Hola!
(May 17, 2017)
This week was incredible! I was able to FaceTime my family on Saturday for Mother's Day. It was awesome to see and talk to everyone! We talked about Chile, a lot of the nursing stuff, my mission, home, etc. it was great! My family is incredible, and I have the worlds most amazing parents! Thanks everyone for taking the time to be there to see me!
I also had permission to call Jen, she is amazing and I'm so glad I got to talk to her also. At the end her entire family sang "Praise to the Man" first verse in English and second verse in Spanish. When I was 12 years old Jen took me to Nauvoo for the first time. It was then, standing in Carthage Jail, at the end of our trip that I gained a testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. In the tour of Carthage they play "Praise to the man", and ever since it's been my favorite. It was a fantastic weekend.
On Friday I had my 11 week training in preparation for my training to be over. Next week I will most likely have a new companion and a new area! Crazy how fast time flies! After the training we had lunch and I was sitting across from my mission president. They served us pink punch and he refused to drink it because it's pink. Thinking he was kidding we looked at his wife and she said, "Can you imagine 40 years of this? He cooks for himself now..." we busted up laughing. Following presidents refusal Hermana H----- (Senior Missionary) added that red coloring is the leading cause of cancer because your body has to get rid of the dye...I then said, "That's why my dad says Mountain Dew is healthy, you don't have to change the color..." I watched as my mission president thought about it, smile grew on his face and he simply shook his head. I told my dad about this during FaceTime and we all got a good laugh.
Today I finished the Book of Mormon. It's the first time I've read it from cover to cover. I read it and simply marked the Godhead. It's incredible to see where and when the Godhead is most referenced. Some pages contained almost no references while others were filled. I know the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. There's not a single doubt in my mind. And what a blessing it is for us to have it, and the guidance it contains. If you haven't read it, I urge you to start now. I waited far too long to make it a priority in my life. So don't make the same mistake that I did.
Many times before my mission I was told or heard from people that "the mission was their biggest blessing and greatest experience". I've often wondered, especially now that I'm serving, "Why?" Right now, my ward is falling apart and the bishop shoots down everything the missionaries suggest, I've taught one lesson in two weeks, knocked doors, passed out hundreds of pass along cards, prayed like crazy and.....Nothing. I've found myself thinking, "how could this possibly be the best thing you've ever done?!" Then, by inspiration I'm sure, I came across a six minute clip of President Erying speaking. In the video, he says, "...and when you look back on what seems like trying times of service and sacrifice...the sacrifice will have become a blessing and you will know that you have seen the arm of God lifting those you serve for him and lifting you." I watched this video over 10 times while my comp was talking with her family. In video form, it seems as if President Erying is talking about missionaries, but after reading the talk I learned he is referring to any calling in the church, not specifically missionaries. If you can do one thing today, I ask you to give the Lord 6 minutes. Watch the video and tell me your favorite line.
The Lord Always invites. Nothing is a rule, it's a simple invitation or a council to guide us to the best lives we can have. I read the story of Christ walking on the water. His disciples are first scared thinking he is a spirit, but then the Lord says, "Be of good cheer. It is I; be not afraid." Peter being filled with faith asks the lord if he can come to him on the water. The lord says, "come." Peter too began walking on water, but when the wind gets bad he doubts his faith and begins to sink. I find it interesting that peter gets a lot of crap from this story because he doubted his faith. But remember, Peter is the ONLY one who got out of the boat. All the others stayed and watched. I think to myself, do I have the faith to leave the boat? Or am I just along for the ride?
Video of Erying- Rise to The Call
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Henry B. Eyring - Rise to Your Call. Given October 2002 General Conference.
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Also, my dad is awesome! He starred on Jimmy Kimmel Live Last Night! Here's the link to enjoy my dad talking about our family store! Dad is the second person in the video!
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In an effort to shine light on the entrepreneurial spirit of this country, we scoured and found some interesting businesses that have multiple specialties an...
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I hope everyone's week was as great as mine!
Te Amo Mucho!
Hermana Sullivan
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