Hello everyone!
First of all, for the convenience of all of you, my dear readers, I am going to start linking the recommended reading to the post just to save you all some time and energy. I've got some good picks going on and I'd love for you all to check them out. (Especially this week's--it's in particular special to me seeing as it was written by a dear friend of mine.)
As I was reviewing this letter today, I really felt to write by way of introduction about the great miracle that is missionary service. I note frequently about having the "privilege" of serving, and I just hope you understand that is really so true. Missionary service is voluntary; we choose to do it. We love what we do. We love getting to teach people about Jesus and we love getting to be there for people that are in need of hope or service. That was really my place. Those were really my people. That was really my calling. I was thinking about a letter that my father wrote me on my mission today, where he told me he had a potential business trip in Ohio. My dad spent six months of his own missionary service about twenty-five years ago in Cincinnati. He ended up not being able to go on the trip, but he did tell me that if it had been in Cincinnati, he would have done whatever it took to be there, no questions asked. I was reflecting on that today and realized how true that is of Los Angeles for me now. There isn't much I wouldn't do for that city. Maybe it sounds strange to some, but it actually makes perfect sense, because didn't I drop everything in my life to run to the aid of Los Angeles once before? I would do it over and over again now. They mean everything to me. I have seen the true beauty of the city. It will never not be a special place to me. I think about it all the time. I am pretty convinced it is heaven on earth. Maybe that's why they call it the City of Angels.
Enjoy!
Hello one and all!
LA LOVE:
On 6/24/19 Sister Tomkinson an I hugged for the first time in the ice cream aisle of a Food 4 Less so there's that.
If you're still keeping tabs on what everyone in this apartment names everything, the car is Kimmie, Sister Tomkinson's bed is Francesca, Sister Along's bike is Shirley, and our weird dog pillow is Douglas.
Ever since I've gotten my second mission call, every time he sees me Elder Messick says, "Sister Day! Welcome to the CLAM!" It's been over month since that even and almost four months since I first got here but okay.
I edited my lyrics for my One Direction missionary song because "and never stop til Jesus says the work is done" seems much more fitting, being an adaption of Joseph Smith's words.
EVENTS OF THE WEEK:
We had a p-day with all the sisters in the valley with lots and lots of pancakes! Super fun; I'm lucky to be serving with such amazing sisters.
We had our last zone conference with President Haynie and Sister Haynie. I learned a lot about things that I definitely need to improve on. That's how I know that priesthood authority is real, because for awhile I had been wondering what could be done to improve certain aspects of our work, and then our mission leaders gave trainings on those topics. God is so aware of our needs. Sister Haynie and President Haynie also gave us some final words of advice and we each got to say goodbye to them. As they left, we stood up and sang "God Be With You Til We Meet Again". The Haynies have been absolutely incredible mission leaders and I love them so much, but I'm also super excited to welcome the Cordons!
We had a great district council where we learned about the three R's: reduce apostasy and disobedience, reuse the words of the prophets in both scripture and modern day, and recycle past experiences in our teaching and to strengthen our own testimonies. Elder Evans and Elder Burt may or may not have sung a super cool song about it.
I finished the Book of Mormon for the fourth time! The Book of Mormon has brought me great comfort, strength, and wisdom throughout my life and that was true this time reading it as well. This week I had my first conversation on the mission with someone consciously trying to wreck my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but it didn't work. The Book of Mormon gives me a better understanding of the Bible. It teaches me that being loving and kind is more important than anything else. It testifies of the goodness of Jesus Christ. It brings me peace even in moments of deep despair. That's actually how I first gained a testimony of the book; when my life was filled with nothing but chaos, I at least had moments of comfort and serenity while reading that record, and that remains true. If you are looking for happiness in a fallen world, I implore you, start reading the Book of Mormon, because you will find it there, as it is another testament of Jesus Christ and contains the fulness of His gospel. For example, a favorite chapter of mine that I read this week is Moroni 7, which testifies of faith, hope, and charity, and shows us the way to obtain those things. The Book of Mormon can help us find goodness in a world overcome with bad. I know that, because the Book of Mormon has made me undeniably more hopeful and happier.
FRIENDS:
This week we had the pleasure of visiting a lot of ward members and part-member families. We love them and we love having the privilege of strengthening our ward.
We taught Sukki about Jesus Christ's earthly ministry and the Great Apostasy. Sukki has incredible faith and we are so happy about how much she is progressing and learning.
We also started teaching a new friend, George! He had met missionaries before and is super sweet and eager to know more about God. We are teaching him with a friend of his and we were so grateful to have Brother Hernandez and Sister Hernandez with us in the lesson.
Helped Dori and Danny pack again. We love them so much and loved spending time with them.
As many of you know, this week we got a new mission president! The mission president is the person who pretty much allows us missionaries to do what we do, by receiving revelation for our mission and keeping everything in the mission organized. I have not met President Cordon yet but I am very excited to! Would you guys like to meet my mission president? Well you can! How? In April of 2017 he gave a talk in general conference called "The Language of the Gospel". It's about how we can keep the gospel of Jesus Christ an active part of our lives and our families. Check it out!
Thanks and much love!
--Sister Day
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