Remember Bishop, Jimmer Loves You!

...and so do the Young Women!

Wednesday, after mutual this "Candy-Gram" was delivered to Bishop Dickson.  Look close and you can see all the cute things the Young Women wrote.  How thoughtful and creative!

Mormon Helping Hands!

Read More: Pinnacle Article Link

We had a very incredible day! Saturday, April 30^th was a day of service hosted by the Children’s Chamberlain Center and coinciding with the annual Mormon Helping Hands Day of Service. An amazing coincidence. Commencing At 8:00 a.m. there were ten acres of heavy equipment buzzing, graveling the roads to the 8 facilities, drywall hanging, roofing, laying down pavers, extensive weeding and planting of 20 shrubs some trees, and 100's of plants, cleaned a baseball field, spread rubber on a playground, wheel barrow by wheel barrow (the kids loved this job) and many specialists that volunteered their professional services. We also did some spring cleaning for 3 of the 4 houses the children live in. At least 200 people showed up and really worked until noon when we were served with a wonderful Tri-tip barbecue put on by the Rotary Clubs of Hollister, San Juan Batista, and Gilroy, who we worked side by side with, and also the Hollister Leadership group and employees and board members of Chamberlains.

(Bishop John Starkweather - helping with the driveway)

(Spencer Heap and Jason Cameron - a dirty, itchy job)

    At the last minute,(Friday) Carol Lindgren, a member of the church wanting to help do a professional job of restructuring the pavers on a walkway going between houses at the Chamberlain Children's center, Carol works for Pacific Interlock company who donated the pavers and assisted Javier Quesada of New Leaf Landscape in installing pavers for a patio area and walkway, together with church members, and a board member from Chamberlains and also Josiah from C-map TV all pitched in and helped with this huge project.  Josiah would stop periodically to take footage of the line of people passing bricks to each other from the truck to the pavers!

(Young Women and their leaders Weeding the Garden Area)

Did I mention the painting of four structures? John Starkweather of Starkweather Painting was instrumental in the carrying out of this huge undertaking. Also after assessing the work to be done. He retained a back hoe driver to add a new layer of gravel to the roads (which are not just a few) Lent his spray washer's for the Boys Youth group to pressure wash the buildings on a previous day and on Saturday brought in 4 pieces of heavy equipment, including arranging for a trailer with 10 tables and 100 chairs to be brought for lunch that morning.

(Bishop Loren Dickson -- attacking the weeds)

    Ward members were painting the trim of the buildings when the Chamberlain Children’s Center  director asked if someone could put in a new bathroom cabinet. I have to mention Kristin Grabau who was within hearing range at the time, at first offering up her husband, a contractor, but not knowing where to find him, said wait, I can do it! Well she ended up Painting and redecorating the bathrooms, with really cute curtains retrieved from her  home along with new curtain rods and switch plates. We ran into trouble with the plumbing and so she went and purchased that herself. Three people ended up working on that leaky sink.

(The scouts showed up just in time from their camping trip to strike a pose. Logan Sowards, Garrett Lawrence, Tyler Hatchett, Tristan Russell, Tyler Hurtado, Miles Franklin)

     The wonderful Whiteside family still roofing, the only exhausted people left, felt not to go home until their job was mostly completed. They will be back this week for the finishing touches. Many others had assisted throughout the day, Mike had been coming the past two days digging and cementing post holes and prepping so that fencing could be put up on the day of the big event. While digging the post holes on Thursday, Mike Whiteside was told about the need for roofing and so volunteered for that too. Mike is a contractor and owner of Whiteside Construction.

(Primary Children work on spreading shredded rubber over the playground floor)

   
 The rest of the work consisted of the endless job of weeding and planting 40 shrubs, 100 plants and vegetables in planters, some of which were made that day by the Rotary Clubs who also had also done much of their own volunteer work that day, including helping put up the fencing. The Leadership club tiled the kitchen, While Richard Collie repaired counter top tiles, and will be working on creating a Jungle room for the Chamberlain Children to read in, Steve Fowles, a local contractor, will assist him in the building of an indoor tree house for the reading room.

(Annette Dickson was a machine with the weeding tool)

         The members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are grateful for this wonderful opportunity, It felt good to serve together because the work is much needed, and so is very rewarding!  We would love to come back again, as it is our desire and goal of to emulate Christ’s teachings, following his example and life’s work while on the earth and who particularly loved the children.  

(Spencer Heap helps daughter Mason with her yummy lunch, provided by The Rotary Club.) (And I'm sorry, I can't help myself, look at Bishop Dickson's photo bomb in the background.)


  Chamberlains could use many more work days, Much upkeep is required for such large grounds and many buildings. Their employees are special and wonderful that are truly dedicated people who love care for and nurture the children in their stewardship

(Beau, Mercedes and Reef Sowards -- Happy to serve, even at the end of a long day)

(Partial Group Picture - thank you to the 200+ people who served on this day)

Thank You Tonia Sunseri for helping get this huge undertaking organized and passing the information on to everyone.

Read More: Pinnacle Article Link

Newest Eagle Scout - Tristan Russell

Not so very many years ago the I had the privilege of serving in the Primary.  As I recall there was a very precocious little boy that did much to thwart the efforts of his teacher and leaders. He and his cohorts classmates enjoyed sneaking out of the classroom windows and other clever tricks. Who would have thought that within 3-4 years this boy, Tristan Russell, would grow a couple of feet and be receiving his Eagle Scout Award at the age or 14. As a former leader of his, I am prodigiously proud of him, for sure it was a direct result of all the good leadership he received as a primary child. 

Actually, Tristan himself answered some of the questions that may be burning in your mind.

Q: What have you learned, being in the scouting program?
Tristan: I have learned how to work hard, pursue my dreams and many other fun and interesting skills

Q:What did you do for your Eagle Project?
Tristan: I put in supports then put in porches and added stairs, railing and lattice to the porches at the Historical Park.

Q: What did you learn from this experience?
Tristan: I learned how important planning is and how to be a good leader.

Q: How much did your parents help you in achieving this award?
Tristan: They probably helped me the most. They were always there and willing to help.

Q: What advice would you give other boys who are, or will be working on getting their Eagle?
Tristan: Work hard and keep at it and eventually you will make it to where I am now.

Q: What was your favorite merit badge to earn?

Tristan: Fingerprinting. It was the easiest.

Q: How do you think having your Eagle Scout Award will help you in your future life?

Tristan: I think it will help me be better at being a leader, in working hard and in understanding others. 

Thanks Tristan and Congratulations!

Young Womanhood Recognition

(Angela Merrell, Kelsi Meyer, Alyssa Russell, Anna Dickson)

These 4 beautiful girls were entering the Young Women Program about the time Bishop Starkweather was called as the bishop.  Here we are 6 years later with each poised to graduate from High School this summer and each having done what is required to receive their Young Woman's Medallion. I have heard Bishop Starkweather comment what satisfaction it gives him to see each of these girls grow up in the gospel and then receive their Young Womanhood Recognition Award.  I echo his sentiments.  It is with a little bit of sadness and much joy that we see them move on to a new chapter in their lives.  Kelsi, Anna and Angela are going to BYU-Idaho and Alyssa is going to BYU in Provo. I'm trying not to be biased here since I love each of these girls as if they could be my own off-spring (ok, one actually is), but they are young women of character, of talents, of testimony, of enthusiasm, of determination. Some time either at the end of 2010 or the beginning of 2011 these girls were each recognized in Sacrament Meeting for having finished the Personal Progress Program. (This was the second go-around for Alyssa. She earned the award during her Beehive year. Bishop Starkweather told her there was plenty of time to do it all again. So she did.)

Each of them had to accomplish 2 goals in each of the 8 values from the program each year, plus one 10-hour project in each of the 8 value areas. Their assignments also included journal writing about their experiences and reporting to their leaders, their parents and the bishop.

Here are the 8 values:

Faith

Divine Nature

Individual Worth

Knowledge

Choice and Accountability

Good Works

Integrity

Virtue

Here is a quote of of lds.org.

Personal Progress strengthens young women’s testimonies of Jesus Christ, prepares them for future roles, and helps them to make and keep sacred covenants. 

Anna, Kelsi, Angela and Alyssa you are true examples of being worthy daughters of our Heavenly Father. Congratulations to you all.

Community Christmas Concert: Breaking Barriers, Building Testimonies

(LDS Men's Choir)

Whenever I am out somewhere in Hollister (or Gilroy for that matter) with Amy Oelrich there are people, young and old alike, that know and love and want to talk to Amy.  Amy is also musical and very talented in the performing arts.  She grew up performing in the Morgan Hill Community Christmas Concert and since moving to Hollister it has been a dream of hers to start a South Valley version of this same concert.  After a brief move away from the area she began to pursue this dream. When she got called as the Ward Activity Chairman she saw this as the perfect opportunity to move forward.  Times were busy though, many of the activities she planned got preempted for pressing issues like emergency preparedness and the fight for Prop. 8. Her release from the calling came before the concert came to fruition. This didn't end her desire to have a Community Christmas Concert in Hollister though.  In October of 2009 she got serious about making it a reality.  I happened to be in the meeting where Amy proposed this to the Ward counsel.  I saw the nods of agreement. I felt the feeling (that I recognize as inspiration) as the newly called activity chairman, that this was something that would benefit the people as well as the gospel. Zac Isom (also musical) told her he'd help. And Bishop Starkweather was 100% behind it. He told Amy, "Make it happen!" Because of the closeness of the Christmas season at that point, it wasn't possible to accomplish such an undertaking for that year. But Amy spent a large part of 2010 getting churches, groups and community members to see her vision of what this event could be. Once Public Relations got wind of the idea, the ball was rolling and Amy was introduced, much to her surprise, at meetings as the chairman of the concert.

(LDS Stake Choir)

Amy testifies that she knows the Lord's hand was in it from the start. She says there were multiple moments of being asked questions and having the words put in her mouth, to word answers the right way so that people would be more receptive.

(Grace Bible Church)

One such instance happened while Amy was in the middle of Safeway. She finally got a call back from the choir director at one of the local churchs. Amy was surprised to hear from her because she had previously made many phone calls to various members of their ministry without a call back. Amy remembers clearly the feeling she had that the choir director was on her guard and almost defensive at the start of the phone call. She told Amy that their choir was leaning toward performing with us at the concert but had some massive concerns, and that there were some questions that she needed Amy to answer honestly. This woman told Amy that they had made it a point to NOT do anything with the LDS church. Or anything even associated with the LDS church. She was very blunt with Amy and told her this had been their rule for years. She said the fact that her choir members wanted to participate was very surprising to her, given the rule. She reassured Amy that if she (Amy) was LDS she didn't want to offend her.  Amy told her she was LDS, but that she was not offended, and that of course everyone had a right to their opinions. Amy was bold though and questioned the choir director as to why they went out of their way to avoid the LDS church. The answer was hard to hear.  The woman told Amy that they did not recognize our church as a religion, but that they viewed us as a cult. And they felt that if they did anything with us or associated with us in any way, that is would mean that they would be recognizing us as a religion, which they strongly felt we were not. As awkward as this surely was for Amy she had the presence of mind to bear her testimony. She said, "I'm so sorry you feel this way. I can tell you from the bottom of my heart, that we are not a cult, and that I do believe in Christ. I believe in his birth, and in his life, and in what he gave us and that the whole purpose of this event is to share that, and to remind people of the true meaning of Christmas. And if we did not believe that, we would not be participating in this concert. I hope that you will participate, because I know you believe that as well."

(First Presbyterian Church)

Another question that was posed to Amy was by this choir director was, "What is your motive here? Why are you putting on this concert?" Amy's answer was stellar, she said, "I absolutely do have motive. One-hundered percent, there is an underlying motive, and that is to gather our community of strong Christian people together. And to remind this community what Christmas is all about. And if one person can feel the spirit of Christ through this opportunity, then we have accomplished what Christ would want us to do."

(Mayor Victor Gomez)

One further concern was that even though it was obvious that the music was going to be religious she didn't want there to be any preaching involved.  Amy said the only preaching would be through singing and about Jesus, there was no spoken word and that of course there would be religious undertones because we are celebrating the birth of Christ. Also that we would be opening and closing with a prayer." As soon as these concerns were answered lovingly and with the Spirit of the Lord.  The woman's demeanor and tone completely changed and she simply stated "Ok, we're in then." Amy was astonished, she was sure the lady was just calling to argue with her. Every other answer she had gotten from this church was "No." or no answer at all.

Other Highlights:
The Pastor who ended up saying one of the prayers was so moved that he felt the need to comment before that prayer. He had grown up in Hollister and to be asked to participate in something so special really meant a lot to him.

The mayor, an amazing man of faith was there in full support and offered a few special words.

(South Valley Suzuki String Academy)

Shelly Maupin who is a member of our ward and an employee of San Benito High School was there to oversee things. She was helping the committee clean up afterwards and when Amy told her she didn't have to that this wasn't part of her job, Shelly's response was, "Are you kidding me? I'm flying so high right now. This was the first time I've ever felt the spirit at the high school. And that is amazing!"

If the spirit was felt, mission accomplished. And whether people realize or not why they left with this great feeling, the mission of the concert was complete.  Amy said she had several people coming up to her and saying, "I had no idea this was going to be this beautiful.  I feel like I should have dressed up a little bit more. I feel underdressed." Amy knew, even if they didn't, that is the spirit prompting them to be better.

(Oriana Chorale)

Amy knew that the direction this concert took was absolutely the direction it should have taken. There were those that had a different idea about how it should go, but Amy, under the direction of the Stake President and her own feelings, stuck to her guns and and amazing production was shared.  

(Ballet Folklorico Mariposa)

With Amy's extensive experience in theater and performing, she is quick to admit that it was far from being perfect from a production standpoint. She was dying that risers were taking so long to put up and down and it was completely unorthodox that  there was no group rehearsal. But it came together in a spirit of community and the spirit of Christ, and therefore it was successful.

(USA Sports Glee Club)

I asked Amy how she was able to keep the right focus with so many ideas and religions? So many people that don't believe the way we believe and she told me it's because they believe in the season. They believe in Christmas. That's what made it so beautiful and so spiritual is that everyone was coming together to kick of the holiday season, to celebrate the reason for Christmas and to join in on their mutual beliefs. Because, whether they believe in the story of Jesus being born or that aspect or not, they believe in the season. They believe in the giving, they believe in the spirit, without necessarily having the knowledge of what brings that spirit."

(Heidi Henderson)

(Finale)

Hal Lawrence said it well, "This event became VERY community. A mixture of culture and faith."

(Other Help -- Both Hollister Wards provided all the refreshment for the event)