MONDAY 18TH FEBRUARY 2013-WEEK 29

Hey everybody,

I wanted to start by sharing my study this morning with you all... Today, I felt prompted to study adversity. You see, this week has been HARD! Not just for me but for everyone... you know, those weeks where, no matter what happens, you feel like you're slogging uphill! Well, that's been this week ha! And I was asking Heavenly Father why we have to encounter opposition and here's what I got...

'We are not earthly beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having an earthly experience'

Adversity is there not just to help us grow but it's there to help us recognize our growth. We are ALL children of God and have been blessed with unique gifts or personality traits from our Father. Often, the purpose of adversity isn't to grow those qualities we feel we lack but to help us discover that we had them within us all along.

 

Let me share an example: we had a sister missionary (Sister Banner) who, in her 'pre-mission life' (it seems FOREVER ago by the way...) was a life guard. Before she could get her certification, she had to swim 500m in a certain time, which was all good apart from the fact that she'd never swum that far before ha! So, she worked so hard for weeks on end to break that barrier but, each time, she was just a little bit short... she just needed that extra 10 seconds or another 50m...

 

So, she goes to her test and is totally breaking down! She said she felt totally incapable of passing the test but she knew that, if she wanted the opportunity to get the job she wanted, she had to at least try. Well, you know the ending... sure enough, she passed with flying colours and the rest was happily ever after (well, until she came on a mission ha!).

 

What's the moral of the story? Without the opposition, we would never truly understand our own capabilities. We could never appreciate just how infinite our eternal potential is if we never had 'earthly experiences' that show us that we are 'spiritual beings'. Remember, 'out of the lowest depths, there is a path to the highest heights'.... the steps on that path - no matter how much we try and avoid it - are trials.

 

I have felt incredibly blessed this week to be able to share that with the missionaries around me: (I know this won't make sense but I want to remember these experiences...) standing in an abandoned car park whilst it's snowing for two hours; sitting in a car and crying with your best friend for an hour and then deciding to suck it up anyway; priesthood blessings after district meeting! I have seen the Lord use me as an instrument to soften the blows of the Adversary this week and am grateful that He sent me my own angels to 'bear me up' (D&C 84:88). Here's your challenge... be someone's answer to prayer this week and 'lift up the hands that hang'. I promise that if you pray to recognize the opportunities to serve that they'll come... that's the prayer in my heart 24/7... 'Father, what more can I do?'. THAT'S WHY I AM SO HAPPY... because, even in my imperfection, I can be made useful in God's hands :D

 

So, one miracle and then I have to go (I'm speaking Spanish with Elder Perrault today) - I was with a brand new missionary called Elder Geddes this past week and we tried to see a whole list of people with no luck. Well, rather than taking a break, we decided to do something called 'spirit-tract' (eg. we walk around and wait til a particular house sticks out and then we knock it) in the apartment complex right by our apartment. So, off we go and this building (it was number 212... yes, I still remember musical references ha!) and we see this lady all by herself smoking on her porch. We start to talk to her and she obviously wasn't interested... two young boys in suits :/ Well, we felt prompted to ask about where she's from ect and then I asked if we could give a pamphlet... well, I went to get the Restoration one and, without thinking, put it back into my bag and got out the Plan of Salvation pamphlet. We gave it to her and, our of nowhere, she just started crying and opening up about how her mother is dying of cancer... it was very humbling and the Spirit was very strong! It was a blessing to 'mourn with those that mourn', even a perfect stranger! I pray that Karen will have peace whispered to her soul and that she can gain a witness of the Plan of Salvation!

 

I love you all - keep praying for us! Adios amigos... Te amo

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