Ola!
This past week has been so amazing. Basically, I have cried every day since being here, but they are happy spiritual tears. Even though our investigators are just our teachers, my companion and I still pray for them and treat the lessons as if they were real people. This has paid off since we have had some amazing experiences here so far. I know with more conviction that God helps us grow in the areas we need to most, especially when we ask Him specific questions. For example, we were learning how to teach the Plan of Salvation, and I wanted to have a stronger testimony of eternal families. Of course, I love my family so much, but I know that there are a lot of people out there who are part of broken families. I took my questions with me to the temple and I had a lot of time to think there. I felt the Spirit so strongly in my heart when I thought of my own family and how much love is present there. Then, I had the opportunity to bear my testimony of how much I love my mom and how much I know she has influenced our family for the better because of her spiritual example. In these ways, Heavenly Father helped me understand more about why it's so important to have our families all centered around Christ.
Last Sunday, I was in a small choir with other people in my district. We sang "Come Thou Fount" and it was so much fun. The lyrics of that song are amazing. My favorite line is: "Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God; here to rescue me from danger..." I can't remember the end of that part, but every time I hear it, I feel the Savior's love in my heart again and I am ready for another week!
I can't believe how much I love the Book of Mormon now. Before, I had a testimony of the book and I loved it. But since reading here, I have grown to cherish every chapter in the Book of Mormon. When I hold it in my hands, I think about what a miracle it is that we have it. Also, the feeling that I get when reading it is different than any other feeling that I ever have ever. This is because it is true and it's from God. I just got to read 3 Nephi chapter 17. I love this chapter because the love that Christ has for us is very plainly yet significantly stated. Whenever any verse in the Book of Mormon or Bible talks about Christ healing people, I feel SO MUCH love, peace, and comfort in my heart. It really is so important for people to at least hear (if not accept wholeheartedly) the message that Christ lives. The fact that Christ lives means that our pasts can be reconciled, we can have strength in the present, and we can have so much hope for the future! I am trying to continue my strong testimony that the Atonement applies to everyone and everything, and that we are the most safe and happy when we are truly in God's hands. Something that I will be praying more about in the next few weeks is how much power we actually have when we have faith in God. If anyone questions the fact that having faith in God gives us more power to do things, then they could come talk to me and I could tell them a few stories. I just know that having faith isn't just a fantasy that cushions life for people who believe in God. No. Having true faith in God and Jesus Christ means gives us the power to be free from our own weaknesses and shortcomings and become something much more empowered and strong with God's help. This is what I will be reminding myself when I'm knocking on doors next week - scary! But I can do it, with the Lord's help. :)
My district here is truly my family away from home. We are definitely brothers and sisters. I have heard that not every district is as close as ours. Last night and for the past few nights, we choose two people to spotlight. We go around the room in a circle and say our favorite things about that person. There is so much love here, and it's all because of the Spirit! Really, we don't know each others past lives. All we know is the amazingly strong conviction that we all have in knowing that Christ is our Savior and that our Heavenly Father loves us so much! The only thing that could have made us this close in less than six weeks is getting to hear everyone's testimonies every single day. I am also just impressed with how much the elders in our district treat the sisters with respect. We are already excited for our district reunion. :)
The sisters in our district also know how much the Lord loves us because we all got re-assigned to the SAME STATESIDE MISSION! I am going to call my family tomorrow and tell them where I'm going. But anyway. The Lord is keeping us all together for a little longer, and then we'll all eventually be in the same mission in Brazil. I definitely feel a sense of love and security since I will be traveling with my new family here. The elders in our district are all going to different missions, but they will have no problem with keeping in touch.
The most fun thing that I did this past week was clean the showers. Yes, clean the showers!!!! I got to clean with other sisters in my district and we were singing Disney the entire time. Everyone knows that bathroom acoustics are AMAZING! :) So yeah. Scrubbing the showers was a good time.
Thank you all so much for your prayers. I'm sure that my mom will post my reassignment as soon as I tell my family. I leave the MTC Wednesdaymorning at 5am.
Love,
Sister Williams
This past week has been so amazing. Basically, I have cried every day since being here, but they are happy spiritual tears. Even though our investigators are just our teachers, my companion and I still pray for them and treat the lessons as if they were real people. This has paid off since we have had some amazing experiences here so far. I know with more conviction that God helps us grow in the areas we need to most, especially when we ask Him specific questions. For example, we were learning how to teach the Plan of Salvation, and I wanted to have a stronger testimony of eternal families. Of course, I love my family so much, but I know that there are a lot of people out there who are part of broken families. I took my questions with me to the temple and I had a lot of time to think there. I felt the Spirit so strongly in my heart when I thought of my own family and how much love is present there. Then, I had the opportunity to bear my testimony of how much I love my mom and how much I know she has influenced our family for the better because of her spiritual example. In these ways, Heavenly Father helped me understand more about why it's so important to have our families all centered around Christ.
Last Sunday, I was in a small choir with other people in my district. We sang "Come Thou Fount" and it was so much fun. The lyrics of that song are amazing. My favorite line is: "Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God; here to rescue me from danger..." I can't remember the end of that part, but every time I hear it, I feel the Savior's love in my heart again and I am ready for another week!
I can't believe how much I love the Book of Mormon now. Before, I had a testimony of the book and I loved it. But since reading here, I have grown to cherish every chapter in the Book of Mormon. When I hold it in my hands, I think about what a miracle it is that we have it. Also, the feeling that I get when reading it is different than any other feeling that I ever have ever. This is because it is true and it's from God. I just got to read 3 Nephi chapter 17. I love this chapter because the love that Christ has for us is very plainly yet significantly stated. Whenever any verse in the Book of Mormon or Bible talks about Christ healing people, I feel SO MUCH love, peace, and comfort in my heart. It really is so important for people to at least hear (if not accept wholeheartedly) the message that Christ lives. The fact that Christ lives means that our pasts can be reconciled, we can have strength in the present, and we can have so much hope for the future! I am trying to continue my strong testimony that the Atonement applies to everyone and everything, and that we are the most safe and happy when we are truly in God's hands. Something that I will be praying more about in the next few weeks is how much power we actually have when we have faith in God. If anyone questions the fact that having faith in God gives us more power to do things, then they could come talk to me and I could tell them a few stories. I just know that having faith isn't just a fantasy that cushions life for people who believe in God. No. Having true faith in God and Jesus Christ means gives us the power to be free from our own weaknesses and shortcomings and become something much more empowered and strong with God's help. This is what I will be reminding myself when I'm knocking on doors next week - scary! But I can do it, with the Lord's help. :)
My district here is truly my family away from home. We are definitely brothers and sisters. I have heard that not every district is as close as ours. Last night and for the past few nights, we choose two people to spotlight. We go around the room in a circle and say our favorite things about that person. There is so much love here, and it's all because of the Spirit! Really, we don't know each others past lives. All we know is the amazingly strong conviction that we all have in knowing that Christ is our Savior and that our Heavenly Father loves us so much! The only thing that could have made us this close in less than six weeks is getting to hear everyone's testimonies every single day. I am also just impressed with how much the elders in our district treat the sisters with respect. We are already excited for our district reunion. :)
The sisters in our district also know how much the Lord loves us because we all got re-assigned to the SAME STATESIDE MISSION! I am going to call my family tomorrow and tell them where I'm going. But anyway. The Lord is keeping us all together for a little longer, and then we'll all eventually be in the same mission in Brazil. I definitely feel a sense of love and security since I will be traveling with my new family here. The elders in our district are all going to different missions, but they will have no problem with keeping in touch.
The most fun thing that I did this past week was clean the showers. Yes, clean the showers!!!! I got to clean with other sisters in my district and we were singing Disney the entire time. Everyone knows that bathroom acoustics are AMAZING! :) So yeah. Scrubbing the showers was a good time.
Thank you all so much for your prayers. I'm sure that my mom will post my reassignment as soon as I tell my family. I leave the MTC Wednesdaymorning at 5am.
Love,
Sister Williams
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