Back to School Service Project - Day of Service 2014

It's that time again for our Day of Service where we have the opportunity to reach out to our community and show them we are here to serve. 

This year we will be doing projects similar to what we did last year for Cypress Park Elementary, however, we will be helping three schools instead of one.  There will be plenty of work so we need as many of our members as possible to show up to help.  Please feel free to invite your families, neighbors, and less active members to help, we welcome anyone who would like to serve. 

Each ward/branch has been assigned to a school and is to report to that school to help at our day of service. We hope to make a large impact at these schools.  Our hope is that we can develop a relationship with these schools, similar to what we have with Cypress Park Elementary, so our members can continue to serve them in different capacities.

We will be collecting specific items for a Supply Drive for each school.  The same items will be collected for all the schools.  Each building has blue collection bins for each item, please bring your items on Sunday and your ward rep will collect them then.

Orlando Florida Hunters Creek Stake
Day of Service 2014
Back to School Service Project

Date: August 2   
Time: 8am to Noon
Locations:

Hunters Creek & Pleasant Hill
Highland's Elementary School
800 W Donegan Ave, Kissimmee

Poinciana & Wetherbee YSA
Chestnut Elementary School
4300 Chestnut St, Poinciana

St. Cloud, Kissimmee & Lake Nona
Lakeview Elementary School
2900 5th St, St Cloud

The following service projects will be done at each school:

* Outdoor landscaping or beautification
* Indoor deep cleaning projects and
* Helping teachers organize, clean, prepare, and decorate their classrooms

Supply Drive (items needed for donation):

• pre-k to adult shoes, any type
• belts
• tissues
• baby wipes
• copy paper

If you have any further questions please contact your ward Public Affairs representative or Bishopric member listed below.

Hunters Creek: Kneil Baron and Jose Toro
Kissimmee: Eric Hansen and Steve Bravato
Lake Nona: Mark Hahn and Missy Wise
Pleasant Hill: Jay Egg and Chad Tucker
Poinciana: Julio Cruz, Scott Dombrowski, Kathleen Kober
St. Cloud: Daniel Munns and Jessica Arrington
Wetherbee YSA: Michael Cajas 

Video Monday - I'm a Mormon

Mormon Elaine Bradley, drummer for the Neon Trees, knows her relationship with God gives her freedom. She never feels more alive than when she's living the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Video Monday - Mormon Messages For Youth

"There will be times when you . . . will have to demonstrate your righteous courage in plain view of your peers, the consequence of which may be ridicule and embarrassment.
. . .
I promise the Lord will empower you. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power.” He will reward you for your courage and righteous behavior—with happiness and joy. Such courage will be a byproduct of your faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, your prayers, and your obedience to commandments."
- Bishop Gary E. Stevenson

Sometimes right choice is not always the easiest choice.


Read Bishop Gary E. Stevenson talk Be Valiant in Courage, Strength, and Activity

Video Monday - Using Technology to Share Your Beliefs

In a world as advanced as ours, technology provides a unique opportunity to share our beliefs with a wider range of people, not just those we see at work, school or in our homes.  We are not limited by location or time, we can share from anywhere instantly though endless mediums. 

"With so many social media resources and a multitude of more or less useful gadgets at our disposal, sharing the good news of the gospel is easier and the effects more far-reaching than ever before . . . My dear young friends, perhaps the Lord’s encouragement to “open [your] mouths” might today include “use your hands” to blog and text message the gospel to all the world! But please remember, all at the right time and at the right place."
Quote given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf in the Sunday morning session of general conference on April 3, 2011.

Share what you believe today, you never know the affect it will have.

Video Monday - Daily Meal

Daily Meal is a program organized by the Osceola Christian Ministry Center.  At their facility, meals are served to the homeless daily by several different churches and organizations on a volunteer basis.  



Our stake has been involved in the Daily Meal program for many years at the ward level. After years of having rewarding experiences helping to serve the homeless, we are asking each ward to take part in this wonderful opportunity. Our stake has been assigned one day each month to prepare and serve a meal and each ward has been assigned one of those days See the listing below.

We hope all involved will enjoy serving and remember what Christ taught about serving others.

"Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matthew 25:40


Our assigned day is the 4th Monday of every month.
(Except where noted * on 2 occasions)

Thursday, May 29* - Hunter's Creek Ward
Monday, June 23 - Lake Nona Ward
Monday, July 28 - St. Cloud Ward
Monday, August 25 - Kissimmee Ward
Monday, September 22 - Pleasant Hill Ward
Monday, October 27 - Poinciana Branch
Monday, November 24 - Hunter's Creek Ward
Monday, December 22 - Lake Nona Ward 

Contact Emily Munns with questions or for more information:
Cell Phone: (407) 414-5011   Email: fernsgr888@aol.com
Click here for more details.

Video Monday - I'm a Mormon, Former Ballerina, and Fashion Executive

Inspiring story of a former dancer turned fashion executive after ex-boyfriend comments on her wearing a t-shirt under her dress to be modest.

Video Monday - Mormon young men bring smiles to 36 girls' faces

Mormon young men bring smiles to 36 girls' faces, video reaches thousands

By Alison Moore, Deseret News

Published: Thursday, March 27 2014 9:30 p.m. MDT

Updated: Friday, March 28 2014 12:19 p.m. MDT

A unexpected youth activity taught a group of young men and women the power of positive words and is now reaching beyond the small group to thousands.

The teachers quorum and leaders organized an activity based around the song "Words" from Christian rock band Hawk Nelson. The lyrics read, "Words can build us up. Words can break us down. Start a fire in our hearts or put it out."

Inspired by this message, the young men wrote words and phrases about each young woman while the girls were in another room. They then had each girl come into the room to be surprised with the positive words from the boys. The girl's reactions were more enthusiastic than Johnson or the young men had anticipated.

"From that very first reaction we thought, 'Oh boy this is, that was pretty cool,'" Johnson said. "I don’t necessarily know what we were expecting per se, but it was different. There was something just in the air that you could feel that said, 'Yeah, this is what can happen when you treat people the way that they need to be treated.'"

The girls enjoyed their experience so much, they all stayed in the room to watch as the rest of the girls came in and read the kind words written about them.

"By and large, it was amazing," Johnson said. "... And it has nothing to do with me, and it has everything to do with, 'Wow, I didn't know my peers looked at me like that.'"

The girls' reactions were edited and shared through a YouTube video posted March 21, which now has thousands of views.

Johnson said that while the young men and young women learned a lesson, the leaders and parents did too. He said one message viewers could take away from the video is to address everything in a way that builds others up instead of tearing them down.

"To group it all into one, just don’t be afraid to compliment someone," he said.

Alison Moore is a writer for the Faith and Family sections at DeseretNews.com. She is studying journalism and editing at Brigham Young University.

Email: amoore@deseretdigital.com Twitter: @alison_kathleen