Light the World 2017

The Church did the "Light the World" campaign again this year. Every day in December up until Christmas, they suggested different scriptures to read and service projects for individuals and families to complete. We weren't perfect for the whole month, but we completed many of them. It was a good chance to teach the kids about serving others and being more mindful of the people around us. It was also really helpful for me. I always feel like I'm not doing enough, but it was nice to see that I already do quite a bit of service without really noticing it. They are small things to be sure, but it made me realize that I'm not completely failing, just need to step it up a little.

Some of the fun things that we did were: deliver gifts to our neighbors, write notes to our parents telling them we love them, and donate clothes to D.I. Our big service project for the month was earning money to buy a goat for a family in need somewhere in the world. The goats could be purchased at the service vending machines that were set up at Temple Square. Each goat cost $75, so we made it our goal to make that much money as a family. I donated a week of my pay from my side job, so the boys had to earn $25 between them. They did extra chores around the house and worked hard for several weeks to earn enough.

On December 23, we finally had the money all saved up. We went to Temple Square with Jonathon's family. It was a fun trip. We rode Front Runner up to Salt Lake, had pizza at the Gateway Mall, and then went to see the lights at Temple Square. While we there, we stopped by the Service Vending Machines in the Joseph Smith Building to purchase our goat. The lines were so long! It was incredible to see so many people lined up to donate money to help others. I stayed in line while the boys saw the lights.

Finally, it was our turn. We all gathered together to pay for the goat. We felt really good that somewhere in the world, a family would be getting a life-sustaining gift this Christmas. It was a special holiday season for me, and I hope the boys will remember it as well.

Buying our Goat 

Cousin Caleb snuck into the picture... can you spot him?