Hey Everyone! I hope everything is going well with all of you!
Yesterday was AWESOME! We got to attend the Ogden Utah Temple Re-dedication via satellite broadcast. It was wonderful. Temples are so special and the things that we do there are important to our lives eternally.
Since our stake was included in attending the temple re-dedication, they cancelled regular Sunday services. As missionaries, we were a little worried because it's important for people to be able to attend church on Sundays. So, our Zone Leaders talked to the mission president and received permission to hold a devotional meeting in lieu of a regular church meeting tomorrow so all the people whom we are teaching could still attend church.
I was asked to speak at the devotional. While I was studying for my talk, and during my studies this morning, a few verses stood out to me. In Isaiah 54 (and 3 Nephi 22 ), it talks about how sometimes we have trials and we feel like God is far from us. As you read on in the chapter, you find out about some of the MANY promises that God has made to us, like protecting us and always being there for us. I really loved reading these chapters because it helped remind me that I am not alone in this world, even when things seem crazy and frustrating and way more than I can bare. And neither are you. The promise that God made to Noah (mentioned in these chapters) is available to ALL people, as long as they are willing to accept it. Our Heavenly Father loves us and wants to help us.
Also, I was reading Alma 7, verses 23 and 24. This couple of verses helped me to realize that I need to be more patient! Life gets crazy sometimes, and things happen, and people do things that are annoying or hurtful, but it isn't my place (or anyone else's) to become angry and bitter. Instead, we can be submissive, gentle, humble, patient, long-suffering, temperate, etc. See a pattern here?
Most of those are also fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Exemplifying these characteristics can help us bear the burdens of our lives, no matter how much we feel weighed down. You can do it. Though I can't be there physically next to you to help you (since I'm on a mission), I do support you and love you and pray for you. Every one of you is deeply important to me, as well as to your Heavenly Father.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Oquirrh Mountain Temple
Today is a super short entry! We got to go to the temple today, so our Preparation Day activities have been shortened. We got to go to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, and it is beautiful! If you stand in front of the temple, you can see the whole mission PLUS downtown Salt Lake City!
This past weekend, we had a baptism for a girl whose family isn't active in the church. She is such a wonderful example of faith and diligence. She is the oldest child, so her younger siblings are watching her example. I am grateful and humbled to have helped teach her about the gospel and help her make the covenant of baptism. It isn't just getting into water: it is taking upon yourself the name of Christ, promising to keep His commandments, and promising to always remember Him. When you keep that promise, you are promised the companionship of the Holy Ghost. That's a fair trade.
Heavenly Father loves you and wants to help you make the choices that will help you be happy and eventually live with Him again. I love and miss you all! Hope everything is going well. :)
This past weekend, we had a baptism for a girl whose family isn't active in the church. She is such a wonderful example of faith and diligence. She is the oldest child, so her younger siblings are watching her example. I am grateful and humbled to have helped teach her about the gospel and help her make the covenant of baptism. It isn't just getting into water: it is taking upon yourself the name of Christ, promising to keep His commandments, and promising to always remember Him. When you keep that promise, you are promised the companionship of the Holy Ghost. That's a fair trade.
Heavenly Father loves you and wants to help you make the choices that will help you be happy and eventually live with Him again. I love and miss you all! Hope everything is going well. :)
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Pictures, Blisters, and the Noodle Company
What a wonderful week!!!
This week, my companion and I started riding bikes as our mode of transportation. As much as I love walking everywhere and stopping to talk to people as we pass by, the blisters on the bottoms of my feet weren't liking it as well. We were both really excited to start riding our bikes, especially since it'd make it a lot quicker to ride from one end of our area to the other. Instead of it being a 25 minute very brisk walk, it is now a relaxing 5 minute bike ride.
However, riding bikes is not without its dangers. My companion and I were riding to an appointment with one of our ward mission leaders when we decided to pop up onto the sidewalk since his driveway was ahead on the left. I didn't turn enough, and my bike hit the lip of the driveway, causing it to tip over and causing me to fall off my bike. It was super embarrassing since there were some people driving down the road who stopped to ask if I was alright. I was fine, though a bit bruised and scraped.
It was a learning experience for me, though. As we continued to our appointment, I was feeling upset that I had fallen and mad at myself for looking like I don't know how to ride a bike. But as I was thinking about it, I realized that it really isn't that big of a deal, and it in fact would make a good story. I have some really gnarly-looking bruises now on my shins and knees, the kind that are dark purple and still a little red.
On a side note, there is a fantastic restaurant out here called "Noodles and Company". Can you guess what they serve? NOODLES!!!! It's amazing and fantastic and my new favorite restaurant. :)
In other news, we are teaching a girl who is being baptized THIS SATURDAY!!!!! I am super excited for her and her family. Also, the Ogden Temple is being rededicated on September 21. I'm really excited about this because I've never had the chance to go to a temple rededication before. Though we won't actually be in Ogden, we do get to participate via satellite, which is awesome.
There is a lot of work here in West Jordan. I absolutely love talking with people, helping them with their concerns, and being a source of encouragement and inspiration. Yesterday was Fast Sunday, so we got to hear several people bear their testimonies of the restored gospel and how it has affected their lives. There is nothing better to let you know you are doing the right thing than to hear people testify of how much their lives have been improved and changed by the things you teach.
I want to leave each of you with my testimony that I know we have a Heavenly Father who loves us uniquely and individually; I know that He has revealed the gospel, His plan for our salvation, to His prophets since the beginning of time; I know that following His gospel is the only thing that will truly bring lasting happiness in this life, as well as bring eternal life. I know that God, our Heavenly Father, loves each and every one of you - don't you ever forget that!
This week, my companion and I started riding bikes as our mode of transportation. As much as I love walking everywhere and stopping to talk to people as we pass by, the blisters on the bottoms of my feet weren't liking it as well. We were both really excited to start riding our bikes, especially since it'd make it a lot quicker to ride from one end of our area to the other. Instead of it being a 25 minute very brisk walk, it is now a relaxing 5 minute bike ride.
However, riding bikes is not without its dangers. My companion and I were riding to an appointment with one of our ward mission leaders when we decided to pop up onto the sidewalk since his driveway was ahead on the left. I didn't turn enough, and my bike hit the lip of the driveway, causing it to tip over and causing me to fall off my bike. It was super embarrassing since there were some people driving down the road who stopped to ask if I was alright. I was fine, though a bit bruised and scraped.
It was a learning experience for me, though. As we continued to our appointment, I was feeling upset that I had fallen and mad at myself for looking like I don't know how to ride a bike. But as I was thinking about it, I realized that it really isn't that big of a deal, and it in fact would make a good story. I have some really gnarly-looking bruises now on my shins and knees, the kind that are dark purple and still a little red.
On a side note, there is a fantastic restaurant out here called "Noodles and Company". Can you guess what they serve? NOODLES!!!! It's amazing and fantastic and my new favorite restaurant. :)
In other news, we are teaching a girl who is being baptized THIS SATURDAY!!!!! I am super excited for her and her family. Also, the Ogden Temple is being rededicated on September 21. I'm really excited about this because I've never had the chance to go to a temple rededication before. Though we won't actually be in Ogden, we do get to participate via satellite, which is awesome.
There is a lot of work here in West Jordan. I absolutely love talking with people, helping them with their concerns, and being a source of encouragement and inspiration. Yesterday was Fast Sunday, so we got to hear several people bear their testimonies of the restored gospel and how it has affected their lives. There is nothing better to let you know you are doing the right thing than to hear people testify of how much their lives have been improved and changed by the things you teach.
I want to leave each of you with my testimony that I know we have a Heavenly Father who loves us uniquely and individually; I know that He has revealed the gospel, His plan for our salvation, to His prophets since the beginning of time; I know that following His gospel is the only thing that will truly bring lasting happiness in this life, as well as bring eternal life. I know that God, our Heavenly Father, loves each and every one of you - don't you ever forget that!
Me and my MTC companion
Me and me first companion in the field
Me and a sister from Tonga
The Noodles and Company sign
Me and my new companion
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Transfers and a New Companion
Happy Labor Day!!!! This is my favorite holiday. I hope all of you are out there having picnics and remembering the services that are provided everyday by those who labor.
In this past week, WONDERFUL things have happened, aside from finally getting blisters on my feet and a sunburn on my neck/shoulders.
This past Wednesday was transfers, and I am now in West Jordan, UT in the Park Stake. And you know what is even better? I have the BEST companion in the whole mission!!!! She is absolutely amazing. We have a billion things in common, but even more than that, she is one of the kindest, most loving, most devoted to the mission, most patient, most encouraging missionaries that I have met thus far. Having an awesome companion definitely makes a transfer (6 week period) a great experience. Her name is Sister Johnstone (pronounced Johnson), she is from Indiana, and she has a degree in technical theatre with a minor in linguistics. How cool is that?
Even cooler than that, she is super motivated and excited for all the things that are happening in the Park Stake. Right now, we have an investigator who is on date to be baptized September 13th. I'm so excited!
I love seeing how the gospel can help people come closer to Jesus Christ, as well as how the gospel helps strengthen families. The things that we as missionaries teach people are things that have an eternal impact. This life certainly does not end at death. We are bound for so much more.
Speaking of that, and in the context of Labor Day, Alma 34:32 tells us that this life is a time for us to prepare to meet God, and to perform our labors. You may wonder what that means to perform labors. I wondered the same thing. My curiosity lead me to Alma 12:31,32, which, paraphrased, states that our labors are to fulfil the commandments that God has given us. I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel the commandments are overwhelming and are just too much. But that's not the case. In 1 Nephi 3:7, it clearly states that the Lord will provide a way for us to keep the commandments that He gives us. These labors that we have been given to do while here on Earth are things that are completely possible and will help us become more like our Heavenly Father.
In this past week, WONDERFUL things have happened, aside from finally getting blisters on my feet and a sunburn on my neck/shoulders.
This past Wednesday was transfers, and I am now in West Jordan, UT in the Park Stake. And you know what is even better? I have the BEST companion in the whole mission!!!! She is absolutely amazing. We have a billion things in common, but even more than that, she is one of the kindest, most loving, most devoted to the mission, most patient, most encouraging missionaries that I have met thus far. Having an awesome companion definitely makes a transfer (6 week period) a great experience. Her name is Sister Johnstone (pronounced Johnson), she is from Indiana, and she has a degree in technical theatre with a minor in linguistics. How cool is that?
Even cooler than that, she is super motivated and excited for all the things that are happening in the Park Stake. Right now, we have an investigator who is on date to be baptized September 13th. I'm so excited!
I love seeing how the gospel can help people come closer to Jesus Christ, as well as how the gospel helps strengthen families. The things that we as missionaries teach people are things that have an eternal impact. This life certainly does not end at death. We are bound for so much more.
Speaking of that, and in the context of Labor Day, Alma 34:32 tells us that this life is a time for us to prepare to meet God, and to perform our labors. You may wonder what that means to perform labors. I wondered the same thing. My curiosity lead me to Alma 12:31,32, which, paraphrased, states that our labors are to fulfil the commandments that God has given us. I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel the commandments are overwhelming and are just too much. But that's not the case. In 1 Nephi 3:7, it clearly states that the Lord will provide a way for us to keep the commandments that He gives us. These labors that we have been given to do while here on Earth are things that are completely possible and will help us become more like our Heavenly Father.
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