Peace and Joy

And now for a short sermon. Romans 3:23 " For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."  My message for each of you today is that we are human. We make mistakes... if we weren't going to make mistakes there would be no need for a Savior. But we do and so there is.  I know that we cannot be perfect all at once but that it takes steps little by little.  (Moroni 10:32) Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. I know that it takes time and effort to make the corrections necessary or to keep going... but it is unbelievably worth it. If we could understand the blessings that come with living the gospel and keeping the commandments... We would never stray from making those right choices. So, that is my invitation for you this week. To understand better the blessings that come by keeping the commandments that God has given. I promise you that as you live the teachings of Christ you will become perfected and your life will have more peace and joy. I have seen it in my own life and I have seen it in so many others.

I love you all and just know that I want you to be happy. :)

Nationals game and another Great companion

Ok family and friends! What a great day! All of the missionaries went to the Washington Nationals game! Woot! We played against the Seattle Mariners.... end result Nationals won 1 to 0! Woot Woot! So today is a little strange... We get the evening hours to finish up our preparation day things. Which is great because I am tired and it is hot. :) So we are going to have a little roommate party with the Hermanas (Silva and Marcy). It was super weird to hear music and be at a baseball game but we made sure to have a lot of fun! I am really enjoying my time here and learning so much about relying on the Lord through scripture study, prayer, and of course the Spirit! I hope you all are doing well and having a good time. Gosh I miss you all a lot but I keep myself busy so that I don't think on it too much. :) I would love to hear some good stories about people's lives and what is going on! I have gotten several wedding announcements and I am expecting a few more. I hear news about people occasionally and it makes me super happy to see people progressing with school, careers, marriages, etc. Keep up the good work y'all. (I can say that now because my companion is from Texas.)

Speaking of my companion I am going to miss her tons! This is her last transfer in the mission and wow, this transfer has gone by fast. We have one more p-day together (next wednesday) which will include going to the temple! I am so excited to have an extra temple trip this transfer. (They call it the death trip since Sister Ellsworth is "dying" in the mission.) She has been a truly great companion and friend. I love her dearly and she will be greatly missed.

Me and Sister Ellsworth

So today is lessons learned from Sister Ellsworth. Sister Ellsworth loves people. She is so good at unconditional love for people that I am just astounded... she shows true charity in all of her missionary work. She loves all of her companions, including me, and I have never heard her say a negative word about any of them. I love the focus that she puts on the good in people and the trust that she gives to them. She has the faith that as missionaries, we can do hard things and be successful. The trust that she has for the Lord, in the Spirit, and in the people around her has been an inspiration to me and has made me a better person as well as a better missionary. She has so much love for the mission, the people, and for the Visitors' Center. I watched her work dilligently day after day fulfilling the needs of the Visitors' Center and leaving it better than she found it. Every aspect of her mission seems to be the most important part for her and she is able to put her whole heart and soul into everything she does. She also manages to make everything beautiful along the way. It isn't just done right but it is done right with creativity! I love her and her Christlike example.

Our Pain

Our relief society president told a saying from the Phillipines that says "Pain of the pinky is felt by the whole body." President James E. Faust said  "All of experience those wrenching, defining, difficult decision that mve us to a higher level of spirituality... they are the Gethsemanes of our lives that bring with them great pain and anguish..." (October 2000)  At first I thought, how sad that each of us must experience sorrow and pain. Then I looked back on my own life and asked myself when I had grown the most? The real growing experiences of my life have generally come when I or someone I love has gone through something difficult and through those experience have become the people we are today. I have tried to surround myself with great people, and I know for a fact that we would not be those same great  people if we hadn't met obstacles in our lives and been able to overcome them.   My Savior suffered more than any of us will suffer and as Jeffrey R. Holland said "How can we expect to become like Jesus Christ if we never experience a thimbleful of Gethsemane."

All things Denote there is a God

Well! It is so wonderful to be in the sunshine of the DC area! Oh how beautiful the spring and summer are here. I just love the nature and the beautiful trees! I have never seen anything quite like this place... it seems that something is always in bloom here and the colors just let me know how much our creator cares about each of us so much that He would beautify this great earth “All things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator” (Alma 30:44)

Sister Gordon and Sister Ellsworth "hanging out"

Cherry Blossoms

The work here as always is work and it is wonderful! I love the good weather because it seems to make everyone happier and it brings more people to the great outdoors. Summer is such a friendly time with neighborhood barbeques and the great service opportunities that come with yard work. With all the gardening and landscaping I've been able to help with I feel like one day I will be a master gardener and yard keeper! Oh! And a little closer to home... Dad you will be so proud! Our roommates had a plugged bathtub and of course they were trying to clean it out by themselves with a hanger. :) Sister Marcy couldn't get the hanger down the drain and I asked if I could look at it. So, I took off the cleanout cover and removed a LOT of hair. (I'll send you pictures!) So much personal satisfaction that I AM THE ROTO-ROOTER MAN'S DAUGHTER! :)