Bear One Another's Burdens

Recently, we had an activity for the women at our church that was centered on sisterhood and love. We discussed how we can love and support one another better as sisters in the gospel. One woman brought up the idea that church is like a doctor's office. We all come there with problems, concerns, and trials that affect our spirits. We all have doubts, questions, insecurities, and weaknesses that, in effect, make us spiritually sick at times. She talked about how easy and logical it is for us to seek help, advice, and guidance when we are facing an illness or health problem. If you were to find out that you had diabetes, for example, you might very well look online or talk to someone else with diabetes in order to learn how they have managed it, what works for them, and what to expect from the condition. She then asked, "Why don't we seek that kind of help for our spiritual sicknesses?" In other words, why don't we confide in others more and seek their support and love? Why do we so often try to carry the load on our own, when we have friends and family who are so willing to share it? Just like there is no shame in asking a doctor for help when you're sick, there is no problem with asking someone else for help with an emotional or spiritual need. As people, many of us have a natural instinct to help and serve others. She talked about how we can help others to fulfill that desire by allowing them into our lives. Knowing that it takes courage and risk, she decided to be the first to do so. She shared with us that she had just recently found out she had cancer and would be getting surgery soon. Her boldness and willingness to share that burden was so touching, and helped me to better understand how we as people really can bear the burdens of those around us. All it takes is slowing down for a moment to notice the needs of others, sincerely caring to know how they are doing when we ask, and being lovingly bold in offering to serve and help them. God most often uses other people in order to answer our prayers and show us that He loves us.

Don't You Quit!

"You have not failed until you quit trying." -Gordon B. Hinckley

Just watch :)

Love Your Neighbor

For the past 2 months, we have been trying and trying to get to know one of our neighbors. We would see her in passing often, but never had the chance to get to know her. For some reason, we really felt like we needed to reach out to her and bring her some cookies. We went over several times, never getting an answer at the door. Finally, one day we saw her sitting in her car when we came home from getting some groceries. Although it felt a bit awkward, we decided to go back outside and talk to her. We told her how we felt like we needed to get to know her better and asked if we could come by in a few days and bring her some cookies. She said, "Of course!" and we set up a time to come over. We weren't sure what she thought of it, but were excited to get to know her. We went over...and she didn't answer the door. A little disheartened, we decided to just leave a note. As we were writing, she drove right up and was so apologetic! Apparently she had been looking forward to it all day, but was running late from work. She welcomed us in and we just sat and got to know one another. I was surprised at how quickly the conversation turned to topics of faith, prayer, and struggles she is having with her faith. We were able to share with her our beliefs and testimonies of God's love and how He is willing and ready to hear and answer our prayers. She told us how it was weird that she felt so comfortable with us and sharing personal experiences, but that she was so grateful we came over to talk with her. I just had this great feeling of love and concern for someone who I had barely known 10 minutes before. This experience showed me how important it is to reach out to those around us and love our neighbors as God does, even if it is out of the way and a bit uncomfortable at first. You never know when someone is in need spiritually or otherwise and how much a little bit of love and concern can really make someone's day better.

"And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him." (Moroni 7:45-47).

Watch this neat video! It talks more about how kindness and love help our society thrive. :) https://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages#the-civility-experiment

Follow the Spirit

One of the people we are teaching shows to me such a great example of following the direction that she receives from God. She has been feeling God working on her heart for the past year or so, ever since her mother passed away. She knows that He wants her to come closer to Him and develop stronger faith. After attending the Gladys Knight fireside and feeling the Spirit present there, she decided that she needed to look into the church more for herself. Ever since we have started teaching her, she has told us how she feels so much happier. She was in a deep depression before with the loss of her mother, and has felt that dark cloud dissipating as she learns more about the Book of Mormon and the gospel of Jesus Christ. She just had hip surgery and has to take a lot of pain medication which makes it hard for her to retain anything that she reads or learns right now. Though this has been frustrating to her, she still recognizes the good feelings that she has and knows that that is enough right now until she can further comprehend. When we met with her the other day, she told us of the frustration she had been experiencing with herself and how was going to cancel our appointment that day, with the medication making her so foggy. But, she went on to say that she had a feeling and a voice tell her, "No, don't do that. You let them come over and see what they have to say. Just let them come over." She decided to heed that message and discovered that as she met with us, her spirits were lifted. She recognized why God had wanted her to meet with us that day, and was grateful for His direction. I am so grateful to know that as we listen to the Spirit, it will guide us to do what is right.

"Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark.

For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do." (2 Nephi 32:4-5).

Instruments in the Hands of God

Yesterday, we experienced so many crazy circumstances that prove to me that God is aware of us and guides us as we are willing to listen to Him! First, my companion found a random name and address in her planner that we had no idea who she was or where that information came from! We decided that we needed to stop by and see if we could get to know her. We went to the address only to find that no one was home. We decided to knock on one of the neighbor's doors before we left. To our surprise, a kind old woman opened up to us, said hello and let us right in. We had no idea who she was, but she seemed to know us. Come to find out, she was actually the woman who we were looking for! She had just moved to the apartment next door. We had a good talk and found out that she had looked into the church previously and even came to church a few times. Though she wasn't interested right then, I know that God wanted us to see her yesterday and He made it possible for us to find her. After that, we headed off to our next appointment. She wasn't home, so we decided to go knock on the neighbor's doors in the apartments upstairs. The very first door we knocked on ended up being someone we had met before! We had talked with her at a bus stop almost 2 months ago but weren't able to meet with her because she was in between housing at that point in time. Apparently, she had just moved into that apartment, which we had absolutely no clue about! It was amazing to see that. I just had this overwhelming feeling that God loves her so much that He was willing to give her multiple opportunities to learn more about His gospel. We then went back to see if our previous appointment was home yet, and she was! I know that as we follow the guidance that God gives us and do our best to help others, He will provide a way. The Lord has said, "Go forth...and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls" (Alma 17:11). Though we may not always see the fruits of our labors immediately, no effort is wasted in serving others and helping them develop a closer relationship with God.

Sisters and Mothers

There are two wonderful women who are members of the local ward (congregation) here that exemplify to me the power of sisterhood and motherhood. They are both older, single women who live next door to each other. They spend almost every single day together, whether it be accompanying one another to doctor's appointments, grocery shopping, or going to church. They love and care for one another, and of course, give each other a hard time every once in a while. These women show to me the strong bond that can develop as we selflessly serve others and strive to support one another in our daily challenges. That love and care of a sister is so closely related to that of a mother as well. Women are blessed to have an almost innate sense of nurturing, care giving, service, and sacrifice. These two women would give up anything to help the other and to make sure that they are taken care of. I know many amazing mothers who are that same way as well! As Mother's Day approaches, I just want to express my deep gratitude for mothers, motherhood, and my own mother. I know that not all women will experience maternity in this life, but it is amazing to me that every single one has the power and ability to be a mother. Motherhood is an attitude of nurturing, teaching, serving, and loving those around you. I am grateful for the women in the world who sacrifice of themselves in order to lift others and help them become better. I know my own mom has sacrificed so much of her own desires and time in order to make sure that I was not only taken care of, but that I had every opportunity available to me to be successful and happy. I know that Jesus Christ has this same kind of love for everyone too. He made the ultimate sacrifice.Through Him, we are not only saved from sin, sorrow, and pain -- we are enabled to experience happiness, growth, and prosperity. Mothers exemplify to me the love of God as they work hard to fulfill their highest, and holiest calling of motherhood.

Check out this fantastic site in tribute to motherhood: http://motherhood.mormon.org//

You Don't Always Get What You Want...

Yesterday, we had a member of the church come out with us to go to a few lessons that we were teaching. She was so excited to come and to help teach and share her experiences! We initially had two lessons lined up, but one of them ended up having to be rescheduled before we even went out. We informed the member of the change of plans, but we were still excited to go and visit the other person. This loving sister was so optimistic, positive, and excited to serve. She told us how she had prayed before she left her house that she would be able to say the words that God needed her to say to help the people we would be visiting. Even when plans changed again and our lesson had to be pushed back an hour, she did not even blink at it. Her optimism and positive attitude were contagious and she helped to lift our spirits as well as the person we visited. She is such a great example to me of patience, long-suffering, and trust in the Lord. I sometimes feel as though I have to take care of everything and that I am responsible to make sure we are successful. But this wonderful sister reminded me that as disciples of Christ, we have the Lord's help on our side. He has a plan for us. As we let go of what we can't control and just trust that He will provide a way, we will be directed to the places and people we need to go to. Opportunities will arise that we could never have planned for, and we will experience things that are beyond our imagination. I know from a lot of experience how frustrating it can be to feel like things aren't going your way. You have plans for how you expect your life to go, and they usually are righteous desires for good things. But, Heavenly Father knows what we need and as we trust in Him, He will bless us with the best things that will help us to fulfill our complete potential.

Love One Another

Yesterday, we had an experience that taught me a lot about true Christlike love and what it means to love your neighbor. We were out trying to visit a woman from the congregation that we haven't seen for a while, but she wasn't home. On the way back to the car, we passed by a kind old woman who was sitting out enjoying some sun. I had a strong feeling that we needed to go talk with her and see how she was doing. There were no apparent reasons to, but we decided to follow the feeling and maybe brighten her day. She welcomed us warmly and we began to get to know one another. She invited us to come inside and have some water. Her kindness and eagerness to serve were so refreshing! We met her daughter and son-in-law that she is living with as well. Though we were complete strangers all of a sudden in their home, they were so friendly and inviting! We discussed our faith and compared our beliefs. We shared with them our testimonies of the Book of Mormon and how it has helped us to increase our faith and develop a closer relationship with God. They were very firm in their own beliefs, but so respectful and appreciative of our faith. We had a great discussion with them and felt the Spirit strongly. We were all able to learn from one another, appreciate the common ground that we share, and leave with friendship and peace. It helped me to realize even more how much stronger the world could be if we focused on our similarities and tolerated our differences with understanding and appreciation. It is fine to differ in opinion with others -- in fact it is impossible not to face it at some point in life. What truly matters is how that disagreement is handled. In 1 John 4:11-12 it says, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another...If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us." As we love others enough to accept our differences, we learn more about the love of God for His children and find true peace.

Never a Coincidence

Something that I have realized more and more as I have been on my mission is that there really never is a coincidence. Heavenly Father is a God of order and He has a plan for all of us. He knows our talents and abilities and how we can best help those around us. He will guide us to those people who we can touch and who we need to be touched by. An example of this just happened the other day. We had gone to church and a few other meetings, but our plans for the afternoon got a little jumbled and we were not sure where we were meant to go or who God wanted us to see. Since we share a car and it wasn't our turn, our options were kind of limited and we ended up getting dropped off at a nearby apartment complex by the member we were with before. As we were trying to figure out where to go, that same member sent us a text to tell us that she saw one of her friends walking on the road nearby and she told us we needed to go talk to her. We started walking to try and talk to her and see if we could help her with anything. We walked and walked and didn't find her. By that point, we were almost home and were not sure if we had really used our time productively. But, about half a mile up the road from our complex, we stopped and talked to a man who was walking the other direction! He was very nice and we gradually got to talk with him more about the gospel. Apparently, he has had several run-ins with missionaries throughout his lifetime and has actually been to a church before when he lived in the Congo! He had a lot of questions and misunderstandings that we were able to answer and clear up for him, and he seemed to be happy to have talked with us. He promised to call us after he had finished his move across town. Though we don't know exactly what will come of that situation, I am confident that God led us to meet that man so that we could share more with him about the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we are doing our best, the Lord will put people in our path that we can help and strengthen. I am grateful for those moments where I can see that I have been able to act as an instrument in the hands of God.

Our Divine Heritage

This past weekend, we had the amazing opportunity of attending the Saints Unified Voices Choir Fireside directed by Gladys Knight. It was an evening full of uplifting, fun, and inspiring Christian gospel music and testimony. Gladys Knight and her husband, William McDowell, both joined the church as adults and told their stories of how they came to learn about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the truth of the Book of Mormon. I loved the message they shared about how we are all children of God and that He loves each one of us equally and individually. The main message of the fireside was that we all are brothers and sisters and that we need to unite one with another. There is so much hatred, division, and persecution in the world. But, the gospel of Jesus Christ is not one of criticism or discrimination. The gospel of Jesus Christ is all about love, service, and helping those around us to fulfill their potential as a child of God. I loved how Gladys spoke about the value of our differences and how we can learn from one another as we embrace those unique qualities. We may not all agree, but we all have the opportunity to learn from one another if we are willing and open. I know that the world would be a much better place if we would all stop and remember our true identity, as children of our Heavenly Father. If we could truly recognize the potential that everyone around us has, would we judge so harshly? Would we be unkind or unforgiving? If we really knew what the person next to us was going through emotionally, physically, and spiritually, would we treat them any differently? It is my hope and prayer that as we recognize this divine heritage of ours, it will change the very people that we are becoming.

Here's a great video about this topic too!
http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=1101413030001