We're moving... - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

MikeWaters · 11-10-2009, 07:46 PM

same metroplex, different section of it.

In essence we are moving from a fairly urban ward to a fairly suburban one. We are moving from racial diversity to what I presume will be a relative lack of racial diversity (we shall see). We are moving from a relative lack of $, to what will presumably be a fairly well-off ward.

Of course, I will be mentally taking notes of all the differences.

And I will be certain to try and make a poor impression on my first Sunday. No tie, arrive late, sullen look when introducing myself--just saying my name with no details.

It's going to be hard leaving my ward. They are like family after all these years. I feel bad for moving, in a way. My particular sense of loyalty. But I tell myself not to feel bad, because NONE of them (or almost none of them) would make the sacrifice we would have to make in our son's education. They are almost all in the better school district, or have their kids in magnet schools (not a possibility for us).

We should have moved two years ago. But maybe it was God's plan that we stayed this long.

Zulu451 · 11-12-2009, 07:04 PM

Mike - There are few things that can substitute for good schools and a ward with a strong youth program. There will come an age for your little ones where you will have less and less influence over them and their friends will have greater influence. It is by surrounding them with potential "good friends" that will make the difference.

I remember making a good friend nearly 20 years ago. I showed up to church basketball on a Wednesday night after moving into a new city from a long ways away. That friend has stuck with me for a long time and is someone I consider to be one of my lifelong friends. I am very grateful for that friendship. We moved into a good ward with pretty good kids. It was those friends who got me through some tough times.

Hopefully, we will only have two more moves left. One to Boston then (hopefully) back to God's country.... Texas. Each move, we look for a ward with a strong youth program and good schools. When we go to our new wards, we have realized that if we sit back and wait for people to come and be our friends, we will be sorely disappointed. We have to go and stick our hands out and make people talk to us. It is kind of fun to see how uncomfortable this makes them.

Our current ward in Fayetteville NC was actually a wonderful surprise. We showed up and on the first sunday had a sit down, 45 minute interview with the bishop. By the next week my wife had two callings and we were off and running. It was a real blessing b/c as the bishop said, their emphasis was taking care of families with deployed spouses. This feeling of service to our fellow families with a husband or wife deployed leads to a warm, friendly environment. This intern leads to a very open and warm place for investigators and there has not been a month go by that there hasn't been at least one baptism.

MikeWaters · 11-12-2009, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zulu451

I remember making a good friend nearly 20 years ago. I showed up to church basketball on a Wednesday night after moving into a new city from a long ways away. That friend has stuck with me for a long time and is someone I consider to be one of my lifelong friends. I am very grateful for that friendship. We moved into a good ward with pretty good kids. It was those friends who got me through some tough times.

I was hoping this was going to end with a sentence: "That friend was you, Mike." If it had been me, it would have said, "I showed up for church basketball, and this kid schooled me up and and down the court, and made me feel like a pile of doo-doo which his smooth skillz."

Let me add, that urban wards with sketchy schools and small youth programs are not without their strengths. For one, it can be harder to get lost in one of these wards, because they are often short-handed. You may be placed in positions of responsibility that you wouldn't normally (like what happened to me). Plus you have a wide diversity of people from different social strata. And I like that.

How the YM and YW programs are depends on the leaders, and I think I can say we have had a lot of really good leaders both in our ward and in the rest of the stake.

I think being in an urban ward is a little like being on the front lines of battle.

RedHeadGal · 11-13-2009, 12:29 AM

Do you actually know anything about your new ward's demographics, or are you guessing based on the fact that it is suburban. In my metro area, there are plenty of suburban wards that are quite diverse (including mine) in terms of both ethnicity and income levels. Probably depends on which suburb to some extent.

When do you move anyway?

MikeWaters · 11-13-2009, 12:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedHeadGal

Do you actually know anything about your new ward's demographics, or are you guessing based on the fact that it is suburban. In my metro area, there are plenty of suburban wards that are quite diverse (including mine) in terms of both ethnicity and income levels. Probably depends on which suburb to some extent.

When do you move anyway?

I'm just guessing. I have never attended. Which means I am not a "ward shopper".

When do we move? Not sure. I got lots of junk, it's going to take several trips in the car to move that crap.

11-10-2009, 07:46 PM	#1
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	We're moving... same metroplex, different section of it. In essence we are moving from a fairly urban ward to a fairly suburban one. We are moving from racial diversity to what I presume will be a relative lack of racial diversity (we shall see). We are moving from a relative lack of $, to what will presumably be a fairly well-off ward. Of course, I will be mentally taking notes of all the differences. And I will be certain to try and make a poor impression on my first Sunday. No tie, arrive late, sullen look when introducing myself--just saying my name with no details. It's going to be hard leaving my ward. They are like family after all these years. I feel bad for moving, in a way. My particular sense of loyalty. But I tell myself not to feel bad, because NONE of them (or almost none of them) would make the sacrifice we would have to make in our son's education. They are almost all in the better school district, or have their kids in magnet schools (not a possibility for us). We should have moved two years ago. But maybe it was God's plan that we stayed this long.

11-12-2009, 07:04 PM	#2
Zulu451 house-elf 3rd class Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 386	Mike - There are few things that can substitute for good schools and a ward with a strong youth program. There will come an age for your little ones where you will have less and less influence over them and their friends will have greater influence. It is by surrounding them with potential "good friends" that will make the difference. I remember making a good friend nearly 20 years ago. I showed up to church basketball on a Wednesday night after moving into a new city from a long ways away. That friend has stuck with me for a long time and is someone I consider to be one of my lifelong friends. I am very grateful for that friendship. We moved into a good ward with pretty good kids. It was those friends who got me through some tough times. Hopefully, we will only have two more moves left. One to Boston then (hopefully) back to God's country.... Texas. Each move, we look for a ward with a strong youth program and good schools. When we go to our new wards, we have realized that if we sit back and wait for people to come and be our friends, we will be sorely disappointed. We have to go and stick our hands out and make people talk to us. It is kind of fun to see how uncomfortable this makes them. Our current ward in Fayetteville NC was actually a wonderful surprise. We showed up and on the first sunday had a sit down, 45 minute interview with the bishop. By the next week my wife had two callings and we were off and running. It was a real blessing b/c as the bishop said, their emphasis was taking care of families with deployed spouses. This feeling of service to our fellow families with a husband or wife deployed leads to a warm, friendly environment. This intern leads to a very open and warm place for investigators and there has not been a month go by that there hasn't been at least one baptism. __________________ <---- Mikewaters drives the lane...

11-13-2009, 12:29 AM	#4
RedHeadGal Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: DC Posts: 995	Do you actually know anything about your new ward's demographics, or are you guessing based on the fact that it is suburban. In my metro area, there are plenty of suburban wards that are quite diverse (including mine) in terms of both ethnicity and income levels. Probably depends on which suburb to some extent. When do you move anyway?