Good Morning, Good Morning!
This week flew by, but it was jam-packed with goodness. Sister Garner and I were able to give the training to the Zone on sin vs. weakness, and it was incredibly helpful. But then the need to refresh my mind with that training was perpetuated throughout that week. Because just as I was starting to get a grasp on being positive through our weaknesses, I was attacked by Satan; just shoving every weakness in my face. And it was partially debilitating because I knew what I needed to do to overcome that weakness, I knew what it would take, and I knew what was making me feel so crummy, but I still felt like I had little control. It was affecting my prayers! And it was diminishing my ability to work as hard as I wanted to and to be selfless because my brain was so foggy.
One night, after we turned out the lights, my companion said,
"Do you want to talk about something?"
I definitely didn't.
But I also didn't want her to think it was anything she had done, because I adore Sister Garner. She's one of my best friends. So I just started talking and words fell out of my mouth, issues I hardly knew I was having because I had never communicated them. Then she started to laugh.
"Why are you laughing?!"
"Because all the things you just listed as weakness are your strengths."
Ha. We can never really see ourselves clearly. We look at ourselves through a dark glass; it's transparent, but obscure. That's why eternal perspective is so vital. It's humbling. It forces us to step outside of ourselves and determine what our purpose is and what our potential is. Our capabilities feel unattainable because they are! Until we can accept that we require divine help, we will struggle to reach anywhere near our potential.
Something that really stuck out to me this week was the idea of "If ye love me, keep my commandments." It doesn't say "obey", nor does it say "do". We are to keep them! Hold onto them! Defend them! When we keep something, and we don't throw it away, it's usually because it has some type of significant, sentimental value for us. When we obey the commandments of God, there is room to do so begrudgingly, but when we keep the commandments of God, we cherish our ability to obey because they have personal significance to us.
"Yea, I will keep thy commandments with all my heart." -Alma 45:7
Which coincides with something that was brought up in church yesterday. The idea of being a disciple of Jesus Christ means that you follow Him. You don't just walk the walk, you must walk it with your heart invested. What makes us missionaries? What makes us worthy? is it just that I wear a name tag and wake up at 6:30, or is it that I am truly striving to serve the Lord by bringing His children to Christ?" Positive, hopeful diligence will help us find more peace, faster.
It was a good week! One with a strange set of struggles, and every single one of our investigators was sick or out of town, but still it was effective and we worked our tail ends off!
This week:
We drew the Plan of Salvation in chalk at the park again! Then we got talk walk back with our cute lil' friends Lana and Meredith and teach them the Plan of Salvation using our chalk drawing. (Then the rain came and swept it away). But we handed out 2 Book of Mormons because of it! And Meredith is getting baptized soon! Yay!
Here's a cute picture of us all looking really professional, Elder Karr, Quijada, Sister Garner and myself! These are the missionaries in the OKC 2nd ward.
Another 10/10 week. Dah, I think I'm sounding redundant, but it just keeps being true. And this week especially did we see God just put people in our laps to teach. They fell out of the sky. Solid, hungry-for-the-Gospel people. Every night, we opened up our planners, and we already had plans for every hour of the next day, usually forgetting to plan time to eat or breathe. It's been good. Good busy. Good stress.
This week, much revelation was received. We had a lesson with a member in our ward, Brother Kunkel, and we were trying to address his concerns. I sat there racking my brain trying to propose a solution to his problem, but I couldn't. I just wanted to say the one sentence that would fix his problem, but it was at that point when I realized: we learn in the scriptures that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; our interactions with people are no different. We almost never just spout off that which is the cure to someone else's concern, because solutions come through a process, just like testimonies do. People need to solve their own problems. All we can do is encourage and ingrain the truth in others until they learn it for themselves. Until they hear your words in their subconscious when they finally come to the realization that what they're doing isn't working and they try to draw upon what they've been told to develop a new plan of attack. We see it all the time. It's particularly evident in this video: The Hope of God's Light . He has several people who made a huge impact, but it wasn't until he really felt the spirit that he drew upon all his past experiences and connected the dots. No wonder patience is a virtue. It's exhausting to wait for other people to fix their own problems! But, when they do, it is rewarding.
There's a woman in our ward who has been working with one of her friends for YEARS. The member, Sister Brown, has given Pamela a Book of Mormon, which she's already read twice, she's brought her to church, they've watched conference together, the whole shebang, yet she's NEVER talked with missionaries before! We finally got the opportunity to go over to Sister Brown's house and have another lesson with her, and she is... solid. She said she already tells the Jehovah's Witnesses that she's a Mormon when they come to her door. We laughed when she told us that and asked her what was holding her back. We'll have to help her work through a few of her trials, but it's so incredible to see how the Lord prepares his children. It's another example of small and simple means, but over time, they prepare people to make life-changing decisions.
Sister Garner and I have been preparing a training on helping people recognize that becoming like Christ is a lifelong pursuit. As we were gathering ideas, we stumbled across this chart, and it helped me out a lot.
SIN
Definition: Willful disobedience to God.
Source: Encouraged by Satan.
Example: Knowingly breaking God's commandments, believing Satan.
Did Jesus Have?: No.
Our Response Should Be: Repentance.
God's Response Will Be: Forgiveness.
Result: Cleansed from sin.
WEAKNESS
Definition: Human limitation, infirmity.
Source: Part of our human nature.
Example: Susceptibility to temptation, emotion, fatigue, physical of mental illness, ignorance, trauma, or death.
Did Jesus Have?: YES
Our Response Should Be: Humility, faith in Christ, effort to overcome.
God's Response Will Be: Grace-enabling power.
Result: Acquiring holiness, strength.
I love that so much. I think sometimes I, and most human beings, think of my weaknesses as sins. When I have a weakness, I think it is because I am so imperfect and there's something wrong with me. My friends, that's not the case at all. Sins are us yielding to our weaknesses, but being weak is not a sin. In fact, being weak isn't even a bad thing. It's part of our human nature. Jorg Klebingat said we need to "acknowledge our weaknesses, but not be immobilized by them". President Walkenhorst explained this pretty well earlier this week. He said that he always admired how well his daughter played the piano, even though he couldn't play the piano to save his life. "It's a better use of my time to focus on something I'm already good at and improve in that area instead of getting all bent out of shape over something I'm no good at."
That's a funny thing we do as people. We pick out the strengths of every other person and we create a mental wishlist of all that we wish that we were, but then we compare ourselves against that made-up person that we have formulated in our minds, and we never live up to our unrealistic expectations! But our Heavenly Father has a perfect idea of what he wants us to become. And in order to get there, he needs to make us aware of our faults so that we can look at them and fix them ourselves. Then we progress onward from there.
I know that right now, we are all exactly where we're supposed to be. We can't comprehend why we're in the mental/physical/financial/sinful predicament that we're in, but God expects us to rely on him. It's a commandment to ask for help!!! "...be diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all time; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive." -Alma 7:23. I know He will help us as we request His help, He would never give a commandment He doesn't intend to reward.
He's so merciful. His job isn't to condemn us, only Satan does that, he has clear intentions of helping us feel good about ourselves and be successful. And I know that to be true!
I stinking love you guys. Good things are happening out there, it sounds like. Keep filling me in on all the good news!
Love you!
Love,
Sister Best
Oops. I'm failing at taking pictures. Elder Quijada, our District Leader, gave a training using Mario as an analogy and I have a picture of that... want to see it? Alright, here:
This week was sooo good. Sister Hirschi did, indeed, go home. She finished her mission with valor! She's awesome and she will surely be missed. But my new companion is Sister Garner whom I LOVE. We were able to serve around each other in Stillwater, so we already knew each other pretty well, and now it's been an easy transition. It feels like an extended exchange to serve with her. But she is hardworking and diligent and so stinking loving. I think we're having too much fun, but I guess I won't complain. However, I forgot to take any pictures this week... so you'll have to settle for this one that I took just now of her emailing her family.
Today my brain is working in a jumbled mess of thoughts so here...hopefully this can somewhat be cohesive:
Last night, after conference and a few appointments, we pulled into our parking lot and were grabbing our bags out of the trunk when a man approached us and asked us if he could talk to us about something. You mission eliminates any remaining instinct to "not talk to strangers", so naturally, our response was,
"Of course!"
"I'm baptist, and my Mom is religious, but not terribly. She prays, but she doesn't pray in the name of Jesus Christ. She just prays straight to God. Does he still hear her prayers?"
Sister Garner and I both got these massive smiles on our faces. Maybe it was the spirit we had felt over week, but we both were able to say with conviction, "Yes. Of course." I know that our Heavenly Father LOVES His children. He knows that we're all learning, and that none of us are perfect, nor anywhere close to perfection of knowledge. But that's why it's important to constantly evaluate ourselves. It's easy to look at religion from a general standpoint and think, "the commandments exist, but they're not particularly relevant to me." Sometimes we have to pause and evaluate what we individually could be doing to strengthen our relationship with our Heavenly Father. And how that would benefit us. No matter WHAT we believe or who we are, it is important for each of us to have a personal relationship with God. What are you willing to do to get that for yourself?
I've been asking myself that question. I've been devoting myself more fully to personal prayer. How much of my heart, might, and mind am I willing to put on the altar to offer up to God. How much of yours are you?
I really appreciated all of the talks given at General Conference, but something that stuck out to me was by Elder Sitati, when he said that we become fruitful when we serve God and when we serve others. Then he quoted the scripture in Matthew that declares, "by their fruits, ye shall know them." People identify us by the fruit that we produce. It matters very little who we are if it does not reflect what we do. So I've been trying to determine what type of fruit I bring forth. Are the things I do a reflection of the type of person that I think I am or that I want to be?
Lastly, I've had this scripture on my mind all week in Alma 37: 44-45
"It is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land....for behold... the words of Christ, if we follow their course, [shall] carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise."
I know that heeding the word of Christ (the things we learned in General Conference this week, the Bible, the Book of Mormon, living the commandments, et cetera...) are 100% integral in giving us the only true and lasting happiness that exists. And there is NOTHING we can do to imitate the joy or happiness that God has prepared for us.
I love you guys.
Love,
Hermana Best!
As promised, a pic. of my beloved companion, Sister Garner
So, I had this really great plan where I wasn't going to mention that we got hit by a tornado this week. But then I realized that it's probably not a secret to anyone who watches the news. But we're fine! Everything's fine. I guess I'll share the explicit details, because who doesn't love a good story?
At the beginning of the week, we went on exchanges with the Spanish Sisters who serve with us here in the city. That was a blast! But when I got in the car at the end of the exchanges, I looked at Sister Hirschi and said,
"I think there's going to be a tornado tomorrow."
"Why?"
"I dunno, I just feel it."
Then we woke up. And the day was fine. The weather was nice, it was really humid. Which is a pretty sure sign that there's going to be a tornado, but we didn't think much of it. As the day went on, it got up to about 87 degrees, and the humidity was increasing. Finally, everyone started to check with each other and make sure that everyone had a place to go in the event of a tornado. We had several appointments that day, then we picked up the Elders for dinner, and walked inside. We ate sitting around a television for the first time on my mission. It was disorienting. The weather channel was changing it's mind like bad, saying that the chance for thunderstorms was high, but the chance for tornadoes was low.
Throughout the progression of the dinner, despite what the weatherman was saying, we all got a bad feeling. The family we were eating with, the Largents, started packing up bags to take into the shelter just in case for their kids, and, once again, I turned to my companion and said, "we need to go." She agreed quickly and we took the Elders to their apartment to get their car so we could pick up the Spanish Elders, who are on bikes. (Poor guys) Then we rushed to the mission home, which is our designated storm shelter, but it was a crazy experience.
We were getting texts right and left that tornadoes had touched down in all the surrounding cities. The sirens finally went off, which means that there is a tornado touched down in your area, right as we got a text that said, "Touch down in Moore" and we saw the sky go from bright blue and cloudless to dark and green and eerie. The tornado formed right above us, but we got to the mission home right in time. Hail the size of golf balls was pounding our car, and that was not pleasant to run through, but we got inside and ducked in the shelter for about fifteen minutes. Then it was over.
And the sky was bright again. The rain went away. We walked outside, and it was surreal. The tornado was only about an EF2. It destroyed the roofs of several houses, a couple gas stations, and the wing of an elementary school, but nobody was injured, and nobody died. The craziest part is that the worst of the destruction was only about 2 blocks from our church building... It left a weird looming feeling for a couple days, but if gave us an opportunity to go out and work. We did some clean up in the elementary school, and we volunteered to go door-to-door asking people if they need supplies or help to restore what was lost (which is pretty much what we do every day anyway).
It was an experience that made me increasingly aware that our natural instincts are not just common sense, the Spirit of the Lord protects us from day to day. He really does warn us of danger and helps us figure out how to avoid it. And sometimes it's right in the knick of time, but he does protect us.
Sorry if this story freaked you out. I promise, we're fine. Everything's fine. But I thoguht about the weird vibes in the air in the days following, and I thought about how that must have been what it felt like after Christ died. I imagine it felt empty and people were craving his resurrection. And it took Him 3 DAYS to rise! I can only imagine that there were people who thought, "Wait! He promised He would come back! And He didn't!" But I suppose that's often how our Heavenly Father works. We can't always predict the outcome or the timing of things that happen, that's why faith that all things are for our good is so vital. We could choose to arbitrarily determine that God wouldn't let natural disasters happen, or that God would never let his son die without rising, or we could have faith in his words and trust that we will gain further understanding at the proper time.
I know Christ lives. I know he rose on the third day. I admire and respect all those who believed that Christ would come before having the event to see or prove it, and I know having a knowledge of it now means that we can be sure that He was perfect, the Son of God, who came to redeem us from the fall and to strengthen us beyond our own capacities. We are not, nor do we ever need to feel alone. He is with us through the good and the bad.
Watch this! #becauseHElives
Love you all! Happy Easter! Happy General Conference!
Love,
Sister Best
Pictures: Sunburned and wet in a storm shelter.
Lookin' real awkward in jeans.
Hi there!
I hope the sunny weather is getting to you wherever you may be. It feels like Spring here! Then again, Oklahoma is more weather-bi-polar than Utah. I hereby declare it to be so. But for the time being, I won't complain about how wonderful it feels here. Sister Hirschi and I were able to ditch our car a few times this week and walk our area. It always feels so rewarding to be out on your feet sharing the Gospel with anyone washing their car, mowing their lawn, or sitting in their rocking chair. Also, good weather naturally puts people in a better mood. I'm learning this quickly.
This week, Sister Hirschi and I threw together a meeting for the Sisters in our zone and in the Midwest City Zone. We've had it in the works for a while, and we were so pleased with how it turned out. Each of the sisters gave a short training on basic missionary fundamentals that we prayerfully assigned out to them, and then we trained on trusting in God and communicating with your companion. After the many exchanges we went on, we started to realize that those two things are the root to almost every problem: Lack of communication and lack of faith. The reason that's the root is because if you don't have faith, you don't want to work. If you don't communicate, you can't identify problems and brainstorm solutions.
One particularly poignant thought I've had on my mind this week is the power of work, and how a good work ethic really is attainable for everybody, but you have to work at it. I used to think laziness was an unchangeable part of my being. If I was having a rough day, I could justify sitting in front of my laptop for hours on end. Even on a good day I could justify that! But as a missonary, nothing makes you more miserable than sitting in your apartment all day (even when you're really, really, REALLY tired). There is nothing more engaging or mood-altering than the work of the Lord, and consistent diligence has taught me that I can exceed my own idea of my capacities by just going and doing. I don't think this principle applies to just missionary work. When we are diligent, and engage ourselves in work and education and uplifting activities, our apathy and negativity melt away. We become joyful. Our effectiveness increases when we rely on the Lord, especially when we "consecrate our performances unto Him" through prayer. I used to think there was a distinct line between Spiritual activities and temporal activities. Spiritual being going to church, reading the scriptures, etc... and temporal being doing homework, going on a hike, etc... But there is no reason that the Lord cannot be involved in every aspect of our lives. And when we do involve Him, we are more able to enjoy life in the here and now.
I have a testimony that hard work is the cure to most worldly stresses and feelings of inadequacy. I know it is vital that we are indeed, "anxiously engaged in a good cause." Time heals all wounds, but action heals them faster.
I really like this quote. I heard it in Sunday School last week:
“The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in.
The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of the people,
and then they take themselves out of the slums. … Christ changes men,
who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior,
but Christ can change human nature” (“Born of God,” Ensign, Nov.1985, 6).
Beloved family (and friends who are also family) of mine, I love you. I pray for you. I know that our Savior lives and that he died for us so that we could have hope in being changed and cleansed from our imperfections. And I know that he doesn't care what choices we're making now or how low we feel, our Heavenly Father loves us, and is protecting us, whether we acknowledge him for it or not.
Love,
Sister Best
Photos:
Sisters Meeting!
Republicans, y'all.
This week has been hectic and disjointed, so the email might be similar. But I'll try to organize my thoughts into categories.
The first, of course, being that CONOR GOT BAPTIZED. And to see it was so incredible. It was kind of a stressful weekend, we wound up on exchanges in Mustang and I had to drive back Saturday morning for the baptism and then Sunday morning for the confirmation, leaving Sister Hirschi in charge of a lot, but it all worked out well, because the Lord pretty much does all the work and we as imperfect human beings just stress out anyway over things we can't control.
Conor was there, and a lot of his family came, which was really awesome! It was standing room only. After he got baptized, and He and Elder Quijada went to get changed, we sat waiting for 5....10.....15... minutes. Eventually, Elder Olson went to check on them and they had gotten locked in the bathroom. Hahaha. That's a day you can't really forget. Also the area seventy was at church yesterday and stood in on his confirmation. When he got up to speak, Conor leaned over to me and said "He's a seventy! And he's here! That's so cool!" I love Conor. I love that he understands things and lets the spirit teach him.
I read a talk by Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge titled "The Fourth Missionary" this week. I read it at the beginning of my mission, but had forgotten a lot of it. So I took the time to read it (even though it's about 30 pages long) and learned a lot of great things. Particularly the following quote, which is something I've been thinking about a lot lately.
"You are the sum totally of all that you think, say, see, hear, feel, and do in this life and before. You change immediately with each good thought, each good act; every good word changes you for the better. When you willingly obey the principles of the Gospel, you are changed by the spirit of God to become incrementally more like Him. The degree of change with each small act of obedience may be small, but it is real and immediate. The full, cumulative, and perfect realization of this process of change or sanctification happens only over time, but make no mistake that you are always changing, and that the effects of your obedience are immediate, whether for better or for worse, depending upon the voice you choose to follow."
I remember having very secular discussion about this with one of my friends before my mission. We talked about how everything that we are is based off of everything that we've been around. That's true, but our potential is greater than that. But this is why it's so important to stay out of bad situations, bad media, things that interrogate, or demean, or discredit. Not because we're going to start being crude and worldly immediately, but because whatever we witness or listen to is now a part of us. It is a part of what we have become, It is in the timeline of our lives. If we are full of good actions but bad circumstances, eventually one has to rule out the other. We have been developed by our choices and actions and thy continue to evolve as we diligently choose to cleave unto light. Christ. We become Christlike when we do Christlike things. We can never expect to be Christlike if our actions don't reflect it.
I apologize for being so vague, but we're going to the Zoo! And it's not that the family is less important than the zoo, but... I mean... it's a really nice day outside.
Pardon the header. I'm trying to be less light-minded. But come on, that was clever!
It really has been a great week. I think it's important to indicate that the harder we work, the better the week is. So that is where the growth comes from. We are exhausted. We've had back to back exchanges, back to back trainings, back to back meetings and lessons, but it has been so fulfilling. And it has really helped us stay focused. The Lord has blessed us with so many prepared people to teach and with, what seems like, an added amount of time to accomplish everything we need to get done in a day. My companion, might I add, is incredible at staying focused. She goes home in three weeks and she hasn't talked about home once... WHAT.
Before I testify of the joy and gladness that was this week, I just want to preface one of the attached pictures by saying that we definitely taught the Okie-est lesson I've taught on my mission to date. It's up there with the time I taught a lesson sitting on a stack of tires. This time, we taught it sitting in rocking chairs in Choctaw, Oklahoma on a man named Phil's porch. We watched traffic and explained gender equality and the priesthood. He offered us Ginger Ale. Heaven knows why we declined. It only would have added to this momentous occasion. Also, I accidentally said the following phrase when his wife came home. "Would you like to join us? We were just fixin' to say a prayer!" Ohhh no.....
This week I've been particularly aware of the individual love the our Heavenly Father has for each one of his children. I'll give a few examples.
Sister Hirschi and I have been planning a training that we'll be giving on St. Patrick's day, and we were planning on providing lunch at the end of it, but we weren't sure how to do that since we're the ones giving the training. We were kind of stressed about it, but we have a while to think about it, so we set it on the back burner, then we both felt impressed to go visit a sister in our ward, Sister Goolsby. Sister Hirschi had never really met her, and when I introduced myself to her my first Sunday here, she was kind and inviting, but we didn't have much time to chat.
As we were at the Goolsby's home, she expressed how lonely she had been, and how grateful she was to have visitors. She said her home teachers had visited her the week prior and that it meant the world to her. She's beginning to lose her sight and so she can't go out with the missionaries like she used to love to, but she still shares the gospel at the grocery store, and everywhere else she goes. Then she told us that she used to love to prepare meals for the missionaries in the mission home, but she hadn't been able to do it for a while because of some conflicts with her and her husbands health. Sister Hirschi and I looked at each other with lightbulbs over our heads and said, "Sister Goolsby, we might need your help!" We asked her for recipes, and she laughed and told us that she wasn't going to just give us recipes, she was going to come and provide and prepare the food for all 16 of us! Fearful that it would be a large, overwhelming task, we hesitated, but she began to cry and explained that this was an answer to her prayers. That it was an assignment she missed dearly, and that this project would help her have purpose and serve missionaries, the way she always loved to. We all walked away with glad hearts and joyful feelings. I love knowing that the Lord can answer three peoples' prayers with one simple event.
Something that impressed me most about Sister Goolsby was her desire to serve others. Lately, I've been studying Real Intent, something that Sister Goolsby has a lot of. The concept of Real Intent is one a missionary gets well acquainted with as we tell others that the only way they can know if Joseph Smith really was a prophet, or if we still have prophets today, or if the Book of Mormon is true, is to pray about it and expect a response. And expecting a response with the intention of being willing to change once you do receive a response. That change comes naturally to a lot of people when they recognize that Christ's church really has been restored. They automatically want to align their will with God's because they recognize they are more susceptible to God's promised blessings and bettering their lives if they do!
But Real Intent takes one a whole new meaning as we consider that we much act to receive each blessing we pray for!
I remember when I was in Enid, the branch President of Alva (a tiny, tiny city on the border on Kansas) has a wife who loves sharing the Gospel. She's constantly finding people for missionaries to teach through her own efforts. One morning, she brought us breakfast, and we helped her study Spanish (so she could expand the amount of people she could share the Gospel with... yes, she's that amazing). As we were finishing up, she pushed herself away from the table and said, "Well, I'm going to go write a letter to the prophet." We laughed and asked her why. She seemed shocked that we were shocked and said, "every day I pray that President Monson can feel the love and support of the members of the church. And if I'm gonna pray about it, I have to do my part!" Then she packed up her belongings and marched out the door.
Sister Johnson, that was her name, was an excellent example of Real Intent. It means nothing to pray that we'll find new investigators to teach, or a new job, if we aren't out there looking and diligently trying to find them. Talking to everyone, networking, et cetera... We can pray that we'll get a good grade, but it means nothing if we don't study. We can pray that we'll have a good day, but if we approach it with a sour attitude, we won't get very far. Yet EVERY DAY, we hear people say "I prayed for ____ and it didn't happen, so I'm questioning if God exists." Trust me, no, trust God. He exists! But he gives us agency to make ours lives into what we want them to be. He's not going to force us to live the Gospel, which is why we need to make decision that will help us live the Gospel. It is vital that we pray for the spirit to help us with out day-to-day tasks. And as he accompanies us, we must then heed his promptings. Then we will see the blessings we've requested. Real Intent means out intentions are pure, and we are willing to be obedient in exchange for blessings and to indicate our love for our Heavenly Father.
I apologize if that was incredibly long-winded. My hands hare cramping, so it might have been. Conor is getting baptized on Saturday! Also, last night, the Bishop interviewed him to receive the priesthood and he is SO excited. Also, yesterday at church I said, "Conor! Are you excited to go to OU?" and he said, "my whole life I have been... But now, not so much." I jokingly retorted, "because you want to serve a mission, right?" he looked at me and said, "actually, yeah. That's exactly what I want."
I love Conor Johnson with my soul. He is ecstatic to go to the temple. He has been counting down the days to his baptism. He's already invited his entire extended family and his friends. And it is a blessing to see the changes the Lord has made in his life. The Gospel changes people, makes them better than they were before. And it is because Heavenly Father wants us to feel even a taste of our full potential.
I love where I am. I love being in the service of my Savior. I love all of you for your relentless support. Go scatter sunshine!
Love,
Sister Best
The photos, as described. Phil's home in Choctaw. Yee-haw!
And Conor, reppin' his "I am a Child of God" sticker.
