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.

"Whatever comes, comes."

Good line right?
I thought so too.
It came in a letter that I received today from my friend Alex.
He was telling me some funny stories about how, more often than not, life seems to take us by surprise. Now these surprises can be good, bad, ugly, exciting, funny, nerve-wracking, sad, happy, beautiful or any other adjective you can think of.

An example:
When I found out that I was coming here to McMinnville, you can bet that I was super surprised! Excited to be going to a town that I've spent the last year hearing nothing but good about, scared that we were both going to be new in the area, sad to leave the members and friends that I had grown to love in Hermitage, nervous for the unknown.

An example:
When I found out that I had been called to serve a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Nashville, Tennessee, I was surprised.
Excited. Nervous. At peace.
When I found out that I was going to be learning Spanish there, the surprise doubled. [And the peace went away..]

An example:
When the spirit told me that I needed to serve a mission, I was surprised. [And reluctant.] It wasn't in the plan. I was supposed to go back to school. I didn't like that surprise. So I took the easy way out-- I didn't listen. I kept on going on with life as if the Spirit hadn't told me anything.

But surprise! Here I am! Full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Some days I think that it would have been easier if I had just kept ignoring those promptings to serve. But then I remember that Heavenly Father is a whole lot smarter than me. He knows what I needed then and He knows what I need now. He knew exactly who I needed to meet and what experiences I needed to have. He knew the person that I was, and He knew that I needed to be

better.

braver.

more humble.

more patient.

more loving.

more accepting.

more Christ-like.

He knew that I needed to be all of these things so that I would one day be accepted into His presence. He knew that I wasn't good enough then, and trust me, I'm still not good enough yet, but if I had never accepted His will in the first place, I wouldn't be the tiny bit closer that I am right now. That's what brings us back to Alex's thought: "Whatever comes, comes." I know that when we accept the plans that Heavely Father has for us we'll also receive the blessings that He has for us.

So I say, "Follow the path that Heavenly Father has for you."

Alex says, "Whatever comes, comes."

And Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, apostle of the Lord, says,

"Come what may, and love it."

I'd say we're in pretty good company :)

la hora del cuento. [story time.]

Ayer estvimos en una reunion con nuestro presidente de la mision. Y el nos dijo una historia.

Habia una vez cuando el Presidente Boyd K. Packer [del quorum de los 12 apostoles] era presidente de una mision, el estaba hablando con un misionero. El Presidente Packer pidio que los misioneros hicieran algunas cosas para ayudarles ver mas exito en su obra. Pero este misionero en particular se sentia que el no podia ver ningun exito del trabajo que estaba haciendo, aunque el pansaba que estaba haciendo todas la cosas correctas. El no podia ver los frutos de sus labores y todo lo que habia hecho.
Este exasperado misionero fue a hablar con el Presidente Packer preguntando

"Presidente, que estoy haciendo mal?"

A lo que la respuesta fue,

"Usted no esta haciendo nada malo.

Usted simplemente no ha hecho las cosas

correctas el tiempo suficiente todavia."

Si yo tuviera una moneda por cada vez que he tenido que aprender una leccion asi, bueno, podemos decir que yo tendria mas dinero...

Se que nuestro Padre Celestial nos contesta. Pero se que El nos contesta en Su tiempo.
Es dificil esperar? A veces, si.
Pero, testifico con un apostol del Senor que

"La fe en Dios incluye la fe en Su tiempo."

-Elder Russell M. Nelson

Y cuando hacemos esto, podemos tener mas paz y consuelo y tambien felicidad.

_____________________________________________________________________

Yesterday we were in a meeting with our mission president. And he told us a story.

One time, when President Boyd K. Packer [of the quorum of the 12 apostles] was a mission president, he was talking with a missionary. President Packer had asked these missionaries to do certain things to help them see success in their work. But this particular missionary felt like he wasn't seeing any success in the work that he was doing, even though he felt like he was doing everything right. He couldn't see any fruits coming from his labors and all that he felt that he was putting in.
This exasperated missionary went to President Packer asking,

"President, what am I doing wrong?"

To which the reply was,

"You're not doing anything wrong.

You just haven't been doing the right

things long enough yet."

Now if I had a nickel for every time that I have had to learn that lesson, well, it's safe to say that I'd have a considerable amount of money...

I know that Heavenly Father answers us. But I also know that He answers in His own time.
Is it hard to wait? Yeah, sometimes. Ok. Most times.
But I testify with an apostle of the Lord that

"Faith in the Lord includes faith in His timing."

-Elder Russell M. Nelson

And when we do this we can have more peace, comfort and happiness too.

a dialogue of my indecisiveness. [soy indecisa.]

Bueno. Por lo general, soy una persona bien indecisa.
De verdad.
Yo soy el tipo de persona que desea que la unica decision que ha tenido que tomar es que tipo de preparacion para poner en su ensalada.
[...a veces esto es tan importante...]

Pero aqui estoy. En la mision.

Entonces, si tengo el tiempo mas dificil del mundo la toma de decisiones,
¿Como llegue aqui?
Confie en mi, a veces me pregunto la misma pregunta.
Cada dia.
Porque me sorprende.

Le podria decir que siempre era un plan que tenia.
Pero no fue asi.
Le podria decir que era porque habia misioneros que ensenaron a mi familia.
Pero eso no es todo.
Le podria decir un millon de razones diferentes--falsa o verdadera.
Pero todo realmente se reduce a una sola respuesta.
Estoy aqui porque yo confio en el plan que mi Padre Celestial tiene para mi personalmente. Y que el plan incluye que yo este aqui. Exactamente donde El me necesita.
Vamos a ser honestos.
A veces pienso que es sin duda una prueba de fe para dar todos los pasos que se requiere.
Pero una vez alguien me dijo que debiamos esperar el milagro. No la prueba de nuestra fe.
Ser sorprendido cuando las cosas van mal. No cuando van bien.
Y luego, cuando van mal, podemos tener confianza en que, de todos modos, todo es parte del Plan.

Estaba leyendo este discourso, de la Conferencia General mas reciente, por el Elder Robert D. Hales del quorum de los doce apostoles. Y esta parte me llamo la atencion. [Yo se que esta largo, pero tambien yo se que es bien bonita.]

Yo se que nuestro Padre Celestial tiene un plan para mi. Y se que El tiene un plan para usted. Y para cada uno de Sus hijos.
A veces solo nos toma un tiempo para averiguar lo que es. O aceptar su voluntad sobre la nuestra. O creer que nuestras pruebas nos hacen mas fuertes.
Pero se que se puede hacer.
Y confie en mi, no soy perfecta. Pero he llegado a saber que vivendo con sus imperfecciones es mucho mas facil cuando usted sabe el cuadro grande.
[... o si no lo puedo ver, al menos, sabemos que si, hay uno. Le prometo.]

__________________________________________________________________________


Ok. So I'm generally an indecisive person.
But really.
I'm the kind of person who wishes that the only decision they ever had to make is what kind of dressing to put on their salad.
[..because sometimes that's a big deal...]

But here I am, on a mission.

So, if I have the world's hardest time making decisions,
how did I get here?
Trust me, sometimes I ask myself that same question.
Multiple times a day.
Because it amazes me so much.

I could tell you that it was always a plan I had.
But it wasn't.
I could tell you that it was because missionaries taught my family.
But that's not all of it.
I could tell you a million different reasons--fake or true.
But it all really comes down to one answer.
I'm here because I trust in the plan that my Heavenly Father has for me personally. And that plan includes me being here. Exactly where He needs me.
Let's be honest.
Sometimes I think that it's definitely a trial of faith to take every step that's required.
But someone once told me that we should expect the miracle. Not the trial of our faith.
Be suprised when things go wrong. Not when they go right.
And then, when they do go wrong, we can have confidence that it's all part of The Plan anyway.

I was reading this talk from this past General Conference by Elder Robert D. Hales of the quorum of the twelve apostles and this part called my attention. [I know it's long. But it's great.]

I know that our Heavenly Father has a plan for me. And I know that He has a plan for you. And for every single one of His children.
Sometimes it just takes us a while to figure out what it is. Or to accept His will over ours. Or believe that our trials will make us stronger.
But I know that it can be done.
And trust me, I'm not perfect. But I've come to find that living with your imperfections is a lot easier when you know the big picture.
[...or if you can't quite see it, at least know that there is one. I promise.]

I have often pondered, Why is it that the Son of God and His holy prophets and all the faithful Saints have trials and tribulations, even when they are trying to do Heavenly Father’s will? Why is it so hard, especially for them?

I think about Joseph Smith, who suffered illness as a boy and persecution throughout his life. Like the Savior, he cried out, “O God, where art thou?”¹¹ Yet even when he was seemingly alone, he exercised his agency to wait upon the Lord and carry out his Heavenly Father’s will.

I think of our pioneer forebears, driven from Nauvoo and crossing the plains, exercising their agency to follow a prophet even as they suffered sickness, privation, and some even death. Why such terrible tribulation? To what end? For what purpose?

As we ask these questions, we realize that the purpose of our life on earth is to grow, develop, and be strengthened through our own experiences. How do we do this? The scriptures give us an answer in one simple phrase: we “wait upon the Lord.”¹² Tests and trials are given to all of us. These mortal challenges allow us and our Heavenly Father to see whether we will exercise our agency to follow His Son. He already knows, and we have the opportunity to learn, that no matter how difficult our circumstances, “all these things shall [be for our] experience, and … [our] good.”¹³

Does this mean we will always understand our challenges? Won’t all of us, sometime, have reason to ask, “O God, where art thou?”¹⁴ Yes! When a spouse dies, a companion will wonder. When financial hardship befalls a family, a father will ask. When children wander from the path, a mother and father will cry out in sorrow. Yes, “weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”¹⁵ Then, in the dawn of our increased faith and understanding, we arise and choose to wait upon the Lord, saying, “Thy will be done.”¹⁶

What, then, does it mean to wait upon the Lord? In the scriptures, the word wait means to hope, to anticipate, and to trust. To hope and trust in the Lord requires faith, patience, humility, meekness, long-suffering, keeping the commandments, and enduring to the end.

To wait upon the Lord means planting the seed of faith and nourishing it “with great diligence, and … patience.”¹⁷

It means praying as the Savior did—to God, our Heavenly Father—saying: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done.”¹⁸ It is a prayer we offer with our whole souls in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Waiting upon the Lord means pondering in our hearts and “receiv[ing] the Holy Ghost” so that we can know “all things what [we] should do.”¹⁹

As we follow the promptings of the Spirit, we discover that “tribulation worketh patience”²⁰ and we learn to “continue in patience until [we] are perfected.”²¹

Muchas veces he reflexionado preguntándome: ¿Por qué tienen pruebas y tribulaciones el Hijo de Dios, Sus santos profetas y todos los santos fieles aun cuando tratan de hacer la voluntad del Padre Celestial? ¿Por qué es tan difícil, especialmente para ellos?
Pienso en José Smith, que sufrió enfermedades cuando era niño y persecución durante toda su vida. Igual que el Salvador, él también exclamó: “Oh Dios, ¿en dónde estás?”¹¹. Sin embargo, aun cuando parecía estar solo, ejerció su albedrío para esperar en el Señor y llevar a cabo la voluntad de su Padre Celestial.
Pienso en nuestros antepasados pioneros, expulsados de Nauvoo y atravesando las praderas, ejerciendo su albedrío para seguir a un profeta a pesar de sufrir enfermedades, privaciones e incluso, algunos, la muerte. ¿Por qué tan terrible tribulación? ¿Con qué fin? ¿Con qué propósito?

Al hacernos esas preguntas, nos damos cuenta de que el propósito de nuestra vida terrenal es crecer, desarrollarnos y fortalecernos por medio de nuestras propias experiencias. ¿Y cómo lo hacemos? Las Escrituras nos dan la respuesta en una sencilla frase: nosotros “espera[mos] en Jehovᔹ². A todos se nos dan pruebas y aflicciones; estas dificultades del ser mortal nos demuestran, a nosotros y a nuestro Padre Celestial, si somos o no capaces de ejercer el albedrío para seguir a Su Hijo. Él ya lo sabe y nosotros tenemos la oportunidad de aprender que, no obstante lo difícil de nuestras circunstancias, “todas estas cosas [nos] servirán de experiencia, y serán para [nuestro] bien”¹³.
¿Quiere decir que siempre entenderemos nuestras dificultades? ¿No tendremos todos, de vez en cuando, razón para preguntar: “Oh Dios, ¿en dónde estás?”¹⁴. ¡Sí! Cuando muere un cónyuge, su compañero se hará la pregunta; cuando una familia sufre privación económica, el jefe de familia se la hará también; cuando los hijos se apartan del camino, la madre y el padre la exclamarán con dolor. Sí, “Por la noche durará el llanto, y a la mañana vendrá la alegría”¹⁵. Entonces, en el amanecer de mayor fe y entendimiento, nos levantaremos para esperar en el Señor diciendo: “Hágase tu voluntad”¹⁶.
Entonces, ¿qué quiere decir esperar en el Señor? En las Escrituras, la palabra esperar significa tener esperanza, aguardar y confiar. Tener esperanza y confianza en el Señor requiere fe, paciencia, humildad, mansedumbre, conformidad, guardar los mandamientos y perseverar hasta el fin.
Esperar en el Señor significa plantar la semilla de la fe y nutrirla “con gran diligencia y paciencia”¹⁷.
Significa orar como lo hizo el Salvador, a Dios, nuestro Padre Celestial, diciendo: “Venga tu reino. Hágase tu voluntad”¹⁸. Es una oración que ofrecemos con toda nuestra alma, en el nombre de nuestro Salvador Jesucristo.
Esperar en el Señor significa meditarlo en nuestro corazón y “reci[bir] el Espíritu Santo para saber “todas las cosas que deb[emos] hacer”¹⁹.
Al seguir las impresiones del Espíritu, descubrimos que “la tribulación produce paciencia”²⁰ y aprendemos a “continua[r] con paciencia hasta perfeccionar[nos]”²¹.

"no temas." ["fear thou not."]

No se pierda la oportunidad de la vida porque no aprovecharla en la vida de la oportunidad.

Mire a la ejemplo de Oliverio Cowdry.

"Ten paciencia, hijo mío, porque es según mi sabiduría, y no es oportuno que traduzcas por ahora.
Y he aquí, es por motivo de que no continuaste como al comienzo, cuando empezaste a traducir, que te he quitado este privilegio.
Ahora, si hubieses sabido esto, habrías podido traducir; sin embargo, no es oportuno que traduzcas ahora.
He aquí, cuando comenzaste fue oportuno; mas tuviste miedo, y ha pasado el momento, y ahora ya no conviene;"

[Doctrina y Convenios 9:3, 5, 10-11]

Dios le dio una responsibilidad grandisimo de ayudar a traducir el Libro de Mormon. Oliverio Cowdry empezo y el tenia confianza y fe en su Padre Celestial. Y El le dio tantas bendiciones y abilidades para que el pueda cumplir el mandamiento y la responsibilidad que el recibio.
Pero con el tiempo, el empezo a dudar. Perder su confianza. Que temer. Y el temor es lo contrario de la fe. Son como la luz y la oscuridad--los dos no pueden ocupar el mismo espacio al mismo tiempo.

Cuantas veces caemos en este categoria? Cuando permitimos que nuestros meidos revocar nuestra fe.
Por mi parte, demasiado.
Pero eso es exactamente lo que Satanas quiere.
El quiere que renunciemos. Que demos la vuelta. Que dudemos en nosotros mismos y en el Senor. Que olvidemos nuestra fe y fundacion en Cristo. Que olvidemos las bendiciones y oportunidades que ya hemos recibido. Que permitamos que nuestros miedos tiene mas fuerza que nuestra fe.

Pero no necisitamos preocuparnos. Porque el Senor mismo dijo, "No temas, porque yo estoy contigo; no desmayes, porque yo soy tu Dios que te fortalezco; siempre te ayudaré; siempre te sustentaré con la diestra de mi justicia." [Isaias 41:10]

El quedara con nosotros. El no va a dejarnor caer. Solo tenemos que recordar la fe que tenemos y en El debe ser.

 ________________________________________________________________________

Don't miss the opportunity of a lifetime because you didn't seize it in the lifetime of the opportunity.

Take the example of Oliver Cowdry.

"Be patient, my son, for it is wisdom  in me, and it is not expedient that you should translate at this present time.
And, behold, it is because that you did not continue as you have commenced, when you began to translate, that I have taken away this privilege from you.
Now, if you had known this you could have translated; nevertheless, it is not expedient that you should translate now.
Behold, it was expedient when you commenced; but you feared, and the time is past, and it is not expedient now."

[Doctrine and Covenants 9:3, 5, 10-11]

He was given this huge responsibility by God to help translate the Book of Mormon. He started out trusting in his Heavenly Father and having faith in Him. And he was given many blessings and abilities from God so that he was able to fulfil this commandment he had been given.
But as time went on, he started to doubt. To lose his trust. To fear. And fear is the opposite of faith. They're like light and dark--the two cannot occupy the same space at the same time.

How often do we fall into this category? Where we let our fears overrule our faith.
On my part, way too often.
But that's exactly what Satan wants.
He wants us to give up. To turn back. To doubt in ourselves and in the Lord. To forget our faith and our foundation in Christ. To forget the blessings and opportunities we have already been given. To let our fears become stronger than our faith.

But we shouldn't worry. Because the Lord himself said, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." [Isaiah 41:10]

He'll stand by us. He won't let us fall. We just have to remember the faith we have and in whom it should be.

thoughts of a friend. [pensamientos de un amigo.]

Today I got a letter from a friend of mine who is also serving a mission. Except he's in Botswana.
[Don't know where Botswana is? It's ok. I didn't either. It's the country north of South Africa.]

This letter really hit me a lot and I know that it could have the same affect on some of you.
So I'm going to share with you the thoughts of a friend.

"With all these trials going on with me in the mission, I know that I'm not the same as when I left. The mission is so hard! If my parents promised to buy me a car if I went of a mission and that's all I was doing it for, I wouldn't go. Because even if I did, I wouldn't stay! It's not about that. And it's worth way more. Way more than anything with a price tag. The mission is changing my life because I'm letting it! And that's worth it! I'm slowly becoming the man I want to be, and it's all because I'm serving the Lord."

I realized a lot of things when I read that.
The most obvious being that missions change our lives. If we let them. And even if you're not a missionary, or even a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, you have a mission to fulfill. We all do. Because we're all children of God. And He has placed us where He needs us so we can do what He needs us to do. I've come to notice, like this friend of mine, that when we serve the Lord and we do His will, we become who we're supposed to be.

I've also been really blessed in my life to have really incredible friends. Friends who love and respect me as a person and my beliefs. Friends who help me be a better person. Friends who help me be the person I'm supposed to be. Friends who say things like this

"Heavenly Father's plan is perfect! We were so silly to doubt so much." -bff ashley.

and make me realize how blessed I am to know the truth that I know.

And friends with thoughts like this that help others know that they have a Heavenly Father that loves them too.

Lucky huh?

I also remembered that it's when we're faced with trials and challenging times that we grow. As hard as it may be to endure or to wait, there is always a blessing that comes just around the corner. And we have a loving Heavenly Father who is always willing to help us out if we look to Him and if we do our part.

“When our wagon gets stuck in the mud, God is much more likely to assist the man who gets out to push than the man who merely raises his voice in prayer—no matter how eloquent the oration.” -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Point is, when we look to the Lord in all that we do, let Him mold us, remember our blessings, our friends, and that there is always a miracle that comes after the trial of our faith, we can always have the strength to smile.

_______________________________________________________________________

Hoy recibi una carta de uno de mis amigos que esta serviendo una mision ahora tambien. Pero el esta en Botswana.
[No sabe donde esta Botswana? Esta bien. Yo no sabia tampoco. Esta norte de Sur Africa.]

Esta carta me pego bien fuerte y se que podria tener el mismo efecto en usted.
Entonces, voy a compartir con usted los pensamientos de un amigo.

"Con todas estas pruebas, pasando conmigo en la mision, yo se que no soy el mismo que cuando me fui. La mision es tan difícil! Si mis padres prometieron que me compre un coche si me fui de una mision y eso es todo lo que estaba haciendo para, yo no iria. Porque incluso si lo hiciera, no me quedaria! No se trata de eso. Y vale la pena muchisimo mas. Mucho mas que cualquier cosa con una etiqueta de precio. La mision es cambiar mi vida porque lo estoy dejando! Y que vale la pena! Estoy convirtiendo en el hombre que quiero ser, y todo porque estoy sirviendo al Senor."

Me di cuenta de muchas cosas cuando lei eso.
La mas obvia es que las misiones cambian nuestras vidas. Si los permitimos. E incluso si no es un miembro de la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias, tiene un mision para cumplir. Todos de nosotros lo tenemos. Porque todos somos hijos de Dios y El nos ha colocado donde El nos necesita para que podamos hacer lo que El necesita que hagamos. He llegado a notar, como este amigo mio, que cuando servimos al Senor y hacer su voluntad, nos convertimos en lo que se supone que debemos ser.
Tambien he sido muy bendecida en mi vida para tener amigos que realmente son increible. Amigos que se que me quieren y me respetan como persona. Y que respetan mis creencias tambien. Amigos que me ayudan a ser una persona mejor. Amigos que me ayudan a ser la persona que se supone que soy. Amigos que dicen cosas como asi,

"El plan de nuestro Padre Celestial es perfecto! Estabamos bien tontas para dudar tanto." -bff ashley.

y ayudar me realizar que estoy super bendicida porque tengo la verdad de este evangelio.

Y amigos con pensamientos como este que ayudan a los demas sepan  que tienen un Padre Celestial que los ama.

Suerte eh?

Tambien recorde que cuando nos enfrentamos a pruebas y momentos dificiles, que estamos creciendo. Puede ser dificil para esperar, pero siempre hay una bendicion que viene a la vuelta de la esquina. Y tenemos un amoroso Padre Celestial que esta siempre dispuesto a ayudarnos si nos fijamos en el, y si nosotros hacemos nuestra parte.

"Cuando nuestro vagon se queda atascado en el barro, Dios es mucho mas probable para ayudar al hombre que sale para empujar que el hombre que solo levanta su voz en oracion, no importa cuan elocuente la oracion." -Presidente Dieter F. Uchtdorf

El punto es, cuando miramos al Senor en todo lo que hacemos, dejar que El nos molde, recordar nuestras bendiciones, nuestros amigos, y que siempre hay un milagro que se produce despues de la prueba de nuestra fe, siempre podemos tener la fuerza para sonreirnos.

prayer of faith.

"O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul in Christ. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions which shall come upon me...
"And the Lord provided for them that they should hunger not, neither should they thirst; yea, and he also gave them strength, that they should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ. Now this was according to the prayer of Alma; and this because he prayed in faith."

[Alma 31:31,38]

Prayer and faith. I'm not sure that there's a much better combination.
The scriptures are evidence over and over again that prayers are answered according to the faithfulness that we have in God and His ability to answer them.

I know that God listens to us and I know that He answers every prayer that we say. Sometimes, it's not in the way that we hope, but God always answers. He is waiting for our prayers because He is our loving Heavenly Father. He wants to help us. He wants to bless us. He wants us to be happy.

Trust in the Lord.

I've been thinking a lot the last few days about the amount of trust that our Heavenly Father has in each of us. And I've come to the conclusion [and this is just based on things I've witnessed] that it's a massive amount.

As we anticipated our transfer calls on Saturday I found myself worried and trying to guess what would happen. And when we finally got the call, I was pretty instantly overwhelmed. I honestly didn't think that I would be able to take over the area after only being in the mission for six weeks. I still don't know very many people here and I was legitimately afraid that if the area was left in my hands, it would just crumble.
My fear only got worse when I heard that I was going to be the only one of four of us missionaries in our branch to be staying.

As I knelt in prayer that night, I asked my Heavely Father for His counsel; for anything that could help me feel more peace about the next six weeks to come.

My answer was not one that I expected, but it was one that brought immense peace.
I, almost instantly, received an answer that everything was going to be okay. That I didn't need to fear. That my Heavenly Father was telling me that He has full confidence in me, so I should too. My life, especially as a missionary, is completely in His hands, and I know that He will lead me to where He needs me to be.

5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.

[Proverbs 3:5-6]

Elder Dallin H. Oaks, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said it this way:

"Faith in the Lord is trust in the Lord. We cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing. As a result, no matter how strong our faith is, it cannot produce a result contrary to the will of Him in whom we have faith. Remember this when your prayers do not seem to be answered in the way or at the time you desire. The exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is always subject to the order of heaven, to the goodness and will and wisdom and timing of the Lord. When we have that kind of faith and trust in the Lord, we have true security and serenity in our lives."

The Atonement and Faith [April 2008 Liahona]

I know that as we put our trust in the Lord and align our will and desires with His, we will be able to do all things that we are asked to do. They will be hard. And we may struggle. But with our struggles, we grow stronger. We learn. We progress. We gain more trust from and in our Heavenly Father and the plan He has for each of us.

just a little faith.

"And it did work for them according to their faith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day.
"Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by small means it did show unto them marvelous works."

Alma 37:40-41

[emphasis added.]

It's pretty amazing how just acting in faith and obedience to the commandments of God brings about so much good--so many miracles. I mean seriously, the Book of Mormon is 642 pages [in Spanish] of amazing things.
Amazing things happen when we have faith in God and when we're obedient.

Amazing things like:

miracles.

guidance.

revelation.

blessings.

strength.

charity.

comfort.

deliverance.

peace.

patience.
hope.

safety.
diligence.

protection.

happiness.

love.

liberty.

freedom.

faith.

If I missed something, feel free to add more.
But pretty worth it, right?