Hello!!
Well this week has been full of
spiritual inspiration, learning
opportunities, miracles, and interesting
moments.
To start off I have some exciting news
about Lisa! She had her
interview and will be baptised on
Saturday! She is nervous but she has
such a strong testimony and she truly
wants to follow Christ's
example. She received a blessing to help
her feel comfort and she said
she felt so much peace after. We are
excited for her and the decision
she is making. And she's inviting her
non member family to her
baptism!
A couple was married on Saturday so we
got to attend their wedding. It
was fun, got to talk to their nonmember
friends and family. They are
getting sealed on Thursday in the
Preston temple which is exciting!
We has an interesting end to the week...
So this week my finger has
been sore and swollen and I was told to
soak it in salt and warm
water. I did that for a couple days but
it got worse and worse. Sunday
at church a member noticed it (it was
that big...) and showed it to a
nurse who was there. They told me I need
to go to the emergency room
asap because it was extremely infected.
We spent the whole evening in
the emergency room and they took an
x-ray and did a little operation
and told me to come back in the morning.
This morning we came back and
they numbed it and did another
procedure. Hopefully it will heal up
nicely :) but everything is okay now,
good news is it won't need to be
amputated!
We were blessed to have Zone Conference
this week which is always full
of inspiration and answers to questions.
I was asked to give
instruction on tailoring our message to
each person. I was quite
nervous but I was able to learn so much
and it went better than I
thought it would be! We have been trying
to focus on members, how to
get them more involved in missionary
work, and how to help them fulfil
their missionary responsibilities.
Because when missionaries and ward
members work together great things
happen. Got some great ideas on
that.
Our zone leaders told us to ask
ourselves 3 questions everyday. And I
challenge each of you to ask yourself
these questions each day:
1. Am I happy? If not how can I be?
2. Have I seen God's hand? If not how
can I?
3. Have a served my companion (friend,
husband, wife, kids)? If not how can I?
These questions are so simple but they
have really helped us keep a
better positive attitude and we have
been happier! Attitude changes
everything.
Sister Blair gave great instruction in
choosing JOY. And a way to
choose joy is to "forget yourself
and go to work" and to "look up and
turn out". When we are focused on
others we forget about our own
problems and are able to make a
difference in someone else's life.
Overall, the main advice I was given is
that work overcomes
everything. I have noticed on my mission
when I am focused on the work
and focused on serving others I am so
much happier. I know there are
really hard things that we are asked to
do in life and we have to
face. There are times when we don't feel
like we can feel joy because
of our circumstances. But I know when we
turn outwards to those around
us we can truly feel joy because we are
following the example of our
Savior.
We were also able to have ward
conference which was another amazing
opportunity to receive inspiration and
guidance. Our bishop gave an
amazing talk on bearing our trials and
challenges with patience. The
hard things we deal with now are making
us great, strong, and powerful
men and women.
He talked about how we need to ask our
father for help and have faith
that he will help us, BUT IF NOT we will
still turn to Him for
guidance and help. He doesn't always
take the pain away right away,
but if we turn to Him he will come to
our aid. We are promised we will
not be tempted or challenged more than
we can bare. Are you still
turning to Heavenly Father even when you
don't receive help right
away? In D&C 121 Joseph Smith is
going through his hardest moments in
Liberty Jail. He is feeling so alone, wondering
where God is. But he
keeps asking for help, he keeps turning
to our Father. In verse 7 & 8
it says, "peace be unto thy soul;
thine adversity and thine
afflictions shall be but a small moment;
And then, if thou endure it
well, God shall exalt thee on
high." If we are patient through our
afflictions He will help us and give us
the strength and courage we
need.
I have been reflecting on my mission so
far and I still have moments
where I can't believe I am serving a
mission because I never thought I
would. And even though it's been the
hardest 6 months of my life,
everything I am learning and
experiencing is making me stronger and
preparing me for what is to come. I will
be forever grateful for the
time Heavenly Father has given me to
learn and grow so much.
Hope you all have a great week! Remember
to keep smiling :)
Love, Sister Stevens
Ps sorry this is so long, I had plenty
of time to write while we were
waiting in the hospital..
