Christmas Zone Conference '09

Remember Who You Are

Hmmm... to make it more personal... unfortunately, I am so bad at that! Writing itself has never been a forte of mine. It's amazing I've been able to come up with anything to write. I'm not humorous like Allison and Nori. I just write what comes into my mind - which is more spiritual in nature because I'm trying to gear my mind towards gospel teaching. Oh, and it's because I have an awful memory. Even with my journal in front of me, I can't remember the more personal, fun moments I have done during the week. Well, let's see ...

With transfers, we have combined Boca Raton East and West into one area. Sis. Eland (from Colorado) and I are now together in a companionship representing the east side and the west side, then we are blessed to be in a trio companionship with Sis. Gardner (from Washington). I am enjoying our companionship so far as Sis. Eland is focused on the charity and concern for each person she comes in contact with as Sis. Gardner is focused on making sure our actions are in line with our missionary purpose and following the exact obedience that all of us missionaries have been asked to follow so we may continue to be blessed by the Lord to our fullest capacity. Still being new to the mission, I haven't had a specific focus so it will be interesting to see what I will be like further into my mission.

Florida has been quite cold recently with a lot of rain coming down, which I have been told is unusual for Florida winters. A fun new change is that I have become driver! On my second transfer, and I'm able to drive around the whole of Boca Raton. It's been fun so far. We've had rain and a lot of wet roads, but all has been going well.

The greatest part of the week was our Christmas Mission Conference. We were able to hear from Pres. and Sis. Hale and Bro. Brad Wilcox. They were amazing talks! We are all reminded to ask ourselves each day, "How Have I Seen the Hand of God in my Life Today?" as each of us was given a pen with those words printed on it. Also, we were reminded of our goals as a mission to:

become a mission of miracles
have ministering of angels
receive vertical revelation
have a 3x3 companionship with the Holy Ghost
notice the thinning of the veil as we connect with the spirit
experience the blessings of mighty prayer (we now have twice a day - 9:30 AM/PM.)

The lesson by Bro. Wilcox really made me think a lot of my family history - something I always love coming back to! He spoke of the "Birthright of the Latter-Day Children" as we recognize who we are, and realize the extra portion we have been given with our birthright to govern the affairs of our Father and continue setting up the structure of the Church to prepare for the Second Coming of Christ.

I Am a Child of God
Saved for this Latter-Day
Given to me this Birthright
That I Must Now Repay
Lead Me so I Can Lead Others
Guide Me so I Can Guide Others
Help Me so I Can Help Others
So We May Live with Thee Again.

This isn't a direct quote from Bro. Wilcox (my pen isn't fast enough to write), but about the right concept of what he thought would be a great additional verse to our beloved song. I really liked it and wanted to share it. Not only am a begotten spirit of God and have the literal blood of Ephraim in my veins, but I have been blessed to have to blood of my ancestors: Ellsworth, Cluff, Hadley, Blalock ... and all the many branches that follow back. I am here because of them. Not only am I here physically, but in my spiritual level of growth by learning from them and their experiences. It's amazing what families do for each other: those we have now, and those that have long passed away.

I am sorry I have been unable to send off a tender mercy. It's so hard to choose one tender mercy to write about, one reason why I always end my emails and my journal entries with one. I am just so grateful for this opportunity to put spiritual growth and learning over career growth. I know this was the right decision for me and I am glad to continue to learn and grow here to prepare me for the rest of my life. A lot of this decision came from my family! Thanks! You are always in my thoughts and prayers.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Gifts of Love

This has been a wonderful week! Although it has been slow with making
contact with all our investigators, we had some great lessons and
experiences with those we were able to meet with. I love those moments
where we are able to see an investigator really internalize what we are
teaching. When they come to church and feel that spirit, it is amazing
to see them have the Lehi and Tree of Life experience and they truly feel
that "as [they] partook of the fruit thereof it filled [their] soul with
exceedingly great joy; wherefore, [they] began to be desirous that [their]
family should partake of it also; for [they] knew that it was desirable
above all other fruit."

Another great part of the week was the feeling of Christmas! I received the
gifts from my immediate family and extended family which is so
wonderful! It means so much to me to have these small acts of love
- opening a small gift each morning that coincides with scripture and a
mission story to read; reading love notes that contantly remind me of the
love I have for my extended family. How true the words are that "the family
is central to the Creator's plan" for what would we be like without that
love and unity with our family and friends. This past Sunday, I had the
opportunity to teach the Gospel Principles class. It was something I
was asked to do last minute, but it went so well for we spoke on charity:
the pure love of Christ. People are more prone to remember to be charitable
during the holiday seasons. It brings so much joy into our lives when we
express that love to others. It is during Christmas time that we need to
really look deep into how charity changes our lives so we can remember how
important it is to continue to live with charity the whole year long. A
great observation was about the rewards in heaven we will receive as it
depends on the sacrifices we have here. If we show love to someone who
already loves us, how hard is that? Why would we gain a great reward from
an act that was easy? It is through reaching beyond ourselves to help
strangers and enemies, that we can really see that change within our lives
and truly experience the blessings and rewards that charity can have on our
eternal progression and personal potential. Christ himself continued to
love those that took part in causing the suffering of His crucifiction. He
plead with the Father to "forgive them for they know not what they do."
What love He has for us to still hold that constant hope that we all may
return to God again. If the Father has everlasting love for each of His
children no matter our actions, and Christ, His Son, has such great love for
us to suffer in the Garden of Gethsemane and upon the cross for us, that
means each of us have that same ability to feel that love for each person we
meet. We are to be like the Father. What He is, we can become. Each of us
have the potential inside ourselves to have that pure love. Let us work to
truly and fully obtain it by constantly showing our love to all our brothers
and sisters upon this earth. That is the greatest gift we can share with
others.

TENDER MERCY: THE PEOPLE WE MEET ARE TRULY A GREAT BLESSING IN OUR LIVES. A
HIGHLIGHT OF THIS WEEK WAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO THE WARD CHRISTMAS
DINNER PARTY. WE HAD SIX INVESTIGATORS (FIVE FROM THE EAST, ONE FROM THE
WEST) COME TO JOIN THE FESTIVITIES. IT WAS AMAZING THE FUN WE ALL HAD
TOGETHER. ALL THE SISTER MISSIONARIES WERE SERVERS FOR THE DINNER SO WE GOT
TO SEE EVERYONE THAT CAME, TALKING WITH THEM, AND WATCH ALL THE INTERACTIONS
BETWEEN THE MEMBERS, PART-MEMBERS, AND INVESTIGATORS. THEN WE ALL GATHERED
FOR THE PROGRAM WHICH WAS SO CUTE, SHOWING THE IMPORTANCE OF CHRIST BEING
THE CENTER OF OUR LIVES. THERE WAS A LOT OF MEMBER INVOLVEMENT AND WE HAD
SO MUCH FUN AND LAUGHTER. WHAT JOY IT BRINGS TO OUR LIVES TO HAVE THAT
FRIENDSHIP AND UNITY. OUR INVESTIGATORS ENJOYED BEING THERE AND IT REALLY
TOUCHED MY HEART TO BE ABLE TO SPEND THAT TIME TOGETHER, CREATING A CLOSER
BOND OF FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE WITH EVERYONE THERE.

Boca Raton Christmas Party

Learning and Growing

In two days time, I will turn three months old! Just five days ago, I finished my first month in Florida. It truly is amazing how quickly time passes us by. As we plan our day each evening, and review them again in the morning, I always wish we could add some more time to the day so we could visit a few more people, make a few more contacts, and see a few more members. We truly learn the importance of using our time wisely. With people's days full of work, school, housecleaning, errands, eating, etc. how can one find the time to "talk of Christ", "rejoice in Christ", "preach of Christ", and "prophecy of Christ" if we don't willingly make that time. It is not only saying to ourselves, "Today, I'll spend a bit of time reading the scriptures." or "Today, I'll talk to one of my friend about the gospel." We really have to make a goal and plan so we won't be content with ourselves and the day won't be finished until we do it. "Today, I'll spend 30 minutes from 7:30 to 8:00 this morning to read about the Christ-like attribute of diligence." "Today, I'll talk to Paul about coming with me to the Ward Christmas Party this Saturday."

To be totally honest, I do not understand how to set goals or make plans. A lot of times, I don't see the point because most of the time, things fall through, something else comes up, and the plans go to waste. Also, I may have vague goals, but have no idea how to set anything specific that I can gauge and accomplish each day to cause me to reach that goal. It's a huge struggle for me - that I'll admit - can really frustrate my companion. I use to prefer living in the moment, doing whatever I feel is best at that moment. "Why think about the next day or the next week." "It's too stressful to think of the future." "Right now is good enough." I don't know how I survived doing that - probably because I had school and work to keep some sort of structure to my day. But the more I am forced to set a goal and feel that joy of accomplishing it, the more I am starting to see how good it is for me and my life.

Right now, our Zone has set a goal to contact twenty people a day. Before that happened, Sis. Moore was telling me that I needed to contact people when we were at the gas station or in the store but I just hate "taking time out of others lives and bothering them." Good excuse, huh? ... No. It's not. I was rebellious for a time, but when I feel rebellious, I like to prove to myself that I could do it if I really wanted to. I'll admit. It's not that hard. So what if someone shrugs you off, gives you the cold shoulder, say no, give you weird looks, etc. Another person will stop and really get into a great conversation with you about beliefs and religions.

A good analogy we were told: Let's say you made some lemonade. Of course you would want to share it with your friends and family. There will be some people who don't want any at that time or just doesn't like lemonade, while others will accept it and thank you for it. The same should be with the gospel. We have the truth. We have a belief in Christ that gives our life purpose and makes us happy. Why not go and share it? Of course some will say no, but that is their choice. Not everyone is ready to hear it. That doesn't me we can't offer it to them.

So, now I enjoy going up to people and offering them a pass-a-long card. I still have much to learn about how to lead that into a discussion of beliefs and the gospel, but I'm learning each day. It is a line upon line learning for everything.

TENDER MERCY: I SIMPLY LOVE TO SEE THE SMALL CHANGES THAT ARE HAPPENING IN MY LIFE. OF COURSE THERE ARE HUGE THINGS THAT STILL NEED TO BE FIXED, BUT EVERYTHING MUST BE DONE LITTLE BY LITTLE. A STONECUTTER DOESN'T WACK AWAY AT THE STONE TO MAKE A BEAUTIFUL, DETAILED SCULPTURE. THEY CHISSLE HERE AND CHISSLE THERE UNTIL SLOWLY THE PIECE OF ART TAKES SHAPE. I'M PRETTY MUCH AN ODD-SHAPED PIECE OF STONE RIGHT NOW, BUT WITHIN THE NEXT FOURTEEN MONTHS, MY POTENTIAL WILL BEGIN TO SHOW AND I'LL START TO SEE THAT HIDDEN PERSON THAT THE LORD KNOWS I CAN BECOME.

When You Have a Gratitude Attitude

Lets begin with a fun, random note: I just found out my companion also was raised with the "Standing Tall" tapes!! Last week, she was teaching a lesson about Thanksgiving and mentioned how we needed to have an attitude of gratitude. As soon as she said that, I got a song stuck in my head! Unfortunately, I only know one sentence..."when you have a gratitude attitude!" As soon as we got into the car, I started singing that line over and over again. Sis. Moore was so confused, so I told her about the "Standing Tall" tapes: Gratitude, Obedience, Happiness, Work, Honesty, etc. The more I sang tidbits of songs, the more she started to connect them in her head and she realized she knew them too! Yay for childhood memories! It's amazing what we carry throughout our lives that we had learned as a child.

This week we really did focus a lot about gratitude, especially as we help teach others about how a family can be together forever and expressing our gratitude through sharing the gospel. It was so much fun. Sis. Moore and I had a lot of fun thinking up cute ways to share these teachings. My, did we get creative! Our first idea was to create "turkey pass-a-longs" for the members that was a turkey body with pass-a-long cards for its feathers. So cute! All the members we give it to put it somewhere so others will be able to see it. The turkeys had two meanings we hope all the members remember. First, that gratitude is best shown by sharing it so we must all be willing to share the gospel with others for there is nothing to be more grateful for than to have the knowledge of the true, restored gospel. Second, we asked each member to dedicate one of their prayers each day to express only what we are thankful for. Usually, we do thank God for what we have been given, but then we ask a lot from Him. We need a time to really look inside ourselves, see what it is the Lord has done for us this day, and only express these feelings of gratitude to Him. I think a lot about how this goes along with noticing the tender mercies in our lives. When we write them down or vocalize them, we better understand how much the hand of the Lord is in our lives.

Our next idea: sharing our gratitude for our families and knowing we will be together forever, we decided to go caroling on Thanksgiving. Isn't that so cute! I mean, who would say no to a song? Even if we are interrupting their family Thanksgiving dinner? So, we wrote up handouts of "I am a Child of God" and "Families can be Together Forever" and stapled them to the mormon.org pass-a-long card with the Salt Lake Temple. We spent the day contacting people and knocking on doors to share a song with them and give them the words to remember them. It was so much fun! We are hoping to do it again when it gets closer to Christmas. Music has always meant so much to me, so to be able to sing a song we have known since Primary, and so see people willing to stop and listen to us was a great experience.

I truly am grateful for everything that the Lord has given me. I know life is not easy. I myself get discouraged constantly, wondering if I can really make a difference. But it's about working towards pushing away doubts and discouragements and keep looking for the tender mercies of God and noticing all the things we are truly grateful for. This earth was created for us. We are here to learn and to grow. Our Father will not abandon us. His arms are always open to us. We just have to remember that and not turn away from His opened arms.

TENDER MERCY: THE GREATEST COMFORT I CAN FEEL IN THIS LIFE IS KNOWING I HAVE PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT ME. I GET FRUSTRATED WITH MYSELF, I LOSE ALL SELF CONFIDENCE IN MY ABILITIES, AND I DOUBT THAT I CAN REALLY ACCOMPLISH WHAT I WHICH I COULD, BUT WHEN SOMEONE CONTINUES TO STAND BY ME AND HAS PATIENCE WHILE I STRUGGLE INTERNALLY, IT BRINGS ME SO MUCH COMFORT AND PEACE. I'M ABLE TO SNAP OUT OF MY FOOLISH DEPRESSION. I FORGET ABOUT MYSELF AND LOOK TO WHAT I CAN DO TO HELP THEM. THERE IS SO MUCH JOY IN THIS WORLD THAT CAN BE MISSED IF WE DWELL ON OURSELVES. I LEARN TIME AND TIME AGAIN TO PUSH PAST MYSELF AND FORCE MYSELF TO JOIN IN WITH MY FRIENDS AND WHEN THAT HAPPENS, I FIND JOY. THEY LIFT MY BURDENS, MAKING ME FORGET WHAT I WAS WORRIED ABOUT. I FIND MYSELF THROUGH OTHERS. THAT TRULY IS HOW THE LORD TOUCHES OUR LIVES. THAT IS WHY FAMILY IS SO IMPORTANT IN THIS LIFE. WE NEED SUPPORT FROM OTHERS. WE NEED FELLOWSHIP AND COMPANIONSHIP. I AM THANKFUL EVERYDAY FOR MY FAMILY, MY FRIENDS, MY COMPANION. I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SURVIVE IN THIS LIFE ALONE. THANK GOODNESS THE LORD GAVE US SUCH AMAZING PEOPLE IN OUR LIVES TO LIFT US UP AND THAT WE OURSELVES CAN UPLIFT OTHERS. CHARITY NEVER FAITHETH. HOW TRUE THE WORDS ARE THAT OUR LEGACY IS PASSED FROM HEART TO HEART.

Pictures from Boca Raton