The Last Balloon

One by One we grabbed a string,
Some longer, Some shorter
There was an air of solemnity and peace.
As we stepped outside, the day could not have been more beautiful.
We stood together as Sisters,
Daughters of God,
The connection between us all--
indescribable.
There are not sufficient words.

Conversation was light and brief as we tried to uplift one another,
but there were not sufficient words.
The hollow sounds quieted as we stood together.
silence
Purple, pink, and yellow balloons swayed in the wind.
Some looked up.
Some looked down,
Some closed their eyes.

A few words were said.
We all let go of the strings.
The wind took them up and we watched them cluster into the sunlight back towards the heavens.
It was as if those balloons had tied to each of them a piece of ourselves.
We sent them into the sky hoping that the love swelling in our souls would reach the one that was no longer in this life with us.
Our Friend
Our Companion
Our Sister
Sister Samantha Lierley

As I let go of my balloon, it kept low to the pavement and headed for the tree.
I prayed.
Please God this is all I can give.
Please God let it go into the sky like the others.
Please God
Please
Surely you can blow the wind just enough so that it will blow into the sky.
Other balloons hit the branches and glanced off in the other direction.
The string, my love, hopped from branch to branch until it was twisted and tangled to the point of total restraint.
Why God?
It never moved.
It was the last balloon.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014 will be a day never forgotten by us sisters in the Washington Vancouver Mission.

When President Taylor told us--

there are still no words sufficient.

Tears began to come, blank stares overtook faces, and as he left the room,

we prayed.

My companion described it as, "We all dropped to our knees."

Every moment was sacred, we hugged each other and held on, we sang hymns with a sacred reverence, we bore testimony with power from heaven,

 Doing all that we could to touch one another's soul and comfort those in distant places whom we knew were suffering immensely, 

beyond understanding.

I do not doubt that angels were with us.

What happened that day?

We lost our Sister from this mortal life.

The first day of my mission, going into the mission field, I was so excited, but felt a little out of place.

I was clearly the new missionary.

We drove from Vancouver to Gresham. There were only three of us sisters and Sister Lierley was one of them. I nervously asked them questions about their missions and they were so kind to me. 

We laughed almost the whole drive down.

From that experience and the words spoken about her by other sisters, I had a glimpse of who she is...

With her, there is no one forgotten.

She is full of Charity, the Pure Love of Christ.

She is His disciple.

She saw what many are blind to in this life--

the Divinity of the Human Soul.

As I looked at the last balloon, the though came into my mind,

"do not forget her."

Do not forget her example

Do not forget her love.

Do not forget her discipleship.

Do not forget who she is.

Take the love she gave us and carry on her legacy.

Do not let a single soul, a single brother or sister created personally by God's hand go unloved or unnoticed.

Be His disciple every moment and every second.

Bring your family back.

How does the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ bless families?

It gives you a family.

No matter the

pain, sorrow, loneliness, stress, fear, inadequacy, weakness, or hurt.

You have a father who is in fact God

and you have millions and millions of brothers and sisters here

to lighten your load.

Come unto Christ.

Because of Him we are a Family.

Sister Samantha Lierley--

Thank you for what you have given us.

Thank you for strengthening and increasing our family.

We will continue forward shoulder to shoulder, 

brothers and sisters,

no soul will be the last balloon.

https://www.lds.org/search?domains=image&lang=eng&q=christ&page=2

the ONE

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

God loved the world.

He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

God still loves the world.

He loves you and me.

All of his children.

Every,

Single,

ONE.

What does that statement really mean?

Everything.

Not ONE is ever forgotten. God has a specific plan for each of us. A plan that ensures every ONE, if chosen, 

True Happiness.

You, Me, Americans, Brazilians, the starving Child in Africa, the Man begging on the street, Our Families....

He is truly our Father. He cries with us, He rejoices with us, He speaks to us,

He gave us his Son.

I have continually asked myself, "how does One so perfect love unconditionally Ones so imperfect?"

One of the things I miss the most on my mission is going for long runs. Sometimes I would wake up early on a Saturday morning just before the sun came up, slip on my running shoes, and go.
Many of my worries and stresses would turn to peace and as I looked at the beautiful things around me, created by Our Father, I felt so happy and at times very close to him.
The sun would rise, the dew would glisten, the birds would sing.
Though I now spend a lot more time in my boots than in my running shoes, the closeness to God is here and often even more so.
However, I often feel that closeness through some of his other creations.
the ONE
It is through these beautiful people whom we serve here that I feel so much peace and happiness.
As we come to know and love them I begin to understand just a little bit more of how MUCH God loves his sons and daughters. Even with all of the imperfections.
Ask God just how much he loves you.
Ask him if you are truly his child.
Then,
"love your neighbor as yourself"
and you will begin to understand some of God's love for you.

Living Our Words

Words.

                                                   We READ words.     We WRITE words.

                                                 We SPEAK words.     We WEAR words.

                                                 We THINK words.     We FEAR words.

                                                    We SING words.     We MAKE words.

We LIVE words.

We  live OUR words.

Words are essential to our Being.

From where does a Word gain its' meaning? 

Historically, I have no clue, 

but when I want to know what a word means I flip through a Dictionary,

or type it into Google,

or I ask someone.

How do these sources give us the definition?

Words.

They use Words that are simpler or more well known to the average person to try to explain the meaning.

From where do these Words gain their meaning?

LIFE.

CULTURE.

EXPERIENCE.

WHO WE ARE.

US.

For Example:

Apple.

How would you describe an apple?

The general answer might be:

       A fruit with a round-ish shape that comes in a variety of colors.

A person who likes apples may say:

       A delicious fruit, crunchy, sweet, juicy.

Me:

       A fruit, gritty, dull tasting, best eaten when fully covered with peanut butter. :)*

*Remember that not all views expressed by the author reflect the opinions of all Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Even the simplest of Words can mean very different things to different people.

As I sat in the chapel this past Sunday, I thought, "how often do I really think about what a Word means before I use it?"

When we teach as Missionaries we have a vocabulary that we frequently use and we do our best through these words to express to people the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but it can quickly become frustrating because the years of experiences that have given meaning to the Words that we use are truly indescribable. 

FAITH

REPENTANCE

BAPTISM 

RECEIVING THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST

ENDURING TO THE END

BAPTISM.

This is a Word that is used almost daily and that is very near to my heart.

It is impossible to explain what this Word means to me, but I want to try.

I remember the white dress sewn by my mother's hand and maybe the help of a few other family members.

I felt like a princess. I was nervous. I went into the water and placed my hand on my father's arm. He said a prayer and then emerged me completely into the water. My grandmother and grandfather spoke. Maw and Paw Paw. I received my first set of scriptures. They were so beautiful to me. I was eight years old. 

That day I promised God that I would keep his commandments.

I promised to always remember his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

I took upon His name.

John 3:5

 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

The next day was Sunday. During Sacrament Meeting, I went to the front of the chapel and sat in a chair. Hands were softly placed upon my head and I received the Gift of the Holy Ghost. I felt God's love. I felt the presence of the third member of the God head. The experience was so sweet that even as a small eight year old, only a child, tears came to my eyes. 

I received a remission of my sins. 

I was cleansed. 

God promised me that day that if I kept my promises I could have that feeling with me always to lead me and guide me to good things.

That day I was spiritually reborn. 

For many years after that when people would receive the Holy Ghost, the memory of that day would again flood my mind accompanied with more tears. It is this memory that has continually guided me back to my Father in Heaven. I know he loves me and is mindful of me and that the precious gift he gave me is with me as I live righteously.

Every time I think I am alone. I am proven wrong, 

time and time again.

That day and promise has made me who I am and who I am becoming.

This is WHAT we desire all people to experience. This is WHAT we invite others to do.

BAPTISM.

LIVE your WORDS.

Live YOUR Baptism.

https://www.lds.org/media-library/images/little-girl-flowers-760480?lang=eng&category=

God's Quilts

Although Missionary Work is quite a new life in comparison to our lives before the Mission, there are some things that did not change drastically...

We still sleep in beds.

We still like to laugh.

We still get grumpy.

And we eat three meals a day.

However, dinner is a bit different.
DINNER...
Depending on where the Missionary is serving, dinner is often eaten with various members of the church or people that are being taught.

Different faces.

Different tables.

Different foods.

And different homes.
EXPERIENCES...
That is something that a Mission never lacks. We recently ate with a member who we discovered LOVES to quilt. Her house is full of beautiful quilts all carefully made by her hand. The Quilting Room contains an abundance of unique quilt squares all waiting to be put together into another one of her creations. Fabrics line the walls and needles and thread cover the tables. Hours are spent here.
Cutting, Stitching, Piecing and Pulling,
Re-stitching, Snipping, Sewing and Threading.

We ourselves are not so far from these quilts and our lives are not so far from this quilt room.
The quilting pattern comes as we go.
It is intricately made and designed specifically by our Father in Heaven.

God.

The Master Quilter.

He has given us a doctrine, The Gospel of Jesus Christ, by which we can create quilts made by his divine hand.

FAITH 

Though we cannot yet see the finished product, we must trust that God's pattern is better than our own or that of the world. We must have faith in his son Jesus Christ and that through his sacrifice for us, all the mistakes that we make can be totally removed. We must trust enough to start the quilt and continue to sew.

REPENTANCE

We must back track when we make a mistake. Take out the stitches and let Christ remove the damage that was done. We then apologize for the mistake and try to change the way we are doing things so that the mistake is not made again. BUT, if it is made again....

There is ALWAYS another chance for repentance. Christ's sacrifice is infinite.

BAPTISM

We promise God that we are really going to work at this. We promise to follow the patterns (or commandments) which he has given us and always remember His Son.

HOLY GHOST

God gives us the GIFT of the Holy Ghost, a spirit and third member of the God head who is often compared to our conscience, to be an extra tool and guide as we are forming our quilt. We must listen for it and pray to have him with us. If we are not in places or doing things that help us to feel close to God, then we cannot have the guidance. The more we work with him, the better we become at quilt making.

ENDURING TO THE END

We continue to press forward. As we see the steps working, as we see the quilt forming, we develop more faith, we continue to repent, we keep our promises to God and obey his commandments, and we listen to the Holy Ghost.

Each of our patches is unique and formed through experiences, people, challenges...God will sometimes tell us to push and pull in places that hurt. Then after, we realize the beauty of what we have created. Satan will try to rip out the stitches, but through the Gospel of Jesus Christ we can over come all of his efforts. This is HOW.

This is HOW we can return to our Father in Heaven and HOW we can have ETERNAL JOY. It really works. 

TRY IT. 

Let God be your Quilt Maker.

6:30 am 

wake up. 

pray.

exercise, shower, and prepare for the day. 

Name Tag. 

breakfast. 

study, study....study......

lunch, pray, rain coats, 

Shoulder Bags.

out the door. 

walk... 

and walk. 

stop people. talk.

invite, give card, teach. walk.

stop people.

talk, invite, teach.

knock on door.

keep knocking...

knock and walk.

talk and knock.

Open Door. 

teach, pray. 

pray, teach.

dinner.

knock.

teach.

walk...

knock.

teach.

walk...

9:00 pm

home.

plan, pray.

journal.

10:30 pm

sleep.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has over 80,000 young adults around the world between the ages of 18 and 27 serving full-time missions. 

They go through this routine almost every day.

WHY? 

Payment? 

No.

Fun? 

Not Exactly.

One single and complete answer as to why Missionaries serve Missions does not exist and it is not something that is easily explained with words. 

The regular activities of Missionary Work do not include much more than the log written above, but there are MANY words that are essential to describing Missionary Work that were not included. 

Faith and Doubt. 

Love, Charity, Exhaustion.

Pure, Real, and Lasting JOY.

Sorrow.

The Spirit of GOD.

Baptism and Rejection.

Salvation.

JESUS CHRIST.

Friendship.

Missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are called by GOD.

The temporal sacrifices of Missionary Work may appear worthless to some,

but

they are far outweighed by the spiritual and ETERNAL experiences that change who we are.

 forever.

Why am I serving a Mission?

Put simply,

I am serving a mission because my Father in Heaven asked me to participate in His work and the work of His Only Begotten Son.

The Eternal Life and Salvation of Men.

Men,

His children,

My brothers and sisters.

I write this blog in the hopes that through it I can give readers a deeper meaning of WHY Missionaries do what they do;

That the nature of a Mission is far beyond Name Tags and Shoulder Bags.