My dear family, April
7, 2014
Thank you for the
pictures! I laughed really loud when I saw Tim with the umbrella and then I had
to quiet myself because I was in the library. Thank you for the good laugh. I
didn't think turkeys could be so ugly.
(Three toms in the back yard. We sent Tim to chase them off.)
Wasn't General Conference AMAZING?? When the last session ended I looked at Sister Mortensen and said, "Can we watch these on repeat, please?" Wow, we are so blessed to receive such amazing counsel! I don't know where to begin because I got something from EVERY talk I watched. We missed the first hour of Saturday afternoon because we found a less active member that we've been trying to contact for over a month. That was a miracle and I'm grateful we found her but admittedly, I am a little bummed that I missed half of that session. Anyway, this session of conference I really wanted to do an experiment: pray about some questions and listen for the answers. My questions were "How can I completely give my heart and mind to God?" and "How can I deepen and strengthen my conversion?". I also wanted to know what "treasures in Heaven" meant. ALL THREE OF THEM WERE ANSWERED. It was amazing! It's not so much that there were talks specifically about conversion or giving our heart and mind to God but when we got to the end of the Sunday afternoon session, I thought about a reoccurring theme I noticed: obedience. How often did the speakers talk about obedience to our covenants, principles/doctrines of the Gospel, etc? Like multiple times every session. How do we strengthen our testimonies and give of ourselves to God? Obedience. I loved Elder Hales's talk about obedience: Do we use "Natural Man's Obedience" or "Selective Obedience" when it comes to God's commandments? There were powerful promises given to us this General Conferences. I plan to experiment on their words and work as hard as I can these next six months to be better. I loved President Monson's invitation to be a little kinder. Out of everything Heavenly Father could ask us to do, great or small, He has asked His prophet to tell us to be a little kinder. Wow, it blew me away. A little kindness goes a long way. Plus you just feel awesome knowing that you've helped someone along their way. Awesome. awesome, awesome. I wish we could spend the next couple hours just talking about the insights we gained from General Conference because I know we all saw something different and all of it is important! Isn't General Conference AMAZING! And Sister Linda Reeves talk about pornography? Loved every minute of it! What a bold, loving lady. I LOVED THE BOLDNESS of this conference!
This week was really
good! Our district leader went home last transfer so we got a new district
leader this transfer and I don't think he likes that none of us have any solid
investigators. So this transfer he wants us to find 15 new investigators as a district which would mean 15 new
investigators as a ward. I will be honest: I was a little apprehensive at first
because I don't think that we should make goals based on other people's agency.
BUT I am willing to exercise more faith and do my best to reach this goal. If
he has prayed about it and feels like this is the goal is in accordance with
Heavenly Father's will, Heavenly Father will place people in our paths and I
need to have the faith and hope that He will do that. It's definitely a
stretching goal but we are calling upon the faith of our ward members and the
faith of our district to reach this goal. Thank you for your added faith and
please keep praying for us!
I love you all so
much! I have felt my love for my family increase while being out here. I am so
blessed to be a part of a strong family and I love you all for your support. We
are so blessed to have the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we are
blessed daily through our knowledge. I love being a witness of God's love for
His children and I love having the Spirit with me every day as I am worthy of
it. I love my mission and I am so grateful for all of my experiences here. I am
really looking forward to the next 16 months!
Have a wonderful week!
Don't forget where your strength lies!
Pineapples for Peace!
The Michiganary
PS Who was the first
prophet to go through the MTC?
Moses because he was
the first to cross through the Emp-Ty Sea!
I know, lame
missionary humor. Just laugh and move on.
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