Christmas Enrichment

Well, we had a lot of food and a lot of stocking stuffers thanks to you sisters. If anybody else wants to blog about that evening, feel free. I just had some pictures and thoughts to share. Thanks so much to the Enrichment Committee for all your hard work and preparation. Everything went so well! The Cultural hall looked beautiful! Aida gave a great and touching lesson about charity and visiting teaching. The food was delicious. We also had plenty of stuff to put in stockings. In fact, we ended up going back and dropping some more stuff in finished ones, because we had a lot of things left over. I had a really nice time and really appreciate the generosity of you sisters. Thanks to all those who made stockings. Thanks to those who brought food and toys and goodies to put inside.

I really liked how everyone pitched in to get something done. Some women worked on cards (and did a really great job), and some stuffed stockings. We worked as a team and it all got done really fast. I also appreciate the chance I had to get to know some of you a little better. I'm sorry that more of us couldn't be there, but I know it was a busy week and many sisters had conflicts. Next time!

Jo Lynn and I delivered the stockings the next morning and the agency we brought them to were so excited and impressed that we made 100! I bet there will be some happy little boys and girls tomorrow when they pick them up. Thanks again for everything you do. Thanks to those who helped us set up and clean up. That was incredibly helpful. I didn't think I was going to make it home that night. Thanks also to the Elders' Quorum for the babysitting.

I'd love to hear how you all felt about the evening.

Team Jersey

Every team needs a jersey right? I wanted to reiterate the ideas behind the t-shirt. We have felt a push to be more proactive with missionary work and I have personally felt prompted that we can really reach out more to the community. To make a really long story short, the t-shirt can be an instrument in accomplishing these two purposes. Just as missionaries wear a badge to identify who they are and whom they represent, we too can wear our "badge" in the community to identify who we are and whom we represent. When we plant trees, visit old folks home, or wherever we go, we can wear these shirts to show people who we are. These shirts are in no way meant to bring recognition in a prideful way. "Oh look at us. We're so great!" That's not the purpose, just as a missionary's badge doesn't have that purpose. The purpose is to identify and inform. It may just spark a conversation or a question, and if it does, I hope that we could take the chance to share what we're about. A second purpose of the t-shirt is to remind us of the message we heard from the RS presidency in October. Perhaps the more we're reminded of the message, the more inspired we will be to become strong and immovable. I know I need a lot of reminding. Third, we're all in this together. Relief Society is a sisterhood, a "team", so why not have a jersey huh? Sounds good to me. To be clear, the t-shirt can be worn whenever you want, but is great for service purposes. Also, it has the name of the church on the front and more specifically the Savior. I know that we'll remember whom we represent when we put it on. I'm excited to see the results. Please share experiences if you have any.

Also, if you did not get a t-shirt, let me know. We don't currently have any left, but intend to get some more after the New Year.

I'm sorry if they don't fit quite right. We weren't quite sure of the cut of the t-shirt and what a "medium" really looked like.

Planting Trees

I just had to post these pictures, because we look so.... (you fill in the blank). We had a great time at this service project. We were marking trees along the highway so CalTrans doesn't mow them over. There were a few too many people, but we made ourselves productive by picking up trash and stuff. There was a lot to pick up. Twenty years from now we'll be able to see our trees growing and flourishing (hopefully).