Hello and Thank You!!
I've been getting all of your
dearelder.com letters.
Thank you sooooooo much! Seriously, they are such a blessing. :D
Mom, I got both of the packages you sent. thank you! It got to
-9 yesterday so those extra gloves were heaven sent :) the cookies were
delicious and the desk decor is wonderful :) I love all of the little
stories you send me. They break up the schedule of the mtc and put a
smile on my face. especially the loud clatter story! :)
I get up at
6:30 every morning.... yes, Dad, I actually do get up at 6:30. there's
been one or two times it's been 6:35 but I've made a goal to not get up
any later than 6:30. I'm learning that obedience is suuuuuper
important. There are a lot of rules for a missionary and sometimes I
think "well that's silly" but I know there's a reason for it. There's a
scripture that talks about how you don't understand the reason for a
commandment until you obey. then you start to see the blessings. The
more I'm obedient, the more I feel Heavenly Father guiding me.
 |
| Provo Utah at -9 degrees January 2013 |
There was one lesson Sister Partner and I taught in the TRC
that was absolutely incredible. Everything was led by the Spirit.
Thoughts came like "talk about prophets" or "talk about Joseph Smith and
don't leave out how the darkness came" "ask her how she's feeling" The
Spirit was so strong. God was working through me. I kept following the
promptings and the stronger and more clear the promptings became. I
asked her to commit to baptism and she did! Her friend that came with
her is going to work with the ward mission leader to make sure she gets
the rest of the lessons. After she prayed, which was beautiful, I had
another prompting. I told her that she needs to get baptized as soon as
possible, like within a month, because there will be opposition. but as
she gives everything she has to God, She will have the strength to
overcome, just like Joseph did when he said his first prayer. It was
powerful.
God asks a lot of us... especially missionaries. ALL of my
heart, might, mind, and strength. 100% of it. It's hard to do. But Nephi
said he would go and do because he knew that the Lord doesn't give a
commandment unless the Lord would make it possible for us to do it. We
really can give everything we have to Him. And when we do, miracles
happen. What miracle do you want in your life?
So my first week I really struggled with wanting to be here.
It's such a big change! But the more I focused on my investigators...
the more I've been filled.... which is really what I've needed. Christ
is healing me through other people. Serving my companion has been a
great way to humble me and help me to focus on what's important.
Teaching investigators, even if most of them are actors, has helped me
to get outside of myself. There was one investigator, Paul Frye, that
was role played by my teacher, Brother Elton. No longer my teaching but
that was an experience that I desperately needed. Paul and I had a lot
of the same feelings towards God. A lot of them that I wasn't allowing
myself to feel and express. While I studied to help Paul, inspiration
came for me. Healing came for me. GOODNESS THIS GOSPEL IS TRUE!!!!!
So here's a funny story... well, frustrating story. last
tuesday morning at 4 am and this morning at 12:15 am, the fire alarm in
our residence hall went off... it's a faulty alarm. all of the sisters
had to evacuate into the gym, I haven't been getting a lot of sleep.
yeah it's not funny at all. it's a bit madening actually... but it's a
story!
 |
| LVW MTC District January 2013 |
Here's three more things I've learned about discerning the
Spirit. 1. Don't worry if it's the spirit or not. if it's good, just do
it! it'll have effects you can't see immediately but are very needed.
2. Your thoughts naturally progress from one detail to the next. We
never have a thought that just plops into our head. If you have one of
those thoughts, it's from something other than yourself, either God or
Satan. If it's good, do it! 3. you would never argue with yourself.
it's not possible! we're always pretty confident in our opinions. you
have to argue with someone else. if you're fighting an idea, do the one
that settles, that you know is right, even if it's hard. The very worse
thing that would happen if you follow what you think is a prompting but
it isn't, is that Heavenly Father knows He can trust you. That you WILL
go and do. then He'll give you even more guidance.
I love you all! I'm looking forward to hear what's going on in your lives. I like stories! :)
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