Sacrifice

Wish you could have seen Manuel at church yesterday. He was an absolute train wreck. He barely got any sleep and tweeked his shoulder in the hour of sleep he did get. All because he gave up coffee so that he can get baptized!! (YAY!) Coffee is a huge part of his culture so this is a difficult thing for him to do but he's doing it. And he even came to church despite the fact that he was not feeling pleasant at all. I'm so happy for him!! He and his family will be so blessed because of his decision!

Oh yeah so I failed to mention but you probably already notice that I'm still in the same area. And dun dun dun Sister Smith stayed here with me too! We for sure that she was leaving but surprise she gets to stay! We're super excited. And a bit nervous too because that means there must have been something we didn't learn in the last three months together that we should have learned..maybe? We've been through a lot together so we're getting ready for some more roller coasters of fun to come.

It's funny, Elder Larsen, who was in the MTC with me, is now in my zone and he reminded me today of when we were in class and I was asking all the other missionaries to tell me about their favorite stories in the Book of Mormon and what happens in them because I had no idea!!! LOL I guess I didn't realize how far I'd come until someone pointed out to me. 

I've been learning a lot this week too! Mostly about the importance of diligence even when it doesn't seem like you're making much of a difference. In the July Ensign there is an article called "The Gift of Our Physical Bodies" and a part really stuck out to me where the author related her own struggles of accepting her body to the different struggles that we all have in this life. She said "I discovered that often their problems, like mine, followed the pattern God set for Adam and Eve when he said to them, “Cursed is the ground for thy sake; … thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; … in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground” (Genesis 3:17–19). In other words, Adam and Eve had to consistently and recurrently work very hard to tame things that spontaneously grew out of control in their lives, but in a sense, God cursed the ground and caused the thorns to grow for their sakes. This insight helped me to recognize the numerous blessings I had experienced in my life by working through my challenges." I really took that statement to mind and it's been there ever since. Heavenly Father truly loves each of us, His children, and He allows us to go through certain trials, but never more than we can bare, and it's all for our sakes! All out of love and sincere concern for His children. He wants us so badly to return to live with Him. Wouldn't that be any loving father's dream? Just remember. You are a child of God. And He loves you more than you know. 

I hope everyone has the best week ever!

Happy birthday to my favorite nephew, Lynx! 2 cute!

xoxoxoxo,

Sister Davis