I love it here. Today we warmed our home or rather... the kitchen with sweet filthy rich hot chocolate. our propane stove and a sheet to seal in the heat!! It is just bitter cold out already and I am buckling down for a winter full of warmth in the heart! I have a testimony of the spirit literally warming your body when the sun sure wont do the trick! It is cold hahahaha. yet I am warm. Serious.
I am just gonna take the advice of my dad and "keep my tights on and stay warm" will do! I was sure to share this bit of advice with sister Lamoreaux as last Thursday offered us an opportunity to hide behind some milk cartons and attempt to pull her tights up that no longer resided on her body! SUCH FUN everyday. That is the day I learned how to say "it was quite an adventure"{ in Russian and let me tell you it was fitting. Let just say it is a miracle day. we have too much fun it is nuts.
Does anyone in this world know that I have taught already witnessed FOUR BAPTISMS! Each so miraculously sweet. It is just astounding to me how much the work is moving forth here. I am so humbled to be put in such a rich area. We have a goal to bring 3 more souls unto Christ by the end of the year. Pray for our mission :) We will do. This is a special mission. HUMBLING FOR MEEEEE.
My ward is 500 members and 300 are inactive, we spend a lot of time just loving the inactive and yet we still manage to have more baptisms than any other area that I know of. Seriously 4 already and one on the way. It is so beautiful to see the light in these people as they find something so special. something they have searched their whole lives for and I have just take for granted. Can you imagine why I loved this talk (at the end of my letter so much)
Through all of the miracles that I have seen. I have not forgotten why I am here. I think we are all aware I am here so that I can give all I have to Follow the admonition of our savior, to ' love thy neighbor'
All of this takes root in the gift that I am earnestly seeking each day. (Seek ye earnestly the best gifts :) That is what I am doing :):):)
It all reminds me of a not so pleasant tune, but a hymn with words that house power: "have I done any good in the world today" I ask . Have you done anything to lift another? I learn more and more each day, the more I try to lift another I get lifted all the higher. In many ways it is just not fair.
You may be asking--- or not.... WHO IS PATRICK FITZGERALD. Well let me tell ya.
He is just a little Irish man I met outside the temple one ordinary day of the most extraordinary days of my life (aka everyday of my mission)
Just this little Irish man has no idea the impact that he has had on my life. How suiting that his name is "Patrick Fitzgerald" isn't that everything you would want a little Irish mans name to be whom you meet outside the Kiev Ukraine temple! It sure was for me.
Our little happenings was a five minute conversation that left me feeling so full of joy I cannot describe WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT THIS MAN! I do not know. I don't even remember what we talked about. He was ordinary in every way (for an Irish man) let me tell you he sure had the cutest accent I have ever heard. ----That is it mom. I am marrying an IRISH MAN! ----:) he was unique in that he has somehow managed to discover a gift within him to just lift all those that he comes in contact with.
You wanna know something neat. He reminds me of my mom. He was a little weird :) very out going. friendly. oversharing and bright but most of all he just leaked a love for his brothers and sisters. Lifting those around him. I can hardly remember the words that he said to me in our small conversation but he just loves people. it is apparent in his very demeanor. Mom you have a gift.
Patrick Fitzgerald is aware in some sense of this gift to lift. To warm hearts and lighten spirits and it takes not very long in his presence to be under the influence of his gift, he shares so unhinderingly. The man was undeniably happy and has set out on a life of lifting those around him. Whether the hands of those hang helplessly down - or an everyday ordinary person a moment with Patrick Fitgerald and everyone feels a little higher.
. I want to be this kind of person.
As I strive each day to develop attributes of Christ I am ever so grateful for a real life example. The influence a perfect stranger can make by simply seeking to lift your fellow men.
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye alove one another; as I have loved you, that ye also blove one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have alove one to another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have alove one to another.
found in the parched and desolate wilderness of isolation called loniliness.
May we reach out to the rescure the lost who surround us.
Rich satisfaction comes to us when we help another along the pathway to eternal life.
Because I have been given much I too must give. because of thy great bounty lord each day I live. I shall divide my gifts from thee with every brother that I see, who has the need of help from me. because I have been sheltered fed by thy good car. I cannot see another's lack and I not share. My glowing fire my loaf of bread my roof safe shelter over head. that he too may be comforted. because I have been blessed by thy great love dear lord. I'll share thy love again according to thy word. I shall give love to those in need. I'll show that love by word and deed. Thus shall my thanks be thanks indeed.
I want to show my heavenly father that my thanks is thanks indeed. I want to lift with the gifts that I have been given. It is apparent to my through my experience with my new little friend that you never know the affect you can make.
Our Responsibility to Rescue
Consider the lost among the aged, the widowed, and the sick. All too often they are found in the parched and desolate wilderness of isolation called loneliness. When youth departs, when health declines, when vigor wanes, when the light of hope flickers ever so dimly, they can be succored and sustained by the hand that helps and the heart that knows compassion.
There are, of course, others who need rescue. Some struggle with sin while others wander in fear or apathy or ignorance. For whatever reason, they have isolated themselves from activity in the Church. And they will almost certainly remain lost unless there awakens in us—the active members of the Church—a desire to rescue and to save.
“I had so much and now have so little. I am unhappy and feel as though I am failing in everything. The gospel has never left my heart, even though it has left my life. I ask for your prayers.
“Please don’t forget those of us who are out here—the lost Latter-day Saints. I know where the Church is, but sometimes I think I need someone else to show me the way, encourage me, take away my fear, and bear testimony to me.”
While I was reading this letter, my thoughts turned to a visit I made to one of the great art galleries of the world—the famed Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England. There, exquisitely framed, is a masterpiece painted in 1831 by Joseph Mallord William Turner. The painting features heavy-laden black clouds and the fury of a turbulent sea portending danger and death. A light from a stranded vessel gleams far off. In the foreground, tossed high by incoming waves of foaming water, is a large lifeboat. The men pull mightily on the oars as the lifeboat plunges into the tempest. On the shore stand a wife and two children, wet with rain and whipped by wind. They gaze anxiously seaward. In my mind I abbreviated the name of the painting. To me it became To the Rescue.1
Amid the storms of life, danger lurks. Men and women, boys and girls find themselves stranded and facing destruction. Who will guide the lifeboats, leaving behind the comforts of home and family, and go to the rescue?
Our task is not insurmountable. We are on the Lord’s errand; we are entitled to His help.
During the Master’s ministry, He called fishermen at Galilee to leave their nets and follow Him, declaring, “I will make you fishers of men.”2 May we join the ranks of the fishers of men and women, that we might provide whatever help we can.
Ours is the duty to reach out to rescue those who have left the safety of activity, that such might be brought to the table of the Lord to feast on His word, to enjoy the companionship of His Spirit, and to be “no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God.”3
Second, others return because loved ones or “fellowcitizens with the saints” have followed the admonition of the Savior, have loved their neighbors as themselves,4 and have helped others to bring their dreams to fulfillment and their ambitions to realization.
The catalyst in this process has been—and will continue to be—the principle of love.
In a very real sense, those persons stranded in the storm-tossed sea of Turner’s painting are like many of our less-active members who await rescue by those who guide the lifeboats. Their hearts yearn for help. Mothers and fathers pray for their sons and daughters. Wives plead to heaven that their husbands may be reached. Sometimes children pray for their parents.
It is my prayer that we might have a desire to rescue the less active and to bring them back to the joy of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that they might partake with us of all that full fellowship has to offer.
May we reach out to rescue the lost who surround us: the aged, the widowed, the sick, those with disabilities, the less active, and those who are not keeping the commandments. May we extend to them the hand that helps and the heart that knows compassion. By doing so, we will bring joy into their hearts, and we will experience the rich satisfaction that comes to us when we help another along the pathway to eternal life.
By President Thomas S. Monson
For Latter-day Saints, the need to rescue our brothers and sisters who have, for one reason or another, strayed from the path of Church activity is of eternal significance. Do we know of such people who once embraced the gospel? If so, what is our responsibility to rescue them?
Consider the lost among the aged, the widowed, and the sick. All too often they are found in the parched and desolate wilderness of isolation called loneliness. When youth departs, when health declines, when vigor wanes, when the light of hope flickers ever so dimly, they can be succored and sustained by the hand that helps and the heart that knows compassion.
There are, of course, others who need rescue. Some struggle with sin while others wander in fear or apathy or ignorance. For whatever reason, they have isolated themselves from activity in the Church. And they will almost certainly remain lost unless there awakens in us—the active members of the Church—a desire to rescue and to save.
Someone to Show the Way
Some time ago I received a letter written by a man who had strayed from the Church. It typifies too many of our members. After describing how he had become inactive, he wrote:“I had so much and now have so little. I am unhappy and feel as though I am failing in everything. The gospel has never left my heart, even though it has left my life. I ask for your prayers.
“Please don’t forget those of us who are out here—the lost Latter-day Saints. I know where the Church is, but sometimes I think I need someone else to show me the way, encourage me, take away my fear, and bear testimony to me.”
While I was reading this letter, my thoughts turned to a visit I made to one of the great art galleries of the world—the famed Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England. There, exquisitely framed, is a masterpiece painted in 1831 by Joseph Mallord William Turner. The painting features heavy-laden black clouds and the fury of a turbulent sea portending danger and death. A light from a stranded vessel gleams far off. In the foreground, tossed high by incoming waves of foaming water, is a large lifeboat. The men pull mightily on the oars as the lifeboat plunges into the tempest. On the shore stand a wife and two children, wet with rain and whipped by wind. They gaze anxiously seaward. In my mind I abbreviated the name of the painting. To me it became To the Rescue.1
Amid the storms of life, danger lurks. Men and women, boys and girls find themselves stranded and facing destruction. Who will guide the lifeboats, leaving behind the comforts of home and family, and go to the rescue?
Our task is not insurmountable. We are on the Lord’s errand; we are entitled to His help.
During the Master’s ministry, He called fishermen at Galilee to leave their nets and follow Him, declaring, “I will make you fishers of men.”2 May we join the ranks of the fishers of men and women, that we might provide whatever help we can.
Ours is the duty to reach out to rescue those who have left the safety of activity, that such might be brought to the table of the Lord to feast on His word, to enjoy the companionship of His Spirit, and to be “no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God.”3
The Principle of Love
I have found that two fundamental reasons largely account for a return to activity and for changes of attitudes, habits, and actions. First, individuals return because someone has shown them their eternal possibilities and has helped them decide to achieve them. The less active can’t long rest content with mediocrity once they see that excellence is within their reach.Second, others return because loved ones or “fellowcitizens with the saints” have followed the admonition of the Savior, have loved their neighbors as themselves,4 and have helped others to bring their dreams to fulfillment and their ambitions to realization.
The catalyst in this process has been—and will continue to be—the principle of love.
In a very real sense, those persons stranded in the storm-tossed sea of Turner’s painting are like many of our less-active members who await rescue by those who guide the lifeboats. Their hearts yearn for help. Mothers and fathers pray for their sons and daughters. Wives plead to heaven that their husbands may be reached. Sometimes children pray for their parents.
It is my prayer that we might have a desire to rescue the less active and to bring them back to the joy of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that they might partake with us of all that full fellowship has to offer.
May we reach out to rescue the lost who surround us: the aged, the widowed, the sick, those with disabilities, the less active, and those who are not keeping the commandments. May we extend to them the hand that helps and the heart that knows compassion. By doing so, we will bring joy into their hearts, and we will experience the rich satisfaction that comes to us when we help another along the pathway to eternal life.
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