It's been a crazy week as always! We had 2 exchanges with the sisters serving in different areas of Kent. I was with Sister Kiravit for one of them. She is from Thailand and came into the field with me. We both go home in December and so we talked a lot about our plans for life afterwards. When she first entered the field, she hardly knew any English. It was amazing to see how far she has come. She talks to everyone and expresses her love for the Savior every chance she gets. Heavenly Father really does mold us into more than we could ever imagine.
Update on Sabrina and her girls: Ever since October 1st, we have not heard a word from her. We don't know what happened, but we dropped by her apartment. Her car is still there and we heard voices coming from inside so we think they are still living there. We don't know how, but please keep them in your prayers. I'm worried for the safety of those girls and I just want them to have a good life.
On a good note: we are receiving many promising referrals! Hopefully they will lead to more commitment to the gospel. Federal Way is a great place, but it's hard to find stable people. Our friend Leilani that the sisters were working with before is the daughter of a member. She wants to be baptized, but struggles with addiction. The ward held a week long fast to help her. We all chose to give up something to encourage her to overcome her struggle. She had stopped taking the lessons after she relapsed a while ago but reached out to us after watching General Conference. She wants to start the lessons again! So exciting!
Our friend Amuji came to General Conference and I think he enjoyed it! He was listening intently to every talk and thanked us for inviting him. Speaking of General Conference...wasn't it amazing?! Best birthday present! Knowing the end of my mission is coming near, I went in with a question: how can I trust myself to make the right decisions and how can I be confident in myself? I realized that when we trust in the Lord, we have no reason to doubt ourselves. Keeping our promises to God invites joy and confidence into our lives. I know that as long as I put Christ above all else, things will work out. Just look at what happened to me recently! My trust in God lead me to Washington again. Of course, not everyone is so lucky. Sometimes our prayers are answered very differently, but Heavenly Father is aware and He will do what is best for us. That's easier said than done and I'm still learning this lesson everyday. Satan wants us to doubt and compare ourselves, but God is good and those negative thoughts are not from Him. Please remember that!
The time is flying by and the days just blend together. It feels like I never left my mission. I'm being completely honest when I say this is the happiest I have ever felt. There's a reason serving God and serving others is the great two commandments. We are promised pure joy that is enduring and resilient.
Love you all,
Sister Smith
Exchanges and fish
Sister Campbell's doctor gave us all a rose, so sweet!
we "Halloween" attacked members that helped us with Sabrina
the Bolli's (cute member family) on my birthday
Elder Okuda always wears blue ties, but he wore his one yellow tie just on my birthday!
so much cake and love :)
No comments:
Post a Comment