Sister Beck once described Visiting Teaching as an extension of the Lord’s hands to help lift, serve, and love one another. Hearing that description helped broaden my own understanding for this program and encouraged me (without the guilt) to reach out to the sisters whom I’ve been called to lift, serve and most importantly, love. 

 

 

 

Visiting Teaching can still be a challenge sometimes. I currently have sisters who are difficult to catch on a regular basis, but by making them the priority, it allowed my companion and me to think outside the box. For one sister, a young mother who is currently living in her parent’s home, my companion and I got the impression that she never felt comfortable having us visit her at home. We began taking her out to lunch (with or without the kids) and setting up park play dates. Visiting her still takes some planning and extra thought, but we know we are truly fulfilling her needs now.

I want to share with you some thoughts by Kara. She wrote this post on her blog last month and I was caught up in her enthusiasm. I love her enthusiasm for Visiting Teaching, and I hope it is catchy for you too.

 

I love Visiting Teaching by Kara Reynolds

 

My visiting teaching companion and I are taking care of business this week. Kicking “butt” and taking names, as some may say. The visiting teaching message for this month is actually about being an effective visiting teacher, and reading over it caused me to reflect on the years I’ve spent as a visiting teacher.

I remember when I first joined the church as a freshman in college, and my roommate and I were assigned to be VT companions. We had absolutely no idea what we were doing, but I think the girls we visited could tell that we truly cared about them, even if we weren’t as smooth as we might have been. With a little more experience I got better at sussing out the needs of the girls with whom I visited, and tried to meet those needs. I remember praying that one girl would get married soon, and telling another to quit pretending she had a testimony of the Gospel and actually try to get one. I’ve made dinners, and watched children, and meditated on how to help the women I’m assigned to visit. Through going out and doing my visiting teaching, I know that Heavenly Father instituted this program to bless lives.

My life has certainly been blessed by visiting teaching. With my current calling as the Visiting Teaching Leader (and this ain’t my first rodeo- er, assignment) I get to work with our Relief Society president on a monthly basis to create assignments that will bless the women of our ward. Working so closely with her has taught me to be more forgiving and less quick to judge others, as we discuss the various trials our girls are experiencing. Trust me, that’s a personality lesson I desperately need. I also am blessed because I have visiting teachers. When I was pregnant with Sam- you know, deathly ill and in the first semester of my master’s program, my visiting teachers did not visit me. I didn’t even know who they were. And I was alone, and sick, and scared. Looking back, I know it would have lifted my spirits immensely to know that there were two women assigned to look after me. When I was pregnant with Benjy, my VTs brought dinner to us, helped organize people to watch Sam so I could take a break, and faithfully visited me (even when I was spitting into a bucket during their visits because my mouth overproduced saliva like crazy). It was so wonderful to know that they cared.

I love visiting teaching. I love the concept, and I love the dirty work. It changes lives. It is a plan straight from God. If you haven’t seen your sisters this month, get out there!

 

 

 

 

 

Let me follow those great words with these, by Barbara W. Winder, former RS General President. “Visiting teaching gives us an opportunity to learn how to follow the Savior. As we extend love and unselfish service, we become instruments of the Lord, helping in times of physical, emotional, and spiritual need to touch hearts and change lives.”

I wish nothing more than to be an instrument in the Lord’s hands, and to think I can do that by fulfilling something as ordinary as regular visiting teaching! I hope all our testimonies grow and we watch miracles happen as we reach out to lift and love one another.

If you’d like to read more of Kara’s wonderful thoughts and insights, please visit her blog: www.thereynoldstribe.blogspot.com