Oh the things I have learned. . .

My mission has changed my life. It has been my best educator on life, faith, and common sense. It has taught me skills and lessons that will help me with the rest of my eternity! I wanted to share just a few of those lessons learned.

• Lightning will strike a moving car. Rubber tires do NOT keep you safe!
• Gas stoves are meant to be in the off position for a reason.
• Virginia air is like drinking soup.
• Rain storms are meant to be instantaneous and destructive all at the same time! 
• Paper cuts can lead to staff infection. Don't ignore them!
• When you are really loved you will be offered many a family member to marry......
• Frogs can get inside apartments.... so can black widows and dark fishing spiders, and crickets

Ok now on to the more serious ones!

• Time moves faster then expected and slower then measured
• The gospel of Jesus Christ can heal any wound and mend any heart. 
• My Father in Heaven does love each and everyone one of us perfectly and equally
• Families are meant to be together for eternity
• Love will always disperse contention and frustration
• Satan can not be there when humility is present
• Change is the best and hardest thing that will ever happen to us

I have loved my mission and I am grateful for the blessings that it has brought to my life. I know this is the true gospel of Jesus Christ. I love Him and I am so grateful I have been able to serve Him. 

The Conundrum of the Phone

My entire time in Warrenton I have had the same phone. This phone is a brick! It has been thrown down a flight of stairs, landed on tile, bounced and hit a steel door, landed once again on the tile and didn't even turn off! It was also thrown down a hallway by a teenage boy with no damage! This has been a useful phone. It has allowed us to make calls and send text messages. . . sometimes. It has service. . . sometimes (the best service is on a random bridge in the middle of Marshall Virginia!!). It turns off only about an hour after charging. Ok so maybe this phone has its struggles but it is a phone that has helped us serve as missionaries.Yesterday we had a miracle occur. We received a new phone! It is shiny and bright! It has a battery life that survives all day!! It rings when people call and it even has service in our apartment!! It is a rockstar phone! We have embraced this phone and all of the latest and greatest abilities that come with it!

This is exactly the same as our role as missionaries. We come to help others come unto Christ by accepting His gospel. We have a message that does improve and enlighten any life. It is not changing the capabilities but it is enhancing and allowing for more of God's blessings to flow into peoples lives. I know that all religion helps to make people better. I also know that through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ we can achieve exaltation. It is not meant to take away the truths and love others already have for Jesus Christ, but to enrich and add to the truths already given. There are no questions or confusion when the restored gospel is present. I know this is true! I know we can accept the truth by allowing God to testify to our hearts the reality of the restored gospel. Try it out! I promise you will love the new abilities and dreams you can strive for when you have the ultimate truth!

Thank Goodness there are only 3 weeks left of this!!

I remembered when my sister first entered the hospital. I remember the phone call from my dad and the fear that instantly came. I was not fully able to understand the magnitude of the situation. I only knew that my sister was in the hospital and that the baby might be born really really early. I was terrified! I felt a little guilt considering I had told my sister she had to get pregnant before my other sister left on a mission. I also remember the feeling of responsibility in caring for my sister. It became my quest to make her happier. She remained in that hospital for a couple months. Way way too long! I visited her everyday! We would read together, watch movies together (especially the movie zorro...that is one weird movie..), I would make her goodies and I would always make her laugh!! The baby monitors showed that every time I spoke or laughed baby girl's heart rate would increase and Caprise said she would roll around in her stomach! I was the favorite from the beginning! While that time was so stressful and hard it is also some of my favorite memories. Caprise and I became so close!! It really was a tender mercy in the trial.
Now that I am on a mission I am once again facing the crazies of life. I have been struck by lightning, been to the ER for carbon monoxide poisoning, torn a ligament in my foot, had eye infections, had companions with staff infection, 
dermiographic hives, and depression, have been rained on, been covered in water as a car drove by the curb, snowed on, have trudged through snow and received potential frostbite, been yelled at, threatened, stalked, been hugged by drunk men, hugged by sober men, had doors slammed in my face, been far from home and family, missed weddings, birthdays and trials at home, watched people fall away here and at home, car troubles galore, had to leave those I love potentially every six weeks, exhaustion beyond belief and that is just the tip of the ice burg!!! There are definitely times when I think thank goodness I only have 3 more weeks left!! However, these are all trials I gratefully accept as I strive to be a true representative of Christ. How can I ask to be one without facing just a small portion of the pain, ridicule, and joy that He once felt. It is the best way to learn of Him and become like Him. I accept all trials and struggles that come if only I can become and learn more of Him. I am who I am today because of these moments in life! Thank goodness they keep on happening!