Testifying, Testifying and More Testifying!!!!

      This week, I had the wonderful opportunity to testify of the truthfulness of the gospel many times. Though the opportunity to testify for Elder Muirhead and I come on a weekly basis, this past week gave me the most opportunities since I arrived in Ireland! I came to realize a long time ago, that only you can grow your testimony. Each of us must develop our own personal testimony. Once found, even as small as it may be, we must then share it. I have always loved that statement that President Boyd K. Packard stated years ago, that to have your testimony grow, you literally must give it away!!! That is so true!

     I must confess that there has been times in my life that I have had moments of religious confusion that has slowed my development of my testimony in that certain area. I think most of us reading this blog can agree, as I am sure the I am not the only one who has felt those feelings. Religion can be a very hard subject, especially when you can't see clearly or find the right path. I can certainly relate to that and can show you an example with the following photograph that is so related. This, we have seen on corners too many times!

Honestly, which way???? 

     These are the corners here in Ireland that I like to steer clear of! Right???? Too many pointers only add more confusion for me. Not good! Remembering the fact from my mission in Palmyra, New York, where nothing was a coincidence as to the restoration of the gospel, my weekly gospel research this week took me to an amazing talk given one year ago by President Nelson, one that I never even knew about until last week. Boy, I sure needed to listen to that talk. It's one of the best talks ever given by President Nelson, especially when he talks about taking charge of your testimony and giving it cause to grow. When he said that, it was just what I needed to hear before this week of consistent testifying began for me. If you would like to listen to the talk it is entitled "Choices For Eternity" and can be found in the LDS Library or on YouTube with this link:

https://youtu.be/myIjdiwJ7mI

     So what allowed me to testify so much more this past week? Well, I had 3 gospel teaching lessons that I taught this week, participated in our weekly district missionary counsel meeting, sat in with the young elders on 2 missionary lessons with friends, made a lunch and shared a short gospel lesson with our young elders, then, I taught teach the Relief Society lesson on Sunday in my branch and put together this blog. What an awesome list of accomplishments!!! I love it!

     On Monday, at YSA FHE, we had 8 (that's right!) missionaries, 2 friends from Brazil and 2 friends from Bolivia. I taught the lesson from the New Testament Come Follow Me about the parable of the talents. None of our own regular YSAs were able to come that evening. One of our YSA that comes often speaks Portuguese and the other YSA that also comes regularly, speaks Spanish. With both of them not there, and 10 non-bilingual missionaries....it was quite the trick to get the message across to all! Our well prepared missionaries all pulled out their phones and found ways to translate the message across. Thank heavens!!! We ended that evening by sharing our personal talents. I shared a few of my photographs, Adda, from Bolivia, danced a favorite cultural dance (with music) and others just spoke about their personal talents. The meeting ended with me bearing testimony of the many gifts of talents that God has given to each of us and the need to use those talents in His service. It really turned out to be a great evening together!

     On Tuesday, Elder and I picked up the Galway sisters from the train station and drove them over to the church for a meeting. Then we turned around and drove back to the train station to also pick up the Sligo sisters. We all love gathering together once a transfer to share our thoughts, feelings, experiences and knowledge with one another. During the meeting, I found myself several times bearing testimony of Jesus Christ, the gospel and, of course, missionary work! After we drove the sisters back to the train station, we rushed back to the church to help teach Colette, one of our friends. This meeting gave me the opportunity to testify to her of what I know to be true. By the end of the lesson, the young elders asked her if she would commit to being baptized. She answered that she wanted to know a little more about the church and read a little further in the Book of Mormon before she would feel comfortable making that change. We were sooooooo excited! That evening, we joined our branch leadership counsel in a bi-monthly meeting to get informed and discuss branch business.

     We also got to go to Sister Smirnovs' flat and help her with her medical training. She is literally down to her last few weeks of basic training and has already applied to go to EMT school. If all goes well, she will know by mid April if she gets accepted. Enrollment is very limited. She's got what it takes! I'm so proud of her!

     On Wednesday, we attended the weekly English class with the young elders, 2 branch members and the Bolivian sisters. After the class, a missionary lesson was given to the sisters and, again, I was able to testify. The lesson that night was most near and dear to my heart, that of family history and FamilySearch. I told all in that meeting about my personal experiences while at the Preston Temple one month prior and the spiritual feelings I felt for both of my grandparents, Ann and William. I also told them what President Holland expressed once when he stated that heaven wouldn't be heaven without his wife or his children beside him. Both sisters immediately turned to each other and smiled at each other. The crowning gift to all who believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ is that families can be together forever. I testified that that. is. absolutely. true!

     Thursday, I spent the day putting together lesson plans for the next few days that I would have of teaching others. I couldn't help but feel so much gratitude for the many opportunities I have here in Ireland to teach. And as I teach, I get to testify! Thursday was also a day that prayers petitioned here on our own behalf were finally answered. We had had a stressful month of financial worry and had prayed that we could be delivered from it. We saw the Lord's hand, once again, in our lives and His mercy was given on our behalf. He has been so very kind to us in so many ways. I count my many blessings....201,358 and counting!!!!

     On Friday, another Book pf Mormon study class was held. Though our numbers were few this week, we still all felt the spirit and committed in become better disciples of Jesus Christ. This week's lesson was 2 Nephi chapters 25-26. In both of these 2 chapters, Nephi, not only testifies, but he also prophecies of the future of his people and teaches us pure truth of the only way under heaven that man can be saved. He does this to convince all that Jesus really is the Christ. Wherefore, Nephi tells us, that the righteous believers talked of Christ, rejoiced in Him, preached and prophesied of Him so that all their children would know how and where to look for a remission of their sins. Nephi also plainly shows by comparison priestcraft v.s. priesthood and warns that the Spirit of the Lord will not always strive with man. We must be ever so careful.

Study time for Book of Mormon lesson!

     Saturday was a fun day for me. We had invited the young missionaries over for lunch that day. Last Monday, our newest elder, Elder Giugliarelli, from Italy, made a meal for the district. All the young elders and sisters were just raving about his cooking abilities. So knowing that I could never compare with his abilities, though he did tell me that the most important ingredient he uses every time he cooks is LOVE (very Italian!), I decided to try something totally different and if it didn't work out right, at least I could blame it on the recipe! I decided to make the good ol' American comfort meal of grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade hearty tomato soup. I felt good about my choice because I have had LOTS of practice making grilled cheese sandwiches with my many children and the soup.....well, let's just say that a few of my daughters are pretty proud of their mother for even attempting it the first time ever!

I chopped up tomatoes for ever, it seemed! Crazy!

The finished project. Even Elder Guiurelli had seconds on the soup! I felt very proud

Here is a photo of the 4 of us missionaries

     After our lunch, I taught a short lesson to the elders, especially Elder Guiurelli, about our first mission in Palmyra, New York, and showed the special items from that mission that I brought with me here to Ireland. I know that the young missionaries were very happy that someone else was teaching a lesson of importance to them. At the end, I again bore my testimony of the restoration of the gospel and of Joseph Smith. After we concluded, the missionaries left our flat to go and "harvest" door to door.

     Just before 5 pm that same day, Elder Muirhead and I and the missionaries met again at the chapel to show the monthly branch movie. This month, "17 Miracles" was selected. We had 7 in attendance, which was wonderful. We also had a 18th miracle happen that night. I had previously downloaded the movie onto my laptop. When I was setting up the movie on the big screen, I also connected to the branch's internet to ensure connection. We started the movie and about half way though, the movie froze. We tried several different ways for 15 minutes to restart the internet and the movie, but nothing worked.

     Elder Giugliarelli asked me one more time to go through the process of turning off my laptop, turning it back on again and re-starting the branch's Wi-Fi. I had just done that without success, but I followed his encouragement and did it again. I was just ready to apologize and send everyone home for the evening. Believe it or not, Elder Giugliarelli called the right play, because on that attempt, everything turned back on and we were able to finish the movie! Amazing! That movie was certainly made under inspiration, as everyone there walked away with a renewal of faith and a commitment to never give up! What a testimony builder that experience was for me.

     Sunday morning, we all lost one hour of sleep, as Ireland had their daylight savings day. I got up early as I had been asked to teach the Relief Society lesson that day. I taught Jeffery Hollands' October 2022 General Conference talk entitled, "Lifted Up Upon The Cross". The lesson went well and many participated in a discussion. We even had a visitor from Indiana who had some great insights. Of course, at the end of all missionary lessons, we are taught to testify, invite and promise and that is exactly what I did. In doing so, I felt the spirit and knew that the Lord approved of the words that were said.

     Knowing that we can all grow our testimonies better, I'd like to offer some ideas to help ours grow and strengthen "A testimony is a spiritual witness given by the Holy Ghost. As members of the Church, we have the sacred opportunity and responsibility to obtain our own testimonies. If we seek a testimony through study, prayer, and living the gospel, the Holy Ghost will help us know for ourselves that the gospel is true." It is only by the Holy Ghost that this precious personal addition can be given to us. 

     Here are the 5 foundational items of knowledge one needs to start a personal testimony

1. Knowing Heavenly Father lives and loves His children.
2. Jesus Christ lives and is the Son of God. He carried out the infinite Atonement.
3. Joseph Smith is the prophet of God who was called to restore the gospel.
4. The Church is led by a living prophet today.
5. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Savior’s true Church on the earth.

  President Eyring has said,“Testimony requires the nurturing by the prayer of faith, the hungering for the word of God in the scriptures, and the obedience to the truth we have received." As a warning, President Monson once said, "“Unless the roots of your testimony are firmly planted, it will be difficult for you to withstand the ridicule of those who challenge your faith. When firmly planted, your testimony of the gospel, of the Savior, and of our Heavenly Father will influence all that you do throughout your life.”

     You can strengthen your testimony by striving to always be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Obedience to God's commandments makes us valiant in our testimonies, and that in turn makes our testimonies even stronger and ready for God's kingdom to return to earth. You can also strengthen your testimony by sharing it.

     There are many general conference talks available to aid anyone who either wants to grow their testimony or learn how to strengthen it. Take the time needed to do what you feel is best. A testimony is a sure witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ that comes by revelation through the Holy Ghost. It is one of a member’s most precious possessions. A testimony isn’t something that, once acquired, remains forever the same. Like a muscle, it gains strength when used—or shared—and weakens when it is allowed to languish. Having a firm testimony of Heavenly Father, His Son, Jesus Christ, of the Restoration of the Gospel, including Joseph Smith as God's prophet and of all today's living prophets will keep one on the covenant path, helping them in times of trouble or tough decisions and is within the capacity of every person. 

May God bless us as we strive to make having a testimony the most important to us individually. "There is no greater way to strengthen our own testimony than to share our witness of Him with the world. As we do, our families will be strengthened, our wards, stakes, and communities will be filled with peace and love, and, ultimately, the earth will be prepared for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”. I testify of these things and do so in the name of Jesus Christ.

      

     

Birthday, Birthday and More Birthday!!!

      For the past four years, my family has been able to celebrate back-to-back-to-back birthdays in March!!! It has become one of my favorite weeks of the year. This year, our fifth, has been even better. For those who know me well, you know that I relish birthdays (especially my own) with a passion. Maybe being so far away from home and family at this time, has place these 3 birthdays in a higher sphere for me than ever before. And maybe this week is more exciting as we also celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Ireland. No matter why this year's celebrations seems so much better, know that I am so very happy to be a part of each and every one of them!

     In my family, we have 6 birthdays in 25 days and soon, we will also have a grandchild's wedding anniversary in March too. Talk about a lot of parties! We also have a birthday at the very end of February and another birthday at the very beginning of April. Isn't that so fun!!! If only every family could experience celebrations of life over and over again. I don't think that I will ever get tired of all this fun! I love it!

     This week, Ireland is celebrating St. Patrick's Day. This yearly party day commemorates the Irish saint, St. Patrick, who, centuries ago, introduced Christianity to this isle. Though in years past, St Patrick's Day truly celebrated this saintly man who lived hundreds of years ago; today, this day actually celebrates all things Irish.  Nevertheless, in Ireland, St. Patrick's Day is huge and continues to bring deep patriotic feelings for all Irishmen. Limerick had several St Patrick Day events happening this week and on Tuesday, we were able to go and enjoy the beginning of the fun.

This was a great brass and reed band who entertained those in attendance at St. Mary's Cathedral. I was so happy to be attendance, as they performed a medley of music from Les Mis, one of my favorites!

     This week's family birthday celebrations started off on Wednesday with my daughter, Rachael. Rachael is my sixth child and my fourth daughter. She was the sweetest baby back when she was young and now continues to be an absolute sweetheart! On her birthday, we were able to talk to her by phone and see a photograph of her favorite gift that day, given to her by her loving husband. It sounded like she had a great day, so filled with love from both family and friends, some close and some far away.  

My favorite photo of Rachael! Isn't she beautiful! Both inside and out!!!!

     On Thursday, our grandson, Matthew, turned another year older. It is like times like this that I wish that I could stop the hands of time and just bask in the moment. I'm telling you, this young boy completely steals my heart away every single time. He is so very sweet and, oh, so funny. He is also very smart and very talented!! If I could spend everyday with him, I'd be one happy camper! I am a very blessed grandmother to hear this young man call me "grandma"!!!

Here is a picture of my grandson, Matthew! 

Everyone loves Matthew!!

     On Friday, we got to celebrate all over again and, like I said, we even got to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with hundreds and hundreds of Irish people. I always thought that it was so cool that Elder Muirhead's birthday was on St. Patrick's Day. So, of course, I also thought that it would be super cool that we get to celebrate his 70th birthday on St. Patrick's Day while serving in Ireland! 

     This morning, Elder Muirhead woke up to a breakfast in bed. By lunch time, we walked from our flat, across the bridge and watched the Limerick St. Patrick's Day parade. It was a very fun parade, including a couple of bagpipe bands. After the parade ended, we went to a nearby Mexican fast food place and had a delicious lunch. Here are a few pictures of Elder's day.

Breakfast in bed! Lucky man!

Our district singing Elder "Happy Birthday" on a zoom meeting

Elder at the St. Patrick's Day parade

Lots of people in the parade. Everyone was dressed in green

A bagpipe band. Always my favorite!

A green (scary) human caterpillar

Elder ready to dive into his lunch!

Elder Muirhead's official 70th birthday portrait (Irish style)!

     

     Later that same day, we found ourselves attending our branch's weekly Book of Mormon class. This week, we quickly skimmed through the rest of the Isaiah chapters in 2 Nephi and found ways, after discussing each chapter, of how we can apply Isaiah's lessons into our own lives. It was great to hear all the different ways that the class came up with that can help us remain faithful as we look forward to the Millennial day. After Elder and I put the teaching equipment away, I asked him to follow me to have a look at something.

     When we opened the closed door at the end of the hall, 13 branch members yelled, "Surprise! Happy Birthday!" Elder Muirhead had no clue that we had organized a small surprise birthday party for him that night. Then, everyone started singing happy birthday to him. It was magical! Elder blew out candles, cut his own cake and dished everyone a bowl of treats. Later, a few extra branch members showed up to also celebrate the night with us. Here are a few more pictures.

The BIG surprise!

70 years young

Elder blowing out his candles. The branch was kind and saved him from blowing out 70 of them!

A close up of the cake, which was fantastic!!! It was layered with chocolate cake, whipped topping and thin layers of raspberry filling. Yum, yum!

Our wonderful and caring branch members. About half way through the party, 3 other families came to celebrate with us. We had about 25 people in attendance, which is 1/4 of the entire branch. This is evidence of how Elder Muirhead has touched the lives here of many!

     The celebration for St. Patrick's Day continued through the weekend. On Saturday, there were several street shows happening in the City Centre. Many Limerick community members were on hand to watch and participate. To end Limerick's St. Patrick's Day celebration on Sunday, the city put on an international marching band competition, with bands from all over including the United States. I captured just a few more photos from the week-end party.

That's some crazy guy on stilts behind me

A street juggler playing with fire

This high school band traveled all the way from Aurora, Colorado!

They even braved an Irish rain storm!

Bagpipe bands also joined in the competition

This is a high school band from Tipperary County, just south of us

     With this past week being more fun and entertaining, we also had several missionary assignments that we fulfilled. On Monday, for YSA FHE, we welcomed the 3 new Brazilians into our home and with the help of our own YSAs, a basic teaching of the restoration of the gospel was taught. Although the training was spoken in Portuguese, the message was received by our new friends and they even asked questions at the end. We still had a little time left over, so we also played Jenga with them. Believe it or not, none of these new friends had ever heard of or played Jenga before. It was awesome!

     On Tuesday, Elder and I drove up to Galway and cleaned the young sisters old flat that they just moved out of. As we entered that flat, we were happy to see how much progress those 2 sisters had completed. Ever room was cleaned well except for the kitchen and the bathroom, so Elder and I rolled up our sleeves and went to work. Elder cleaned the bathroom, while I cleaned the kitchen. All the cleaning in both of those rooms were completed before we left, except for the oven. The inside of the oven just needed a light cleaning, but we did not have any cleaning products to get the job done. So, after we left, we contacted the sisters and assigned them to go back one more time and finish the oven. 

     Wednesday evening brought us, the young elders and the same 3 friends together for the weekly English Connect class. We even had one branch member, Andrea, join us for that meeting, Because the 3 from Brazil had only been in Ireland for one week and hardly knew any English, we taught them how to start a very basic conversation using personal introductions. They actually picked up on what was taught pretty well. We invited them to join us at church on Sunday and were very happy to see them again on Sunday. 

     On Friday, Elder and I joined the other Limerick district missionaries in our weekly district training meeting on zoom. After the transfer calls that took place on March 11th, out of our 4 young sister missionaries and our 4 young elders, we got 5 new missionaries to replace the ones who were called to serve elsewhere. We got 2 new young sister missionaries and 3 new young elders, including one new zone leader and 2 new district leaders. That is quite a big change for us here. Elder and I are excited to see how well we can all work together to accomplish the goal of furthering the spread of the gospel here in the Limerick district. The photo below is Elder and mine's newest young elder that we will closely work with for the next 5 weeks. His name is Elder Giugliarelli from Italy.

Elder Giugliarelli

     We also were able this week to serve 2 of our branch members who needed our help and I, personally, was able to catch up a little with the Come Follow Me lessons. Also, because I have been asked to teach the Relief Society lesson next week, I have been able to read and ponder the lesson by Elder Holland that I will give. So, this week has been a good mixture of both a little fun and a little missionary work! 

     I'd like to close this week's blog but posting an encouraging statement from Gary E. Stevenson from             General Conference October 2022.

     I love this statement. This has become a truly meaningful truth to me now, especially while serving here in Limerick, than perhaps, if I was just at home. Honestly, the missionary force in this southern part of Ireland put on their faith and the courage needed every day and then go out and seek for those who want a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. These seekers are so very few and far in-between. We know that they are out there; we pray that they will hear our voice and take the invitation to "Come Unto Christ". 

     All of us missionaries can attest that, in Ireland, it certainly helps our friends to see who we really are and to also hear our bold, yet humble testimonies. We, the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are so different from everyone else in Ireland. Even the young elders and sisters here; the next generation of leaders, are happy, faithful, caring, helpful, giving, knowledgable, trustworthy, reliable and loving, just to name a few. They are different and they do stand out! They work endless hours, both on their feet and on their knees. Their whole purpose is to never give up seeking for the one and to continue to be the righteous son or daughter of God that they desire to be. Their focus on being who they know they are has a rubbing-off effect on every senior couple that serves along side them. 

     Like Elder Stevenson, I invite each of us to show the world what a faithful member and covenant child of God looks like. We may not have the opportunity right now to wear a missionary tag over our heart, but every member is a missionary. President Nelson has also said, "Embrace being different! Though some may not fully understand why you do or you don't do certain things, you never know how your example will affect others". May God bless us all to show that difference...the difference of Jesus Christ! Blessings will come to both us and others as we do so.

    See you next week.

     

     

Less Than 90 Days Left in Ireland!

      My, my...how times flies! Yep! We are officially less than 90 days away from leaving our wonderful mission here in Ireland. It truly has been an amazing mission, with amazing sites, amazing people and we have been so very blessed because of it. We still have much to do here and this week was no different. Let me tell you some of the many ways we served this past week. 

     On Sunday, we had a marvelous fast Sunday. I was told when we first arrived back in July that I needed to bear my testimony every month. I was also told that then it was very rare to have a branch female member testify on a fast Sunday. It sounded like the men stepped it up every month to be a witness. Well, I decided that very day that I could certainly do that. After all, what do missionaries do best? You got it! Testify, testify, testify! So every month since being here, I have faithfully stood and witnessed. 

     This past testimony meeting, I witnessed the power of priesthood temple ordinances and the joy of taking family names into those sacred, holy houses. What a privilege that was for me. It brought back the deep, overwhelming feelings of joy and love that I experienced while serving my great grandparents in our recent Preston Temple trip.  Even this past Wednesday evening, I saw a picture of a baptismal font inside the Rome, Italy temple and I could hardly hold back the eyes from running down my face. To be able to feel of those grandparents gratitude afterwards is an extended tender blessing from the Lord. I love William and Ann Wills!!!! By the way, after just a couple of months of me standing up and testifying on a fast meeting, several of the branch's women also started to join me, which really pleased our branch president. 

     Monday evening was another YSA FHE. This was a special night for a couple of reasons. First, with another mission transfer happening this weekend, the zone leaders got permission to let all of this zone district's missionaries to come together one more time. We already know that there will be several changes in our zone coming up, so we, all were very excited to gather. I love that all our missionaries, both old and young, will be able to spend more time together. with each other this week. On this night, we had 8 young elders join us for FHE. The other reason why this FHE was special was because we all got permission to use the branch's cultural hall to play volleyball together. Talk about competition!!! Wow!

     So with 8 young elders, 2 young male branch members, 3 young female members and Elder and myself, we have more than enough to participate. Elder M decided that he would best serve (that sounds like a pun to me....serve/volleyball!) as our score keeper. We split into 2 groups and decided to rotate in before that person's team started a new serve. It took us all a short time to warm up, but then we all put on a pretty nice demonstration of how "it is done". I also put on a nice demonstration after making an off balance hit of how to almost catch yourself from falling....almost! Yeah, I got a nice bruise to show for it. At the end of our time that night, Elder M wisely stated that we all tied. It was a very fun night and we are planning on doing that activity again.

YSA FHE volleyball style

Bruising on the thumb side of my hand. Ouch!

     On Tuesday, the entire zone met together for an in-person district training meeting here in Limerick. It was so, so wonderful to see all of our missionaries in one place. After our training was completed, we gathered together in a large circle and sang the closing song together, which, tearfully, was "Til We Meet Again". Yeah, no dry eyes were seen with that one. After, we shared an extra hour together eating lunch. I have also included photos of the young sisters that we have supported and served while here in Limerick. This group of young sisters have really touched my heart in more than one way.

Our zone (all 20 of us) eating lunch together

Sister Blanchard

Sister Ison

Sister Lopez

Sister Bakkland

Sister Blake

     After lunch, we drove the sisters to the train station and then returned back to our flat. That night, we participated in our branch's branch presidency correlation meeting. Our president was able to instruct us related to current area changes and then correlated with each of us concerning our branch leadership responsibilities. We feel very fortunate to have the branch president and his counselors that have been called. They are caring, faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.

     On Wednesday, The mission office assigned Elder and I to do 5 missionary flat inspections. The office asked that, like the transfer before, that these inspections be done in person, so I decided to do one everyday this week. I started with the still vacant flat in Limerick, which passed with flying colors. Later, the young elders, 3 Brazilian members, the 2 Bolivian sisters and Elder and I met for both a missionary lesson and the weekly English Connect class. We started first with the missionary lesson.

    In weeks past, the older Bolivian sister, Alexandra, has hardly spoken  a word and hasn't given any open expressions of understanding to the gospel. Her younger sister, Adda, has often smiled or nodded her head while she has been taught. Well, tonight was so different. Alexandra was totally interacting with the Brazilian members. She was asking questions and getting answers! In fact, the lesson lasted so long, that we never even had the English class that night. It felt like a huge break through. We missionaries are very excited. Before we all left the chapel, we gave Elder Jakka a going away party! He was very surprised!

One last "good-bye" wave from an excellent elder

     We got up bright (actually it was still very dark here) and early the next day to drive to Galway to help the sisters clean their old flat. To our surprise, it was snowing here in Limerick. We checked the weather only to find out that it would snow most of the morning and we could see outside that the streets were slick. To make matters worst, the weather reported that Galway was getting much more snow that even we were. So we postponed our trip that morning. Instead, I decided to spread joy and cheer and, later,  we were asked to help teach a wonderful female friend, named Colette. Colette is from the French Conga and is very religious. She is a little older, maybe in her 50's or 60's. 

This was my Thursday morning missionary service project. Isn't he cute???

But, like they say, "Here today and gone tomorrow!"

     Colette and I hit it off right from the start!!! We had a great lesson introducing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and she not only understood it, but she liked what she had heard. She was invited to come to church the next Sunday and that the missionaries would contact her to make another teaching appointment. After her lesson, the zone leaders and us drove to the zone leader's flat to inspection their place. After finishing that inspection, Elder and I came back to our flat where I was able to complete that flat inspection paperwork and submit it to the mission office. By 6:30 that evening, we joined the zone leaders at a branch member family's home to share a meal with them. We had a tasty Indian meal with a small dessert. After, we all gathered in their living room to have a spiritual thought and a blessing on that sweet family. 

     Friday was busy also! We had another teaching opportunity with a new friend, Susanne. Susanne is Irish and a very devote Catholic. We also had a wonderful lesson with her. We are not sure if Susanne has a learning disability or may be a little illiterate, but we slowed our lesson down just for her and even explained words that she had never heard before. The missionaries are hoping that all of us can meet with her again soon. After I had a quick meeting with my relief society president, we drove to the zone leaders flat to pick them up. Elder Jakka has completed his mission and he (and Elder Petrovey) needed a ride to the train station to get Elder Jakka on his way home. With Friday night after work traffic, we just barely made it to the station.

     After depositing the elders were they needed to be, Elder and I drove over to the church for our weekly Book of Mormon class, which went very well. After class, Elder and I needed to go straight back to our flat so I could do a virtual flat inspection with the Sligo sisters. They, too, past with flying colors! After I finished that zoom, I had to open another zoom for our bi-weekly "Come Follow Me" All Mission zoom. The 2 young elders assigned to teach us focused on one to the Savior's miracles and gave us all better understanding and insight.

     Well, with one more flat inspection left on my list, we traveled 2 plus hours away to Waterford to meet with the district leaders of our zone on Saturday. By the time we got there, both of these fine elders had just received transfer calls, which made the flat inspection a little more detailed to give the next elders coming in a much cleaner flat than expected. The district leaders totally understood and took an extra hour to deep clean their flat a little more for the new elders arriving early next week. While we were there in Waterford and because it is such a long drive, Elder and I spent a couple of hours in 2 Waterford museums that we had not seen yet, namely the Bishop's Palace and the Museum of Time. 

     Just as a reminder, Waterford was the first major village and community established in Ireland over 1,000 years ago. The Palace, which was built in 1741, has housed several famous families, and today displays many treasures of Ireland from both the Georgian and Victorian eras of Waterford. Many of the treasures seen inside date back 250 years and more. The main floor and the upper floor are furnished as a very elegant 18th century townhome, with beautiful crystal glass, silver, furniture and paintings. The oldest known Waterford crystal piece in the world-the Penrose decanter- is found inside. It was like stepping back in time. Here are a few photos from the Palace.

This is the palace's grand staircase

This is the parlor which contained some awesome treasures, including a beautiful harp

This functional table from the 1800's is for all of you that love to sew.

 

When the table top is lifted, an amazing sewing case is displayed below with lots of storage spaces, including four dressmaker straight pin cushions

This pianoforte, dating into the late 18th century, belonged to one of the palace's most famous inhabitant, Letitia Bonaparte-Wyse. She was Napoleon Bonaparte's daughter. Very cool!

In a case next to the pianoforte, laid this lock of hair belonging the Napoleon, himself. I thought that that was even cooler!!!

Another treasure that I loved was this large rocking horse that dates in the 19th century.  This, my friends is not an ordinary rocking horse. This is a training horse used by young men and young women at that time. The 2 pegs that stick straight up at the top of the saddle were used when training young women to ride side saddle

This is the palace's dining room complete with Waterford crystal steward and chandelier

A polyphon from the late 19th century that still played. You should have heard the music it played! Unbelievable!!

The oldest known piece of Waterford crystal in the world!

Miniature Waterford crystal. Waterford Crystal owns a Guiness Book of Records record for the smallest piece of crystal with over 200 cut edges!

An antique baby carriage. I have always loved items like this

This was cool. It was a very large display, made by young maidens at the turn of the century, out of all types of seashells to past their time away during the summer months. There were literally thousands of shells carefully placed in a specific design!

     That really was a fun museum. Both Elder and I enjoyed it so much! After, we strolled down the street to the second museum we visited, called the Museum of Time. This museum is not limited to just Ireland, but has time pieces from all over the world. The oldest piece it has is a clock from William Clement, from London, made in 1663. This clock is the earliest example in the world of his innovative mechanism which made time keeping accurate. So amazing! Now this museum was the kind that Elder M loves! Here are some pictures from there.

Walking into the display room, this was one of the first clocks that you came across. I also love sundials. I wish I know more about this sundial's history

This clock made in 1870 naturally caught my eye. I love the church building motif. It brought to my mind that we should always have time for God!

This timepiece reminded me of a time years ago while I was in Paris, France. Beautiful clocks like this today are rare. I loved it!

This was such an awesome clock. It was made in 1770! Without its shell, I loved that I could see the very deepest parts which were so needed to allow this clock to "tick". This clock also had a unique bell system that, when rung, played a musical melody. So amazing that this existed hundreds of years ago

I love the wood inlay on this older grandfather clock. It was made up of so many different types and colors of wood. Absolutely beautiful!!

This is Mr Clement's clock made in 1663. This is the earliest clock that mechanically allowed all clocks from then on to be more accurate

     The Time Museum also had several staff members that could answer your questions or tell you some amazing stories. Like I said, Elder really liked this museum. So now, I'd like to take the time (no pun intended) to extend to each of you an invitation to make time for the Lord. I testify that He always has time for you, that He is never too busy and never late. He loves you and wants you to spend your time with Him. Time is one of our most valuable resources. It DOES truly matter what we do with our time here on earth. Our future, our very destiny, will be balanced as to the earthly things we spent our time doing. 

                                   Time flies on wings of lightning;

                                   We cannot call it back.

                                   It comes, then passes forward

                                   Along its onward track.

                                   And if we are not mindful,

                                   The chance will fade away,

                                   For life is quick in passing.

                                ’   Tis as a single day.

                                   (“Improve the Shining Moments,” Hymns, no. 226)

I know that He lives! I testify that as we use our time wisely, that God will bless and magnify us to serve Him better. He will give us the strength, the talents and the energy to do what is required of us. Even President Nelson recently said, "He will lead and guide you in your personal life if you will make time for Him in your life—each and every day". My prayer tonight is that in time, that we might prove to be true and faithful and endure in our faith in Christ. I know that we can!