If the rain comes....we will be prepared !!!

Sister Kim Spencer did another AMAZING evening for us last night.  It was slightly different from her previous presentation, as after seeing the country flood so much this year, we looked a bit more at how we would cope if we lost the power / water in our homes or needed to evacuate quickly.  We found we were not as prepared as we need to be!!!

If you missed it- here are a few of the ideas she taught us - if you want more details Kim can give them to you!

Heating your home when there is no electricity

Making firelighters - it is even possible to make these waterproof!

How to make more light...



Making emergency candles from oranges!

 Kim then gave some good advice about making our 72 hour kits - something really worth thinking about as we discovered most of us have them (or have had them at some point) but they are totally out of date and in an emergency would actually be of little use! 

And a presentation from Kim wouldn't be complete without lots of food to taste!!  This was a real treat not to be missed.  She concentrated on two aspects - one was one pot meals which are ideal if you have no electricity and maybe just a little camping stove  - the second was remembering to continue to use the wheat we have stored.

Many sisters have asked for the recipes so we have created a little tab at the top of the page so we can add to the list each time a sister shares a great food storage recipe with us. 

If any of you have a good recipe which is enjoyed by your family please let Sara know and we can add it onto the list so we can learn together how to use our storage.

We can confirm the meals Kim made for us last night were ALL delicious - so go on, give one a go!

Announcements and Lesson - 25 May 2014

Announcements:

We have our R/S Enrichment Meeting on Wednesday evening this week - it is the next in our sequence of classes from Kim Spencer on Food Storage and Emergency Preparation.
Kim has asked us to bring:

* A plate (empty!!!)

* A bowl (empty!!!)

* A coat if it is cold and dry !!!

Sounds like we are in for an interesting evening :)



On Friday evening this week please note all of the Young Men have been invited to Rui & Ashlea Sousa's home - arrival time is 6.30pm.

On the 29th June the R/S Sisters have been invited to sing a musical item in Sacrament Meeting.  We will be having a short practice in R/S over the next few weeks.  For those of you in Primary and YW we will let you know the details so you can come and join us in singing on the day :)

June is our month of invitation at the request of the Area Presidency.  Each

family should have today received some beautiful fliers to share with friends.  Please take this opportunity to pray with your families for direction on whom we should invite.  Any spare fliers can be put through the doors of our neighbours homes.

Lesson:

Todays lesson was taken from the April's General Conference - 'Following Up' by Elder M Russell Ballard.  Please CLICK HERE to watch / read the talk.

It was a particularly relevant lesson for us as we move towards June's month of invitation as Elder Ballard reminds us that whilst inviting is great, to follow up means so much more and will offer greater success. You may remember Elder Ballard's example of learning this lesson as he met his future wife !!

There were several interesting points Elder Ballard asks us to do which may be worth discussing at an upcoming FHE and studying as individuals and asking for direction as to how we can follow this Apostle's words and counsel:

1. We should not refer to the Church by any other name other than The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

2. Replace our fears with faith when dealing with Missionary work.   

3. He challenges us to "invite someone at least once a quarter - or four times a year - to be taught by the full-time missionaries"

4. Read and study Preaching My Gospel  - "read it, study it and then apply what you learn to help you understand how to bring souls to Christ through invitation and follow up."   Talk to the missionaries in your ward about what you are reading.

We were reminded of the recent words from our Prophet Thomas S Monson: "NOW is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labour in the Lord's vineyard to bring souls to Him."

Annie had us think today about why we love this gospel and the joy sharing that can bring to those we love.  Yes it may be scary to share those things but so worth it.  And Elder Ballard has promised we will be helped:

"If we follow up, the Lord will not let us down."

 

With that in mind - Sisters who will we pass our fliers out too and will we choose to follow up?

Announcements & Lesson - 18 May 2014

Announcements:

On Wed 28th May we have our RS Meeting at 7.30pm - it will be the next in our series of evenings led by Kim Spencer on food storage / preparation.  As always it will be a fantastic evening with lots of yummy goodies to try!!!

 

 

Also please keep in your minds the invitation from the Area Presidency and Bishopric to make June our month for invitation.  Start thinking now who you know who might like to join with us in June to come a little closer to their Saviour.  Make it a matter of prayer and encourage your family to work with you on this.

 

Also just a note about the Read family - as many of you know Norman has been in and out of hospital this year and they have had some real challenges.  Norman is back in the hospital but hopefully being allowed home soon - please continue to keep them in your prayers and I am sure they would appreciate a little hello card or call.

 

Lesson:

 



Todays lesson was taught by Sister Yvonne Holmes and was taken from Chapter 10 of Teaching of the Prophets - Our Search For Truth.

An interesting comment from Pres Smith was this:  'Everyone should learn something new every day'.  Think about that for a moment - do we do that?  What new thing have you learnt today?  Yesterday?  And how often do we ensure those new things we learn are of worth.  We encouraged to increase in knowledge and learning and to educate ourselves, but we must remember that not all learning has the same value.  "The most important knowledge in the world is gospel knowledge.  It is a knowledge of God and his laws, of those things that men must do to work out their salvation with fear and trembling before the Lord."

We discussed in detail how we learn and particularly the importance of scripture study.  Louise, our RS President, shared an example from her own life of how she learned the importance of study and the blessings that come to us when we put the Lord first.  She spoke of when she was working towards her A level exams and was struggling very much with the subject of maths.  She explained how she would constantly give it everything she had and still was not able to pass and get good results.  So in the end fed up of failing and with her self-worth continuing to plummet she gave up - she didn't study, she accepted she had failed.

All through this time the one thing she had kept going was seminary, the daily class of gospel study and as the exams drew closer the promise the Lord makes the youth, that if only they would put the Lord first and be diligent in their seminary, then He would bless them with help and success in their school studies.  So Louise tried Him at His word - she felt able to go to Him and say look I have tried and I have kept going to seminary, please help me. 

The blessings were immense and Louise said from that moment on the subject began to make more sense to her.  She was able to understand concepts she couldn't before - so much so that she passed her exam.  The Lord keeps Him promises, when we put Him first and study and live the gospel, then the blessings come pouring in.

So how are we doing with studying the gospel?  Is it a priority in our own lives?

Here is a challenge to think on this week from President Smith:

"We sometimes hear the complaint, I haven't time.  But we ALL have time to ready and study which is our solemn duty.  Can we not arrange to find at least fifteen minutes in each day to devote to systematic reading and reflection?  This would be but a trifling amount of time yet it would be one hour and forty five minutes in a week, seven and one half hours in a month of thirty days and ninety one hours and a quarter in a year..."

Sisters are you getting YOUR fifteen minutes a day (at least)?  If not - what can you do to make that change?

Announcements and Lesson 11 May 2014

Announcements:

Women's Day is this coming Saturday - we hope you can all make it.  The Stake RS Presidency have planned a great day for us.  Registration begins at 9.30 and you will need to choose from 2 workshops for the morning.  The choices are:

1. Louise Lamb - Internet Safety

2. Toni Hewitt - Art Appreciation

3. Ros Lafevre - Relaxation / Pondering

4. Ruth Watling - Serving a Mission (aimed at YSA and Laurels)

5. Gwyn Fagg and Sarah Garnham - Observing our Covenants

6. Rogelia Pinho and Paula Pereira - Making Unity Soup


We have our next Enrichment meeting on Wednesday 28th May which will be the next in our series of food storage / emergency preparation classes with Kim Spencer.

As Bishop mentioned this morning June is to be our Month of Invitation as requested by the Area Presidency.  We have each been asked as families to prayerfully consider whom we might invite to come and share in the wonderful spirit of our meetings.

Lesson:

Wow - we had a real treat in our lesson today which was Chapter 9, Witnesses of the Book of Mormon and was taught by Alison Pentreath.  Alison invited some of our Young Men and leaders to sing the song they mentioned in many of their testimonies today Come Unto Christ.  It was amazing and I am sure touched the hearts of every Sister who heard it.  The power of seeing these young Priesthood holders who loved the Lord so much was beautiful.

CLICK HERE to hear the song (not by our YM sadly!) - the words are beautiful and true!

Alison talked to us about the Book of Mormon and the purpose of it - to bring each one of us to Jesus Christ.  What a blessing it is for every one of us. 

She shared a great quote from Elder Richard G Scott:

"The most important principle I can share...anchor your life in Jesus Christ, your Redeemer.  Make your Eternal Father and His Beloved Son the most important priority in your life...more important that life itself...more important than a beloved companion or children or anyone on earth.  Make Their will your central desire.  Then all that you need for happiness will come to you."

We spoke of the many witnesses we have of the BOM - those prophets who spoke within its pages, the Three and Eight Witnesses and their testimony of seeing and holding the plates, the many Latter-day Prophets and even the Saviour Himself who bore testimony to the book.  As Alison pointed out to us, each of the Three Witnesses (Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris) each became disgruntled by the church at some point in their lives and each chose to walk away from it.  BUT not once did any of these men deny their witness and testimony of the Book of Mormon.

Oliver in fact decided to return to the church at a later stage - at a time when the Saints were in extreme distress.  The extermination order had been given and they were in great danger, they were having to leave all they had built in Nauvoo and face an unknown future.  But this was the very time Oliver decided He needed to be with the Saints and make good with the Lord - he knew what the Lord had shown him and he was still a witness to the BOM and needed to continue to be.

Whilst all of these witnesses are so vital and important - the most important witness to each of us will be our own testimony of the truthfulness.  Alison had us think about the time WE knew the BOM is true and the experiences we have had in it bringing us closer to Christ.  Take a moment and think.  What a wonderful blessing it is to know for ourselves and to have the privilege of sharing that witness with our families and those we love.  Let us never, ever take that for granted.

Announcements - 4 May 2014

We hope you have enjoyed a spiritual feast with Stake Conference this weekend.  Just a few announcements to remind you about:

Saturday 17th May is our Stake Women's Day.  We are glad so many of you are planning to come along.  The registration will take place at 9.30am and the day will officially begin promptly at 10am.

The workshops for the day will be:

1. Louise Lamb - Internet Safety

2. Toni Hewitt - Art Appreciation

3. Roz Lafevre - Relaxation

4. Ruth Watling - Serving a mission (class aimed at the YW / YSA)

5. Gwen Fagg / Sarah Garnham - Observing our Covenants

6. Rogelia Pinho / Paula Pereira - Making Unity Soup


Wednesday 28th May is our next enrichment meeting which will be the next in our series of Food Storage / Emergency Preparation with Sister Kim Spencer:

Maureen who runs the FIND food bank in Ipswich is looking for a volunteer who might be able to assist her.  A bakery in Ipswich town centre (next to Icelands) has offered to give her all the bread / cakes etc they do not sell.  She needs a volunteer who would be willing to go there one day a week at 5.30pm to pick the items up and deliver them to the Food Bank.  If anyone thinks they might be able to help please speak to Sara.

There is a London Temple District SA temple week coming up on 2nd-6th June.  Activities are planned for the entire week, including FHE, a welcome dinner and firesides.  If you want any further information please speak to Sara who can give you relevant contact details.

Elder Thiago Pereira returns shortly from his mission and his family are having a party to welcome him home on Saturday 10th May at 6pm.  We have all been invited to come along.