Hey fam.
So on Wednesday I get a call from Audre who then says "sooo uhhh... your mom just called me" and I'm thinking that there's like some family emergency right! and then she says "she wanted to make sure you were safe"
Yep that sounds like my mama ;)
We have had CRAZY floods here. Okay kinda... in Potosi it hasn't been bad but down in Cape (where our stake center is) and up by St. Louis is SO BAD. So bad that the highway was closed. Completely shut down for 24 hours. That's crazy. People keep telling us "this is worse than the FLOOD OF 93!!!" idk idk All I know is that Cape zone which is usually referred to as "the land down under" was literally under water this week! lol fun times!!!
Weekly Highlights:
1. Taco Bell: one of our stewardship questions at District Meeting this week was "where's your favorite place to hang out?" everyone's saying all these outdoorsy things like the mountains or the lake, and then Elder Clark says "Betos" and I was like YES THANK YOU. And then I said "um... Taco Bell" hahaha I was like yessss Elder Clark you understand me. Mexican food for lyfe. By the way, transfers are next week and I'm probably gonna cry because I don't want anyone to get transferred. My district is my family out here! Prez can't take them away! #crying
2. NYE: we broke the rules and stayed up til midnight....................... jk who do you think I am! An unrighteous missionary?! Nah we were in bed by 10, but we did get to go to the Dewaal's and hang out with them that night. We played LDS pictionary (always keepin it missionary approps) and it was super fun. HOW IS IT 2016? LIKE WASN'T IT JUST 2010 YESTERDAY?
3. Make a u-turn: so we were casually trying to find a members house and were on the highway and our super awesome gps tells me to make a u-turn. ON THE HIGHWAY. Okay chill just give me one sec.......... no that is not possible. It's a miracle we even find our way around. I'm bad at directions and our gps is too!
4. Sorry mister I'm a sister: okay you've all seen those cheesy sister missionary quotes floating around social media. Well like seriously we almost had to use one the other night! We were visiting Julie K. and her step son ish (not technically but yeah sorta) was there and we were leaving and were like "let us know if you need anything, you have our number!" And then Bobby (step son) goes "Well I don't have your number........." Julie K. was just smh-ing so hard and I was like um k............. well bye. And then we left. hashtag sorry mister we are sisters.
Teaching Highlights:
1. Dennis: we taught Dennis the first recent convert lesson: the restoration. Okay 4 real. I'm gonna have the restoration so memorized when I go home it's not even funny. We teach it alllllll the timeeeee. It's a good thing I love it :)
2. Rose and Steve: we dropped them. Here's what happened. We were going to go to lunch with them and Steve texted us and said "Don't even bring your Book of Mormon." They just aren't ready right now. One day...
3. Jessica: OUR NEW INVESTIGATOR!!! Get pumped get pumped get pumped. She is in her 20's and is married (already living LOC holla). She teaches art at a high school. She has no religious background but says it's maybe something she would want. We taught the restoration and taught her how to pray. She said the closing prayer and it was so powerful. She is SO prepared. Holy cow. I love teaching people how to pray! Because they always say such simple prayers, but those are the best. Nothing brings the Spirit more than an investigator sincerely praying for the first time.
4. William: bless his soul. We taught him the Plan of Salvation. He says he understood it but idk how much he really did. I think his desire and intent is SO good though. He did pray to Jesus tho......something didn't quite click when we went over prayer last week :) We are really trying to get him a ride to church because he wants to go. Also we set a baptism date for Feb. 7! So that's cool.
5. Hayden: we taught Hayden with the Elders and it went really really well! We taught the first half of Laws and Ordinances to him. It was so good to have the Elders there, for 2 reasons: #1: they were able to teach him about the priesthood in a more understandable way because they actually have it haha #2: he didn't talk about dating for once! #MIRACLE We also went over the baptism interview questions with him. I have been so stressed out over Hayden because everyone was trying to tell me that he's not ready but the Elders assured us that they think he is ready which made me feel better! And he really is. Nothing that he said was a red flag or anything. So I'm super pumped for him! Sunday will be a great day! (Also can we just appreciate the fact that he gave Sister Knight a cross necklace? I'm still laughing about it one day later. haha! Oh Hayden.)
I have really been thinking about joy, since that is my goal for 2016! I read a conference talk yesterday by President Monson called "Keep the Commandments" from October 2015. He tells a story of a couple who began breaking commandments and got so deep into sin. The wife wrote a letter with her testimony of the Atonement in it and this is part of it:
"How does someone go from being one of the lost sheep and gripped by [sin], to this peace and happiness we now feel? How does that happen? The answer... is because of a perfect gospel, a perfect Son and His sacrifice for me... where there was darkness, there is now light. Where there was despair and pain, there is JOY and hope. We have been infinitely blessed by the change that can only come through repentance made possible by the Atonement of Jesus Christ."
We all have times in our lives --some more severely than others-- when we feel like a lost sheep. It's inevitable and it's okay. Because we have a way to make it back to the fold.
Think about those times in your life when you have stayed close to the Savior. When you have followed closely the commandments.
Now think about those times when you maybe haven't been so close to the Savior. Or maybe haven't followed the commandments as closely.
If you are being completely, one hundred percent honest with yourself, when were you the happiest?
I would hope that you would be able to recognize that it's those times in life when we are close to the Savior and when we follow the commandments closely that we feel the most JOY.
USE THE ATONEMENT. Holy cow I am begging all of you to use it. That's your way back to the fold. That's your way to be with your family forever. That's your way to lasting happiness and peace. Yeah, the world offers temporary happiness. Yeah, the world looks good. But I PROMISE YOU IT'S NOT.
I know I'm a missionary and I'm trained to say this right?! ;)
Or maybe I'm saying it because it's important and because I KNOW it's true. I've used the Atonement and trust me, it works.
Whether you are deep in sin or just slightly off the right path. USE THE ATONEMENT.
Start today and get yourself back to where you want to be.
Oh my goodness I love the Savior. I love the Atonement. And... I love being a missionary :) because I get to help people access it and apply it to their lives. Living the gospel brings great joy but sharing it brings an even greater one.
I always said that I was serving a mission to give back to Heavenly Father but in reality, He has given me more than I could ever ask for. This JOY is not possible to explain!
I hope you all have a great week and think of one way you can better apply the Atonement to your life :)
love,
sister hill
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