The rain came down and the floods came up

As a missionary, I experienced a couple of typhoons and saw the amount of damage they could do in a short period of time. The storms weren't so bad, it was more the flooding that came afterward.

Time for Helping Hands

I was in Texas just a few weeks ago, in the San Antonio area, so I've been watching Hurricane Floyd and the aftermath with a certain degree of anxiety.

A few years ago, Sis. Kerry Jo and her companion experienced a typhoon. It's a storyline that seemed to relate to current events, so I plan on running those for the next couple of days.

In the meantime, you may be wondering what you can do to help. A friend of mine from Texas says, "You can donate funds to the Humanitarian Aid Fund of LDS Philanthropies. One hundred percent of every dollar is used to help those in need without regard to race, religion or ethnicity.

"Furthermore, ANYONE in the Houston or surrounding areas can contact The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints via a hotline to request help in cleanup efforts related to damages from the hurricane and subsequent flooding. There is no charge for these series. They are mobilizing thousands to come and help with cleaning, mucking out homes, clearing limbs, whatever needs to be done.

"This has been done in many cities throughout the world. Last 5,000 were mobilized to Louisiana. It may take a week or two, but bishops in the area have already submitted an estimation of homes damaged and preparation is underway.

"By calling the hotline number, you will be put in contact with a volunteer who will take down the information you need and create a work order, and then send a volunteer crew out to help as soon as feasible.

"Obviously there is still difficulty getting crews into the neighborhoods, but this will allow us to start the rebuilding process, and they will come as soon as they are able. Volunteers may come from Mormon Helping Hands, Catholic Charities and others."

The hotline numbers are:

(800) 451-1954

(844) 965-1386

Making a mark

I'm sorry. I've been holding out on you. I thought that I'd posted all of the bookmarks that we made, but I discovered that I haven't posted the first of the Women of Virtue series! I know, right? So here's a downloadable set of (some of) the Women of Virtue bookmarks, complete with crop marks. Use them wisely, and enjoy!

Sketchbook: What's that word?

I ran across my missionary journal the other day and read about some of my struggles with the language. One of the things I wrote about was how difficult it was to remember all the right words when praying in my mission language, yet it was spiritually satisfying.

Amen.

It's all in the family

My brother and I often wondered how our genealogy could be the same.

The color of values

The value of an education

Actually, I kind of wish I could remember all the things I was taught in Primary...

Remote control

With BYU's first game coming up at the end of the week, I wonder how effective such a remote might be?

Family ties

It's an older cartoon, but it seemed kind of timely to me.

Sketchbook: Today's the day, tonight's the night

In case you miss the eclipse this morning, it will be repeated again tonight, in slow motion.

Let's be careful out there!

Anticipation vs. The Actual Event

And, boom! Just like that, it's going to be over! 

Know before you go

You know the old Zen saying: if you think you've reached enlightenment, you haven't reached enlightenment? It's like that. 

Special powers

We finally got our eclipse glasses, and we look cool!

Yeah, it's a dad joke.

Today is National Tell A Joke Day (who knew, right?). So with the eclipse coming up on Monday, we thought we'd play off of that just a little bit.

Plan ahead!

Caption Contest Winner!

It was hard to choose from so many good entries, but here's the winner to our latest caption contest!

Congratulations to faithful reader Bobby, who wins a copy of You're on a Slippery Slope, Elder!, a collection of missionary-related cartoons.

Thank you to all who entered!

Sketchbook: Second career

As Paul Harvey used to say, "And now you know the rest of the story!"

He cannot be moved

It's been in the family for years!

Trees of knowledge

Thanks to reader Chris B. for this idea...

It's not the heat...

Follow your nose!

If only it were that easy!

Sketchbook: Clean up time!

Cleaning up the camping gear after Girls Camp isn't nearly as bad as cleaning it up after Scout camp!

Remember to send in your suggestion in the caption contest! See Saturday's entry for details!

Caption Contest!

After after a couple of weeks of Girls Camp, it's time for a caption contest! What's going on with these Young Women as they study their scriptures in their tent at night?

Send in your suggestion for a caption by commenting below, or email it to me, or tell it to me in person! My esteemed panel of judges will select their favorite from amongst the entries, and we'll publish the winner next week.

There may even be some valuable prizes involved, so please submit early and often. Thanks!

Second thoughts on first impressions

It's a lot easier to have pleasant memories of a place after you've gone.

Cooking hacks

It's those little things.

Vantage point

Always look on the bright side, I guess!

If you chance to meet a bug...

Not all insects can be reasoned with, apparently.