We just had P-day 4 days ago, but because I went to the temple and we were stuck in traffic forever. Thursday did not feel like P-day. I'm grateful to have another one so soon after! Tender mercy :) That being said, this might not be very long!
Being able to go to the temple was such a blessing. I never know how much I truly need/miss it until I go and soak up the spirit. While sitting in the celestial room pondering and conversing with the Lord, I thought to myself, "Wow. I have never felt so close to the lord as I do right now". I felt like there was literally a thin, invisible wall between me and my maker as I sat there in prayer. Then I remembered where I was, and it immediately made sense :) I love the temple. I'm grateful for the many blessings I receive from attending as often as I can, and for the spirit that I feel when I go. Talk about a spiritual recharge! It's wonderful :) If you haven't been within the past two weeks, I invite you to do what you can, and go :)
Sister Williams and I are SO similar yet SO different that our companionship is really fun, but really hard at the same time. If we weren't already friends, and didn't have charity for one another, this companionship would not work. We make it work. Thursday nigh,t right before we had to go to a lesson, we had a conversation that included tears, negotiating, serious communication, listening, and love. Neither of us felt like we could go teach with the spirit at that point; we both felt in a rut and almost forced ourselves to let our pride go and hug it out. We decided to say a prayer, read a scripture, and go to work. Tension ceased quite immediately, and as we drove to our appointment sister Williams was like, "Are you as amazed as I am that that actually worked?"
"Praying and reading the scriptures?", I asked. Then reminded her that Heavenly Father helps us according to our faith, and even when our faith is slim to nonexistent, we acted on whatever faith we did have and he blessed us accordingly. We were able to work in unity and love for the rest of the evening and it was so neat to experience :) I'm going to learn so much about myself and how to be my best self throughout the next 5 weeks! Though it's a challenge, I'm truly grateful :) And we do get along! We really are good friends :) The rest of the week was great!
The morning schedule is tough on Sister Williams. She has a hard time waking up whereas I am definitely a morning person and up out of bed as soon as the alarm goes off. I end up working out in our apartment for half an hour before she is up and ready to go to the gym, but it's okay. We all have weaknesses, myself included, and she helps me with mine :) I do love her :)
After studies we had our weekly leadership meeting which went well! We weekly planned for a while before we went to brother Jensen's funeral. I have only been to a couple funerals in my life, and this one was amazing! Every speaker testified of and explained the plan of salvation. Invitations to learn more and see for themselves were extended by everyone, and afterwards a girl brought her friend up to us and said, "This is my friend Hannah! She wants to learn more about what we believe!" :) Hannah described her feelings during the service and acknowledged that it was the spirit. She said her church fell apart and her family is looking for a new one to go to, she loved the warm feelings of love and family, and said her eyes were opened so much that night! We are so excited to begin teaching her :) The lord is so good to us :)
My poor companion woke up pretty sick Saturday morning. So I worked out in the living room again and did what I could to help. We had a lot of really good conversations and finished weekly planning, too! I was going stir crazy from being inside all day, and she wanted to tough out our dinner appointment, so we went to the bishops home for dinner. I love that family! Seriously I could just write an entire email on my ward and how much I love them alone :)
Sunday was the coolest day of the week! Finally Sister Williams and I are working in harmony together, thus allowing the spirit to work more effectively with us and lead us to where we need to be. After a great day at church and dinner with a member, we had a list of people we were planning to see, but on the way to one of them my companion said, "I feel like there is a member who needs us tonight, but I don't know the members well enough yet to know who it is..." So I opened the ward directory after saying a prayer together, and 3 names stuck out to Sister Williams, while only one of those names stuck out to me. So we went to that family :) IT WAS SO PERFECT!!
Remember when I first got to Gainesville and we checked on a part member family who's son had just received his mission call in the mail literally 60 seconds before we knocked on their door? Well, that son just left for the Philippines the other day, and this is the family we felt prompted to see. When we got there, the non member dad's parents were just about to leave. We started small talk and then the words, "Here, let's sit down!" were music to my ears as the dad motioned for everyone to go to the living room. Because this was a spontaneous
visit, we didn't really have a lesson planned, but before getting out of the car we really felt impressed to talk about the Holy Ghost and prayer, and then a personal story came to mind that I could share regarding those topics. While talking with the family, calming their nerves of the unknown for safety and generally how missionary life is, we found ourselves naturally discussing the Holy Ghost, and I shared my personal experience as if we had planned and practiced it! Everything fell perfectly into place that evening, and we know it was the hand of the lord :)
Seriously, I LOVE being a missionary. It's the coolest thing ever :)
I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to dedicate 18 months of my life to my Heavenly Father. There is no way I would be this close to Him, or be at this level of understanding of the gospel right now, if I didn't serve a mission. It's shaped me, and continues to shape me, into the person God knows I can become. I feel much more prepared to be a good wife and mother when the time comes, and overall I simply have a better understanding of who I am and my individual worth as a daughter of God.
My testimony of church attendance, daily scripture study and sincere prayer, following promptings from the spirit, magnifying church callings, watching general conference, and sooooo many other things pertaining to the gospel has grown exponentially. Big word, huh? ;) Well I mean it! Missionary work rocks. If you have any missionary moments, I'd love to hear them :) Have a wonderful week!! :)
Stay safe, choose the right, be happy :)
Sister Chandler
Ps. We haven't taken any new pictures so, sorry for the lack today
No comments:
Post a Comment