A Week of Firsts

Holla Familia,

        So this week was pretty interesting. On Tuesday we had our dinner appointment with the Nielsen's and Lauren was there as usual. We were able to talk about a few things that Lauren didn't really understand from conference. After we addressed a few concerns Lauren expressed all of her feelings of what had happened over the week. A lot of things happened. It was all heaping up in a big pile. So after Lauren Vented to us for a while, Sister Sullivan suggested that she get a blessing of comfort and council. Lauren agreed and Brother Nielsen gave her a blessing. It was a really neat blessing. The part that stuck out to me and continually plays over and over in my mind "Be Honest, with yourself and with others" Honesty is such a huge thing. It is so easy to tell a little lie, but then that little lie becomes who you are, where you came from, where you are going, everything. Because one lie, leads to a million more lies. It never ends. So it all starts with us being Honest with ourselves, because if we don't think what we are doing is wrong then what is the point of changing. We may have a momentary guiltiness but instantly justification pops into mind and we continue forward in what is wrong. Lauren is such a wonderful lady, and she has such great potential in finding true happiness, she just doesn't know how to let go of things or people that are holding her back. I just hope that someday it will make sense to her that this happiness and comfort that she feels at the Nielsen's is from the Gospel.

      This Wednesday we had a Free Speech circle. We did a Family History Booth on Campus. It was super neat to have thousands of people walk past. It definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone. It was interesting to see hundreds of really neat people, and at the same time see hundreds of completely stoned people! It makes me feel sad that this is what students turn to when they are stressed, or to find an escape in their life, or to look cool. Having a hangover for three days or being completely out of your mind doesn't seem very cool to me. Anywho, we had a lot of people sign up to come to a class that we will be holding this Wednesday about Family History and how to use the Website and everything.

      Friday was our 'Fun' Day. We had correlation in Oakland, MD. so it took about an hour and a half to drive up there and our meeting was about two hours and an hour and a half drive back. So much driving, so much sitting! but it wasn't that bad. I actually really enjoyed the beauty of Maryland, and all of the fall colors. Sister Sullivan drove, because she gets really bad car sickness on long road trips. Well after all of our traveling, we had dinner and correlation with our ward mission leader, Brother Henry, at Fujiamas Japanese Steakhouse. It was definitely food and a show. They cooked the food right in front of us, and our cook was crazy. He really loved playing with fire, and making really strange funny comments. It actually was really fun. I had my very first filet mignon and shrimp, and this mushroom soup. Well.. After we left... We Sister Sullivan started having hives on her neck, and started having an allergic reaction. Found out she is Allergic to Mushrooms or something we ate at the Steakhouse... So we spent three hours in the ER at Ruby. Where half our ward works. So we were well taken care of, but being out past curfew is not fun.. So tired.

Well, I love you all and I hope you are having a great day. Study General Conference and be Good!!!

Loves,

Sister Karen Call

"Teaching in the home is becoming increasingly important in today’s world, where the influence of the adversary is so widespread and he is attacking, attempting to erode and destroy the very foundation of our society, even the family. Parents must resolve that teaching in the home is a most sacred and important responsibility. … The leaders of the Church spend a great deal of time thinking about how to improve teaching in the Church. Why do we invest this time and effort? It is because we believe in the immense power of teaching to increase the faith of individuals and strengthen families. It is my belief that one of the most effective things we can do to improve teaching in the Church is to improve teaching in our homes. Our teaching in the home prepares us to teach more effectively at church, and our teaching at church helps us to teach more effectively at home." —L. Tom Perry,