Mom, Dad & Family-
Thank you for your emails of encouragement. Thanks, Dad for the scriptures and words of encouragement. I honestly haven't felt this healthy in a long time. Not that my allergies or asthma have left me, but I've felt energized and excited to go, go, go. It's probably because the gospel is so exciting.
I've been falling in love again with the Book of Mormon. This week I read about King Lamoni's dad. I was deeply touched by the stark contrast of his before and after in the conversion process. Before he knew about the gospel he was willing to give up half of his kingdom to save himself temporally. After Aaron taught him, he was willing to give up everything including his entire kingdom and kingship in order to be saved spiritually. I loved that. Also, this week, the word "deliver" has stood out to me over and over in the scriptures. I think that's one of the sweetest parts of the gospel, the way Christ delivers us from our infirmities and trials.
Things are going well in the companion department. I'm learning to speak up for myself and tune out when I'm missing my alone time instead of getting angry. Not listening is probably not the most Christ-like thing to do, but I think it's a step in the right direction. When I'm angry I can't feel the spirit, and not listening helps me stay happy. I'm working on listening and not getting angry when things or people annoy me, but it's going to take some work. Patience and love are the things that I'm praying most for right now.
I wish you could meet my companions and my district. They are becoming my "family" here. My teachers are amazing, too. I think that everyone should get the chance to live three weeks in the MTC. I think our church would be a lot more loving and focused if we did. I hope this is what Zion is like.
One thing that I get frustrated with is not using time wisely. I feel like it takes so long for my district and I to get started on our studies that we miss out on half the time we've been given. My favorite part of the day is Personal Study and it seems like that's the first thing to go if people are feeling talkative or overwhelmed. I try to just study through their conversations, but as anyone who has ever watched a movie with me knows, I can't concentrate on two things at once. Tomorrow our classes are cancelled for conference so I'm hoping to get a lot of personal study in then.
I didn't really miss anyone too much until yesterday when I started missing mom a lot. I think it's because I was able to spend time with some of the senior couples and get hugs from the sisters. ... Not that you're old, Mom. I just missed your hugs yesterday.
The spirit is such an amazing thing. When you feel it so strongly here, you notice as soon as it leaves. I wish I had been more sensitive and respectful to the spirit before I came here. But I'm so happy to have it now. I've decided Hayley and Nina are serving missions. Everyone should serve a mission.
Thank you for helping me and supporting me in my mission both financially and spiritually. I realize that not everyone is as blessed as I am. I love my mission.
My time is almost up but I love you all and hope you're reading the scriptures and praying for the spirit. Sing hymns! They'll invite the spirit, too. The church is true! Share it!
Love-
Sister Nelson
PS- Shout out to Lauren and all of my Provo friends. Thank you for the packages and missionary games. The spider made me sick, but the rest was great.
PPS- Give hugs and kisses to Rex, Nina, Nixon, Miles, Lorenzo, Lily, Violet and Dahlia for me!
PPSS- Play tricks on people for April Fool's for me since I'm not allowed to here!
No comments:
Post a Comment