Magpad

Magpad

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Good Advice When Making Decisions

"When we make decisions, God expects us to pray and trust and then not panic or 'jump ship' when something doesn't seem to be going right."

Watch this inspiring video that highlights a personal story by Elder Jeffrey R Holland.
You can also see the video by clicking here

Monday, January 20, 2014

Life/Death: Answers

When a loved one has died, have you wondered if you would ever see them again?

I asked a friend, whose father passed away this past year, if he believed if he would see his father again.  He paused, thought for a long moment, and then said, "We'll see if it happens."


You can also view the video by clicking here

I told him I knew I would see my father again.  My father died 6 years ago.  The above short video explains what I know about the subject of life and death.  

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Colby Fire!

On Thursday morning a fire broke out in the hills above Glendora.
 Notice the Los Angeles temple in the bottom of the picture.
This picture is from the LA Times

At 6:15 am Thursday morning on the way to seminary, we noticed a plume of smoke rising up from the mountains to the east of us.  
 
This picture was taken by the Glendora Police Dept. 

We are very fortunate and blessed to have the resourses to battle this blaze. 750 firefighter personnel are fighting the fire, with 100 trucks, two air tankers and eight helicopters.
 
This is a picture of a super scooper plane obtaining water from nearby Santa Fe Dam. 
This picture was taken by Margaret Finlay.

The helicopters get their water from nearby reservoirs . 
I got this picture from 10news.com

750  firefighter personal were deployed to fight this fire. 
This picture is from scpr.org

*Three men were being held in jail on suspicion of recklessly starting the Colby Fire in lieu of $20,000 bail each by the Glendora Police Department, Chief Tim Staab said at a Thursday morning news conference.

Staab said police believe the three set a campfire and were tossing papers into the fire when a breeze kicked up and ignited the larger blaze in the foothills. Staab said he was told by detectives that "One [suspect] had made an admission to our detectives and admitted to starting this fire." That suspect was apologetic, Staab said.

The men came to police attention after a resident reported two people walking suspiciously away from the fire Thursday morning, Staab said. The two were detained. A third person was given a ride down by the U.S. Forest Service and was later detained.

The suspects are being cooperative, Staab said. Staab added that the area isn't a camping area, but that people do camp in the area.

*I got most of my information for this post from this website.  Thankyou scpr.org/news  Southern California Public Radio

This is an email update I received about the Colby Fire from the City of Duarte:

January 20, 2014

Dear Nextdoor Neighbor;

The Colby Fire is 78% contained with more than 3 square miles burned. In all, five homes were destroyed, three persons were injured and 17 structures were damaged. Full containment is expected sometime on Wednesday of this week. The City of Duarte deactivated its Emergency Operation Center last Thursday at 11:30 p.m. but have continued to monitor the incident. There remains no significant threats to the cities of Duarte or Bradbury.

The last wave of evacuees in the Azusa neighborhood of Mountain Cove, were allowed to return home Saturday evening. At the peak, the fire caused approximately 3700 evacuations throughout Glendora and Azusa. The fire started early Thursday morning in the Angeles National Forest when Santa Ana winds hit a campfire that was set by three men. The three suspects, 23-year-old Jonathan Jarrell of Irwindale, 22-year-old Clifford Henry Jr. of Glendora and 21-year-old transient Steven Aguirre, were booked on suspicion of recklessly starting a fire the same day and are being held in lieu of $500,000 bail.

For more up to date information about the fire use Twitter: #ColbyFire No twitter/ No problem: Visit http://fire.lacounty.gov/

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Dutch Heritage

I found this video is on our Church's website. It is called, That We Might Be One: The Story of the Dutch Potato Project.  It is a very interesting story of service and forgiveness.
You can also see the video by clicking here.
Click here to see a Church News article on the subject of The Dutch Potato project.   

I am proud of my Dutch heritage and the  efforts of the Dutch Saints after World War II.  I remember my hearing my Great Aunt Teuntje's stories about living in Holland during and after the war.
 
This is the Hendrik and Wilhelmina Meijer family when they lived in Holland
My (Kathleen's) great grandmother, *Gerritjo Meijer, is sitting on the front row on the far left side.

The rest of the family are as follows:
    From left to right on the back row:
    Hendrik,  Derik Jan, Wilhelmina (Everts) holding her child, and Hendrik Everts  

    From left to right on the front row:
    Gerritjo, Henrick and Wilhelmina Meijer, Berendina, and Dirkje (Dora)

This is the family of Gerardus (George) and *Gerritjo (Guirtie) Meijer Bernards 
This picture was taken when they lived in the United States. 
My great grandmother and grandmother are on the back row
    From left to right front row:  Bessie Knapp Bernards (John's wife), Le Grand, John, and Anita

    Back row from left to right George (father), Guirtie (mother), Minnie (Kathleen's grandmother)

If you want to find out about your family tree, 
a great free website is at: familysearch.org.  

Christmas Game

We did this activity the last day of seminary before Christmas break.
Click on the picture to enlarge
Instructions:

Print up the above picture.  Cut into fouths.  Pass out.  Invite people to volunteer to answer a question.  It's best not to force people to comment.  As people share their thoughts,  others will volunteer their Christmas experiences. 
  • Share a Christmas memory.
  • Share a favorite Christmas gift
  • Share your testimony of Jesus Christ
  • What is the best gift your ever gave?
  • Tell about one of your Christmas traditions
  • Who is your favorite person in the nativity scene? 
Here is the game in Spanish
Here is an expanded version of the game:
      1. Share a Christmas memory.
      2. Share a favorite Christmas gift.
      3. What is the best gift you ever gave?
      4. What is your favorite Christmas carol?
      5. Tell about one of your Christmas traditions.
      6. Who is your favorite person in the Nativity scene? Why?
      7. What is your favorite Christmas food?
      8. What’s a Christmas experience you had while away from home?
      9. What’s your favorite Christmas movie?
     10. Tell about a Black Friday shopping experience.
     11. What has brought you “peace on earth”?
     12. Share your testimony of Jesus Christ.
     13. What are you looking forward to doing the week after Christmas?
     14. Describe your favorite holiday scene.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

For Unto Us a Child is Born....

You can read the script in Luke 2

The cast....

Mary took her part very seriously
 
Mary and Joseph

Mary with the shepherds


Our awesome shepherd

Our shepherd with a couple of his sheep

Another awesome shepherd and Joseph

Three wisemen from afar

O, come let us adore Him...

...Christ, the Lord