HURRY and SLOW DOWN

How long does it take you to get ready for church???? Me...about 24 hours!! Of course I start on Saturday, that special day, the day we get ready for Sunday! We have 9 am church so anything I want done has to be done before Sunday morning: Sharing time, Primary schedules, Saturday baths, Packing bags...all on Saturday.

Then comes Sunday morning, with five kids, no husband to help and an occasional sick baby thrown into the mix, need I say more!!! So before I even know it boom, it's 6:30, time for me to get up. I hurry and get myself ready. Now it's baby time, she wakes up crying and needing mom. I wake up the 3 big kids, they hate being woken up on Sunday. Of course, I tell them to hurry and get ready. Then I hurry and get the little girls breakfast. By now I'm telling the big kids to hurry every 3.5 seconds. The phone rings, a Primary teacher is sick...now I need to find a someone to take her class.....Oh my goodness, I have got to Hurry. I do more hair, feed more mouths breakfast, hair, breakfast, hair, breakfast......say HURRY 26 more times, you get the crazy picture!!! It is 8:40...I still have to set up the Primary room and get my demanding Deacon,James, in his seat on time. HURRY EVERYONE TO THE CAR!!!! This is the only time of the week we don't use seat-belts. Why, you ask???? Because seat belts take time to buckle, and we are in a HURRY!!!!

Yes, It's a miracle we make it to church in one piece and even more of a miracle that we are almost always on time. When I finally sit down, baby on lap, I take a deep breath and realize I made it. One more week down, infinity weeks to go!!!

Sometimes through all of this Hurrying, I wonder if it is all worth it. If any of my efforts are even noticed. Do I make a difference?? Last week I remembered why I do all of this.




Kyle and I got to go on vacation to Cancun, Mexico. We had a wonderful week snorkling in the Carribean sea. Kyle served his mission in Spain and loved speaking Spanish to anyone who would listen! He wanted to find a church on Sunday. He knew it would be a great adventure. We went on lds.org and located the Cancun 1st Ward's meeting house. We had a little map so at 9:00 we got on Bus #1 and headed into downtown Cancun. The bus ride was crazy. The bus driver was seriously going 70mph. We thought the church was only about 1.5 miles from the bus stop, but it seemed much farther in church shoes! As we walked we got farther and farther from the tourist area and deeper and deeper into the local area. All of the signs and stores were in Spanish and everyone was Mexican. We were the only tourists in sight. The area was run down and poor. We saw lots of skinny stray dogs and people milling around. The homes were very sad. I kept thinking that I was seeing abandoned buildings, and then I would realize that a family lived there. I saw unkempt kids without shoes, and washed clothes hanging everywhere. I could hear babies crying and smell food cooking. I was nervous about what we would find at Church.

And then like a light on a hill we came upon the LDS Church. It was a good sized, well kept, red brick chapel. It was enclosed by a tall, wrought iron fence. As we approached the gates, we saw beautiful families entering. We were immediately greeted by the Elders. One was from Boise, Idaho. He was so happy to see us, and I was happy to see him. Kyle had said to me over and over that morning that this felt so much like being a missionary. I was overcome by emotion as I saw those handsome Elders standing there declaring there testimony by dedicating their life to the Lord. My testimony of missionary work grew as I watched these two men mingle among the ward. They sat with their investigators, welcomed everyone, befriended some young men, and taught lessons. What a blessing missionaries are to the Church.

We entered the beautiful building and the opening hymn was just starting. The chapel was FULL!!! There were probably 150 people there singing praises in Spainish. We quickly took our seats and began to sing. I was so overcome by emotion I could barely sing. Here we were, a million miles from home, worshiping our Heavenly Father in the exact same way we do in St. George, UT. I loved hearing Kyle singing the hymns in Spanish, I loved hearing the Sacrament prayers in Spanish, I loved knowing the words and covenants to the prayers in my heart. I loved seeing the Deacons in white shirts passing the Sacrament. I loved watching the darling family in front of me. They had 5 kids, all so well dressed and well behaved. Their mom even had snacks and crayons!!! No doubt that she had told her kids to hurry a time or two.

Kyle leaned over and said to me, "Why are you so emotional?" I couldn't help it. The spirit was so strong. I had seen the poverty in body and spirit of the people in Mexico and then I entered the church. The Lord has filled these peoples' lives with the gospel, and with his spirit and you can tell. You can see it in their eyes and feel in in their words. I understood very little that day in the Cancun, Mexico 1st ward. But my testimony grew as the Spirit bore witness of the importance of the Gospel. I am thankful for the beautiful experience I had that Sunday. To the Saints in Mexico, I thank you!!