Serving....

This has been a busy week (March 23-30) serving in the temple, but what a joy it has been. Wednesday is my usual day to serve. I leave about 9 a.m. and then because of rush hour traffic I usually get home by 6:30 p.m. or after. Thursday I returned to do a substitute shift, and Friday Crismon and I sent together where we were privileged to serve as the witness couple for our Endowment session. The temple grounds have never looked more beautiful. The man that did the grounds in SLC for the Church Historical office, is now working at our temple. This picture doesn't do it justice. 

Saturday was another spiritual feast with the historic broadcast of the General Women's Conference, with young girls 8 years-old and up. In the past it has been the Young Women's Conference, and the Relief Society Conference, but for the first time we all met together, including the Primary girls. Crismon and I needed to be in our stake center, but I couldn't help but think about Sydney & Julia watching it with their cute Mommy, Ondalynn, and Kenna watching it with her good Mommy, Alice-Anne. I was overcome with the sweet spirit of the meeting that I immediately felt as it began and I couldn't help by cry through the entire meeting. One of the sisters mentioned that they had been fervently praying for sometime that there would be an outpouring of the spirit and there was definitely an abundance of the spirit.

Spring is Here!

Spring has officially arrived and everyone seems to be in great spirits. It's so beautiful in Oregon when the trees begin to bloom, the flowers poke through in their array of color and the world comes alive again after the sleeping winter past. We've enjoyed some walks in our neighborhood to soak up the sun and energize us during the day.

We love time with family and during Feb. and March we enjoyed tending grandchildren and seeing them in "action."

Brett & Vivi got away for a Saturday date and we had the fun of tending their children. I love "Grandma Time," whenever I can get it. Ondalynn & Gary spent a day snow shoeing at Mt. Hood, then Ondalynn had fun attending a field trip with Bryson while I stayed with her children this last Thursday. Late Saturday afternoon after a full day of Reliv Training and working in the yard, we cheered for Sydney at her basketball game and then tended the children that evening. The Vance boys especially love it when Grandpa can be there, too.

 Clark always asks right away, "Grandma, what chore can I do so I can use your iPad." He likes wiping down all the doorknobs. Daisy usually does dusting. I'm glad they want to "earn" that right.

Crismon went to Prinville on Monday along with Dave & Ellen Anderson, from Estacada, who we are helping to build their Reliv business. They stayed overnight after having an in-home presentation. We haven't been there before and Crismon said it was beautiful.

We have the privilege of Home Teaching this lovely lady, Clara Hinshaw. She was born just a few months before my Mom, so I am especially attached to her. She is delightful. One of my dear friends. It was a privilege to teach my RS lesson today on Pres. Eyring's talk, "To My Grandchildren." One part we talked about the blessings that come from accepting and magnifying callings. It was mentioned how we come to know and love people we serve with, people we may not have really known without that calling. That is so true. Serving as a Visiting Teacher and serving as Crismon's companion for Home Teaching, I have come to know and love many wonderful people that have blessed my life.

Coming in from the Cold

A trip to the beach this weekend was a welcome treat from a very busy, stressful schedule. I'm grateful to my good husband for canceling other events and reserving the weekend just for us. It seems that most of our trips have been business trips, or other responsibilities, but this was for the two of us. Thank you, Sweetheart for a nice anniversary get-away. Our first day there was sunshine! We took a long walk on the beach and then enjoyed time to read with our feet propped on driftwood. Although the wind was blowing and we were cold, we were still loving it. Staying at the quaint Inn at Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach is one of our favorite spots.

We bundled up, three layers wide to brace the fierce cold, rain, and wind the next day. I couldn't help but think of my grandchildren and hoping they would stay "bundled up" in the warmth of the gospel light. The cold  made me reflect on a very frightening experience that Asher, who is nearly 5 years-old (Seth & Tiffany's youngest) had a month ago during the subzero weather. This winter, Minnesota had one of the coldest winters on record.

Toward the end of February, Tiffany and a friend were busy at the church preparing for the Blue & Gold dinner that night. Asher and his friend were playing while their mothers were working. Suddenly Asher got the idea, "What does the snow feel like on our bare feet?" They innocently went outside to test it out. They immediately felt the cold and attempted to get back in the church house, but to their surprise, it was locked. They began to knock as loud as they could and cry for help. Since they were out of hearing distance, their mothers didn't hear their screams. Approximately 10 minutes went by when Tiffany and her friend were wrapping things up and went to get the children. To their alarm they couldn't find those two. They called and frantically checked everywhere in the building, when they finally heard them crying. Their hearts sunk to think that not only were they locked out, but without shoes, coats, hats, gloves, or any protection to keep them warm. They hugged and cradled their freezing young ones. Much longer and it could have been so very, very serious because of the incredibly cold temperatures. This picture was from Seth & Tiffany's backyard during that time.

How very grateful we are they were protected and quickly found. Asher's little feet"felt funny" for several days afterwards, walking on his tip toes to avoid the pain.

Recently, 3-year-old Christian (Williams) was riding his new birthday bike. He got carried away with the fun and before he knew it, he was headed straight down the incline toward one of the ponds in their apartment complex. Unable to stop himself he went in and out of sight. Evelyn immediately started screaming. Meredith ran to him, seeing the terror on his little face, barely his head above water. Gratefully, he knew how to swim enough to get himself to the edge off the pond. Again, our hearts are humbled when we think how close these two little grandsons were to such danger.

They both were rescued and "Came in from the Cold." We know guardian angels were watching over them. Fortunately, the bike was saved. A friend, with long arms was able to pull it out.

We, too, got in from the cold after our morning walk along the beach. After leaving Cannon Beach and driving back toward Portland, the clouds began to lift and the sunshine reappeared.

We drove directly to meet one of our neighbors who lives on Florence Court just below us. She recently moved in to the area and the sister missionaries had tracted her out. While the Sisters were having dinner with us last week, Crismon asked them, "Are you teaching anyone in our area?" That is when we learned about Melody East. An invitation to church was given and we're happy she came to church with me today. She looks forward to coming again, although she insists she'll never change from being Episcopalian. She is still mourning a great deal from losing her husband last July. We are about the same age and we both have been married about the same number of years. Her yard was filled with branches and debris, remnants of a fierce wind storm from several weeks ago. Crismon asked if he could invite the youth in our church to come and do a service project to clean up her yard.

What a blessing it is to have the organizations of the church work in harmony with each other. After Sacrament meeting Melody and I walked down the hall and the advisor over the 14 year-olds said, "Hello, I'm happy to meet you. I'm Bro. Carsner. I'm over the young men. We'll be coming to clean up your yard." We belong to such an amazing church. Every day people are being brought in from the cold, and being warmed by the love of the members and the spirit of the Holy Ghost.

Lost....and Found

Several weeks ago I had misplaced my glasses. I searched everywhere. I couldn't understand how they could just "vanish." I tried to think of all the possible places they could be, but no luck. I prayed that I could find them. Still nothing. I had to use an old pair of glasses so I could read, but they were awkward and not the right strength. Soon the headaches started, so I prayed with more earnest. But I couldn't find them. After a day, Crismon joined in praying for them, too.

I was baffled after a day past and then two. Why was I not being inspired where to look for them? I thought I had gone through every room in the house, even rooms I hadn't been in for awhile in the basement.

One morning as I was praying again, pleading for help to find them as I didn't have insurance for a new pair, the thought came so clearly to my mind and heart, "I have lost much. I have lost so many of my children." I immediately felt so humbled to think that Heavenly Father's loss was so much greater than any loss I would ever experience." I was making a big deal over the loss of my glasses, but suddenly I needed to change my desires and my prayers. I prayed this time, "Heavenly Father, who of your children have you lost that you want me to find?"

With that change of heart, also came an answer to my prayer to find my glasses. Just 15 minutes later I found them. I walked into the downstairs bathroom and there they were in plain sight on the counter! It almost scared me to see them. I then realized that I had searched the basement but hadn't gone into the bathroom. It was almost like I wasn't suppose to go in there. I remembered that because the garage was so frigid cold that I was going to do some wash in the basement, but instead didn't do it. Otherwise, I would have seen my glasses much sooner. I know that I didn't find them because I had a lesson to learn first.

Although, each day Crismon and I have been praying for missionary opportunities, this experience helped me feel that desire in a different way. That became clear to me after the Saturday evening Stake Conference meeting. Crismon had asked permission to use my story about losing my glasses as part of his talk on missionary work. He told the congregation that I was always the one in the family who would find everything if it was lost. It was like, "Mom, we need you to pray." The kids would call and ask me to pray for them if they needed something, because Mom's prayers were always answered. But this time, it was different. He shared my change of heart and my prayer to help find someone who was "lost."

Immediately after the closing prayer a brother in our stake approached me and said, "May I be the first one to ask you to pray for someone who is lost. It is my wife. She hasn't been to church in several years." I was surprised to hear this as I knew what a stalwart member she had been. Of course, I said.

It was also kind of funny because other stake members came up and asked me to pray for things they had lost. The cutest one was a young mother who said her 6-year-old son had lost some video type game, and told me the name they called it, and said they had been praying to find it without success.

I called this sister a few days ago. I was nervous because I was afraid how she might react to me calling her. To my surprise, she was kind, sweet, and appreciated my call, and....we're going out to lunch. The process has just begun.

The picture on this card is called "Winter Save." It is the story of the Shepard tending his flock, the cowboy rescuing the calf from the storm. Isn't it appropriate that he is bringing the calf in from the cold, just like rescuing one of God's children. We bring them in from the cold and warm them with the light of the gospel and the spirit of the Holy Ghost. This card was sent to us by a stake member after our Stake Conference, expressing her gratitude.

Stake Conference Highlights

We have been spiritually fed in our Stake Conference this weekend. We didn't have a visiting authority, but we were blessed by having Pres. & Sis. Morby of the Portland, OR Mission join us. We have become dear friends and we will greatly miss them when they return to St. George this July. Pres. & Sis. Pond, our new temple president and matron were with us on Sunday morning. All of the talks that were given were so good, and the choir music was magnificent and powerful.

The meetings couldn't have started any better than a sweet story that Pres. Christiansen shared at the beginning of his talk. He was the first speaker of the Saturday evening session. He talked about doing church work on his computer that morning. He was responding to an email from Pres. Lewis. His 3-year old daughter, Violet, looked at the screen and could see Pres. Lewis' picture attached to his Mt. Hood Stake President email account. She exclaimed excitedly, "That's Pres. Lewis. That's Pres. Lewis." She kept repeating it over and over again. Pres. Christiansen said, "Yes, Violet, that is Pres. Lewis." Then she said sincerely, "I love Pres. Lewis. I love Pres. Lewis." She continued to repeat it, and then she started singing a song she made up about "I love Pres. Lewis." Pres. Christiansen began to think about that instance as he continued throughout his day. From the influence of the spirit he heard, "Out of the mouth of babes." He felt the strong impression to bear his witness that Pres. Lewis was called of God, and that he loves and honors him as our stake president and that we were blessed to have him as our Stake Pres. The sweet spirit of the Holy Ghost filled the chapel and it was such a tender, spiritual way to begin our meeting. All from the mouth of babes. I couldn't help but think about how all the grandchildren love Grandpa Lewis, and there are other little children that feel that love from him, too.

The theme of the Sat. evening session was on the "Hastening of the Work." Pres. Christiansen shared how it is the little things we do, that we often don't realize it, are influencing other people around us, are all part of the Hastening. We should ask ourselves, "Who does Heavenly Father want me to help today?" He reminded us of what Pres. Monson has asked of us, "We are surrounded by those in need. We are the Lord's hands."

All youth, 12 and above we're invited to come to the Sat. evening session. It was very full, with over 500 in attendance. Lindsey May, of our ward gave the first "youth" speaker in that session. She spoke about Family History work that she has been doing on the computer and the joy she has felt in taking those names to do baptism.

Sister Kathy Ricker spoke of attending the Seattle, then the Portland temple every month for their entire marriage and then 5 years ago they started going every week. They have raised 9 children. Half of them went inactive and started some very bad habits, but through the blessings of the temple, one-by-one miracles are happening in the lives of their children and bringing them back.

Isarel Rueda, a convert 2 years ago is leaving on a mission in a week. He was asked to speak on, "Why do I want to go on a mission?" He said, "I have seen first hand what the Atonement of Jesus Christ can do in my life, and now I want to share that with others."

Sister Emily Jensen (our Bishop's wife) spoke on "What does a Gospel Sharing Home Look Like?" It was a wonderful talk. She talked about having love in our homes for each other where the spirit can be there, then inviting people over for dinner, having others see the love we have in our family. She said, "When the missionaries are in the home, I feel Heavenly Father's love for all His children. We need to stand, shoulder to shoulder across a great field, and go forth and gather those who have strayed as we go along."

Bro. Kimble talked about the importance of seniors going on missions. He and his wife are wonderful senior missionaries in our stake. "All you have to do," he said, "is share your testimony." That is the easy part. It is hard work, but you don't have to go fast, just keep going!"

Pres. Morby recently asked for more senior couples, but Salt Lake said, we have 135 missions without any couples at all.

They have seen a great change in the mission since Pres. Monson announced the age change for missionaries. When they began as mission presidents in July of 2011 there were 185 Elders & 12 sisters, then 225 Elders and 25 sisters, then 270 Elders and 50 sisters, then two missions were created on either side of them, the Salem, OR Mission, and the Vancouver, WA mission. They then had 150 Elders and 40 sisters. Today they have 225 Elders and 72 sisters. All of the missionaries in our mission have iPads. The missionaries are told to: 1. Find 2. Teach 3. Baptize 4. Retain and 5. Reactivate. When a missionary is transferred he goes into a new area and because of the iCloud, the area book with all the contacts and information drops into his iPad instantly.

My sweetheart, Pres. Crismon Lewis, gave a powerful talk on the Hastening. We are being asked to do a little more than we have been doing. We can approach people by saying, "Do you have a faith?" "I'm so thankful I can be a member of our church." He asked our stake to come to know every member in our ward. Also, to introduce yourself to every new person. He challenged our stake, "May a new person never leave our building without being welcomed, thanked for being there, and letting them know we need them." The Bishopric is asked to quickly give every new member or convert a calling.

Sunday morning session. We have 24 full-time missionaries serving from our stake. The theme was on the Proclamation to the World on the Family.

Pres. Paul Hansen: We need to study the words of our present day prophets. The Proclamation needs to not only hang in our homes, but in our hearts. How do we do that? We need to study "Preach My Gospel." Satan works on our insecurities. When we can comprehend our divine nature, we can face our trials.

Sis. Morby shared about recently connecting with a friend from way back in her early schooling on Facebook. This friend recently lost her son. She asked Sis. Morby, "Where's Joe." That contrasted to the response from Sister Parrish (a sister missionary that was in their mission who was transferred to the Vancouver mission) who just lost her parents and her two siblings when carbon dioxide filled their home in Pocatello Idaho. She and her brother who is also a missionary have returned home. They couldn't believe the strength of this young sister missionary. At the end of the call she asked them, "Pres. & Sis. Morby, what can I do for you." She then posted on her Facebook page, "My family are hastening the work on the other side of the veil, "ISN'T THAT AWESOME!!!"

Pres. Morby said he'll never erase from his phone the voice message from Glenn Smith inviting them to his temple sealing. Miracles happen in lives! Talk to everyone. He and his wife wanted to share a Book of Mormon with the gas station attendant. Before he got the words out, his wife handed the young man the book and said, "Read this book, it will change your life."

Sis Pond: There were only 8 temples in 1950. They only had names to keep that many temples busy. Now, because of the computer and the understanding of young people to search family history, they are coming up with many names that previously couldn't be found.

Pres. Pond: Attend an Endowment session with the eyes of seeing it from the view of the Proclamation. Come to the temple and be strengthened in understanding the principles of the Gospel.

Pres. Lewis: We need to receive the words of prophets in patience and faith. We are entering an era where it will not be popular to follow a prophet. In 1995 the Proclamation came out. In 1996 there was a Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). But last year the Supreme Court struck down part of it. Since that time state after state have been legalizing same gender marriages. The gays want this to be a civil issue and not a moral issue. When God speaks it trumps everything. We must follow a prophet. Then with a powerful spirit he said: "I raise a voice of warning." He encourage all to pull out the Proclamation and teach it to our children. The Proclamation will answer why (same gender marriage) is so abhorrent to God. Go to the Topical Guide, Man, Potential to Become like Heavenly Father. Go to the church website under "Teachings" then "Gospel Topics" then "Becoming Like God. Marriage in the Garden was so important that Adam and Eve were married by Heavenly Father. When it refers to "one flesh" in (Gen 2:24) you look at the footnote it refers to "one flesh" meaning one like Heavenly Father.

This evening it feels good to have had conference and now to have it over. There is always a lot of stress associated with all the details, preparation, and Crismon's hours upon hours of study and prayer to prepare his talks. He was richly blessed. Thanks to our dear children who kept him in their prayers this weekend.

Special Time with Dallin & Janelle's Family

A dream come true...a weekend with Dallin & Janelle's family. Yes, we were so blessed to be with them. We flew to Chicago on Friday, Feb. 21, and Dallin picked us up that evening, then drove us to Notre Dame, arriving at their home about midnight. We returned home by noon on Tues., Feb. 25th. It was a fast, but absolutely wonderful time with them.

We were grateful for the sweet experience of going back there for Crismon to ordain Dallin as a High Priest and to be there for him to be set apart as the 2nd counselor in their Bishopric of the Notre Dame Ward. If we went back there for that 15 minutes only, it would have definitely been worth the trip. Standing in the circle were Miles Andrews, he and his wife, Stacy, are close friends. He is the High Councilman over their ward. Bro Johnson is the first counselor, then Pres. Hurst, the 2nd counselor in the Stake Presidency. Unfortunately, the Bishop was out of town.

There was a very special spirit in the stake president's office that Sunday during this memorable occasion. Dallin will be a wonderful addition to that Bishopric. Much was said in his blessing by his Dad about him presiding. We're thankful for this good son who has been protected through his life from serious physical danger, who is liked by everyone because he is genuinely kind to all, young and old, who has been blessed with a quick mind and deep spiritual insights, and who has honored his parents all his days. We love you, Dallin! We're so thankful you married well. Janelle is a terrific Mommy, and you both have blessed us with three adorable granddaughters, Dorothy, Ruby and Norah.

We delighted in the opportunity to hug, kiss, play, and enjoy these darling girls. We couldn't get enough of their cuteness! They kept us entertained every minute we were with them. Now we are going through withdrawals. It's painful. We wish we could be closer and enjoy them more often.

We were sorry that Norah had a little scrap on her cheek that she got the day before we came, but it came in handy in helping to tell the twins apart. Their personalities are really coming out and it gets easier to tell by their sweet natures. In the pictures, Norah is in the purple "Tutu." The milder temperatures were a welcome treat for us while we were there compared to their terribly cold winter. Sweet Dorothy said, "I'm trying to be positive until spring comes, but this has been such a long, cold winter with so much snow. I can't wait for it to get warmer." She didn't want to complain, but she is anxious to feel warm sunshine and be able to play outside. We were glad she stayed home from school on Monday to be with us.

Of course, they loved playing games on our IPads, or IPhones. It was nice that we were able to stay in the guest apartment right across the hall from them. This meant that the girls could come easily over to our apartment and play, and we had a nice place to stay and be close to them.

The girls sing and dance almost all day long. They know all the words to "Sound of Music," "Frozen," and many other musicals. Sunday evening they watched "Singing In the Rain," and then Monday they were singing and dancing to that throughout the day. So cute!

Among other things we took the girls to the mall to the indoor play area. Ruby is especially animated, and she is singing and dancing wherever we went. Dorothy is such a good big sister to the twins. She is a good helper. No matter where we went, Norah would walk in the door and immediately toss off her coat. She's a kick. Oh, they are cute. Have I mentioned that?

The girls especially adored their Grandpa (as all the grandkids, do). I hope I'm a good second, but I love how he is so cute with them.

They twins were mesmerized at the Disney store watching "Frozen." They had great fun at a museum pretending their were grocery shopping, at the dentist, working in a garden, and dressing up. We had a good time at the "Chocolate Cafe" where there was a play structure and then hot chocolate, or course. Lunch at McDonald's, and a visit to their interesting library where the twins "performed" again before heading out the door.

Janelle and Dallin served us such delicious meals. It was fun to see how Dallin has become quite a cook. We loved his yummy granola, homemade wheat bread, Jewish Chocolate Babka, and a delicious dish called "Braised Eggs with Lamb, Tahini & Sumac" from the Jerusalem Cookbook from Seth & Tiffany. I had to include the picture of Dallin at the end. He has a houseful of girls! He handles it well. We got caught up with Dallin's progress on his Dissertation. He is coming along well and should be finished by May of 2015. Janelle whipped together some long awaited sewing projects while we were away with the girls. She is very creative, sewing many dresses and costumes for the girls, Dorothy's backpack and fun Christmas gifts. The girls showed us their reverence during FHE as we shared a few stories with them, then fun playing "Hide & Seek" in the dark in their tiny apartment. It was also wonderful to have Dallin & Janelle show us pictures and relate the great trip they had to Europe last summer.

Ruby & Norah performing.