Just Another Week of Living the Dream! - August 25, 2014

Howdy Howdy family and friends!

Guess what!?! Yep, it was another amazing week filled with light, truth, hope, teaching, running, service, giving a talk in sacrament meeting, legally parking on the wrong side of the street (yep you can do what you want here :P), pictures in cotton fields, eating fish we caught, and miracles and miracles!

You know you are a missionary when it's dinner break, and breakfast felt like they happened yesterday, and two days felt like it happened two seconds ago! Time just goes by SO fast!!! We have been working hardddd! We have been meeting a lot of new people that are interested in being taught while we talk to them, but keep forgetting appointments we set to come and see them again! :P I never thought I'd ever have this problem here in Texas, where people would just want us to talk with them, but not really want to be taught, for the past year a lot of people have just quickly walked away from us! haha, but Sister Carroll and I have been learning lots of fun time management skills! 

Also, this week, I was reunited with an old companion (Sister Plante!!) for a day, because our Sister Training Leaders (just some exceptionally awesome missionaries), came down from Amarillo! It was slightly terrifying not being with Sister Carroll, because I had barely been in town a week, and I was driving all over by myself!! It worked out well though, and we taught a lot of great lessons.

Friday was one of those we-barely-had-a-second-to-have-dinner-or-lunch days, because we helped one of our neighbors pack up their moving truck, and helped at the Food Bank in town for a couple hours in addition to the lessons we'd had planned. When we were helping our neighbors an amazing man that we had met earlier in the week came and helped! We had a little break and were talking about the gospel, and he commented on how Sister Carroll and I seem so happy! He told me: "Y'all have a glow about you, it's a little scary to talk to y'all!' It was really an amazing day, there is so much LOVE in this town, even the one rude lady who slammed a door in our face this week had something to smile about at the Food Bank. I just really can't express the joy that I have when people come together and help each other, I've never hugged so many strangers before in my life!

So you know how everything can relate back to Jesus Christ and His Atonement? Well, I gave a talk this week in church on hope, and some of the concerns of the few solid people we've been teaching came to my mind, along with the usual concerns we have as missionaries, and some of the Sister-Lagrosa-specific questions that will take some time and experience to answer... but as I was studying and reading, I really thought about this path that we are each on individually, and together as we are all returning to our Heavenly Father. The scriptures talk a lot about faith, hope and charity, and the greatest of all is charity, but you do need all three to make it to God's Kingdom.

So I thought and I thought, and I compared my walk to just a fun little out-door stroll, with ditches, fallen trees, and giant walls that represent the trials that I face (and that we all face).I thought about faith, hope and charity and their roles in getting me over those walls. 

Faith is what gives me strength, knowing that all of my strength comes from Christ allows me to have no doubt about the possibility of me facing those trials along the path. It is faith that brings that light to my path, and allows me to see a little bit more of those obstacles ahead.

Hope is what moves me forward, hope come from knowing what is on the other side of those walls I can't see over, hope is what helps me remember the path when I'm treading through a ditch, hope is what gives me the courage to know that climbing over insect-infested fallen trees is worth it as I take each step back to Heavenly Father.

And charity, charity is the attitude I get to have while I'm in these trials, and while I'm on the smoother parts of my trail. It is charity that gives purpose to the knowledge gained from the trials I've overcome, and it's that pure love of Christ, that I get to experience that just reaffirms the faith and hope that I get to have.

It was an interesting thought, because all three of those elements are essential as we face the challenges we have in life, and if I'm lacking in one of them than the other two categories suffer a little bit too. 

But bringing it back to hope, that hope that is precious and priceless, and it cannot come without faith in something or someone. 

Romans 15:4 "For whatsover things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope."

2 Nephi 32:3 "...feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do."

Psalm 119:105 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

John 1:5 "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not"

I'm so grateful for the scriptures, and the Spirit to testify of truth. I'm grateful that the truth that we get to learn gives us hope through our experiences! It is wonderful to know that the words written by prophets and apostles of our perfect Lord do come from Him, and when we fest up His word, we are able to receive direction, and light. And even though there is a lot of darkness in the world, and a lot of people who do not desire to comprehend the things of God, His light will still shine, and everyone has a chance to enjoy the warmth and direction that come from Him.

Keep searching out that light!

God is great!

With all my heart,

Sister Heather Ann Lagrosa

Pictures:

1- Moving! We had a good 'ol time! It was fun putting organizational skills to the test, and getting everything in there all snug :)

2- Cotton fields: increasing my allergy symptoms and glasses wearing! The fields are soon gonna be white, already to harvest!!!

3- We helped one of our investigators fix her flat tire! I'm not sure why people think the Sisters aren't much good for service (I think it's the skirts :P), but the member that came and helped get it patched up said "We got a couple of stout missionaries here! They broke them lugnuts like they was nothin'!" :D