Charity Never #FAIL(eth)

theuplift//reward//jerichoroad//charity

Mission Christmas Dinner

I ran into all my Manassas Friends at the Washington DC Temple Visitors

Sunday afternoon:
We waited in the parking lot for another set of missionaries we needed to take home. As I sat in the car I watched out the window as the YSA Ward was beginning to gather together for their Sunday meetings. Lots of people, from lots of different places all walking into the church building. And then I saw F.  In church pants with a button up shirt, a sweater, and a tie around his neck. Happy as ever. Chatting along with other YSA members, with new found
friends. He had his phone out, as always. Same old F. But here. I nearly jumped out of my seat.

We greeted, just small talk. I couldn't help but think only a year ago we were shoveling snow out of a dreary winter blizzard hit apartment complex. Digging F's car out of the snow. When he asked us who we were he had no idea what we were about. Months and months of
lessons and cookies and knocking on his door after his graveyard shift to wake him up for church. Teaching him how to tie a tie. Devotionals, Conferences. Teaching him what Cafe Rio was. General conference at the B's House. The day we sat in the clubhouse behind the VRE train and he told us he wanted to be baptized.

...And almost a year later, we just run into each other at the YSA Ward church building. And we have a nice conversation, cut short because he had to "get to church on time."  
But what better reason to cut a conversation short?


Tuesday evening:
At the Temple Lights walking through a room full of Nativity's. I turned around and saw a familiar face. A youth member from my very first ward and area in Manassas. Only to be followed by another familiar Manassas face. And then another's.  Soon I realized the entire youth group from my first ward family was piling into the Washington, D.C. Temple visitors center.  Bundled up in winter coats. It only took seconds before the hugs exploded. Families who took us in during Christmas, Valentines and New Year's Eve. Countless hours of service, and church and Preparation day activities. Lessons and exchanges. Smiles and tears. All these wonderful memories of my first five months in the mission field came flooding into the room. "Hello Sister Stucki's!" Followed by pictures and hand shakes and hugs and high fives.

And then Sister Schramm. Who taught me so much. How to be a missionary. How to be confident.  She showed me the ropes and set the bar high. So many laughs and learning experiences. 
All came rushing back.

I logged onto Facebook and received a message from D. My ASL friend. Several silly pictures of the new deaf branch ward president and his son goofing around at the church in Silver Springs. D. finally began attending the ASL branch and blessing the lives there after his baptism a few short months ago. I couldn't hold a smile back as I saw him there at church learning and growing and fellow shipping. Even without the missionaries texting him MEOWS! (Inside joke sorry) to come to church. It is just a lifestyle now. 
It is part of him. And he loves it.

We visited Cafe Rio Wednesday evening with a lady and introduced her to K.  Who works at Cafe Rio. Who this past summer ran up to the missionaries asking "How do I become a missionary? You're all so happy!" Months later, she was baptized. As she found truth and answers to her questions and concerns. Nothing better than seeing her smiling face + delicious sweet pork salads. Getting to converse about Christmas festivities and celebrating the birth of Christ. 
Seeing a glow in her eyes and she told us about simply... Life.:)

Friday evening:
I got a phone call... some sisters in Arlington ran into N. & N. two girls I was great friends with in Manassas. They asked to have the lessons again. They were living with there mom again and wanted to be baptized. They remembered vividly all the many lessons Sister Schramm and I had taught them nearly a year ago. I remember when they knew very little about the love that God had for them individually.  
Their worth as a Daughter of God, and Christ's for them.

Yesterday D. messaged me on Facebook telling me he set a baptism date for this month. Almost six months ago we started chatting on Facebook. Then Skyping. Talking about the goodness of God in our lives. I remember him taking notes, his pencil flying at hundred mile speeds trying to take in all the inspiration he was receiving. Months later missionaries in his area down south were able to begin teaching him the discussions. What a joy it was to see not only his face via Skype but two elders in white shirts and ties sitting on his couch. 
And now here he is.

These are the rewards of our service as missionaries.

 
We don't get paid, or ranked higher or glorified. It's not about the activities or the decorations or the clothes or the name tag. It's not even the "east coast experience" or the games or the sights I get to see. The reward doesn't lie in the adventures of traveling the east coast and Virginia. 

The reward is so much greater 

than any worldly form of payment or recognition.

It's the friendships built, the lives changed.

This blog doesn't do the work any justice at all. You see the fun pictures and read the silly stories. But I can't clearly relate to you the experiences I've had as a missionary. Not even a percentage of them. I don't want any young Sister, or soon to be Elder, or Missionary Mom, or any other reader to be fooled that this is a butterflies and rainbows experience where we come and we enjoy 1.5-2 years having a "Good Time" because it's not that at all. 
If that's the impression this blog leaves I've failed to explain my call correctly. I suppose service as a missionary isn't something I can describe in a blogpost. Or any post. Or speech. Or journal entry of any magnitude.

I think it's one of those, "you have to feel it to explain it" types of things.

But... the reward of serving as a missionary is so great.

Growing to love people so much they become family.
In such a short amount of time. People who I would never have known. People who I never may have crossed paths with. Become friends. Laugh together, cry together. 
We grow together, we change together.

I can't say I'll miss the cold or the snow, or even the trees. I won't miss the traffic or the big city or the lights or the smells. There are lots of things that don't particularly interest me about the east coast, or things I don't quite fit into. My home will always be home and Virginia doesn't even begin to compare the home I have waiting for me in six months.

But a piece of my heart is already stuck here.

A part of who I am, and who I've become.

It's stuck with the people here. The experiences here. The memories here.

Home is Who I am.
But this is where I've truly become...
Someone a little bit better
Something a little more

When I look back on this year, I think Virginia will be a bit more difficult to let go of then I originally anticipated.

I read a book once that said something to the effect of how giving your whole heart, truly loving, only sets you at risk for becoming broken hearted.

But that's the risk we take when we love. We take the risk of a broken heart. 

But if we don't take the risk we will never love. And what's a life without loving?

I wish I could remember the reference. Probably The Great Gatsby. Or Farewell to Arms. Some classic novel I read at some point. Anyway. I think that's the Ultimate Reward.
Learning to love, so much.

So that's what I wanna tell y'all today.
I wanna spread some love.
WHAT DO U KNOW ABOUT LOVE?

....

CHARITY
Is the highest, noblest and strongest kind of LOVE.

Charity never faileth.
If we have ALL other characteristics, but not charity, we are nothing.
Charity is the MOTIVE BEHIND good
Charity is the pure love of Christ.

This is something we each need to be constantly striving to improve,
acquire and understand. Charity.

"Charity suffereth long,

and is kind,

and envieth not,

and is not puffed up,

seeketh not her own,

is not easily provoked,

thinketh no evil,

and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth,

beareth all things,

believeth all things,

hopeth all things,

endureth all things.

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are

nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity,

which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail--

But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; 
and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, 
it shall be well with him."

Moroni 7:45-47

After reading that verse of scripture and rating myself on a one to
ten scale at how good I am of showing charity, I realized...


I fail.


It's come to my attention that I'm the least loving person on the planet.
K. maybe not on the planet.
But considering the fact I need a New goal for 2015....
I took this //constructive// criticism as a challenge.
#haters

Now hear me out!
Everyone's gotta struggle with something.
So there ya go
I struggle with Christlike love towards all people
It's easy to love those that love you
But not everyone.
Or those who annoy you
Or antagonize you
Or are rude and obnoxious or don't have social skills
It's my biggest downfall sometimes.
Something I want to improve on

Now don't get all giddy like you're the best at Christlike love and charity and you just one upped me on this one, because chances are you probably (fail) "aren't perfect" at it too my friend. JUST SAYING. #humilitycheck

The pure love of Christ literally is the definition of Charity. Christ showed charity and love toward all men, no matter the circumstance. And he meant it too, he really loved the people, all people. He didn't just put up a front, that's who he was.

No matter what front we put up on the outside people respond to what we are feeling. Are we really charitable people? Are we REALLY full of Christlike love, towards everyone?


This is a difficult task. I realize. In order to gain charity we must constantly be striving for it. Praying for it. Practicing patience, forgiveness, service and love. Being selfless... We have to get out of our box. To not see ourselves as the victim. To not see others problems or needs less significant than our own. To Regard people as a person with feelings, cares, dreams,
desires, struggles. Not just an object. Regarding people as problems or objects is distorted. We truly have to get out of our box.

We can't change other people.  We can only change ourselves.
By getting out of our box.

This isn't particularly easy. Maybe it's easy to talk about. Or to do in specific circumstances. Like when you actually enjoy the person you're being charitable towards. But we weren't commanded to pick and choose when we will show charity and who we will show charity towards. Rather we were asked to be so full of charity and Christlike love that it flows out upon all who we meet. Even those who may have caused conflict in our life, or those we are not particularly fond of. This is definitely something I'm still learning.

But learning is the key right?

The more I learn about Charity the more I realize I have to work on. This entire past year my goal was to become DISCIPLINED. I worked really hard on being more disciplined. In 2015 my word, or my goal is CHARITY. My goal is to gain a more Christlike love for those around me. To become a person full of charity and love. And believe me this is a task! But it's all about that constant improvement right?

Christ was constantly teaching us to love more fully. And I thought I did pretty good at that. I mean I loved my family. I loved (some of) my friends. I loved my car.. .. ......... But hold up. Charity isn't just about picking and choosing what or whom you love.

"Charity suffereth long,

and is kind,

and envieth not,

and is not puffed up,

seeketh not her own,

is not easily provoked,

thinketh no evil,

and rejoiceth not in iniquity 

but rejoiceth in the truth,

beareth all things,

believeth all things,

hopeth all things,

endureth all things."

I'M AWFUL AT THAT.
For starters, 
I'm the most easily provoked human on the planet. 
You could say
A N Y T H I N G
to me and I will find a way to argue it. 
My goodness, that's not charity. 
Or love.
*not to mention all else on that list*

You know quite frankly, I believe we all have some sort of charity item to work on. But this New Year my word and my goal is CHARITY. To learn to love more fully. I think this is something we can each work on.  I personally challenge each of you to find a way to be more
charitable. Especially this Christmas Season where we are being constantly reminded of Christ's love. And especially in situations where it's most difficult to show charity towards someone / something.

One of my favorite examples of this is the Good Samaritan.

 Who was he?

"And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, 

and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, 

and departed, leaving him half dead.

And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he

saw him, he passed by on the other side.

And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on

him, and passed by on the other side.

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when

he saw him, he had compassion on him,

And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and

set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of

him.

And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave

them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever

thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that

fell among the thieves?

And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him,

Go, and do thou likewise." -Luke 10:30-37

The good Samaritan had zero obligation to help the man lying on the roadside.
He had a life and needs too.
However
He put someone else's needs above his own,
It's our choice to act this way
Who needs you?


Each of us in our journey through mortality will travel our own Jericho road. 
What will be your experience? 
What will be mine? 
Will I fail to notice him who has fallen and requires my help? 
Will you? 
Will I be the one who sees the injured, hears his plea yet crosses to the other side? 
Will you? 
Or will I be the one who sees, hears, pauses and helps?.....
Will you?" 
-Thomas S Monson


This story is a parable.
It's not directly referring to helping people who have been mugged and are laying on the dirty roadside, beaten and bruised. Rather metaphorically speaking... Who do you know that is in need of help? Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually? Who is struggling? Who
needs a friend? How many times have you passed by the lonely kid between the lockers in middle school? How many times have you seen the kid being laughed at and made fun of at high school? How many times have you seen someone drop there 30 lbs of text books while running late to college? How many times have you passed the lady with two toddlers running around the parking lot and a screaming baby at the grocery store?

Everyone is walking down there own "Jericho Road"
As we travel, what kind of person are we? A charitable one?

No excuses. We are ALL busy. We ALL have needs. We ALL have somewhere else do be, something "better" to do.

The Good Samaritan had zero obligation to help the man lying on the roadside.
He had a life and needs too.
He put someone else's needs above his own,
It's our choice to act this way
Who needs you?

We each have a reason or a purpose everyday of our lives.
What purpose does God need us for today?
Who needs us, today?

Each of us in our journey through mortality will travel our own
Jericho road. What will be your experience? What will be mine?

How will you show Charity to those around you this month? This year?

Who needs you?
Get out of the box.

MYONEWORD{charity&love}2015

try it.
#sharegoodness

I love you guys!

Lets talk
Madison.stucki@myldsmail.net

S.stucki
(December 15, 2014)
Sent from my iPad

Thoughts

Quick Note:
IT'S MY ONE YEAR MARK BBG's

Yes! it is snowing here

It's the Most, Wonderful time, of the year!

Happy First
day of December!

ALSO:
Have you clicked the "JOIN THIS PAGE" button yet?

If not, please do


I get to spend it with our homie friend in the ward and Sister Todd doing gel nails.  Get like us, my friends.

Thanksgiving was an adventure and by definition of adventure I mean I gained five lbs. judge me. We had TWO Thanksgiving Dinners and a Pie session over at the L. families. 
Best Days. 
The L's are super funny. I met P. in my first area and now I'm serving here so were buddies. His parents remind me of Grandma and Grandpa Stucki a little bit. Especially his dad. He's like the epitome of Grandpa Stucki. Funniest guy. 

He also enjoys my stories that I tell.  So I like him even more. He asked me to come back and tell him some more stories after I told him about the time 

Ty got a concussion from the COW and had short term memory loss.  So we would make up stories and make him cry and every five minutes we would make up a new one because he forgot all about it. 

...and the time Dylan convinced me to run up Majestic View Mountain with them and as I was running down I filmed myself as I tripped and fell and passed out and woke up all bloody and got it all on camera. 

...and the time Ethan convinced me to ride my bike to Horizon Elementary with him but didn't tell me both the tires were flat. 

...and how Ty would rope my boyfriends feet and trip him when he came over.

...and the time when Dad turned into the Hulk and smashed Dylan's iPhone into glass shards using only his fist. 


P's Dad asked what Spencer would do to Ty?  
And I was like oh man do you know what a "Arapaho" is? 
Big time lolz after I explained that one. 
There goes your pride Ty. It was funny cause when we were leaving I asked "is there anything we can do for you guys" and P's Dad was like, "yeah, just keep your brothers away from my house." Hahaha. 

But then he was like JK!  Come back and tell me more stories. I guess I never fully comprehended how wonderfully entertaining my family is.


But on that note.... 
Y'all should write me a letter with favorite childhood memories of crazy things we would do because I'm running out of good stories. Please send several thanks! I would also appreciate if you got on Ultimate Guitar.com and sent me the chords to the following songs... 
I'd rather be with you... by Joshua Radin 
Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley
Any church song or hymn you can find 
Only hope by Mandy Moore
The Only Exception by Paramore
Any Christmas Song
I've been enjoying learning some new stuff on the guitar in my spare minutes. So I could use some more chords to practice. So I'm not just making stuff up. 

Sooooo Confession...

Rather than thinking up this entirely long Blog Post rant...
This week I just have two thoughts for you to think about in preface to the next couple weeks future Blog posts by Me and Momma Stook.

Thought number one #1:
Is kind of random...

But we were having a lesson at Panera Bread this week and I sat there observing the people around me.
Everyone was on their phones. 
The table to my left was this girlfriend and boyfriend probably in High School. The boy looked like he dressed up all cute for the girl and she was sitting on her phone and he was sitting there just... waiting and waiting and waiting.

Some date right??
So much for getting ready and looking nice if she's just gonna stare at her phone the entire time. 
Am I right?

The second table was this Mom and Daughter it looked like. 
The daughter was seriously probably only fourteen. And she sat there on her iPhone the entire time too! Her Mom just sat there. ...Like she bought her
this yummy lunch and it was just the two of them out together, probably for some bonding Mommy / Daughter time.  She was just texting away or scrolling away. And then to my utter most terror... She opened her cookie... and she did the unpardonable sin.

SHE TOOK A PICTURE OF IT AND POSTED IT ON INSTAGRAM.
I imagine it was probably captioned "Giant Cookie & Bonding Time with My Mom ❤️✌️😘 #loveher"

And she probably got like fifty likes on it and all these girls thinking...
"Man I wish Me and My Mom were that close"
"I wish we went on Mother daughter Dates to Panera Bread!"
"I bet they are having so much fun."

...And yet their social interaction consisted of breathing in the same five foot vicinity of each other. 

WHAT IS LIFE.

Not that I know what ACTUALLY went down on her Instagram...
but I know I saw plenty of that bogus news feed back at home where people get all worried about documenting these highlight moments online and FORGET to actually make it a real highlight moment in real life...

Social Media is going to be the death of relationships.  I swear it. 

If I find out you, reading this, EVER go to Panera 
(or any Cafe Bistro for that matter) 
with your boyfriend / mom / buddies / family / etc. 
and you sit on your phone the whole time and / or post how much fun your having online while not even exchanging words..........
I will wallop you. 

...Like do you even know what I'd give to be sitting next to My Mom or Boyfriend right now???

and have a nice little conversation over Panera Bread soup bowls? 

Do you even know? 
Heavens. 
Put your phone down and create a social interaction and memories and a lasting relationship. 

PLEASE. There's no iPhones in Heaven.

That's not doctrine, but it should be.

Building Real life Relationships > technology

#srrynotsrry#gooutside#breathefreshair



Thought number two #2:

Is my preface to the next up coming Blog post that WILL be written by my mom, and posted this next week!!!(MOM)

(So check back soon) in case you haven't read my previous post from last week.  

Here is the low down. My mom runs this blog.
She is really good at it. But she's also incredibly good at a trillion other things. She's practically perfect, or so you'd think. I mean she has a perfect relationship with her High School sweet heart husband.  She has a perfect drop dead gorgeous face.  And perfect children......hey. 

But really, she's great. She's my role model. I'm literally her biggest fan. 

But I think one of the most interesting things about my mom, that I respect and admire is that her life is far from perfect. I've never personally met anybody so full of faith and hope. Especially somebody who has so many reasons to give into despair. That's a personal testament to me that God is real. That our Savior lives. That there IS Hope. Or else how would we make it
through?

So I have asked her to share a bit of her story... some things that have CHANGED her. Obviously nothing too personal, due to the publicity of this blog. But to share her feelings and her testimony of the gospel. To tell her story. My hope is that her stories and thoughts will touch you as much as it does me. I hope it inspires you, and answers questions you may have personally. 

I thought of her stories as I was reading about something very personal to each of us.  Something I have been asked a lot as a missionary.  And that is about our trials, addictions, burdens, pains, heartaches, and tragedies. To sum it all up OPPOSITION. 

I came across this quote,

"Whenever tragedy occurs, we lament the things that will not

 be accomplished and the songs that will not be sung."

Among the most frequently asked questions of Church leaders are, 

"Why does a just God allow bad things to happen, especially to good people? Why are those who are righteous and in the Lord's service not immune from such tragedies?" (Elder Cook)  

How often do we hear this question? 
How often have you asked this question? 
Or something similar. 
I've heard it a lot... actually. 

If there is a God, Why did he allow this to happen to ME?
How do you feel about that statement? 
How would you respond to that question, if asked? 

LIFE IS HARD. 

No one of us is immune from that. But the thought that continually reoccurs in my mind is that God STILL has a plan. Even when you feel the world is ending.

Even when your life is falling apart. Even when life is unfair.
And even when you didn't DO anything wrong.

"There is no chance, no fate, no destiny that can circumvent or hinder 

or control the firm resolve of a determined soul."

I truly believe that. So how DO we carry on? When our burdens are simply too much to bare? I think the phrase "Songs that will not be sung" is interesting.

We immediately turn to that thought when tragedy strikes. But the comforting words of one of my favorite songs in the LDS HYMNALS answers back,

"Jesus listening can hear, the songs I cannot sing." 

The connection between the two phrases is interesting. Our mortal minds can
hardly fathom the thought that in this life we witness endings, where songs will not be sung and opportunities will be missed. 

But with the light of the gospel, we see that Jesus can hear those songs we can not sing, or opportunities we never got, or tragedies that may have
occurred. 

And through him...  All can be made right. Maybe not this second, or minute, or day, or even lifetime. But as we rely on him, we can experience peace in this life and our greatest joy is yet to come.

"The dove of peace sings in my heart,The flow'rs of grace appear.
For blessings which he gives me now, For joys "laid up" above."

All can be made right through the Grace of Jesus Christ. I'm leaving these thoughts open ended for you to think about. 

And for My Mom to write about with her story, her experience, her wisdom 
and her faith.

So stay tuned for the next Blog post...
by My Mom.
Love Always,
S.Stucki
(via email December 1, 2014)