NORTHERN LIGHTS!!!
Hello everyone!
Before I start describing my week, I want to tell you about my testimony-building experience on obedience. My companion and I are trying to be completely obedient, and part of being obedient is that we are supposed to exercise for 30 minutes every morning from 6:30-7:00 AM. By the time we wake up, get ready, and say our prayers, we only have about 20 minutes to work out. So, we started waking up at 6:15 so that we could be ready and out the door to go running at 6:30. The very first morning we do this, we are out of our door by 6:30 to go running, turn the corner, and we look up and the NORTHERN LIGHTS ARE OUT! Okay, you have to understand, missionaries who have been here for almost a year haven't even seen them yet. My companion hasn't seen them yet…! Anyway, we saw the northern lights for about 10 whole minutes. By the time we normally would have started our running time, the lights would have been gone! Because we decided to be completely obedient, we feel we were rewarded with this tender mercy from the lord. I have seen them twice since then--just the coolest sight to see!
Our view every morning
In addition to that experience, this week was seriously amazing! Conference was so cool to listen to! The speakers talked so much about missionary work, and I loved hearing about it! We received so many answers to questions we have about our area, and it was cool to just hear these inspired words. I also loved how much the speakers talked about the Plan of Salvation and the Atonement, which is the center of the Gospel. It just really showed how important the Plan of Salvation and His Atonement really are, especially in these times. I love and feel so grateful for the knowledge that we have of these principles. His Atonement is truly one of the greatest acts of love, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to use the Atonement daily. I am also so thankful for the opportunity we have to share such an amazing plan that really truly does bring the most happiness.
I also loved Elder Uchtdorf’s
talk about faith from the General Women's Conference. I have read that talk over and over
again this week, and I love it more and more every single time. I love when he said, “My beloved sisters
in Christ, God is real. He lives. He loves you. He knows you. He understands you.
He knows the silent pleadings of your heart. He has not abandoned you. He will not forsake you." These men are truly inspired, and I am so thankful for their
inspired words and guidance that they gave this week. I am so thankful for our prophet, Thomas
S. Monson, and I know that he is our living prophet today.
All of the sister missionaries, except for a few! So fun to finally get to see other sisters since my companion and I are the only ones in our area!
This week we had a really cool experience with our upstairs’ neighbor. I finally got to meet him because he works on the slope (where the majority of the people work; they work for three weeks and then are off for three weeks), and so he was gone the first three weeks I was here. He is seriously so cool! If I were 40 years old, I would totally be a best friend with him. Anyways, he just flat out asked us, “So, when are you going to start teaching me the lessons?” This totally caught us off-guard. So, we gave him a Book of Mormon and said, “Read this chapter, and let us know when we can start teaching you.” Seriously, so cool! We start teaching him this week!
We also have been trying to
get to know all of the less-actives, which are 2/3 of our ward, which has been
interesting. We have had some
really cool experiences and also some really interesting ones. Some people will pretend they aren't
members of the church, which is actually kind of funny! We're working really hard to meet
with every less active, and I have loved it!
Our view of the Pacific Ocean
The people in Alaska are so awesome! I seriously love them! They have some crazy stories. It's fun getting to know so many new people and just hearing all their crazy stories! I love it here! I love the people! I love the area! I love my ward! And I love this Gospel! I feel more and more blessed every week to be given this opportunity, and I am so excited for all that is to come. Heavenly Father loves us, He knows us, and He is there for us every second of every day. He has been my rock since I have been out here, and I am so grateful for that. Thank you all for what everyone has done, and for the encouraging words and prayers that I have felt. Love you all so much!
My welcome gift to Alaska--bear spray--given to me by one of my favorite families--the Fishes! Hopefully I'll get to use it sometime soon!!
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