Back to the City

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Good lessons, one of which was co-taught by a General Authority. God answering prayers I never even prayed, and transfer news (yes, again already).

Here's some highlights from this week!

We had a lesson with our 90-year old retired pilot friend Leo, and the Budges. The lesson was wonderful, and the Budges were so great to have there with us! Not only is Brother Budge an avid pilot, but the two of them are wonderful teachers. While we were there, I couldn't help but think, "wow, they've got a knack for this whole teaching thing!" Well, come to find out: it was announced this Sunday at Stake conference that they will be serving as mission leaders in the Côte d'Ivoire mission next year!! I told them on Sunday that that might make me consider serving a second mission so they can be my mission leaders haha. 

The night after Leo's lesson we had a pretty cool miracle! We were doing some Facebook finding and I was talking to this sweet lady named Martha. We had a really good back and forth conversation about faith! She said she loves Jesus and doesn't have a ton of friends, especially the kind who help her stay close to God. She goes to a zoom Bible study twice a week, but she told me she wants to learn more about the Book of Mormon. Well, come to find out she lives in my old area, Horizon West, where my old companions Sister Jackson and Sister Peterson are now serving!! I sent them her information and they reached out. The next morning they called her & she asked if they could just meet at the church. They did a church tour and Book of Mormon study with her and she loved it!! She's already reading the Book of Mormon, in Spanish to learn about it, and in English to learn English! So cool. 

On Wednesday we had a meeting in Orlando, which meant a road trip!!! The drive is a little over an hour, if traffic is good. So me and Sister Rubio turned on some good old Book of Mormon audio and hit the road bright and early so we could get there by 8. We had a good meeting, for her training, and walked away feeling motivated but overwhelmed haha. Training can be tough, cause sometimes I feel like I'm not telling her or showing her everything I need to. We were pretty tired after that, and both of us have been a bit under the weather, but we carried on! We went to District Council and gave a training which I felt like we learned more from than anyone else. With that spiritual boost, we finished out the night strong. We had a great lesson with Jean and Brother Rogers (more on them later) a call with Billy, and dinner with the Jaussi's.

The rest of the week was a bit slower due to me and Sister Rubio both being in less-than-ideal health haha. We still had a great phone lesson with Billy! He is opening up more and more and you guys!!! He's feeling and recognizing the spirit!!! He told us that he tries to just read a page of the Book of Mormon but every time he does, he can't put it down. He reads at least 10 pages every time he picks up the book. He even had a dream about reading! Crazy. He has a long way to go in his progress but he really is progressing and it has been so fun to be a part of. 

This is kind of a random miracle but on Thursday I told Sister Rubio that I wanted to try this Italian place on the Island and that same night our friend Veronica messaged us and asked us if we wanted to meet her, her son, and Veronica's member friend there on Friday! We went and it was delicious. We had a little lesson after in their car, and she seems very curious about the Book of Mormon. We're excited to keep meeting with her and helping her learn more! She's really smart, so it's going to be really fun, but really challenging to teach her. 

Saturday was tons of fun. We had to get an oil change in the morning, and when we went we met a super duper inactive member! He still isn't ready to come back to church, but hopefully we were able to plant a good seed. We went to the mall that afternoon and talked to a lot of cool people, and then we came home, ate our leftover Italian food, and headed out to the Adult Session of Stake conference! 

The adult session of stake conference may have been the highlight of my week. The first miracle was quite immediate. I really wanted to sit with our friends Jean and Brother Rogers so we could continue to fellowship them and so that we could help her understand what was going on. So I said aloud, "Sister Rubio, I sure hope we can find the Rogers." Before I had even closed my mouth they walked in the door. So awesome. Then, we walked into the chapel and the Usher guided us right to the front row, and sat us in the middle. That was perfect for Jean because then she could feel like she was the only one in the audience. 

Elder Bowen and Elder Galt, General Authority Seventies, were there to call a new Stake Presidency. The spirit was so strong and their talks were wonderful. Elder Bowen picked up on the fact that Jean wasn't a member, so he often directed his remarks to her. A good portion of his talk was about two very specific questions: 

"Are you a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints?"

"Why not?"

Needless to say, he had her attention.  After the rest of his wonderful talk. We made the very short journey to the stand to meet him. We said our hellos and then he Jean got into a very powerful conversation. Within mere moments Jean shared some of her biggest doubts and concerns with this total stranger. We had been trying to uncover those concerns for weeks. But, the reason that hadn't happened is because Heavenly Father knew she needed to open up to someone who could relate to her. One of her biggest concerns is that we don't baptize infants. She told that to Elder Bowen, and he responded so clearly and in such a Christlike way. He lost his little boy when he was 8 months old. He tells the story in a General Conference address, you should listen to it. They talked a moment about the principle of accountability and I think it really opened Jean's eyes and heart. We told her we would study it with her on Wednesday and we let Elder Bowen go to keep saying hi to the press of people that surrounded him. 

The Sunday General Session was great too! I got to translate!! Me, Brother Rusk, and Brother Bullinger all took turns translating from the Family History center. Honestly, I think that's one of the reasons Heavenly Father sent me here to Merritt Island: so I could see how hard and how fun live translation is. I think that might be something I want to pursue in the future. 

Speaking of God's plans for me: this week we got transfer news, and I'll be moving to the Valencia Spanish ward in Orlando! I'm so so sad to leave Merritt Island, but I'll be back to visit:) I really have loved this ward and the wonderful members. I hope they don't forget me, because I certainly won't forget them. It's sad to leave after only 6 weeks of being here, but I know it's God's plan for me, and I'm excited to see it all play out. 

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If you're going to pray for rain, you better bring an umbrella or that was a faithless prayer. 

One of my favorite random missionary activities this week was coordinating with an RM, a recent convert from who knows where, and the Blakes, some members of our ward. The RM, her name is Jocelyn, reached out to me on Facebook. She just happened to message me when I had just picked up my phone, so I saw the notification come in. She asked me if I could bring her friend Zerik, a recent convert, a Book of Mormon that he could give to someone!

I thought, "well gee, of course we can!" We got the information for the hotel and we saw that we weren't going to be anywhere near that area that day. But all was not lost! The Blakes, our knights in shining armor, had a spare Book of Mormon in their home, and were willing to take it to him! They went over about an hour after I got the initial message. So cool. 

We messaged Zerik in the midst of coordinating all of this and we asked him if he had met someone who he was giving the book to. We wanted to hear the story. This was his reply:

"Not yet but the lord guides me to who."

That's so awesome. This guy, new to the church, has such a great love for the Book of Mormon and such faith in its converting power, that he was certain there had to be someone he needed to give it to while he was on his beachside vacation. 

But that's not all. The Blakes asked us to replenish their Book of Mormon supply, meaning they probably have a similar attitude.  

All of the talks at Stake conference were wonderful. One overarching theme was the importance of opening your mouth. They shared stories over and over about the power of opening your mouth and allowing God to use you as an instrument in His hands. The thing is, He can't speak to people through you if your mouth isn't open. 

They invited us to take courage and open our mouths, and do so with firm faith that Heavenly Father will give us the words to say. They invited the Stake to pray for missionary opportunities, and that's where the line, "If you're going to pray for rain, you better bring an umbrella or that was a faithless prayer." 

He explained that if you really want Heavenly Father to give you missionary opportunities, you need to be armed and ready. Be like Zerik and the Blakes. Have a Book of Mormon on hand before you know who you plan to give it to. Carry a pass along card in your wallet with the missionaries number on it. Because you never know when Heavenly Father will use you as an instrument to give His children what they need. 

What I learned this weekend is that I will always have an extra Book of Mormon in my home, in my car, and in my suitcase anywhere I go. Because I, too, have such a great love for the Book of Mormon and such faith in its converting power, that I am certain there has to be someone I need to give it to while I'm on my beachside vacations, and at the grocery store, and everywhere in between.

Headaches and Priesthood Blessings

 

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Another good week! Feeling extra grateful for the members of this ward. 

This week has been a good one, as always! Is life perfect? No. No it isn't. Do I love this imperfect life? Yes. Yes I do. 

We're at a point where we are really getting to know the members and making true friendships with them. We went over to the Blakes house for the first time this week and WE LOVE THEM! They also found out we had plans to go to the beach today for pday and they did everything in their power to make sure we had a good time. They have a cabin in the middle of nowhere in the Utah mountains and I'm determined to visit it.

We also have so many members here that are just incredible member missionaries. It makes me want to not live in Utah so I can stay in the mission field forever haha. It's not uncommon for members of the Merritt Island ward to give their friends a Book of Mormon and bear their testimony. It's so cool. 

We had some really good lessons with Billy, too. He has lots of highs and lows in his progress but this week he said he was reading the Book of Mormon (in the book of Jacob, by the way) and he finally felt in his heart that it's true! We had to move his baptismal date back a little bit because we still have to review some things, but we're excited for him!

Overall it was a really good week but I don't have the time to write about it all. Island life continues to be a good life! Oh and it's warm again!!

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Summary 

I learned a few lessons this week. The first one is that I am, in fact, too stubborn for my own good. And the second one is that the Priesthood is real and we as members of the Church too often take it for granted.

Some backstory: I've been having headaches for a while now (stop right there. Don't worry about it, we're figuring it out:) ).  I ignored it for a while, and then I started to self-treat. Then, I was working with the mission nurse and we still couldn't figure it out. 

I had an interview with President towards the beginning of the week and he was shocked at how long I had been dealing with this haha. It was in that conversation that I realized that I had been waiting to ask for a priesthood blessing for way too long. 

I asked for a blessing the next day, and I kept up with what the nurse told me to do. I didn't think too much about it, but Saturday and Sunday were the first two days in the last 3 months that I haven't had a headache. It may sound insignificant but for me that was honestly a miracle. 

Then, Sunday night, we were eating dinner at the Brown's and with Sandra and Valeri. The Brown's are an awesome family, and Sandra and Valeri are the Spanish-speaking recent converts.  Sandra started telling me about how she had been having headaches, and how Brother Bullinger told her she should ask for a Priesthood blessing. I translated the conversation, and we ended up teaching them, and the Brown's sons who just got ordained to the offices of Teacher and Deacon that very day, about the Priesthood. 

After a very good conversation with everyone there, I shared a bit about my health journey with everyone, and I realized that I had been changing so many things in my life in an attempt to relieve my pain, and none of them worked until I had my Priesthood blessing. 

But the thing with Priesthood blessings is that they often go hand in hand with medical treatment. None of my medicine or other treatment was working until after the blessing. But, the blessing didn't make all my headaches go away, either. I had one today, but I took medicine and it actually worked!! I don't know if I'm explaining myself well. But the principle is this: priesthood blessings give you access to God's power, but they don't take away God's laws (meaning the law of logic). 

Anyway, I'm grateful for the Priesthood. And I'm grateful to be a part of the Restored Church where we have the blessing to have access to it. 

Christmas symbol of an embrace

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Exchange miracles, Billy and Phil, and Christmas fun!

This week was cold!! For some reason Florida decided it was okay to give us Utah weather for a week. It's been pretty chilly, but on the bright side we had snow for Christmas! Well, it may have been sleet. The debate is hot here haha. I'm choosing to believe it was snow. 

This week started off with an exchange! Me and Sister Clough stayed here in the Merritt Island area and we saw tons of miracles (and a few dolphins)! We met a lot of people at just the right time to have a conversation with them that we could tell God wanted them to have. And later that night when me and Sister Rubio were back together again, we met some Hispanics that are interested in coming to church with us!! We finished off the day with dinner at ihop with Veronica, our rocket scientist friend. 

Later on in the week, we had our mission Christmas zone conference. Half the mission was there at a time! There were lots of beautiful talks and musical numbers, and we did a service project for the last couple of hours! It was really good to see everyone. It's weird serving si far from Orlando, because you don't see other missionaries as much. I'm definitely still grateful to be on the Island though!

That night, we went to the Jaussi's for dinner with our friend Phil. Brother Jaussi is originally from Montpelier Idaho, and moved to Logan later in his life! That's kind of a crazy connection we have haha. Dinner was delicious and Phil and brother Jaussi became good friends! We're really excited about Phil.  Please pray for him! We want him to start applying the things we are teaching him and feel their truthfulness!

Friday was exciting too! In the morning we had a workshop with the MTC for Sister Rubio's training, and it was about asking good questions and listening. We went to our friend Billy's house later that day and tried really hard to apply what we learned. Asking him good questions really helped him open up and come out of his shell. We were able to discover some of his needs that we had previously been unaware of, and begin to address them. We had a good lesson and left feeling pretty happy.  About an hour later, he called us. He said we had asked him a few questions that he wasn't able to answer at the moment, and he had been pondering about them and was then able to answer them.  We talked a little while about his answers and then he brought up baptism. We answered a couple of questions he had, and he responded by saying, " well, I guess we better get this thing done." We helped him understand what would be required of him if he wanted to be baptized, and he accepted the date of January 14th! Please keep him in your prayers, he needs help overcoming some of the trials he's struggling with right now. We love Billy!

Christmas eve was fun. We went to the Merritt Island Mall, which was bigger than I thought it would be because Merritt Island is so tiny. We passed out a lot of Light the World pass along cards, and made quite a few friends!! We met some more Spanish speakers there, too, which made me pretty happy:) After that we went to dinner with the Schroders and the Jaussis. I love both of those families so much! The food was super yummy and the company was great. 

Then it was Christmas! We started off by watching the Church's Christmas videos in bed because it was FREEZING. Then we headed off to Church, and that's when the snow started coming down. Church was wonderful! From there, we came home, made some yummy soup, and I opened the presents my parents sent me. Then we met up with our district to make gingerbread houses, and we finished up the night with the Shumway family at dinner. It was a busy day! Christmas on the mission is definitely odd haha. It doesn't really feel like Christmas per se, but whatever it was it was fun!

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The symbol of an embrace

These last few weeks, I've been studying a lot about the Atonement: what it is, what it does, and what it represents. As the Christmas season has come and gone, I've done a lot of pondering about why we celebrate.

Of course, Christmas is to celebrate Christ's birth. But beyond that, it is to celebrate His life and His mission. If He hadn't said what He said, or did what He did, there wouldn't be much of a reason to celebrate Him. 

But that's just the thing. He did what He said He would do. 

He lived. He loved. He taught. He healed. He suffered for our sins. He died. And He rose again. 

One thing I love about the Christmas season is all of the symbolism. There's a lot going on at Christmas time, but if we take a step back, we can see what the scriptures call "types and shadows" of Christ, or symbols of Him.

Christmas trees are evergreen, meaning they live all year. We are made alive in Christ, and because of Him, we can live forever in the presence of our Heavenly Father. 

Snow is white and pure, just as we can be through His Atonement. 

He is the Light and the Life of the world, who's light cannot be hid, just like all of the Christmas lights that line our homes and envelop our trees. 

Even Santa Claus dresses a bit like Him. Have you ever noticed that? The famous gift deliverer dresses in red and white, the colors we so often see depicted in paintings of the Giver of all good gifts. 

There's a big difference between Santa and Jesus Christ, though. Because Santa is only the deliverer of gifts. Christ is the deliverer and the gift itself. No wrapped present under the tree compares to the matchless gift our Heavenly Father gave us: that of His Only Begotten Son. 

I could go on and on about the dozens of different symbols that surround us this season. But, today I felt impressed to share a little insight, a new symbol, I discovered in some of my studies this week. 

The symbol is that of an embrace. 

We see it everywhere in the scriptures. "I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love," "Jesus [stands] with open arms to receive you," and so forth. 

This week I learned from a book I've been reading that, "the prime reason the Savior personally acts as the gatekeeper of the Celestial Kingdom is not to exclude people, but to personally welcome and embrace those who have made it back home."

Can you picture that? He's waiting there. For you. Anxious to give you a big hug and say "welcome home."

The Christmas season tends to be a time for a lot of forgiving and forgetting, returning and rejoicing. It's a time where we see people we haven't in years, or maybe we just spend a little extra time with our friends next door. 

Whatever the dynamic of your Christmas celebration, it's likely to bring with it a hug or two. 

I hope from this day forward you remember the beautiful symbol that is an embrace. I hope that when you see someone and greet them with a hug, you remember that your Savior has a hug waiting for you. And that He has a hug waiting for everyone else too. We are all His, and He is ours. Maybe, just maybe, He sends us people to give us that embrace He is ever so anxious to give us, until it is finally His turn. And maybe that means He is sending you to give that embrace to someone else. 

Because a hug communicates so much more than words can, sometimes. A hug is an, "I'm here, it's going to be okay" in times of trouble. Or a, "welcome home," after a long departure. A "I forgive you," after who knows how long of withholding that forgiveness. More than anything, I suppose it's just an "I love you," in a variety of ways. 

I hope that this holiday season, and every one after, is full of hugs and full of reminders of how much your Savior loves you, because he surely does love you. 

The Spirit is the same

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Another good week!! It went by incredibly fast. 

It's been another week in paradise!! Island life is so good, you guys. 

We've still been making a lot of visits, and it's going well! We're getting to know a lot of members and we're getting to know our area better, too. Speaking of members: we have been fed at least once a day by members! In my other areas we definitely got fed, but not quite like this. Our fridge is completely full of leftovers haha. 

We've also had lots of good lessons! We met with our friend Leo this week and it was great! He's about to turn 90 but he still loves learning and really likes the Book of Mormon. He said he already thinks it's true! We brought Sister Sweetwood with us, and her and Leo just hit it off! Leo was in the Air Force, and so was Sister Sweetwood's father-in-law. We're pretty excited about Leo!

We also met a couple of times with Phil. He has a really cool story and it has been fun to watch him learn. He's really busy with work but he always makes time to learn more!

We've still never met Billy in person, but we do a lot of phone calls with him! He's struggling with a lot of things right now, but he's been reading the Book of Mormon!! Last we heard, he's finished 1 Nephi! We're just praying that he can turn to God for help with his trials and overcome them. 

One of the highlights of the week has been nature!! We've been trying to get out of the apartment as soon as possible every day, which means we do a lot of our studies at parks! We've found a few we LOVE. Obviously there are a lot of parks on the waterfront, because it's an Island haha. We've found lots of beautiful parks, which come with lots of great views, and often a few crazy animals. We've had squirrels take our go-go squeeze, seen some wacky birds, and watched a couple of pods swim by our new favorite personal study spot. I won't lie to you, this week has definitely strengthened my desire to move out here. Merritt Island is so quaint and strange and beautiful!

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The Spirit is the same

When I moved to Merritt Island, I picked up my English book of Mormon for pretty much the first time on my whole mission. For the last year or so, I have loved studying for the Spanish Book of Mormon. After all, it is the language of heaven, as they say. 

The reason I enjoy studying the scriptures in Spanish is because I feel like it allows me to see God's word through a new lense. However, when I moved out here I saw it as God giving me the opportunity to see the scriptures with new eyes, again. It was a good opportunity, too. Something that happens a lot for language missionaries, whether they serve in the States or not, is they forget how to feel the Spirit in their own language. It's happened to friends of mine, and I've been trying pretty actively to not let that happen to me. 

So, on day 1 of being in this area, I dusted off my Book of Mormon with a determination to search its pages, as I had been doing in Spanish for so long. 

It's been like reading the Book of Mormon in a new language all over again! By reading so much in Spanish, I had developed a tendency to pay closer attention to each individual word and what it teaches me, and that tendency has carried on as I've switched back to English! 

That's what happened as I read this verse in the beginning of 2 Nephi 2 the other day:

"Thou hast beheld in thy youth his glory; wherefore thou art blessed even as they unto whom he shall minister in the flesh; for the spirit is the same, yesterday, today, and forever."

I had never really paid much attention to this verse. I saw it more as Lehi saying "Jacob, you're a good kid, you believe in Christ,'' before jumping into some eye-opening doctrine about the Plan of Salvation in the following verses. 

But no, this verse actually teaches us a lot. Not only did Jacob believe in Christ, he beheld His glory. What does that mean? It means he had a sure testimony of Him and His existence. 

But Lehi goes on to say, "thou art blessed even as they unto whom he shall minister in the flesh." Jacob, who was born almost 600 years before Christ, beheld His glory even as those unto whom he would minister in the flesh. How is that so?

"For the Spirit is the same, yesterday, today, and forever."

The Spirit who testified unto Jacob of his Redeemer is the same Spirit that caused shepherds to fall down and adore a baby in a manger. He's the same Spirit who caused Christ's disciples to wonder aloud, "what manner of man is this!" That Spirit is the very Spirit who testifies to us, and makes us sing "I know that my Redeemer lives" and mean each word we say. 

I've always thought that I would have a stronger testimony of Christ if I had lived in His time and seen him in the flesh. But after reading this verse and pondering on it a bit, I'm not so sure that would be true. 

Without the Spirit, no one, not even those who knew Him personally, would have recognized Jesus as the Christ, the Savior of the world. Without the Spirit, anyone who saw that baby in a manger would have seen nothing but a newborn with an unfortunate living space. Without the Spirit, everyone would have just seen Him as a man, and maybe a prophet, but certainly not as their personal Savior. Without the Spirit, we would probably just see Him as some person from the history books. Or maybe we wouldn't know anything about Him at all. 

No one saw Him suffer for their sins, not even the people who were alive at the time. But many still believed that He did so. They believed because they allowed the Spirit to testify to them. 

We can have the very same testimony they did, because the Holy Ghost still testifies unto us the way that He did unto them, thousands of years ago. It reminds me of a quote from Bruce R. McConkie's final General Conference address. With tears in his eyes and emotion in his voice, he wrapped up his concluding discourse with these words, "as pertaining to Jesus Christ, I testify that he is the Son of the Living God and was crucified for the sins of the world. He is our Lord, our God, and our King. This I know of myself independent of any other person. I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears. But I shall not know any better then, than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way."

We can know of a surety, for ourselves, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, even the Savior of the World. We don't have to see Him to know Him. That would be my challenge, and my plea, to each of you. We have less than a week until Christmas. Take some time to gain, strengthen or renew the testimony you have of Christ as your Redeemer. I know He is just that. I know He knows you personally. And I know that we can know Him personally. I may have never seen His face or shaken His hand, but I do know Him. And I'm getting to know Him better every single day.