MISSION LIFE

 

is the best life!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh my.......... seriously, family. greatest decision i ever made EVER. this life is so so good!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sometimes i just can barely even handle it hahaha.

so i don't even know where to begin this week.

wait i know.

S******.

my. best. friend.

okay team. ooooooookaaaaaay. like what even is anything. I LOVE MISSIONARY LAND.

so this is the whole story, shortened and condensed. When we first got here we got a bunch of old formers & potentials from the Zone Leaders. one of them said "would get stressed & ticked every time we went over to try and set something up" {and i actually edited that a bit to be more missionary language, but whatever haha} so we're like yeah, sure, lets go see her!

so we do. and she's like sooooooo tired and run-down but we share a scripture and the spirit is felt and she agrees to let us come back. this waaaaaasssss.......... august 16th.

flash-forward just over a month.

She came to church yesterday. Even though they were running a marathon down her street so she couldn't get her car out so she had to WALK (pioneer status!!) to a gas station where a member picked her up (love members<3)

Sacrament meeting was so so good. More on that later. But she was straight-up taking NOTES and making me look bad hahaha.

oh did i mention she works 3rd shift?? which means that she's not waking up early to come to 9am church........... she's staying up LATE. till noon. because obviously & of course she stays all 3 hours. because she is amazing. and she never falls asleep even though she just WORKED all night. !!!!!!!!

but anyways. sacrament was amazing. as per usual.

and then. gospel principles. lesson was on the gift of the Holy Ghost. and let. me. tell. you. the lesson ended a bit early, and it was time for the closing prayer. and the Spirit was just telling eeeeeeeverybody that S needed to say it. like, it was weird. everybody knew it. weirdtown. so brother raddant is like "... S, would you like to say it?" so she nods and bows her head.

"dear Heavenly Father...."


....


(whispers) "i'm going to cry"

and then just cries. and cries and cries and cries. and not like a sad cry. like an oh-my-goodness-i-am-feeling-the-Spirit-so-strong-what-even-is-this-feeling cry. like a powerful, spiritual witness cry. like an oh-my-goodness-what-is-happening cry.

AMAZING.

and then (after a looooooong time. quiet crying.) she prays and thanks God for sending His Spirit to help us to know what to do, and for helping us to find the truth, and basically just everything is amazing and I LOVE HER.

You know what the secret is? THE BOOK OF MORMON. she's reading it, and she loves it. I don't know what it is about that Book, but it. is. powerful. like....... insanely. i don't even understand it. one of the "consider this" questions for PMG ch. 5 is "why is the Book of Mormon so powerful in the conversion process?" and i straight up don't know but it IS. (and i would love your thoughts on that if you have any.) :) I LOVE IT. we just read it together and it answers every question. THE BOOK OF MORMON IS AMAZING Y'ALL. read it. live it. love it :) :) :) also, sister butler is pro at following the Spirit and being like "we need to read 1 Ne 16. even though that's not what we planned." and then we do and it's like whaaaaaaaattttttttttttt when did they put this in here???????????? aaaaaaaaaaand i love it :) :) :)

so that is amazing! at our last lesson she goes "Joseph Smith HAD to have seen God. You read the book and you just can't deny it! I get this tingly feeling every time I read!" no. stop. no. why are you so perfect. i love you. stop. she read TEN CHAPTERS. couldn't stop. tingly feeling. i love it :) :) :)

so anyways. that is s. and then the relief society lesson was on "we believe in being chaste" and that was delightfully awkward. but good. i was glad/sad the elders weren't in there to sign/interpret hahaha :) :)

do you know what's fantastic?

ugh. so many things.

but for one, PROPHETS. like whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat even???????????? okay one of the talk in sacrament meeting was on how the Lord continually reaches out to us in mercy (I STRAIGHT TESTIFY THAT HE DOES, MMHMM AMEN) and that is seriously so true. and also, i was just thinking. [it was a good sacrament meeting not for what they said but for the Spirit they brought that made me just like..... i don't know. it just strengthened my testimony SO MUCH. caused me to ponder & reflect. "my mind was called up to serious reflection... my feelings were deep and often poignant" :)] ANYWAYS. prophets. like what even is that. here is something that is true: GOD STILL REACHES OUT TO US. the heavens are not closed!!!!!!!!!!!! there is a prophet in Israel!!!!!!!!!!! and it's for the whole world!!!!!!!!!! like, whaaaaaatttttt????

 

this is something awesome: Preach My Gospel. and the Book of Mormon. and the Bible. and living prophets. and general conference. God's words never cease!!!!!!!!! He NEVER stops reaching out to us in love!!!!!!!!!!!!! what even. i can't handle it sometimes. like what. even. 

 

haha sorry i'm being annoying. it's just so cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 

and you know what else is amazing??? the ATONEMENT. and REPENTANCE. and legitimately, actually, becoming better. Jesus Christ is so fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!! except fantastic is not the best word cause He's real!!!!!!!!!!!! it's like....... almost unbelievable. it's amazing. we can CHANGE. we can become better. He will help us. one consistant step at a time :) :) :)

i can't even handle all the things i love about this Gospel. I just can't. but here is what I know, family.

 

Coming on a mission was the single greatest decision of my life.

 

Every good thing in my life is because of my Savior. Every. good. thing. and I love Him <3

 

The Book of Mormon is true. It is God's Word. It brings us closer to Christ. I know it does.

 

I love being a missionary and I will cry when they make me go home.

 

I love our family. 

 

Guys, something really exciting is coming up. It's called General Conference. Do you know what that means?? it means that LIVING PROPHETS are going to speak. God's word today. fresh from the mouths of His divinely called servants. like WHAT EVEN IS THAT. it's a miracle, i tell ya. I KNOW that we have prophets again in this day. they are SO IMPORTANT. I know that God has called them. I know their counsel is inspired. I know that as we are obedient, we will be safe and blessed. like, WHAT A MIRACLE. let's take full advantage of it :) :) :) know it live it love it!!! nothing makes us happier!! :) :) :)

 

live the abundant life, my friends. its ze bessstt!! i looove iiittt!! :) :) :)

 

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox a million hugs

 

i miss you        i love you :)          xoxo

 

sister cece :) :) :) 

Re: living the abundant life :)

........ okay sorry for the cheesy missionary title buuuuuuuuuuuttttttt it's true!!! i've been reading chapter 5 of preach my gospel this week (sooooooo goooooooood why have i never studied it beforee?????) and page 108 is my favorite. hands down. 

 

"The Book of Mormon... helps us understand that God’s commandments are not a restrictive list of dos and don’ts but guideposts to a happy, abundant life. As we begin to understand that the first principles and ordinances of the gospel are the way to the abundant life, we will appreciate that these principles help answer any question and fill any need. For example, we understand that repentance, forgiveness, and the covenant to serve others are essential in improving relationships with our spouses. We see that faith in Christ, accepting and keeping covenants, and following the promptings of the Spirit can help teenagers avoid the powerful temptations that surround them."

 

you straight up just have to read the whole page because it's all SO GOOD and SO TRUE. 

 

but the part that i bolded. IS SO TRUE. "the way to the abundant life." mmmmmhmmm aaaaaamennnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! S E R I O U S L Y THOUGH. like i can't emphasize this enough. i don't know how to. but S.E.R.I.O.U.S.L.Y. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the way to the abundant life. and i know that the Book of Mormon teaches us this clearly and more powerfully than any other book. also the Bible is wonderful as well. read them both. 

 

more from page 108: "Without reservation I promise you that if you will prayerfully read the Book of Mormon, regardless of how many times you previously have read it, there will come into your hearts … the Spirit of the Lord. There will come a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to his commandments, and there will come a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God” -- president hinckley, prophet. 

 

so basically....... yes. true. yes. family, will you read the Book of Mormon for 10 minutes every day??? i KNOW that doing so will bring the Spirit into your life SO powerfully. you will have an increased desire to walk in the way of the Lord. and i know that His way is the way to the abundant life. it's the only way to live :) :) 

 

also this week i started a list of how Jesus is the Light and the Life of my world. it's been wonderful :)

 

FACT: Heavenly Father is SO RIDICULOUSLY MERCIFUL AND LOVING IT LITERALLY IS INSANE EXCEPT IT'S NOT INSANE IT'S JUST TRUTH.

 

and i love Him.

 

and i know that He loves me. and He is ridiculously merciful to me in all my weaknesses and shortcomings and CONTINUOUSLY reaches out to me in love and just gives me like one billion chances to improve and then He helps me do it. GAH. HOW IS EVERYTHING SO WONDERFUL. 

 

buuuuuuuuutttttttttt seriously.

 

hey, wanna hear about a cool miracle that happened this week? :) :) 

 

sooooooooooooooooooooooo remember s****??????? my bestest friend who told us she thought there should be levels in heaven?????  :) :) :)

sooooooooo she came to church on Sunday (not yesterday, week before) and she was like "i'm engaged!" and i was like ".............yaaayy.................." because usually when investigators become engaged that becomes the most important thing in their life and they become suuuuuuuper sensitive to anything that could damage that relationship...... liiiiiiiiiiiiiikeeeee joining a new religion or something. SO, not super jazzed about it, but i tried to remain faithful.

 

and then.  and THEN.

 

so we go over on friday for our appointment, and we usually see her nights b/c she works 3rd shift, but this friday we were going over there at 1. and we see her on her front step talking to two homies (black guys........) who are smoking and basically being homie gs. love em. okay i wish you knew s**** because she is like...... so white. SO white. this sounds racist but i'm just setting the scene. 

 

soo we get there and we're like "oh she has friends!" and we introduce ourselves and they seem like kind of scared of us?? hahaha which is hilarious because we are two tiny white girls (comparatively) in SKIRTS. so, yes. anyways they're talking, blablablah, and s's like "do you girls want to come in?" so i guess we're done talking to the homies. cool. we get inside. i have a sneaking suspicion. "is thaaaatt........?" (pointing to my ring finger) she nods. "yep, that's j!" 

 

ooooookay. SHE IS ENGAGED TO A BLACK HOMIE G. I WISH YOU COULD APPRECIATE HOW HILARIOUS THIS IS. I LOVE IT.

 

BUT THAT'S NOT EVEN THE MIRACLE PART GUYS. JUST WAIT IT GETS BETTER.

 

so j like, doesn't want to talk right then, which is fine, we respect people's timetables, so we're teaching s, blablablah, and j is like... trying to hide but i can SENSE HIM on the front porch listening and then he comes in and "sneaks" into the back... still listening.... we're just like. reading 1 ne 10 together.... then he RAISES HIS HAND and i'm like..... "...yes?" "so what's the difference between yalls church and like... christians?"

 

well, j. LET ME TELL YOU.

 

sooooooooooo we proceed to have an AMAZING lesson, mostly amazing for the fact that S did a TON of teaching and being like "doesn't it make sense that xyz?" etc etc. at one point she goes over to her kitchen, grabs her extra Book of Mormon, and hands it to him. "here. we're on page 18." SHE LOVES IT. HE LOVES IT. THE SPIRIT WAS FELT SO STRONG BY EVERYONE IT WAS AMAZING I LOVE IT I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUUUUUCHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  like, so much though.

 

SO that was the best. and we invited j to the baptism on saturday (s was going to be out of town) and he was like yeah! i'll come! and then he CAME which is like actually a huge deal because usually people just lie to us?? haha :) :) aaaaaaaand we watched the restoration dvd (which i love) and he loved it and he was like "wooaaaahhhh i feel the Spirit so strong!!!" and he met bishop and talked to him for like EVER and (sidenote: there were peppermint chocolate kringles at the baptism. my favorite dessert EVER) basically just loved everything and love and everything is hooray happy amen. i loved it :) :) :) :) :) 

 

sooooooo yeah that's pretty much my life right now! haha :) :) 

 

basically, i have so many things to work on. but i'm working on them. i feel like a rough stone rolling. but i know how much God loves me (well i can't comprehend it but i know its a LOT and i've felt it)

and i've experience my Savior's Atonement for me. and I love Him. so much. missionary work is HARD but it's GOOD and REFINING and HARD.

 

it's the way to the abundant life, family. live it. love it. know it :) :) :)

 

i told president cutler i was working on waking up on time (i made myself a sticker chart....) and he replied to my last weeks email: 

 

Sister Proffit,
We love you! You have such a wonderful drive to do the work. Thanks for working on getting up on time. Obedience brings increased faith in Christ, which allows us access to the Atonement!
Love,
President Cutler

 

:) i love him. 

 

transfers this week! crazy. sister butler & i are staying together. all of our elderfriends are staying too which is fun :) i love them too! i just love eeeeeeveryone!!!!!!! i'm learning so much and i'm loving it sooooo so much. ahh. it's so hard. it's so good. it's so hard. i love it too much. ahhhhhhh...

 

basically, everyone should serve a mission. it's ze beessssst!! i love iiitt!! (nacho voice obvi)

 

i love you family!!!!! make good choices!!! read the Book of Mormon!!!! feel the Spirit!!! recognize the promptings and then courageously DO what you know you should do!! I PROMISE you that there is nothing in this world to compare from the peace that comes into our lives when we do. this IS the abundant life. God loves us. He wants only the best for us. He gives us prophets to guide us along the Way back to Him. I know that this is true. i'm trying to live it more every day. it's a struggle for all of us, but it's the BEST struggle. and He helps us :) :) :) :) :) 

 

i LOVE YOU SO SO MUCH. forever :) :) :) {isn't that a miracle??????? we get to BE A FAMILY forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!}   anyways.   soapbox done.  i love you tons.  amen :) :) :)

 

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo   sister cecelia proffit :) :) 

 

OH I FORGOT TO ADD THIS TO THE STORY ABOUT J!!!!

 

after the baptism he texts us "thank u again for everything and im gonna start reading the book now" :) :) :) yesssssssssssss

 

oh, also, i forgot.

 

i had a fantastic study on small & simple things. on accident. because God is trying to teach me something hahaha.

 

alma 31:10 / alma 37:6-7 / d&c 123:16-17

 

question to ponder: what small & simple things do i think are foolishness that could bring about great things???

 

because basically, at least the way i read it this time, alma is like "now helaman! remember to always clean the plates & keep them bright!" and helaman rolls his eyes and is like yeah yeah yeah whatever dad and alma's like "NO. i know you think this is dumb but it's not!!! i promise you that this is important!!!" aaaaaaaand it is! small helm, big ship. let us be cheerful :) i love the scriptures!! :) :) :)

 

alsoooooooooo other things that i forgot. me and elder kemper and elder beech are starting a club called "people who are 22 who have never heard the taylor swift song about being 22." it's going to be superfuntimes. i'm excited. elder beech's birthday is 5 days after mine and we are having a missionary PARTY. i'm stoked :) :) :) 

 

speaking of birthdays............................. this is just a reminder that the mission address is 7111 W Edgerton Ave Ste #100 Greenfield WI 53220. i think. mom, edit that if it's wrong hahaha :) :) :)

 

things that i could actually use:

a new journal (this might inspire me to fill up the one i have)

music

stickers

LETTERS

pictures of you

exercise videos

 

acceptable music: 

the lower lights

cds that we already have at home... like the primary colors ones and stuff like that! inside out, vocal point, etc.

efy 2013!!!

christmas music

stuff like that

it's a miracle!

best of efy!

best two years soundtrack! :)

what's the guy who sits at the tiny piano??? his cds are good right??

also, prince of egypt. hahah :) :) :)

 

 

unacceptable music:

michael mcclean

 

compare *with the peace? i'm dumb and typing too fast hahaha

 

can't wait for jacob's call!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY OFFICIAL GUESS: jacksonville florida.  boom baby.

       

OH AND ALSO I KEEP FORGETTING THINGS.

 

so my friend elder thompson is a convert and gets like no letters.  can you write him? :) :) :) you can be anonymous if you want or you can say who you are, doesn't matter. only if you have free time. elder tyler thompson. mission address. if you have time :) :) :) he's the district leader, speaks hmong, and is lovely :) :)

I LOVE SO MANY THINGS SO MUCH

ohhhhhhhhhh dear family..................... too much. too much i love all things missionary LIFE.

 

okay but first i should probably tell you like spiritual stuff & what i learned & such.

 

so this is what i'm learning.

 

sometimes........................... rules seem dumb. like, waking up at 6:30am for example. like, what? i can get ready in 10 minutes! no big deal! i don't need to be obedient to this rule! it's for other people, not me!

 

wrong chongo!

 

becaaaaaauseeee......... well because of so many things. so many times the rules aren't even about what they seeeeem like they're about (ex: waking up in the morning, having time to get ready, etc)... they're about other things. things that you can't even know until you live it for a long time...... orrrrrrrrrr don't live it. (comp unity, being just straight up obedient, etc.) because this is what i have learned. being "meh" about one rule (waking up) leads you to being "mehh" about other rules... which leads you to relax other rules & standards, which leads to more relaxing & not obeying, & on & on until you doing/not doing things that you NEVER thought you would be. like ever.

 

at least that's how it goes for me. i have to be strictly obedient, or nothing.

 

sooooooooo sometimes the rules seem dumb. and lots of time they don't make sense. and lots of times they make me sleepy and i am  P R O FESSIONAL at rationalizing first thing in the morning hahaha. but i knooooooowwwwwwww that being EXACTLY obedient is what i need to be a happy, successful missionary & person.

 

it's what life is all about, baby. i mean elders & sisters. obedience! first law of heaven! what set Jesus Christ apart from everyone else & gave Him power!!

 

alsooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo this is something i learned that is cool.

 

pre-earth life, right? we're all there. Father in Heaven presents this great plan. Satan's like............... eh, no, i don't think that'll work, let's do my idea instead!!

 

{now i don't know if this is doctrinally correct buuuutttttt..... this is what the Spirit told me}

 

Satan's huge-o mistake-o was NOT TRUSTING IN GOD. he didn't think that God's plan would work! at least that's kind of what it seems like to me. and that has been the cardinal sin of all mankind ever since........... trusting in our OWN ideas, what WE think is best, instead of having the FAITH and the COURAGE to choose God's plan instead.

 

luuuuuckily.......... everyone here has already made the right choice once!!! we've already chosen faith in Jesus Christ! We've already accepted His plan for us!! now we just have to do it again..... and again..... and again, every day of our lives :) :) hooray, happiness and joy from choosing the plan of our all-knowing, wise, and loving Father in Heaven!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :)

 

so that is what i learned this week. go team!! :) :) 

in other news: i love elders. possibly too much. they are my bffs <3 <3 <3

 

so here's what happened: a month ago we moved here and our furniture was in boxes.

 

i hate building things.

 

i'm not good at building things.

 

it takes me 96million hours to build one nightstand and the drawer won't even slide shut.

 

dumb.

 

elders loooooooooooooooove building things. elder beech was a straight up carpenter at home! so this is what my little brain thinks........... let the elders build our stuff!! 

 

exceeeeptttttttt... problem. they can't come into our house while we're there.

 

solution! we had a new missionaries & trainers meeting all day thursday in oshkosh! (b'gosh!) soooooooooooo the zone leaders & the other elders came over thursday afternoon to build our house. hooray!! we left little notes & snacks around the house for them.

 

and thennnnnnnnnnnnn we came home. and they had EXPLODED our house with decorations hahahahaha whaaaaaatttttttttttttttttt????????????? elders!!!!!!!! there were sticky notes everywhere with like inside jokes & nonsense & such (& elder beech is from england so obviously harry potter quotes) & we're like ohhhhhhhh myyyyy goooooooodness!!!!!!!!!!!! and we go into the bathroom and we're like lalala... hey... why is the shower curtain bulging & pink????

 

…they had FILLED OUR SHOWER WITH BALLOONS.

 

ten million points for the elders. ten million points.

 

best friends ever!! we love them!! :) :) :)

 

let's see, what else wonderful happened this week............ oh! we've been teaching lessons! to such lovely people!! who i love so so so much!!! and we're inviting EVERYONE to read the Book of Mormon for at least 10 minutes a day! so, family, will you do that??? :) :) oh & also, remember when i invited you (missionary style) to have comp inventory with the Lord? how did that go?! (we invite, they commit, we follow up right now) :) :) :)

 

 

basically, i love being a missionary so so much!!!!!!!!! we had zone meetings & trainer meetings this week and i just loooooooooooove other missionaries, they are so so cute!!! in a missionary way!! hahaha :) :) :) just love 'em. how can you not :) :) :) 

 

friends got baptized this week, friend s**** came to CHURCH yessssssssss turns out she had a funeral last week and so was NOT blowing us off!!!!!!! hooray!!!!!!!!!! our other friend s*** did not make it but she texted us (without us texting her first!) and apologized & explained and hooray for people not lying to us!! haha love it... :) :) :)

 

so yes. that is my week. i love all of missionary land so much, forever <3 <3 

 

fact: it is hard sometimes. i am so bad at so many things!!! it takes me forever to learn my lessons!!!!!!!! whyyyyyyyyyyy????????!!!!!!!!! 

 

buuuuuttttttttttttttttt repentance is real. it is hard. but it is so good. and the sooner the better because things just keep piliing up so so fast!!!!!!

 

scriptures:

 

alma 31:10 -- forget the little things, and it all falls apart

alma 37:6 -- by small & simple things are great things brought to pass :) :)

 

i love you sooooooooooo much family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i love my Savior, Jesus Christ!!!!!!!!! I know He lives!!!!!!!!!! I love Him forever :) :) :) thumbs up for the Book of Mormon, prophets, & temples........ aaaaaaaaamen :) :) :) 

 

love, love, love   sister proffit :) :) :)  xoxoxoxoxoxo

 

 

oh and we had such a good lesson with a new friend who is b'h (? something like that...) basically she believes in prophets......... like this one prophet from iran in 1865....... and joseph smith........... and we're all one, etc etc. but she is sooooooooooo nice and she's reading the Book of Mormon!! and she cried during the closing prayer (sister butler said it) and then added a prayer for us to be protected and she is just suuuuuuuuuuuch the sweetest lady of all time!!!!!!!!!! love love love <3 and she ALSO told us we had a glow!!! whaaaaaaatt??????

 

also, we had dinner with bishop's family and i love them. i love all the bishops in the whole world!!!!!!! :) :) :)

here's the thing, family......HERE'S THE THING

the gospel of Jesus Christ has brought me MORE HAPPINESS AND JOY than ANYTHING ELSE literally EVER. EVERRRR. all of the happiest times in my life are directly tied to knowing, living, and loving His Gospel <3 <3 <3 

 

I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ know me personally, inside and out, better than anyone -- better that I do. I know that They love me a ridiculously infinite amount. I know that They want me to be happy and I KNOW that they know the plan of happiness. There is a plan for each of us -- our infinitely wise and all-knowing Heavenly Father is the Master of this Plan. Jesus Christ made it possible for each of us to live it. He marked the way and led the path for each of us to follow, with His divine help (grace) and the guidance of the Holy Ghost.

 

Family, never leave this plan. Never forget the goodness and mercy of our Heavenly Father. He has given us commandments -- not as a restriction, as the grumpy old man last Saturday tried to tell me -- but as one of the greatest tokens of His divine love outside of the Atonement and our ability to choose. He wants us to succeed. He wants us to have the same joy and happiness that He has -- happiness that He knows can only be found through following His Son.

 

This is so important. This is something that I KNOW to be true. This is something that I love :) :) :) It has brought me so much happiness!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father. I love the commandments they have given us because they truly bring me JOY. even when I do not like or understand them.

 

this is a fact: sometimes the rules to do not make sense. (whyyyyyyyyy 6:30am?????????????) This week I studied John 9 every morning, and I realized that what Jesus was doing did not make sense. "Here, blind man, I put some mud on your eyes! Now go wash it off in this specific pool!" If I were the blind man I would've been like "uhhhhh thanks a lot, Jesus........ I could've put mud on my OWN eyes, thank you, and now my face is dirty....... nice." But he doesn't do that! He has FAITH and he goes to the pool of Siloam and obeys with exactness Christ's commandment...... and a MIRACLE happens.

 

Christ knows us better than we know ourselves. Sometimes He asks us to do things that don't make sense. "How will this ever bring me happiness??????? How will being 2309238409 miles away from home and only emailing my family once a week and walking around in 23940398% humidity ever bring me JOY??????" FACT: it does. Because He knows better.

 

 

............. okay, okay, i'll get off the soapbox now hahaha. It's just SO TRUE!!!!!!! I know it is!! it's the best news ever!!! the commandments are not restrictions.... they are guidelines. and i heard that one million times growing up but i never knew how true it was until i reached the ripe old age of 21 3/4 and looked back over my long long life {:)} and could see how much He's blessed me. :) :) :)

 

 

IN OTHER NEWS...................... I. LOVE. BEING. A MISSIONARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it's the best best best best BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :) :) :) seriously, sometimes my face just HURTS from smiling so big all day long oh boy that sounds so cheesy but SERIOUSLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. not that every day is like sunshine and roses and skipping happy laughing....................... but sometimes it is haha and even when it's like guhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it's still like yayyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!! :) :) :) it's the best life ever. everybody should do this :) :) :)

 

 

earlier this week I was thinking about how everyone's like "missions are so hard" and i was like ehhhhhhh........ not really! like i mean they ARE hard, but so is LIFE haha and i really don't think missions are that much harder than "regular" life.... like at all. the ultimate challenge/struggle as a missionary is to align my will with God's. and that goes for "regular" life as well. that's the struggle! and missionary life is different, for sure, but it's also like..... not. haha. bringing our will in line with God's -- choosing His will -- is a central purpose of our lives no matter what. 

 

 

i don't really know where to go from here hahaha sorry about all the serious talk!!! 

 

 

okay favorite conference quote of the week:

 

It can be discouraging at times to know what it means to be a son  [or daughter] of God and yet come up short. The adversary likes to take advantage of these feelings. Satan would rather that you define yourself by your sins instead of your divine potential. Brethren [and Sisters], don’t listen to him.

BOOM. love that. :) :) :)

 

seriously so perfect for me this week. have i mentioned that i love church??? because i do :) :) :)

 

 

want to hear a cool story?? :) :)

 

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

 

 

ooooookay. OOOOOOOOOOOKAY. (everyone please practice saying that in your best wisconsin accent.) 

 

 

MY FRIEND S*******. 

 

 

we go to her house for lesson time. she is sitting out on her front porch playing with bear the dog. we chat. she says "his brothers are jerks!" bear's brothers? NOPE, NEPHI'S BROTHERS. did she read the Book of Mormon?? YES SHE DID. did she understand and apply it? YES SHE DID. 

 

 

AAAAAAAAND THENNNNNNNNNN.

 

we were teaching about the plan of salvation using these ghetto little pictures i made hahaha. and we ask her "what do you think happens when we die?" and she goes "I don't know........... but I feel like there should be levels."

 

 

 

 

 

 

what.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LEVELS????????????????????? WHO EVEN BELIEVES IN LEVELS?????????? oh, that's right, WE DO BECAUSE IT'S THE TRUTH.

 

 

but like........... what??????????????? hahahaha sister butler and i were like.......... well, let's put it this way... we wish we were on the district 3 so that we could pause the dvd and be like "LOOK AT OUR FACES" because we were ridiculously excited hahaha. but yes, s**** believes there should be one level for like "murderers and stuff", one for "people who were like good but not very faithful" and then regular heaven.

 

 

like, what??????

 

 

so that was amazing. we were grinning like idiots allllllllllllll the way home.

 

we're going to make team t-shirts that say "get the glow!" because in her prayer she was like "thank you for these two girls..... and you can actually tell that they believe what they're saying!" and afterwards she was like "you both just GLOW!" and we were like girrrrrrrrrrrrrrl {sister....} you are glowing too!!!!!!!! because seriously she looks so different from when we first met her a few weeks ago :) :) :) :) :) I. LOVE. MISSIONARY. WORK!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :) :) :) 

 

 

so that was exciting times :) :) but then she didn't come to church........... lame. guess who did come to church though?? Z & C & W, which is AWESOME because last week W(Brother L) was like "this is your first and last time coming here" to his wife, but THEN the ward was awesome and they all became best friends, and now they've been to church TWICE! boom baby! even though we've neeeeeeeever actually had a sit-down lesson with the dad haha members are all like inviting them over to dinner and then telling us so that we can come too haha it is awesome land :) :) :)

 

 

in other news, i love being a missionary.

 

 

in OTHER other news, i am not very good at it.... but i can feel myself getting better!!! bit by bit the Lord is helping me!!! He is magnifying my efforts and just helping me sooooooooooooooooo much and family I can feel your prayers!!! we have had MIRACLES this week personally and as a companionship and i KNOW your prayers made the difference.......... like seriously, i know that's true. God told me. 

 

other favorite conference quote: In His mercy, He allows for improvement over time rather than demanding immediate perfection. Even with the multitude of sins occasioned by the weakness of mortality, as often as we repent and seek His forgiveness, He forgives again and again.

 

 

yes, yes, yes. <3 <3 love Him <3

 

 

so that's pretty much the update this week......... OH, and LAST WEEK i met a LEGIT donny osmond convert, so THAT was obviously awesome........... haha i loved it so so much <3 <3 <3 "how'd you find the church?" "donny osmond." "whaaa...?" "I was obsessed so i wrote him and he sent me a Book of Mormon and then I got baptized." haha awesome!! and she actually has like the world's strongest testimony too so it's legit hahaha. :) :) :)

 

 

zone conference was bomb.com, i love elders, they are hilarious and always make me laugh, i love missionary life, it is crazy and confusing and i'm not very good at it and i make approximately one billion mistakes every single day............ but I'm working on it. and the Lord is with me and He's helping me, I know He is :) :) 

 

 

I love you family!!!!!!!!!!!!! you are the bestest :) :) :) :) :)

 

OH AND ALSO (how could i forget, family, HOW COULD I FORGET??????) remember my best friend n****??? whose little sisters got baptized and i love her?????? well something i did NOT tell you (because it wasn't really relevant...) was that she had a loser boyfriend. well he wasn't reeeeally a loser he just wasn't like GREAT. he was just like a average boyfriend, whatever, stupid, dumb. WELL i talked to sister erickson last week (missionary-related phone call with only a LITTLE BIT of chatting.....) and SHE told me that Narnia**** X*** my best friend ever BROKE UP WITH loser boyfriend and isn't even that sad about it because HEAVENLY FATHER IS HELPING HER, yes He is <3 <3 <3 AAAAAAAAAAAAND she was like ".......... do you think that I could go on a mission??????" OHHHHHHHHH MYYYYYYYYYYYY YES YOU COULD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so then sister erickson and i planned it all out and we just need someone to get us the prophet's email address so that we can tell him that we recieved revelation for him, N*** is going to serve on Temple Square, Hmong-speaking, and Sister Erickson and I are going to visit her there, yes we are, I love it and i LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY :)))))))))))))))))))))))))) everybody should do it :) :) :)

Music I’ve been listening to lately: Nashville tribute band ‘work’ hilarious. So great. I love it. amen JJ

Also—Mormonchannel.org district videos…..8 episodes!! So great JJ