I Love Sundays! = )

I woke up this morning to the most beautiful instrumental hymns (Chuks said it was Lex de Azevedo…I’m definitely going to have to find it when I get home) and to a delicious smell - Mandy made pancakes! = )  It’s funny how quickly the body adjusts to waking up early.  Last week Sunday I had to be woken up at 8:15 and dragged myself out of bed; this morning I set my alarm for 7:38...but woke up on my own at 7ish.  Anyway…it was nice to have a little extra time to enjoy a leisurely morning.

The Chapel

I went to church with John, Marian, and Eddy…as well as our neighbor Angela and her two kids, Nana and Papa (I included a pic of them earlier).  It’s crazy how much more comfortable I felt at church today, and how much easier it was to understand what was being said!  Sacrament meeting was awesome!  There was a talk on visiting teaching  that was really good for me to hear.  The woman mentioned how, when she was a little girl, she would watch her mother’s visiting teachers come over diligently…and she wanted to be just like them.  So they were not only blessing and affecting the life of her mother.  And then she said, and this really struck me…she said that after talking to her mom and giving her the spiritual message, they would go about helping her mother do chores because

The classrooms are mostly in these separate buildings on the side

visiting teaching is supposed to be a temporal, as well as a spiritual, help.  The next speaker spoke about missionary work…and that was really good, too!  He talked about how much better his life is since he joined the church (even though when the missionaries first came to talk to him, he just wanted to prove that he knew more than they did), and that now he wants to share that with his family and friends.  He said that he used to drink at night to try to forget about his problems, but when he awoke, the problem would still be there.  Now, because he know the Word of Wisdom, he no longer tries to drink his problems away (which would just cause more problems).  Instead, he tries to be “industrious”/proactive, as well as turn to the Lord.

Here are some more classrooms

In Sunday School we learned about the vision of the tree of life.  The teacher is really great!  He had us split up into groups to talk about the four different types of people described, so that we could take note of which group we might fall into.  1) group did “commence in the path which led to the tree” (which represents the love of God), but when the mists of darkness (temptations of the devil) arose, they did lose their way and were lost.  The 2) group “did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron (the word of God - the scriptures), even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree.”  But after they partook, they looked over at the great and spacious building (the pride of the children of men) and the people who were pointing their fingers and mocking, and they

To the left is the chapel (I just stood in the same place and
turned to take all of the pictures) and straight ahead is the
parking lot.

were ashamed, so they “fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.”  The 3) group “did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree.”  And the 4) group did feel “their way towards that great and spacious building.  And…many were drowned in the depths of the fountain (depths of hell); and many were lost from his view, wandering in strange roads.  And great was the multitude that did enter into that strange building.  And after they did enter…they did point the finger of scorn at me and those that were partaking of the fruit also; but we heeded them not.”  Interesting to think about.  I think I’ve fallen into all 4 categories at different times in my life.  And I can’t say for sure where I am now…but it’s given me a good measure to use to evaluate my life right now.  One last thing that was interesting to note.

Same spot...but a different angle of the
chapel - love the boys with their arms around
each other = )

When Lehi partook of the fruit, he said, “…It filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also…and …I cast my eyes round about, that perhaps I might discover my family also.”  He didn’t turn to look at those mocking him, like the second group that fell away.  Instead, his focus and attention was turned towards his family.  What a difference it makes when we focus on our families, rather than on what the world thinks of us.

Our Relief Society lesson was one that I needed most.  It was entitled “Love Thy Neighbour as Thyself” and was about the prophet George Albert’s Smith’s incredible example of one who loved everyone (in fact, his counselor said, “His real name was Love”).  There were countless examples of him going out of his way to love and serve others, even literally giving the coat off of his back in the dead of winter to a poor man who did not own a coat and was clearing ice from the roads in only a light-weight sweater.  President Smith said, “We look upon the face of every human being that is in the world as a child of our Father, and believe that as each is in the image of the Father, so also each possesses a spark of divinity that if developed will prepare us to return to hi presence. . . .That is our understanding of the purpose of our existence in

This is our Relief Society classroom...it's really hot!  This is
after church is over..so it was a little more full during class.

the world, and explains our interest in our fellowmen.” He then went on to quote his own father, which shaped the way he viewed his fellowmen.  His father said, “I have never seen a child of God so deep in the gutter that I have not had the impulse to stoop down and lift him up and put him on his feet and start him again.”  Then the following commandment and promise was given, and is one I want to try to live.  “Our ministry is one of love.  Our service is one which enriches our lives. . . .If we are living as God intends that we should live, if we are ministering as he desires that we should minister, every day of our lives is enriched by the influence of his Spirit, our loe of our fellowmen increases and our souls are enlarged until we feel that we could take into our arms all of God’s children, with a desire to bless them and bring them to an understanding of the truth.”  How incredible would the world be if we all lived like this?!

View of the chapel from the outside in the
parking lot

Marian and Eddy - this is an example of the
traditional African attire

And another one

Pretty Nana in her Sunday dress

That was pretty much it for church.  When I got home Mandy had made yam and sweet potato curry (mpotanmpotan…I suck at saying this word…haha = ); it was DELISH!!!!  And she and I talked for hours about boys and stuff…so that was really fun = )  For dinner we had egg soup…another one that I LOVE…and Chuks’s brother and friend came over…so that was fun too = )  But yeah…it’s Sunday night…which means tomorrow is Monday morning and is going to come around so soon…so just watching some Inter Milan v AC Milan = )..and then gonna sleep!