1 Yr

Hey Mahallies!

So like I said last week, October is crazy. Babies are being born, my brother's turning 17, my sister's leaving on a mission, and our living prophet and apostles have filled our minds with tons of new spiritual insight, AND MY BATCH AND I ARE HITTING ONE YEAR ON THE MISSION FIELD ON THE 14TH! Isn't it all so wonderful? 

It was such a blessing to watch the General Conference from a different country, for the first time! Singing along with the missionaries as they sang "Called to Serve" and "I'll go where you want me to go" brought me so much happiness - I'm so grateful to be a missionary, and to be blessed with the opportunity to share a beautiful, heaven-sent message about how Jesus Christ has paved a way for all of us to return to our Heavenly Father, and more than that, to return together as families, to be together for all time and eternity. 

So many things happened this week, it's hard to sum up all I've learned, seen, and heard in a few paragraphs. Rex Paras, our little boy who was recently converted last month, turned 11 on Sunday! We came over to his house with cake and some pokemon lego, and you guys should've seen how happy he was! His mom, Jennifer, told us that they never had cake for their birthdays (because they couldn't afford it) and they were so grateful we had done so much to make it memorable for him. For me, back at home, cake on birthdays seems like something "given", something expected, something I honestly wouldn't notice very much because I'd take it for granted...but watching how much joy it'd bring people who aren't used to having such blessings in their lives made me realize how important the basics are.

Just the same, I believe that too often, we grow numb to the blessing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or of God's love. We begin to feel entitled to blessings and want more, but thank less. Blessings such as family, opportunities to study the scriptures and uplifting/educational literature, our homes, our jobs, food, etc the list could go on forever, but more often than not, we forget to have an attitude of gratitude and positivism, and search for what we lack.

So today, I'd like to invite you to look through your life, and write down every time you'd felt the spirit, or felt God's love, or experienced miracles, and thank Him for those things. And afterwards, ask Him what you can do to show him how grateful you are for His tender mercies. Look through your life, and think of any sins you've left unrepented, and seek forgiveness from Him. And I promise you, that you will find the peace, joy, and beauty in life you didn't know you were looking for. I know that He loves you, and He blesses you everyday. Evidence of His love is all around us - just look a little harder.

I love each of you, I love this gospel. I'm grateful to be a missionary, and my testimony of God's love and Christ's atonement grows every single day. My prayers are always with you! I leave these things in Christ's Holy name,

Amen.