at the end.

This is probably my last post as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Let me tell you, 18 months have gone by faster than I could have ever imagined. Well, looking back on it it's gone warp speed. I feel like two weeks ago I was waving good-bye to my mom at the airport. But if you'd asked me how fast it was going 16 months ago, I would have told you that this day would never come because it still felt impossibly far away.

These past 18 months have been full of a lifetime of experiences. The good kind, the bad kind, the laugh-til-you-cry kind, the learning kind, the heart-breaking kind, the tears-of-joy kind, the frustrating kind, the friendship making kind, the spirit-filled kind, the tender mercies kind, the hidden blessings kind. But at the end, they've all been blessings.

If there is one over arching theme to what I've learned in the last year and a half, it's that

we have a Heavenly Father who loves each and every single one of His children.

No matter who we think we are or what we may have done, we are never too far away from the love of God. No one can take that love away from us. We can try to say that it doesn't exist, but we're only kidding ourselves. He loves us. And I'm living proof. 

I'm proof that he gives us infinite second chances through the Atonement of His son--our Savior, Jesus Christ.

He wants us to return to live with Him. So he has a perfect plan for all of us. It's individual. And it's prefect. We don't have to doubt. We just have to have faith. And trust. Because He knows us perfectly. He knows our weaknesses and faults, our triumphs and successes, our talents and abilities.

And as we keep His commandments, He has so many more blessings in store for us than we can even imagine.

I love the Lord. And I've fallen in love with His work.

I'm eternally indebted to Him for this opportunity I've had to serve him.

today's thought.

"Sometimes we let our thoughts of tomorrow take up too much of today. 

Daydreaming of the past and longing for the future may provide comfort but will not take the place of living in the present. 

This is the day of our opportunity, 

and we must grasp it."

-President Thomas S. Monson

Oh how I love our wonderful prophet and his words of pure wisdom.
Last week I was thinking a lot about the future. and my particular, very near future consisted of a place that I wasn't really sure that I needed to be.
So I worried about it.
a lot.
And quite frankly, I wasted a lot of time.
and energy.
on something that didn't need to even be worried about.
Because I love it here.
And because I wouldn't be here if Heavenly Father didn't need me to be.
Isn't it great how he just knows so much more than we do?

If there's something I've learned these last 16 months, it's that Heavenly Father's will is always greater than mine. and it's always smarter than mine. and it's always easier and happier than mine in the long run and in the immediate future.
Because He loves us.
more than we'll ever know.
and I love Him.

So take it from me.
If we don't take what our loving Father in Heaven gives us now, and just keep on daydreaming or wishing or waiting for our perfect moment, we miss the best things that life has to offer us. The best things that our Heavenly Father has to offer us.
And those aren't things that I want to miss.

_________________________________________________________________________________

"A veces permitimos que los pensamientos de mañana ocupen mucho del presente. 

El soñar en el pasado y el anhelo por el futuro quizás brinde consuelo, pero no tomará el lugar de vivir en el presente. 

Este es el día de nuestra oportunidad, 

y debemos aprovecharla."

-Presidente Thomas S. Monson

¡Oh, cómo me encanta nuestro profeta maravillosa y sus palabras de sabiduría pura!
La semana pasada estuve pensando mucho en el futuro. y mi futuro inmediato consistió de un lugar que no estaba seguro de que necesitaba estar.
Entonces me preocupaba.
mucho.
Y francamente, perdí mucho tiempo!
y energía.
en algo que no tenía por qué preocuparme.
Porque me encanta estar aquí!
Y porque yo no estaría aquí si nuestro Padre Celestial no necesita que yo este aqui.
¿No es maravilloso cómo El sabe mucho más que nosotros?


Si hay algo que he aprendido en estos últimos 16 meses, es que la voluntad de nuestro Padre Celestial siempre es mayor que la mía. más inteligente que la mía. más fácil y más feliz que la mía en el distante y en el futuro inmediato.
Porque Él nos ama!
más de lo que se sabe!
y yo lo amo!


Entonces creame!
Si no tomamos lo que nuestro amoroso Padre Celestial nos da ahora, y sólo seguimos soñando o deseando o esperando nuestro momento perfecto, perdemos las mejores cosas que la vida tiene para ofrecernos. Las mejores cosas que nuestro Padre Celestial tiene para ofrecernos.
Y esas no son cosas que quiero perder.

dia de aprendiendo. [day of learning.]

Ok. Entonces, hoy ha sido un dia bien rado.
Pero tambien, un dia en que ya aprendi mucho.  Y solo son las 4:00.
Realmente, ha sido una de esas semanas.
Y hoy, Hermana Dodge y yo aprendimos por que aprendimos las cosas que hemos aprendido.

Las cosas que aprendi [o que me pego otra vez] hoy:
-Todos de nosotros tenemos mucho para ofrecer a otras personas, y si compartimos muestras experiencias con uno a otro, tenemos mas armas para conquistar a satanas.
-La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias es perfecta. Los miembros no son perfectos. Los que me incluyo.
-Tenemos emociones por un razon. Si Dios no queria que las tengamos, no las tendriamos.
-Todos somos hijos de Dios y todos merecemos respecto. No importa quienes somos, ni que hicimos, ni que otras personas piensan. Cada persona merecen respecto de cada otra persona porque "el valor de las almases grande en la vista de Dios". [Doctrina y Convenios 18:10]
-Nuestras familias y nuestros amigos son importantes.
-La obra de Dios saldra no importa lo que el medio ambiente estamos porque "ninguna mano impia puede detener el progresso de la obra."
-Tenemos un Padre Celestial que nos ama y Su mano esta en todas de nuestras vidas individualmente. Podemos verlo si lo buscamos.

__________________________________________________________________________

Ok. So today's been a pretty crazy day.
But also one of those days where you just learn a ton. And it's only 4:00.
It's actually been one of those weeks.
And today, Hermana Dodge and I learned why we learned the things we've learned this week. It was like they all led up to what we had thrown at us today.

Things I learned [or was reminded of] today:
-We all have so much to offer and if we share our experiences and insights with each other, we can have more of an armory to fight Satan.
-The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is perfect. It's members, are not. Myself included.
-We have emotions for a reason. If God didn't want us to have them, He wouldn't have given them to us.
-We are all children of God and we all deserve respect. No matter who we are, what we've done, or what preconceived notions we might already have. Everyone deserves love and respect from everyone else because "the worth of souls is great in the sight of God". [Doctrine & Covenants 18:10]
-Our family and friends are important.
-The work of God will go forth no matter what enviornment you're in because "no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing."

-We have a Heavenly Father who loves us and has a hand in each of our individual lives. We can see it if we look for it.

tennessee rain.

Yesterday, it poured.

In more way than one.

We came out of our dinner appointment and it was raining so hard. Like buckets falling from the sky.

There was standing water everywhere and when we drove under the freeway, water was just cascading from the overpass.

We're so blessed to have a car to drive. But we still spent a lot of time in the rain yesterday getting to doorsteps and back to our car and the rain just would not let up.

And by 7:00, we were soaking wet.

But even though it was raining and we were drenched all the way through, we remembered our blessings.

-the car we drive.

-our backpacks.

-the people we teach.

-the appointments we had.

-porches to stand on.

-doors to knock.

-puddles to jump over.

-Tennessee.

-green trees.

-the rain.

-the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

-The Book of Mormon.

-The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

-being missionaries.

sweet hour of prayer.

Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care and bids me at my Father’s throne, make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief, my soul has often found relief and oft escaped the tempter’s snare by thy return, sweet hour of prayer!
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare by thy return, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall my petition bear to him whose truth and faithfulness engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since he bids me seek his face, believe his word, and trust his grace, I’ll cast on him my ev’ry care and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
I’ll cast on him my ev’ry care and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

[Sweet hour of Prayer--Hymns #142]

I love this song.

Also, I love prayer.

Because prayer is a huge blessing from our Heavenly Father.

Through prayer we can:

feel the love of God.

feel the Holy Ghost.

receive guidance for our lives.

know that God exists and that He hears us.

feel peace and calmness.

"know the truth of all things."

[Moroni 10:5 (3-5)]

receive answers to our questions.

strengthen our relationships.

know that we're not alone.

receive blessings from keeping the commandments.

There are so many blessings of prayer.