Accentuate the Positive

                       

My plea is that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight.  I am suggesting that as we go through life, we "accentuate the positive."  I am asking that we look a little deeper for good, that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment and endorse virtue and effort.

President Gordon B. Hinckley

Since all work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy, we decided to venture out on our "P" Day and join Elder and Sister Bevans at the Amway Center in Orlando to see Disney on Ice.



Two street musicians to set the proper atmosphere.

Disney on Ice at the Amway Center in Orlando Florida

The ice stage before the show ...goes on

Even being surrounded by all these people I still missed having Jill and Sienna here with us!

Pictures were prohibited during the course of the production so just a parting shot of the numerous Disney princesses and their significant others.  

I am not sure what I liked the most about the activity, the music, (I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream, a whole new world, part of your world, Belle, just to name a few), the beautiful pair ice skating or seeing all the little girls between the ages of 2 and 9 in the audience all decked out in costume as one of their favorite Disney princess-sometimes jewelry, shoes, make up and all!

 

If you are a regular to our blog you might remember that Elder Busath and I were recently re-assigned from the Pleasant Hill Ward (congregation) to the Poinciana Branch. The above picture is the elementary school where we meet on Sunday for services.

Our chapel (the cafeteria) where we hold Sacrament Meeting.

 

Our Relief Society Room (the school library).
It was all I could do not to plop myself right down on the floor and start pulling out books!

The Poinciana Branch welcomed us with open arms!
 We are so excited to serve here and hope to make a difference.

A few minutes after Sacrament Meeting the Branch President approached us and asked us to teach the Temple Preparation class.  No problem we responded.  "Great he said, they meet on the stage, behind the curtain and the first class starts today!" And so it begins :)

 As always searching for furniture to meet the mission's needs.  Today we are looking for two sleeper sofas and two occasional chairs for our Senior Missionaries.

Sister Bevans is supervising the work and hoping to find the perfect sofa for her apartment. 

She is expecting company this winter.

Sisters Peck and Carpenter-Lake Nona Sisters, who recently moved from the duplex, where we store our surplus furniture, to a new apartment closer to their area. We are really going to miss seeing their happy faces on a regular basis :(

From left Elder Gordon, Sister Gordon, Elder and Sister Moline and me (camera shy). From the right, Elder Bevans, Sister Bevans, Elder and Sister Nielson, Sister Danes and Sister Vaden.

 

A birthday celebration for Elder Nielson and a farewell dinner for Elder and Sister Moline at Azteca on OBT (Orange Blossom Trail). Elder Nielson is turning another year older and the Moline's are preparing to begin another mission in the Memphis, Tennessee Temple Presidency.

Same place, just two days later, we are now on the look out for four desks and six study chairs. 

We seriously can't thank Sister Todd enough for this gold mine and for her generosity! 

Carmello and Carlos deserve a great big vote of our thanks as well!

A funny side note.  When we placed the study chairs in the bed of the truck to transport them to the Lake Nona W garage we had no idea that it was going to pour-but hey it's Florida.  The other thing we didn't plan on is that as we drove down the freeway the two upside down chairs spun out of control, catapulting their five little wheels a piece to places unknown.  Fortunately when we unloaded the furniture we found five of the wheels in the bed of the truck and four of the wheels in the drawer of the big brown dresser shown above in the back of the truck.  The fifth wheel is still unaccounted for.

 

 Elders Whitaker and Christianson standing proud in the empty garage of a recently vacated house in Deland.  These Elders were given the difficult assignment of emptying this house after eight years of housing missionaries and then to clean it from top to bottom.

 

 

                       

I have to admit I was a little worried at what we might find when we arrived.  We actually brought reinforcements, Elder and Sister Bevans, just in case we needed to roll up our sleeves and show the Elders how to get the job done.  But they surprised us and it was better than I could have hoped for.

The Elders, Whitaker, Christianson, Busath and Bevans quickly emptied the garage and loaded up the truck and trailer and set off for the dump.They soon discovered that the landfill staff where they chose to discard the broken and damaged surplus items turned out to be short on humor, a little paranoid and very security minded, but that is another story all in itself.

To show our appreciation for all their hard work, we popped for dinner at Firehouse Subs, delicious!

Back to the office, where there is always more work to be done. Elders Clement and McGreggor with pressing business and Sister Thomas in the background helping out with the filing.

 In closing just let me remind you.....

"Accentuate The Positive"

You've got to accentuate the positive
eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
But don't mess with mister inbetween

You've got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
have faith, a pandemonium
Libel to walk up on the scene

To illustrate my last remark
Jonah in the Whale, Noah in the ark
What did they do
just when everything looked so dark

They said we better
accentuate the positive
eliminate the negative
latch on to the affirmative
But don't mess with mister inbetween

 

See you soon!