Kimberly reunion
"Elder Benissan was my mtc comp and we got to see each other again at the christmas party, it was a happy reunion. "
Mikel, Elder Adams, Elder Benissan
They get a new planner each transfer and they decorate them!
Lion dog!!
Oh man, I'm definitely a slacker sometimes when it comes to typing up a blog post every week. Maybe now that school is starting up again I'll get into a better routine :) Man I have always loved the mass emails he sends out, but this week it really touched me. I don't usually do this, but I'm going to in order to include all of what stood out to me in his email this week. This is what he wrote:
"Well this week was an interesting one with the holidays still going and new years. some thing I heard about the new year that I liked was this. During the new year we hear a lot of people saying things like new year, new me. well we have something better. we have this gospel and through the gospel we learn about the atonement which enables us to repent and change and become better, we do this partly by taking the sacrament ,which resembles Christ, every week. At this time, the beginning of the week after taking the sacrament we get to say, New week, new me!
I was talking to an old lady about religion the other day when we got on the topic of relating religion to something you pick up. some people pick theirs up and put it down sometimes, some find it again and carry it once more while others never come back to it. To end our conversation she said something much more profound than my silly analogies. Her words were true, Christians don't carry their religion, their religion carries them. This made me think and again this took me back to the atonement and how it lifts and carries us through the grace of Christ. Religion shouldn't be something we pick up and put down, it should be the thing that picks us up when we are down!
Something else that has repetitively come into my mind was the sentence, be an example of the believers. I'll just let you take or leave it and think about what it means to you.
I got a message from a friend today who said this. I will also share a quote from Henry B Eyring "If you are on the right path, it will always be uphill. The Lord is anxious to lead us to the safety of higher ground." I know all things that happen to us are for our eternal benefit, because the Lord loves all His children infinitely, and asks us to endure with patience, hope and faith in Jesus Christ, where with Him we can endure anything. I know the atonement stretches past any transgression or sin, His love is unchanging and unfailing, and though we may not always feel we are moving uphill in our mortal journey we can trust that if we are obedient, that He has prepared a perfect way.
So my reply was that's an awesome quote thank you so much! It just makes me think of the fault in our starts when it says I am on a roller coaster that only goes up haha. Its true though, we may feel as if our ride is going down hill but (romans8) everything will work for good to them who love God. If we just keep pushing forward we will find that the hill we thought we were rolling down actually was a mountain we climbed. I dont know if that makes sense at all but just that we think things are all going to hell and then when we look back we see the growth and strength that we gained through those experiences and realize that God never left us but pushed us further, strengthen us more so we can accomplish great things to come."
Opening presents at 1 AM
Christmas candy!
Husky Puppy
"a lot of people us machetes to cute thier lawns, we did it for a while and took some nice pictures"
They gave a monkey a dum dum and he ate it.
This is what my reply to him was today:
"I loved the mass email you sent out last week, but I loved it even more when all of the things I experienced this week related to it! I'll start with the "new week, new me" part :) During the sacrament today I was just thinking about my past week and how much I have been struggling with different things and I was prompted to pull out my study journal. I just started flipping through it and I came to a page where I had taken notes on the talk "What Lack I Yet?" and I wrote down that each week during the sacrament, I should have a conversation with the Lord about what I can improve on. So that's what I did! I asked where I needed to improve and how and I set specific goals for the week based on the answers I got. It was a really cool experience and I'm going to start doing that every week during the sacrament to keep me engaged and focused on what the sacrament really does for me, you and everyone. It's a fresh start and a chance to change and be better every week! How awesome is that?
The next thing you said that I loved was that our religion carries us. Oh my goodness I have found that to be so true over the last few months. Today right before relief society the lady that was teaching asked me if I would bear my testimony about how my trial (injury) has helped me to grow closer to my Savior and to bring the gospel to the center of my life. Of course that was the most emotional testimony I've ever given haha but I shared two things that have been circulating through my head the last few months. The first is a poem about the Savior which I have always loved:
"One night I had a dream.
I dreamed I was walking along the beach
with the Lord..
Across the sky flashed scenes from my life..
For each scene, I noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand,
one belonging to me, and the other to the Lord..
When the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that many times along the path of my life
there was only one set of footprints.
I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest
and saddest times in my life.
This really bothered me
and I questioned the Lord about it:
"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,
you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why
when I need you most you would leave me."
The Lord replied:
"My precious child, I love you and would
never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints, it was then
that I carried you."
I don't think I need to explain that any further :) The second thing that I shared was from Mosiah 24:12-15. It's definitely worth looking up so I'll let you do that :) I just want you to know that I know that as we put the gospel first in our lives, we will be led to where we need to be. As we rely on the Savior and let Him carry us through our trials we will become much more than we ever could become on our own. I love my Savior and I'm thankful for this trial, because without it my testimony wouldn't have grown as I needed it to.
Be an example of the believers! As I was reading in Matthew this week, I read Matthew 5:14-16. We were given the light of the gospel to share it, not to hide it! Everything we do (be thou an example of the believers in word, in conversation..) should share the light of the gospel with it. So anyway, thank you for what you shared! Your testimony has always strengthened mine and I'm so blessed to have you in my life. I love you!! :)"
Street soccer!
Friends :)
Reviewing what they are teaching
Leaf bug!
When you run out of tp...
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