A Week of LOVE

Ok can I just say a few things before I begin?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST TWIN EVER!! I can't believe how lucky I am to be your twin and to learn from you and laugh together. I know that your heart is so big. You are so talented and so funny. Thank you for being you!! Love you!

 

Happy birthday to Mama Red and Aunt Heidi as well!! Love you both! Also there are others and I hope you had a great birthday as well!

 

Can I just let you all know how grateful I am for all of you. When I opened the package and saw all the notes and pictures, I was overwhelmed with gratitude and love. Not gonna lie, I shed a few tears. Thank you so so much. I am so blessed to know and love so many wonderful people. You are all lights to me.

 

I also want to announce that I feel like I have started a new mission! Haha YSA [Young Single Adult] is different from a family ward in almost every aspect. Planning, finding, teaching, it's all different. But I am slowly learning! Haha my companion and I have decided that she is training me all over again; we laugh every day. The area is beautiful though and full of college students. I'm not used to it! The freeway entrances and exits are in neighborhoods as well so that's an adventure!

 

Sister W** and I have been having a blast this last week. She is from **, ** and is so full of love. She is low key so funny! She is a runner so we have been running every morning which I love. We are similar in many ways and I think we work well together. We also work closely with Elder B** and Elder C**. Because the ward is so big we split it. It's fun though!

 

This week is a week of joy and fun! This Saturday our friend I** will be getting baptized!! We are stoked for her. She is a miracle. She had gone to church growing up and had taken the lessons, but was unable to be baptized due to family opposition. She recently has started college and referred herself to the missionaries because she lost her marked copy of The Book of Mormon. She is so prepared to be baptized, it is amazing to see. The Spirit is so strong in every lesson we have with her. She has been prepared for years. She even has her Young Women's medallion. She can't wait to be able to go to the temple, it's her biggest goal. She will be able to go in a couple weeks and we are so excited for her. My heart is so full of joy and so excited that she will finally be able to make those covenants with Heavenly Father.

 

Like I said earlier, YSA is a little different. One thing that I now get to do is go "boothing". We set a table up and a whiteboard with different questions or topics and we talk to everyone that walks past. We do it outside of the institute building because we aren't able to do it on campus (but we are able to walk around and proselyte on the campus). I'm slowly getting into talking to people my age again! My mind has been running though, thinking of different ways we can use our technology!

 

As I was reading in the New Testament this week, I read about how Christ says He is the bread of life.  Not physically, but spiritually. As we turn to Him we are filled and won't hunger or thirst. I love the visualization it puts into our minds. He and His Atonement are like the plate of cookies (or whatever food you should choose) that is sitting in front of us. It's our choice though, whether or not we partake. We partake as we are baptized and repent, we serve, study the scriptures, go to church and partake of the sacrament, endure to the end. As we do those things, Christ promises us that we will be held guiltless at the last day. What a promise and blessing! The amazing thing is that as we turn to Christ, our burdens are lifted, we are filled with His love for us, and we can find peace and hope. I hope this week you will find time each day to turn to your Savior and "be filled". I promise it makes your day so much better. More light will come into your life and you will feel lifted.

 

Sorry this is so long, but I just have a few more thoughts. This week I hit one year. Weird right!? It feels like just yesterday I was in Paso with Sister C. I am so thankful for everything that I've experienced, felt, seen, and learned here. And for so many lives that have touched mine. I am different. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ I have become a different person, a better person than I was before. His gospel means everything to me and He means everything to me. It's because of Him that I can do all things. The same can be true for you as well. I know our Heavenly Father and Savior know and love each one of us by name. I know that peace and joy in this life comes from being obedient to God and the things He has asked us to do. Christlike obedience brings an overflowing of blessings. Selective obedience brings selective blessings. I love my Savior and my Heavenly Father.

 

I hope you all have a great week. Remember that you are loved and there are people all around you ready to help you if you just ask.

 

xoxo,

Sister G 

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