of 911. I called as soon as we got there; no pulse, no respiration. Ronald darling tried CPR at the request of the 911 operator. He had to get Bob's teeth out of his mouth first (I know, sorry about that) and then made an attempt. But it was obvious that he was gone. He was cold, his eyes were open, no blinking, no pulse, nothing.
The rescue squad got there very quickly, although it always seems like forever. They asked about a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) but he didn't have one and she said to do "whatever it takes". So they spent the next 30 or 40 minutes trying to bring him back, they put in an IV and did who knows what all else. Six EMTs working in a bedroom about 10 by 10. They were getting ready to put him on a stretcher and take him to the hospital when we left. She had called her stepson to come down; he lives just around the corner. He and his wife were with her when we came home.
If they get him breathing again, I will be shocked... and grateful. Bob is a real sweetie.

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

I like kissing.
When I was a young single gal, several decades ago, before Ronald darling, there was another young man who wanted to marry me. Really, there was! He was in the city temporarily. He worked for NCR and was here for training for about six months. He was going to work for them for a few years (his plan) and then go back to Indiana and buy a pig farm. Okay, that was a little off putting, but I could go along with it. I'd never been on a pig farm and had no idea what it would be like, so I was willing to go along with that. But he was not a great kisser, he was not a good kisser. In fact, he was a lousy kissser. I was very young, didn't know much about it, but I knew that my last boyfriend was a good kisser because we sat on the porch and did it for a long time.
So when my suitor finished his training and left, I just let him go. I wanted a good kisser!

I was reading a friend's blog yesterday. Her daughter is going from home school to middle school and she wanted to include some of the things that boys might suggest. Kissing techniques popped into her mind.

Whenever tongues enter the conversation, I am reminded of a talk I had with a young single sister a few years ago. I don't know why people come to me for advice - maybe it's because I'm always right and never wrong and I know everything. Anyway, she was dating the first young man that actually seemed like he might be "the one". Her question?

"How far down your throat does his tongue go before you have to talk to the bishop?"
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So I went on my first and only date with Ronald darling and he kissed me. On the first date! And the rest, as they say is history.

I really like kissing. And this song is inspiration for the activity.

In The Olden Days

Well, not olden days to me, but olden days to a bunch of you.

Laundry day was Monday. All the laundry was washed on Monday and hung on the line in the back yard to dry. The line always sagged, so you propped it up in the middle with a wooden 1 x 2. Usually you had 2 or 3 lines, that way you could hang the underwear in the middle or in the back where the neighbors couldn't see it.

When the clothes were dry, you brought them in the house, laid them out on the kitchen table and sprinkled them with water from a little doohickey stuck in an old soda pop bottle. Then, you folded them up, stuffed them in a zippered plastic bag and stuffed them into the refrigerator. Overnight. Really.

That was because Tuesday was ironing day. That's all you did, all day long, was iron clothes. That included the handkerchiefs, the sheets, the dresses, the skirts and blouses and Sunday go to meeting clothes. Not the underwear, we got a break on that. When I was a kid, my mama taught me how to iron, starting with the handkerchiefs. She put one of the kitchen chairs up to the ironing board with the back against the board. I stood on that and ironed. The reason we sprinkled the clothes and put them in the refrigerator overnight was so they would be universally damp in the morning. That's because there was no steam in the iron, it was just HOT. Lick your finger and tap the bottom of the iron. If the spit sizzles, it's hot enough. Really. But of course, you didn't teach a kid to iron too young. I was 6 or 7 when I started that. And I was really proud of myself. I ironed the folds into daddy's hankies and I was a big girl!

By the time I was married with a home of my own things had changed some. We didn't hang or sprinkle the clothes, because we had steam irons and dryers. But when you're ironing and you realize that it's work and not a privilege, you need SOMETHING to do while you iron. That's when I started watching soap operas on a regular basis. I watched for two hours every day. Four soaps, two hours because they were only half an hour long.

I watched CBS' entire lineup. Love of Life, As the World Turns, The Guiding Light and The Edge of Night. It took up a portion of the day, but wasn't too bad. But in 1977, they expanded all the soaps to a full hour. That took up half the ding dong day! Unbelievable! So I quit cold turkey. Mom tried to keep me watching one, so we'd have something to talk about, but I sucked it up and just said No!

The Guiding Light has filmed the last episodes this week. They are going off the air. That show has been broadcast for 72 years. I know, I know. They started on the radio, then went to telelvision with 15 minute episodes. Amazing.

But I haven't watched soaps in years. Now I just watch endless reruns of Andy Griffith and NCIS, not in that order. ;)

So, What Would You Have Done?

First, a little wine, er, whine. It was a long day. I worked 9 hours, my feet hurt, I had a big project to work on... yadda yadda blah blah! LOL
I got home and Ronald darling had made some wonderful mini-meatloaves. Delicious! Only one of them was on my diet, but I ate two anyway! Honest, they were great. Ask him, he might give you the recipe.
So dinner was over, and I decided to go to Wally World. It's not very far; about 10 miles round trip. I went, I looked around, found the things I was looking for plus a pound of strawberies. Simple. I didn't lose the car, I didn't go over the budget I set for the trip and I was home by 8:00. Success.
And then I unpacked the bags. Wait a minute! What's this?!? I have an extra bag. The cashier gave me the last bag from her previous customer. Someone who is planning a wedding and has a toddler at home and is very concerned about getting everything done in time. I was not eavesdropping! Okay, okay, my ears weren't closed when she was talking, of course I heard her. She was only three feet away, for crying out loud!
And there's the bag, sitting on the table. Three bananas, a six pack of ready to eat pudding and a small container of fresh blueberries. It doesn't belong to me.
And, shame on me. I paused. I paused!!
I mean, I don't have little children at home who have to be taught this very important lesson. You know, so they can tell the story in Sacrament Meeting some day. "I remember Mama. Poor thing dragged herself out of the house when she was SO tired and worn out just to return a little bitty teeny weeny bag of groceries. What a GREAT mama!"
I paused. I told Ronald darling what happened maybe thinking that he would tell me not to bother going back, it's not my fault, I shouldn't feel guilty, another yadda yadda blah blah
He said, "Too bad!" Such sympathy. So off I went, to return the bag of groceries.
At the Service Center I got a very strange look and a "thank you for being so honest". That's it. Of course, I didn't want a fuss made. Not supposed to be doing my "good works to be seen of men", but would a $5 gift card have been too much to ask? LOL
So, do you have limits to how far you'll go, how inconvenienced you'll be, how tired you have to be?

Beautiful Music

We had a wonderful, sweet experience at church today. The Relief Society sang a beatiful piece in Sacrament Meeting, "Behold the Wounds in Jesus Hands". The words are so touching and the sweet sound of the sisters was amazing. I didn't get an exact count, but about 60 beautiful women sang.
I especially love the fourth verse which ends:

Then as you fall to worship Him
And wash His feet in tears,
Your Savior takes you in His arms
And quiets all your fears.

This is a version of the piece (we sounded better). Thanx to all the sisters who sang and especially to Angie our sweet accompaniest.

One Small Step

I was feeding my little 6 week old baby girl; eyes glued to the television... Just unbelievable!

When I Grow Up

When I grow up I want to be just like this lady. Whaddaya think?