"I hoped they call me on a mission, and they did!"

Sunday, April 19, 2009

JAKE'S HELPING HANDS

Jake, my nephew, my sister Beth's son, pulled in late last Sunday night. He's essentially homeless until April 25th, that's when his BYU housing becomes available. He decided to take the opportunity to come our way and spend some time with us and visit Grandma and Poppy.

We've been busy with everyday living and haven't spent a lot of time entertaining Jake. He blended right into our family routine. He just finished a semester in Peru and had some assignments to finish up. He's been puttering around the house trying to keep things in order for me, doing the dishes and such. I really appreciated it because I've been working, same with Hugh, and Janna has been gone with school and musical rehearsals. Becky and Sam have been sick all week, but they're on the mend. Anyway, I was grateful for his help during our busy week and he made a point to be particularly attentive to his grandparents.

One of the activities Jake participated in was a service project for the city of Lancaster. Members of the Church from all three stakes in the Antelope Valley joined together, Saturday, April 18th from 8 a.m. to 12 noon, picking up trash in the Amargosa Creek bed.

Getting ready to get to work.

Jake, Hugh, and Janna
in their Mormon Helping Hands vests.


Getting the job done.

"Service makes us strong in our faith and useful in His kingdom. Service gives us purpose and courage in life. It brings us closer to God and helps us refine our divine nature. It teaches us to love and understand our fellowmen, and it helps us forget about our personal desires, eliminating selfishness, pride, and ingratitude. It teaches us to think of the needs of others, which allows us to develop the virtues that the Savior possesses.

"Kindness, love, patience, understanding, and unity will increase as we serve, while intolerance, jealousy, envy, greed, and selfishness decrease or disappear. The more we give of ourselves, the more our capacity to serve, understand, and love will grow.

Carlos H. Amado,

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