Note 37 from My Daughter’s Chinese-speaking Mission in Vancouver: 春雨贵如油” (chūn yǔ guì rú yóu): “Spring rain is as precious as oil.”

My Dad sent me and my missionary companion this tray of DELICIOUS Ferrero Roche chocolates!

And a gorgeous bouquet of flowers that some of the amazing ladies’ we’re teaching will adore. ❤️

We weren’t able to make it to the mission office where these thoughtful gifts were waiting for me, for a couple weeks but — no worries! Can’t believe he was able to get them delivered here so they actually arrived on Valentine’s Day! ❤️ Amazon let’s people buy stuff and send it as a gift — so he writes these cute little poems that always make me laugh or smile. I’ll share one next time. They’re really cute and funny!

At Christmas (and before) he’ sent me a bunch of gifts also. I wasn’t sure what to do with them — since our Chinese friends we teach and serve with don’t really eat candy or chocolates — but companions, my district (the 6–8 missionaries serving in areas right around the area I’m in), and my zones (14–30 missionaries serving in a few districts around my district) have all LOVED them! Also pro-tip: when you order stuff on Amazon.ca it often defaults to sending two or three of the items, I guess to get the postal service to deliver the packages without delaying? This has led to me receiving quite a lot of chocolates and other gifts. SO glad I got these so I can share them with people we’re teaching and serving with. ❤️

Reminds me of when he’d buy pencil-tines, my elementary school’s version of Valentine’s you could buy for friends or people you had a crush on) ❤️ :) , and I never really understood why he’d also buy the same thing for me and my siblings — in every grade of elementary school, middle school, and high school but I think — now that I’m in another country, away from home and family, I get it.

He misses me and loves me so he sends this gifts to try and show that he cares — which is kind of harder to do since missionaries don’t talk to their parents except once a week and when he served a mission (less than four months after breaking his back and having three vertebrae fused), missionaries only called home on Christmas and Mother’s Day — for two years — and other than that it was letters in the mail. My mom on her mission in Argentina had the same mission rules. Yikes!

I remember when he taught an early morning (6am — 7am) scriptures class for the youth, so he could spend more time with me and my younger brother. At the same time, every Thursday evening and every Saturday at 7am he’d play basketball with the youth. This must have been difficult — both when he was working two full time jobs and due to the three fused vertebrae he has due to a back injury when he was 19.

“Love is not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I am with you. And when I am willing to sacrifice for you, it’s because I want to be with you more.” — Unknown

“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope. And when it is sacrificed, it is strengthened, and when it is wounded, it is made more resilient.” — Maya Angelou

“The sacrifices we make for those we love are not sacrifices at all. They are simply a different way of loving.” — Unknown

Anyway, my dad sent all these gifts AFTER I asked him and my mom to send me a few shirts — which arrived in less than a week and are GORGEOUS!!

I asked my Dad to send me custom-made missionary name tags that he had to custom order on Etsy — so one missionary tag has my name and the Church’s name in English and Mandarin!!! Another tag has my name and the Church’s name in Spanish and Mandarin — which is SO COOL!! Usually only the missionaries in Hong Kong get to wear the name tags that have two languages on them but — since my Dad went to the trouble and took the time and spent the money these custom tags cost, then shipped them to me up in Canada (Crazy expensive postal service) I’ll be able to teach people in the three languages that I speak! Pretty sweet, eh?

A man walked up to us in the mall on our preparation day (the day we do our laundry, clean our car, clean our apartment, go on a hike, etc. before returning to missionary work at 5:30pm), asked us where our church was and handed us both a rose — unexpected but very kind of him.

Since I have Irish ancestors that reach back to at least 1300 AD and since AMAZINGLY my Dad was able to find research on St Patrick’s wife, Saint Sheelah Tigridia Darerca Dohar Sighile Sheila Shelagh Síle (+10 sources listed on FamilySearch) — AND since he used Amazon to make a custom postcard with St. Sheelah’s info, I was able to serve as proxy for her initiatory and endowment ordinances here at the Temple in Vancouver! (Please note: proxy Temple work doesn’t force people who have died to be members of the Church. It simply gives them the option of having an eternal marriage and being sealed to their spouse, children’s, parents, and siblings for time and all eternity. Please also note the footnote at the end of this blog that speaks to how the Catholic Church that my grandma was born and raised in, didn’t officially announce the clerical celibacy policy until well after St. Patrick’s life.)

Back home my little sister made a race car in her science class, out of popsicle sticks and scotch tape. Her science teacher invited parents to see the cars propelled forward by large rubber bands. My dad took time off work — even though things are kind of dicey and a lot of things are up in the air at the federal policy shop he’s serving in — and saw PINK THUNDER (the name of my little sister’s car) crush all the competitors — by covering 55 feet and 3 inches! SO PROUD of my lil’ sis!

My little brother whose at least 6 inches taller than me made the cut for the cross country team! SO PROUD of him! His team literally runs miles every day, 6 days a week, for at least 9 months per year — THAT is commitment! I remember before my mission farewell, my family and I went to my little brother’s last meet of the year — and he ran 1-mile in 5 minutes and 11 seconds!!!

My youngest brother’s Science Olympiad team made it to states AND even though he’s a freshman, he’s on the A-team (usually reserved for seniors and juniors)!! I don’t know how my brothers do all this stuff after school in addition to homework and early morning Seminary. LOVE them so much! Couple weeks before that my mom made an INCREDIBLE dinosaur egg birthday cake for him:

My mom was asked to speak about the mission of the Primary organization in our church — which was GREAT! I posted her talk beneath the first footnote!

Love you all!

—

(A lot of this is from Meta.AI so caveat reader :) )

St. Patrick’s Marriage to Sheelah occurred prior to the Catholic Church’s policy of clerical celibacy.

In the early Christian Church, many leaders, including apostles and bishops, were married. The emphasis on celibacy emerged in the 4th and 5th centuries, particularly with the writings of St. Augustine and the Council of Nicaea (325 AD). The Catholic Church’s official policy on clerical celibacy, as we know it today, wasn’t solidified until the 11th century. The Second Lateran Council (1139 AD) and the First Lateran Council (1123 AD) played significant roles in establishing clerical celibacy as a norm.

Here are some sources:

1. Early Christian Church leaders being married:

• “The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus” (circa 215 AD) mentions bishops being married. (Source: “The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus” translated by Burton Scott Easton)

• “The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints” by Alban Butler (1756) notes that many early Church leaders were married.

2. Emphasis on celibacy emerging in the 4th and 5th centuries:

• St. Augustine’s writings in “The City of God” (circa 413–426 AD) and “On the Good of Marriage” (circa 401 AD) discuss the value of celibacy.

• The Council of Nicae

The Catholic Church’s teaching on clerical celibacy’s history:

1. Early Christianity: In the early Christian Church, priests and bishops were allowed to marry and have families. In fact, many of the apostles, including Peter, were married (Matthew 8:14–15, 1 Corinthians 9:5).

2. Council of Nicaea (325 CE): The Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical council, did not address clerical celibacy.

3. Council of Elvira (306 CE): The Council of Elvira, a local council in Spain, prohibited bishops, priests, and deacons from having conjugal relations with their wives.

4. St. Augustine (354–430 CE): Augustine, a influential Church Father, advocated for clerical celibacy in his writings.

5. Pope Siricius (384–399 CE): Pope Siricius issued a decree, “Epistola Directa,” which mandated celibacy for bishops and priests.

6. Council of Carthage (419 CE): The Council of Carthage, a local council in North Africa, reaffirmed the requirement of clerical celibacy.

7. Pope Gregory VII (1073–1085 CE): Gregory VII enforced clerical celibacy as part of his reform efforts.

8. Second Lateran Council (1139 CE): This ecumenical council formally prohibited clerical marriage and concubinage.

9. Council of Trent (1545–1563 CE): The Council of Trent reaffirmed the requirement of clerical celibacy in response to the Protestant Reformation.

Some recommended sources for further reading:

• “A History of Celibacy” by Elizabeth Abbott

• “The Celibacy of the Clergy” by Henry Charles Lea

• “Clerical Celibacy in the West: c. 1100–1700” by James A. Corbett

• “The Oxford Handbook of Clerical Celibacy” edited by William E. Phipps

Keep in mind that the development of clerical celibacy was a gradual process, and these sources provide a more detailed understanding of the historical context.

FOOTNOTE 2: MY MOM’S TALK:

From <https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/6?lang=eng#p32>

I receive these weekly emails on how to prepare your missionaries for the emotional and mental health of sharing the gospel. One email this week really struck me…….

“I spent a large part of my life Believing that I should be like everyone else. I should Think like them, Feel like them, Have the same goals as them, Reach those goals in the same exact way, And also have the same strengths or gifts that they do. It might sound something like this to you: I wish I was more outgoing like (blank). I wish I was more confident like (blank). I wish I was more easy going like (blank). However, over the last 5 years or so, I’ve learned something really important. When we are trying to imitate someone else’s magic, There isn’t much magic. Which makes sense, right? They have their magic, But, I also have mine. I’m constantly inspired and amazed that our Heavenly Parents Gave each of us our OWN kind of magic. These gifts shine when WE use them. There are no better gifts. There are not better ways to shine. There’s just YOUR way. So stop trying to be a copy of someone else, And start sharing the light and talents that are YOURS. Remember, you literally have our Heavenly Parent’s DNA. So, sharing more of who They sent YOU to be, Is the best way to spread Their magic, light and love”

I totally relate to this because I am an introvert and have a fight with myself every time I go ministering to actually do it. This may seem like an excuse, a reason to not fulfill callings but I really think it is a challenge to find your own way to do these things like for me baking sugar free treats and talking about kids are ways that Heavenly Father has helped me to fight my own personal anxiety. I think we each have tasks to do to serve the Lord. Heavenly Father did so much to help my shy, inner voice to serve him. He helped me practice as a ward missionary for a year before I went on a mission, helped my trainer to challenge me and helped my faith to be enough to do the hard things. This shy inner voice is still there and I constantly have to fight it except with kids.

Home-Centered Gospel Learning

I want to share some to those lesson today that relate to teaching our primary and to pushing ourselves. Our home be it one person or many is the first and primary place of learning. Because the vast majority of callings in a ward are in the Primary it is safe to say most of us will be, have been or are currently in the Primary. But don’t stop listening because I am talking about the primary. We can relate these lessons to ourselves as well.

I have been pondering self directed learning as I teach my 4th graders and my own kids. Some of my students have recently taken more control of their learning and my youngest has also started taking control of her homework so I don’t need to remind her or push her. One of the things I think has helped most is that they have routines and consequences that were not fully enforced due to lack of communication between the school and home. We spoke with every parent so they knew what we expected and knew what was happening in school. This made a huge difference. Likewise I set up an easy consistent way for the school to tell me if homework was turned in so we could be consistent in consequences when the work was not done. Being on the same page makes a big difference to empower kids and I feel that empowering them has been a huge theme in primary training meetings this year. It is also part of the home centered and church supported direction because without that communication, these two place become less effective. Together we are stronger and better able to connect life lessons to Sunday school lessons.

Our we empowering ourselves to be positive influence on others by the way we set up our day at home. Are we a positive influence on ourselves? As I share with you the messages from some primary training meetings think of how we can use them to empower our kids and ourselves to be Saints and followers of Christ.

NANE

Last February I attended the NANE conference where Bishops, primary presidents and primary music leaders were invited to hear from an area Seventy, Elder Haney, Sister Browning of the general primary board and Brother and Sister Renlund.

Elder Haney gave us three challenges in primary and at home while they are in primary

1 We need them to come to know Jesus

2 Be covenant children, to know the temple and do family history can help.

3 To have made a decision about a mission in primary.

We as the Stake Primary Presidency have had a mission primary activity and a family history activity primary activity this years activity in April is a wax museum of the pioneers of the church and their testimony of the Savior.

We all need to be involved in the work of exaltation and salvation.

• One challenge- We need to consistently share our testimony
• how the Savior blesses our lives,
• we need to share our mission stories
• family history stories or find opportunities to have others share their mission stories and family history stories to us and our kids- they inspire and empower.
• We would like to be sensitive to those that did not serve a full time mission but we cannot be at the expense of bearing testimony of the power of this service.
• If you do not have kids at home please share your mission stories with the ward children and youth.
• Like wise family history is a mission that we can do at any time and needs to be highlighted as rewarding, spiritually uplifting and just as important to the salvation of all on the earth.

Sister Browning of the Primary General Presidency then spoke.

She wanted us to see primary as a sensory experience where our senses are utilized.

She asked, “What do children hear these when they enter the primary”- and I am going to add does someone entering our home. I do not mean always, life is hard, but as a goal in and ideal world

1. Reverent music
2. Someone saying their name lovingly
3. Picture of Jesus
4. Warm and loving smiles
5. Feel the love of the Savior through their teachers/parents
6. Know how to hear the voice of Spirit.
7. Making our home and primary a spiritual sensory experience.

• And so the Second challenge is In our home is scripture study and FHE a positive sensory experience? At the beginning of Covid my two youngest were 5 years apart and I really struggled to make church positive for both and failed many times but eventually I found a balance that kept both interested. It involved hopping around on scriptures, finding music that really touched us and singing it over and over, figuring out what each of my kids really enjoyed as I taught them and making that part of each Sunday lesson.
• Is scripture study not bringing you joy? Even when we are studying alone- do we make it a positive rewarding sensory experience- discovering new music, listening to inspiration whatever makes it more joyful for you and still welcomes the Spirit. Do we pay better attention standing and walking around or ducking away to a closet? Is it a priority to spend time protecting, and growing our relationship with the Eternal.

Sister Renlund shared

Is it enough to know what to do, I think not- we should do it.

Hear See Feel Know must lead to doing.

Once again attention to our sensory experience

She added “I obey because I love Him.” Can we articulate why we do the things we do in service to the Lord? She continued “Our children need to know why we desire to be disciples of Jesus Christ. It is part of the recipe for a strong testimony.” The knowing makes the doing meaningful. We need to know so we are not a church of performances but we know why, we understand why, we are motivated by why. I obey because I love Him. We can articulate why we do the things we do. Our children will know why we desire to be disciples of Jesus Christ. It is the recipe for a strong testimony.

• Faith is action- invite then faith has to be backed up with action.
• I tell my daughter I am saying my bedtime prayers and she immediately says hers as well. I kind of stumbled on this because she wants to keep talking and I have to tell her to stop so I can say my prayer so I would just have to say that she has to stop so I can pray. She loves to say her prayer then too. This is her showing faith not me telling her what she needs to do. That is empowering her to show faith.
• I don’t tell my kids to fast I say it is fast Sunday and I am fasting.

Brother Renlund

How we can build fortifications around our children?

He asked Are we giving them spiritual Twinkies or real nutrition? Do they have spiritual scurvy?

How about ourselves? Are we spiritually malnourished?

5 smooth stones for optimal spiritual nutrition

They need five smooth stones these are notes so I do not have every word but the bare notes.

1. Relationships- your job is to love, the Savior’s job is to heal.
2. Bear your testimony and develop own testimony of divine nature and eternal path
3. Developing your Testimony of Heavenly Father And Jesus Christ
4. Learn how to pray listen to Spirit
5. Testimony of the restoration

Primary is one place we help smooth these smooth stones

• Are we getting real spiritual nutrition from our scripture study? A few years ago, dissatisfied with my own scripture study I made a goal one year to find a spiritual experience each day making it a treasure hunt to find the nourishment our spirit needs before I went to bed. It helped me to be more consistent that year.
• Recently we said goodbye to some lovely friends in the Chinese Branch while there one sister in relief society shared her experience with a prayer journal. She has done it for decades and at first it said very little but after so much time she has been able to write so much inspiration in it that she receives after she prays.
• I keep a list of inspiration in my phone as I attend meetings and keep notes. Think about how you record inspiration and have it where you can read it when you need it.
• What smooth stone do you need to develop and how you can help the little ones around you to develop them?

Primary Board new Stake Primary Presidency’s training

In November I attended a training for stake primary presidencies to be trained by the general primary board

We were invited to

• Make sure the kids serve and feel they are needed so that know that this is there church, not their parents church
• We were invited to make sure we treat primary children like we are taught to treat a new converts- with a friend, an assignment and spiritual nourishment- This struck me as a parent- and a member of the Rockville ward- Do we care for our primary kids as we care for converts?
• Another invitation is for baptized children to have opportunities to develop the talents and experiences that will prepare them to serve in the church especially speaking in Sacrament.
• What talents do they have? How can these be developed to serve the Lord? I am reminded of an elder in the MTC who drew a funny, spiritual or memorable quote drawing that I can still picture 25 years later. Each member of our ward can contribute something unique and helpful to the strength or our ward and stake.
• We also can continue to develop our abilities and weaknesses so fear does not hold us back. Think about theses options
• What fears or anxieties do our children have that we can help them develop into faith. One example is that lots of kids are afraid to talk. We can start small in our own home, then primary and when they are ready after they are baptized in Sacrament. Everyone’s voice in the church is needed whether in class, speaking or teaching this is somewhere we all contribute. Some of my kids have had fears and the method to overcome those fears that worked was watching others, watching someone you trust and then baby steps and goals until those fears, which may never disappear, do not hold us back.
• Planning activities is another major part of serving in our ward, it can start out for little children at FHE planning activities just for our family, move on to activity days, when we did not have activity leaders, last year I think, the kids were so excited to have a turn to plan their own activity. With some parental scaffolding and lots of great ideas these activities were great and the kids took so much pride in the results. The scaffolding is important to help support success. This involves helping them see what it looks like, outline, and guide and let them create something we might not expect. We can create outlines for testimony, planning a spiritual meeting, analyzing how we would change an activity or talking about how and why talks touched us, interested us or help us change our thought process. Not with criticism but with curiosity and a willingness to learn.

Primary Purpose

Primary is a partner with parents. The first step to accomplishing anything in the primary is in the home. Even the purposes of primary makes this clear.

The purposes of Primary are to help children:

• Feel their Heavenly Father’s love and learn about His plan of happiness.
• Learn about Jesus Christ and His role in Heavenly Father’s plan.
• Learn and live the gospel.
• Feel, recognize, and act on the influence of the Holy Ghost.
• Prepare for, make, and keep sacred covenants.
• Participate in the work of salvation and exaltation.

At the end of this list in the church leadership manual it say-

Parents have the first responsibility for the spiritual and physical welfare of their children (see Doctrine and Covenants 68:25–28). The bishopric, Primary leaders, and Primary teachers support but do not replace parents in this responsibility.

From <https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/callings/primary-organization/work-and-purpose?lang=eng>

We can do:

1-share our stories of faith

2-try to make scripture study a joyful sensory experience

3-Empower faith by example and invitation

4-Build testimony and connection to the Spirit by relating it, listening for it and writing it down.

5-Enable, through scaffolding, personal development and faith over fear