We found out about transfers! I am staying in Greenwood and training a new missionary (my baby)!!!!!!!! I could not be more excited. And I know this is a major blessing from Heavenly Father to be able to focus completely on the work for my last 6 weeks. Give everything I can to Him. Sprint through the finish. Help my companion start her mission off in the BEST way possible. We will have so much fun!
We had a pretty eventful week. The weather has been beautiful, HOT AND HUMID. There are soooooooooooooooooo many mosquitos!!! But i can't complain because I know there are all kinds of freaky bugs out there (that other missionaries get to deal with) #countyourmanyblessings. They are just a little bit annoying because we open the door and 50 of them fly into the car and I'm trying to hit them down as I'm driving (it's distracting) then as we walk around they fly all over your face..I had a big red welt on my forehead the other day haha...lucky for me the bites don't actually itch. It's weird but awesome!! Anyway, moving on. We started teaching the cutest young mom!! She is the daughter-in-law of a less active member so on our way to find this member we met Kaitlin. She had four kids and was impressed by missionaries in the past who were so willing to offer support and help to their family. She doesn't really have a religious background but is very open to learning about the Book of Mormon. Her family is the most important thing in her life and when we told her that there is a way she can live with them forever she lit up. She has always felt that that had to be the case but was kept from the truth because she didn't know where to find it. I am so excited to teach her.
We also had the privilege of attending the temple on Saturday with a recent convert, Anne and another member that we have been working with, Amanda. Both of them had prepared family names and it was incredible to see the Spirit of Elijah working in their lives. Amanda had a particularly profound experience. She had been struggling for awhile with different things. She knew the branch temple trip as coming up and we encouraged her to begin her family history. She was baptized just over a year ago and none of her family members are in the church so she thought it would be hard to get the information and permission that she needed. But she moved forward with faith. She talked to her great aunt and received enough information to begin. When she entered in the dates of her great grandma, tears came to her eyes and the Spirit flooded through her body. She knew Vivienne was waiting for her work to be done. As she contacted more relatives she accessed more information and found one of her lines went back to 209 AD!!!!!!!!!!! She was so excited that she was hardly sleeping. I won't forget the Spirit that attended us in the temple that day as she was baptized and confirmed for Vivienne. We all felt her there. After that, Sister Tegge and I were able to participate in some sealings which was another wonderful experience. This week my testimony of eternal families, family history and the joy of the temple was strengthened immensely. There is no better work in the world than the work of Salvation - and as Latter-day Saints we get to be a part of it!!!
We have also been working with a cute family who are struggling in their church attendance. They had us over for dinner and they told us that their 8 your old son wanted to take the missionary lessons to prepare him for baptism. It was a sweet spiritual experience as we taught the simple doctrines of the restoration. I felt like the Spirit touched each of our hearts and they are excited to have us come back for the next lesson. They sent us away with a whole carton of eggs from their chickens, jam, home-made bread and leftovers from dinner!! MOM I AM NOT GOING HUNGRY.
I wanted to tell you something that an amazing missionary told me last Monday. She wrote and said, "The thought I want to share stems from my relief society lesson yesterday. I realized that the one thing that if humans would NOT DO then self esteem, self worth, self confidence, self competence etc would flourish is DON'T COMPARE. Comparing ourselves to others is poison. I don't struggle with this overall but I know the second I allow comparison to creep in I feel like garbage. With that realization I can sort of imagine how people who struggle with it daily feel. Wow! Of course, it's often easier said than done BUT if we CAN avoid comparing ourselves to others then "happy are we, happy are we!" I encourage all of you this week to recognize those things where Satan sneakily slips thoughts of comparing into your life and learn to shun it and him at the onset. I truly believe if we can do this our self confidence and self esteem etc will soar!" She is so right. This is a lesson that I feel is important for each of us to be reminded of. I have learned form personal experience that comparison is the thief of joy. God made you YOU for a reason. He loves you - weaknesses, imperfections and all as long as you are trying. I think that we need to love who we are and work hard to become more like Christ. Comparing ourselves to others is selfish and miserable. As I have tried to work on this throughout my mission (though it is sometimes hard and I am far from perfect at it) I have found it easier to have confidence in myself and my Savior. When we compare WE TURN IN. The Savior's way is to always TURN OUT!! I hope you will all think about this - it helped me.
I have a testimony that God answers prayers. I have a testimony that life is what you make it. I have a testimony of the divinity of my Savior and His work. I know that when we put God first in our lives - when we focus on people - when we live the first 2 great commandments LOVE GOD AND LOVE YOU NEIGHBOUR - life is better.
I DO LOVE YOU ALL!! And I will see you soon.
Love, Sister G
PS - Happy happy birthday to grandma g this week! I am thinking about you and hope you know that I love you. You are a light in my life. And happy graduation LUCE!! I wish I could be there but know that I'm proud of you. Hope you have an unforgettable week!!
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