Bishop's Storehouse and another General Conference weekend

Monthly Service Project

For nearly three years now we have been attending the Lehi 41st Tongan Ward and as part of our ongoing commitment to serving others our ward participates in a monthly service project stocking shelves at the Bishop's Storehouse in Lindon. The project was started by our former Bishop, Stan Raass and has carried over with our current bishopric. We have made it a point as a family to attend every month unless there is another obligation that cannot be rescheduled. Even when only two or three of us can go, we would rather have some representation there than none at all.

It has been an absolute blessing for our family to understand the great support and assistance that the LDS Church provides those in need through the Bishop's Storehouse. So many lives are blessed through this incredible service but those of us who serve there also feel the blessings when we give our time and energy in an uplifting way to build the kingdom of God. We highly recommend that you, our family and friends, find service opportunities in your communities and in your local churches to serve others.

General Conference Thoughts

After General Priesthood Session
l-r Seti, Kenyon, Chase, Darius, Mica, Julius and Dillon

Holidays are a special time for all of us because of the traditions and the spirit that we feel, particularly during Thanksgiving and Christmas which are fast approaching. But General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints plays an equally significant and special role in our lives as family and as individuals. 

Every six months we have an opportunity to listen to living prophets, draw closer to our Father in Heaven and bare witness that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer. As we listen to the talks given on Saturday and Sunday each April and October, it is remarkable that each message holds something of value and importance in our lives and in the lives of the people we love. Some of the common themes were of course family, the atonement, missionary work, serving others and being faithful in our duties as men and women in the gospel.

There were of course controversies that were addressed but I'm impressed by the fact that even when these issues and concerns are addressed, the leaders of the church do so with kindness and love without malice. We have noticed throughout the years (and perhaps this has something to do with the urgency that our church leaders are feeling in these difficult times), that the talks are very direct. There is also a feeling that members of the church must be more bold in proclaiming the gospel and increasing our efforts as missionaries in our local wards. 

We have so much to do and we recognize immediately that our duty as parents in our home is to solidify our purpose as members, teach and encourage our sons to study and live the gospel and to be better examples in every aspect of our lives. General Conference was as usual inspiring, humbling and informative.

Elder Matua Update

We have posted the latest email from Elder Matua on the blog and hope that you will take a moment to read it. We are impressed by the mature tone of his recent personal letters and can feel the intense desire that he has to learn more, study with purpose and to work harder every moment he is teaching the gospel. We recently sent him a package with a stack of the recent issue of "The Friend" because he has been working with a lot of children in part-member and less-active families. He says that kids are drawn to him which really does not surprise us because of his relationship with his youngest brother Quinn and his 'kid at heart' nature. We miss him dearly and request your prayers on his behalf and for all of the missionaries serving throughout the world.

Tidbits

Chase lost in a real shoot-out (final score was 71-50) against Riverton last Friday. It felt more like a basketball game on ice than it did a football game. Let's hope they find some defense to compliment the offense tomorrow against American Fork, a tough region rival. Thanks to grandma Karen, grandpa Matt, uncle Kevin and his boys, auntie Alisha, uncle Adam and everyone else who have come out to support and cheer our football players.

Mica is painting a mural in his room. We have pictures of his progress but he's too embarrassed to share them with the world and promises a meltdown of nuclear proportions if we share with others. So the pictures will be coming soon because ... we love meltdown's. HA!

Kenyon will someday be a world leader of some sort. We are always amazed at the number of friends that kid has and how he seems to be surrounded by kids who are twice, sometimes three times his size. If he is not some kind of politician than he's probably going to be a news anchor or sports analyst because he has a lot of insight on just about anything. We would not mind having an ESPN analyst in the family.

Quinn? Well let's just say we're trying to stunt his growth and skip his birthdays because we can't stand the thought of him ever leaving us. But Quinn has plans of his own plan's of his own. His teacher tells us that he is quite a leader among his peers. We don't like that one bit - he's supposed to follow us around forever!

Until next time family and friends - be good, be of good cheer and cheer for all that is good in the world.