There and Back Again: Week 73: Unlikely Miracles

Yesterday was Elder Cullen's 72 birthday!! I am so glad Elder Cullen was born. The world is certainly a better place because he came. My life is wonderful because he came. Happy Birthday Elder Cullen!

We Celebrated with a delicious Breakfast and then giving him the day to do whatever he wanted which was work on his comedy sketch for the stand up comedy show tonight! If you want a recording of this private message me. LOL

We are truly just marching on through life. My patriarchal blessing tells me that most worthwhile things need to be done NOW and if I don't take advantage of my time here on earth my heart would "CRY OUT" for a turning back of the years. As a 14 year old girl that thought of my heart "CRYING OUT for a turning back of the years" really alarmed me.

I was determined to never waste my time doing things that didn't matter. I studied time management, efficiency, planning, and of course always in my prayers, "What should I be doing?". It has served me well. I was also promised that if I woud study from the Book of Mormon every day I would not procrastinate. I promise you I can TELL a direct correlation between time spent in my scriptures and my tendancy to procrastinate. It's why it's a morning routine and an evening routine. It's why I get so many things done.

So I have a story to tell you about this week:

Tuesday night we were heading to Nauvoo for District Training and I got a call from a Sister in the mission. "Elder S. is passing around a flyer for the Keokuk Easter Egg Hunt. They need help stuffing 6000 (thousand) eggs, but the egg stuffing is all in Keokuk. Can you arrange to have one here in Nauvoo?"

I was already so busy. I was in the middle of copying and binding 150 cookbooks.(Elder Cullen and I spend 2-3 hours a day on this and they were due by saturday. We had Thursday afternoon and Saturday all day blocked out for finishing),

I was running a dress rehearsal the next day for our Easter Production next week, I had a huge service project to participate in the next day (planting 9000 flower plugs, cleaning the women's garden, and then Friday was the Pie Contest and I had to have a slide show for the people in charge of the dinner tying in a metaphor between PIE and JESUS! LOL thanks AI for helping with that. Then our Stand up Comedy night was the next night. I guess what I'm trying to say is. NO.

No I can't arrange to have an egg stuffing event this week for next week's Egg Hunt. BESIDES, it was none of my business. So I explained this to her and she kept on the phone saying things awkwardly to try to get me to do it. I told her to please talk to Elder S, since he was already in contact with the flyer maker, and have him suggest it to the people in charge. I also asked her to call the mission president and see if they wanted to make it a mission service project and they could handle it. We hung up. I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like I had dodged a bullet.

15 min later I got a text from her saying the mission presidency thought it was a GREAT idea for ME to go ahead and arrange it. I blinked. I texted them directly, "Did you say this?...." they replied, "It's a great idea! Go for it Sister Cullen". I looked up and laughed. "Heavenly Father...you're funny."

I called Elder S, got the contact info and called the Keokuk guy. It turns out his biggest donner (Walmart) had delayed and delayed their donation until THAT night. Usually he has a month to stuff 6000 eggs. Now he had a week. As I called he was literally putting the plastic eggs and candy in his car and asking God to help him get these eggs done for the town of Keokuk! "Hello, I'm sister Cullen. We saw your flyer about the Easter Egg Hunt. Is there any way we could stuff some of those eggs for you in Nauvoo? Like 1000?"

WHERE are you? He gasped. I'll bring them over right now! I told him we were in Carthage but if he dropped them off at the Visitor's Center in Nauvoo Tomorrow I would meet him there and get them back to him by the following Tuesday. He said he could drop them off at 2:30pm after work and that he'd drop off 3000.

By this time I was already sure God was behind this and didn't protest that it was three times more than I wanted. I sent out a mission announcement that if anyone wanted to help with egg stuffing to meet in the NVC any time after 2:30 the next day and all week long they'd be there to work on.

That night I put in a work order for three tables to be set up in the Visitor's Center in the back. My hope was that the missionaries in the Visitor's Center who were waiting to give tours would stuff eggs in the "mean time".

The next morning I was in the green house planting flowers and the head historian called. "Sister Cullen why are you setting up tables in the NVC? I'm concerned about visitor experience." I groaned inwardly.

I had had a "pulse" impression last night to notify this woman and dismissed it because...I'm dumb. I explained the adventure that had just started at 6pm the night before. She asked if I could move it to the less busy SOUTH Visitor's Center. I explained there weren't as many missionaries to help there.

THEN I heard her receiving revelation AS we were talking...."Hmmmm well, if you made the tables look good, and we could show case that we're serving in the community....We could even invite guests to help if they wanted to...." I interrupted, he's really worried about people stealing candy, or eating some as they worked. "OK, I'll go get more candy to give to people who help" and suddenly not only was she ON BOARD, but brought three beautiful baskets of delicous candy for the helpers!! THIS ended up being a huge blessing as well...I'll tell you later. She also got some easter grass to spread about on the tables and in the baskets to make it look festive.

So I put those roll tableclothes over the table and then used the same stuff to look like tissue paper in the laundry baskets I had borrowed to hold the eggs on the table. It looked amazing. After I finished in the Green House. I started working on the cook books.. The copier was a PAIN and kept jamming. I had to pray out five books at time and it was breaking down after 2 or 3.....ugh.

at 2:30 the Keokuk man showed up with three giant totes (1000 eggs each) and many many bags of candy. I went downstairs and got things rolling then scampered back upstairs to work on the cookbooks. around 4pm Sister H. Called and said her boss in the family history center said we could borrow their binding machine and asked if I wanted her to come over and help bind. YESS YESS YESSS!!

At 5:30 Elder D. came upstairs and announced that they had run out of candy. They had USED all the helper candy in the eggs and there were 100 eggs left. I was astounded!! Elder S. Packed everything up and took it to the Keokuk guy. They took down the tables, cleaned up and went home. I did NOTHING really... I expected that to be an ongoing thing all week. I sent out a mission announcement.."Eggs finished! Thanks for your help"

6pm I ran the musical rehearsal, 7pm Elder Cullen and I went back into the office and FINISHED THE LAST OF THE COOK BOOKS. I DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW THAT HAPPENED, but having two binders made us FLY!! IT was a miracle. It was as if because of our sacrifice to help this good man in Keokuk with time we didn't have, God gave us time.. Thursday and Saturday were now FREE.

So give God what He wants and you'll never regret it. HE IS ALL POWERFUL. HE HAS ALL RESOURCES. GOD IS AMAZING!!!

And notice...that awkward sister missionary who made this happen? She was following inspiration even though it was awkward and she didn't know why she felt she needed to make me do it.

Now going from the sliblime to the disgusting...at the pie contest I anonymously brought a COW PIE for a joke (Cream Cheese, Heavy Whipping Cream, sugar, vanilla, cocoa, knoxx gelatin, and coconut for that "grassy" texture) and I won for MOST original!! LOL HAve a great week.

There and Back Again: Week 72 If you can't take the heat...take something for those hot flashes

Last Sunday there was snow, on Monday the sites were all closed due to ice and extreme cold. Yesterday it was 90degrees! Mother Nature is having hot flashes. We didn't let that stop us. Speaking of Mothers.....

On Tuesday night I participated in a readers theater performance of the organization of the first Female Relief Society. Several of my ancestors were among the first 20 women who organized themselves under the priesthood to do "Something Extraordinary" to create a force for doing good in the world.

Relief Society helps prepare women for the blessings of eternal life as they increase faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and His Atonement; strengthen individuals, families, and homes through ordinances and covenants; and work in unity to help those in need.

They are the oldest and largest women's organization in the world.

On Thursday our international women's day activity was WONDERFUL!

All the food was beautiful and delicious.

The music (songs performed in different languages) was very good.

I sang "Let the Holy Spirit Guide" in Madarin after much tutoring from my sweet daughter, Spring who served an 18 month mission in Taiwan. Then Sister Ballard presented a video of groups and individual relief society women from all over the world sending us a greeting from their country. Egypt, Uganda, New Zealand, Uruguay, Brazil, Portegal, France, U.K., Taiwan, Beijing, etc. It made me weep. I felt so proud to be a member of the relief society!

Elder Cullen was a super hero in the kitchen helping us to assemble the three veggie boquets. Everyone helped and no one had a heavy burdern.

On Friday we got to work in the GREENHOUSE! We helped pot over 2000 "plugs"

it's going to be SO beautiful.

Saturday we started printing and binding the relief society cookbooks I was in charge of assembling.

We will give every sister a free copy.

We also attended a wonderful community event called "He is Risen" there were many many displays with the atonement and ressurection theme and lots of beautiful musical numbers and free refreshments.

Then we attended a Nauvoo Symphony SPRING CONCERT which was VERY good especially for a tiny town! Such an uplifting way to end such an amazing week. So while Mother Nature gives us whiplash (There's a huge wind storm going on right now!) We continue to celebrate, serve, and support each other and look forward to Christ's second coming.

He is RISEN!

There and Back Again: Week 71 False Spring

This has been a week of extreme opposites. We had warm weather and flowers blooming, then in the night I was awakened by a roaring sound. I usually sleep with ear plugs but that night I didn't want to miss the expected tornado siren. The storm we were experiencing dropped HUGE hail stones on our son's, Ben's, house. We put our Pearl and Lazarus in the Bushnell Garages with the tractor and event chairs! LOL

Then the weather cleared and it was so warm we didn't need to wear a sweater!

The weather seemed to reflect the highs and lows of mission life as well as we supported our friends in their trials and rejoiced with them in their joys, both feasting and fasting. We took on some of their burdens (taking the international dinner off their shoulders) so they could leave the mission and help their children for a little while. Today we made 450 wontons and put them in our freezer for this coming Thursday's event, celebrating women around the world.

and others took on our burdens by offering to help! Because of this "one heart, one mind" attitude we are all able to rejoice even in our trials and all of our burdens became light. This is the joy that comes from centering our lives on Jesus Christ and serving and loving each other as he would have us do. I am grateful. A snow storm is expected tomorrow...it will snow on the daffodills, but their joyful color will be seen through the snow and make it more beautiful. So is it a "false" Spring? or are the blooms a reminder of what is coming even when there is a storm? Perhaps it's just a "loving reminder" from Heavenly Father.

There and Back Again: Week 70 Your prayers and fasting are working!

First of ALL...Thank you everyone for your fasting and prayers and please do not stop. This week we have seen baby steps towards unity and less contention. Our efforts are working...keep it up. Just two days ago, FM leadership changed our morning devotionals to be more inclusive, mandatory for paid employees, and spiritual for the express purpose of becoming more unified. Other things are micro changing as well.

As activity directors for the mission we pray and counsel with our committee to provide activites that serve the individual and the group and help those individuals come closer to each other and Christ as they play.

It's a fun challenge. We make Kahoots (an online game) with fun getting to know you questions, or pictures of missionaries when they were children or newly married and give out prizes. It's very fun to scour Salvation Army for likely prizes.

We found two couples to teach us social dance and line dancing...SO fun.

We coordinate dinners and help others who plan dinners by providing games or activites to make them more bonding.

We encourage others to share their talents and shine. We help others develop their talents too! I just heard this week that a computer class I taught about google slides, helped one couple do a very cool remote fireside for their home ward! They were thrilled to have the computer skills they learned here from our activity. That was SO validating to me.

Last night was our BIG "Racing Down the Covenant Path Pinewood Derby" Activity. I could NOT believe how many people came and how eager so many people were to make derbies! We had an "open" category and provided wheels for Veggie Cars too.

It was very funny and fun and before the race we had a short lesson on what our covenants are and what God expects of us and what HE promises to do for us when we keep our covenants and we tied it all in to being good sports at the race.

They got big laughs from that AND we did have a "Covenant Keeper" Trophy for the best sport who ended up being Elder Christensen who had made a pickle car that looked great but got limp over time and wouldn't go down that track so he just ate it and didn't pout!! SO FUNNY.

I think the point of this letter is that God wants us to Work Hard (Even in the Rain)

And play hard (even when sad things happen)

and have JOY through Christ in all of it. Being close to Jesus is NOT just a Sunday thing. We can be close to Jesus when we work, including Him in our problem solving and daily tasks. We can be close to Jesus as we play by using play as an opportunity to bond with our fellow earthlings, love them, and grow in skill and competence with them. Have a wonderful week. We love you.