At the beginning of the summer, I sent the following letter to a few Relief Society sisters in my ward:
Dear Sister,
I am working on my Personal Progress ribbons for Young Women's. I have completed my Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, and Choice and Accountability ribbons. I'm now working on my Good Works Ribbon (yellow), and I have come up with a great project that I am hoping you can help me with.
I want to spend some time with some of the faithful sisters in the Ward. I want to learn from you. I would like to come to your home one morning over the summer. I will likely bring my little sister Ava, and hopefully another Beehive in the Ward. I would like you to teach us how to make a yummy treat (cookies, squares, etc.). I would like to make enough so we can leave some with you, take some to a member in need of a treat, and take a little home to my family (mostly my dad). We will bring whatever ingredients you need.
I would also appreciate it if you could share a brief spiritual message with us. It could be your favorite scripture, a personal experience/story, or even your testimony.
We could also help with a little project around your home. Could we help with some weeding or watering?
Thanks,
Lizzy Wolfe
My first visit was to a wonderful lady in our ward, Sister Jorgensen. When we arrived, she welcomed us in and took us straight to her kitchen. She had all the ingredients out and ready for us so we could make some yummy cookies. While we were baking, she told us interesting stories about her children and grandchildren. Soon, the aroma of delicious baking cookies filled the house. It is a known fact that Sister Jorgensen is a family history superstar. She took us downstairs to her basement and showed us large “scrapbook” type volumes containing generations of family history. The book about her mother was really cool. We then helped out in her amazing garden by picking raspberries.
Our next visit was with Sister Sauer, my Bishop’s wife. She is a beautiful and fun lady. This visit was especially great as our newest Beehive, Abby, joined us as well. Sister Sauer shared some powerful thoughts on the importance of service, for example: “helping others is one way to heal and help yourself.” We then made the most amazing pesto lasagna! Then, fortunately for us, there were raspberries to be picked. After that, we went to see Sister Roberts, the Compassionate Service Coordinator for our ward and dropped off lasagnas for her to distribute to anyone in need.
Sister Shields lives nearby, and we were excited to go and bake with her. My dad loves her baking and was particularly excited to see what scrumptious creation we would bring home. Sister Shields did not disappoint. We made enough delectable brownies to feed a small army! As we talked, she told us about the crazy things her kids did. We then iced the brownies and the carrot cake that she'd made before we came. I then proceeded to eat the chocolate icing out of the bowl. After she took us home, we gave some baking to a new family in our Ward and a recent convert.
Our last visit was with Sister Harris. She is a very creative woman. She had prepared some large wooden letters that spelled “F A M I L Y” for us to paint. While we were there we painted the letters with bright colours to hang in our home. She asked us about our summer, and how the project was coming along. She told us about her kids and grandkids. After we painted the first coat on the letters, we baked banana bread while we waited for them to dry. As we waited for the banana bread to bake, Once the letters were dry, we painted cool designs on them. After everything was done, we thanked her for her generosity and biked home. It was fun delivering the banana bread to a new mom and some nonmember friends down the street.
I learned many things from all of these amazing and faithful sisters. One was a better understanding of Doctrine & Covenants 58: 27: “Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness.” What a wonderful opportunity to learn about genealogy, gardening, baking, service, and so much more. It was tons of fun to just talk with them, and learn about them. I can’t wait until next year and “Summer Snacks and Service 2.0”.”