Olympic: Traslado 6: Semana 3

Hola familia!

This week was so great! It was like the sunshine after a storm. We had this amazingly miraculous Family Home Evening ward activity this past Saturday, where practically everyone we invited came!!! I don't think you can really understand that feeling unless you've been a missionary. Even the ward members were all telling us how much of a success the activity was, and how they could tell how happy we were. I think that I was starting to lose some of my faith because it had been so long since we've had very much success. Finally though I feel like we've been working the way I have always felt we should. We are working smarter and we are working in unity with the spirit. I feel like the ward is starting to get to know us and trust us because we are going to the ward activities and showing our support. We are working hard but we are praying even harder, and we are relying on the direction and guidance of the spirit. Hermana Garza is a really good example for me of following the spirit no matter what. She is helping me out, because I feel like I always try to second guess the spirit and over think things instead of just doing them.

The family home evening activity was about the iron rod, and we set up a rope and had them go through the course blindfolded with people trying to tempt them away. We did a similar activity in my last ward a couple of transfers ago. It really was a success; everyone loved it. I think that Lehi's vision of the tree of life (1 Nephi chapters 8, 11, and 12) is such a good self evaluation for all of us to think about where we are. Are we moving forward, holding on to the iron rod? Are we lost? Are we being tempted and tried? We are all somewhere in the journey, and God is always there urging us to come back to him and do what we can to make it. Sometimes even after we've tasted of the fruit we can still fall, but because of the atonement we can also come back. On the other hand Satan is always there as well, tempting us. Most of the time with fears, doubts, and insecurity. He tries to tell us that we can't repent and be forgiven, which denies the miracle and power of the atonement. If we don't believe it is possible to repent than we are saying that Jesus Christ doesn't have that power to heal us. I know that he does, and that we can repent. Satan is so evil though! I hate how sometimes he just tries so hard to tempt us with good things that we really want, but just at the wrong time. I was thinking about that as my companion tried to lure people away from the "iron rod" with some fresh baked cookies we had made. He is always going to be there trying to get us to fail, or get us to think that we've failed so we might as well give up. We can only resist all of his temptations through prayer, and through reading the scriptures, which are the iron rod. The scriptures make so clear all of the little games that Satan tries to play and the traps that he sets to get us, and help us remember that keeping the commandments is always the best way to get the kind of happiness that lasts for forever.

The more I'm on my mission the more I realize that God really is our loving Heavenly Father, and that as his children in this point of our spiritual journey we are just like toddlers. There are so many things that we can't even begin to comprehend. We literally physically are not able to understand so many things that God knows. We can't even understand the concept of eternity, even though we know that it exists. This is our first experience with these physical bodies, learning how to control and handle them without them controlling us. Slowly we are going to learn and grow, but as we do we are going to make mistakes and fall down and get dirty, but he is always going to be there to pick us back up if we let him.

Well, I figured it has been awhile since I've given you all a good long sermon, so I thought I'd make up for it today. :D I'm just feeling really good and happy, and like I've gotten back a lot of that drive and motivation to do the work, and I've been paying attention and seeing so many of the blessings, instead of seeing just the negative like I was before for awhile.

The church is true. We have it because God loves us. I know that God loves me, and am so glad that I am here on a mission learning all of these things.

I love you all!

Hermana Dansie