Tag Archive for: safety

Bricks

Remember the story of the three little pigs…
These three little pigs, representing us, went off to seek their fortunes in the world.
Like us, they had different aspirations and different outlooks on life.
The first little pig built a house of straw.
And the second built a house of sticks.
The third, built a house of bricks.
It wasn’t long, before their natural enemy the wolf came along.

Huffs and Puffs

With some huffs and puffs, shortly thereafter the wolf blew down the houses of straw and sticks and ate up the little pigs who lived there.
The little pig who’d built his house of bricks however, had a much different experience.
He was saved by a stronger set of guiding principles.

Patterns

This story is patterned after a similar one told by Jesus Christ, between a foolish man who built his house upon the sand and the wise man who build his house upon the rock.
As long as good weather holds, the houses built on sand may be just as good as those built on the rock.
But the huffs and puffs of weather patterns come along frequently.
Jesus dedicated his life to encourage all of us to build our lives on strong, solid, enduring, permanent foundations that would weather the harshest, most perilous and turbulent of storms.
His building code was and is a divine one, designed to strengthen and protect us from the most difficult whirlwinds and perils of life.

The Bricks

When challenges in life come, and they will, it is through the guiding principles (the bricks) of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that safety is found.
“A principle is an enduring truth, a law, a rule you can adopt to guide you in making decisions.” – Boyd K. Packer.
Some strong principles (bricks) that are helpful…
– There is great power, and safety found in the word of God, through daily scripture study.
– Daily supplication in prayer morning and night and learning to listen for answers.
– Listen to and follow living Prophets for guidance, they keep us safe.
– Follow the Doctrine of Christ – see 2 Nephi chapter 31.
When the rains and storms come, the best place to build is with good bricks on a solid foundation and have your roof in place.
If you need help with a few bricks for your foundation and roof, then speak with a missionary today.

Standards

𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔….
stan·dard: something established by authority, custom, or general consent as a model, example, or point of reference.
Driving and Licences aren’t the easiest thing in Belgium and the Netherlands – at least, that has been our experience.
There is no reciprocal agreement between the Netherlands and the USA for driving licences, and so driving becomes complicated after the initial grace period of 6 months.
Similarly as the UK is no longer in the EU, transferring a British licence is complex, time consuming and costly.
However, to combat this, shortly after their arrival in country, every new missionary has to undertake a written evaluation of their understanding of driving, traffic signs and rules for road safety.
Our standard is that they need to complete the questionnaire, and then it is formally reviewed.
On successful completion, a copy is also made of their existing driving licence.
Then a formal practical assessment is made of their driving skills on the roads, in a car!
This is generally an alarming experience for all non-Europeans as driving in a different land can be quite unnerving!
It takes a little while to adjust to the new standard required.

Why bother with all of this?

Traffic signs provide valuable information to drivers and other road users.
They represent rules and standards that are in place to keep you safe and help to communicate messages to drivers and pedestrians that can maintain order and reduce accidents.
Neglecting them can be dangerous.
Traffic signs only maintain safety when they are obeyed by motorists.
Most signs make use of pictures, rather than words, so that they are easy to understand and can be interpreted by people who speak a variety of languages.
For this reason, it’s important that you know what each picture represents, and that you use them to inform your driving. Failing to do so could result in a serious accident or a fine.
In a similar manner, every missionary is expected to follow the standards of the mission.
Standards only maintain safety when they are obeyed by missionaries.
“Obedience is powerful spiritual medicine. It comes close to being a cure-all.” – Boyd K. Packer
The standards provide valuable information to each missionary as they fulfil their assignments in personal study, goal setting, expectations and the use of technology, that ultimately become lifelong guiding principles for those who choose to follow them.
The missionary standards convey information, bring order, and ensure safety at all times.
How do standards impact upon your life?

Stay in the Boat

“Let’s get in the boat” I said.

However, it wasn’t quite the trip the Mission Leadership Council (MLC) members were quite expecting!

It reminded me of a talk given by Elder M. Russell Ballard some years ago entitled “Stay in the Boat and Hold On!” I highly recommend it.

In his talk Elder Ballard said, “In searching the scriptures and the words of past and current apostles and prophets, we should focus on studying, living, and loving the doctrine of Christ.”

Staying true to Jesus Christ is like staying safe in a boat.

Yesterday we did embark upon a few adventures of our own and held on!

We welcomed five new members to the MLC.

The mission home was filled to capacity.  We loved having everyone here.

Counselling Together

In our council session, we spent time understanding the doctrine of Christ, discussed the Lord’s timing and completed a team building activity on balance, to strengthen our collaboration together.

In addition, we also learned about earnest fasting, searching the scriptures, supplication in prayer and looking smart in our missionary endeavours.

Oh, and lunch was delicious too.  Echt lekker 😊

Working with the missionaries is not only a spiritually edifying experience, but also a lot of fun too – the pictures below testify of that!

We laughed, we cried, we talked, we listened, we played, we counselled, we prayed, we sang, and we learned lots together.

Our discussions were like the essential supplies, safety guidelines and instructions required to make our way down the river of life to our final destination.

There is nothing quite like these gatherings, frankly, they are an inspiration.

You can depend upon the missionaries.

If any one of you have fallen out of the boat, or want to get into the boat, we will do our best to find you, minister to you, and pull you safely in.

Why not join us and jump on board “Old Ship Zion” – you’ll love the journey!

#HearHim #ldsmissionary #ldsmission #LetGodPrevail