Service ~ Week 10

Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles came to speak to our stake (made up of 9 congregations) this weekend. It was a special time. There are over 2,600 stakes in the world and it's not very often that an Apostle gets to visit. I went to church 2 hours early to save my family a bench . . . the very front bench was about all that was left, 2 hours early! We happened to all sit as close to Elder Perry as anyone could in the congregation. I was happy that the kids were all well behaved and listened so quietly.

I wanted to find a quote by Elder Perry about service for the entry this week. Instead I found some personal history about him that coincided with much of what was talked about at the meetings I attended. Elder Perry talked about his childhood and how he learned to work, as well as encouraging parents to teach their children to work. I'm going to really ponder and pray about how to do this better in our home. Here is the excerpt about Elder Perry's life that was inspirational to me:

Lowell Tom Perry was born 5 August 1922 in Logan, Utah, to Leslie Thomas Perry and Nora Sonne Perry. His father served as bishop for the first eighteen years of young Tom’s life, and then as stake president’s counselor and stake president for the next twenty. His mother was a counselor in the ward Relief Society presidency the whole time Tom lived at home. Through their actions, they taught their six children that it was a privilege and a blessing to serve. Their secret was to involve the children in their callings.

“Mother was a great one for compassionate service,” he says. “She went around all the time helping people who were having difficulty, and she liked to take us with her. She would put us to work washing windows, dusting furniture, cleaning rugs, doing things children could do without causing any difficulty.”

His father put the family to work in his calling, too. “The ward building was our second home—we were there so frequently. I mowed the church lawns, washed down the walls, and shoveled coal into the old furnace to heat the building.” And Tom and his mother helped with the ward financial reports, too."

Work at home was also a family project. Even though their father was an attorney and was at his office much of the day, they had a large yard, a cow, and a vegetable garden. Much of the responsibility went to Tom, the oldest boy, to help with the chores, in addition to his delivering newspapers in the neighborhood

It's funny because Damian (also an attorney) and I have been talking a lot about getting some animals for our two acres and we're planning a garden this year. We've even talked about started a family paper route to help the kids learn to work. I liked the idea of involving the kids in the parents church callings, too.

Damian: I cleaned the church and set up all the chairs for stake conference. (He also came home and did 5 loads of laundry, since I told him the night before that I QUIT doing laundry. Then the kids and I folded it all)

Sarah: I watched Marcus and Elise while their mom went and did a little service in the cannery. It was really fun and I’m grateful that I have such wonderful nieces/nephews. I just really love that little Elise. She is truly a joy. That afternoon I also taught Eliza, another niece, her piano lesson. She is almost done with the first set of piano books and works really hard at practicing and learning to play. She’s very fun to teach because she’s really willing to learn. I enjoy our time together. As soon as she finishes the books, I’m going to start Katrina in them. Probably next month.

Emma: I helped Aven Broesder babysit on Thurs. night and I got to spend the night, so that was fun. The next morning, was Friday (a Teacher Work Day). Chelsea (the mom) helped us make burn piles. We burned all the weeds in their yard. That was something I’ve never done before.

Joshua: Every time Benjamin wants to sleep in my room (which is ALMOST every night) I help him get a sleeping bag and sleep next to my bed. I try to be patient and kind to him. He pretty much always wants to be with me, so I try and include him when I do things and have friends over.

Rachel: This week I went to Aunt Christine’s house with Emma and Nina to baby sit Marcus and Elise. I had a fun time. We watched Curious George and I read a Tarzan book to Marcus. We also played “Go Fish.” I played with Elise and I read scriptures to everybody. Then Nina and I went with Marcus to his room. We laid in his room so he could go to sleep. We slept over. In the morning, I helped Marcus get dressed for church and sort of fed Elise. I hope I can baby sit for them again! And I got braces this week, too!

Katrina: This week I helped Emma and Rachel baby sit Marcus and Elise. I had a fun time there. And I played with Elise and her toy kitchen. And I had a fun time playing with Elise and Marcus. And I had fun watching Curious George. I like babysitting Marcus and Elise. And I hope I can baby sit them again when I am older.

Benjamin: I didn’t do any service!
Mom: What about when you helped Katrina make the beds?
Ben: I didn’t help her, SHE HELPED ME!!
Mom: What exactly did you do?
Ben: I just put all the blankets back on people’s beds.
Mom: What is that job is called, when you put blanket back on the bed?
Ben: That’s called . . . Ninja.
Mom: No, that’s called MAKING THE BEDS!
Ben: HU?? (Then he did some smooth Ninja moves with his PVP Marshmallow Shooter) I fought you said, NINJA and I don’t knee-member what else we did.