Easter Baptism

This Easter weekend, I had the pleasure to attend the baptism of a young woman I have recently become acquainted with. Her name is Diana.

 

A while back, the bishop had told me about a girl who lived in our ward that was going to start taking the discussions with the missionaries; these are lessons that are taught to people that are investigating the LDS church. She had been dating a young man who was in another ward, and they wanted her to get to know some of the people in the ward she lived in. When the time came for her first lesson with the missionaries, they asked if they could have it in our home. I am currently serving as the Young Women president, so I readily agreed.

 

Diana and her boyfriend, Tucker came to our house and we had a wonderful lesson from the missionaries serving in our ward, Elder Burns, Hultgren, and Jones. I could tell from this very first meeting that Diana was a super awesome young lady with a great spirit. She had really been prepared to hear the gospel, and she was excited to hear what the missionaries taught her. In fact, she was ready to commit to baptism that very first night. She was even surprised to learn that there were a series of lessons, not just one, that she would need to have before it was all said and done. We again had Diana in our home as did other members as she had all of the discussions. As the date that the missionaries had set for baptism grew closer, I wondered if she would be totally ready., but here was no need to worry. It was certainly a testimony to me to see Diana blossom. She absolutely has the glow of someone lit up by the gospel!

 

One of the things both Theo and I enjoyed most about being able to sit in with Diana during her discussions was being able to share some of the experiences we had at her age. Of course, I was raised in the LDS church, and when Theo and I dated as teenagers, he took the missionary discussions. Sharing some of that with Diana brought back a flood of sweet memories. I am so blessed that my wonderful husband found the gospel, joined the church, and has kept his covenants ever since. It has brought us so much joy!

 

On the day of her baptism, I was asked to give one of the talks. I was so grateful to see how many people came to share in her special day. Even her parents attended, and although they don't speak a lot of English (they are from Honduras), they felt the spirit. It was a beautiful meeting, and the spirit was so strong.

 



Diana and Elder Burns

 



I am thankful to know Diana and her testimony of the Savior. She truly has received His image in her countenance. (Alma 5:14) Watching her gain a testimony has strengthened mine! The gospel changes lives. It blesses my life every day!

Giant Jenga

Have you ever played the game Jenga? It looks like this...

My second counselor in Young Women is an awesome woman! She planned this fun night with our girls. We had a great mini-lesson on building on a sure foundation, and then we played Jenga like this...

 

In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Helaman gave this great counsel to his sons:

 

 "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the ^arock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your ^bfoundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty ^cstorm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." Helaman 5:12

 

Thanks Sister Ferrel for this great lesson and a fun night!

Pinewood Derby- One More to Go

It is hard to believe that it is Pinewood Derby time again. This is the second to last time we will do one of these events! Crazy! Rex did a great job designing his car. He had some wins and ended up in fifth place overall. Another one for the books!

Lucky Break II- Mom Takes a Day Off

If you read about building our shed, you may have felt bad that the kids didn't get to do anything fun over their spring break. Don't you worry, I took Thursday and Friday off, and I insisted we have some non-work related fun! It was a small stay-cation with some mini golf and go-cart riding. Good times!

Lucky Break

Theo was lucky enough to have the same spring break as the boys again this year. Unlucky for them, his idea of a vacation sometimes includes some kind of work detail. Theo has been wanting a shed for quite some time. Of course, the most cost effective way to get what he wanted also entailed some hard manual labor. I was fortunate sad to have to miss a lot of the excitement as I had to work most of the week. Come visit us, and we will give you the grand tour.