I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I want to blog today about one of my favorite programs in the Church, the Visiting Teaching program. For the benefit of those not familiar with this religion or this program, I will explain a little bit about the program and why I love it so much.
As in other religions, we have clergy who assume overall leadership for our membership (called a "Ward"); one Bishop and two Councilors, however, are not sufficient to tend to the needs of every man, woman, and child in the Ward. The programs of Visiting Teaching and Home Teaching go along way to help meet these individual needs. Most active adult members of the Church participate in one or the other of these programs; Visiting Teaching for the women, and Home Teaching for the men. Most often, two men or two women are partnered, and are assigned a small number (perhaps 3-5) of individuals or families to visit on a monthly basis.
The monthly visits, along with other interaction when possible, allow the Visitors to become better acquainted with the Visitees (you all understand the use of that word, don't you? :) It provides an opportunity for the Visitors to learn about the personalities, likes and dislikes of those they visit, as well as to be aware of situations that arise (and they occasionally do in all our lives!) where helping hands are needed and appreciated.
The monthly visits allow the Visitors to share a brief and uplifting spiritual message, and well as information or items deemed appropriate for that month or situation. Be it flowers from one's garden, bread or cookies from one's oven, or a birthday cake on the Visitee's birthday are all good examples of the opportunities to share and get to know one another better.
My many years, both as a Visiting Teacher, and as someone who has been the recipient of good Visiting Teachers, have taught me to love and appreciate this program, inspired by a loving Heavenly Father, who best knows His children's needs and how to meet them.
The two women ("sisters" is how we refer to one another in a church setting) who are currently my Visiting Teachers shared a birthday recently. They are such devoted Visiting Teachers--and friends!--that I wanted to honor them with a birthday luncheon. I have a new Visiting Teaching Companion (a woman I have wanted to get to know better!), so I wanted to invite her, as well, and the sisters we visit. A couple of them were not able to come to the luncheon this time, but those who were able seemed to have a good time. I know I really enjoyed having them. Following is a picture from our time together.
I served Tortilla Soup, Hot Rolls, Strawberry-Spinach Salad, and my own version of Pina Colada Cake. Several years ago, at one of our daughter-in-law Sara's bridal showers, the hostesses used crystal salt and pepper shakers as vases for tiny flower arrangements, scattered among the food trays on the serving table. I began collecting them at garage sales and flea markets and like to use them to make individual "bouquets" at each place setting. I don't have a lot of flowers in bloom this early, so for this Visiting Teaching luncheon, I simply used a single stem of a new (to our yard) full-sun, perennial (Dwarf Coreopsis) and, for the greenery, a stem of parsley. They seemed to enjoy it. If you maximize the picture, perhaps you can, too. :)
