The saving and exalting grace that turns our pains into growing pains

Large Plates 

Disney, lessons, MLC, and a really good Sunday

Last pday, we went over to the Disney Boardwalk! We played Disney mini golf; I did a terrible job. After that, we just wandered around and looked at some stores and took in the views. We also went on the skyride and a boat tour, both of which were free!! I'm really starting to love this new district. They're all so kind and easy-going. Not a single person complained all day (except about the heat. We all complained about the heat), even though we were doing something that maybe not everyone wanted to be doing.  Everyone here in the Lake Reams District just has such a good heart. 

We also had MLC this week. It was really good to meet up with a bunch of my favorite missionaries again! We left MLC happy, but feeling a little inadequate too. There's a lot of room for improvement. But, I know that Heavenly Father has a plan and He will help our zone become what He knows it can be!

We also had some really good lessons this week. We talked about prayer with Hernan, and we're really hoping he will get more comfortable with prayer, to the point where he will pray to know if the church is true:)

We had a heart to heart with Germán and his family the other night, too. They really appreciate us and everything we are doing for them. They're still adjusting to everything that is going on in their new lives here, so it's hard for them to keep commitments like reading the Book of Mormon. We're really praying that they really start to progress, because we can already see that the gospel is blessing them and changing their lives.

We had another lesson with them this Sunday before church and it was so so good! We talked to them about how they have been changing and growing and how proud we are of them for all of the growth we have seen in them. We can literally see a change in their countenance. They are converted to this gospel and it's so exciting to see!!!

Then, we went to Sacrament meeting and it was AWESOME. The Schmeils were there for some reason, and the Elders spoke, and the Schmeils bore their testimonies in Spanish too! They don't even speak spanish haha. It was such a good sacrament meeting oh my goodness.

The rest of Sunday was kind of a blur. Some of the sisters we cover as STLs called us crying and asked if we could do an emergency exchange and go teach a lesson with one of them. One of the sisters is really struggling right now, and we're so happy she trusts us enough to reach out and ask for help. She's going to be okay. It was just a hard day for her. 

So, long story short, we met up with them at their appointment, I taught a lesson to strangers, without a lesson plan, and then we ate dinner together and brought a bunch of their stuff to our apartment. Me and Sister Rowell slept on the floor, and they took our beds. We're going to spend some time together for pday and it's going to be tons of fun!

Small Plates 

The saving and exalting grace that turns our pains into growing pains 

I learned a lot this week. I don't even know what I'm supposed to share with everyone this week. 

Well, for starters, maybe I ought to tell a little bit of the story of what has been going on back home for about the last month. About a month ago, our family got news that my grandma had pancreatic cancer. The doctors said there was no way to treat it, because it had already progressed from her pancreas to other organs. There was no way to preserve her life. They estimated she would have about 6 months left to live.

This was hard news to receive. I've still got a while left on my mission. I knew the day I heard this news that I would not be seeing my grandmother again in this life. And that there was nothing I could do about it. 

I did the best I could to come to terms with it all, and I was able to find some peace. She lived a long, happy life. And she did a lot of good for a lot of people while she was here. 

Shortly after I had first received this news, we had interviews with President Schmiel. He asked me about what's going on in my life and how I'm doing, and we talked for a while about my dear grandma. It was the first time I felt like I was able to have a real heart to heart with President Schmiel. He's really busy. And it's hard for him to get to know hundreds of missionaries, I get it. He shared some advice with me, and more than anything, he expressed his love and concern for me as an individual. The timing of it was perfect, and exactly what I needed. 

As the work went on here in Florida, the cancer kept growing back home. My grandma's health declined very quickly. About a week ago, they brought in Hospice care and said it would be a matter of days before she passed. 

That was tough. I saw her one last time on a call that night, and said my goodbyes. I don't know if she heard a word I said, but that's okay. My sweet mom got to listen in, and feel my love and hear my testimony. 

This last week has had a lot of ups and downs, but I've seen God's hand in all of it. It's been beautiful to hear my mom tell me about how this life event has brought her and her brothers closer together. I love my uncles so much. They are all such incredible men, and I'm so grateful they are a part of my life and that of my mom's.

The crazy thing about it is, my extended family hasn't all been living in Utah for very long. I had family in Vegas, or in Colorado, even way out in New Hampshire. It was pretty rare for a while to be able to get everyone together. But, in the last couple of years, each of their individual lives and circumstances have brought them back to Utah, and at just the right time. My grandma's cancer progressed so rapidly, that if they weren't all already in Utah, it would have been very difficult to get them together to be with her. God's plan can be subtle. But it is purposeful. He knows what is happening everywhere, and He knows what will be happening in the future. And He guides us to exactly where we need to be when we need to be there. 

Saturday night, after receiving the last update from home, I felt like that night might just be her night to go. I would be lying if I said it didn't make me sad. But I would also be lying if I said I felt alone, or hopeless, or frustrated. I felt peace. 

I woke up the next morning in a similar state of peace, and carried on with the work. We taught one of the most incredible lessons of my mission, and after the lesson was over, I saw that my mom had sent me an audio message. I knew, even without listening to it, what it said. And it was okay. After our lesson and English class, we went to sacrament meeting, which I've already talked a little bit about. My heart was filled with joy. I saw the Schmeils up there on the stand, and heard the Elders in my ward speak, and I felt like I was at home. Not at home, as in Logan. I felt like Florida was home. 

I haven't felt that way for a little while. Of course there's some days that are better than others. But this month has been one of a lot of changes. And it's strange. But it's so so good. 

Growing IS painful. Learning and changing and BECOMING. It's not easy. But if it hurts, that's a sign that you are growing. 

And growth comes from grace. Christ's Atonement gave us enabling grace. It gives us the grace we need to overcome. And it also gives us the grace we need to become. It's saving grace, and it's exalting grace. 

So, I guess that's what I learned this week. That life isn't always easy. But God's hand is in all of it. And Christ's grace is there for all of it. And that very grace is what helps us get through the hard times. And it's what helps us grow through what we go through! 

I know God loves me. I know He's aware of what I need. And He's aware of what those around me need. And that's exactly what He gives us. He gives us strength. He gives us opportunities to grow and change and become more like Him. And I'm so grateful for that. 

Be still and know that He is God

Large Plates 

So so busy

It was another busy week!!

We started off the week with 2 zone conferences! The first one ended up being in President's house because the power went out at the church haha. It was so fun though! We all ate lunch in the dark, with nothing but the light from our phones to help us see our Publix sandwiches. After lunch, we headed over to President's house. We got to give a training with the Orlando South Zone Leaders and it went really well. Doing a training in the house was fun because it felt like we were teaching a family home evening. It was also so fun because Orlando South is my old zone, so I got to see all of my best friends. I miss them a lot. 

The Zone Conference for the Orlando West Zone went well too! I feel like our training was way better, because we had more time to prepare and to pray and think about what our zone needed to hear. Most of my Small Plates thoughts come from things I studied in preparation for that zone conference, or things I said during the training, or things that I studied after because I wanted to understand things better afterwards. 

After that, we had interviews with President! It was good to be able to have a one-on-one conversation with him and talk about what's going on in my life. President Schmiel is so awesome. 

From interviews we went straight to my old apartment to do exchanges with the Buenaventura Hermanas!! I got to go to my old area with my old companion for a day! It was a really great exchange. The night of the exchanges, we got to go to a ward activity and ward coordination and I saw so many of my favorite members from that ward!! It was really hard to leave that area without much of a goodbye because we got transfer news so late, so it was really good for me to be able to go back and see everyone! I surprised and confused a lot of people haha. 

We also got to have a lesson again with Ktheleim, someone we had been teaching back when I was in that area! It went really well. I love her a lot and hope she keeps progressing!

Hermana Jackson and Hermana Parley are doing such a great job in that area and there is no one else I would rather have as a replacement than Hermana Parley. She's super sweet and ready to work!

The rest of the week was mostly just finding new people to teach, which was a lot of fun! And our friend German and his family and Hernan and his family came to church! 

Small Plates 

Be still and know that He is God

This week I learned a little something about just how awesome our Heavenly Father is. 

Something our zone has been struggling a lot with is finding motivation even when we don't see immediate results for our efforts. I've felt the same way, in a sense. 

While we were giving our training, words were put in my mouth that I know I definitely needed to hear, and I hope the other people in the room needed to hear as well. It was something to this effect:

"At the end of the day, we just need to humble ourselves and recognize that our Loving Heavenly Father is too omnipotent and omniscient for us to get in his way."

Understanding just how wise, powerful, and LOVING our Heavenly Father is helps us have so much more faith, hope and trust in His plan. 

He wants us to be instruments in His hands. He wants us to try our best. But He also knows and understands how imperfect we are. And that's okay. 

I came across this scripture this week:

"Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments.

And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will.

Behold, thou art Nephi, and I am God."

That's all God asks of us. He asks that we declare His word with unwearyingness and have faith that He will do the rest. After all, I am only Sister Daugs, and He is God. 

He's in charge. He has control. And everything is going to work out exactly as it is supposed to. And He just loves us enough to let us participate in this great work! 

Life isn't always easy. It's not always fun. Sometimes we feel overwhelmed because almost everything is out of our control. But that's okay. 

All we have to do is, "cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."

I can promise His arm will be revealed. If we trust in His plan, we will see His hand in everything. All we have to do is the best we can at the things that are within our control. And then stand still, and watch, and wait, for the miracles.

Obedience brings blessings

 Large Plates 

Exchanges, languages, and the Germans

It was another crazy busy, crazy good week! We started it off with a pretty relaxed pday. We spent the morning at Disney Springs, until we got rained out. Then we headed over to the church and just socialized! It was actually tons of fun. I really like this district and it was good to be able to get to know them better! 

That night we went over to a member's house for dinner and found out her house had flooded! So, we ate with them, and then spent time getting the water out of her carpet with a water vacuum. It felt good just to do an impromptu act of service!

Tuesday was our first exchange of the week. I stayed in my area with Sister Torres (who was in my old zone, so I know her well!), and Sister Rowell went to the Portuguese area with Sister Rigby (from Ridgeline!). We spent the whole day finding people to teach, and I had so much fun. I got to talk to people in 4 languages! English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Hatian Creole. I'm definitely not fluent in all of them, but it was fun to use them all! We sent out referrals to missionaries serving in each language. It was so motivating! I just want to keep learning and progressing in my language skills. I was able to practice my Portuguese with Sister Torres (she's from Brazil) and I felt like I did okay conversing with her! I definitely wouldn't say I speak the language, but I can chat a little bit haha. 

Sister Torres and I found some really amazing people on Tuesday. We went to an apartment complex because we felt like we needed to visit someone who had previously been taught. When we talked to him, he still wasn't very interested. We knew we were in that apartment complex for a reason, so we looked at our member records for the area. We found a family that we decided to visit, and when we knocked on their door, they let us right in! We got to know them a bit. They haven't been to church in a while, since leaving their country, and they want to start coming back! They introduced us to their 2 kids, neither of which have been baptized yet. We're really hoping to help this family return to full activity in the church and we want to help their kids progress toward baptism! Please keep them in your prayers.

Wednesday we started off the day with service on the Temple grounds! We scrubbed the white benches until they were squeaky clean. Afterward, we went home to do our studies and calls and then we headed to the church to teach English class! We started teaching, and then some of my favorite members, the Bautistas, showed up and said, "if you don't mind, we were thinking we would do something different for class today!" Long story short, it was Hermano Bautista's birthday and we ended up having a potluck and teaching them all of the things that people might say at a dinner. It was the most fun English class I have ever been a part of. 

We went on another exchange this week too! This time, I was still in Horizon West, but with Sister Theurer (from Ridgeline as well)! It was tons of fun and she's super cute. We did a ton of finding and met some cool people!

Sunday was the perfect was to end the week! Our friends Germán and Dayanis, and their two kids, Germán and Germán (yes, I know it's confusing) came to church!! They're the family I talk about in the small plates this week! I'm also starting to know and love the members! The talks and lessons were awesome and we got to chat with President some more in our accounting call. I love President and Sister Schmeil so much:)

Small Plates 

Obedience brings blessings: the couch edition

This week I learned a lot! I'm having a hard time deciding what lesson I learned that I want to share with you, because I learned so many valuable life lessons. 

One of my favorites, though, is that obedience brings blessings! I don't know if I've already mentioned this, but our mission (and every mission in the world, if they're following the council of our church leaders in Salt Lake) is getting rid of our couches. 

I know. It's kind of odd. It doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's just something we have been asked to do. Lots of missionaries have had a hard time with this rule, and they haven't wanted to follow it. But, we've been promised that as we keep the commandments and follow the council of our priesthood leaders, we will be blessed. 

We found out there are some members in our ward who refurbish furniture, so we gave them our couch, and then put every missionary that needed help getting rid of their couch in touch with them. They ended up with so many couches haha. 

We trusted that we would be blessed for our obedience, but we figured the blessings would have little to nothing to do with the couches. Couches and missionary work don't have much in common.

Well, on Thursday, those members who refurbish couches called us and told us they had seen a miracle! It turns out that they had been in contact with one of the families we are currently teaching, and they offered to bring them a couch! This family is very new to the country and don't have a lot of furniture for their home. 

The members went over there to give them their couch and long story short they sat down and had a 2 hour conversation about the gospel and answered a bunch of their questions and just really fellowshipped them.  They even met one of their sons, who we had never met. 

It was exactly what this family needed. And it wouldn't have happened if missionaries hadn't been obedient to a seemingly random rule. I don't know. I just think that's really cool. 

Their whole family, including the son we had never met, came to church on Sunday! I'm excited to see them keep growing and learning. They're really awesome and I love them a lot. 

And who knows? Maybe that lesson on the couch (it even could have been our couch!) will end up being a pivotal point in their conversion!

A little something about curiosity

Large Plates 

Week 2 of Horizon West!

Good news! I made it through my second week in this area! It was an eventful week for sure. 

Pday was a little odd because it was our first one as a district, so we were all still trying to figure out peoples names and personalities and everything. We got invited over to a member's house and they are super wealthy, so their house was like a mini Fun Park. They had ping pong, air hockey, arcade games, foosball, and about a million other things. We went to their house for the first half of the day and just hung out and socialized. I really do like my new district. It still feels weird not to be in Buena Ventura, but there are some really awesome and really funny people in this group. Plus, Sister McMullin came with me from my last district to this one, so it's not all new:)

On Monday night we had a lesson with Carolina and Freiddy!! They were super kind and really grateful for the Book of Mormon that we gave them! They seem like they will learn and progress really well. For some reason they haven't been responding to our messages and we think its because their phone broke, so please pray that we find a way to get in contact with them again soon!

On Tuesday I went on an exchange with Sister Clough in the YSA area! Our zone is right by DisneyWorld, so a lot of the young single adults in the area are in the Disney college program. We had two member meals that day, so I got to meet some really awesome ysa! It would be fun to serve in YSA one day, but it would be hard to leave Spanish work to do so. Me & Sister Clough learned a lot and it was so fun getting to know her more! Also we got caught in a downpour and had to walk across Disney housing without shoes haha. 

A side note: I would not recommend that anyone do the Disney College Program. It sounds awful.

After exchanges were over, we got to work finding new people to teach! Our ward just announced that they are opening up a group that will attend a chapel in the south half of our area, so we are losing half of our members, and we lost most of our teaching pool. Neither of us have had to do a lot of finding recently, because we've always had decently large teaching pools, so it was definitely an adjustment! 

This week we met some really cute families that seem interested in our message. There was one day when we weren't sure where to find, so we decided to just walk from our apartment over to a busy area of town and talk to everyone we saw there. We ended up walking around and talking to people for almost 3 hours haha. We met some really awesome people, and unintentionally got a very good workout in haha. 

One of the people we taught on Wednesday was Stephanie!! She is so incredible! She had been given a Book of Mormon the last time she met with the missionaries (this was before I got to this area) and she read so much of it! She read all of the testimonies at the beginning and the introduction, etc. She said she really likes it and that it makes a lot of sense that our Heavenly Father would reveal His gospel to all of his children! Please pray for her, that she can continue to grow and progress and that she will be able to come to church soon.

On Friday we had an incredible mission devotional with President and Sister Schmeil. I love them so much. They've only been in the mission one month, but they're already doing so much good for the mission. 

They've been trying really hard to help all of us missionaries be more obedient, and we are seeing the blessings that have come from it! Heavenly Father is raining down blessings on the Florida Orlando Mission. We're all becoming more focused and more humble, and better missionaries. I'm so grateful for the Schmeils. 

Sunday was also so good!! The Horizon West ward has grown a lot since it was created a year ago, so they split it and opened a group in a different chapel. We were really afraid that our ward was going to become really small and kind of sad. We didn't know what to expect when we got to church on Sunday. We thought it was going to feel like a branch. But, when we got there on Sunday, we had a full house!! It was so incredible to see. 

One thing that was really powerful to see is how much the ward wants to work to bring more people to church now that half of the ward is gone. They all want to work really hard to reactivate those who haven't been to church in a long time, and they want to start bringing their friends to church and introducing them to the gospel! 

I'm excited to keep working in this area and in this ward. Lots of good things are going to happen.

Small Plates

A little something about curiosity 

This week I learned a little something about how the spirit speaks to me, and to a lot of the people we teach. I've been in the process of formulating this concept in my mind for a couple of weeks, actually. I'm still trying to conceptualize it, so I've been pondering about it a lot. I actually don't know what I'm about to write in the slightest, so hopefully this makes some sort of sense haha.

It's about curiosity.

This all started back in that impromptu lesson in a brunch cafe. We were talking to this man about how the spirit speaks to him and he told us he didn't know if it did speak to him. We explained that it isn't a literal voice for most people. It can speak to us through thoughts, or feelings, or chills, etc. He said he wasn't sure if he had ever felt the spirit before. We could feel the spirit during the conversation, which means we knew the spirit was there, so we decided to ask him how he was feeling at that moment. He just kind of shrugged. 

We tried to help him recognize the spirit. "Are you happy right now?" He shrugged. "Okay, how about peace? Do you feel at peace?" He shrugged again. "Are any thoughts coming to your mind?" He shrugged. 

I didn't know how to help him recognize the spirit. It's not easy to do, even for me as a missionary. But then it occurred to me. 

"Are you feeling curious right now?"

He said yes.

"That's the spirit working in you."

How? Well, picture this:

(First, you should know I like cake. A lot.)

Now just imagine, there is a freshly baked cake sitting on the counter at home. I tell myself, "I don't need a whole slice. That's too much. I'll just take a fork out of the drawer and have a bite." So, that's what I do. I take a bite. And it's SO GOOD. What do you think I'm going to do next?

I'm going to want more. So I'll take another bite, and another. And before I know it, half the cake will be gone. 

That's kind of how the spirit works for me too, and the same is true of a lot of the people we are teaching. 

It's not like someone is going to hear us say the words, "Book of Mormon" and they're just going to decide right then and there that they believe the whole book is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet, etc. They aren't going to want a whole slice of the cake. They don't know if they even want any of the cake at all. 

But then they take a bite. They hear a little more of our message. They read a page. The curiosity hits. Their appetite grows stronger. They read another. The curiosity grows stronger. And before they know it, they have a testimony that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is God's kingdom on the earth today. Half the cake is gone. 

That's what I mean when I say curiosity is a sign of the spirit. Because the spirit only testifies of truth, right? And if someone has gotten a taste of the truth, and the spirit confirms that it's true and good (whether they recognize it or not), they're going to want more. They're going to feel curious. 

I've seen this a lot in myself lately. We teach the Plan of Salvation a lot, but there are definitely a lot of things I don't understand about it. We're teaching a friend right now, Hernan, who has a lot of good questions about it. His questions have struck me with curiosity. 

And there's a difference between curiosity and doubt. Curiosity is taking a bite of the cake, and wanting more because you're sure the other bites you eat will also be good. Doubt is taking a bite of the cake, finding out there's more cake, and being afraid to take another bite because you don't want to be surprised if it doesn't taste good. 

It's the same thing here, in my situation. I have a testimony of the Plan of Salvation. But then Hernan's questions helped me see that there is more cake to discover. Instead of doubting that the rest of the cake will be any good, I got to studying, knowing that what I was going to find was going to be good, because it comes from God.

That's exactly what happened. I learned a lot about the Plan of Salvation that I didn't know before. And everything I learned helped strengthen my testimony that the Plan of Salvation is real and it was created by my Loving Heavenly Father.

The point I'm trying to make here is that curiosity and doubt are similar, but wildly different at the same time. And we have to choose which one we want to feel. We have to choose with which emotion we want to react when questions pop up. 

May we always choose curiosity. May we let our previous love for the gospel fuel us to learn more. There is always something more to learn. And it's so much better to approach a question with curiosity instead of doubt. Because curiosity is a sign of faith. It's like saying "Heavenly Father, I believe in the things I have already been taught and understand. I can tell there is more to know, and I want to know it. Help me to find the truth and knowledge I know exists, but that I do not yet have." 

That is the best way to answer your questions, particularly the questions of your soul. Find your answers through faith, believing God will show you the things you do not yet understand. Let that curiosity drive you towards a greater understanding of God's love and His plan for you. I can promise you that, although not every question has an answer in this life, the answers you do find through faithful curiosity will bless you more than any answer you could find through doubtful scrutiny of the gospel.