Several years ago I read an excellent book entitled The Power of
One by Bryce Courtenay. Here is a quote from that book that has
stayed with me:
“Sometimes the slightest things change
the directions of our lives, the merest breath of a circumstance, a random
moment that connects like a meteorite striking the earth. Lives have swiveled
and changed direction on the strength of a chance remark.”
I have been thinking a lot lately about the “power of one” person or
one event in our lives and how that one thing can change the course of our
lives exponentially. And then I started
thinking backward. About how our
ancestors' lives have also affected us and their lives were also changed by one
person or one event or one remark. And
then it goes in the reverse exponentially. And then looking forward, how what we do, who we marry, acts of service
we perform can change the lives of others including our children …………..and it
goes on and on.
I started thinking about this when we were reading in Alma 24. The Lamanites buried their weapons of war and
faced their enemy defenseless because of their conversion to God. Over one thousand lost their lives for their
testimonies but then many more of their enemies were converted because these
brave men had remained true to their
covenants. And who converted them…..King
Lamoni’s father who was converted by Aaron, who was also saved in his
wickedness by the prayers of Alma who was also changed by the testimony of
Abinidi and it goes on and on. The
“power of one”.
No event or person in our lives can be considered meaningless. And nothing we do in this life can be
considered unimportant. It is so
important to not only look back in this life but to look forward. We are the product of someone’s actions and
our actions can change the lives of many. The “power of one” basically means that we are not only one. Our choices do not just affect us. They can affect generations, in the future
and in the past.
So you probably didn’t think you were going to get a philosophy lesson
when you read this but if you are still reading I will now fill you in on what
we have been doing this week.
Sunday was our Stake Conference. We have been here 7 months and have had three conferences all of which I
have really enjoyed. Also Sunday night
we had the opportunity of attending a missionary fireside with Elder Steven E.
Snow, the Church Historian. It was a
great fireside and a few great quotes from that are:
You are only limited by our own lack of vision for the future.
A mission is the MTC for the rest of your lives.
At the end of each day ask, "How was I blessed today?" Be conscious of and give thanks for the blessings you receive on a daily basis. It will help you smile.
The hardest moments of life are often the most refining ones. Just as a lump of coal can become a diamond due to heat and pressure, you are also being refined by your afflictions.
Keep a daily journal. It will bless you and the lives of your ancestors. Where would we be if our ancestors from the beginning of time had not kept journals.
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| Missionaries at Elder Snow's Fireside |
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| President and Sister Klebingat and elders meeting Elder Snow |
Monday we met with the Ambassador of Malaysia, His Excellency Chuah
Teong Ban. He was such a gracious
individual and we enjoyed our visit so much. He is also the Ambassador for Malaysia in Georgia, and an avid runner
and marathoner. It just so happens that
one of his running partners is Bogdon Rudenko, our former high council representative. It is a small world, once again.
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| Ambassador Ban of Malaysia |
On our way to the Embassy of Malaysia we passed by the Botanical
Garden. You may remember, the one with
all the lilacs in May. It was the most
glorious fall day and the colors of the changing trees drew me back there after
I finished work. Just three metro stops
and a mile walk and I was in the midst of the brilliance of autumn. It was one of those impressions to do something
that you are never sorry you followed. The very next day the rain and cold returned, and snow is predicted for
the weekend. Good-bye to autumn.
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| Botanical Garden in fall |
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| In the botanical garden |
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| Beautiful tree leaves in the Botanical Garden |
My weekly temple assignment was changed to Wednesday. I will miss all my friends from Tuesday,
however I will probably still go on Tuesday to do patron work. I have met some wonderful ladies that work on
Wednesday. Sister Gul’ko is a bishop’s
wife that is also an English teacher. But most impressive, she translated the Book of Mormon into Ukrainian
which is a totally amazing feat. You can
really appreciate this if you have tried to learn this language and realize how
very different English is from Ukrainian. She testifies that she had a lot
of help from the prophets of the Book of Mormon. She reminds me a lot of Joan Murray Thompson
and is a joy to be around.
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| Sister Gul'ko |
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| Sister Shiyan |
The Saints at the temple this week were from Samara, Russia. Their story is told by their hands. They are the hands of people that work hard
for a living; people that work the
land; people that are humbled by their
circumstances but have a great love for God.
We have some new neighbors and friends, Jed, Jill and Jessa Barton. Jed works for the State Department and most
recently lived in Afghanistan. They have
also lived in India and Peru. They live
just a mile up our street, but oh what a difference a mile makes. Ex-pat living is pretty nice. We all went to the Symphony Friday night and
had a wonderful evening. We even got to
meet the world famous Maestro Roman Kofman. He conducted last week’s symphony but was in the audience for this
concert. He is such an impressive and
talented individual.
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| Jed, Jill and Jessa Barton |
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| Maestro Roman Kofman |
The elections are this weekend.
Friday night there were two enormous rallies. One at St. Sophia’s Square for the party that
is in control and one at the opposite end of the street at St. Michael’s for
the opposition party. And these were
really big deals – thousands of people at each. Since we had to go past both of them on our
way to the Symphony we decided to take the bus. On the way home from the symphony we saw Khreschatyk Street lined with
military armored vehicles, tanks and
cannons. Maybe this is a little more
serious than we have imagined. The
elections are Sunday. We are
so grateful for America. A blessing you
don’t really appreciate until you are away.
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| Tanks on Khreschatyk |
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| Political Rally at St. Sophia's Square |
Today as I walked home through the monastery the sisters were wrapping
all the hydrangea and small bushes. When
I got to the little cemetery I thought their handiwork would be a great picture
for Halloween. Looked like little ghosts
in the cemetery.
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| Sisters wrapping |
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| Ghosts in the Monastery Cemetary |
And so we end with a quote that
accompanies the one at the beginning. This quote is by Elder Melvin J.
Ballard and goes back to the message of the Power of One. There are so many people that come to the
temple – the only members in their families – the “slightest thing changing the
direction of their lives.” They are
absolutely thrilled to be here doing the work for their ancestors whom they
know without a doubt are guiding and blessing their lives.
Why is it that sometimes only one of a city or household receives the gospel? It was made known unto me that it is because the righteous dead who have received the Gospel in the Spirit World are exercising themselves, and in answer to their prayers Elders of the church are sent to the homes of their posterity that the Gospel might be taught to them and through their righteousness they might be privileged to have a descendant in the flesh do the work for their dead kindred."
~Elder Melvin J. Ballard
