Sister Gochnour: What kind of Witness will you be?

HIIIIII PEOPLE!!

I am so thankful and happy for the chance I had to see your beautiful faces and my doggies beautiful face last night. I love you all. You keep me smiling.

Dad sent me a letter this week that truly inspired me. It was from the talk that President Uchtdorf gave at the MTC around Easter. He spoke of the Disciples before Christ's death, they sort of just followed him around but when he was killed, they were afraid and sad and angry and confused - they felt lost and did not know what they would do. Then they saw the Resurrected Savior. They knew he was alive and from that day on everything changed. They were not afraid any more. They were His Disciples and they did all that they could to stand strong as witnesses of Him and to testify boldly that HE LIVES - they no longer feared man. They gave their lives to their calling. Each day as missionaries and as members we must ask ourselves - what kind of witness will I be? We must be fearless in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Every day when I put on my name tag, I am painting the name of Jesus Christ on my heart.

We must let our faith show and we must not fear man. He is with us - every moment. He will help us rise up and reach our potential.

Highlights of this week:

Nothing too exciting or crazy went on..I did meet a Pastafarian (spaghetti worshipper, it's a thing) like I told you - so that was interesting. We also met a man who spent 20 minutes telling us about his potty trained parrot, not the best use of our time because we couldn't even get a word in, and then the potty trained parrot pooped on his shoulder...poor guy. We did some service at an old folks home. But they didn't orient us so we had no clue what we were supposed to do - we lead these old ladies all around the building to their tea party (yes we actually had to serve the tea - that was bad) and we set an alarm off along the way. They gave us lots of hugs and we felt sort of like we were breaking them out of their home but it was FUNNY! This week we also got to visit the Stiles. Brother Stiles has MS, he has been living with it for about 40 years and hasn't been able to come to church but he is the sweetest man. He showed us his crumpled ensign because he was so excited to read it he didn't wait for his wife to turn the pages for him, he was an artist but can no longer paint, he is so full of faith though - despite his trails. There is nothing greater than seeing his smile. He knows what life is really about. He finds joy in the little things. He thinks of others - and always asks us how we are doing. He loves hearing us bear our testimonies and he is a good listener. I am amazed by his example. I love him a lot.

I was studying the talk President Eyring gave in the women's broadcast - he explains how Heavenly Father sees not only what we are but what we may become. Then he tells how sometimes our earthly parents think that we can be better than WE think we can be - that is why they push us and encourage us. Heavenly Father sees our full potential. That's why he expects each us of us to be great - he knows we can be. I love that thought. I love knowing that I can be more than I think I am or can be when I trust in the Lord..when I lean on His understanding..and when I give him my heart. Let us all strive to reach our full potential!! That's what Heavenly Father expects of us.

Keep working hard. Know that I love you and pray for you every day. You truly make me want to be better. I can't thank you enough for your support. All you mom's out there - you mean the world to your kids..especially your missionaries - WE LOVE YOU!!!!!

Love, Grace Caroline