We Can Do HARD Things

HI all you people!!!! 
Things are moving along..at a very fast pace and I am so happy here in Canada. 

We started volunteering at the hospital, 

we knocked on several doors and had several interesting conversations, 

we sang for the nursing home, 

we put on a Fireside for the members about love and how the most simple and perfect way of sharing the Gospel is by loving the people..all around us, 

we are working hard to help our investigators progress, 

we went to Truro for district meeting and ate at a darling diner and I have never seen so many cats in my life - EVERYONE HERE HAS AT LEAST more than one...cat hair is still hard for me to get over.

I think that sometimes the hardest part of being a missionary is living up to our own expectations. 

I was having sort of a hard day because I didn't feel like I was accomplishing much. I don't have any crazy stories to tell all of you - every day is good and exciting for me but I wouldn't say that crazy miracles happen every single day and so I was thinking about what I need to do to really make a difference. To fully recognize God's hand in my life. To overcome the natural man and be made "perfect" through Christ..

I think that it is the most challenging thing I have faced - wanting so badly to change and knowing so strongly who I can become and then having my flesh..the natural man step in and make it so much harder. SO that is how I was feeling on Sunday and then we (Sister Christensen and I) had the opportunity to teach the Gospel principles class. 

This week was the chapter on the Holy Ghost. We talked about mankind's need for the Holy Ghost from the beginning. Because the Holy Ghost teaches us truth, right from wrong and helps comfort our hearts and guides us through this mortal journey - we would be utterly lost without it. At the end of the chapter was this discussion starter - 

Share with each other a time when you have felt the influence of the Holy Ghost - we sat there in silence for a while. I tried hard to think of a time when I knew that I had felt the Spirit. I thought about several moments that were small, simple manifestations of the Spirit - nothing grand. And then at that moment I realized - those are the most important times. The times each day when you feel peace or comfort or joy..that is the Spirit and that is even more important than the big miraculous times because it helps us realize God is ALWAYS there. He cares about every aspect of our lives. I was able to share the experience of my first weekend in the MTC, another time when I had also felt inadequate and weak. I was silently crying myself to sleep that night because I didn't want my companions to hear. Then I had the thought that I should get out of bed and pray. I rolled out and onto my knees. I didn't say much..simply "Dear Heavenly Father" and then I though in my mind that I wanted to feel my Savior's arms around me - so that I could know that He loves me and that I was going to be ok. I didn't say it, I just thought it. At that moment I felt someone near me holding me tightly and silently crying with me. It was my Savior - I then was certain that God loved me and was proud of me. I knew that I was going to make it and that His love is infinite and unchanging. I will be forever grateful for that answered prayer and that sweet moment with my Savior. 

That experience brought me comfort this week. Realizing that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Each day that I go out and strive to forget myself in the service of God - is a chance for me to overcome the natural man. And help others all around me to do the same. No effort is wasted. So yes, it was a good week. A miraculous week.

I am thankful for the quiet simple manifestations of the Spirit and of God's love every day - they keep me going.

I love all of you and am so thankful to have you in my life. 

Love, Sister G

PS- THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU TO SANDI AND JORD, NANA AND PAPA AND MOM FOR THE BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENTS AND LETTERS. They meant so much to me.