Growing Pains!

Okay wow. If there is one week throughout the last 16 months that I've learned the most I think I'd have to say this last one. So many things have become clear to me and it's as if it was a cloudy day that I didn't even realize had been cloudy until I saw the sun come out and brighten the sky! Yup, cheesy analogy but it sums it up pretty well, I'd say.

I've realized that all these supposed "trials" that I think I have are really not my trials at all! It's when you think "why does this happen to me?" or "what did I do to deserve this?" that you really have to take a step back and look at the big picture. Because in reality they are really just some one else's trial that is affecting me in some way, but the only reason it's affecting me is because Heavenly Father expects me to do something about it, to help them! Hello, duh.

Sometimes we get too comfortable and get stuck on the beach like the Brother of Jared who's just hanging out loving beach life for four years before the Lord gives him a healthy chastening where he tells him "You think this is the promised land, come on! Build the boats and start moving, there's something so much greater for you in store!" We have to endure.

I'm so grateful for the sisters that I serve around, and who are so good to me. They help me rise above and strengethen and encourage and I hope that I too can be that light for someone else. Sister Mortensen and Sister Almeida saved me this week and have taught me so much because they have so abundantly the Spirit of the Lord with them. And when they give advice with love and trust then it makes all the difference. Yup, yup, yup!

Also, I'm super excited for General Conference coming up!!! AND we have stake conference here the weekend after and the theme is Miracles. Our stake president has asked us to prepare so that we all can invite friends, neighbours, and coworkers to come join with us! He asked us to do five things: 1) Hold FHE every week leading up to stake conference. 2) Read/study our scriptures perfectly every day (no excuses) 3) Covenant with the Lord to act on all promptings He trusts you with. 4) Pray that you will know the words to say and when to say them. 5) Pray in couples and families daily for missionary opportunities.

DO IT!!! 

You will be blessed with many miracles!!

Sister Davis

xoxoxoxoxo

Heaven

BEST WEEK.

The lows are pretty low but the highs are even higher!!

I'm loving walk and talk August. It's the best. My shoes are getting nice and holey too it's awesome lol

My favorite part:

Sister Estrada and I are walking to our dinner appointed and were a little early so we decided to take a walk around the block to talk to some more people. As we round the second corner there is a couple on their balcony smoking a cigarette and the first thing he calls out to us is "Sorry, girls, whatever you're selling I'm not interested!" hha my favorite. Next thing you know shirtless, tattooed, and a little tipsy Scott comes down the stairs and is accepting the restoration pamphlet and telling us to come back after dinner and talk to him more. We went back after dinner and he was sober and wow did he open up to us or what! He kept saying he could see our faith in our faces and that he thought it was really cool of what we're doing. We're going back this week and he's feeding us dinner! haha and another plus, his neighbor was outside and saw us talking with him and he accepted a Book of Mormon too! Miracles do happen. Two of the last people we would have ever thought to be interested in strengthening their relationship with God. And that right there is why we talk to every one! I love seeing the Spirit work in the hearts of those we meet. I know with all my heart that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can and will change and improve every aspect of our lives if we let it. I love testifying of the truthfulness of the Restoration and the Plan of Salvation.

Just keeps getting better and better.

Go to church, open your heart, get on your knees, and tell Him everything.

I love you! I LOVE JESUS CHRIST!

I am so grateful to be a missionary. Not only for the growth that I've been able to see in myself, but for the progression I've been able to see in the lives of others as they too rely on our Savior. Man, I hope this never ends!

xoxoxo,

Sister Davis

Alma 7:23

A broken heart and a contrite spirit. That's all He asks of us. 

To follow His will. Humble, submissive, meek.

Patient, temperate, easy to be entreated.

All attributes that the Son of God exemplifies every single moment. 

Completely selfless, perfectly loving, without fault or sin. 

My favorite part though: Heavenly Father doesn't expect us to accomplish this alone. He doesn't ask us to live this way by ourselves, relying on our own talents and abilities. He didn't throw us into this world and say "good luck." 

No. He provides us help. He provides us a way. He provides us a Savior.

What a loving Father in Heaven we have!

I know that Jesus Christ is there for me. I know that if I humble myself and trust in him I will be blessed with eternal life. 

I know these not because I heard someone else say them or because I read this out of a book, but I know this because the Holy Ghost testified of these things into my heart, and I can never deny them. 

Sometimes we're asked to do hard things. Hard things that seem impossible. Sometimes we want to give up, sometimes we want to turn away, and sometimes we want to fall in. But what I've learned is that we must give up our pride, turn away from sin, and fall in love with Jesus Christ. Because with Christ, nothing is impossible!

This has obviously been a week of learning for me, it always is. But I am grateful for the trials, for the set backs, for the road blocks. And I'm even more grateful for the prayers, the scriptures, the comfort.

KEEP YOUR HEAD UP, SUNSHINE. The storm will pass.

Man, I love this gospel so much! Happy, happy, happy!

xoxoxo,

Sister Davis

Walk and Talk

What a wonderful week full of learning and full of blessings. It was a little bitter sweet seeing Sister Smith getting on the bus to drive away last Wednesday and then having nervous butterflies waiting to see who my new companion would be but I'll tell you something, THE LORD HEARS EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR PRAYERS. Sister Estrada is my new companion and she is absolutely wonderful! And we're mission-related. She replaced me in the Arbour Lake ward last year and was trained by Sister Waller, who I trained. So she's my granddaughter according to mission lingo, weird I know but anyhow it was nice to see a familiar face. Sister Gardner (from Mesa!!) and I were temporary companions while we were waiting for our new ones to arrive from Lethbridge and we went to lunch at some Chinese restaurant and my fortune cookie said that "An old friend will show you new people and new pleasures." It totally came true lol....I'm just glad I didn't get Sister Gardner's, "You will soon pass a difficult test." Yikes, I pray for her. Ha! Anyway, Sister Estrada is amazing. She's from the Philippines and is just the sweetest thing. She's so short and polite and very open about needing spiritual help from me which is nice. I love her so much!

A lot of things are changing in the mission too which is well needed. August has now become "Walk and Talk August" and our cars are parked. So we rode the bus today! That was fun! We're going to talk to one million people this month!! The whole mission, together. It will be awesome.

I love change. It's my favorite. When little things that used to be important become unimportant and when big things that I thought were unimportant become important, yeah those are the best realizations. And I know that I wouldn't have been able to figure those things out for many many years if I hadn't come here on a mission. I think everyone should serve a mission. EVERYONE. You'll never regret serving the Lord.

Best and worst of the week: Best- Having Sister Estrada as my companion and being courageous and inviting so many people to come unto Christ! Worst- getting hugged by an intoxicated, half-naked native man while downtown on Friday. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Give yourself three compliments today.

Heavenly Father loves you, no matter what.

XOXOXO,
Sister Davis

Yay! Yay! Yay!

Oh you know, just another amazing week!! As always.

It was quite hectic toward the beginning as we were scrabbling to make sure everything was ready for April's baptism, that she knew all that she needed to know, that everybody who was going to be in the program would be in town, that she had the interview and all that fun stuff! But then, Friday came and it went BEAUTIFULLY!! I love baptisms. But the part that really hit me this time wasn't the ordinance of baptism, but the confirmation. When she received the Holy Ghost it was the most amazing moment ever. That's what April needed the most and when her dad said those simple words "receive the Holy Ghost" I could feel the overwhelming swoosh of the Spirit becoming her constant companion and it brought me to tears. I'm just so happy for her! And she's happy, and that's what matters most! I've never seen her smile so much. :)

That was the majority of the week though, focusing on April and making sure she knew the commitment she was accepting into her life. I honestly don't remember what else we did other than helping her. And then once she was confirmed all the lessons in church were all about being humble and accepting the Lord's will which was a nice reminder that yes, we made convents, and yes, we have the help to keep those covenants!! What a loving Heavenly Father we have!!

Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, LOVE. <<<that's what I've been learning most about. 

I'm so grateful for all that my Father has blessed me with. For the eyes to see, and the ears to hear. I hope everyone has been learning more and more about the Godhead like I have been. My relationships with each member have been strengthened over the past week as I had that question on my mind. It's so neat when we see the Lord's promises come true, isn't it!? My favorite. I love it.

So get this, transfers are this week and we find out tomorrow if we're staying or going. I love Sister Smith so much, we've become the best of friends, and I love this area forever and always but I'm ready for some changes to happen.....so we'll see!! Let you know next week lol

I LOVE YOU AND HOPE THAT YOU HAVE THE BEST WEEK EVER

xoxoxoxoxoox,

Sister Davis

He is Divine

In the last few months if there was one thing that the Lord has been showing me the most I'd say it was how much the Holy Ghost has an impact on our hearts and how He can soften even the hardest hearts to prepare them to receive the restored gospel.

First, there was Manuel, who I was blessed to be able to watch change from stubborn and set in his ways to accepting baptism in Christ's true church and submitting to the Father's will. 

And now, an even greater miracle named April Walton. When I came into the area a few months ago she had been taking the lessons and preparing for baptism but then Satan pulled her down hard and the first time I met her she was telling us that she didn't want to be baptized anymore and that she never wanted to meet with us again. Pretty harsh coming from the lips of a twelve year old whom I'd just met but I had instantly loved her and continued to pray for her.

This last weekend she attended girls camp and when we saw her at church yesterday she was smiling and happy and the light of Christ was emanating from her smile! She was practically giddy when she asked us if we could come over that night! Like what?? My jaw practically dropped! So lasst night we stopped by and ended up planning her baptismal service for FRIDAY!! This Friday. Like in a few days, Friday. I'm still in shock considering just a month ago she was giving the cold shoulder. The Spirit really does work in the hearts of those that are willing to submit to the will of the Father. I'm so grateful for the tender mercies that Heavenly Father allows me to witness.

There has been a lot of wonderful things happening spiritual in these wards. The members are getting more and more excited every day about sharing the gospel, or good news, with their friends and family and that brings such a big smile to my face!!

Every day I am reminded by my Father how thankful I am for the many things that He has helped me to learn. I am so honored to wear a tag that has Jesus Christ's name right in the middle of it, bold and strong. I know that Jesus Christ suffered for me and my weaknesses, sins, and shortcomings. I know that he has felt everything that I have ever gone through and that if I simply trust in him he will provide the way.

The Godhead is divine perfection and all three members provide strength and comfort. Heavenly Father loves me and all of His children perfectly. Jesus Christ allows us all to overcome both spiritual and physical death. The Holy Ghost testifies and confirms truths to my heart that are impossible for me to deny. There is power in 3.

I pray that each of us this week can dig deeper into the Atonement of Christ and how each member of the Godhead plays a role in that marvelous event. I know that we will receive peace in the knowledge that we obtain and we will develop a greater love for our brothers and sisters and a desire to share these truths with them.

I love you all so very much and I am thankful for each and every one of you that are such great examples to me of wonderful people who are always willing to reach out and help all of those around you.

I hope you have a marvelous week!

xoxoxoxoxooxoxox,
Sister Davis

p.s. this email is coming to you from the Banff Public Library! The Blum's took us here today to explore :) Sister Smith has never been here before so this will be fun!

Forever 21!

Thank you for everyone who made my week so wonderful!!!! Oh it was the best time ever. My birthday was dragged out almost every day of the week so I'm all birthday'd out by now haha. Three cakes and 1000 pounds later geez haha I'm so grateful for the packages and letters and emails though, so thank you! It makes me feel so loved. Heavenly Father was watching out for me too, after all the candles I blew out and the wishes I made we got a surprise phone call from Shane telling us that his daughter, April, our former investigator, decided she wants to be baptized soon! WOOOHOO!

Elders in our district made a special cake for me at zone training meeting on Tuesday, then the Blum's we live with made another cake on Wednesday for lunch, then there was another cake that Donna Marie made for me at dinner! It was amazing. Lots and lots of goodies I was on a sugar high all week (especially because it was free slurpee day at 711 on Friday yuuuumm).

Best part though was when it wasn't about me and we were at the Stampede Breakfast on Saturday! Our ward hosted a big ol pancake breakfast that was huge! Like between 750-800 people, most of them just people living in the community too so that was wonderful! We even learned how to rope. That was cool. I just loved handing out all the pancakes to the people in line and being able to smile and talk to SO MANY PEOPLE it was awesome. Just planting seeds in everybody's heart. 

If you want something good to read, look up Becoming Perfected in Christ from the July 2014 Ensign. It changed my life. I'll make it easy for you READ ME :)

I'm out of time today, but just know that I love the Lord. He is the one who makes me happy! I love my life.

I love you!

xoxoxooxxo,

Sister Davis