Talkie Talk

Today Richard and I gave talks in church. I'll let Richard write about his, but I promised I would give a report on mine, per Rochelle and Mom's request. The good news is that I wasn't as nervous and sick about it as I was the last time I gave a talk. But I was still nervous... and I kept trying to tell myself that I loved talking in front of large crowds, especially when I don't know them...but it didn't really help much. And then when our bishop came up and shook our hands, he told me I was "exuding nervousness" and I was just encircled in a nervous aura (I really needed an Aura-Fluff). Once I just sat down and re-read my talk, I calmed down, and knew that I was going to be fine. When it came time to give my talk, I wasn't as nervous as I thought I'd be, and I think I did ok. The only bummer was that it wasn't very long, and I ended up leaving Richard with 25 minutes to speak...ooops. But don't worry, he's amazing, and he did a great job. People kept saying afterward, that the more he talked, the better it got. So, it all worked out. (Last time we spoke, I took up too much time, and only left him with a few minutes, so I guess I was trying to make up for that or something...I'll get it right eventually).
Ok, without any further ado...here is my talk:

Unselfish Service (Based off of Elder Dallin H. Oaks' April 2009 Gen conference talk)

Our Purpose in this earthly is to learn to become like Christ. One of the best ways that we can work towards that is through our works of unselfish service. We become true disciples of Christ when we forget ourselves and our own selfish desires, and seek to bless the lives of others.
Jesus Christ's entire life is a model for us - he taught us that "in order to follow Him, we must deny ourselves of our selfish interests, in order to serve others." In Matt 16:24-25, Jesus taught, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."
We are given the opportunity to serve so that we can grow and stretch and overcome the negative qualities of the natural man. President Hinkley once said, "He who lives only unto himself withers and dies, ,while he who forgets himself in the service of others grows and blossoms in this life and in eternity."
In learning to unselfishly serve others, we develop a quality called charity, which is the pure love of Christ, and which in Moroni 7, we are counseled to pray for with all energy of heart, for we are nothing without it.
Heavenly Father is all-powerful, and is able to do His own work: to provide for his children. But he gives us the opportunity to help, so that we can learn, and grow, and become like Him.
When I was younger, my parents were kind enough to provide me and my siblings various "character building opportunities that included doing numerous chores around the house, or working outside on out 26 acre tree farm for hours on end. Sometimes I wished my parents or somebody else would just do it, so I could go and play or hang out with friends, or just do whatever I wanted. Sometimes, when it seemed like the workload was overwhelming, I would joke bitterly with my parents that they must have had 6 kids just so they'd have more people to do work. I didn't really have the best attitude at the time, but looking back, I feel grateful for the opportunity to serve my family, and forget my own selfish desires.
The wonderful thing about the whole experience was that even though I wasn't excited at the time, to be doing all that work, I was able to develop important values and skills that I wouldn't have otherwise gained. I could have pursued my own desires, but I would have had nothing to show for it, because that attitude produces no growth and no change. However, out of that experience, I was able to grow in ways that I never could have, and most of that is thanks to my parents.
Just as earthly parents give their children opportunities to serve, Heavenly Father, in His loving kindness gives us these opportunities because he wants us to grow. He allows us to assist in His work, so that we can acquire the same traits that he has, so we can ultimately become like Him.
As I learned, one of the best places for unselfish service to be taught and learned, is in the home. And one of the best examples of unselfish service is the sacrifice that parents make for their children. In this last general conference, Elder oaks talked about giving unselfish service. In talking about the sacrifice that parents make for their children, he explained that "mothers suffer pain and loss of personal priorities and comforts to bear and rear each child, and Fathers adjust their lives and priorities to support a family...None of this service asks, what's in it for me? All of it requires setting aside personal convenience for unselfish service. I think parenting is truly a divine role and calling, because of the way that it teaches us to become like Christ. Elder Oaks explains it well: " the plan of the Gospel of Jesus Christ lifts us above our selfish desires and teaches us that this life is all about what we can become." That is the beauty of unselfish service. It stretches us and helps us become what we are supposed to become.
Parents set and example for their children, as they dedicate their time to regular temple service. The temple is another one of the best places that unselfish service occurs. That service "has no other motive than love and service for out fellowmen, living and dead." It is a sacrifice of time to go to the temple, but the blessings that follow more than make up for it.
There are opportunities for unselfish service everywhere we look, and in the many roles that we may fill throughout life, whether it be as parents, children, missionaries, church leaders, teachers, and the list goes on. In a world that teaches us to be asking "what's in it for me?" all the time, instead, let's take the opposite approach. Instead of expecting something for nothing, I would challenge all of us to focus on giving something and expecting nothing in return. That is truly unselfish service, and I know that when we truly forget ourselves in the service of others, our love for them, God's children grows and deepens, along with our love for the Savior.

Vacation Update!

Richard and I had an absolute BLAST on our vacation on the East coast. It was packed with fun every day, and I was able to fulfill some of my life's dreams! I'm going to have to think of some new ones now!
July 3
We were traveling most of the day - We flew from LA to Denver, had a 2 hour layover, then flew in to Baltimore. We got there at midnight, so we went straight to our hotel for the night.
July 4
We took a bus to the Subway station, driven by this crazy lady. She was yelling the whole time, and driving like a maniac! It was great. We were only scared for our lives for part of the time. Then, we took the subway to Arlington National Cemetery. It was my first time on a subway, so I was a little nervous. But it turned out to be just fine, and it made it really easy to get around. The Cemetery was amazing. I felt so much gratitude for all of those soldiers who would give up so much, even their lives for the sake of a free country. It was overwhelming to look in every direction, and see headstones as far as you could see. The thing that really hit us while we were there, was that you can't just look at the people who died in war as one big group. Each one of them had families and people who loved them, and who grieved their death. They paid a high price to give me freedom. Even though I know that I sometimes take it for granted, I am so thankful to live in a free country. I am glad that I can do the things that bring me joy, and that I can choose to live according to my own conscience.
Anyway, after Arlington, we went to D.C. to see the Smithsonian museums and the fireworks show. We saw the "America at War" exhibit in the Museum of American History, which we thought was very appropriate for the 4th. It started from the Revolutionary war, and went all the way up to the present. I've never been super interested in learning about war, but I actually found the exhibit to be really interesting. I really enjoyed it, but I think Richard's joy exceeded my understanding. He just ate everything up. We spent a looong time in that exhibit. We also went to the Museum of natural history, which was pretty cool too!
After that, we met up with the Patterson clan, at the Washington Monument, had dinner and watched the most amazing fireworks show I have ever (and probably will ever) seen! It was so cool, they were so big and close, I could feel the booms in my chest, and my arm hairs were vibrating. I LOVED it!
The next few days, we hung out with family, and were able to be there for some family milestones: John's baptism, and Stephen's Eagle Court of Honor. It was great, we were glad that we could be there for those. OH, and we also took a short tour of Gettysburg with the siblings and Grammy. That was pretty interesting, too. I think I forgot the importance of Gettysburg until we went and visited - it was the turning point in the Civil War, when the Union army started winning.
For the last half of the week, we drove up to New York, and went through countless toll roads (I'm still kind of bitter about all the extra money we paid to drive) to get to our destinations. Our first place we visited in New York was the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was amazing. I could hardly believe I was there! I loved all of the history behind all of it, and was sad that we didn't have enough time to really soak everything up. Hopefully, we'll go back again someday! After our time in Manhattan, we drove to Times Square, and got to have a special parking garage experience.... Parking there made me really see the value in riding the subway. Not only do you save yourself the trouble of dealing with ridiculous traffic, and aggressive drivers, but you don't have to pay a fortune to park, and still wonder if you'll ever see your car/possessions in the car again. Picture this: You drive into a dimly lit parking garage, with disintegrating cement floors, and cars parked haphazardly all around. Not only that, but scattered all around the cars are these little carts that are packed full of stuff, and covered in plastic tarps that you can't see through... hmmm. Was it wrong of me to worry?
Anyway, after that warm fuzzy experience, we went to do two of my life's goals in NYC: 1) eat New York Pizza IN New York and 2) see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway!!! Man, that was one of the best days EVER! I loved seeing the Phantom of the Opera, it was an amazing show. I was really impressed to see such a quality production. I only wish I hadn't seen the movie so many times, so that I wouldn't have compared their singing voices the whole time. But I loved it, all the same. it was amazing, and I'm so glad Richard thought of doing that!
The next day, we drove to Palmyra, NY for the Hill Cumorah Pageant. That was pretty amazing too. I have never seen effects like they used on stage for that. It was very impressive. Not only was it a high quality production, but the spirit was there. It was amazing. I just loved every second of that.
I loved being able to go on this trip with Richard. He's so fun to be with, and he just makes everything so much better. And this whole trip was his idea! He's amazing.
Well, sorry to write such a long post, I guess its more of a journal entry/history keeping kind of thing this time.

Fields and Flocks

The past couple weeks have been pretty rough with sales and whatnot. We came here with very high expectations for our success, but its been underwhelming, to say the least. I think there are a few main reasons that its been a struggle. The first being that the economy stinks and so nobody has money. The second is that it has been pretty cold around here, so the bugs aren't coming out as much. Its really hard to convince someone that they need pest control if 1)they don't have money, and 2)they're not seeing bugs anyway... You see the problem? Anyway, we're just hoping and praying that things will get better, and that the weather will get hotter.
Lately, in our scripture study, its been interesting to see all of the verses that can relate to success in the workplace. The first scripture that stuck out to me was Alma 34:20,24,25. Earlier, I had been thinking that I didn't really know if it was appropriate to pray for us to do well in our jobs, to get lots of sales and whatnot...because to me, that seemed kind of greedy, like saying, "help us to get lots of money." But when I read those verses, it struck me that it is good to pray for success in our "flocks and fields," and to pray that they will increase. In fact, I feel like its better that you do pray for success than not at all, because then you are more able to recognize the blessings that are pouring in from Heavenly Father, and you realize where the credit is due. I think it keeps you humble, to acknowledge that you need divine help, and can't do it on your own. You recognize that your success isn't all yours. Not only that, but it requires faith to trust that the Lord will bless you in the way and time that will be best for you. I feel better about praying for that now.
Something else that we've been thinking about lately is what can we be doing better in our lives, so that we can be worthy of the blessings and success we are asking for. There are so many verses, and general authorities that talk about keeping all the commandments so that you can really be worthy of the blessings you ask for. So, we've been working on being more consistent in those areas where we've been slacking. Even though sales haven't picked up a whole lot, we are more at peace than before. The nice thing is that we know that if we are doing the things we should be doing now, then whatever happens in our lives is what is supposed to happen, and we will have the help we need to get through it.
Anyway, that's just been on my mind recently, and it was exciting to me to come to those conclusions on my own!

My new hair!

BEFORE...

AFTER...

Its hard to be a rapper...

This made me laugh... (sorry, there's a cussword)

This Past Week...

We've had a lot of fun in the past week. It all started on Saturday, when we went to the L.A. Temple. The temple was beautiful. The inside was breathtaking, and the session was refreshing. It was nice to get away from the stress of work, and just focus on what is truly important in life. It was a bit of a drive (about an hour), compared to what we're used to, but so worth it! I hope we can go back a few more times this summer!

On Wednesday, our Clark Team got to go to Universal Studios! We got to do this because we exceeded our goal of getting 100 sales as a team for May. We had a blast there, and it was nice to have a whole day of fun. It was especially exciting for Richard and I because last year, around this same time, we were at Disneyland together with my family. And that was about the time that we decided we couldn't live without each other, and decided we needed to get married in August. Special memories!!!Our Team: Reece, Richard, Me, Scott, Brad, Rebecca, Tyler, Rebecca, MaxOn the Red Carpet!!! (We're kind of a big deal)

We almost got eaten by Jaws!!! AHH!

Lunch at Buca di Beppo - Amazing Italian Restaurant

We had to get a "nerd picture" with our 4-d glasses before going into the Terminator 4-d show

No, we didn't really ride the bull, but wouldn't it be cool if we had??

Some pictures...

So picturesque, huh? We went on a triple date with the Baertleins and the LeBarrons to this beach, and we had a blast!

What do you think is happening in this picture?
I'll tell you. Richard thought it would be funny if he dragged me into the Ocean against my will! Obviously, I didn't want to get wet. But don't worry, I still got wet.

We usually meet up for lunch at a park somewhere, before we start working for the afternoon.

One of our many team lunches, courtesy of Clark! (Dont look to close at Richard's smile, those aren't his teeth, that's his salad coming out of his mouth)
Left side: Scott, Brad, Rebecca. Right side: Matt (our supervisor), Reece, Richard, Me