Norm's Office In Its Raw State!

Our Kitchen Table   Doesn't It Look Lovely?  Dinner Anyone?  Come And Eat!

Our Living Room In Its Beginning Stages

Serving Others Is a Good Thing

Recently I was thinking about a former co-worker.  John was a good man of a faith different than mine.  John and his wife Imelda (Mel) were very active in their faith and thrived on helping others in need.

On one occasion John told me about a woman with several young children who lived in an apartment with no furniture.  They had no beds, no table or chairs, no couches. They had nothing!  The entire family was sleeping on the floor and eating while sitting on the floor.  John told me he knew that our church has resources available that might provide furniture for this lady and her family.  He asked if I would speak to my bishop (a title equivalent to pastor or priest in other religions) and ask if he would make available furniture for this family. I asked my bishop and he said he would help her.  I gave him John’s phone number.  My bishop set up an order from our local Deseret Industries store and furniture was made available to this family.

I know that service has been a way of life for John and Mel.

Every year John and Mel helped provide and serve Thanksgiving meals at their church to feed the poor and needy.

The last time my wife and I saw John was in December of 2006.  My wife and I had recently retired and we were in the process of moving to Utah. We visited John in the hospital, where he was dying of pancreatic cancer.  Mel was there with him. We had a wonderful visit with John and Mel.

In our conversation with them, Mel told us that she felt badly about her latest experience in providing turkeys for the Thanksgiving meals at their church.  John was in the hospital and Mel had gone home to prepare and bake four turkeys.  When she arrived home, she found that the water heater had burst and had flooded the kitchen.  She told us that because of the flooded kitchen she was only able to bake two turkeys instead of the four turkeys she had planned originally.

John and Mel were the kind of people who were always looking out for others – and helping them.  They are a great example to me for showing the love of Jesus Christ to others.

The Savior taught that we should feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked and visit the sick.  “Verily, verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me”. Matthew 25:40

That is precisely what John and Mel did.  May God bless them for the love in their hearts, for their willingness to take the time and to make the effort to help others.

Hopefully, each of us will look for opportunities to serve others, to be loving enough and bold enough to DO WHAT IS NEEDED to help.

Elder Norm Masters, Full-Time Missionary

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

BibleVideos.org

The Upper Country News-Reporter     Cambridge, Idaho     July 14, 2014

Celebrate and Commemorate Our Independence and Freedoms

On Friday of this week most of us will be celebrating the Fourth of July with the usual BBQs, swimming, sand-lot baseball, and fireworks.  Indeed, it is a time to celebrate – and to commemorate.  Friday is much more than a day off, and fun and games.  We commemorate those brave patriots who fought and died to break away from the tyranny they experienced from England.

On April 19, 1775 the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired at Lexington and Concord, in the Province of Massachusetts Bay.  After eight long years, the war ended on September 3, 1783 when the Treaty of Paris and the Treaties of Versailles were signed.

During the next eight years our Constitution was crafted and ratified, including the Bill of Rights.  This is truly a God-inspired document.

Since then we have been engaged in a Civil War, two World Wars and other conflicts – and our country and Constitution have survived.  Our country has been maintained and strengthened by the sacrifices of valiant men and women since the opening shots in Lexington and Concord 229 years ago.

Along with the BBQs and other activities, please take time to discuss with your families the stories behind our celebration of Independence Day.  Pray to Heavenly Father that we may be wise enough, strong enough, virtuous enough and courageous enough to pass along the freedoms we have been given, and fought to uphold, to our precious children and grandchildren.

By all means, CELEBRATE AND COMMEMORATE OUR INDEPENDENCE DAY!!

Elder Norm Masters, Full-Time Missionary

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

The Upper Country News-Reporter     Cambridge, Idaho     July 1, 2014

A Summer Garden

Sister Christine Masters, Missionary, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Many of us look forward to the warm days of summer so we can plant a summer garden! 

With eagerness and anticipation, we visualize a thriving, weed free, delicious, mouth watering, and abundant crop.

Soon we come to realize there are things that might ruin our efforts, such as weeds and pests.  In whom or where can we receive advice?  Fortunately, there are those who are willing to share their methods of success!

In a similar way, faith in our lives is like planting a summer garden.  We want our lives to have direction, to be happy, to be free from negative choices, to have a good ending after all our efforts.  A loving Heavenly Father, on whom we place our faith, can guide us along. Like the experienced gardener, He is willing to share how to safely navigate this life with faith in Him. He will show us, through humble prayer and diligent reading of the scriptures, the way to an abundant and happy life.

Occasionally, we might ask ourselves some questions.  “In whom  or where do I place my faith ?  Do I overly rely on my own abilities and strengths?  Am I placing too much faith in my possessions?  Am I placing my faith in my Father in Heaven who has blessed me with my capabilities and strengths?”

Sermons can do much to explain faith, but lives well lived do so much more!

A friend of mine owned a beautiful Volkswagen Passat.  Oh, how he loved that car.  It was his baby and his pride and joy.  Imagine the surprise one Sunday morning when he drove up in an old truck!  He explained that he had put his faith too much in the possession of that car.

It had encumbered his faith in his Father in Heaven.  So he set things straight by getting rid of it and returning his heart much more fully to the Lord.

Even with the good examples of those surrounding us, how can we effectively live a life of faith in this challenging, sometimes brutal world?

The answer to this question is Our Savior’s example of always placing our faith in Heavenly Father.  “And Jesus answering saith unto them, have faith in God.”   Mark 11:22

Our Savior also taught us that if we have great faith, we will receive many temporal and spiritual blessings. “Then touched He their eyes, saying, According to your faith  be it unto you.”  Matthew 9:29

Lord, I believe.  Help Thou my unbelief.

The Upper Country News-Reporter     Cambridge, Idaho     July 7, 2014

Wonders Never Cease - Mountain Style
Life is different up here!  For example, many people raise chickens, turkeys, rabbits, and have horses and cattle. Vegetable gardens are commonplace.
I was talking to one of our members last week on the phone to see if we could visit and he asked that we call in a few days as they were slaughtering chickens!  In concrete terms, they were slaughtering  a fair number of chickens.  These individuals live "off the grid"  and have  a mega garden.  We are looking forward to visiting them and see how they manage their 
self-sufficient life style.

Also, we met an individual who is a Dutch Oven cooking expert!  He said that, at one time, it was common for him to cook for very large groups.  At one event, he had 80 Dutch Ovens cooking with 500 people to be served!  Amazing.

Not The Daily Planet, But...
The bishops in both Council and Cambridge have requested that we be very visible in the community.  In practical terms, this means that, in addition to working with LDS members and investigators, we are out contacting pastors of other faiths, visiting the senior centers on a regular basis, attending all the local events, such as the Independence Day activities, the upcoming fairs and rodeos, the Council Mountain Music Festival in August, and, yes, writing for both of the local newspapers.  We are writing a weekly column for The Upper Country News-Recorder, Cambridge's newspaper.
Also, we are part of a pastors' rotation in The Pastor's Corner column for the Adams County Record, Council's newspaper. We will be writing the column for the month of September.  Our columns will be posted on the blog.

Back In Business!
That's right.  After a hiatus of six weeks, our blog is  finally back in business!   It took TIME to make that transition from the Caldwell Stake down below or down in the valley, as they say up here, to the Council and Cambridge Wards!  But the deed is done and off we go with a new group of people, customs, and lifestyles.

Our new dwelling is a 1970's manufactured home owned by Ray Stoker, a former bishop here in Council, and his wife Ruth.  The setting is very picturesque with well manicured lawns every which way sprinkled with  trees throughout, including many types of  pine trees.  Birds of all kinds enjoy this property, but the quail especially seem to "rule the roost" and run around all over the place!  It is not unual to come up the driveway to see a couple of deer relaxing in the yard or munching on the tree leaves!  They are alert, but not that afraid of humans. 
An abandoned vintage home with gingerbread trim across the street causes one to ponder the story its walls could tell of the people who once lived there.

We mused about how we would adjust to living in a single wide manufactured home, but no worries.  After making adjustments here and there, it suits us quite well in the sense of having adequate space and comfort.  Beautiful mountain views beacon in every direction.  The Cuddy Mountains are to the west with the Council Mountains to the east. Years ago,  Council Valley was the place the Indians chose to hold their annual rendezvous.  It is so easy to understand  why this place was chosen and to imagine the fur trappers and traders as well as Army personnel and explorers who joined them in later times.

Council is depressed economically since the mill closed in 1995. Since most of the mills in this area have been closed, as well as Boise Cascade, the population has dropped significantly.  For example, the total student population  of around 400 has now dropped approximately 50% to the 200's.  The homes in town are, for the most part, modest manufactured homes with, as our friend Dennis Gallagher quickly pointed out, mostly metal roofs.  We all know what that means!  Yes, the winters can see up to four feet of snow and the temperatures can become quite nippy.  Since Idaho, as well as most of the western states, are in the midst of a severe drought, we do pray for lots of snow this winter.