Let Your Light Shine...



 

...or put up some Christmas lights for someone to shine for you!!!  This year I had the unique opportunity to do some direct service my recipient.  With Ed being really busy with all his recent Pei Wei jobs I knew that he would not want to or wouldn't have time to put up the Christmas lights on the house or the Christmas tree.  I knew if I was that busy I would really appreciate this service.  So I worked with Kriss to purchase some new Christmas lights for the outside as we were unable to find the old ones.  I had to conquer a little bit of fear of heights as I climbed to the tippy top of the roof and leaned over the edge to put up some of the lights higher up.  I put up the Lights outside and when they got their Christmas Tree I helped dress it with garland and lights. Marry Christmas Ed!

 

 

 

 

The Gates house was one of the first to have their lights up and boy do they look great!

 



you never know...

Well here we are again, a new yr. and new names that we are to somehow give a meaningful service for and in behalf of. This has become a wonderful tradition and at the same time a challenge to some of us. should I just speak for myself and say that this yr was very rewarding and at the same time a challenge.

I have been very blessed this yr. and I could not help but think back to when I was growing up with all my brothers and sisters and the kind of Christmas's we had. My mother would give everything she had to make sure we all had some kind of present and a wonderful  Christmas time.

That being said, I decided that if I could, I would try to give to a family that may be in the same situation that my family was in.   

I know that some time in this service rendering, that I have a cows butt in my name out there, feeding some needy people.   Right. Michael MacBride?   So, I feel it is ok, to not have done physical labor in my service.

I do not have any pictures, so I will try to paint a picture in your minds as to what this was like. A picture is worth a 1000 words, so picture this:

I make some phone calls and make some arrangements to put things into motion.

As you all know I have been busy with the work that I took on.  I am in the Beverly Hills city offices trying to get a permit and I get a return phone call from one of my sources. (I had just hung up from talking to mom about our next mission, and where we might want to serve, and I was kind of emotional at the end of that call.)   Now I get this call and I explain what we as a family have done for a couple of years now, for Christmas.   I can't help but think how blessed I am to be the parent of such great, great kids and as many of you may know, the water faucet springs a leak. Yes folks, I am sitting waiting for my name to be called.  I am on  the phone, which is a no no.  I am trying to explain to this person  what I need from him. Now on the other end, he becomes caught up in the spirit  of what I would like to do, and I can now tell that he, too, has developed a small leak. I get control of myself and get across to him how he may be able to help me fulfill my service in behalf of the person I have been given. He said he would get back to me.

My next contact is a phone call while I am in the middle of a work day.  (Now any of you that have had that pleasure of making that kind of call to me know just how pleasant I can be).  I make myself very, very congenial as he starts to explain the options, that he has for me. I am once again overcome, even as I walk back and forth on the job. I am so touched by what he has told me, that a couple of workers ask me if everything is ok. "Yes,  I am ok" I say, ... "just some good news".

Now I would like to print the note that was sent along with the gift that I had agreed to send. (Thank you dear companion for writing this for me.)

"Dear 'Special Family'

I grew up in a family with 13 children... and our father left home when I was very young.  My Sweet mother struggled, working very hard to provide for us, along with the help from the church.

I will never forget the magic of Christmas... as we all came into the living room and saw all the gifts around the tree each year. The first thing we did before any packages were opened, was kneel down and thank our Father In Heaven for the gospel and for the kind  and wonderful people who Shared the  Christmas  spirit with us. I knew that my mom would not have been able to do this without help.

This year I want to share with you this special Christmas Spirit, and dedicate this to my marvelous mother  'Ione.'  Someday you can pass this on." 

 Have a Heavenly Christmas "

In this note, I dedicated the service to my mother, because I did not want the family, to whom this gift was given,  to know that this was really done for Mitzi McBride.  There is a family in Mitzi's ward, the same size as Mitzi's family, that will have now have a Christmas.

Mitzi, I received a phone call from your Bishop to give me a little report. When he met with the family and gave them the note and gift, they just sat on the sofa and wept and wept. The Bishop said "Brother Gates, You have given them a life line".

Thank you Mitzi for letting me share this with my Mom as this all transpired on December 12th, My Mother's birthday. I love you Mitt...

Dad

   

Oh, my little Lani, what an inspiration you are...

My recipiant is our sweet Lani... At first I thought that I would try to do something for the Young Women in our ward... or tend for a young family... or work in the laundry at the temple. But then I realized these were things that I already am doing. I decided that I wanted to do something out of my regular comfort zone, and make a special effort to do something that I wouldn't normally do. So I started "searching" and found something special. Lani taught Dad and I to love Africa. When Grandma and Grandpa went to Liberia, they returned with tons of souvenirs and lots of stories, but I was too immature to appreciate what they had experienced. When Lani went to Africa, we were able to really experience the emotions behind Africa. As we all know, one of the biggest problems in Africa is AIDS.

        When I first learned about AIDS, and what it was and how it was usually spread, I was naive and absolutely disgusted. I remember thinking something like "Well, I guess they get what they deserve, if that's the way they choose to live." What a fool I was. I have grown immensely in the last 3 years. I am disgusted with myself, for being so judgemental. I have learned to love the people of Africa and have discovered that many innocent people are affected, and infected, with this terrible disease. I have also discovered that there are many wonderful gay men and women, who are God's children. I could write forever on what I have discovered.

I found a special service project to honor Lani. When I worked, I dedicated my service to Lani and to "Ren". Ren was my special little African Angel that was stricken with Malaria, from the bad water in Pointe Noire. When they took her to the hospital for malaria she was given either a dirty needle or infected blood, because my little sweetheart contracted AIDS. Her family adored her. She had 4 big brothers, and a great Mom and Dad (who Dad actually baptized.) Because she was behind in school, she missed learning how to read and do basic math facts. For a year, I worked with her and taught her to read and to do her math.

She was thrilled with little things that I gave her. Little books... and little head bands and bows from Mitzi and some of the rest of you.

I became way too attached to her, and when I held her last December and told her good-bye, she cried and cried. 2 months ago I received word that Ren had passed away from AIDS. It broke my heart, because she was so very young and innocent.

It seemed so preventable, yet in Africa, it happens all the time.

  3 years ago I wouldn't have touched anyone or anything that was connected in any way to AIDS. Last week I had the honor of working with the "AIDS

Services Foundation Orange County." I served in the food pantry with some wonderful women who volunteer once a week. There were also several men working there. The food pantry is for people who are too sick with AIDS to lead normal lives, and the orders are prepared... similiar to our church's bishops' storehouses. I met many of the "patients" and visited and laughed with them about the holiday season, as I stocked shelved and refrigerators with the incoming food orders. It was a very special day.

 

 

 

Lani, my love... thanks for introducing us to Africa and understanding a little bit about the world outside the bubbles of Salt Lake City and Irvine. Words cannot express what you have done for us in understanding how much our Father in Heaven loves us all. Merry Christmas to all of you! We love you so much. Mom

Running for many wonderful reasons...

What do you do when you get Mike Mcbride for the Christmas Service? The guy who has such great post write ups, and has that great sense of humor. Talk about the pressure! So Mike McBride, MERRY CHRISTMAS, from Tiff! This year, I decided to follow in my big brother's footsteps and become a runner. I know others in the family started this also this year for David, and I did do it for him also. I had decided to do this for my service for both David and Mike. Back in August I started training and running. I was running 4 days a week, anywhere from 2-5 miles each time, usually about 12-15 miles total a week. I enjoyed it so much, and I am so grateful that I had that time to myself 4 times a week to better myself. I know to some this might seem a pretty selfish service, and I know that it might be, but I decided that myself a healthier person was a good service to others, including my own children and family.


I started off small and did a 5k race on October 20th, (the same day the others were doing their big half marathon on the East Coast). It was a very laid back "Color dash" race where every km you were doused with colored corn starch. This race was a race for "Heart Disease". I ran it under 35 minutes, and I was very proud of myself!

 

 

 

 

 

Then 2 weeks later, I ran my 10k on November 3rd! Now, this was the longest I have ever ran in my whole life at one time. 6.2 miles! This race was amazing. When I was looking for races, I looked in Irvine, and this race happened to be going on. It is a race that earned money for an African Orphanage in Kenya. I loved that I was able to support something that is also so close to our family at this time, with mom and dad returning from their mission. I tried to convince Ryan to switch people with me so that I could have dad for my service recipient this year. That was a no go. :)

 

 

This race was so special to me. I have written about it already, and some of you might have already seen it. 2 of my best friends ran it with me, and I really could not have done it without them. They pushed me the whole time and kept me going. As I ran my last few hundred feet and then crossed the finish line, I became so emotional. I was so proud of myself. I finished the race in record time! 1:07:45! My personal record. And I really couldn't have done it without these girls. I ran a 5k two weeks ago by myself, and I missed having someone there to do it with. This race was amazing. As I crossed the finish line with these 2 ladies, my eyes welled up with tears as I was so emotional with accomplishing this goal and also with the love I felt for my sweet cousin David. Here is my post write up that was on David's Return With Honor Blog:

My service to David this year is similar to many others. I started running again, but this time, a lot, and for a goal and a cause. I started training for a 10k back in september. I ran a 5 k on October 20th, and then a 10k on November 3rd. I crossed the finish line for the 10k at a time of 1:07. I couldn't belive it! I was training, and was doing 12.5 minute miles. This was 11.5 miles per hour under! I crossed that finish line and tears swelled up in my eyes. I felt so spiritual, so happy, so overwhelmed with happiness. The spirit was so strong in me. I know David was there telling me good job. I enjoyed every second of training and of that race. It was harder than I have ever ran before, but I did it, and I loved it.  I love you David. Thank you for inspiring us all!

This is a picture of the orphanage in Kenya that the proceeds of the race went to. It was taken on December 20th.

 

Then later that week, on November 8th, Ryan's company was having a 5k. November 8th happened to also be David's birthday. I felt very special to be running for this game company's 5k (and the 5k was to inspire health wellness within the company), a guy who loved computer games, on his birthday. It was another very special run.

My next running goal is to run a half marathon in 2013. I will start training for next starting January and will hopefully do it with Dad before they leave on another mission.

And then lastly, in honor of my big brother Mike, who is a wonderful runner, and is a wonderful member of the church, I will be volunteering to help with the Disneyland Half Marathon on January 17th and January 19th. I saw something about volunteering for the half marathon, and decided that since I choose not to run it (because it was on a Sunday) that I could volunteer to help on the days leading up to it. I will be putting together the runner packets on Thursday and then passing them out on the Saturday. Yay for running! And thank you mike for inspiring me to become a runner and become a healthier person. I love you!

2012 Season of Service

The family of Ed and Kriss Gates are continuing their family tradition of performing service for, or on behalf of, each other in lieu of giving gifts.

In 2009, with families spread across five state throughout the country, we decided our traditional gift exchange was too costly and difficult. Amy suggested that instead of the commercialized practice of buying small gifts only to pay high shipping costs, we each perform acts of service in the name of the sibling whose name we were assigned at random.

Just as in the past, our good friend Carrie Collins drew the names and notified each of us privately to keep secret who was doing good in your name. On Christmas Day, we reveal who we had and how we chose to celebrate the new tradition of the Gates Family Season of Service.

This tradition has helped us focus on serving our communities and one another during the annual celebration of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

The 2012 Gates Family Season of Service
(click on each to read individually, or go here for full blog.)

• To Dad... ... from Ryan.
• To Mom... ... from Wayne.
• To Bill... ... from Lani.
• To Char... ... from Mitzi.
• To Wayne... ...from Ashley.
• To Amy... ...from Mike.
• To Chuck... ... from Hock.
• To Ashley... ...from Bill.
• To Mike... ... from Tiffany.
• To Mitzi... ... from Dad.
• To Hock... ... from Amy.
• To Lani... ... from Mom.
• To Ryan... ... from Charise.
• To Tiff... ... from Chuck.