THE WINDOWS OF HEAVEN HAVE OPENED

We have been told that being on the Lord's errand away from our loved ones will require missing some special family events. Still, there are special blessings provided by our kind and loving Heavenly Father that compensate for all such sacrifices made. Such has been the case for Elder and Sister Lindsay in the season of our missionary service. 

The windows of heaven opened this afternoon and bestowed upon our family a new and wonderful blessing. Hazel Britt Lindsay, the newborn daughter of our son Adam and his wife Leighanna Lindsay, arrived safely from the presence of God on this the Lord's Sabbath .

  Hazel Britt Lindsay

Our 19th grandchild was born in our hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina at 12:15 pm today and weighed in at a healthy 7 pounds and 10 ounces. The little girl is 21 inches long and has dark hair and eyebrows. Mother and baby are both doing well. The contractions began on Thanksgiving Day; however, Hazel seemed reluctant to come into the world until she decided that she was good and ready to do so.

A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on.
                                       - Carl Sandburg

Sister Lindsay and I are now the grandparents of eleven grandsons and eight granddaughters. Our posterity may not yet be as numerous as the sands of the sea or the stars in the heavens, but our cup of happiness is filled to overflowing with gratitude. Your prayers in behalf of our extended family are sincerely appreciated. 

THE SALVATION ARMY FEEDS THE HOMELESS

Because this was our first Thanksgiving away from home while serving our mission for the Church, we already knew that it would be a different experience from the normal holiday when we are typically surrounded by most of our children and grandchildren plus other individuals and families who have no place else to go for dinner. It's not unusual to have 35 to 45 people in attendance at our Thanksgiving gatherings. The show in Greensboro went on without us as we expected and wanted it to do, but it's been reported that there were only 28 people present!

Volunteers assemble Thanksgiving meals for the homeless

In order to make our Thanksgiving a more meaningful experience, we joined with our Maryland Baltimore Mission president, Brent Belliston and his wife, and a small number of other senior missionaries providing community service in the inner city. It was our privilege to be part of a team of approximately 50 volunteers assisting The Salvation Army feeding the homeless and destitute in downtown Baltimore Thanksgiving morning. The need is so great among the poor, and we were grateful for the opportunity to be of some help in this effort.

I took my camera to this service activity intending to shoot 15 to 20 pictures; but just as I was ready to put my equipment away and join the food assembly line, a representative from The Salvation Army requested that I continue to take pictures until the packaging of the meals was finished. As a result, I continued with my photography and eventually even took a picture of all of the volunteers gathered together as a group. After I have finished editing the images in a few days, I will put everything on a DVD and make it available to The Salvation Army for their use.

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without cranberries

Our dedicated little group of 50 volunteers assembled a total of 397 turkey dinners including pumpkin pie plus hundreds of sack lunches to feed these same people on the day after Thanksgiving. All of the meals were then loaded onto a truck at 11:00 am for delivery at various Salvation Army locations around the city.

Not having been invited to any Church member's home for dinner, Sister Lindsay and I were technically "homeless" ourselves for Thanksgiving; but we were rescued by the mission president and his wife who invited us to eat with them and their family at the mission home.

GOD OUR MAKER DOTH PROVIDE

Since the early days of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 1830s, Bishop's Storehouses have been a part of the Church. The Baltimore Bishop's Storehouse serves much of the State of Maryland plus several small areas of southern Pennsylvania. You could best describe this facility as a market without a cash register. The people who shop here are in need of food; for example, someone may be unemployed and have no money coming in to buy the basic necessities of life. Although this program is mainly for Church members, it is possible for a non-member to obtain help from a Bishop's Storehouse, if the Bishop deems this appropriate.

Shelves are stocked by volunteers to serve those in need

Much of the food distributed at the Bishop's Storehouse is grown on Church-owned farms. As an example, the Church grows apples on their farms in Ohio and Washington State. The Church currently owns 64 welfare farms and sends the food to 18 Church-owned food processing centers and 105 canneries before transporting the finished products to the local Bishop's Storehouses. The Bishop's Storehouses are financed by members of the Church who are asked to fast for two meals on the first Sunday of each month. The amount of money that would be spent for those two meals is contributed to the Church as Fast Offerings.

The two busiest weeks of the year for Bishop's Storehouses are just before Thanksgiving and Christmas. Elder Lindsay volunteered to help fill orders and stock shelves this past Saturday. There was a steady stream of customers from 9:00 am until shortly after 12 noon together with a wonderful group of volunteers to assist them as well. Among the items distributed to needy families were 93 frozen turkeys plus all the other food and trimmings one would expect to enjoy at a good Thanksgiving dinner.

These youth from Hanover, PA were great helpers

A group of teenage Church members from Hanover, Pennsylvania cheerfully assisted the customers who were filling their food orders. Because of their service, many families will now have a happy Thanksgiving; and these young people themselves will undoubtedly enjoy their own Thanksgiving more by having obtained a different perspective about the importance of caring for the needs of the poor. For their part, those individuals and families who are assisted by the Bishop's Storehouse in turn provide volunteer service to the Church, because it is important for them to maintain their self-respect while learning that they are being given a hand up not a hand out.

Come, Ye Thankful People

                          Come, ye thankful people, come; raise the song of harvest home

                          All is safely gathered in ere the winter storms begin.

                          God, our Maker, doth provide for our wants to be supplied.

                          Come to God's own temple, come; raise the song of harvest home.

                          All the world is God's own field, fruit unto his praise to yield,

                          Wheat and tares together sown, unto joy or sorrow grown.

                          First the blade, and then the ear, then the full corn shall appear.

                          Lord of harvest, grant that we wholesome grain and pure may be.

                                                                                                 -  Henry Alford

EACH OF US IS A MASTERPIECE IN PROGRESS

Having been told in advance by the adult leaders that there would be as many as twelve young women who would participate in the annual Young Women in Excellence program at Church but likely without much parental support, Sister Lindsay and I decided to be there for them to offer words of encouragement and a smile. Indeed, there were eleven girls present, but only half of them had one or both parents in attendance that night.

 

A "vessel" sculpted by one of the young women

The program theme entitled "Masterpiece" was beautifully presented and addressed the great truth that within each of God's children there is a masterpiece in progress. The scriptures tell us that every person ever born on earth has one or more special gifts and talents. Some of these unique attributes are perhaps initially more visible such as musical or artistic abilities; but during the teenage years as our personalities begin to develop and we become more mature and experienced with life, more of our divine nature begins to emerge.

Seated at two long tables with some raw pottery clay in front of each position, the young women were asked to create a "vessel" (something that could be used to hold water), and they were given just two minutes to do the task. Obviously, there wasn't enough time for the girls to complete their masterpieces, but they were able to at least fashion the basic shape of what they wanted for the finished product. The young women's president wisely counseled, "God is the potter, and you are the clay. As teenagers, He is not yet finished with you, but you are a masterpiece in progress." The clay vessel, she pointed out, is only able to realize its full potential if after it is shaped, it is fired at very hot temperatures in a kiln.

Young women who participated in the program

A short video was shown depicting Christ molding clay on a potter's wheel. Afterwards, a mother from another LDS congregation spoke to the young women about the furnace of affliction that sometimes comes into our lives unexpectedly and unwanted. "At age 34," she said, "I was diagnosed with breast cancer and was faced with a decision as to whether I would choose to be angry with Heavenly Father or accept this trial with faith. I chose the latter and have moved forward with my life after undergoing surgery and treatments."

This was a sincere and courageous woman who wanted these young Church members to better understand that while God is finishing His masterpiece in each of us, there is a role that faith must play in our lives when trouble and pain comes our way. Not all the real heroes or heroines in this world are recognized or acknowledged publicly, but they are still valiant foot soldiers in serving the Lord 's purposes.

BALTIMORE STAKE DAY OF SERVICE

Mormon Helping Hands is a program directed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to provide community service and disaster relief to those in need. Members of the Church and their friends help people whose lives have been affected by natural disasters and other emergencies. These volunteers in their trademark yellow shirts also partner with government and nonprofit organizations to support and improve the communities where they live.

The Baltimore Stake of the Church recently sent 300 volunteers to Havre de Grace, Maryland, to provide "Helping Hands" service for this community of 13,000 people. The objective was to clear storm debris, paint a gazebo, clean and paint the tops of more than 800 fence posts along the promenade, wash all of the lamp post lights and park benches, plus weed flower beds at Tydings Park.

A blind volunteer teams with a friend to collect trash

Tydings Park and Promenade features 8 acres overlooking the mouth of the Susquehanna River where it empties into the Chesapeake Bay. The Concord Point Lighthouse located at the north end of the park was built in 1827 and is the oldest lighthouse in the United States still in continuous service. The promenade, which is a beautiful wooden and brick walkway at the waters edge, together with a large gazebo had been repaired following some severe weather but still needed some cleanup and painting before winter.

All you need is a paintbrush and a smile!

Volunteers came to the service project in all shapes and sizes: young children, teenagers, entire families, young adults, and the elderly; and of course, we were there with other missionaries. At the conclusion of this activity, the mayor of Havre de Grace presented a proclamation to the Church leaders expressing gratitude from the community for the service provided. 

BUBBLE GUM AND COTTON CANDY

Today as we entered the Relief Society Room at the church for our weekly District Meeting, Elder Smith said to me, “I like what you are wearing. You remind me of bubble gum and cotton candy. I like them.” I thought, “What a sweet compliment from this young Elder.”

The more I thought about what he said, the more I realized that if I reminded others about sweets, perhaps I shouldn’t wear this particular combination of clothing again. We are here to teach others to come unto Christ, who will give them “living water” that they might not thirst again. Bubble gum and cotton candy are a fleeting satisfaction, quickly gone, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ leads to eternal life.

"And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the holy one of Israel, and partake of his salvation, in the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved." (Omni 1:26)

ODDS AND ENDS 3

When the weather turned colder last week (it's 74 today), I was a little concerned because I do not have a winter coat. We've looked at them in the stores, but they are very expensive just to wear in the winter time! Last week at our Specialized Training Meeting with the Annapolis, Baltimore and Columbia Zones, Sister Gibbons from the mission office had several coats she was handing out. I asked her what this was all about, and she explained that sometimes when Elders and Sisters go home to places they don't need coats, they leave them behind for other missionaries to use. She said, "Do you need one?" I replied, "Yes." She picked up the last coat, and I put it on. A perfect fit! "Well, you have one now!" was her response. The Lord truly does bless us!

Our dear Sister B whom we took to the Visitors' Center at the DC Temple last week had an interview with our Bishop on Sunday. He said that once she completed the Temple Preparation Class, he would issue her a Temple Recommend. And, he asked us to provide the instruction so she wouldn't have to wait a couple of months for the next class! We're starting Tuesday. We should have her ready to go to the Temple by the middle of December!! Very exciting for her and for us.

I was very thankful that President Belliston gave us permission to leave the mission to attend my Aunt Elberta's 95th birthday party. She's a remarkable woman! And, it was great to be able to see several of my cousins that I only see every other year or so. My Aunt Lois was there, also. She lost her son, my cousin, Douglas (age 61) on October 25. He had lived in Africa for over 20 years doing missionary work for Jesus Christ. He was a wonderful example to us all! He is now buried in Africa, near Durban, where he loved and was loved very much.