"One week ago Benedicta Attiogbe who is the Relief Society President of the Attiegou Branch asked me for some help for a special 5th Sunday lesson for Relief Society. Her goal was to present each sister with something they could make and which would reflect upon the lesson given that day. Her initial desire was to have me teach them to sew something….SO NOT ME. I had to refuse that request just simply because that is not what I do. So I came up with her giving a lesson on recognizing their individuality and talents and, following the lesson they would scrapbook a bookmark for their Daughters In My Kingdom book highlighting a quote from that book by Julie B. Beck. Benedicta loved it. One tender thing that came out of the idea was that I asked her to encourage them to each write their testimony on the back of their bookmarks once finished and sign and date it. She informed me that over 50% of her sisters cannot read or write…that brought tears to my eyes. I drove my husband crazy buying cardstock, tape, glue, cut-outs colored pens and everything in between.
The Chinese store even produced for me some scrapbooking kits (ok, they were for Valentine’s Day but they were great). So, armed to the hilt with all my stuff when it came time for Relief Society in I went. Benedicta gave a beautiful lesson and the sisters really were very attentive…then it was my turn. I had set up three long tables laden with all my supplies and Benedicta showed them what she wanted them to do encouraging them to be creative and not copy someone else. She emphasized that there was not a right or wrong way to do it…the object was to do it and enjoy the spirit of sisterhood in the process.
What I witnessed was pure joy. At first they were apprehensive and looked scared at the prospect of actually doing something they had not ever done before and working with media they did not know even existed. What transpired made my heart sing as they became engaged and worked together. They, laughed and clapped their hands when they saw what they were accomplishing and just became sisters in the gospel expressing their individuality amongst themselves. So now I finish my journal title. “How many Sisters Does It Take to Create Joy? Twenty Five, doing what they do best…being Sisters in the Gospel.” I have to say this was one of the best experiences I have had since serving in Nigeria when Sister Garff had the sisters there compose poems about themselves which also produced joy for us. Once done and with sisters clutching the fruits of their creativity and showing them off to everybody they encountered, we packed up and headed home."
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