Hello wonderful family and friends!
HAPPY NEW YEARS!! Goodness, how can it already be January? It still feels like the end of september here... Im not complaining at all the weather is wonderful!
I never thought I could be so homesick for Thatcher. I miss that little town more than anyone could imagine. It was the hardest thing to say goodbye to the people I love so dearly. I am praying I get to spend my last transfer there on a bike!
Hereford
My new area, Hereford, is interesting to say the least... Lots of dirt roads and people who won't come to church because they cant carry their concealed weapon. Its been a hard hard hard last few weeks regardless we still see little miracles every day! My companion got so much polynesian food for Christmas. Bin bins are my new favorite thing. Also everyone gives us polynesian food. Its great. We live in a members attic and sometimes do studies on the roof. At night we can see the lights of the border! On Christmas after skyping my most amazing family we got to watch the best 2 years which was a million times funnier as a missionary. Today a member drove us to this cute historic mining town and then the border. I got to stick my hand through the fence. So my right hand has officially been to Mexico.
MLC
Friday we had the greatest Mission Leadership Council up in Tucson. I got to see all my best friends from around the mission and President Browning just hit us with spiritual goodness. I am realizing how much stretching I have to do as a missionary! After the meeting Sister Kennach and I went to the Tucson Temple to do our studies. I can't describe the peace I felt just as we stepped foot on that sacred ground. I know temples are dedicated holy places, but the Tucson temple has a unique sacredness to me after the many hours spent there in trainings, working at the temple open house, and seeing others feel of the spirit there.
Shou
One of Sister Kennachs investigators from her old area drove 3 hours to have a lesson with us! Her name is Shou and she is one of my favorite people in Arizona. She is from China, here teaching Chinese immersion and came to the missionaries hoping to find an understand of who God and Jesus Christ are! She has progressed so much since they first met and just loves the Gospel!
This week I was thinking about the Old Testament scripture story of Lot's wife. The moment she looked back she turned into a pillar of salt. She wasn't moving forward with faith. Had she experienced a mighty change of heart she would have eagerly pressed forward aligning her will with the Lords.
Step one to changing our hearts is to remember how merciful the Lord has been.
Moroni 10: 3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
Over the last two weeks I have felt much like Lot's wife. I keep looking back on my time in Thatcher and how incredible it was. It has been a tremendous struggle to look forward, to take the past and learn from it. How grateful am I for the constant reminder the scriptures give us to see how merciful the Lord is and to move forward with faith. I know that when God tells us to do something we shouldn't question it, we should do it because we love Him (1 Nephi 3:7). A pillar of salt doesnt sound all to fun...so I hope has we begin a new year I hope each of us can learn from our past, avoid looking back, and press forward with faith!
I know the Lord loves us too much to keep us from happiness, but I know it takes work on our end to align our will with His. Though there is no more fulfilling struggle than doing just that! I hope you each have a Happy New Year and can be motivated the next 365 days (and many more after that) by the love of our God!
love,
Sister Carter
1. Happy new years
2.Bisbee
3.yummiest cafe
4. hey Mexico
5. Shou
6.Mission Leadership Council
7. TEMPLEđź’›
No comments:
Post a Comment