Ok, so nothing really great has happened in my life lately, so I just have some random thoughts.
**It is my understanding that the church is supposed to be the same all over the world. Well, our ward now is run differently than other wards we have been in. For example, active families don't get home and visit taught, I guess because if you're active you don't need to know that anybody cares about you outside of Sunday?! (Doesn't make sense to me!) We've heard that other families that have moved here from out west, have had a really hard time with the way things go here and have almost become inactive. In fact, we know of one in our town that has gone inactive, but were totally active when they moved here (so we've heard). It agrravates and confuses me! Also, in a ward as small as ours, "clicks" can be detrimental and I can see where they are having that affect in this ward.
**We have seen robins in the back yard...that means that Spring is almost here. ALLELUIAH!!!! I know I've said this before, but I'm tired of brown!
**We have been tossing around business ideas lately. Some of them are little side things that I can do from home. Some of them are bigger, like opening up a second grocery store where we just moved from in Idaho. We're kindof falling in love with the idea of being our own bosses. And, after my comments on our ward, we would love to go back to Idaho (at least right now we feel that way!)
**I love my family and am so glad that I have them with me no matter where I go. This includes my husband and children, but also my sisters, brother and sis-in-law and parents. I'm so glad that I live in the day and age when we have email, phones, IMing. It has been a huge help for me to be able to talk to my family and friends on a pretty regular basis!
Thanks to all of you!!
6 comments:
Are you talking about another grocery store here in Preston?? Please do, lol. It would be SO great to have another option besides the one we got.
I would think they would have home & visiting teaching to keep the ward closer together since you all don't live 'close'. Weird.
When we were living in our little ward in Arkansas, the first thing the RS president said to my mom was "Oh, we do things differently here in Arkansas." That and "If you don't read the handbook, then you don't know what rules you're supposed to be following!"
The Church IS the same, no matter where you go, but it is the people that make it different. Sometimes it can be a very bad thing, but other times it makes all that much better.
I know it's hard, but try to find some ways that your ward does things differently for the better. That will at least ease it in your mind a bit! :)
LOVE YOU TONS!!! I'm calling you tomorrow (or something)
WHAT, you have IM? I need your screen name!!! On Yahoo I'm hillyut, and on AIM I'm hillyutscrap. I was gonna make it hillyutcervixscrap... but, we all know what that looks like. :)
FYI -- I have been visit taught once since we moved into this ward, and I felt mighty lucky to have that one visit. I have, however, been assigned VT-ers. I have a hard time feeling like we need to keep the people we have, rather than makea mild contact with those who want nothing to do with us. However, I've come to the conclusion that if our bishop/RS president has made this decision I just need to be the VT-er ever (and frankly, I'm not -- CRAP I need to call my ladies tomorrow).
Also, our ward was TOTALLY click-y. I have now made a solemn vow to break into every single click. Wish me luck. So far I'm buddies with almost all of them.
Its hard to move into a new ward. I'm sure its even harder when they aren't exactly doing things according to the handbook. That's really tough, and like april said, I'd be a little confused, I would think in a small ward thats very spread out they would be encouraging visit/home teaching. Like Sariah said, try to find the things that your ward is doing that different but for the better. It couldn't hurt.
Opening a grocery store sounds like a great idea. But try to give where you're living a chance before you try to move back to Idaho. I'm just saying, cause if you can't move back it will make you hate Illinois even more.
Wow, are we in the same ward? (I know we aren't, but it sounds totally like all the urban wards out here.)
Here's the thing: Elder Holland came out not too long ago and spoke in the San Diego Stake (my BIL's stake) to the leadership and said, "if you can't home teach everyone, start with the active members." It's the whole idea of strengthening the inner vessel and it makes complete sense to me. So as soon as he left my BIL's bishop to whom he was exec. sec. said, "we need to send letters to the active members and get into the homes of all the inactives. BIL exclaimed "did you not just hear Elder Holland?"
"Yes, but we're special."
And that's the problem up here in my ward, too: everyone thinks they're special.
Oops, sorry for the rant on your blog: I could go even further but should just stop here. I can commiserate an all your ward complaints! (But don't worry, socially things have improved. Home and visiting teaching is still a mess, though.)
Just found your blog, L, and I feel your pain (been there--way too many times). Sariah gave good advice. So did the others. To use my Dad's famous phrase: "Wha'cha gotta do is" break the cliques by getting friendly with at least one family in each--often they don't mean to be cliques--it's just developed that way over the years. Next, invite them (as a group)to your home, maybe start a luncheon-go-round or play group or pre-kindergarden or dinner group--something "set". You are in fact, starting your own "clique" it seems, but if you add someone new each time, it does not remain a clique. Choose from the most active members, who, like yourselves, might not quite fit--and need the VT/HT. In this way, you become unofficial VT/HT to each other.
You can go to your RS Pres (if approachable) and volunteer to VT everyone who...(pick an age group, a geographical group, a group of any identifiable sort) Get a volunteer companion, then do the VT and report every month. By your actions, you can help to force the issue.
You can also request the names of your assigned Ht/VT (and gently 'harrass' the leaders 'til you get them)and again, invite them over. You can invite them over to do their job, or you can ambush them by inviting them over and then being in the expectation of their job--but make it easy--have the message ready to discuss, provide dessert, whatever it takes.
Maybe this is why you are in that ward...to straighten them out on this issue.
Give IL a chance...the BEST ward I've ever lived in was in IL--in Rantoul. I think that the ward we've moved into here in OH is running a close second. Help to make yours what it [sh/c]ould be. Many times, people are mostly well-meaning, but they just do not know.
You can also go to your Stake President with your concerns if nothing else works.
Believe it or not, I actually came to like and even love (most) of our ward in Arkansas. But I spent the first year crying every Sunday. Literally.
Sorry to be so long winded, get our ph# from Sariah and give me a call--you need to come visit, perhaps, and get a break from the city.
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