Opposition in all things

 Large plates

Quick summary:)

Okay so most of this week is going to be in the small plates. But here's a few key points :)

•last pday was so fun. I'm still not good at wiffle ball, but neither is anyone in the whole zone. Also we had a nerf war district versus district and we totally wrecked them haha.

• zone conference! I got to play the piano because the Elder who use to always play headed out to Africa 

• we watched the SpaceX launch from the roof of the Bishops storehouse!

• we went to the temple with some youth and new members. Ana and Cristina LOVED it. Super strong spirit there.

We went out to dinner with Ana and Cristina and Elders Jensen and Boatman. The 6 of us are like a little family it's so awesome. Elder Jensen is trying to convince them to move to Twin Falls and it seems like they might actually do it. I hope they do because the 6 of us need to see each other often, even after we're all home from our missions

•saw lots of miracles this week! Go read the small plates;)

Small Plates 

Opposition in all things. 

Come, Follow Me this week was about the Fall of Adam and Eve. This is something I've known about and understood for a very long time but I really liked diving into it in my studies this week.

One thing that I thought about as I studied was how interesting it is that Adam and Eve rejoiced when they fell. 

In the religious world, the fall is often perceived as something bad. In our church, we understand that it wasn't. In fact, it was a crucial part of the plan our Heavenly Father had for His children.

But beyond that, it allowed Adam and Eve to experience joy. It also allowed them to experience sadness. I got to thinking about it and asked myself, "would I rather live in ignorance and innocence, or experience the things I do in my life every day?"

I don't know if this is a common experience, but there have been times in my life where I have been emotionally numb. It was at times where I was just so tired or so overwhelmed by one emotion or another for such a long time that my brain gave up. 

But I remember every time I broke out of that state, I was so grateful. Even if breaking out if it meant finally feeling sad. Just to be able to feel something. 

I can't even imagine how Adam and Eve felt when they experienced emotions the way humankind does for the first time. Wow. I would imagine even sadness would be preferred over numbness. Because sadness belongs on a spectrum of emotions. And that spectrum includes happiness too. How grateful I am for the ability I have to experience the world around me with more than just sight and smell and touch. But with my heart too. 

I came to this realization one morning in my personal studies. The next morning, we got a text from an Elder in our district. He told us he was leaving for home later that day. He came out into the field with me two months ago. It hit me so hard. 

This Elder has become one of my closest friends. It broke my heart to think of everything he's been going through these last 2 months, and to think that we've been unaware of his needs and how to help him. It broke my heart to think that I wasn't going to have him around for these next few transfers until he comes back. And it broke my heart to think of how much his companion and roommates were going to miss him. They were all like brothers.

We weren't sure how we were going to go about our work for the day with this weighing on our minds and our hearts. Nevertheless, we moved forward. 

We were in a bit of a slump as we started our work for the day, but our hearts started feeling better as we went on. We actually got to go see our friend Carmen that day! We had a really good conversation and lesson, and we put her back on date for baptism! We promised her that God would provide a way for her to get to church so that she could get baptized before her 1 year mark of being in the states. She's so filled with faith and all 3 of us have had to trust so much in God's timing. 

We also decided to go knocking that day. Hermana Morris felt like we should go to a certain apartment complex, so we went. I felt like we should go to a specific building once we got there, so we went. We picked an entrance and a door and knocked. A super nice Venezuelan guy answered the door, and called for his wife. The minute she saw us, she beckoned us in. 

She said she knew we were servants of God because of an experience she had a couple months prior. When she arrived in America, she was so lost in the Denver Airport. She had no idea how to find her connecting flight and how she was going to make it to Florida to be with her family. 

A missionary saw her distress and offered his help. He talked her through everything and helped her find her gate. He even stayed at that gate with her until she was on the plane. She was so grateful for his help.

He told her if she ever needed help she could just look for people with name tags like his and she could trust them and know they had good hearts.

Apparently she's been having a really hard time since she got here. I can't imagine how hard it would be to move to a new country with nothing. No job. No English. No plan. 

She's been praying for help. That day she pleaded to God to show her He loved her and help her. As she was telling us about her struggle and her prayer, the spirit filled the room, probably the strongest I have felt yet here on the mission. She broke down in tears and our eyes began to fill with tears too.

She was just so blown away by the miracle she had before her eyes. Her husband started to cry too as she explained how grateful she was to have her prayers answered. She knew He had a purpose for her and she was supposed to find us. Or be found by us.

The spirit had filled the room and our hearts. It burned within me so strongly that it almost hurt. We had such a good lesson and she was so interested in the Book of Mormon as we read it with her. 

She thanked us for coming by and told us she had had a hard day and she needed this. I felt it too. We had had such a tough morning and we needed some uplifting. I could feel a confirmation in my heart. God was telling me "I did this for her. But I did this for you too."

I needed a miracle. I needed to be filled with the spirit and filled with joy. I needed the strength that comes from an experience like that so I could carry on with the energy I needed for the rest of the week.

We eventually had to leave, but that was one of the best experiences I've had yet. As we walked to our car we could see the husband sitting at the table looking down at something in his hands. They're both incredible and God has prepared them to hear His message.

So what's the point of this whole story?

"For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility."

This has been one of the best weeks of my mission and of my life. And not because it has been easy. But because I have felt immense joy. Immense joy that I am only capable of feeling because of the sadness I have felt too. 

Tough mornings give us the emotional traction to jump into joyful days. 

I'm so grateful for the Fall of Adam and Eve, and more importantly, for the plan our Heavenly Father has for each of us, individually and collectively. He knows exactly what we need to feel in order to experience the things we need to, in the way we need to, in order for us to become the people we are destined to be. All we have to do is trust in Him and let him be the author of our story.