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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

2 more days!!!

Please remember to complete your visiting teaching today or tomorrow. And then REPORT to your supervisor. If you are unable to contact your supervisor, please report to Laurie Johnson.

Thanks a bunch!

Hope everyone has a safe New Year's Eve!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Update on Sister Lund

Sister Joyce Lund is staying at The Gardens (not Signature Point). Please keep her and Sister Jo Grice in your prayers.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Hello Sisters,

Hope your Christmas was merry and bright! Remember that tomorrow is our last Sunday of the year. Please make sure to get your visiting teaching done by Friday. Also, it's our last time for 9 o'clock meetings. We sure hope everyone can join us for one last lesson about our beloved prophet Joseph Smith. (Feel free to read ch. 47 today so you can be prepared to participate in class.) And we look forward to seeing all the new Christmas purses and clothes and shoes and jewelry and hairdos, etc!

With much affection,
The Relief Society Presidency

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Remember! Oh, Remember!

Busy holiday season? Please take a breath, and take a few moments to view the video at the link below.

The Christmas Spirit

Merry Christmas, sisters! May the activities and craziness of the season not overshadow the real meaning of the season. I love you!!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Socks and Underwear Report

On December 16th I delivered your generous donations of socks and underwear to the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center.  The staff at the center wanted me to extend a thank-you to all of you who contributed.

We contributed 92 packages of socks and underwear.  As I was packing up the boxes I couldn't help but notice that most of the packages were Costco sized, so I decided to take a count of the actual numbers of items donated:

Socks                       367 Pairs
Panties and briefs      232
Undershirts                 24
Bras                             2
Pajamas                       1

Wow!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Christmas Orange


CHRISTMAS ORANGE

Jake was nine years old with tousled brown hair with blue eyes as bright as a heavenly angel. For as long as Jake could remember he had lived within the walls of a poor orphanage. He was just one of ten children supported by what meager contributions the orphan home could obtain in a continuous struggle seeking donations from townsfolk.
There was very little to eat, but at Christmas time there always seemed to be a little more than usual to eat, the orphanage seemed a little warmer, and it was time for a little holiday enjoyment. But more than this, there was the Christmas orange!
Christmas was the only time of year that such a rare treat was provided and it was treasured by each child like no other food admiring it, feeling it, prizing it and slowly enjoying each juicy section. Truly, it was the light of each orphan's Christmas and their best gift of the season. How joyful would be the moment when Jake received his orange!
Unknown to him, Jake had somehow managed to track a small amount of mud on his shoes through the front door of the orphanage, muddying the new carpet. He hadn't even noticed. Now it was too late and there was nothing he could do to avoid punishment. The punishment was swift and unrelenting. Jake would not be allowed his Christmas orange! It was the only gift he would receive from the harsh world he lived in, yet after a year of waiting for his Christmas orange, is was to be denied him.
Tearfully, Jake pleaded that he be forgiven and promised never to track mud into the orphanage again, but to no avail. He felt hopeless and totally rejected. Jake cried into his pillow all that night and spent Christmas Day feeling empty and alone. He felt that the other children didn't want to be with a boy who had been punished with such a cruel punishment. Perhaps they feared he would ruin their only day of happiness. Maybe, he reasoned, the gulf between him and his friends existed because they feared he would ask for a little of their oranges. Jake spent the day upstairs, alone, in the unheated dormitory. Huddled under his only blanket, he read about a family marooned on an island. Jake wouldn't mind spending the rest of his life on an isolated island, if he could only have a real family that cared about him.
Bedtime came, and worst of all, Jake couldn't sleep. How could he say his prayers? How could there be a God in Heaven that would allow a little soul such as his, to suffer so much all by himself? Silently, he sobbed for the future of mankind that God might end the suffering in the world, both for himself and all others like him.
As he climbed back into bed from the cold, hard floor, a soft hand touched Jake's shoulder, startling him momentarily and an object was silently placed in his hands. The giver disappeared into the darkness, leaving Jake with what, he did not immediately know!
Looking closely at it in the dim light, he saw that it looked like an orange! Not a regular orange, smooth and shiny, but a special orange, very special. Inside a patched together peal were the segments of nine other oranges, making one whole orange for Jake! The nine other children in the orphanage had each donated one segment of their own precious oranges to make a whole orange as a gift for Jake.
Sharing what we truly value is the true spirit of Christmas. Our Heavenly Father gave us His beloved Son. May we, like the children in the orphanage, find ways to share His love with others less blessed.
Rewritten from an anonymous source by Laura Martin-Buhler
Story source


For ideas on how to use this story in FHE, click here.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Blessings from Bethlehem Remembered




Remember our wonderful evening as you view these pictures.  We celebrated Blessings from Bethlehem on December 1st at the Doerk home, the Newcom home and the Herzog home.







Remember the blessings from Bethlehem as you go about your Christmas preparations and celebrations.

Christmas Service

Don't forget!  This is the last chance you have to participate in our RS service project.  On Monday we will deliver the gifts.

We are collecting socks and underwear for the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center.  The Center serves abused children who have been put into the foster care system.  The children range in age from 2-17, and include boys and girls.  Any size or color will be great.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Christmas Stories





Join us for a night of Christmas stories and book gift exchange! The League of Extraordinary Readers will meet next week. ALL SISTERS ARE INVITED to share in the holiday fun.

Thursday, December 10th
7:30pm
Glatz Residence

Bring your favorite Christmas story/picture book and a wrapped, new book for our gift exchange.

Our two hostesses, Tami & Caitie have been planning for this activity for a long time. So please come support them, see their Christmas decorations, and eat their yummy cream puffs! (They're the same ones from our progressive dinner.)