Week 29: Guess who rang the Kirtland Temple bell on Easter morning?

Hello. You may be wondering whom it was that rang the bell in the Kirtland Temple Easter morning. Well, I'm here to tell you: It was me. Sister Jayne Livingston. And it was pretty neat. 

This week the VC sisters were able to do a lot with the Community of Christ for Easter. On Thursday night, we attended their "Maundy" service. We didn't really know what to expect. But we went in, and we could tell that we were going to take the sacrament. There were loaves of bread on all the tables, and little glasses of--wine. Shoot. All of us sisters had a slight panic attack and weren't sure what to do. Luckily  for us though, it was actually only grape juice. It surprised me that they had the same sacramental prayer as us. Which makes sense, because they read from the Book of Mormon. I just wasn't expecting it. 

Friday, they held a little Black Friday service in the Temple. It was interesting. They had their president of the 70 come preach to us. There was just a different vibe. Like, he kept saying, "Amen?" Then the congregation would reply, "AMEN!!!" I've never been to another church before though, so it was a pretty neat experience. 

Then on Sunday, we didn't do anything with them because of General Conference. Which was amazing by the way. I don't think I had ever been so excited for conference. But I loved it. I'm sad it's over. At least for the next 6 months. I'm excited for the Conference Ensign edition to come so I can study it.

Then on Sunday morning, we had a "Sunrise" service in the temple with the Community of Christ. It was also different, but a neat experience. I just really like our church. A lot. But that's when we got to ring the bell. It was pretty cool.

We had transfers this past Wednesday. And guess what! I'm still in Kirtland. 5 transfers, one area. At this rate, I'll only serve in 3 areas. But I love Kirtland and I'm not ready to leave yet. So thank goodness I'm still being trained by Sister Allen. Because yes, she's training me. 

That's pretty much it. We're spending more time at the Visitors' Center now that it's warming up and more people are visiting. It's nice having more time there, but I wish we still had more time in our area. We need 8 or 9 day weeks or something. That would be perfect. 

I love my mission. It's not what I expected it to be at all, but I love it. I love how close it's allowed me to grow to my Heavenly Father and Savior. I know that He lives, and I know that with him, all things are possible. The only thing that is restricting us is, indeed, ourselves. 

I love you guys. Happy Easter and Happy April. 

Love,

Jayne