Dec.12, 2016 "O How great the wisdom and the love....After the trial of your faith"

O How great the wisdom and the Love. . . After the trial of your faith

So basically this week was like the best week of my life. 

Monday night we went on a teamup with Sister Cannon. She is a homie. We love her! After having dinner with the Hubners (bishops family love them also) We went and saw Sister Cannon's visiting teachee Kayla Church. She has the cutest little kids. She was baptized a year ago and can now go to the temple! She hasn't been active but she shared with us that that is something that she really still wants!! So we set up an appointment to teach her about it this Sunday! 

Tuesday we delivered some of the nativity - we are delivering pieces of the nativity every night until our ward party this Saturday - and then we went to see some less actives, none of which were home, but we got a return appointment with our miracle Casey (from last week) she had apparently just had a rough experience with someone but felt bad she was flaking out on us so she said for sure next time! New investigator here we come!! 

Wednesday. Oh my goodness was the best day ever!! So we had shift at the visitor center and met the cutest couple going out on their mission to Boston to serve in a little Portuguese branch AND they were from St George!! They were so sweet, and made me cry. It was like STG reunion day because then another family came in and turns out they know all my uncles and live in the neighborhood next to me! Small world! After shift we didn't have a car so we just weekly planned and then headed over to the Inde Stake Missionary Dinner!! The stake president and high councilors put on a dinner for all the missionaries in the stake (senior couples and all) and fed us a delicious dinner and then had a musical program! The missionaries all performed and it was SO fun!! We performed our song on the guitar and it turned out nice! (Ill send a video) and then the Elders performed a parody of We Three Kings about missionary work and some other songs. The best part though was at the end, our Zone Leaders hosted this like competition/game between our mission president and stake president for "who is the best missionary" and they had to compete by reciting scriptures fastest and making their bed and racing around putting pajamas on and then they got points for who's crowd cheered the loudest and oh my goodness it was like we were back in high school. Haha so fun but somewhat apostate! I have never seen my mission president get down and say GIMME A V GIMME A E GIMME AND S GIMME A T!! Like a big football coach. WE ALL DIED. But it was so fun!! And at the end they said that since we are all away from our family they wanted to help us to know we are loved and to have some fun and remember how much we are appreciated during the holiday season. ️️️#IndePerks #myheart #neverforget 

Thursday was good! We were supposed to have a lesson with Casey today but she ended up not being home :( BUT on our way there, I had the thought to go see this other potential we hadn't visited in a while named Brad. His wife wasnt interested but he was like super open and wanted us to come back, and we hadn't seen him in a while but when Casey wasn't home, we went to see him and he was still WAY open! He said he will talk to his wife and see if she is cool with us coming to teach them. He said he was really interested in learning and just gaining more knowledge. But he has the cutest two girls and he said he wanted to keep in contact! 

Friday was amazing. Wow today was just too good. First off we had our morning training at the VC which was awesome, then went straight to zone training which was also held at the VC (more spiritual power here) but wow. Missionary meetings are the most amazing thing. I was able to receive so many answers to prayers that I had and literally I can't even describe but it was so powerful. We were taught how to more fully access the power of the spirit when we teach and are being lead in our missionary work. It was so eye opening. I learned a lot that truly we just have to TRY. that's all that our Heavenly Father asks of us. It does put mean itll be easy, elder Holland said, "if you say you're a disciple of Christ, you have to be willing to walk some of the path that Jesus Christ walked." 

After zone training I received a blessing from our district leader Elder Stahlei and it was just what I needed. It was such a spiritually lifting experience and all I can say is that Priesthood power is so real. God works to guide us through others and answers our prayers through other faithful members. 

You think if you're a missionary and you're set apart Satan can't get to you, but that's false. He works on you harder. But there is power in turning to the Lord and asking for His help and relying on and using His power to work in your life to help you overcome. I know that's real. I had a burden lifted from that. 

We ended Friday with having our VC Sisters musical performance that night at the visitor center. Haha not a ton of people showed up but it was still good!! I just love HE Christmas season because people all come together as children of God to worship our savior and the one being who came to earth to give meaning and hope to our lives. ️

Saturday was BOMB!! We had our ward Christmas party breakfast this morning and we wore our Christmas sweaters and so many people came!! We had waffles and did a little Christmas program, It was awesome!!! I just love our ward. Afterward we did studies and then felt like we should go see Casey (potential from earlier in the week we have been trying to contact) and SHE WAS HOME! And we were able to have a lesson with her and invite her to church. Her family life is interesting bc she sort of lives with her ex-father-in-law who is RLDS but definitely not practicing but she is so sweet and was able to open up to us and she said she would definitely plan on coming to church!! 

Then we headed back to the visitor center and had shift which was awesome and there was a performance and tons of people cameeeee!!!! 

Sunday CASEY CAME TO CHURCH!!!!!!!! I literally almost ran out of my seat when she texted us that she was here. She stayed for all three hours and even though it was maybe a little bit for her to take in, especially with our stake president President Cato, sharing his conversion story from the RLDS/Restoration Branch church, but we taught the plan of salvation in gospel principles and she seemed like she really liked it but we have a lesson planned for this Tuesday and it will be at a members home and so we are STOKED!!! We finished the night with caroling, finishing delivering the nativity pieces to the families and sang with the ward council and then going over and having a lesson with a recent convert/less active who wants to go to the temple and shared that she really really wanted to work on being at church every Sunday which is exactly what we wanted to commit her to do!! MIRACLES ON MIRACLES!!! 

Wow I truly learned so much this week, but really most of all I am a living breathing testament that the miracle DOES COME after the trial of your faith. You will receive a witness. No matter how dark the days may seem, no matter how rough it is or how desperate you may be, there is always the light at the end of the tunnel, but our father in heaven is here for us always. I have never felt closer to my Heavenly Father than I have this week. As we show that we trust Him and have hope and faith in a His promises, he shows us his love through all the tender mercies and blessings he gives us. But he allows us to help Him in His work by using us as His instruments to bless others. 

When Elder Anderson came to the mission, he said that knowing God and the Savior won't come through seeing Him. There is a more powerful witness that helps to know that he truly exists and that's the experiences we have with Him and the tender mercies that show He is there. That's more powerful than literally seeing the resurrected lord. From the experiences I have had on my mission, I know God is there. I am so thankful that things are hard because they helps shape us and I would not have learned to rely on the atonement like I have, had I been handed investigators or resolutions to my problems on a silver platter.

 I know that the Spirit is always there. 

Priesthood power is REAL. God power is on the earth and it works miracles in each and every single detail of our lives. I have been so blessed and I am so thankful that I had to work so hard to start seeing these miracles. It makes it all the more sweet and special. And the lessons I have learned are ones I'll keep through eternity. 

I love you all, Merry Christmas! ️️️