Man Down- Temple Trip- Hawk Walk- Broken Nose #9

 Last weeks temple trip.  Such good friends and great young men.

 Miriah and Seanna at the Hawk walk.  Miriah ran 21 laps. 

She was so tired when she got home from school and can't wait for Mr. Ockey to get slimmed.

 At Aunt Collette's when we had Grandpa Berry's birthday party.

 Sun rise in Hawaii.

 Miriah had to make the cinnamon rolls.  I had the dough ready, but then had to take Hollie to dance.  So she rolled them out got them already to bake.  She did a great job.  Then she wanted to take a plate to Elsa since she had come home from the hospital.

 We went bowling this week with the Lone Peak faculty.  We were in the lane right next to Mr. Bell.

 Brody playing basketball. Not good.

 Lone Peak vs Westlake, we won, it was a blow out 42-7

“Man Down!”

President Henry B. Eyring
First Counselor in the First Presidency

A feeling of responsibility for others is at the heart of faithful priesthood service.

You will need bravery and you will need boldness because you are enlisted in the Lord’s army in the last dispensation. This is not a time of peace. That has been so since Satan arrayed his forces against our Heavenly Father’s plan in the premortal existence. We don’t know the details of the combat then. But we know one result. Satan and his followers were cast down into the earth. And since the creation of Adam and Eve, the conflict has continued. We have seen it intensify. And the scriptures suggest that the war will become more violent and the spiritual casualties on the Lord’s side will mount.

Almost all of us have seen a battlefield portrayed in a film or read the description in a story. Over the din of explosions and the shouts of soldiers, there comes a cry, “Man down!”

When that cry sounds, faithful fellow soldiers will move toward the sound. Another soldier or a medic will ignore danger and move to the injured comrade. And the man down will know that help will come. Whatever the risk, someone will run low or crawl to get there in time to protect and give aid. That is true in every band of men joined in a difficult and dangerous mission which they are determined to fulfill at any sacrifice. The histories of such groups are full of stories of those loyal men who were determined that no man would be left behind.

Here is one instance from an official account. ¹ During fighting in Somalia in October of 1993, two United States Army Rangers in a helicopter during the firefight learned that two other helicopters near them had fallen to the earth. The two rangers, in their relative safety aloft, learned by radio that no ground forces were available to rescue one of the downed aircrews. Growing numbers of the enemy were closing in on the crash site.

The two men watching from above volunteered to go down to the ground (the words they used on the radio were to “be inserted”) to protect their critically wounded comrades. Their request was denied because the situation was so dangerous. They asked a second time. Permission was again denied. Only after their third request were they put down on the ground.

Armed only with their personal weapons, they fought their way to the crashed helicopter and the injured fliers. They moved through intense small arms fire as enemies converged on the crash site. They pulled the wounded from the wreckage. They put themselves in a perimeter around the wounded, placing themselves in the most dangerous positions. They protected their comrades until their ammunition was depleted and they were fatally wounded. Their bravery and their sacrifice saved the life of a pilot who would have been lost.

They were each awarded posthumously the Medal of Honor, their nation’s highest recognition for bravery in the face of an armed enemy. The citation reads that what they did was “above and beyond the call of duty.”

But I wonder if they saw it that way as they moved to the downed airmen. Out of loyalty they felt a duty to stand by their fellow soldiers, whatever the cost. The courage to act and their selfless service came from feeling that they were responsible for the lives, the happiness, and the safety of comrades.

Such a feeling of responsibility for others is at the heart of faithful priesthood service. Our comrades are being wounded in the spiritual conflict around us. So are the people we are called to serve and protect from harm. Spiritual wounds are not easily visible, except with inspired eyes.

Consequently, as a priesthood holder responsible for the spiritual survival of some of Heavenly Father’s children, you will then move to help without waiting for a cry, “Man down!” Even a best friend or other leaders or parents may not see what you have seen.

Here is the link to the rest of the talk. https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/04/man-down?lang=eng

"You never know who you will save." Bronson, Miriah and Brittons games Wins, Ties, Loss, we had some of each this week.

 Bronson's game LP vs Riverton.   It was a blow out LP 44 Riverton 15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Bronson calling for the ball.

 

 

 Dad took lots of pictures!

 

 Miriah's scored one goal, her team tied. 2-2

 

 

 

 

 

 Britton did a great job again this week.  He made the first touch down running the kick off back to the end zone.  You won't be able to tell from the pictures, but he zig zagged back and forth down the field to get away from the AF players.  He was pretty excited.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Touch Down!

Second half he became the water boy. We were already up by three touchdowns.

 

 

 The last kick off of the game, they let Britton kick.  It was a pretty good kick.

 

 

 

Story for the week.  Marin called on Saturday night wanting a story Brady used when he came home from his mission.  Brady and Brody had a soccer game, so I could not get them on the phone. So I set a text to the family to find the story.  Uncle Ty replied with the link.  I sent the link to all of you already, but because I want to be able to remember it and not have to look for it again I am putting the story here.

“And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts.” (D&C 29:7.)

This is a gigantic task for all those involved in building our Heavenly Father’s kingdom. But I have heard so many remarkable testimonies about wonderful men and women that have been brought into the Church that I would like to say: “You never know whom you will save.”

To illustrate my point, I would like to go back in thought to my native Holland where six generations of my father’s ancestors lived in the little village of Scheveningen at the seashore. They were fishermen or had other related vocations, like fishing-boat builders, sail makers, or fishing-net repairmen. Many of them were also involved in the voluntary but hazardous task of lifesaving. They were stouthearted, experienced men who always were ready to man the rowing lifeboats to go on a rescue mission. With every westerly gale that blew, some fishing boats ran into difficulties, and many times the sailors had to cling to the rigging of their stricken ships in a desperate fight to escape inevitable drowning. Year after year the sea claimed its victims.

On one occasion during a severe storm, a ship was in distress, and a rowboat went out to rescue the crew of the fishing boat. The waves were enormous, and each of the men at the oars had to give all his strength and energy to reach the unfortunate sailors in the grim darkness of the night and the heavy rainstorm.

The trip to the wrecked ship was successful, but the rowboat was too small to take the whole crew in one rescue operation. One man had to stay behind on board because there simply was no room for him; the risk that the rescue boat would capsize was too great. When the rescuers made it back to the beach, hundreds of people were waiting for them with torches to guide them in the dreary night. But the same crew could not make the second trip because they were exhausted from their fight with the storm winds, the waves, and the sweeping rains.

So the local captain of the coast guard asked for volunteers to make a second trip. Among those who stepped forward without hesitation was a nineteen-year-old youth by the name of Hans. With his mother he had come to the beach in his oilskin clothes to watch the rescue operation.

When Hans stepped forward his mother panicked and said, “Hans, please don’t go. Your father died at sea when you were four years old and your older brother Pete has been reported missing at sea for more than three months now. You are the only son left to me!”

But Hans said, “Mom, I feel I have to do it. It is my duty.” And the mother wept and restlessly started pacing the beach when Hans boarded the rowing boat, took the oars, and disappeared into the night.

After a struggle with the high-going seas that lasted for more than an hour (and to Hans’s mother it seemed an eternity), the rowboat came into sight again. When the rescuers had approached the beach close enough so that the captain of the coast guard could reach them by shouting, he cupped his hands around his mouth and called vigorously against the storm, “Did you save him?”

And then the people lighting the sea with their torches saw Hans rise from his rowing bench, and he shouted with all his might, “Yes! And tell Mother it is my brother Pete!” Oct 1976

Jacob de Jager