My biggest regret in life right now is that y'all aren't here in this ward that I am serving in because here in Queen Creek, members of the bishopric, namely Brother Hansen, have cartwheel contests with the young women. I hope that gives you an idea of how great this area is.
Here is one of my favorite stories this week. The other night, Sister Kranc and I were talking to a member at their doorstep. Out of the corner of my eye, I see movement, and I realized that movement belonged to a 3 or 4 inch long scorpion. Sister Kranc was frightened, but Brother Benham just about jumped out of his skin.
This week was an especially exciting week for Sister Kranc. For those of you who are blessed enough to know of the wonders of Canada, they have this thing called "All Dressed Chips". They are pretty delicious. Well. Last Monday, we were at the grocery store and something caught Sister Kranc's eye. It was a Canadian Maple Leaf. And this Canadian Maple Leaf was located on a bag of Ruffle's All Dressed Chips. She almost cried of happiness right in the middle of Walmart.
I mentioned the new family we were teaching last week. These last couple weeks have been weeks of faith and enduring. We had a fun plot twist called this family is not in our area. That was heartbreaking for Sister Kranc and I because we were so excited to teach them. The good news is that they are still being taught, and they are being taught by some awesome Elders that I casually happen to know.
We actually haven't had anyone we have been teaching this entire transfer (or last transfer). It's been frustrating because Sister Kranc and I want so badly to be good missionaries, and despite our best efforts, it's easy to feel discouraged when it seems that all the missionaries around you are teaching and even baptizing. We were feeling pretty bad about ourselves, so I realized that I probably needed to ask for a priesthood blessing. I am so glad I did because the experience that happened was incomparable to anything. It was exactly what I needed to a T. I can't exactly find the words to describe what I felt, which I guess means that it was an experience to special to be told casually over email. But what I can say is that here was this 18 year old Elder from American Fork, UT who hasn't even been on his mission for 12 weeks yet, and the blessing he gave me was far beyond the capacity of anything an 18 year old boy from American Fork could have done--unless he was called of God to use His Priesthood power. I am thankful for worthy priesthood holders who can respond to the call to serve and who live their lives in such a way that this Elder was able to give me such a powerful blessing in this time when I didn't know what to do. The words were directly from God. No other explanation comes close to the power that was evident.
I just want to close with my testimony of the Prophet Jospeh Smith and his role in the Restoration. I know he is a prophet and was called of God to restore the fullness of Christ's gospel that includes the restoration of His Priesthood power that has blessed my life so much. Nothing brings as much happiness and ability to push through on a mission as the times when I get to testify that because God loved a 14 year old boy, I get to enjoy the fullness of blessings that Christ has in store for me. My goal for this upcoming week is to testify as much as I can that Jesus is the Christ and that His gospel is again on the earth in its fullness because a little boy trusted His Father in Heaven enough to simply ask. All I can hope is that as I do that, someone will be ready to accept the invitation we have to come and learn more.
I love you, family, and I am so grateful for you! Keep reading the Book of Mormon!
Sister Emily
I love Arizona
Ward Fall Festival with Slender Man
Sunday :)
No comments:
Post a Comment