TA-DA!

And now for my next trick... balloon animals!  There was an opportunity to participate in the United Way's Day of Service last week.  We were going to visit a nearby Children's Center, and bring a little happiness and hope.  Some of us were going to be clown, jugglers, and balloon animal artists.

Room for Improvement

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to direct the music in our zone's morning devotional during this month. I am certain that I will never be asked to do this again. This has been a humbling experience, to say the least. It has been waaaay out of my comfort zone! I can list the many reasons why, beginning with the fact that I can't read music, and what does a 6/8 pattern look like? Most of the hymns are all new to me, so it's always a surprise to hear the music and read the lyrics for the first time. Then, I have to stand up, in front of many eyes, and sing- and multitask with my arm, eyes, and mouth - all before 8 AM! Are you getting a fun visual yet? Wait, there's more!

September 6: First time directing music and the hymn was I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go. A 6/8! What to do? Swing my hand back and forth, 1-2, 1-2, 1-2, s-l-o-w-l-y. I was dragging everyone along, and I think they were praying that the song would end soon. My zone is very kind. After the fiasco, they said, “Well, that wasn't bad for your first time.”

The following week, I was asked to lead the music even though it was not Friday. “Okay,” I thought, “I need the practice.” My lesson that day was to look for a “hawk eye”, which looks like a dot with a closed parenthesis above it. My music teacher, Sister Draper, instructed me to have my hand extended out and up whenever I see this symbol. Apparently this let's everyone know that it is the close of a phrase. Got it...Not!

My first mistake was starting the music with a down stroke, and that mistake threw me off for the entire hymn. I began looking ahead for the “eye”, and I saw it coming. 3- 2- 1 word before the “eye”, and my hand was...already up! Huh? What happened? I wasn't sure, but at least I had another verse to prepare and try again. I was concentrating so much that I lost my place, and accidentally made a fist in my frustration. Oh no, wrong sign!

Okay, I had one last verse, to try and redeem myself. Things seemed better: 1,2,3,4. I saw the “eye” coming, and...my hand was down, again! So, I shifted it UP, quickly, left it there, smiled, and sat down. I'm not sure I would call this morning “better” than the first. My mistakes were different.

Friday the 13^th: I know what you're thinking- I should have stayed home- but I didn't. The morning hymn was Count Your Blessings. Sister Draper and I practiced a few minutes prior to the meeting, and I felt more comfortable. “I can do this,” I said to myself. I stood up, moved my hand, followed the words and rhythm, looked up at everyone, smiled, and then started back to my seat. One little problem...the song wasn't over, even though I thought it was! Oh, no! I was so embarrassed! I practically tripped, caught myself, and resumed my position. Do you think anyone noticed? Of course!

A few minutes later, Sister Trimble said, “It's good to see that you aren't perfect. It makes me feel better.” Far from it, Sister! This opportunity has been a humbling experience. It has shown me that I always have room for improvement. That is why I'm here: to learn, improve, and serve others with love.

During these last few weeks, I came across a hymn which has encouraged me along the way. It is called Be Thou Humble. Below is some of the text:

Be thou humble in thy weakness, and the Lord thy God shall lead thee...

and give thee answers to thy prayers. 

 Be thou humble in thy pleading, and the Lord thy God shall bless thee...

with a sweet and calm assurance that He cares.

Jacob 4:7 - “the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by His grace...that we have power to do these things.” 

Yes, even the power to learn a new skill, like directing music, or break an unhealthy habit. The Lord is always here to lead, guide, bless, and love us, if we humble ourselves and ask for His help.

***

Celebrating September Birthdays

Morning Devotional Meeting

Every morning, I attend a Devotional Meeting.  It is a great way the begin the day. I gather, with fellow missionaries from an assigned work area, to sing, pray, and share inspiring or uplifting messages with one another.  We rotate responsibilities throughout the month.  During the month of September, I will be the Musical Director on Fridays.  The first time will be tomorrow, so wish me luck!

Today, I had to offer the Inspirational Thought.  As I pondered about what to share, I recalled an experience I had last week at the Clark Planetarium/IMAX Theater.  Together with my Zone Leaders, we watched a movie called Rocky Mountain Express.  It reminded me of a message my Home Teacher in California sent, which he titled, Faith Lights The Way.  It was part of a 2002 General Conference address, given by President Gordon B. Hinckley [We Walk by Faith].  This was what I read:

"Long ago I worked for one of our railroads whose tracks threaded the passes through these western mountains. I frequently rode the trains. It was in the days when there were steam locomotives. Those great monsters of the rails were huge and fast and dangerous. I often wondered how the engineer dared the long journey through the night. Then I came to realize that it was not one long journey, but rather a constant continuation of a short journey. The engine had a powerful headlight that made bright the way for a distance of 400 or 500 yards. The engineer saw only that distance, and that was enough, because it was constantly before him all through the night into the dawn of the new day.

The Lord has spoken of this process. He said: “That which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness.

“That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day” (D&C 50:23–24).

And so it is with our eternal journey. We take one step at a time. In doing so we reach toward the unknown, but faith lights the way. If we will cultivate that faith, we shall never walk in darkness." - President Hinckley

May we make an effort to cultivate our faith each day, drawing towards the Light, who will brighten our days while on this journey.

Swiss Miss

Just kidding!  I'm Dutch.  (Actually, "Indo", among many other nationalities.)  Last weekend was Swiss Days, in the beautiful Heber Valley.  I think everyone becomes an honorary Swiss during this time.  It was nice to be back in an open, country-like setting, if only for a few hours.  My special group of Sisters and I enjoyed walking about the festival, and meeting the locals.  I noticed that their Relief Society was strong and active.  They were running a bakery shop, complete with muffins, breads, cookies, cupcakes, and candy!  Wow, that must have been a lot of work!  We also made friends with musicians, shopkeepers, artists, and artisans.  To my surprise, I even ran into friends there!  This town is on my list to revisit, when there aren't as many tourists.  Oh wait, I guess that includes me! :D

Building Bridges of Understanding and Friendship

Last Sunday, I had the opportunity to visit a Sikh Temple with a wonderful friend and her family.  She is a scholar of World Religions, and was invited to learn more about Sikhism, and talk with women of this faith.  We received a warm welcome, and met many friendly people.  We learned a lot in such a short amount of time, just by listening and observing.  Yes, I wore my missionary tag, and it caused a few double takes.  Hopefully they could see love and kindness in my eyes, as I smiled and listened.  What were some of the things I learn that day?  We are all God's children.  We long for peace and love from within.  We share many principles and values.  I left their service feeling happy that I had made new friends...and met more sisters.

Classroom for the children

Current Projects

This is an accidental picture.  I didn't know that I was taking this picture of my office.  Well, the secret is out now!  These are the various projects our training team is developing.  It may look like chaos, but it's not.  LOL  It's creativity at work.  I call it "downloading my brain".  

What is your creative flow? 

August Activity

Once a month our social group gets together for a fun activity around town.  August was my turn to plan our outing.  We took a vote, and decided to visit the Clark Planetarium.  As you might have guessed, no one had to twist my arm to go there.  This place sounded amazing- and it was!  There were a variety of interactive exhibits and displays.  I especially liked Newton's Daydream (below).   Later that evening, we watched a presentation inside the dome theater, called "Windows On the Universe".  The featured topic was UFO's and E.T's.  It reminded me of the days at SETIcon and meeting Dr. Frank Drake! [Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence Conference]

With my limited understanding of astrophysics, I find our universe fascinating and exciting!  As I learn more about science- the explanation of how things originate and evolve- I become even more amazed at God's creations, all of them divinely designed, organized, and patterned for us to discover and enjoy.  This explains the Why for all things.  They were all created for us.  I believe there is planned "chaos" and randomness, and yes, room for (our) "fuzzy logic" to explore ideas such as Dark Matter and Quarks.  Fun stuff!  It's all around us, if we take a moment to behold the wonder...imagine and explore!

 “Newton’s Daydream,” an audio-kinetic sculpture by renowned artist and sculptor George Rhoads, is the newest permanent exhibit at the Clark Planetarium.  The two-story tall sculpture combines an intricate maze of moving balls with bells, drums and other noisemaking obstacles to create a whirring visual and auditory palette. 

Missionaries on the Moon?  The Next Frontier

Missionary "greenies" back in February