Little note from one of our own...

Today during church we had a special Visiting Teaching/Home Teaching Conference of sorts. Today also happened to be the day I was released as Visiting Teaching Coordinator/Supervisor. I have had a Visiting Teaching calling in this ward for nearly 2 years and I am very sad to say that it has taken me this long to really truly appreciate my calling.

I would like to share with you a brief history of my experience as a Visiting Teacher thus far in my life. When I turned 18 I was just finishing my Jr. year of High School and decided to leave the Young Women's program and move into Relief Society. That meant that I began Visiting Teaching while I was a Sr. in High School, attended early morning seminary, weekly institute (45 minutes away), and working a three quarter-time job. In my home ward I was pretty much the designated babysitting and babysat for most of the children in the ward. My first companion took very literally the instructions that we only HAVE to visit the sisters once a quarter...not necessarily the best way for me to learn the true importance of Visiting Teaching. All the same we went, once a quarter (most of the time) basically just to get it done.

Then, I moved out to college and as most of us know, unfortunately, Visiting Teaching does not even rank on our list of priorities while we are going to school, socializing, working, etc. The next few wards I lived in I don't think I even had a Visiting Teaching assignment because we were only there for a short time and to be honest, I felt relief that I didn't have to worry about HAVING to visit anyone.

Then, three years ago, my husband and I moved into the Willow Springs Ward. I don't think any other ward can ever claim responsibility to "converting" me to Visiting Teaching. The first year we lived here I didn't know anybody, I worked full-time and only saw people at church. I had my assignment but could never get a hold of my companion, and she never tried to get a hold of me so I figured "whoops, I guess I can't go Visiting Teaching." Then I was called to be a Visiting Teaching Supervisor and I guess something clicked. I began to TRY to do my calling. If I couldn't get a hold of my companion, I would go by myself. If I couldn't get a hold of my sisters, I would drop a note off at their door each month with a message and my contact information. I still was/am not perfect but a joy for Visiting Teaching was beginning to spark.

After a few months as a Supervisor I was called to be the Coordinator. I can't begin to tell you what a difficult, time consuming, but wonderful calling this was. I truly developed a LOVE for each and every sister in this ward. Not only for the sisters that I personally was assigned to steward over, but for every single sister in this ward. I found myself thinking DAILY of the sisters. I found myself crying myself to sleep in pain knowing that Sister X was not being visited and that if we made a change then Sister Y would probably not be visited. I found my heart aching for all of the sisters struggling in one area of their lives or another. In short, I found a true and humble testimony of Visiting Teaching.

I find today that my heart aches even more knowing that I have had this wonderful calling released from me and that I didn't take enough opportunities to express my deep gratitude for each and ever sister in the ward. I know we all have struggles, I know we are all in different stages of our lives, I know we are all busy, but I know we all want to someday return and report to our Heavenly Father that we did everything in our power to bring that one sister along with us back into fellowship and to return to live with her Heavenly Father.

Sister Stice asked us all today to write down the name of every sister we visit and then under their name make a LIST of things that that sister may need. Something as simple as taking our her trash, or something more involved as taking her kids for the evening so her and her husband can attend the temple for the first time in months. Sister Stice then challenged us to offer help to those sisters. Instead of asking "is there anything we can do for you?" ask specifically "can I help take out your garbage as I leave today?" "can I take your kids to the park this afternoon?" I want to second that challenge and I accept it whole hearted myself.

Sister of the Willow Springs Ward. I have such a strong testimony of Visiting Teaching now that I wish I had from the very beginning. I wonder how many people fell through the cracks when I had an "excuse" not to do my Visiting Teaching and that inpowers me to not let that sister 5 years from now fall throughthe cracks. I know that our Heavenly Father and Mother love us so very much and that it is through them that the calling to be Visiting Teachers comes from. I love each and every one of you and I close this testimony in the name of our beloved brother and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

--
Jessica S Haworth
p. 801-380-9430
alt email: jessica.haworth@mail.com

Video Message

This video makes me cry every time. Such a simple message, but so powerful. It always brings me to think Why don't I do acts of kindness like that more often? The things that may require very little from us, can be valued so highly to others..

...let's just remember to not just think it but DO it.

Growth—A Process for Two

“Spiritual growth comes by solving problems together—not by running from them. Today’s inordinate emphasis on individualism brings egotism and separation. Two individuals becoming ‘one flesh’ is still the Lord’s standard. (See Gen. 2:24.)

“The secret of a happy marriage is to serve God and each other. The goal of marriage is unity and oneness, as well as self-development. Paradoxically, the more we serve one another, the greater is our spiritual and emotional growth.”

President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994),

“Salvation—a Family Affair,” Ensign, July 1992, 4.

Service Offer

On most days (M - F) I am available, along with my 3 kids, to come sit with with your kids between 2 and 6 (give or take a half hour) so that you can go to appoinments, meetings, errands, shopping, visiting teaching, etc. I prefer to schedule in advance, but much of the time I can be spontaneous and help in a pinch.

This is because of my husband's graveyard shift and how it sometimes helps to get my kids out of the house in the afternoons when he's sleeping. But my intention is NOT that this is a service "for me". I've just found that having him here so much I haven't BEEN SERVING as much as I'd like to, because I can't babysit, etc. in my own home for now. So if this can help anyone at all...

Call me to plan ahead: Evelyn Veylupek (G4) 362-8478

(Isn't this so nice?? Thank you for the offer Evelyn!)

Stand and Lift

Who could use a good lift right now? I mean I could, cause getting out of this monstrous Love Sac is borderline impossible after a good meal... but what about an emotional lift? Spiritual maybe? The skies are gray for what- 98% of the day?- and the post holiday funk seems to be settling in the fog around our beloved (not to mention beautiful) snow-packed condos. Some are sick, some are stressing, and some are just waiting for that spring day full of sunshine that right now seems a little too far away.

So, naturally, we're starting a little bloggidy-blog. We're hoping to keep this a place of warm thoughts, heart-felt encouragement, and a gathering place for friends. We could all use a little cheer. Let's make the clouds open if not for just a minute to let the sun shine on our neighborhood and make our homes all a little warmer.

I was walking around my house today and couldn't get the phrase "Stand and Lift" out of my head. I was saying it over and over and over again until I realized I was singing it to the tune of the the Little People toy my son was playing with. It wasn't until I caught myself belting it out in such sweet (yet cursed- you know how those toys with sound get) melody that I stopped to ask myself why it the phrase was running through my mind.

When my husband got back from the last Priesthood Session of Conference back in October, I asked how it went. I usually got a "good" and a quick sum-up of the themes of the talks and that was about all I got until the next Ensign came out. But this time I listened for minutes as he went on and on and on about President Uchtdorf and his talk. He told me the stories and relayed the message so well- I couldn't wait to read it myself. To this day he uses examples from that talk, and it has stayed with me. So if you don't mind I'm going to share a couple of my favorite things he said:

"When we seek to serve others, we are motivated not by selfishness but by charity. This is the way Jesus Christ lived His life and the way a holder of the priesthood must live his. The Savior did not care for the honors of men; Satan offered Him all the kingdoms and glory of the world, and Jesus rejected the offer immediately and completely. Throughout His life, the Savior must have often felt tired and pressed upon, with scarcely a moment to Himself; yet He always made time for the sick, the sorrowful, and the overlooked."

I find it SO easy to pity myself when there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. That is pathetic of me, because I'm sure I spend a lot more time in my pajamas than anyone else around here, yet I always seem to find an excuse or a way to justify why I don't have the time to Visit Teach or to go check in on so-and-so. When the truth is- every time I do go I leave thinking "I wish I didn't have to wait a month to come back." I always feel good once I've gone, and I always stop and question myself about why I don't do it more often. There isn't much out there that is more satisfying than a good relationship with a good friend. Nope, not even those rice krispies staring me down over there. And that is saying something!

President Uchtdorf also tells an example of a man named John Rowe Moyle...

"This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of John Rowe Moyle. John was a convert to the Church who left his home in England and traveled to the Salt Lake Valley as part of a handcart company. He built a home for his family in a small town a valley away from Salt Lake City. John was an accomplished stonecutter and, because of this skill, was asked to work on the Salt Lake Temple.
Every Monday John left home at two o’clock in the morning and walked six hours in order to be at his post on time. On Friday he would leave his work at five o’clock in the evening and walk almost until midnight before arriving home. He did this year after year.
One day, while he was doing his chores at home, a cow kicked him in the leg, causing a compound fracture. With limited medical resources, the only option was to amputate the broken leg. So John’s family and friends strapped him onto a door and, with a bucksaw, cut off his leg a few inches from the knee.
In spite of the crude surgery, the leg started to heal. Once John could sit up in bed, he began carving a wooden leg with an ingenious joint that served as an ankle to an artificial foot. Walking on this device was extremely painful, but John did not give up, building up his endurance until he could make the 22-mile (35-km) journey to the Salt Lake Temple each week, where he continued his work.
His hands carved the words “Holiness to the Lord” that stand today as a golden marker to all who visit the Salt Lake Temple.
John did not do this for the praise of man. Neither did he shirk his duty, even though he had every reason to do so. He knew what the Lord expected him to do.
Years later, John’s grandson Henry D. Moyle was called as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve and, eventually, served in the First Presidency of the Church. President Moyle’s service in these callings was honorable, but his grandfather John’s service, though somewhat less public, is just as pleasing to the Lord. John’s character, his legacy of sacrifice, serves as a banner of faithfulness and an ensign of duty to his family and to the Church. John Rowe Moyle understood the meaning of “lift where you stand.”'

We can not only make another's day brighter by service or even a quick smile and wave in the parking lot, but our own by feeling the Savior work through us. As we realize how much our Father and the Savior love others, we also realize how much they love us.

I think we could all use a good lift. And I think we can do it together...

Let's start with trying to get me out of this dang bean bag.