Oh Lexi, there is so much I admire about you! As I reflected on a service opportunity to do for you this year, my mind went to the many things you have done in the name of service over the years. My service to you reminds me of when you were offered a scholarship from Down East to travel to Guatemala to serve those there.
I have a brother that lives in New Hampshire, and he and has wife adopted a baby 3 years ago and miraculously became pregnant just 2 months after adopting their son. Having 2 young children less than a year apart is very tiring. Add in that my younger nephew, who has several developmental delays such as cerebral palsy, hypotonia and cordial visual impairment to name a few. He still wakes up at least twice each night to feed from his bottle, and he is over two years old now. My brother and his wife are very exhausted taking care of his needs, as well as their very active 'all boy' 3 year old.
In May, my sister-in law took their boys to the park, and she fell and broke her foot. They live in a 2 story house and were very concerned how she would get around to take care of their family on crutches. My brother was going to hire a nanny during these first couple of weeks because there was no way they could get by now with her foot holding her back, as they are already exhausted beyond whatever I have ever felt before, and this is with 2 healthy feet. I decided to use this opportunity to fly out to New Hampshire with only a few days notice, bringing Alison with me for her first airplane trip, to help with the kids for a couple weeks. While there, I went straight to work: I took care of their home, making dinner each night, cleaning their home, fed Parker a bottle a few times, (he takes 30 minutes to finish a bottle) went grocery shopping several times, did all their dishes, and I babysat so my brother and his wife could have a few hours out of the house to themselves! I know from being a parent of a special needs child myself, it can be very difficult to find a babysitter willing to take on the extra challenge. They really appreciated this, as they have had a heavy load. They are actually moving to Utah next year, to be closer to family.
I hope you can feel my love for you in this service I did for another family member. I am so proud of all the humanitarian work and travel you have done, and this is just one small sample of travel/service I could do for one family in need. Merry Christmas Lexi!
lights
Sunday, December 25, 2016
To Nicki-poo, Love your Dad
I really like this gift of service thing that we are doing as a family because I always get to just do something that I do really, really well and it isn't too hard (at least for me). It does, however, require that I leave the house. So far the rotation has been great and allowed me to serve several of my kids . This year I had my "Nicki-poo" to serve. Thus, she has three newly scraped, caulked, sanded and painted doors. Now, they look gorgeous, if I do say so myself. You can only hope that I get your name next year.
Love, Dad
Love, Dad
Remembering David, from your Mother
Someone is missing this Christmas.
Along with the other past four.
Daily I reflect on him and what he is doing and
What he would want me to do.
He is my person this year to have included
In my daily routines and tasks -
So I've made a list to remind me of his life
And ways I might have acted in his stead.
Five years have come and gone -
Heartbreak yet tender mercies
Of memories and heartfelt peace
To calm our troubled souls.
Early on the cousins met in Arizona for retreat.
At that time we were able to hear of the miracle
Of Jim Nelson's life and we were able
To hug him and feel Davids lungs so close.
Throughout the year I've continued
The preceptorship to someone
Who serves the Lord at the Humanitarian Center
And will allow her to improve her career possibilities.
Scripture study this year
Was to read the Book of Mormon.
Though not quite through
I've felt Davids peace be with me.
In the summer were family reunions
That took lots of planning and prep to pull them off -
But being a "believer" I felt David's strength
Pushing me on and on - reunions were his thing.
At our Kenney reunion in Ouray, CO
A tender mercy for me - While on the Durango/Silverton rail trip
A chance meeting with the EMT that lifted my son's mortal body
From the wreckage and carried him in his arms for help.
David loved Halloween way too much
Ghosts and gouls and RIP no longer did it for me until
I felt him encouraging me and laughing
As a haunted Fairy Garden we created.
As the end of the year drew near and the holidays
Were almost upon us - I planned a very fun sub-for Santa
In his name - to a person he loved -
But the gifts were "oh, so me".
That boy really loved a good party
So, I have one just up his alley
Planned for later this week
A Merry Movie Marathon Holiday party and candy exchange.
The Bradley Center - our comfort and grief support group-
Requested a monetary donation
Which was made from the "fun" account
In the names of his children and wife.
During the anniversary of his passing
I made a phone call to The Utah Donors Association.
I suggested Grandpa Jim share the story of his lungs
At the annual memory reception.
Bruce and I look forward this year
To a trip to the Holy Land.
Here's hoping he'll be there to buoy me up
And help carry my luggage over the cobblestones.
Though working hard in another sphere
I've felt his presence near each time I see his children
So tall and straight and SMART-
Then into their eyes I look and know that he is still here.
Yes, someone is missing this Christmas
He seems close, yet we're so far apart.
He left behind his earthly creations
And we will strive towards heavenly work here.
Along with the other past four.
Daily I reflect on him and what he is doing and
What he would want me to do.
He is my person this year to have included
In my daily routines and tasks -
So I've made a list to remind me of his life
And ways I might have acted in his stead.
Five years have come and gone -
Heartbreak yet tender mercies
Of memories and heartfelt peace
To calm our troubled souls.
Early on the cousins met in Arizona for retreat.
At that time we were able to hear of the miracle
Of Jim Nelson's life and we were able
To hug him and feel Davids lungs so close.
Throughout the year I've continued
The preceptorship to someone
Who serves the Lord at the Humanitarian Center
And will allow her to improve her career possibilities.
Scripture study this year
Was to read the Book of Mormon.
Though not quite through
I've felt Davids peace be with me.
In the summer were family reunions
That took lots of planning and prep to pull them off -
But being a "believer" I felt David's strength
Pushing me on and on - reunions were his thing.
At our Kenney reunion in Ouray, CO
A tender mercy for me - While on the Durango/Silverton rail trip
A chance meeting with the EMT that lifted my son's mortal body
From the wreckage and carried him in his arms for help.
David loved Halloween way too much
Ghosts and gouls and RIP no longer did it for me until
I felt him encouraging me and laughing
As a haunted Fairy Garden we created.
As the end of the year drew near and the holidays
Were almost upon us - I planned a very fun sub-for Santa
In his name - to a person he loved -
But the gifts were "oh, so me".
That boy really loved a good party
So, I have one just up his alley
Planned for later this week
A Merry Movie Marathon Holiday party and candy exchange.
The Bradley Center - our comfort and grief support group-
Requested a monetary donation
Which was made from the "fun" account
In the names of his children and wife.
During the anniversary of his passing
I made a phone call to The Utah Donors Association.
I suggested Grandpa Jim share the story of his lungs
At the annual memory reception.
Bruce and I look forward this year
To a trip to the Holy Land.
Here's hoping he'll be there to buoy me up
And help carry my luggage over the cobblestones.
Though working hard in another sphere
I've felt his presence near each time I see his children
So tall and straight and SMART-
Then into their eyes I look and know that he is still here.
Yes, someone is missing this Christmas
He seems close, yet we're so far apart.
He left behind his earthly creations
And we will strive towards heavenly work here.
To: Hannah Love, Libby
Merry Christmas! I was so excited when I found out I had you because you have always been an amazing example to me. As I was trying to think of ideas of what I could do in your name, I thought about you and what things were happening in your life in the beginning of May. Our school was getting ready to get out and I realized that you were getting ready to graduate! I thought about how big this time was for you!! In our ward we had about 5 girls who would be graduating around the same time. So what I decided to do was help these girls celebrate! I made some cookies, blew up A TON of balloons, bought purple and black streamers (Lehi's school colors), and decorated posters for each of them saying "conGRADulations Olivia" etc... And the night before graduation I had a friend come over and help me go to each of their houses to decorate their front doors. We put the poster up by their doors then hung streamers wherever they would hang. We threw balloons all over their porch and even taped some to the walls. Then left a plate of cookies for them to enjoy. It was really dark and hard to see, but hopefully it looked okay...It was so fun and even though we didn't hear anything about what they thought (because we left it anonymous) we still had a fun time getting ready and decorating!
Merry Christmas! Love you!
Love,
Libby
To Rick from Uncle Ben!
Hey Rick! You are an awesome young man and have so much energy to share with the world. One of your qualities that I admire is that you aren't afraid to be your self and take on unique challenges. You have always put yourself out there in new and challenging interests.
As I thought of your interests in set design and construction, I recalled that Grandpa Bodell was working on his high school play set when he met Grandma. I am sure he is proud of you and enjoys watching and working with you on the sets you have been on in the past.
Normally, theater and set design would not be something I would spend much time thinking about. But since I had your name this year, I thought about how I might be able to use my carpentry skills to help the drama department at Lydia's high school. I offered my services to help and not had much success as of yet. HOWEVER.... it looks like the opportunity will come where I can volunteer to help build a set for Sydney's school play of Pocahontas. I am looking forward to spending time with Sydney on the play and building the set! Pictures will be forthcoming! Thanks again for inspiring all of us to pursue our dreams!
Love Uncle Ben
As I thought of your interests in set design and construction, I recalled that Grandpa Bodell was working on his high school play set when he met Grandma. I am sure he is proud of you and enjoys watching and working with you on the sets you have been on in the past.
Normally, theater and set design would not be something I would spend much time thinking about. But since I had your name this year, I thought about how I might be able to use my carpentry skills to help the drama department at Lydia's high school. I offered my services to help and not had much success as of yet. HOWEVER.... it looks like the opportunity will come where I can volunteer to help build a set for Sydney's school play of Pocahontas. I am looking forward to spending time with Sydney on the play and building the set! Pictures will be forthcoming! Thanks again for inspiring all of us to pursue our dreams!
Love Uncle Ben
to Alyssa love Hannah
This year was an interesting one and I learned a lot about myself because of who I had for service. I have had the opportunity to have Alyssa and have her especially in my heart throughout the year. I knew Alyssa has struggled with anxiety, as many do. So I tried to incorporate that. I decided to create what I called "anxiety help kit". It was basically a box filled with things I saw at the dollar store that I thought would help me go through anxiety or even depression, as they often go hand in hand. Every item had a label that described why it was in the kit.
Candles and candle holder: Whenever you're having overwhelming thoughts and you're finding it hard to ground yourself, light a candle and let it remind you to live, laugh, and love life to the fullest!
Chocolate chip cookies: if you're ever feeling down on life, eating unhealthy food always helps! With these easy make cookies, you'll be able to take your mind off of your troubles and then stuff yourself when they're ready!
Silly string: do something silly! Focus on making someone else laugh! A pretend smile will eventually turn genuine!
Coloring book: if your mind is turning with thought after thought and you can't seem to control it, let your mind take a break and just color! These designs are meant to be calm and soothing.
Notebook: Anytime you have positive thoughts about yourself and your life, write it down! Ensure that you won't forget those feelings you're having.
After it was all assembled, I found some people in my ward to give to. I made anonymous and put a letter in to describe what it's for
"Just because I have decided to give this to you, doesn't mean in any way that I think you have anxiety severe enough that attention needs to be drawn to it. I might not even know you very well at all. All I know is that every person struggles with anxiety in one way or another. If you think you could benefit from these things, please keep them! If you know someone in your life that would appreciate it, please pass it along!"
I learned that I myself struggle with anxiety and depression more than I was addressing, and I'm grateful for the people in my life that have been examples to me. Alyssa has such a sweet soul and I know she always tries to make everyone's day a little bit brughter! I love you Alyssa and I think you're one of the strongest people I know!
Candles and candle holder: Whenever you're having overwhelming thoughts and you're finding it hard to ground yourself, light a candle and let it remind you to live, laugh, and love life to the fullest!
Chocolate chip cookies: if you're ever feeling down on life, eating unhealthy food always helps! With these easy make cookies, you'll be able to take your mind off of your troubles and then stuff yourself when they're ready!
Silly string: do something silly! Focus on making someone else laugh! A pretend smile will eventually turn genuine!
Coloring book: if your mind is turning with thought after thought and you can't seem to control it, let your mind take a break and just color! These designs are meant to be calm and soothing.
Notebook: Anytime you have positive thoughts about yourself and your life, write it down! Ensure that you won't forget those feelings you're having.
After it was all assembled, I found some people in my ward to give to. I made anonymous and put a letter in to describe what it's for
"Just because I have decided to give this to you, doesn't mean in any way that I think you have anxiety severe enough that attention needs to be drawn to it. I might not even know you very well at all. All I know is that every person struggles with anxiety in one way or another. If you think you could benefit from these things, please keep them! If you know someone in your life that would appreciate it, please pass it along!"
I learned that I myself struggle with anxiety and depression more than I was addressing, and I'm grateful for the people in my life that have been examples to me. Alyssa has such a sweet soul and I know she always tries to make everyone's day a little bit brughter! I love you Alyssa and I think you're one of the strongest people I know!
For my lovely Emma, love Maisie
Emma Whipple is one of the softest, kindest, most loving people I know. I've always loved her coming up to me smiling, saying my name, and giving me a hug when I walk in or see her. She is a great young lady that I completely adore. Most of all she is a great example of a follower of Christ.
When I was thinking about what to do for Emma I thought about sacrifice, so I was like, throw her in the volcano! Shark-bait hoo-ha-ha!! Haha just kidding. I thought about how kind she is. How could I be nice like Emma Jane? How can I spread some Christmas cheer? That Sunday in Relief Society the RS President was talking about some refugees that had moved into our ward boundaries. She said that they didn't have anything for Christmas and my heart hurt for them. But she continued to say that our ward was going to do a "Sub Santa" project. Two members of the elders quorum, including grandpa, went and visited the three refugee families and asked them what they wanted for Christmas. They made a list, printed it out, and gave us all a copy of what they wanted. I noticed that one of the sons wanted a long board (which is like a skateboard but wayyyyy more fun) which was actually something that I really wanted for myself but they're not cheap... But I decided to make a little sacrifice and find a nice long board for someone who has probably had a rough couple of years. I can only imagine what him and his family have been going though. I know a little bit of kindness and sacrifice can go a long way, which I feel like Emma is all about. Being loving and accepting of everyone she encounters. I love how she loves her family and cousins and always willing to go the extra mile. She is a great example to me and I want to be like her when I grow up. Emma you rock my world and I love you to the ends of the earth! Keep being kind and gentle, it goes a long way even when you dont see it, it always affects someone:) Merry Christmas!!
To Jackson From Andrew
So this year for my service I decided to make it a personal goal of mine to do as much service as I possibly can. Whether it's a big service or little service I would try to do it. Some things I would do is helping grandma with groceries, playing with my sisters, helping people that ask for my help at school. Being the deacons president I have a lot of influence over what we deacons do. So A big thing we did is we collected old broken bikes from the members in the ward and we would fix them and then donate the bikes to the local refugees in our stake. Another big thing we did (not with the deacons) was go do my aunts house and help put in walls, windows, lights and electrical. I had to even climb ito the cramped attic and crawlspace under the house. it was dusty and dark. One night was stayed up very late doing finishing touches to the lights. I was very tired but It was very much worth it. It was a very fun experience doing these things for others. I know i'm not the best at doing these things with a happy and cheerful heart but i'm trying. I will continue to do service all of next year and the next too. I love you Jackson and merry Christmas.
To Jimae with Love From Katherine
I was excited to have Jimae. I had so many ideas to serve her, but every time I did something nice she was quick to return the favor. She has such a giving heart and is so generous. In the end I found one the I was so excited about. We both love to sew, in fact she gave me my first sewing machine about 15 years ago. I sewed 10 kits to donate to the Days for Girls organization. They are sanitary kits for girls to help them stay in school after they start their period. In many countries girls don't have the resources of feminine product or hygiene knowledge so they stay home and end up dropping out of school. One kit includes a drawstring bag, 2 shields, 8 liners, two zip lock bags to help them wash them, 2 pairs of under ware, and a bar of soap. (So I did 10 bags, 20 shields, 80 liners)
Each kit will change one girls life. They are sewed to last at least 3 years. I hope to keep sewing kits and really hope to get my stake R.S, and YW involved. Check it out http://www.daysforgirls.org/whats-in-a-kit
Merry Christmas Jimae, I love you so much. Katherine
PS I also put together a 72 hour kit for you and Grandpa....
Merry Christmas Jimae, I love you so much. Katherine
PS I also put together a 72 hour kit for you and Grandpa....
Feliz Navidad Casie! Love, Cristina
This couple of years have been hard for me. Mayor changes have happened at home and in my life that when I think of you I think about your adorable baby boy. In 2015 was our first year without my mother, so in those following months I said to myself that I need to focus on the blessings and your boy and my niece were born that same year, I was overwhelmed with joy knowing that people have to go in order to welcome new ones. You and Lauren are a perfect example of faith and I try everyday at home to remember to laugh and enjoy life. This year I tried to help others by taking care of their babies and take time to think. . Hope to get to know you more as time passes but thank you for being you and I am grateful you came to this family to live! Ps. I wish I had taken a picture of my niece and benson together this year to have it at home. Love you! And again thanks for for example of faith and love for the savior.
To Maegann from Lydia
For my service this year I had Maegann. I was able to participate in two service projects that helped those in need. The first one was a seminary project that allowed students to choose a child and their gender and their age and you went and bought a present for them. I choose a 14 year old girl and a 14 year old boy. Because those were close to Maeganns age. Walking into the seminary building and seeing all of the presents for the orphan children was such a great feeling every day. The second project was a service project the young women in my ward put together. we found families that needed some help and was able to provide presents for those families. Giving to those in need is such a great feeling that leaves the Christmas spirit in your hear. Merry Christmas Maegann! Love lydia.
To Liz from Kevan
When I was told that I had Liz for my person to honor with
Christmas service this year, I thought, “I totally have this one.” Liz loves music. So do I.
I had a whole year where I could find opportunities to sing in a choir,
write a song, even stomach listening to Barbara Streisand sing and act in
Yentel if necessary. I had this one.
In our home, we have a room that we mostly use for guests
to stay in. Of course, being from Las
Vegas, the Kirkby family has used this room from time to time. However, this last year became the year of more
regular visits.
One hot summer day, Liz came to me with a wish list for
the guest room. The plug in the bathroom
tub was broken, there was no AC in the basement, so a ceiling fan would be very
nice, and a screen door would be helpful to leave the door open without letting
flies in.
Contrary to what some might believe, handyman is not my
strong suit. I am much better at fixing
human bodies than I ever am at fixing homes.
I was not taught in my youth the finer arts of power tools and eyeing plumb
lines. Instead, I have basically learned
project by project, often with significant help and instruction from others.
Repairing plumbing on a bathtub would definitely be a first. Although I had done it once before,
installing a ceiling fan correctly was going to require some real research and
effort. I had just put one into an
existing fixture in our Stansbury home, but it was wobbly and definitely not
put into a fixture built for it. Doing
this right would require tearing out the old fixture, rewiring and installing a
reinforced fixture. In short, this was
not going to be easy.
The bathtub drain was broken when we bought the
house. None of the previous owners had been
able to repair it either. It was
obviously broken from a blunt trauma of some sort and did not fit the typical, “take
it out and put a new one in” approach. Just
getting the broken part out was going to take some real creativity. With the help of several Youtube videos and a
few trips to Home Depot…..success! The
old, broken drain plug was out and a new one was in.
As for the ceiling fan, the old fixture had to be
essentially chipped out with hammer and chisel.
A new reinforcing bar and attached fixture were installed, and the electrical
work was done to match. The fan was then
assembled and installed, requiring some key tweaking to make it perfectly level
and whisper quiet. In all, it required a
couple of days to be completely installed.
I fell short on the last item on the wish list, a screen
door. Not easy to find a screen door
that matches abnormally sized doors.
However, I did install an electronic deadbolt instead. This allows for easy entry when needed and
also the ability to lock the room when people are out of the room.
Now that you are moving to Utah, it is likely that others
will enjoy your wish list for the guest room even more than you.
But they can know their comfort is in honor of you. Merry Christmas Liz!
Merry Christmas Brian Patrick Kirkby!
When I was preparing for my mission back in January 1987, I was finishing my last on-air show at the Hare Krishna radio station, playing modern and new wave music. I decided that a good song to play for the end of my last show would be by the Eurythmics, titled Missionary Man, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-Q3cp3cp88 (Today, 12/25/16, was the first time I've seen the music video which made me laugh) Here are some of the lyrics:
...Don't mess with a missionary man.
Well the missionary man
He's got God on his side.
He's got the saints and apostles
Backin' up from behind.
Black eyed looks from those bible books.
He's a man with a mission
Got a serious mind.
There was a woman in the jungle
And a monkey on a tree.
The missionary man he was followin' me.
He said "Stop what you're doing."
"Get down upon your knees."
"I've a message for you that you better believe."...
He's got God on his side.
He's got the saints and apostles
Backin' up from behind.
Black eyed looks from those bible books.
He's a man with a mission
Got a serious mind.
There was a woman in the jungle
And a monkey on a tree.
The missionary man he was followin' me.
He said "Stop what you're doing."
"Get down upon your knees."
"I've a message for you that you better believe."...
Though not exactly what a mission is, I thought is was as close as I would get to playing a farewell song till I returned in a couple of years. I never did go back to radio.
My mission was a defining experience in my life. Missionary service solidified so many things that had previously been fluid. Most importantly, I solidified my testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Church. I created a foundation of belief, faith, action, testimony that has blessed every day of my life since. I believe what Elder Robert E. Well of the Seventy once said,
So as I thought about what I could do to perform service "to Brian" I thought about being the father of a missionary. It's almost as awesome as being on a mission. You get to see the growth of your child and get to see them experience things that will help define their lives. Now Brianne is back and Hannah is preparing to go next Spring. What a great example of raising missionaries and supporting their efforts.
My "service" this year was to donate funds every month to our Ward Missionary fund. There were several missionaries in our ward this year. Some of them came from large families like the Kirkbys. This "service" to Brian is to celebrate his raising two fine daughters who will serve the Lord as missionaries. Although they've made the choice individually, the support and love that parents give their missionaries is a demonstration of their love of the Lord and the desire to bless families around the world with the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Merry Christmas!!
To Lydia From Spencer
I enjoyed thinking about this project this year although Lydia hobbies are not really Spencer hobbies. But that is kinda the point isn't it? To serve others and through that we will grow and learn more about ourselves? So this year I went outside my comfort zone and helped with... "THE THEATER?!?!" *dun dun dun* I am not very artsy nor am I musically inclined much less talented for an audience... so instead I offered my services to the tech crew that does lighting, set, and and ticket sales. So Rick hooked me up with his connections at Lehi High Drama department. Although I helped paint, take down the set, and pass out fliers. It wasn't a major project and I may have been the only one there that wasn't the mother of one of the actors but they sure appreciated the hours I put in and that I was tall enough to reach the stuff on the top shelves. I helped the production of the little mermaid and tried a new thing. Merry Christmas Lydia :)
To Wes, Love Lexi
The first memory I have of Wes was on the worst day of my life. After a long day of hearing of David's accident, driving in record time to the hospital, seeing Dave's lifeless body, and lot of crying, I was eventually sent to grandma's house for some reason. I remember having a head ache, and I was so tired. All of the adults were still at the hospital and all of the kids were left to tend one another as the adults were dealing with the hard stuff. At some point, this guy I had never met before showed up with about 6 little caesars pizzas for all the kids. I remember thinking "Ok wait, who is this guy? Whatever. Pizza. We are hungry and I'm grateful".
As the week progressed and things turned for the worse, Wes was always there and able and willing to help with whatever we needed. Sometimes that meant chasing Cristina in the snow, sometimes it just meant knowing there was an adult to be with the kids.
One of my favorite jokes as the weeks went on was when Wes took Cristina and Lucas (his son) to get some food for them at Cafe Rio. They had gotten their food to go, and had brought their food back to the house. Because Lucas was so used to his dad being so thoughtful and bringing food to the masses, as they walked in the door, and Lucas exclaimed:
"CAFE RIO FOR EVERYONE!"
It was just so cute. Lucas was so excited to share their yummy food with everyone at house. We knew they didn't bring us cafe rio, but Lucas knew that his dad had always been so thoughtful in the past and had just assumed that they had done it again. In a way, I thought it was such a statement about Wes, that his son had seen his example of caring for those who needed it and being thoughtful in people's times of need.
When I heard I had been assigned Wes, I knew I had to bring CAFE RIO TO EVERYONE! Sadly, I am not rich enough to feed the entire world Cafe Rio so I had to think of someone that would appreciate it most.
My boyfriend Jake's youngest sister is currently pregnant with her first son and due any day. I thought about how exhausting it must be to be 9 months pregnant during the holiday season, and how much it might mean to her if someone not only brought her dinner when her baby comes, but before.
They were so excited to have Cafe rio (I mean, who wouldn't be) and we had such a great time eating dinner with them and then playing Betrayal at the House on the Hill with them.
I want Wes to know just how grateful I am and for how he appeared in our lives when we needed him most. I am grateful for the help he gave me while I lived with Cristina, and the support he gave Cristina then, and he gives her and her children today as her husband. We are so lucky to have him as a member of our family. I love you Wes!
To Maisie, Love Emma
Dear Maisie,
I had the chance to serve you this year as your Christmas present. When I was thinking about what to do for you I was drawn to your talent of art. I am honestly the worst artist in the world so I couldn't do anything in that respect but I thought of what I could do with my talents.
I chose to expand upon my talent of singing. I know that you use your talents to help others feel the spirit. I decided to try and help others draw closer to Christ and feel his spirit and his love. To do this I joined the Lehi Family Week choir. I sang two songs: For the Beauty of the Earth and Amazing Grace. We spent two hours every Sunday for three weeks and learned the songs as well as the meaning behind the words. We performed these pieces at the Lehi Family Week devotional. Hank Smith spoke and three families in Lehi were recognized for impacting our community in great ways. I think that our choir was able to bring the spirit to this devotional and I really enjoyed being a part of it.
As I learned and performed both of these songs I gained a deeper understanding of Christ and his undying love for me. My favorite verse from these songs comes from Amazing Grace. It brought me the feeling of peace and love and I would like to share it with you.
Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come,
'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far
And grace will lead me home.
This line, to me, testifies that this life is hard. But it continues to say that we have already overcome so much and it is with Christ that we are able to do that.
I have a great feeling of gratitude whenever I read that line. Christ is here for you and me and he will guide us through these trying times.
As I participated in this choir I was also able to make new friends in my ward. The week previous to joining the choir the Bybee family moved in down the street. They had two girls around my age, Makyia who is 12 and Eva who is 14. They attend a school in Salt Lake where their mom teaches and so they don't know very many people in our ward. I invited my best friend Lexi and the two Bybee girls to sing with me in the choir. In that simple act we have become good friends. Makyia is a beehive and I have found a friend that I can hangout with in Young Womens and in Sunday school.
Even though this was not supposed to be part of your service I couldn't help applying it to you. You have recently moved from Hawaii to Sandy and from Sandy to Eagle Mountain. As the "new girl" you didn't know anyone in your ward and I'm sure that was rough. After meeting Makyia and Eva I have noticed how much I needed their friendship and how much they needed mine. I am grateful that I was able to get to know them because I was serving you.
I am so grateful that I could focus on serving you this year because I have learned about the love of Christ for all of his children. Thank you Maisie for being an amazing example to me and a great cousin. I love you!
Love, Emma
I chose to expand upon my talent of singing. I know that you use your talents to help others feel the spirit. I decided to try and help others draw closer to Christ and feel his spirit and his love. To do this I joined the Lehi Family Week choir. I sang two songs: For the Beauty of the Earth and Amazing Grace. We spent two hours every Sunday for three weeks and learned the songs as well as the meaning behind the words. We performed these pieces at the Lehi Family Week devotional. Hank Smith spoke and three families in Lehi were recognized for impacting our community in great ways. I think that our choir was able to bring the spirit to this devotional and I really enjoyed being a part of it.
Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come,
'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far
And grace will lead me home.
This line, to me, testifies that this life is hard. But it continues to say that we have already overcome so much and it is with Christ that we are able to do that.
I have a great feeling of gratitude whenever I read that line. Christ is here for you and me and he will guide us through these trying times.
As I participated in this choir I was also able to make new friends in my ward. The week previous to joining the choir the Bybee family moved in down the street. They had two girls around my age, Makyia who is 12 and Eva who is 14. They attend a school in Salt Lake where their mom teaches and so they don't know very many people in our ward. I invited my best friend Lexi and the two Bybee girls to sing with me in the choir. In that simple act we have become good friends. Makyia is a beehive and I have found a friend that I can hangout with in Young Womens and in Sunday school.
Even though this was not supposed to be part of your service I couldn't help applying it to you. You have recently moved from Hawaii to Sandy and from Sandy to Eagle Mountain. As the "new girl" you didn't know anyone in your ward and I'm sure that was rough. After meeting Makyia and Eva I have noticed how much I needed their friendship and how much they needed mine. I am grateful that I was able to get to know them because I was serving you.
I am so grateful that I could focus on serving you this year because I have learned about the love of Christ for all of his children. Thank you Maisie for being an amazing example to me and a great cousin. I love you!
Love, Emma
To Cristina from Casey
Merry Christmas Cristina, Love Casey
Merry Christmas Cristina! One of the things that impresses me the most about you is the fact that you're a mother of four and you're able to keep your house organized and clean. Whenever I come over it's always spotless. I only have one child and if it weren't for Lauren I would be struggling to keep it all organized and clean. As I thought about this the saying "cleaniness is next to Godliness" came to mind. When walking into your house you can feel that it is a place that is sacred, peaceful and a refuge from the storms of life.
I remember feeling this way when Jim and Mary came over and talked to us about their experiences when receiving Davids lungs. That whole time you could feel the Spirit testify that what they were saying is true and of our Saviors love. I think part of the reason the spirit was so strong was your house was clean and the environment was open to receiving the spirit.
As my service to you, I looked for opportunities to help clean. As such I helped my mother and father clean and organize one of their rooms in their house. I know this small act of service in your behalf will help invite the spirit more fully into family activities.
I remember feeling this way when Jim and Mary came over and talked to us about their experiences when receiving Davids lungs. That whole time you could feel the Spirit testify that what they were saying is true and of our Saviors love. I think part of the reason the spirit was so strong was your house was clean and the environment was open to receiving the spirit.
As my service to you, I looked for opportunities to help clean. As such I helped my mother and father clean and organize one of their rooms in their house. I know this small act of service in your behalf will help invite the spirit more fully into family activities.
Feliz Navidad!!!
Merry Christmas Lauren! Love, Laura
Merry Christmas Lauren!
It has been so fun to have you live close the past few months and to see
you more often. This was a big year for
you, as you stepped into the world of "Motherhood" something that
changes you for the better, but is also the hardest job you will ever
have. You have done an amazing job with
cutie Benson. :)
The year of serving you began with Rachel asking me to help
her with a stocking service project for Women's Conference. We spent hours prepping 500 stocking kits for
the women gathering in May at BYU.
 |
| One of the many youth groups helping prep the stocking kits |
It
was a lot of work, but also so fun to imagine 500 handmade stockings going out
to people in need this Christmas. Our
finished stockings went to hospitals with sick children, centers for abused
women and children, to veterans and homeless people. I thought of you being a new Mom and how your
"Mother Heart" would appreciate others enjoying some of the magic of
Christmas this year.
 |
| Some of our "team" that came to help with stocking making night at Women's Conference. |
In the fall, I decided to honor you goals of becoming a
teacher by serving a little bit more in the PTA of our school. My friend Collette and I were in charge of
"Red Ribbon Week". This was
perfect because I know you believe in the whole "JUST SAY NO" when it
comes to doing drugs. We combined the
ideas of staying “Drug Free” with Media safety.
 |
| Collette and I attempting a selfie on the playground. |
Just last week we were asked to collect gently used toys for
a “Title One” school in the area. I was
able to spend a few hours helping these students choose gifts for their
siblings and help them wrap them so they could take home surprises for their
families. It was such a happy feeling knowing
I was helping these sweet kids. Some of
whom are homeless or have recently lost a parent.
 |
| some of the collected toys at school |
I sure love you and admire so many of your beautiful
qualities. We still have our "Cool Beans Moment" in your honor at FHE each week.
Merry, merry Christmas!! I love you.
LauraTo Ben from Lauren
Merry Christmas, Ben!
To be honest, when I had your name assigned to me for this Christmas Service, I was so stumped on how to proceed. You have many talents, but what immediately comes to mind is your contracting and construction experience, which is not something I have particular interest or talent in. So I started pondering what I should do. One week in July, I was particularly fixated on deciding on my service project, so I began to pray intently to know what I should do as a service. I prayed to know who was in need of a Ben-like service. That week I was able to attend my nephew Austin's endowment in the Provo City Center Temple. That session was one that was eternally memorable for a number of reasons. The main reason though was that during the session the heavens truly opened and I received revelation on a number of areas of my life, but most relevant to this post was on what to do for my service.
Something that really has impressed me about you is your monthly firesides (or as close to that schedule as you are able to get) for the youth in our family. I don't quite fit the requirements for being a youth anymore so I hadn't been to any of these firesides, but I was invited to be a guest on a panel discussion for the fireside this past Valentines Day. It really impressed me that you had such a desire to instill the doctrines and teachings of the gospel during this critical decision-making time of these teens' lives. While I was in the temple that day I knew that this was something that I needed to implement for my Schow nieces and nephews.
We started in September and have had monthly firesides on each third Sunday of the month since then with our youth aged nieces and nephews. Our lessons, like Ben's, focus on the teachings in the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet and as we continue, we will get into Preach My Gospel. It's been an amazing chance to get to know my nieces and nephews on a spiritual level and help them understand more clearly who they truly are and what they need to be about. Here is a picture from our December fireside last Sunday and we were missing two of our nephews weren't able to come. It's also been a pretty cool missionary experience for us all as Pao (my in-laws' foreign exchange student from Thailand) has attended all of the firesides and is now meeting with the missionaries.
To be honest, when I had your name assigned to me for this Christmas Service, I was so stumped on how to proceed. You have many talents, but what immediately comes to mind is your contracting and construction experience, which is not something I have particular interest or talent in. So I started pondering what I should do. One week in July, I was particularly fixated on deciding on my service project, so I began to pray intently to know what I should do as a service. I prayed to know who was in need of a Ben-like service. That week I was able to attend my nephew Austin's endowment in the Provo City Center Temple. That session was one that was eternally memorable for a number of reasons. The main reason though was that during the session the heavens truly opened and I received revelation on a number of areas of my life, but most relevant to this post was on what to do for my service.
Something that really has impressed me about you is your monthly firesides (or as close to that schedule as you are able to get) for the youth in our family. I don't quite fit the requirements for being a youth anymore so I hadn't been to any of these firesides, but I was invited to be a guest on a panel discussion for the fireside this past Valentines Day. It really impressed me that you had such a desire to instill the doctrines and teachings of the gospel during this critical decision-making time of these teens' lives. While I was in the temple that day I knew that this was something that I needed to implement for my Schow nieces and nephews.
We started in September and have had monthly firesides on each third Sunday of the month since then with our youth aged nieces and nephews. Our lessons, like Ben's, focus on the teachings in the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet and as we continue, we will get into Preach My Gospel. It's been an amazing chance to get to know my nieces and nephews on a spiritual level and help them understand more clearly who they truly are and what they need to be about. Here is a picture from our December fireside last Sunday and we were missing two of our nephews weren't able to come. It's also been a pretty cool missionary experience for us all as Pao (my in-laws' foreign exchange student from Thailand) has attended all of the firesides and is now meeting with the missionaries.
Merry Christmas, again! I love you and am thankful for your righteous example.
To Grandpa, Love Brianne
When I heard I had Grandpa this year I was so excited. There are so many great talents, attributes, and hobbies that Grandpa has that you can do lots with. I was a missionary at the beginning of this year, and I would think a lot about Grandpa as I served those around me, but I could never think hard about what I specifically was going to do in honor of him. When I got home, I started thinking of specifics, but any idea I came up with, I didn't absolutely love.... and then the Cubs won the world series, and ideas came flooding. Grandpa has always been a Chicago fan, and to this day I tell people that my favorite NFL team is the Bears, mainly because I don't know any other NFL teams, and because I wanted to be loyal to my grandpa :D Well, anyways the Chicago Cubs won the world series, and I got the idea to serve fellow Cubs fan in our ward. This particular family I focused on is incredible! They have three adopted sons, and their recent addition, who is only three months old, happened so suddenly and so fast! I used to babysit for them often, and so I decided to make a Cubs themed gift basket for this family.
Grandpa is a very habitual man, and I remember being younger and sneaking into Grandpa's room to eat his Cheetos. He ALWAYS had Cheetos in his room -- never failing. His Sargento Cheese and Town House crackers always went missing when family members were over, and I firmly believe that the reason he got a mini fridge was so that he could keep his cheese near him. (and so that we'd stop drinking his cold water and Grandma's Diet Coke ;) ) Grandpa ate the same foods day after day, and must I say, he has a great taste in snacks. I filled this gift basket with a bag of Cheetos, cheese and crackers, a Cubs throw blanket, some Cub onesies for their new baby, and I made really cute cake pops that looked like baseballs :) I also went babysitting for them and did it for free. It was a great feeling to serve this family, and I'm grateful for Grandpas love, support, and care for all of us. Thanks for everything you do Grandpa! I love you!!!
Love, your Brianney
Grandpa is a very habitual man, and I remember being younger and sneaking into Grandpa's room to eat his Cheetos. He ALWAYS had Cheetos in his room -- never failing. His Sargento Cheese and Town House crackers always went missing when family members were over, and I firmly believe that the reason he got a mini fridge was so that he could keep his cheese near him. (and so that we'd stop drinking his cold water and Grandma's Diet Coke ;) ) Grandpa ate the same foods day after day, and must I say, he has a great taste in snacks. I filled this gift basket with a bag of Cheetos, cheese and crackers, a Cubs throw blanket, some Cub onesies for their new baby, and I made really cute cake pops that looked like baseballs :) I also went babysitting for them and did it for free. It was a great feeling to serve this family, and I'm grateful for Grandpas love, support, and care for all of us. Thanks for everything you do Grandpa! I love you!!!
Love, your Brianney
To Spencer, From Maegann...
For my service project for Spencer, me and my family went to a food bank called Three Square and helped sort a bunch of food for the homeless. I honestly don't know a good reason for why I did this specifically for Spencer but I do know Spencer is a good person and would appreciate me helping feed the homeless. Merry Christmas Spencer! Thank you for being an awesome cousin!
To Kevan From Brian...
after thinking a bit about uncle Kevan and what i'd do for a Christmas project for him, i recalled a time that uncle Kevan helped me open my mind a bit about a certain topic.
i was explaining to uncle Kevan about how it's difficult for me to understand the Palestinian side of the Israel/Palestine conflict. the historical hatred of the jewish people seems completely unwarranted, even in todays Israel/Palestine conflict.
Kevan suggested that i watch the film "Five Broken Cameras" to help balance out my perspective.
which i did. the movie follows the story of a Palestinian family in the west bank whose village was very negatively impacted by the building of the west bank barrier. the "5 cameras" come from the fact that this man bought 5 separate cameras to document the struggles of the village and his family from the barrier. he had to buy 5 cameras because his camera kept getting busted in the coverage.
the film won accolades from many quarters because of the peaceful nature of it's protesting, contrasting against the backdrop of most coverage of Palestinian protests whose goal the the complete elimination of Israel and extermination of the Jews.
the movie did help change my perspective somewhat and i thought i'd do some research for my project for Kevan and donate to peace causes in Palestine that were seeking equity from both Israel and Palestine (i cared not if it was a two part solution or not).
unfortunately, i discovered that peace in the middle east is much more complex than producing a movie.
i dug and dug trying to find a Palestinian organization i could donate to that was not tainted with the anti-semitic hatred of jews that is officially coded in the Palestinian Authority. in good conscience, i needed to donate to an organization that would recognize both the right of Israel and Jews as well as Palestine and Palestinians.
Unfortunately, i couldn't find any that sufficiently recognized Israel's right to exist in order to make a donation.
So, I decided to switch focus a little and find an organization involved in the Aleppo crisis to help out with the horrible refugee crisis. From news reports, it seemed like it was pretty clear and one sided that there was an obvious side to support. The mainstream media kept writing stories about how the existing democratically elected government of the Assad regime was indiscriminately fire bombing and murdering civilians to try to suppress the "moderate" uprising of the people.
Surely i would be easy to find an organization that was supporting the regime change in a way that could appease conscience and give us confidence that we did the right thing, right?
Unfortunately, as i dug deeper into the crisis, I realized that the "moderate" rebels were far from that. The rebels that are fighting the Assad regime (back by the Russians) consists of ISIS and Al Queda. It also looks like there are credible claims that much of the indiscriminate killing that western media is blaming the Assad regime for is actually propaganda by ISIS and Al Queda. not that it isn't happening, but these organizations are forcing civilians to be human shields and will murder the civilians when they decide they no longer want to be shields and try to leave.
so the waters of help in these very sticky situations in the middle east are murky and i was having a very difficult time finding out who to donate to. this service project was no where near as easy as i thought it was going to be.
i had to take a step back and rethink the situation. ultimately, i realized the power of the "5 broken cameras" movie was the fact that it was a human story. while the politics of terrorists and fighting terrorism gets ugly and murky and confusing, the one thing that isn't confusing is that families in crisis who simply want to live their lives and raise their kids really shouldn't be that difficult.
i needed to find an organization that was past the politics and would focus on just the human crisis aspect.
and i knew one that i trusted implicitly to take care of the human need including the unique religious freedom needs of displaced refugees:
Since I knew that the funds donated to LDS Charities would be used both efficiently and effectively without supporting bad actors on either side, I decided to make a donation directly to the Humanitarian Services of LDS Charities in the name of Uncle Kevan.
Merry Christmas Kevan and thanks for being you and helping me realize that the while the political aspects of these ugly situations might be too muddied to really solve, the human aspect is always there and we can always help out with that.
i was explaining to uncle Kevan about how it's difficult for me to understand the Palestinian side of the Israel/Palestine conflict. the historical hatred of the jewish people seems completely unwarranted, even in todays Israel/Palestine conflict.
Kevan suggested that i watch the film "Five Broken Cameras" to help balance out my perspective.
which i did. the movie follows the story of a Palestinian family in the west bank whose village was very negatively impacted by the building of the west bank barrier. the "5 cameras" come from the fact that this man bought 5 separate cameras to document the struggles of the village and his family from the barrier. he had to buy 5 cameras because his camera kept getting busted in the coverage.
the film won accolades from many quarters because of the peaceful nature of it's protesting, contrasting against the backdrop of most coverage of Palestinian protests whose goal the the complete elimination of Israel and extermination of the Jews.
the movie did help change my perspective somewhat and i thought i'd do some research for my project for Kevan and donate to peace causes in Palestine that were seeking equity from both Israel and Palestine (i cared not if it was a two part solution or not).
unfortunately, i discovered that peace in the middle east is much more complex than producing a movie.
i dug and dug trying to find a Palestinian organization i could donate to that was not tainted with the anti-semitic hatred of jews that is officially coded in the Palestinian Authority. in good conscience, i needed to donate to an organization that would recognize both the right of Israel and Jews as well as Palestine and Palestinians.
Unfortunately, i couldn't find any that sufficiently recognized Israel's right to exist in order to make a donation.
So, I decided to switch focus a little and find an organization involved in the Aleppo crisis to help out with the horrible refugee crisis. From news reports, it seemed like it was pretty clear and one sided that there was an obvious side to support. The mainstream media kept writing stories about how the existing democratically elected government of the Assad regime was indiscriminately fire bombing and murdering civilians to try to suppress the "moderate" uprising of the people.
Surely i would be easy to find an organization that was supporting the regime change in a way that could appease conscience and give us confidence that we did the right thing, right?
Unfortunately, as i dug deeper into the crisis, I realized that the "moderate" rebels were far from that. The rebels that are fighting the Assad regime (back by the Russians) consists of ISIS and Al Queda. It also looks like there are credible claims that much of the indiscriminate killing that western media is blaming the Assad regime for is actually propaganda by ISIS and Al Queda. not that it isn't happening, but these organizations are forcing civilians to be human shields and will murder the civilians when they decide they no longer want to be shields and try to leave.
so the waters of help in these very sticky situations in the middle east are murky and i was having a very difficult time finding out who to donate to. this service project was no where near as easy as i thought it was going to be.
i had to take a step back and rethink the situation. ultimately, i realized the power of the "5 broken cameras" movie was the fact that it was a human story. while the politics of terrorists and fighting terrorism gets ugly and murky and confusing, the one thing that isn't confusing is that families in crisis who simply want to live their lives and raise their kids really shouldn't be that difficult.
i needed to find an organization that was past the politics and would focus on just the human crisis aspect.
and i knew one that i trusted implicitly to take care of the human need including the unique religious freedom needs of displaced refugees:
Merry Christmas Kevan and thanks for being you and helping me realize that the while the political aspects of these ugly situations might be too muddied to really solve, the human aspect is always there and we can always help out with that.
Merry Christmas to Alex! Love Liz
I had a LOT of pressure this year to come up with the PERFECT service for Alex. You see, he had my name last year and did a super good deed. Honestly, I was so touched and I know he gained some major heaven points. So I felt like I had some big shoes to fill.
Alex is a simple person in some ways, and rather complex in other ways. In trying to figure out what to do for him I had several options - a family man, a great husband, hard worker, lover of cats and dogs, gamer, geek stuff, picky eater . . . Some of my early ideas were really more representative of his wife or kids, so I kept at the "drawing board" to think of something that really reflected Alex himself.
In the end, I decided on something that I personally appreciate in Alex - his love of board games and his willingness to stay up until all hours of the night playing them with my kids. I don't have the patience I use to with board games, and I definitely dont have the stamina to stay up until 2 a.m. to play them with the teenagers. But Alex has both.
Early in the fall, I thought it would be fun to host a game night at our house and have Jackson invite any friends over to play games. I would provide snacks and the space, Jackson just had to provide the teenagers. That was harder than anticipated - high school football games and Brianne's homecoming got in the way of many Friday nights. We finally hosted one game night. I would've been willing to do more had the kids actually played the games. But alas, the games got abandoned after about 30 minutes and they spent the rest of the night goofing around. I think this group of kids needed more experience in how to have fun socially while still being engaged in a game. They need an Alex :)
Well, I didnt want that one night to be the end of my service, so I went back to brainstorming more ideas. Then I remembered that our ward use to do some service for an organization in downtown Las Vegas called the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth. It's not a shelter, per se, but rather a daytime center for support and resources.
"NPHY’s programs stabilize homeless teens’ lives, meeting their immediate needs and providing a safe, supportive environment and a path to self-sufficiency." -
I thought how much these homeless teenagers would probably appreciate some good board games to play while at the center. So I started advertising through my ward and other networks that I was collecting gently used board games to be donated to the NPHY group. I got several responses from my ward and also from the community and even some other homeschool families that wanted to help out tho I've never met them. Some people didnt have games, but wanted to help in other ways. We ended up collecting several bags of clothing, school supplies, and over $100 in gift cards in addition to over 50 awesome board games and card games. I was surprised how many were actually brand new- still in the cellophane wrap. These good people were really wanting these kids to have games in good condition.
Jackson came to help me deliver these games and the guy at the desk was really impressed that we were specific about the games. He said they had a few in the rec room, but not any where near this amount and not nearly in as good of condition. I didnt get a chance to meet any of the homeless youth themselves, but we could hear them in the courtyard having a great time.
Thanks to Alex for inspiring me to help provide a little more fun in these kids holiday. Visiting places like this sure makes me appreciate my blessings of family and the gospel. I'm also so grateful for the supporters of NPHY who help these kids learn how to be self sufficient. I think I may start offering some tutoring services or something there soon before we move away.
Merry Christmas Alex - I hope you get an awesome new game to play this year! Thanks for being so great!
Alex is a simple person in some ways, and rather complex in other ways. In trying to figure out what to do for him I had several options - a family man, a great husband, hard worker, lover of cats and dogs, gamer, geek stuff, picky eater . . . Some of my early ideas were really more representative of his wife or kids, so I kept at the "drawing board" to think of something that really reflected Alex himself.
In the end, I decided on something that I personally appreciate in Alex - his love of board games and his willingness to stay up until all hours of the night playing them with my kids. I don't have the patience I use to with board games, and I definitely dont have the stamina to stay up until 2 a.m. to play them with the teenagers. But Alex has both.
Early in the fall, I thought it would be fun to host a game night at our house and have Jackson invite any friends over to play games. I would provide snacks and the space, Jackson just had to provide the teenagers. That was harder than anticipated - high school football games and Brianne's homecoming got in the way of many Friday nights. We finally hosted one game night. I would've been willing to do more had the kids actually played the games. But alas, the games got abandoned after about 30 minutes and they spent the rest of the night goofing around. I think this group of kids needed more experience in how to have fun socially while still being engaged in a game. They need an Alex :)
Well, I didnt want that one night to be the end of my service, so I went back to brainstorming more ideas. Then I remembered that our ward use to do some service for an organization in downtown Las Vegas called the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth. It's not a shelter, per se, but rather a daytime center for support and resources.
"NPHY’s programs stabilize homeless teens’ lives, meeting their immediate needs and providing a safe, supportive environment and a path to self-sufficiency." -
I thought how much these homeless teenagers would probably appreciate some good board games to play while at the center. So I started advertising through my ward and other networks that I was collecting gently used board games to be donated to the NPHY group. I got several responses from my ward and also from the community and even some other homeschool families that wanted to help out tho I've never met them. Some people didnt have games, but wanted to help in other ways. We ended up collecting several bags of clothing, school supplies, and over $100 in gift cards in addition to over 50 awesome board games and card games. I was surprised how many were actually brand new- still in the cellophane wrap. These good people were really wanting these kids to have games in good condition.
Jackson came to help me deliver these games and the guy at the desk was really impressed that we were specific about the games. He said they had a few in the rec room, but not any where near this amount and not nearly in as good of condition. I didnt get a chance to meet any of the homeless youth themselves, but we could hear them in the courtyard having a great time.
Thanks to Alex for inspiring me to help provide a little more fun in these kids holiday. Visiting places like this sure makes me appreciate my blessings of family and the gospel. I'm also so grateful for the supporters of NPHY who help these kids learn how to be self sufficient. I think I may start offering some tutoring services or something there soon before we move away.
Merry Christmas Alex - I hope you get an awesome new game to play this year! Thanks for being so great!
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