WE MOVED TO IDAHO!!!
We pulled out of Park City, Montana on Thursday, April 26th at 6pm and made it to Dillon, MT close to midnight. Then arrived in Nampa at our new house Friday, April 27th around 10pm. Grandma Carlson had flown into Montana on Wednesday (April 25th) and helped with the loading, final cleaning and driving the van. It was fantastic to have her there! She kept all of us calm and with happy dispositions and was a super hard worker! My fridge never looked so sparkly! Her week with us flew by way too fast and came to an end before either of us were ready - but we looked on the bright side and were grateful for the time that we did have together! She helped get all of our homeschooling items unpacked and put away, the entire kitchen unpacked and helped organize the garage so that we could get John's truck inside of it! We also had a blast hitting several thrift stores and checking out furniture from Craigslist! She was a serious blessing in all areas to us!! My only regret: we didn't any pictures together!!
* The first 3 weeks of April were all spent packing, packing and more packing! Remind me to not move again for a long time!
* Ben also went out weekly with the Missionaries on Splits
* Dentist appointments for all 4 kids - all were CAVITY FREE!
* Dad spent many, many hours with Mason finishing up Josephina! But she now drives and is (almost) ready to be a daily ride! She still needs new suspension and wheels/tires.
* LOTS of visits from the Tooth Fairy! I think between Nathan, Aubrie and Lexi, we've had close to 10 teeth come out this month! Seriously!
* We also celebrated the girls TENTH birthday! They're into the double digits now!
*Sold lots of things before moving - couches, kitchen table, drum set, mini trailer thing and the riding lawn mower!
* LOTS of trips to the thrift store to donate stuff... seriously, we got rid of sooooo much!!!
* Yeah, pretty much the whole month revolved around moving! haha
Seth Spotlight for the month...
* Had 4 baptisms
* Was with Elder Perez most of the moth but then when Transfers came, he got a new companion - Elder Garcia from Guatemala
* Nicaragua had some major unrest and riots this month and all Missionaries had to stay indoors for several days. Seth said he was going crazy being cooped up but they were kept safe.
* Still loving teaching the people and doing the Lord's work
* Was able to meet up with Pirul and his family at the church (he was Seth's cook for the first 4 months of his mission when he served in Managua back in October 2016)
* Also has been able to meet up with Jimmy and his family (who he baptized at the beginning of his Mission)
Spiritually Speaking...
Personal Revelation. I've been thinking on this for quite some time and also studying about it. In the scriptures, it tells us that as we search for the "mysteries of God" they will be unfolded unto us as (basically in the form of personal revelation) and as we continue to build upon that and keep moving forward with open hearts and open minds then more and more is revealed. However, the opposite is true as well - if we close off our hearts and minds and don't act upon things that have been revealed to us, then we aren't given any further "mysteries of God". I kind of had an "aha" moment in regards to this in relation with personal revelation - if we are given revelation (in the form of a thought, feeling, prompting, etc) and we ACT upon it (even if we don't know the end result but only are given enough insight for the first step), then the next step will be revealed as we move forward in faith - and if we continue acting (in faith) upon each subsequent revelation, we will eventually end up exactly where Heavenly Father wants us!
For example, when this whole job opportunity in Boise came up - we were prompted (as we prayed) that we should meet with Xylem and learn more about the opportunity. We didn't get the answer that "YES! You're moving to Boise!" at this point, but as we acted on that personal revelation and met with them, we felt that we should move on to the next step on interviewing with them (again, still hadn't gotten the answer that we were definitely supposed to move to Boise) and as we completed that step, we prayed for more mysteries to be unfolded to us and eventually we did get the answer that moving to Boise was exactly where the Lord wants us! I think back to that first impression that we were to meet and learn more - what if we didn't act on that revelation? No further revelation or mysteries would have been given because we didn't ACT upon what God had already given us. I know that it is very important to always act upon our promptings and as we do so, the Lord will keep revealing his will to us and know that he can count on us to fulfill his purposes here on earth.
**************************
Another really neat answer to prayer came during my scripture study one morning. We were getting ready to put a deposit down on the house in Nampa and (of course, true to my nature) I was having doubts to all of the good feelings I'd been having and even second guessing my answer to prayers when thinking of moving there.
Things I new:
1. The rental market was VERY competitive and we had already been beaten out of 2 other house in Boise even though we had contacted the landlords within the first hour of advertising.
2. Even though Lisa (landlord for the Nampa house) was very much against pets, she came back and was willing to let us have Lambert
3. The Nampa house was under market value (has a rental value closer to $1500 vs. the $1300 she was willing to rent to us and was the absolute highest we were willing to spend)
4. Apparently, the Lord didn't necessarily want us back in the exact area since we felt soooo good about selling our house last Fall (and it was only 2 miles from the new office)
5. Even though the Nampa house was being advertised and under market value and the rental market being HOT... it was still available a month later!
6. Lisa was willing to hold the house for us and not charge us any rent until we arrived in Idaho
7. The house was everything on our wishlist and more (except for the longer commute for John) - but for the kids and I everything (shopping, church, the Seminary building, the library, etc are all within 2 miles!)
8. We had both prayed about it and felt that is exactly where we should be! No doubt about it! I had even gotten the words, "Why do you think it's still available?" come into my mind very strongly multiple times!
But a day or two later, I started second guessing and knew I needed to send the deposit ASAP and so asked for another witness during my scripture study and true to Heavenly Father's nature, he provided one. I was reading in Helaman ch 16 and using my Book of Mormon Devotional app to better dive into it. Part of the app has a "Personal Application" section and when I clicked on it, my heart stopped because I knew it was my second witness! It read, "Do you try to explain away the marvelous things you have seen as mere coincidence?" My heart was pricked and I thought back upon ALL of the things that had to work together for us to get that house and realized that I could not explain it as a coincidence - but as divine design! Needless to say, the deposit was sent off right away!
************************
The following account is written by Ben
So, I had some Pizza Ranch on Thursday right before my therapist appointment. It was a good meal, it really was. . . well, until that night at least. It started around 11:00 pm, and my stomach was feeling really upset- and I mean REALLY upset- like so upset that I forced myself to throw up. After painting the bathroom sink with my lunch from that day, I felt somewhat better, but not quite- I could definitely tell that it wasn't because of the pizza.
Well, throwing up soon turned into severe diarrhea that was pretty disgusting and awful, and I got about MAYBE five minutes of sleep that night. Regardless, I still went to seminary, and on splits later that afternoon I told the Elders of my story and shared a couple laughs with them, but then one of them (A Tongan guy; Elder V) offered up a prayer for me because I told him how important the date I was having that night was going to be (I was going out to dinner and then to a stake dance with my girlfriend, Ashley). Well, near the end of the prayer, he says, "And if Brother Vogt is still sick by this evening, let him know it's because he might not supposed to be somewhere."
After saying Amen, we all kinda glanced at each other, and he told us that he didn't know why he said that, and how it kinda just came out; he also urged me to pray about going on my date that evening and try to receive some personal revelation about it.
Well, the rest of splits went great, and on the way home I started feeling a bit better. Upon walking in through the front door, I instantly went to go find my mother, and once I did, I recalled the events of Elder V's prayer, to which she advised we go pray about me going that evening.
So, we went upstairs and prayed, and I instantly began to feel even more sick than I had been the past 24 hours, and during the prayer I just didn't feel right about it, but I eagerly awaited my mom's answer to the prayer she offered up. She walks in and, long story short, said she got the answer that I shouldn't go, and as she told me this, I felt even sicker, and my face started to feel feverish. She came and felt my cheeks and forehead, and exclaimed that I had a fever, and that I needed to rest.
Well, me being me, I asked her to pray about it again, and she did (She's a great mother) but received the same answer. So, I hesitantly called my girlfriend and told her the bad news, which resulted in a lot of crying on her part and me feeling awful inside and out.
Well, afterward, I told myself I was going to take a nap, and that's when I got the chills that came along with the fever, and I'm not gonna lie, I cried like a five year old who didn't get the last lollipop (the stomach pain and chills combined with the fact that I crushed Ashley's dreams all contributed to my manly tears of manliness). I fell asleep with about eight blankets on, and when I woke up, I asked my mom to ask my dad for a blessing (forgot to add that I had been asking for one since I got the chills, but my dad was at work still). She said that he would do it, and then I fell back to sleep while praying that the blessing would work.
See, I had some serious faith here. I mean, if that guy, Zeezrom, who tried to trick Alma and Amulek could be healed instantly, why couldn't I? I mean, the Priesthood is on this Earth for a reason, and healing the sick and afflicted is a big part of it's purpose.
Anyway, my dad came in with oil and no companion (it was late at night, and he didn't want to bother anyone). He told me to sit up, and I did in a dizzy manner which left my head swimming in sick. Anyway, he put the oil upon my head, blessed it, then gave me the blessing where he commanded the sickness out of me and told me to rise from my bed of affliction! He also ordered me to get a great night's sleep, and how I wouldn't show any symptoms in the morning
We were all amazed after he finished, and I remember instantly feeling a bit better. My parents exchanged looks in awe, and we all were overcame with the Spirit. My dad told me how he has never done that before (commanded an illness to leave and to rise from my bed of affliction), and my mom said she hadn't seen him do it before either. After all this, they switched off my lights and told me to get some good rest, which I did immediately.
Well, morning came, and the blessing came true; I showed no symptoms and felt absolutely refreshed and healthy. I went on with the day: had Ashley over for the day, went on errands with both parents, and was active the entire time. Even as I write this five days later, I still haven't showed any symptoms and I feel amazing.
I bare my testimony that the Priesthood is the most powerful thing on this Earth and truly is the power to act in God's name. With your faith, anything can be accomplished with it as long as it is His will, and I leave that with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
- Ben (16)
************************************************
So many Tender Mercies have been bestowed upon us this past month! Seriously, so very many!! Things that some may not see as the hand of the Lord, we give complete and total credit to Him! Some examples:
* Mom being able to fly out last minute to help us load, clean and move to Idaho! I seriously don't know how I would have gotten everything done without her! She made this stressful time be fun and kept things in perspective for us. Before she left, we were able to get the main floor all unpacked (and mostly put away!) plus did shopping for some CUTE DECOR and got our pantry stocked!! oh, and don't forget getting new summer clothes for the kids too! Wowie!!
* All vehicles making it perfectly to Idaho
* No issues with the UHauls or trailers!
* The Laurel Ward all coming together on Wednesday night (including the YM and YW) and by the time they left, the house was all packed up and most of the cleaning and yard work was done! wow! it was certainly a whirlwind of people for about 2 hours and then... silence! haha
* the 25 people from the new Nampa 11th Ward that showed up bright and early on a Saturday morning to help us unload! We even got our entire kitchen unpacked before the last one left!
* Being welcomed so warmly into our new ward... Mom was already invited to her first "Girl's Night" and Ben had his first game night with boys from the Ward!
* Finding such an incredible and beautiful home to move into - all while being under budget to put more towards debt!
* No major injuries occurred from all of the heavy lifting and moving! Granted we have sore backs and muscles but nothing that "put us out!"
* Seth being kept safe during all of the disturbances over in Managua
No comments:
Post a Comment