"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matt. 25:40
I received a fun surprise in my inbox today, a link to Project Pirca: Un Obra de Amor.
This humanitarian project is the brainchild…or should I say the heartchild…of the Elmer family in Texas. The Elmers felt the desire to help others and have been assisting in the remote Peruvian village of Pirca for several years.
Pirca is the oldest known Andean village and has been inhabited since the time of the Incas. The people have very few worldly comforts but they are generous, happy and giving.
I served my mission to Peru from 1983-1984. In 2008 I was blessed to accompany my brother's family and the Elmers to Pirca. The mountain weather was brisk, the air at that altitude was thin, but the experience was unforgettable. How I would love to go back. Peru truly is my second home.
Viewing the beautiful photos on this blog site warmed my heart. How I loved seeing those familiar faces again, and what they are accomplishing together as a village. The people are hard-working and only need a little help to accomplish great things.
If you are interested in helping the Elmers expand their service to the wonderful people of Andean Peru, please contact them through their Web site. It doesn't take much money to donate a pound of flour or a warm blanket.
I hope you enjoy this visit to Pirca. Project Pirca
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Showing posts with label serving others. Show all posts
Showing posts with label serving others. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Love and laughter are the music of home
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I have often said that the sweetest sound I hear is the sound of my children laughing together and enjoying each other. How grateful I am that we hear that sound often in our home.
However, when they do argue or spit out insulting words at one another, a spirit changes inside of the home and something inside of me grows grey and aches. It is a sorrow I cannot explain but it is a feeling I know Heavenly Father understands, personally.
In Moses 7 Enoch beheld the heavens and the earth. He saw generation upon generation and he beheld Satan and his angels rejoicing at the darkness upon the earth.
Then he was blessed to see righteous “angels descending out of heaven, bearing testimony of the Father and Son; and the Holy Ghost fell upon many, and they were caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion.”
Then, after this marvelous sight Enoch records “that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people and he wept.
“And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity? And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations.”
Then Enoch points out the wonderful things the Lord has done: He is always there for us, He has taken Zion to his own bosom and “naught but peace, justice and truth is the habitation of thy throne…how is it thou canst weep?”
Then God, the ever-loving and involved Father replies, “these thy brethren, they are the workmanship of mine own hands and I gave unto them their knowledge…(and) agency…And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another and that they should choose me, their Father…but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood.”
He saw His children hating each other, bickering, arguing, not getting along...and worse.
And because they could not get along, He saw someting more--“misery shall be their doom...wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?”
He did not want them to suffer because they could not love each other and get along. He felt concern for their future.
Then, when Enoch saw that the Lord’s plan, when he understood the depth of love--and of the sorrow--the Lord felt, and comprehended the sacrifice He and his Only Begotten were willing to make so His children would better understand love, “Enoch knew..and wept, and his heart swelled wide as eternity; and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook.”
God doesn’t just want us to learn to share the toys. He wants us to learn to share the world and He weeps when we cannot do so simple a thing as love one another. He weeps because He knows if we can't share and love each other here, we won't be able to there.
Why? Because we won't make into Heaven. "that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world." (Alma 34:34)
Heaven is for families who love each other and for people who love all mankind.
How I love to hear the music of good, righteous laughter; of loving families enjoying each other; of strangers loving and helping strangers. It lifts home--and the entire world--a little closer to Heaven.
.
I have often said that the sweetest sound I hear is the sound of my children laughing together and enjoying each other. How grateful I am that we hear that sound often in our home.
However, when they do argue or spit out insulting words at one another, a spirit changes inside of the home and something inside of me grows grey and aches. It is a sorrow I cannot explain but it is a feeling I know Heavenly Father understands, personally.
In Moses 7 Enoch beheld the heavens and the earth. He saw generation upon generation and he beheld Satan and his angels rejoicing at the darkness upon the earth.
Then he was blessed to see righteous “angels descending out of heaven, bearing testimony of the Father and Son; and the Holy Ghost fell upon many, and they were caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion.”
Then, after this marvelous sight Enoch records “that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people and he wept.
“And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity? And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations.”
Then Enoch points out the wonderful things the Lord has done: He is always there for us, He has taken Zion to his own bosom and “naught but peace, justice and truth is the habitation of thy throne…how is it thou canst weep?”
Then God, the ever-loving and involved Father replies, “these thy brethren, they are the workmanship of mine own hands and I gave unto them their knowledge…(and) agency…And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another and that they should choose me, their Father…but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood.”
He saw His children hating each other, bickering, arguing, not getting along...and worse.
And because they could not get along, He saw someting more--“misery shall be their doom...wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?”
He did not want them to suffer because they could not love each other and get along. He felt concern for their future.
Then, when Enoch saw that the Lord’s plan, when he understood the depth of love--and of the sorrow--the Lord felt, and comprehended the sacrifice He and his Only Begotten were willing to make so His children would better understand love, “Enoch knew..and wept, and his heart swelled wide as eternity; and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook.”
God doesn’t just want us to learn to share the toys. He wants us to learn to share the world and He weeps when we cannot do so simple a thing as love one another. He weeps because He knows if we can't share and love each other here, we won't be able to there.
Why? Because we won't make into Heaven. "that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world." (Alma 34:34)
Heaven is for families who love each other and for people who love all mankind.
How I love to hear the music of good, righteous laughter; of loving families enjoying each other; of strangers loving and helping strangers. It lifts home--and the entire world--a little closer to Heaven.
.
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