We Believe Theme Song

this song is so touching! all we have to do it BELIEVE, have faith in our lord and savior Jesus Christ!
I bare my testimony that Jesus Christ lives and that he answers prayers, and that if we believe in him our lives will change in a way we never thought possible!

God Bless
Sister Kenemore

Endure To The End

    Yesterday we had District Meetings like we do every Tuesday! we talked a lot about the role of the spirit in conversion.  It was wonderful district meeting, but that's not what i really wanted to talk about today.  after our district meetings we had a zone meeting with ALL  the other missionaries serving in Santa Rosa, we were setting goals for the next month and discussing how we have done for our progress in January, We all worked very hard this last month except for this last week.  Elder Ames, one of our Zone Leaders asked why we didn't do so great last week, one Elder spoke up and said that he always get down at the end of each month, that he isn't as pumped as he was at the beginning. Elder Ames is a very wise Elder and started to talk about Jesus Christ, and how in his last week of his mortal ministry he didn't give up, he did say "oh well, we can try harder next month" CHRIST had the hardest last week anyone in the world can imagine!

  Jesus Christ was perfect, being the only perfect person in the world can be very lonely. there were things that only  Christ could do.  He was chosen to be our savior and Redeemer.   In a talk by Jeffery R Holland titled "None were with him" He talks about his last moments here on this Earth he says: "He ventured into the Garden of Gethsemane alone. Falling on His face in prayer, “sorrowful … unto death,” the record says, His sweat came as great drops of blood as He pled with the Father to let this crushing, brutal cup pass from Him. But, of course, it could not pass. Returning from such anguished prayer, He found His three chief disciples asleep, prompting Him to ask, “Could ye not watch with me one hour?” So it happens two more times until on His third return He says compassionately, “Sleep on now, and take your rest,” though there would be no rest for Him."
  Christ suffered that we may be able to live with him again, that we don't have to be alone as he was. Christ DID NOT give up in his last week! he Endured to the End. He didn't give up. He knew he couldn't.  I know that we cant either, we only have so many years to live, lets make it worth our effort, let us not undo everything Jesus Christ worked so hard for. 
2 Nephi 31:20  "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

God Bless! ETTE (endure to the end)

What's your Goliath?

   I've often thought of things that seem much bigger than I am, things that I don't think I can handle, or thing's that are just to big for me to be able to tackle alone! I Love the story of David and Goliath, how courageous David was to go up against someone much bigger than him and not fear him at all because he knew that he had God on his side.  "One man’s Goliath may be the stranglehold of a cigarette or perhaps an unquenchable thirst for alcohol. To another, her Goliath may be an unruly tongue or a selfish streak which causes her to spurn the poor and the downtrodden. Envy, greed, fear, laziness, doubt, vice, pride, lust, selfishness, discouragement—all spell Goliath."

  Even though we all go through things that are bigger than we are, or we don't feel like we can handle it, we can.  David was a Shepard boy, very small in stature, but had a mighty heart.
  I recently read a talk given by President Thomas S. Monson titled Meeting your Goliath.  In the talk, David prepares to fight against Goliath the giant, who has been in battles and wars since he was a youth. David is given all this armor to wear and cant seem to do much with it on,  so he takes it off. Goes and  finds 5 smooth stones from a small brook,  to use with his sling shot.  these 5 stones can help us in our fights with our own Goliaths.
STONE NUMBER 1: "The stone of COURAGE will be essential to your victory. As we survey the challenges of life, that which is easy is rarely right. In fact, the course that we should properly follow appears at times impossible, impenetrable, hopeless."
STONE NUMBER 2: "Next, I select the stone of EFFORT—mental effort and physical effort....

The decision to overcome a fault or correct a weakness is an actual step in the process of doing so. “Thrust in thy sickle with thy might” was not spoken of missionary work alone."

STONE NUMBER 3: "Then there must be in our selection the stone of HUMILITY, for haven’t we been told through divine revelation that when we are humble, the Lord, our God, will lead us by the hand and give us answer to our prayers?"

STONE NUMBER 4: "And who would go forth to battle his Goliath without the stone of PRAYER, remembering that the recognition of a power higher than oneself is in no way debasing; rather, it exalts."

STONE NUMBER 5: "Finally, let us choose the stone of LOVE OF DUTY. Duty is not merely to do the thing we ought to do, but to do it when we should, whether we like it or not."

  These 5 stones coupled with our sling of faith can help us to conquer ANYTHING that stands in our way.  I testify to these 5 steps.  I know that they work, I know that if we use them, we can meet any Goliath that stands in the way of our happiness! I've tried this! I've seen it work and I know that it can work for anyone who is willing and open to letting the Lord help them in any battle.

The Family

I love my family! it is the most important thing in my life! I remember this one time as a little girl, we all got together as a family to say a prayer,dad offered it... in the middle of the day...we thought it was kinda weird but we went along with it, and in his prayer he said something along the lines of "help us to have fun in Disneyland" my older brother and I just about fell out of our seats!and it felt like an eternity till he said amen, we packed up and left for Disneyland an hour later, and had a great time!
    I remember we would go camping all the time.  and this one time Corey, my older brother, brought his Bat-mobile car with him, we put some trail mix in it and watched squirrels for like 2 hours come and take the mix out of the car! It was so much fun just to sit there and watch. It is memories like this that i will remember for all of my life, and will tell my children about. This is what true Happiness and Joy is all about, creating memories with our family by spending time together, teaching eachother, learning, and growing.
   Yesterday we went to go see this wonderful lady in our ward, we felt impressed to share The Family: a Proclamation to the World. I absolutely love this Proclamation! it tells us the purpose of families, how they are supposed to function, and how we can have peace and harmony at home. It says in there:  "THE FAMILY is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners."
  I added the bold and underlined because this is what it takes to have a successful family!  I'm so grateful to have the family that i do! and that my home is founded upon principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Parable of "The vineyard and the field"

Sister Stebar here, Sister Kenemore and I got to go on exchanges today (thats where missionary's trade companions and learn how to become a better missionary) and she asked if I would do a blog entry, what a honor :) I wanted to share something I have thought alot about... Vineyards. Ha I love them. When I served in Cloverdale each week we made the 30 mile trip to Ukiah and we passed alot of vineyards. My sister and I use to play a game where, when we were driving we had to relate objects to the gospel, so I thought for old times sake I would play. There is a spot where there is a beautiful vineyard on one side of the road and then a untouched field on the other side. And I was thinking how sad that a whole field is wasting away when the vineyard is producing fruit. It all clicked and I came up with the parable of the "vineyard and the field". In our lives we can choose which one we want to be like. The vineyard is beautiful, its balanced and perfectly in line. The field has its own beauty but it doesnt really compare to the vineyard... But if we look deeper the vineyard is constanly being trimmed, dug, and mowed. While the field goes unchanged. We might think to ourselves I wish I was a field, so I didnt have to hurt always being trimmed, bothered.But that isnt the case. Do you get what I am putting out there to become fruitful, to become orderly we have to go through hard things. But the out come is breath taking and inspiring. Brigham Young said,"God never bestows upon His people superior blessings without a severe trial to prove them". We are here to be corrected this is our learning time, we just have unplanned tests sometimes...Thomas Paine says it beautifully, "These are the times that try men's souls, the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph, what we obtain too cheap, we esteem to lightly." I am grateful for trying times. I want to close with a quote by President Hinckley,"All of us have problems. We face them every day. How grateful I am that we have difficult things to wrestle with. They keep us young, if that is possible. They keep us alive. They keep us going. They keep us humble. They pull us down to our knees to ask God for help in solving them. Be grateful for your problems. And know that some how there will come a solution. Just do your very best". I hope next time you feel pruned you will remeber change is a process not a event. Let God mold and make you into something breathtaking.

Is our all good enough?

   This last week we have focused on the Atonement A LOT! It's been so amazing to study it! i feel like i draw closer to my Savior every time i study.  we were given a talk on Tuesday that President Bunker wanted us all to read, it is titled "The Atonement: All for All" by Bruce C. Hafen.  it is such an amazing talk!
  Elder Hafen talks about Adam and Eve, he says: "The Fall was not a disaster. It wasn’t a mistake or an accident. It was a deliberate part of the plan of salvation. We are God’s spirit “offspring,”  sent to earth “innocent”  of Adam’s transgression. Yet our Father’s plan subjects us to temptation and misery in this fallen world as the price to comprehend authentic joy. Without tasting the bitter, we actually cannot understand the sweet.  We require mortality’s discipline and refinement as the “next step in [our] development” toward becoming like our Father.  But growth means growing pains. It also means learning from our mistakes in a continual process made possible by the Savior’s grace, which He extends both during and “after all we can do.”
  He later talks about our "all" he says: "If we must give all that we have, then our giving only almost everything is not enough. If we almost keep the commandments, we almost receive the blessings."....Almost receive the blessing? that doesn't sounds good enough to me! I would like the WHOLE blessing... don't you? we talked about sacrifice...we were asked "what are you willing to put on the alter to sacrifice?" I have thought about that a lot since yesterday... what am i willing to sacrifice? Am i willing to give up my possession? my worldly things? are you willing to give up your worldly things? Elder Hafen continues..."

Some people want to keep one hand on the wall of the temple while touching the world’s “unclean things”  with the other hand. We must put both hands on the temple and hold on for dear life. One hand is not even almost enough."
    My fellow Brothers and Sisters... what are you willing to put on the Alter to sacrifice to become more spiritual? to become one with God? "When the Savior’s all and our all come together, we will find not only forgiveness of sin, “we shall see him as he is,” and “we shall be like him.”" I love you all and hope you are giving Heavenly Father your all!
 God bless all of you!

Elder Bruce C. Hafen's talk: http://lds.org/general-conference/2004/04/the-atonement-all-for-all?lang=eng

Today is a Gift!

Way back in June of this last year (weird to say that) at a District meeting a quote was places on the chalk board that said "There will never be another day like today." This quote reminded me of Kung Fu Panda. I found the place in the movie that talks about yesterday being the past, tomorrow's a mystery, and today is a gift that is why they call it the Present. there will never be another 1-1-11 so we should treat each day as a new gift from God!
What an amazing day today is! we should always try our hardest to make each day count! everything we have is because of God.
Lets make the year 2011 count!! Lets make it better than 2010!!