ministering changes

with all the ministering changes that are going on... i feel like i am going in circles explaining myself to the sisters who ask over and over what's happening. 

to my understanding it's not all that different! it's simply more about really getting to know each other and although visits are still encouraged, it's more about being there for other things. getting to know each other better...and being what she needs!

this is the best handout i've found so far... which i found online, so hopefully i can use it for the sisters in our ward sometime in the near future. 

general conference prep

as i am sure you must have all worked out by now, i'm in australia, meaning that although general conference streamed live in the u.s. last week, we don't watch it until this sunday. i happened to come across this awesome idea on one of the lds relief society pages i am on last week and decided that i needed make them for the sisters i visit teach... so i did. thankfully you can still buy 7up in a few places! i was seriously thinking i would have to go and buy them at kfc and that they would be $$$$$$

such a cute idea! big props to the person who originally thought of it here and to the lovely sister on the lds relief society page who edited the file for all of us wanting to use it. 

so excited for this weekend, general conference is the best!

visiting teaching changes 2018

we'll be having a relief society "lesson" in the new format: the council meeting, on the first sunday in february. we constantly have questions and concerns about visiting teaching and being that the format of that has also changed we thought we would use our first one to discuss it.

there will no longer be a prepared message from the ensign for you to use each month when visiting. the new idea is to simply “do what she needs.”

sister bingham, relief society general president told the church news, “We want to help sisters understand how to really care for and strengthen each sister.” “The Church handbook doesn’t talk about our responsibilities to teach a lesson. It talks about how ‘visiting teachers sincerely come to know and love each sister, help her strengthen her faith and give service. Visiting teachers seek personal inspiration to know how to respond to the spiritual and temporal needs of each sister they are assigned to visit.” The changes are meant to help visiting teachers look beyond a universal prepared message and figure out what the sister they visit personally needs. “What are we supposed to do?” asked Sister Sharon Eubank, First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency. “Do what she needs.”

and thanks to the internet (once again) i even found this amazing hand out to give to the sisters in the lds relief society presidencies facebook page. thank heavens for the internet! it certainly makes lesson planning easier. here's hoping it all goes well! 

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update: late feb 2018

we had our council meeting, which went so well. i began with a few little readings, (it was our first one as our january one was taken up with a special pacific area wide lesson, so i thought it best to ease into it) then asked the following questions, we had to cut time at the end, because people had so much to say. phew! 

Sister Bingham, Relief Society General President told the church news, “We want to help sisters understand how to really care for and strengthen each sister.” “The Church handbook doesn’t talk about our responsibilities to teach a lesson. It talks about how ‘visiting teachers sincerely come to know and love each sister, help her strengthen her faith and give service. Visiting teachers seek personal inspiration to know how to respond to the spiritual and temporal needs of each sister they are assigned to visit.” The changes are meant to help visiting teachers look beyond a universal prepared message and figure out what the sister they visit personally needs. “What are we supposed to do?” asked Sister Sharon Eubank, First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency. “Do what she needs.”

Close your eyes and raise your hands... this will be completely anonymous, only I will know how you have answered

Who LIKES VTing?

Who likes being VTaught?

Who DISLIKES VTing?

Who DISLIKES being VTaught?

I have had a few questions regarding visiting teaching... so I’m going to do a quick Q&A. If you asked these questions, don’t worry, I’m keeping this anonymous too. 

1. Are we still required to visit Sisters in their homes? 

YES! We would encourage you to visit in your sisters homes at LEAST once a quarter. If you can visit monthly, that’s great! If you can’t, that’s okay too. Some of you are able to visit more often, we love you for it.

2. Is any form of contact counted? 

YES! The new way of visiting teaching as of Jan 1st this year was to “BE WHAT SHE NEEDS.” If your sisters need a cuddle hand one over. If you feel like they need a night off of cooking? Do that! Passing and saying “hi how are you?” in the hallway is a nice thing to do, but is it helping you know their needs and how you can personally ease their burdens? Get to know them away from the noise, in a quiet secluded space is the best way to do so.

3. Do I NEED to report my visiting teaching? 

YES YES YES A MILLION TIMES YES. This is how we know which sisters are being contacted and who we need to be aware of. Let us know your sisters needs PLEASE! Tell us what we can do to help, what they need, anything that concerns you, we are here to help. You can also tells us random facts like what their favourite colour is, how many pairs of shoes they own, what their cats name is... I’m interested. I actually know quite a lot of people’s pets names. 

4. Do I HAVE to cook for them? (Okay for your amusement, this person then asked who Kate and Valerie visit teach (well known excellent cooks in our ward). Asking for a friend of course...) Absolutely NOT. But if you’re a good cook, it is always appreciated! No one ever took offence from a lovingly baked treat

BE WHAT SHE NEEDS. But please don’t forget that the visiting teaching program is inspired! You might not think you are suited for the round, area, Sister (even companion!!!) you have, but a lot of prayer (AND even more juggling!) goes into getting these rounds right over and over again. 

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do your visiting teaching. Don’t treat it as a chore, or something you need to check off. Get to know your sisters... and you’ll love them more than you know! 

The most important thing you need to remember is DO WHAT YOU CAN!

• What motivates you to VT?
• What stops you from doing your VT?
• What are some creative ways we can VT? There are so many ways you can do your visiting teaching! (take a walk together, meet for a hot chocolate, see a movie, text each other, write an email, send them an uplifting talk or video via the Internet, let them know you miss them when they aren’t around, send them some notes from the Sunday lesson they may have missed and/or keep an extra handout, call them after church! Plus I found this idea online and thought it was perfect: I wanted to share what I asked my VT to do for me when I was in the middle of a very busy “season” in my life & I rarely had time for visits. I asked each of them to prayerfully select a conference talk for me and email it - then I could read it when I had time and I could be spiritually fed. It worked great for me - maybe this will work for some of your sisters.

• How is visiting teaching a two-way street?
• What’s the best thing a VT ever did for you?
• What do you wish a VT had done for you?
• What things keep us from serving and seeking out others needs? What can we change to fix this?
• What does it mean to minister?
• How do we stop worrying about what “counts” in VTing and focus on what the sister needs?
• I know that RS is trying to get away from what “counts” in VTing, but what do we report?

halloween visiting teaching

i do love it when i find something cute and appropriate to add to the visiting teaching message... i've never been a huge fan of halloween, but stumbled across this gorgeous handout on pinterest and was thrilled to see it because finally... someone gets it!

i loved it, and hopefully the ladies i visit teach will enjoy it and the cupcakes i made to go along with them ♥

christmas in july: vt style

years and years ago when doug and i first moved into dianella ward, i remember my friend speaking with great pride about her grandmother and her 100% visiting teaching record. it was at that very moment that i decided i wanted that too and have tried hard to make it happen, so i am also always scanning blogs, instagram and pinterest for awesome ideas to make it fun. so far, so good...

this time however, i grabbed a few packets of candy canes the week after christmas and stashed them for seven months (yes they were still not past their expiry date) just to give them to the girls i visit teach for a christmas in july treat. what was even better, was that someone i know was having a clean out and gave me these epic christmas plastic cups just in time.

merry christmas in july peeps! ♥

visiting teaching christmas gifts

here are the gifts florence and i took a few weeks ago for christmas to the girls we visit teach.

casserole dish carrybags

years ago, i received one from my visiting teacher and decided i was going to make some. i had all the fabric and a little motivation, but when joseph was playing up and mum was at our house, she took over and had them all made within an hour. oh, she is the best. no arguments here!

i know you will all easily be able to tell from the picture how to make them, but here is a small rundown and the measurements for the square. i'm not good with sewing terms, so excuse me if none of this makes perfect sense.

you'll need half a metre of fabric and lining (they end up being 45cm across, so to allow for hems) and if your fabric is wide enough, you'll probably be able to get two from it - i got 4 from the two half metres i purchased. some wadding (to pad it so once your dish is inside no one gets burnt) and a piece of reasonably thick cord.

sew your fabric, lining and wadding into a 45cm square, then turn - fold open edge in and top stitch around all the edges, fold in a triangle of about 4cm and then sew two opposite ends across 2cm in, to hold them in place, ensure there is enough room to thread cord through. make a handle, the same way about 10cm or so wide, turn and top stitch. pin your handle to the other two points once folded in and stitch them to attach handle to the back, again leaving enough space for the cord which you will then thread through... and you're done. 

wrap and gift!

and thank you mum! you are truly the best.