T-minus 7 days,something hours.......

 
.... And however many minutes in counting until Sister Pedersen is set apart as a missionary!!!!  Tuesday night @ 9:00 is the official time.  So make sure you get your farewells in before then, everybody!
Time is just flying!  So much so that I failed to blog on Jenessa's big *GOLDEN BIRTHDAY*!!!!!!  Yep, she turned the big 21 on the 21st of March!  We celebrated the weekend before with some family time up at my in-law's cabin in Pine & then celebrated with a few good  friends on the day ofher birthday... Good fun! :)


Crazy girls celebrating!:)
Hope you had a wonderful birthday, Nessie!  Welcome to the OFFICIAL adult club!;)


Later on in the week, Jenessa gave her farewell talk on the 27th.  Since General Confrence was the first weekend this month & this coming Sunday will be her ward's Fast Sunday, she had to do it earlier than expected.  She, in my very unbiased opinion;) did an EXCELLENT job!  Especially considering that right before she went up, she figured out she was missing the first 3 pages of her talk so she had to wing it & do it from memory for a little bit.  She was really nervous but she did it perfectly.

She has given me permission to post the text from her talk so... So if you didn't get the opportunity to hear her give it in person, here it is:

  Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf once told a story of a city that was devastated by the bombings raids of World War II.  In the old city square had stood a large statue of Jesus Christ, with His hands outspread in an attitude of invitation. On the pedestal were carved the words, “Come unto me.”  When the townspeople found the statue among the rubble, they mourned because it had been a beloved symbol of their faith and of God’s presence in their lives. Experts were able to repair most of the statue, but its hands had been damaged so severely that they could not be restored. Some suggested that they hire a sculptor to make new hands, but others wanted to leave it as it was—a permanent reminder of the tragedy of war. Ultimately, the statue remained without hands. Today, in the public square of that city, the restored statue of Christ stands without hands, and on its base were added the words, “Christ has no hands but ours!”

  When Bishop asked when I wanted to give my farewell talk, I thought how puplic speaking is NOT my favorite thing to do.  So I said “Never.  Let’s just not.”  Obviously, that didn’t work out for me... :) 

So I was asked to speak on the talk given by Elder Auyagi of the 2^nd Quorum of the Seventy from the April 2010 General Conference entitled “Helping hands, Saving Hands.”  In this talk, Elder Auyagi counsels us on how we can act as instruments for our Heavenly Father to help His children, physically, spiritually, & emotionally- so they can “Come unto him.”

  Members throughout the world have literally been “helping” & “saving” hands through the humanitarian services that the Church offers.  It provides relief and development projects in countries all over the world, regardless of the nationality or religion of those in need of the help.  Services may include emergency response to natural disasters, such as the recent tsunami in Japan, or the earthquakes in New Zealand, Chile, and Haiti. Within hours of a disaster, the Church works with local government officials to determine what supplies and food are needed. Materials are then immediately sent to the area. They also help to relieve the effects of war and famine. It may also be part of a longer-term effort to meet serious and on-going problems, such as the need to alleviate disease.  For example, in 2003, the Church donated three million dollars to support a worldwide project, working with other organizations such as the American Red Cross, which would provide measles vaccinations to children in 40 countries. And it’s OUR fast offerings & tithes which make these humanitarian projects possible.

  Just as the members can physically provide aide to those in need, so can we provide “spritiual recuing,” as Elder Auyagi shared his experience as a convert to the Church, when he says he was “spiritually rescued”:

“When I was 17 years old, I met 2 American missionaries… Though our ages were only 2 or 3 years apart, the Elders had something wonderful that I had never felt before.  They were diligent, cheerful, & filled with love and light.  I was deeply impressed by their qualities and I wanted to become like them. I listened to their message & decided to be baptized.”

Moses 1:39 says “For behold, this is my work & my glory- to bring to pass the immortality & eternal life of man.” 

In the Preach My Gospel handbook, we learn that the missionary purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.  This purpose is not limited to just the full-time missionaries, but to ALL members.  Elder Auyagi proclaims, “Many around us need spiritual help.  As we offer a saving hand to less-active members, to part-member families, and to those not of our faith, we invite ALL to come unto Christ.”

We need to be examples of the Disciples of Christ we profess to be in all that we do because we never know who is watching and how our actions influence the opinions others have of the Church and the rest of its members.  Just like a good example can invite those not of our faith to come & feel of His love, so can a bad example repel them from being interested in having anything to do with this wonderful Gospel.  I recently had an experience with just this.

A co-worker & friend of mine & I had been having discussions about the church and what it is that we believe.  When I extended the invitation to her to come to church with me, she accepted at first.  Then, because of the negative example of another church member in this co-worker’s class at school, & because of the association I had with this particular member, my friend no longer wanted to come church with me.  She let me know that this member’s example made her uninterested in the Gospel & its teaching.  So we just need to be aware of how we act & what we say, even when we think no one is watching us.

As members we also need to help each other.  One way we can do this is by faithfully serving in our callings.  Also, just by being aware of the needs of anyone around us who is struggling.

  Doctrine & Covenants 84:106 states: “If any among you be strong in the Spirit, let him take with him him that is weak, that he may be edified in all meekness, that he may become strong also.”  It could be as easy as giving or sending words of encouragement to someone.  Elder Auyagi shares his experience of receiving a mere postcard after going inactive while he was away to college:
  “Living alone, far from my hometown and the people I knew, I became lonely & strayed from the church.  One day I received a postcard from a church member back home.  She wrote that she had heard I was not attending church meetings.  She quoted a scripture & invited me to return to church.  I was overwhelmed by the words of the scripture.  This helped me realize that maybe I had lost something important, and I pondered & struggled for many days.”

He went on to tell of his deeply spiritual experience that led him to repent & renew his commitment to faithfully follow the Savior for the rest of his life. He then served a full-time mission.  Following which, he was married & sealed to the same young woman who sent him the postcard that helped bring him back to the gospel.

  In closing, I’d like to share a quote by Pres. Thomas S. Monson: “My brothers & sisters, we are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness- be they family members, friends, acquaintances, or strangers. We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve & lift his children.  He is dependent upon each of us.”

Jenessa closed with a beautiful testimony of her love & knowledge of the Gospel & aknowledged the "helping hands" she's had through out her life.  She also expressed the joy & excitement she feels to be able to serve a full-time mission.

  As I usually do, I'm going to speak for my whole family in saying that we were all pretty darn proud of our wonderful, beautiful Nessa!:) 

  This is a wonderful opportunity for her to serve our Heavenly Father & also our brothers & sisters in Missouri...  and she will do very well!  We pray that the Lord will bless her with His Spirit so that she is guided & directed to deal His will, & also learn the things she needs to that with help her grow as a person as well........   We just LOVE you & are going to miss you soooo much, Jenessa!!!  What more can we say?:)  We know that this is what you are supposed to be doing with your life at this time & know you will be blessed for it.

  Until the next update, will probably be after Sister Pedersen is already in the MTC.... :')  Bitter sweet!