"It's easy to turn to God"

Sister Stone and Sister McMullan

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Another fun, fun week! Miracles are everywhere.

We had a long week, but it was so awesome! When I say it was a long week, I don't mean that it dragged on forever and that I didn't have fun. It sometimes just feels like I'm in a fever dream of sorts because something we did yesterday felt like it happened years ago, and something I did years ago feels like only yesterday. Mission time does that to you. I love it though because more than anything its teaching me to live in the moment. 

Anyway now that the random epiphany I decided to have is over, here's a run down of what I was up to this week! 

Pday was loads of fun. I can never fully express how grateful I am to be living here. Sometimes even just doing simple things in our complex makes me feel like I'm in a resort haha. We started off pday by playing beach volleyball in the sand court at our complex. Also we all brought cereal and shared it with each other and it was a grand old time. Then we got all showered up and went on the Sunrail train to downtown Orlando! I love Winter Park. It's so beautiful and it makes me feel like I'm in a movie. I also convinced some of my missionary friends to eat some of the flowers that were there cause like a decade ago one of my primary teachers told me they were edible. In case you're wondering, I do actually think they are yummy (and also yes mom, that's where your flowers in the front yard went about 10 years ago ). We just walked around and looked at a bunch of super pricey stores and talked amongst each other. We ended the day with some ice cream!

We really tried to make the most out of that pday because it was Sister Stone's birthday, and because Elder Jensen got emergency transferred to the beach to fill the place of an Elder to went to his original assignment in Ethiopia. Ice cream was so fun and so bittersweet. We all went around and said what we loved about Sister Stone, and then about Elder Jensen. Wow. I love them both so much more than words can express. Sister Stone is such an incredible example to me, and although I haven't been serving around her for very long, I have already learned so much from her. And Elder Jensen. Man I love that kid. He's the closest thing I've found to family out here. He's like my big brother! I missed him this week but I'm sure he's having so much fun by the beach! Missions are so fun but so hard because you meet such incredible people and then in the blink of an eye they're gone. But that's life!

Tuesday was good! We had a zoom call with Sister Ashcraft and all the other sisters in the mission and it was so good! We talked about comparison and how the enemy tries to take us down by tempting us to take ourselves down. I love Sister Ashcraft so much and I'm going to miss her so much when her & President leave:(

We also went over & saw our friend Brenda on Tuesday! We've been praying for her to have a desire to read in the Book of Mormon and learn more about it and you guys! This lesson was such a miracle! She told us she had read the chapter we recommended to her and she said she honestly didn't understand a lot of what she read, so she read it again, and was still a little confused. But she felt good about it because she felt peace the whole time she was reading!! We didn't know if she was ever going to progress because every time we go over there she kind of just tells us about what's going on in her life & we help her feel better. But she's now actively interested in learning and applying the words of the Book of Mormon in her own life!

The next day we started off with District Council. I think I already mentioned this, but weve kind if changed the structure of District Council and it has been so good! We reviewed some past goals and compared them with how well we actually did and we surpassed our goals! Yay!

We also met with Rocío and Victoria a couple times this week. Hermano Martinez came with us one of the times and he bore really powerful testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and the church and invited them to pray to know which church they should be a part of. They did it and they feel really good about the Church, but they also really like their old church. So, right now they're going to keep participating in both until they recieve a more sure answer. From this point forward we're just doing the best we can to get them to read the Book of Mormon and to foster a better relationship with the spirit. I'm super excited to keep teaching them and helping them progress.  I love them to pieces. 

Normally, I'm not a huge fan of weekly planning, but this week was really refreshing! We had a bit of a dry patch for finding and teaching, and our motivation was going down. But this week in weekly planning we set some solid goals for having more spirit-led missionary work. We wanted to fall in love with every moment of the day again. And let me tell you. This weekend was incredible. 

One of the highlights was our friend Kaitlyn! I talked about her last week because I had a good feeling about her and wow was that feeling right! She's so sweet and so ready to learn and grow. Sister Ashcraft came with us to a lesson with her and it was so great! Kaitlyn loves the Book of Mormon and shared what she has been learning with a bunch of her family, who also live in our complex, like she does. She told us her dad was investigating the church about a year ago and loved what he learned and loves the Book if Mormon! She said she wants to get her whole family together so we can come teach all of them. She wanted to get her husband and 2 kids to church, but couldn't make it happen this week because there was too much going on. Instead of leaving it for another week, though, she came alone, with the determination to bring them all next week! Sister Ashcraft sat by me and her for Sacrament meeting and the ward totally welcomed her in!

Another highlight of this weekend is we figured out how to get Victoria excited about reading the Book of Mormon. She loves reading and reads multiple books a week, but she hasn't been motivated to read the Book of Mormon yet. She saw the painting I have on the front cover of my Book of Mormon, and we started talking about how I like to paint. I showed her a painting I did of Captain Moroni for my friend Elder Petersen! She thought it was so cool and said she wanted me to paint her a picture of Nephi. I told her I would give her the painting when she finished 1st Nephi. I worked with her to set a reasonable goal and she actually wanted to make it a little more challenging for herself! She said she wanted to read the 22 chapters in 1st Nephi in 11 days! She's really excited to read now, and hopefully her mom will follow suit!

The last highlight I'm going to share is about our friend Alba! She called us out of the blue a couple weeks back and said she wanted to start coming to our church again. She's come two weeks in a row now and loves it. Its really hard to coordinate lessons with her because she works so much, but at least she's coming to church! She has been welcomed in by the ward so much. I'm really excited about her.

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"It's easy to turn to God"

That's a quote from President Ashcraft. We've been talking a lot about the power of prayer as a mission lately. Missionaries pray a lot (like, a lot), and sometimes its easy to lose the joy of prayer, or forget the power of prayer. 

But this random line that President Ashcraft said in the midst of hundreds of other sentences stood out to me. 

I can talk to God! Yes, the creator of the Universe. The very Being who makes the sun rise every morning and who gave me the people I love and who literally knows everything. I can talk to Him. Whenever and wherever. 

How cool is that?

He's the most famous Person ever, and I can just call Him up whenever I want and He'll pick up the phone. 

Who else can you say that about? I can't call a celebrity and expect them to answer, or frankly, to care. 

I can't even call my own parents whenever I want and expect them to always answer and to always have time to talk. And they love me! A lot!

Our loving Heavenly Father cares SO MUCH about us. He's always ready to listen. 

I'm so grateful for that. Because it doesn't matter how hard I try, how much I learn, how long I serve. I will never be the perfect missionary. A perfect missionary doesn't exist. And that's a hard reality for me to face sometimes. I like to do things as perfectly as possible. But as a missionary I have about 100 tasks to accomplish in any given moment and about 500 people who are counting on my help in one way or another. And guess what? I can't. I can't do it. It's too hard and there is literally not enough time or resources available to me to make it possible.  So what am I supposed to do?

"It's easy to turn to God."

No matter what challenges you're facing in your life right now, no matter how many things you are incapable of doing alone, no matter how inadequate you may feel, the solution is just that. Turn to God. Because He's capable of it all. And more than anything in the world, no, more than anything in the universe, He wants to help you. All you have to do is ask. 

Luis 

Veggie Burger Aracapa

Hermana Jackson

Hermana Jackson

Hermana Jackson

A little wet....

P-day with my friends, Elder Jensen, Elder Murray, Sister Stone, Sister Carter

Sister Stone

Elder Murray

The pattern of learning

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Zone conference, graduation, and goodbyes 

Pday last week was tons of fun! We went to Universal CityWalk and walked around and soaked up the sun. Add Universal to the list of reasons why the Florida Orlando Mission is the best mission in the world;)

We also had a zone conference this week! It was our last one with the Ashcrafts and I am honestly kind of heartbroken about it. I love them so much. I learned a lot of really good things about being bold and spirit-guided, especially when inviting people to be baptized. I'm hoping to see some changes in myself and in my teaching abilities going forward.

We started teaching a lot of cool people this week! One of them is Kaitlyn (although that's not how she spells it in Spanish). She is so sweet! We met her in our complex and she was outside watching her cute little girl Madi play on the playground. She has such an open heart and she is super interested in what we are teaching! We had a lesson with her again later in the week and met her cute son Ian and he is a HOOT. That boy can talk and it's so funny. This family has a lot of potential. 

We also got to help our friends Rocío and Victoria this week! Victoria graduated from fifth grade so we helped her get ready for her graduation and then we went to it with them! We braided her hair super fancy and then met up with them later for the graduation. We had somewhere else to be for the last part of it, so we left early and then met them for ice cream after. It was such a fun day.

Speaking of Rocío and Victoria, they came to church again and it was such a miracle! They weren't planning on coming because they were having car troubles, but long story short they decided to stop by at the church to say hi, and then ended up staying for Sacrament meeting! And they said their favorite part of it was the Sacrament! Another part of the miracle is that when they were sitting down and waiting for it to start, some members sat behind them and they totally knew each other!! Rocío is going to an esthetics school right now, and the members actually own and manage the school! They were so nice to her and told her if she ever needed anything that she could reach out to them. It was a tender mercy. We have kind of felt like we've hit a roadblock with Rocío and Victoria, and we didn't know how to get past it. We've just been praying for them to be able to find a genuine member friend who can help them understand the magnitude of the importance of the restored gospel. And it happened! I'll keep you updated on how this week goes with their new member friends! 

That miracle was one of many that we saw this Sunday. It was such a good day. And it ended at the Cajas house, which is always so awesome. I love Bishop Cajas and his dear wife and their kids so much. I would die for them. We were all enjoying each other's company when Elder Jensen and Elder Ebana came over. They came because they got a call from President Ashcraft yesterday, and Elder Jensen will be finishing the last 3 weeks of his mission in another area. I'm pretty sad about it. Elder Jensen and I have been in the same ward for the first 7 months of my mission, so it will be hard to see him go. Needless to say, I may have shed a tear or two at the Cajas house. It'll be good though. It was actually an answer to prayers. And it'll make other changes in the future less hard. I've officially been in the district longer than anyone else. I've seen the whole group turn around. No one that was here when I got here is still around.

Mission life is weird. It's so good and so fun and so full of change. Change can be hard but if I've learned anything out here in Florida, it's that change is good. God always has something better in store for His children. 

Speaking of change, MY BROTHER IS MARRIED!! Avery and Haley got married on Saturday and I got to call for a bit to say hi and wish them well. I'm so happy and excited for both of them. I love you both!!

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The pattern of learning

When Christ visited the American continent, the people were so eager to learn from Him. After he appeared to them they gathered together to hear him teach. His teachings to this people are contained in several chapters of the book of Third Nefi. One part of this era in the Book of Mormon that really caught my eye this time around were these three verses in chapter 17:

"1 Behold, now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he looked round about again on the multitude, and he said unto them: Behold, my time is at hand.

2 I perceive that ye are weak, that ye cannot understand all my words which I am commanded of the Father to speak unto you at this time.

3 Therefore, go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow, and I come unto you again"

Verse three in particular caught my attention. Christ basically gives the people a pattern for learning. All they want is to keep being taught by Him, but He knew better. They were human. They were imperfect. Their capabilities were finite. But He knew how to help them learn to the best of their abilities. 

Step 1: "go ye unto your homes."

Or, in other words: put yourself somewhere (physically, spiritually, and emotionally) that will allow you to be taught by the spirit.

Step 2: "ponder upon the things which I have said."

Think about what you have heard and learned up to this point. Does it make logical sense? Is there evidence, big or small? How could this knowledge benefit your life? How can I apply what I already know to strengthen my understanding of it?

Step 3: "ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand."

Pray to you Heavenly Father and ask Him to open your mind unto understanding. He, the Father of your spirit, the co-creator of your mind, will give you enhanced capabilities to understand eternal doctrines and principles. 

Step 4: "prepare your minds for the morrow."

Make room in your mind for more. Don't fill your minds with intelectual blocks or distractions. Make your mind a fertile ground for understanding, whether that be through going on a walk, getting some exercise, getting some rest, or whatever else it may be that will prepare your minds. 

Step 5: "I come unto you again."

This was His promise to the people, and it can be a promise to us as well. As we learn how to learn, we become more capable of learning. It's a wordy sentence but it articulates the truth. As we deepen our understanding through prayer, study, and faith, our heart and minds are better prepared to recieve more knowledge, "line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more."

My invitation this week is to make a conscious, careful effort to learn something new about our Savior Jesus Christ and His gospel. I know you will be blessed as you do so, for, "The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth."

Living below our privilege

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It was the craziest week of my entire life and this time I actually mean it. 

Wow, ok. I don't even know where to begin. This entire week felt like the best dream ever. It was so incredible that it literally doesn't feel real. 

Pday was a blast. We played football all morning, which was actually more fun than I thought it would be. Then we got all cleaned up and went over to Disney Springs. A nice member bought us all slushies from the coca cola store. I also found a pillow like the ones at Grandma & Grandpas house!

We started off the week with some much needed changes. We changed the way we do District Council, and we got a new vacuum!!! The combination of the two really started us off on the right foot for the week. We finally had clean carpet and we had a clean mindset! We definitely hit the ground running.

I'm not even going to bother writing about the middle of the week because WOW this weekend was wild. Basically Facebook finding was super successful this week so we constantly had a huge pile of DMs to respond to and we never had the time to do it. We were working through a bunch of them Friday afternoon, while simultaneously soaking up some sun, when we got a call from an unknown number. We answered it and it was this lady whose uncle passed away this week. Apparently he was a member in our ward but he was completely inactive and even the Bishop, who has been in this ward since he was a kid, didn't know who he was. She told us she wanted us to come over to her house and teach her and her entire extended family about the Plan of Salvation. She's Catholic. So is her whole family. We had no idea what to expect going into it, but we agreed to go over the next day. More on that later ;)

We caught up on our messages (for about 1 minute before they started filling up again), grabbed a quick bite to eat, and then headed out to meet our friends Rocio & Victoria for a lesson! They love going on walks so they asked us if we could go on a walk with them instead of coming over to have a sit-down lesson. Obviously we agreed. I love walks (shoutout to Shay-my walking buddy .

We met them at a local park to go for a walk and it was so much fun! The trail we were on goes past a bunch of lakes and jungly forests. Rocio was reasonably scared an alligator would come chase us haha. She and I got to talking about what we've been teaching her and her daughter Victoria and we had the sweetest conversation ever. They prayed about the Book of Mormon this week and they received an answer to their prayers. They never knew you could ask God a question in your prayers! She was so excited to keep seeking personal revelation and getting more in tune with the spirit. I told her prayer is what led us to knock on her door a couple months ago! 

I love Rocio and Victoria so much. They feel like family to me. I can't wait to help them continue to progress. They have so much potential. 

The walk didn't end there either. The sun was setting as a storm rolled in and the vibes were absolutely immaculate. There was tons of lightning in the distance and the wind was blowing like crazy and then it started raining. So, there I was: in a flowy yellow dress (yes mom. The package arrived this week. Thank you!!!) and my Keens, running with my companion and the people we are teaching, through a forest and past the alligator-infested lake, in a lightning storm. I've never been happier. 

So yeah, that was Friday. Saturday was equally, or perhaps more, chaotic.

We started off the day at a Salvation Army volunteer breakfast. Basically it was just an event to thank all of the volunteer groups who help with the Salvation Army projects. They had a choir of middle aged women singing love songs between the announcements of awards haha. The event was actually so good!! The Church was given a few awards which might not sound very exciting but it was! Even just a few years ago the Salvation Army in Orlando wouldn't work with church members or missionaries, and now they recognize the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as one of their partners! It's been really great to work with the Salvation Army for the last 6 months and do our best to shine a good light on the Church. 

Then we came home, did as much of our studies and planning as we could, between sessions of helping our neighbor move out. 

Up next we had that funeral/Plan of Salvation lesson thing! We still had no idea what to expect going into it but you guys. It was so awesome. We went over and got to know their family. There were about 10 family members there and they were all so nice! We taught them about the Plan of Salvation and they had the most amazing questions and we had such a fun and uplifting conversation. They were so grateful that we came over and they told us they love us and they gave us yummy food (which is actually another form of saying I love you). They insisted that we come back after they get back from their trip to Miami. They sent us home with an avocado and some yummy sauce as a token of their gratitude. I adore all of them. And! They all came to church yesterday and they loved it! I definitely have a lot of hope for them in the future. 

We ended our Saturday off with a bang. We went over to a member's house for a birthday party! In case you haven't picked up on the culture of Hispanics in Orlando yet: a birthday party is just a rave with a bunch of food. We got to their house and there was a DJ and a fog machine and loud music and they moved their furniture to make a dance floor. And of course, there was more food than you can imagine. It was so fun and our ward mission leader and his wife taught us how to dance haha. Also the food was excellent. 

The highlight of my Sunday, besides the sacrament, of course, was actually our English class! Victoria helped us teach it. And by "helped" I mean she stood on a chair at the front of the class and drew pictures of all of the vocabulary words on the chalkboard. It was iconic. Sacrament meeting was also so good, and dinner at Bishop's house is always one of my favorite parts of the week. I love Bishop's family with all my heart. 

That's just a snippet of the fun I had this week. But you guys. I'm so so happy. The spirit was so present and miracles were just pouring down all around us. Life is so good. 

Small Plates

Living below our privilege 

This week we learned a little something about living below our privileges. By that I mean we finally got a new vacuum and it changed our lives. 

As dramatic as that sounds, I mean it. I've lived in this same apartment for over 6 months and when I got here I was told "the vacuum doesn't work very well." And then we left it at that. 

But new vacuums exist! All it took was us asking the right person if we could have one and boom. We had one the next day. 

All this time I've been living below my privileges because I've never bothered to hope for something better. 

Rocio and I actually talked about this on our walk on Friday night. They go walking at this park all the time, but they never took the trail that leads you past the lake and through the forest because they never bothered to hope for something better. But then we came along and introduced them to something new! They loved it too. It completely opened their eyes to the possibilities that they had been missing out on.

We also talked about prayer, and all of the possibilities that come along with it. She had been taught all her life that there is one specific way to pray and basically if you said anything else it didn't count. Or God didn't hear you. 

Is that not so sad?

She had been living below her privileges for so long! 

We taught her and Victoria a little while back about how to pray. We explained to them that God loves us so much and He wants to hear from us. We can tell Him our thoughts, worries, gratitude, anger, needs, wants, questions, or whatever it may be. He loves us like a good father does. Because that is exactly what He is. He is a Good, Good Father. He is the Perfect Father. And because He is a perfect Father, He wants to make us happy. That's what makes Him happy. So that's what He does. 

Asking Heavenly Father a question in prayer was something totally new for her and she was so pleasantly surprised by the spirit that touched her heart after she prayed about the Book Of Mormon. She was so excited to keep praying this way, without repetitions and feeling free to say or ask about what's on her mind!

She had lived so long without ever bothering to hope for something better.

I think we can all learn something from that. I definitely needed to learn something about learning below my privileges. Last week we were kind of in robot mode. Our missionary work wasn't as inspired as we wished it was. But that was us living below our privileges.

All we had to do was go to our Father in Heaven and ask for something better. Ask for what He wanted to give us all along. We asked Him to guide us to the people who needed to hear this message and He did just that. 

I don't even have words to describe how many miracles we saw this week. I wish I could write all of them down, but there just aren't words to describe it all.

The crazy thing is all we had to do was ask. 

Hope for something better.

Seek and expect miracles, just as our dear prophet has instructed. 

And then wait. They'll come.

The Infinite Atonement

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Sup-par Greek food, world class Arepas. 

Guess what? We had another good week here in the best mission in the world.

Last Pday, we took a train to Downtown Orlando to look at some shops and get some Greek food! The food wasn't great but I was in good company in a beautiful place so, of course I enjoyed it. 

I had quite a few fun experiences this week! I don't have a ton of time so I'm just going to write a few highlights. We got to go over to my best friend Carmen's house and she made us arepas and they were SO GOOD. I love her arepas so much. We got to talking (again) about opening a food truck together in Utah, and I swear every time we talk about it, I'm more and more convinced it's going to happen. She is in love with the idea of moving to Utah and she told me she thinks about it every day. We literally talked about how exactly we're going to structure the menu and what ingredients we need and how we're going to market it. Also she did have an Arepa restaurant in Venezuela so she's actually an expert and I am genuinely just thrilled to know her.

I also saw a Gator this week! We went to a park to try to get to know some people, and ended up talking to a guy who was fishing in one of the lakes. Long story short, he used the bait on his line to lure an alligator out of the pond so we could see it. If that doesn't illustrate to you the way the people of Florida are, I don't know what will. 

We also went to a few yard sales to try to find people! We went to one where this Brazilian guy was giving away so. many. granola bars. We were the first ones there so we started talking to him and I used my very broken Portuguese and we had a fun conversation. Then some Hispanics showed up and some Americans, so I was translating from Spanish to Portuguese to English and everywhere in between! It was good practice for me :)

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The Infinite Atonement 

This week, I dove into the book The Infinite Atonement anytime I had a minute of free time. Every time I think I have a good understanding of the Atonement and its implications in my life, I am proven wrong. There's always so much more to know. 

The Atonement is more incredible than we could ever imagine. I don't even know how to articulate its power and significance. 

Infinite is such an abstract concept. It's something we'll never be able to understand in this life, because our finite minds simply cannot understand anything infinite. 

But because the Atonement is conceptually and experientially infinite, that means there is always something more we can learn about it. That's the realization I've come to understand and appreciate this week. 

Choosing to dedicate every free moment of my day to understand Savior and His role in my life opened my mind. In no way do I dare to claim I am some scriptural mastermind, but I will say I was thrilled to see an increase in my capacity to understand the infinite. 

I was reading in Matthew 7 this week, where it says, "For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."

Our Heavenly Father loves us so much. He wants to give us everything. He has given us everything. But, "everything" belongs on that scale of infinity. So there's always more He can and will give. That includes understanding and knowledge. 

He will give us anything we want, so long as it is in line with His will. For me this week, he gave me understanding, which then gave me appreciation. He helped me to take one tiny step closer to understanding something infinite. 

And that's just it. That's the essence of The Infinite Atonement. The Atonement is the very reason we can ask our Father in Heaven for help. It is the very means by which we receive that divine assistance. The Atonement gives us direct access to the powers of Heaven. The magnificence of it all is that we owe all of the subsequent blessings of that Heavenly power to Jesus the Christ.

What I'm trying to articulate here, more than anything else, is that Christ loves us SO MUCH. We'll never be able to understand it. But we can always understand it just a little bit more. Greater understanding of something so awe-inspiring as the Atonement brings greater joy. I don't know about you, but that is so motivating to me. 

I already feel so much love every time I think about my Savior and what He did for me. And this week I have felt more love than ever. And I know that next week I will feel even more love, because I will have even more understanding. Every day, we have the chance to draw closer to our Savior, and as we do so, He will draw closer to us. 

That's my invitation for you. Learn of Him. Learn who He is and what He did, and most importantly: learn how what He did applies to you. 

I know as you do so you will be filled with God's love and enlightenment, and a greater appreciation for yourself, those around you, and for your Savior Jesus Christ.