We have had a busy day today. Mom and I got started this morning with our devotional and prayers. What a special tone that sets for our day. I know I mention that in many of these posts, but it really does help to read our Scriptures together and pray together as we begin each day. We were fasting today for getting to the point of being able to pay off all our debts. And it always helps me draw closer to Heavenly Father to fast each Sunday with a purpose.
In our meetings today I was able to jot down some thoughts from the speakers. One young sister missionary joined the Church when she was 14 and making lots of bad decisions. Her parents had divorced and she had very little direction in her life. She is now 20 and serving a full time mission! A quote I got from her came when she first found out about, "Agency". Here is how she put it; "When I first heard about agency, I thought how cool it was to be given commandments to live and then "getting" to keep them".
Another young sister said; "People resist 'change' because it wears overalls and looks too much like work". She was talking about her mother, and some of the things her mother often said to her, like; "Have you prayed about it as much as you have talked about it?", and, "Worry" is like rocking in a rocking chair - you go back and forth, but you don't get anywhere!"
Mom and I got back to Carthage at 11:35am this morning and we did not have anyone in the parking lot. We broke our fast and had some cold cereal together since we were scheduled to have our District Meeting here tonight. We are having all the district together for one last meal and testimony meeting before all the young sisters transfer back to Nauvoo tomorrow with new companions. The summer is officially over!
Carthage was very slow today. We had several families right at 12:15pm and we started the first tour. By 4:15pm we had each taken a tour and I was now giving my first tour of the day and the last tour of the day! We had less than 200 guests come in, but we were grateful for one last Sunday together before the sisters leave tomorrow. And we each got to take a group through the tour process.
The District Meeting started at 5:30pm and we had a wonderful dinner together. It was fun to be together after experiencing the busiest Carthage summer on record. We all worked so well together! Almost everyone had experiences that they shared and most of them have been posted here in the blog.
But one story I heard tonight for the first time came from one of the young sister missionaries. She told of how special the last tours of the day always seemed to be. One in particular was with a group of several families. She was walking up the stairs to the Martyrdom room when she noticed a young man about half way up the stairs who had stopped, by himself, and taken off his hat, and stood there for a minute. A few minutes later she then noticed that others who had been wearing hats had also removed them. When she asked why he had taken off his hat, the young man explained that he was "told to take off his hat". This sister testified that no audible voice had given him that instruction.
Here is our Stephen Markham District as of August 16, 2015. The young sisters in the front row are from left to right, Sister Pugmire, Sister Mikoliski, Sister Uata, Sister Heninger, Sister Butler and Sister Kupfer. They all leave Carthage tomorrow and will begin serving in Nauvoo. The other families are the Hansen's, the Heninger's, the Price's, and the Skidmore's who took care of the beautiful gardens. The summer team was a marvelous team of missionaries!
We had some anxious news tonight after the meeting. My brother, Doug, was admitted to the hospital with blocked arteries. He almost did not make it today. He will need a double bypass heart surgery within the next few days. What a wake-up call for all of us! Our lives are fragile and in the Hands of Heavenly Father. I want to make sure that I am doing all that I can here in mortality, to qualify to be with my family forever. Our prayers are with my brother and his family and we hope and pray that he will have a speedy recovery.
In our meetings today I was able to jot down some thoughts from the speakers. One young sister missionary joined the Church when she was 14 and making lots of bad decisions. Her parents had divorced and she had very little direction in her life. She is now 20 and serving a full time mission! A quote I got from her came when she first found out about, "Agency". Here is how she put it; "When I first heard about agency, I thought how cool it was to be given commandments to live and then "getting" to keep them".
Another young sister said; "People resist 'change' because it wears overalls and looks too much like work". She was talking about her mother, and some of the things her mother often said to her, like; "Have you prayed about it as much as you have talked about it?", and, "Worry" is like rocking in a rocking chair - you go back and forth, but you don't get anywhere!"
Mom and I got back to Carthage at 11:35am this morning and we did not have anyone in the parking lot. We broke our fast and had some cold cereal together since we were scheduled to have our District Meeting here tonight. We are having all the district together for one last meal and testimony meeting before all the young sisters transfer back to Nauvoo tomorrow with new companions. The summer is officially over!
Carthage was very slow today. We had several families right at 12:15pm and we started the first tour. By 4:15pm we had each taken a tour and I was now giving my first tour of the day and the last tour of the day! We had less than 200 guests come in, but we were grateful for one last Sunday together before the sisters leave tomorrow. And we each got to take a group through the tour process.
The District Meeting started at 5:30pm and we had a wonderful dinner together. It was fun to be together after experiencing the busiest Carthage summer on record. We all worked so well together! Almost everyone had experiences that they shared and most of them have been posted here in the blog.
But one story I heard tonight for the first time came from one of the young sister missionaries. She told of how special the last tours of the day always seemed to be. One in particular was with a group of several families. She was walking up the stairs to the Martyrdom room when she noticed a young man about half way up the stairs who had stopped, by himself, and taken off his hat, and stood there for a minute. A few minutes later she then noticed that others who had been wearing hats had also removed them. When she asked why he had taken off his hat, the young man explained that he was "told to take off his hat". This sister testified that no audible voice had given him that instruction.
 |
| Stephen Markham District farewell August 16, 2015 |
We had some anxious news tonight after the meeting. My brother, Doug, was admitted to the hospital with blocked arteries. He almost did not make it today. He will need a double bypass heart surgery within the next few days. What a wake-up call for all of us! Our lives are fragile and in the Hands of Heavenly Father. I want to make sure that I am doing all that I can here in mortality, to qualify to be with my family forever. Our prayers are with my brother and his family and we hope and pray that he will have a speedy recovery.
You made it through your first summer! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteLife is precious! Sometimes we take each day for granted. You just never know. We need to cherish every day and try to be a little better each and every day! :) Love you!