Focus and a Funeral

This week has been an interesting one to say the least, full of events to go to.  On Tuesday, we went to a Relief Society presidency meeting. We asked to be involved in their meetings, and they decided to have a special meeting just about the in-actives and less-actives in our ward.  When we arrived, the whole presidency was in tears, and they told us that a young boy (Alex) in our ward had an accident and was in the hospital.  A little later into the meeting, there was a phone call telling us that the parents had just been told that they would have to decide to take him off of life support on Wednesday.  We all felt that we could better serve if we went to the hospital instead of continuing the meeting, so we ended the meeting and went.  My ward is practically all related to each other, so about half the ward was there, but it was good to be there and comfort as best as we could.

On Wednesday we weren't able to really focus on tracting while we were thinking of the boy and his family, so we went to some of their houses and put paper hearts on their doors.  Thursday morning while we were planning, we got a phone call informing us that there had been a service project to clean the family's home and get it ready for all the funeral events that were going to be held there.  We spent quite a bit of time there helping them, and were able to talk to quite a few people.  We also talked to our bishop while he was there, and he said that he wanted us to be at every event being held over the next couple of days.

Since this family is Polynesian of some sort, they have the culture where there are two family services before the actual funeral, which is a little different. But I think that it's cool that all the family can get up and talk about how Alex had impacted their lives, and stories about him.  Those started Saturday night, and it kind of felt like a testimony meeting.  They sang songs and really shared their love for Alex and his family while they were there.  It only lasted about an hour or so, and then there was food afterwards each night, where we could talk to those who had attended.  The same thing happened on Sunday night, both of which were really well attended, and had many testimonies and Primary songs sung.  The spirit was really cool and strong in those. 

Monday was the funeral, and they asked that us missionaries go to help set up the home for the Hakari (basically food after the funeral).  We showed up at 6:30, and worked solid with those in charge until the funeral, and then returned after the funeral to finalize the preparations for all of the food and seating arrangements.  It was awesome to see all of the family friends gather to help cook, prepare, and serve the food, and I'm glad that I was able to work beside them.  It is really incredible to see not only the family, but all of the ward helping and working together to show their love for Alex.

Other than that, Sister Perkins and I sang Nearer My God to Thee in Sacrament meeting, which was super cool, considering all that was going on with the funeral and all.  We used the tune from the older hymn book, which still has the same words, but the rhythm and the notes are different in some places.  It was cool that even though we picked the song a few weeks earlier it really fit with what everyone needed to hear. 

Aussie Terms (Sort of):  Hakari (Food after a funeral service. Kind of like a wedding feast), Whanau (Maori for family), and Jumper (Jacket, hoodie, etc.)

Scripture this week is Mosiah 18:30:  And now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon, in the forest that was near the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever.

Where is our focus?  Are we seeing things in a positive light, or are we changing things to be negative?  Everything that happens can be seen in a positive light, and when we focus on the knowledge of our Redeemer, it all becomes easier to see.  With Him as our focus, we can see things as more beautiful, blessed, and worth singing about.  If you notice that you aren't laughing too much, or seeing things negatively, change your perspective and watch as it changes the way you experience life. 

Love you all!

Pictures: We had Sister's P-day last week, and so we went to a park next to the beach.  We're not allowed on the beach, so we could only get so close to the sand....  :) 

Sister Marostica (Colorado), Sister Burridge (Aussie), and Sister Talbot!