Finals hit hard today and I have a ton of studying to do but luckily I did this service without even thinking about it! First of all I went to an accounting study group and we all had strengths in different areas of the practice exam so we all got to teach each other, but then at the end of the study session I remembered a cool trick I learned while I was a missionary in Mexico and decided to share it with them. It's similar, but not identical, to this video right here!
I hope we can all remember the importance of Christ in our lives! I'm so thankful for the things I learn from those around me and I hope that I can have as good an influence on my friends and family as they've all had on me.
Today's service was difficult for me! I don't have kids, and I my congregation at church consists of young single adults from 18-30 years old. I live in college housing. All of these things make it semi-difficult to minister to children! My sister lives nearby with her family, but they were busy today and all my other nieces and nephews live too far away. So I was stuck! I didn't know what to do, but then I remembered that I've had an idea for a long time to make a series of children's books teaching the principles of faith, prayer, and scripture study. I didn't even come close to completing them, but for today's service I began working on them hoping that someday they'll help children learn about Jesus.
Also I watched a few of these videos. This is one of my favorites.
My dear friend Jessica Smith was in charge of organizing the Christmas party for her LDS congregation and as part of the event they had a box for donating shoes which she is going to deliver to Soles4Souls. It was a big success and I feel blessed to have been able to donate a pair.
They are a great charity and it really does bless a lot of lives. I think we often take for granted the simple things in life like owning shoes. By making a simple donation we can help people walk.
I was afraid that today I would not find time to do my service. I woke up and immediately began studying for my accounting final, after a couple of hours I went to my friend Stephie's to study for anatomy and I was there all day! It was around 7pm that we decided to take a study break and the topic of the light the world campaign came up. I work at an assisted living home as a server in the dining room and so I thought it would be fun to go and visit one of my friends that live there. Stephie and I went and visited one of the residents named Bill. It was a great time! I got to learn about his service in the Navy, his family, and his passion for classical cars, and by passion, I mean PASSION. His walls were covered with photographs of cars and he had a small table dedicated to building model cars. It was a lot of fun to get to know him beyond his food preferences and hopefully we could brighten his day a little bit as well!
Studies show that 60% of residents living in nursing homes never get visits, so if you ever have any extra time, then there's a great way to fill it!
Today's service was simple. I just organized a list of people that have asked me to pray for them. I have people always ask me to keep them in my prayers and I always agree but admittadly I find it hard to keep track sometimes of who I should be praying for. So I now have a list that for reasons of not broadcasting people's problems to the world, I won't include a picture of!
Service doesn't have to be difficult or expensive.
For today there were a lot of things that I was able to participate in. The first two are past activities. My Dec. 1 service was participating in a canned food auction with my congregation and we had A LOT of food that was then donated to a shelter. And then I was able to participate in my church's monthly fast Sunday. The first Sunday of every month member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints fast for 24 hours and then donate the money that they would have spent on food to a fund called "Fast Offerings". Fast offerings don't go to the headquarters of the church but instead are kept at the local level and used specifically to help the poor and needy in the community.
Apart from those two activities, I wanted to do something extra today so I was driving to a shopping center where I know that there are typically people asking for money. My plan was to buy a gift card to some food spot and then gift it to whoever was standing out with a sign, but as I pulled into the shopping center parking lot I felt a distinct impression that I should just give the cash and not a gift card. I turned the car around and someone was standing at the parking lot exit. I handed her the cash and with tears in her eyes she said, "Thank you so much. You have no idea how cold it gets at night" and at that moment I realized that just because today's theme was feeding the hungry, it doesn't mean I should ignore every other need that people have. Her concern wasn't where she would get food, but how she would survive another night in below freezing temperatures without a home. I am so thankful for the spirit that impressed me to skip one step of my service today.
I don't know if what happened next was inspiration or indigestion, but I went hunting for food. I didn't have much time before work so I figured I would run into one of my favorite grocery stores Sprouts and just pick up an apple or something to munch on before work. I picked up a few apples and some yogurt covered pretzels and then when I got to the checkout line I saw this sign:
It was the perfect way to end my day's service of feeding the hungry. It was so easy. I just grabbed one of their pre-packed bags and bought it and then they set it to the side and it will be donated to the needy. No need to hunt through aisles or anything.
I know that as we sincerely look for ways to serve the Lord will open our eyes to the endless opportunities we have. I'm thankful for the Gospel in my life and how it encourages me to look outward. It really does feel good to stop thinking about myself so much.
As a Latter Day Saint I believe not only in the Bible, but also in the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, and continuing revelation.
The Bible is a record of God's dealings with His people in the Old World
The Book of Mormon is a record of God's dealings with His people in the New World
Doctrine and Covenants is a collection of modern revelations given to restore and organize Christ's church in this dispensation.
The Pearl of Great Price is a small collection of scriptural works both ancient and modern
And Latter Day Saints believe that their leaders, a prophet and twelve apostles, continue to speak the word and will of God today.
Like Sunday, today's service was directed more toward God and showing my dedication to Him.
I decided to read a chapter from every collection of scripture at my disposal and then to share my favorite scripture on Facebook with my friends.
The chapters I read:
Old Testament- Ecclesiastes 12
New Testament- John 9
Book of Mormon- Ether 11
Doctrine and Covenants- Section 76
Pearl of Great Price- Moses 2
Continuing Revelation- The Perfect Path to Happiness by Thomas S. Monson
I don't know why I chose the passages I did, and to be completely honest, not all of them enlightened me in great measure. But I felt like my growth wasn't so much from the words, but from the act itself of reading. I have finals coming up and I love Youtube and Netflix and Hulu, but today I was able to put God first. I was able to show that even if I wasn't on the edge of my seat with every word, I value the words of God.
I once heard the story of a rock climber. He was climbing with a friend on a very dangerous surface of the mountain. Their ropes were connected so that they could support one another in the climb. As this climber reached for the next hand hold his missed the mark and found himself falling. His partner dug his fingers into the cliff, causing his skin to tear and bleed profusely. He was able to hold on enough that the weight of his falling partner did not pull him off the cliff and they both survived and finished the climb. The first climber, the one who fell, questioned "What can I do to repay my friend? Would new climbing ropes be enough? No!" he exclaimed, "There is no way to repay him and he doesn't expect me to. The best thing I can do is to remember him."
So it is with our Father. We can serve him, but we can never repay Him. The greatest thing we can do is to remember Him and studying His word is a great way to do that.
That brings me to my favorite scripture:
Mark 10:26-27
26 And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? 27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
