Mid week announcements

PLEASE REMEMBER to keep an eye on your Primary Aged Children during Church. Primary aged kids should not be roaming the halls w/o adult supervision. (This is for their own safety).

The Memorial Service this weekend for Sister Wattles' son is as follows: 2pm Memorial, 3pm Family luncheon. (All at church). Our compassionate service leaders are making assignments to bring food to church on Saturday.

Ward Service Project:
From 8am to Noon on Saturday there is a ward service project. Everyone from the ward has an assignment. Relief Society is in charge of Paint. Sister Fulford will be making assignments.

There is a Primary Activity this Saturday at church too.

That's it for now! We are meeting tonight as a Relief Society presidency--so there might be updates (etc) that will be posted.

Remember that June's Enrichment is in less than a week! Please plan on coming (Tuesday June 3d) 6:30 at church. Food Storage, Hurricane Preparedness (etc).

Zone 3 Social Tomorrow--Reminder

Just a reminder that our "Red Hot" Zone Social is tomorrow at 12:30pm - 2:30pm at Sister Treadway's home. We are looking forward to seeing everyone and having a great time together. Hope to see you there! We sure hope you can come.................. See ya tomorrow!
Luv to all,
Sisters Wissler & Burkett

Youth fundraiser announcement

Just a reminder that this Saturday is the youth car wash fundraiser. They are once again trying to raise money for camp. The car wash will be at the same place as last year--the Wendy's in Crystal River--from 8-3. Please support our youth with your donation--every little bit helps. So, if your car is dirty let the youth make it shine!

A perfect inspirational thought for the celebration of women and mothers

Sister Vasquez (a former member of our ward) sent me this wonderful thought from Sheri Dew. The actual article is at http://www.mormontimes.com/WC_education.php?id=1006

The text of the article is as follows:
Published: Thursday, May. 1, 2008

Women of the church need to do more to differentiate themselves from the world by exerting their influence and making themselves ministers of Christ, Sheri Dew said at the opening session of Women's Conference at Brigham Young University on Thursday morning.


'We should be far more distinctive than even the very finest women in the world. Are we?' said Dew, president and CEO of Deseret Book and former member of the Relief Society general presidency.

Because women in the church have access to the Holy Ghost, the teachings of living prophets, and the blessings of the priesthood and the temple, they should be noticeably di fferent from other women, Dew said. They shouldn't base their personal worth on their size, shape or accomplishments made outside the home.

Referencing a magazine article entitled 'The World's 100 Most Powerful Women,' which featured politicians, businesswomen and entertainers, Dew said, 'What I dispute is the bold distortion that in order to have influence, a woman must have money, fame or a title. That is a big, fat lie ... We are here, my sisters, to influence the world rather than be influenced by the world.'

Dew, who mentioned her personal heartache from not marrying or bearing children, said every individual in the church has a profound influence on others. She said many women are complacent, though, and buy into Lucifer's lies that men are more intelligent, more powerful and more important. These false notions can lead women to try to be more like men, or to view marriage and family as menial.
'Nothing is more important than bearing children and leading them along the path home,' she said.

Societies are representative of the women within them, she said, and women have tremendous impact on their husbands and children, for better or for worse.
'Show me the women of any family or community and I will show you the character and the soul of that family and community,' she said.
This far-reaching impact is why women need to realize their potential and use it for the betterment of the world.

'It is time for us to wake up to the potential magnitude of our full influence as latter-day women of God and to arise and do what we were sent here to do,' she said. 'If (God) came to minister, then so did we.'
Each day needs to begin with a commitment to be a minister of God. Dew said that can include talking to friends of other faiths about the church, starting a blog to share personal beliefs or mentoring young adults, in addition to being mothers and wives.

Because women are innately nurturing, they will sometimes become so busy they don't make time for their own spirituality. In order to be effective ministers, Dew said women need to take time for themselves to be holy.

'If our lives are so busy that we don't have time for our personal worship, something needs to change,' she said. 'If we could unleash the full influence of covenant-keeping women, the kingdom of God and the world would change overnight.'

YW looking for someone to help out

The Beehives (under the direction of Sister Barker) are looking for someone to teach them how to crochet. The instruction would be on a Wednesday night during the normal activity time: 7pm -8:15pm.

If you know how to crochet and you are available on Wednesday evenings, please give Sister Barker a call (or stop her at church) and let her know that you'd be willing to help out

Thanks sisters

****Remember that if you have family files needing Baptism/Confirmations--the youth are going to the temple this month--and they can help you out. The youth are responsible for bringing all their own names--so any help from the ward would be MUCH appreciated!!!! ****

That's it for right now!!! Enjoy your Wednesday!

I've emailed out the newsletter--so if you aren't on my mailing list (and would like to be)--please email me at brittanmitchell@gmail.com

Zone 3 Social is this month--RED HOT SOCIAL

Zone 3 Red Hot Social will be on Saturday, May 24, 2008 from 12:30pm - 2:30pm at the home of Sister Treadway

Lunch will be provided.

There will also be a door prize for the craziest "Red" outfit. We will have games also.

Invitations will be forthcoming. Food assignments will be forthcoming too!

(Zone 3 Leaders: Wissler and Burkett) Zone 3 encompasses Dunnellon, Citrus Springs, and some of Crystal River.

Teacher Development Meeting

All teachers, substitutes, and music leaders in Relief Society, please mark the following on your calendar:

Teacher Training Luncheon 5/15/08 @ 10:00- 12:00pm @ Barbara Stahl's this is for Teacher's & Music Leaders on Relief Society Board

Announcements affecting Young Women & parents

*YW graduating this June-
Jessica Fulford on 6/03/08 from Lecanto High School & Lauren Ellis on 6/05/08 from Citrus High School.
*YW Rainbow River Float Saturday May 10th
*YW Pre-Camp Saturday 5/17/08 in Leesburg @ 10:00 am
*Youth Car Wash at Wendy's in Crystal River from 8:00am - 3:00pm (5/24/08)

An Excerpt about food storage

Here's something that I read this week that I thought was really really good! Our June Enrichment will have some kind of food storage component to it--so let's spend the next month really getting prepared! If you have any questions that you'd like us to try to answer (or have someone else in the ward answer that may be more knowledgeable) please email me at brittanmitchell@gmail.com

Here's the article that I liked:

During the past few weeks the news has finally picked up on the fact that grain prices are skyrocketing, especially rice and wheat. I have one warehouse that reports that it will get two more shipments guaranteed, but then it is unsure. Other storehouses are rationing. And the price of wheat which used to be $9.00 for 50 lbs is now more like $35.00 to $50.00.

So what does this mean? Should we be afraid? Absolutely not. All we need to do is modify our plans and continue our preparations. The most important part of preparation is actually having a personal plan and following that plan.

Let me give you some positive perspective in hopes that it will help.

First, we need to expect that food will cost more than it did, but there is still food--plenty of it. Don't be afraid. Don't despair. You may need to look a little harder, and we'll do our best to help you.

Second, remember that spring is here and farmers are planting more grain. There will be another harvest, and you will need to pay attention to get wheat. . . .

Third, remember that food storage is more than just wheat. So yes, continue to locate wheat as you can. Wheat is a staple, at least in the Western world. BUT, wheat is only one of the commodities--one of the grains. Look at rice (also being rationed, but more about that in a moment), barley, oats, rye, millet, amaranth, quinoa, spelt and kamut. Learn to integrate different grains to supplement and extend your wheat. This is not only to "spread the wealth" but also to add more and balanced nutrition.

Fourth, learn to use beans. Legumes are not being rationed. Prices may be rising a little, but not nearly at the same pace as the grains. Begin to stock beans and legumes. Choose a variety of beans. And don't wait. Use money out of your current food budget and buy 25 lbs whenever you can. They are not that expensive, yet As you have seen in our videos, you can sprout, grind, bake, boil, preserve, and cook beans in a wonderful variety. If you don't know how yet, LEARN to use them in ways that your family will eat. IT IS POSSIBLE--EVEN IN YOUR FAMILY.

. . . .

Now a little perspective on Rice. Rice is also being rationed. But what that really means currently, at least in the United States, is that stores are only letting you buy one or two bags, instead of 5, 10, 50 bags at a time. That's not really rationing; it is simply controlling a potential hysteria. I believe that was a wise move, not a crisis one. So don't let yourself get caught up in that.

Interestly, rice is the only grain commodity that is commonly sold in 25-50 pound bags in the supermarkets. This means that during each trip to the supermarket you should pick up only one or two bags, and let others do the same. Let the normal flow of grains continue. So don't despair. Just be wise. Buy one each time you can. Let others do the same.

Create your plan. Stay with your plan. Acquire the kitchen tools that you need, and be positive and encouraging to others. (From SimplyLivingSmart)