Hello everyone!
How I are all of you? You're the best. You're doing wonderfully awesome. Choose the right, do good, be good. Ya know the usual. I just thought I would start with that this time instead of end with it. :)
This week was awesome. Well every week is awesome after all is said and done. I mean here the mission life, at least for me. Sometimes things suck, and then tomorrow comes. And if you take a minute to be grateful, you realize that even when it sucks The Lord is blessing you immensely and there is small miracles, all throughout the day. Tender mercies, just for you, all throughout the day. I have been studying a little about being grateful this week. Here are some things is
relearned. First, if you are a sour puss, and are walking around all 'woe is me' all the time, you are obviously not being grateful. Because when we are grateful, it is impossible for us to be negative nacy's.
Second thing, I learned this from one of the senior missionaries, Elder Schmidt (I think I know him) he has a very dry sense of humor. It cracks me up. (Him and his wife are leaving this week, they're from Montana and ya know what, I admit it, I hugged him...........haha). Anyway, he says all the time, "Life sucks and then you die". Which I think is hilarious. But there is actually is a good lesson in that, life is not fair. It wasn't intended to be. Sometimes it sucks, a lot, for a long time, so what? Then you die, and all is made right. Heavenly Father takes all of your if.ictions and shows you how they are for your gain.
Now I don't wish to be insensitive. Sometimes life is really hard. And sometimes weaping will endure for the night. But if we spend to much time focusing on the negative, we will have our head in the mud, and we won't see the sun come out. We have to remember to turn to The Lord. As I will write about later.
So that what I learned this week. Be happy. Smile. Smile till you feel like smiling, till you feel happy. This life is meant to be enjoyed, and The Lord said that knowing that we would have struggles.
So onto my week. Well it was awesome. We put four people on date for baptism. Which was sweet!!!! And then they didn't come to church.......not a singular one. So two of those people are now not on date for baptism. Let me tell you, sitting in sacrament meeting, waiting for investigators who promised they would come, who know if they don't come they can't get baptized, and who you love so much.....to get there, and then they never show up, well it's the worst. And that whole meeting your heart is just broken, and every time the door opens you look hoping it will be them. So there was that. But it's okay, they're still awesome. We will keep working with them.
This week we have taught a lot of people that have just the most heartbreaking stories, a man whose wife died three years ago and left him with two boys, 5 & 4. A family who is struggling, because their 13 year old son is bullied in school, and tried to commit suicide 2 times last year. An older husband and wife, who were separated for a year and are working on fixing there marriage. A less active who doesn't come to church because she doesn't have any friends, and no one in her family supports her being a member, so she feels all alone, like God doesn't love her. It is heartbreaking. Sitting there, listening to them talk, you heart hurts, it is filled with their pains, and you just want to take it all away. But guess what, the message we as missionaries bring, it does take that all away. It heals people, or shows them the way to be healed. When they begin to read in the Book of Mormon, and they begin praying with all the sincerity of their hearts, and eventually when they make covenants with God, like baptism, all that pain, and heartache, and guilt, and whatever else they feel, it's swallowed up. It's swept away. They are encircled about in the arms of our loving Savior, who already suffered all their pains, all their heartaches, who already laid down His life for them, and was only waiting for them to come unto Him so He could heal them.
As Christ says to the people in 3 Nephi 9:13(Book of Mormon) "..Will you not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?". This is the message that we bring to people. This is what the gospel of Jesus Christ offers. It is for everyone, for everything. Not just for some people, or something. Everyone. No matter who you are, where you are in your life, whether you think you are content or not, whether you are desperately searching, you need peace, or healing, you need to feel Gods love more abundantly, no matter your questions, or your doubts, no matter you past, or your mistakes, this gospel is for you. So come unto Christ, that he may heal you. And be grateful that his hands of mercy are extended out towards you.
I love you all so much. I want desperately for all of my loved ones to come unto Christ, to keep His commandments, and to return to live in our Fathers presence, which is where I intend to be. I love you. This church is true. It is right. It is the only true church. The only church where we can make saving covenants with God. I am grateful to be here. I am grateful for those of you who have helped me get here. I so often am reminded, and feel so grateful for the large number of people I have in my corner, waiting to lift me up when I fall, and supporting and encouraging me always. If there is every anything I can do for any of you, I hope you will let me know. I love you all so much! Don't forget my birthday, March 18th :) 21!!!! Woohoo, I will be out here walking the streets of Illinois. Haha
Fight the good fight.
Love,
Hermana Simmons
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