Author Archives: joyful_admin

Family History Friday (FHF): Merit Badge!

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Did you know there is a 
Genealogy Merit Badge? 
The Boy Scouts of America is a great organization. Along with all of the other fun and interesting Merit Badges young men can earn, there is one that is near and dear to my heart. The Genealogy Merit Badge is one your son or grandson can earn. You can learn about it here!
Both of my sons earned their Eagle Scout. And both earned the Genealogy Merit Badge. It was a fun experience for them to learn about their ancestors and to put themselves for the first time as the #1 person on a pedigree chart. There are Family History Libraries and Centers who have devoted volunteers who would love to help a boy accomplish earning this Merit Badge. To give you an example the Riverton FamilySearch Library is holding a class in November. You can read more about it here!
When you get to their site, scroll down until you find the class listed. What a fun way for a young man to work on his Scouting and get to know his roots at the same time. Check it out! Happy Family History Friday! Love, Joy

Howzit-Elder Flexy!

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Elder Flexy 4:2 -email-

Mama,

this week was good Elder Martin has been very sick this week so i have had lots of study time. they say i might have to get checked but i’m not worried i feel awesome. that makes me happy to hear riley is home tell him to write me a letter!!
1.no we still havent seen conferance but this sunday we get to meet with Elder Holland as missionaries and he is speaking to our stake as well.
2. transfers haven’t happened yet, they are next thursday.
3 Do you have investigators that are progressing?
3.ya we kinda have progressing they are at the very beginning of the journey though.
4.we had an experiance when we came to a return apointment and we had commited this man Squinsico to read from the book of mormon and we came in and he told us he knew it was true that was pretty powerful.
5.we actually have a car because our area is too large to walk and public transport is kinda dangerous the taxi drivers are terrible.
6.i don’t think there are any that ride bikes just walking areas.
7 Have you met any Elders from back home? Like the Dame’s cousin?
7.Ya i met Elder Shaw the Dames cousin and some other elders from utah.
8.ya they drive on the opposite side of the road and the car!
9 What is the weather like? is it getting hot?
9.it is hot hot HOT and very humid which makes it even worse but i’m enjoying it.
10.we wear our suits for important meetings and church but other than that its just short sleeve shirts.
ya mission life is going great i’m doing the work and having fun. Love You!!

                                                           Love, Elder Flexy 
 

Baba!!

Woop i made my first goal in soccer man it was freakin awesome. i’m getting better and better. we are playing the Elders Qourum in our ward in soccer on saturday and its gonna be great we are going to massacre these old guys!! ya yesterday the Berea Elders had four baptisms its awesome. but we work just as hard as them and no one in our area is ready for baptism it kinda stinks but oh well. anyway things are going great I’m getting used to this place and i’m growing to love it. anyway thats all for now. Love you Baba.

                                                                     Love, Elder Flexy

Family History Friday (FHF): Traditions!

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Traditions are a fun thing! In a family, things are always changing. School starts after what seems like a short summer vacation, kids move up to a new grade in school with a new teacher, family members grow up enough to move away, leaving the younger siblings at home. What is it that keeps us all connected? Well, one thing is our family traditions. Take a moment to think about your favorite family traditions. Some of them have been celebrated since you were a child in your family growing up. Maybe you have forgotten or would like to know some of the traditions celebrated in your family history. What did you grandparents or great grandparents do for fun? When my maternal grandma, Norma, was a little girl a extra special treat would be to share an apple around the kitchen table. In our home, an apple is not a treat. It is one of the servings of fruits and vegetables we must sometimes force ourselves to eat each day. But knowing and remembering that it was a treat for my grandma helped me to be more grateful for apples. They really are a sweet treat! Another tradition my family has had for generations is to go on a picnic up one of the many canyons near where we live. I haven’t done this for a while, so I’m going to make a plan to do it soon while the leaves are beautiful. We would take the dog, pack up the car and stay for hours. Us kids would play in the stream or river close by, and mom and dad would take a rest in the camping chairs, sometimes dozing off. We would collect rocks and leaves. What fun! With the holiday season coming up, think of some of your family traditions from the past that may become forgotten and bring them alive! Another thing you could do is research traditions that were common in the land and places your ancestors came from and make them a part of you our family traditions. As I’ve shared with you in the post you will find here, my  maternal grandpa’s family were Welsh. A tradition in Wales was for a man to give a love spoon to the girl here wanted to marry. Because I know that was a tradition in Wales it means more to me. I think my ancestors would  have liked that tradition too. 
One funny family tradition that started years ago was this. First for many years and mostly while my children were small, we would watch “It’s a Wonderful Life” on Christmas eve. Then one year we couldn’t find the movie. We looked and looked. So one of the kids said, “Lets watch ‘What About Bob?'” We love that show at our house, but it’s not a very “warm fuzzy” Christmas type of show. My darlin’ and I said, “OK!” So now “What About Bob?” is our traditional Christmas eve movie. It’s fun to have traditions! They make family time the best time! Happy Family History Friday! Love, Joy

Howzit-Elder Flexy!

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Elder Flexy 4:1 -email-

Mama,

1.This week has been awesome! Elder Martin had two 7 hour meetings and a three hour meeting this week so i went and worked in Bluff with Elder Sechinga and Elder Reike it was very fun i enjoyed it a lot.
2. We didn’t get to see any of the conference but we will get a DVD of it soon.
3.our investigators are doing well thay are very stubborn people so they don’t like change much but they will come around.
4.Frank is playing hard to meet so we haven’t seen him in a while but we will i’m not worried.
5.when we can we are teaching him.
6 Did you check into sending a CD or attaching photos? We would love to see some of them.
6.I’m working on that I’m going to copy them on to CDs and then send them Via email and then i can clear the memory cards so i can take more pictures.
7.ya we have roaches but we just use Elder Martins deodorant spray and burn them. its kinda fun in a twisted sort of way.
8.Transfers are in two weeks and i’m pretty sure Elder Martin is leaving they don’t keep Elders too long in our area its a tough area.
9.shoes and clothes are doing fine the shoes are starting to get a little worn but they are doing great.
10 We are planning on sending you a package at the end of October. It will probably be your Christmas package. Any requests?
10. For my package just fill a box with letters from anyone you can think of. also if you can/will send me some Arizonas preferably mucho mango, watermelon, and strawberry kiwi that would be awesome!!!!
11 Do you need more ties? 
11.no my ties are doing fine plus Elder Sechinga knows a place to buy cheap ties so i’m good for now.
(Colter is Alex’s best friend. He just got his mission call to Utica, New York.)
12.Colters Call is awesome I wish he was going foreign just cause its such an awesome experiance but he will do great he is steadfast in the gospel and he will kick bum!!! I’ve noticed since I came out that you don’t know “anything” about the world till you leave the U.S. this place is so differant. anyway things are going fine. Love you

                                                      Love, Elder Flexy


Baba!

Thats awesome that you get to play sports. this coming week we(the missionaries) are playing the ward in soccer its gonna be sweet and we are gonna kick bum!! i’m getting a lot better but these African Elders kick me to the curb they are very very good. Ya i got a letter from Tiff and i haven’t had a chance to write back. MAN!! these letters from home are so nice its great to know everything is going great back home. anyway i better stop. I love you.



                                                  Love, Elder Flexy 

Sunday Best!

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Newborn Emily 
I know that each of us has a vital and essential role as a daughter of God. He has bestowed upon His daughters divine attributes for the purpose of forwarding His work. God has entrusted women with the sacred work of bearing and rearing children. No other work is more important. It is a holy calling. The noblest office for a woman is the sacred work of building eternal families, ideally in partnership with her husband.
—Sister Silvia H. Allred
*******************************
What a blessing to know I am a child of God. To know He loves me and has blessed me to be a mother. I do believe it is a sacred and holy calling. I am so grateful for my children and have enjoyed so much watching them grow up.
Hope your Sunday was the best! Love, Joy 

Primary Kids!

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This is Alyssa! I taught her in Primary last year. She was eating a blue sucker. I love it! So here’s a funny story about Alyssa…
I absolutely love serving in the Primary. The children are so much fun and entertaining. Last Sunday the funniest thing happened. The sister who did Sharing Time talked to the kids about prayer and near the end of her lesson, she told the story about the monk who invented the pretzel. He made it look like arms folded in prayer. She gave each of the kids a handful of pretzels. Next, it was time for singing. In preparation for our Primary program, this little group of six years olds, who were going to sing a song for the program, were called up to practice in front of everyone. Alyssa wasn’t finished with her pretzels, so she set them on her chair, and said to the little girl sitting next to her, “Don’t touch those.” Then she went up to the front, which was only about 5 feet away, and turned to face the audience. (This is the best part) She took her first two fingers and pointed at her own eyes, and then pointed them toward the little girl who was sitting there next to her pretzels, like “I’m watching you!” I laughed so hard. What a funny thing!!

Howzit-Elder Flexy!

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Elder Flexy 3:5 -email-
   
  Mama!!
So this week has been awesome!!! I went on splits with an elder that just got here a week or so ago. so it was basically  two greenies in one day of work but we did really good in the end. i caught a bug so I’ve been a little sick but nothin big.
1.well i like our flat but elder martin said its one of the worse in the mission.
2.we have beds and we sleep very well.
3.P-day we do any odds and ends we need to take care of and sports and thats pretty much it.
4.Moses Mabida stadium is in our area and the ocean are the only really big sites in our area.
5 Do the internet cafe’s have the capability to burn a CD? One of the missionary mom’s said their son would drop off their memory card at the cafe in the morning and then pick it up later with a CD. They would then send the CD home. When the CD had arrived safe and the parents had downloaded the pictures, then the elder would erase the memory card
5.I’m not sure about this one but i’ll look into it.
6 Can you attach and email some pictures each week? 
6.i will test this one next time and see if i can send them.
7.our area has both rich and poor we have a place called La Lucia and its super rich nice mansion houses and than places like Overport that are just poor apartment buildings.
8. ours is a ward they just combined Beria branch and Durban north branch to make a ward and its a good ward nothing like at home. our ward is basically a convert ward there are very few born members in the wards so it makes things interesting.:)
9.we eat curry, Briani (kinda like rice),samp which is like very soft corn kernels, and Pop which is like mashed potatoes but different but its good.
10 Have you eaten anything fruit or vegetable that you have never heard of before?
10.well we had these lime things that were dipped in chili sauce so its sour and spicy and its wasn’t good.
11.yes Elder Martins family are active in the church his dad is the stake president back home
12 Are you teaching well together? 
12.we are teaching ok the ways we teach are so different so its hard but we are working good together.
13.i do stick out like a sore thumb people a lot of the time just stare at me its kinda funny.
Anyway things are going great and I’m working hard. love you

Love, Elder Flexy      

Baba,
thats good that you have been painting. we were painting these peoples roof the other day and i almost fell off! it was pretty funny but mission is going great there is a possibility i might get a new companion this next transfer because this area is a hard area they never keep someone there too long. so we will just wait and see. Ya playing golf sounds really fun right now but we will be playing soccer in an hour or so anyway. well talk to you soon.
                                                                      
Love, Elder Flexy

Sunday Drive!

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We went on a Sunday drive to see the autumn leaves! 
They were beautiful, but I think they’ll be even
 more beautiful next weekend!
It was almost sundown, so the light wasn’t that great.
But, they still look pretty!

There’s a lot of green still!

Nice little hill!

Hyrum! 
It was a nice Sunday drive, I love fall and the cooler weather. I can tell the days are getting shorter. Pretty soon, I’ll be leaving for work in the dark and coming home in the dark. I love the seasons!

Sunday Best!

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Each of You Is Unique

My dear sisters, each of you is unique. You are different from each other in many ways. There are those of you who are married. Some of you stay at home with your children, while others of you work outside your homes. Some of you are empty-nesters. There are those of you who are married but do not have children. There are those who are divorced, those who are widowed. Many of you are single women. Some of you have college degrees; some of you do not. There are those who can afford the latest fashions and those who are lucky to have one appropriate Sunday outfit. Such differences are almost endless. Do these differences tempt us to judge one another?
Mother Teresa, a Catholic nun who worked among the poor in India most of her life, spoke this profound truth: “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” The Savior has admonished, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” I ask: Can we love one another, as the Savior has commanded, if we judge each other? And I answer—with Mother Teresa—“No; we cannot.”
—President Thomas S. Monson
Hope your Sunday was the Best! Love, Joy