My Heart is in Texas: LOOK UP!!!

Little Slice of Mexico

Sister Walker and I went to go contact a referral and we both felt afterwards that we had visiting a little slice of mexico. I felt like I was in a whole different country and had a taste of what Brazil may be like for about 15 minutes. Not only was there a telephone near the many gates to call directly to mexico, but there was spanish music playing and half the people outside couldn't speak any English.

Well we knock on the door and a YSA comes to the door and he doesn't speak any English as well... So I tried pulling out my Spanish that I knew and it was a miracle the words that were coming to my head & I didn't mix it up with Portuguese which I usually do. I was able to understand if the referral lived at the apartment, where she was, when she gets off work, where she works, and a couple other things.

Sister Loo... She's a Stallion.

After Sacrament meeting at church we were talking to a member I haven't met yet... well she tells us that she ran into President Pingree and she was telling him how well the missionaries were doing. She told him that Sister Walker was great and that there was a new missionary that she hadn't met yet, when president interjects, "Oh it's Sister Loo... She's a Stallion! She's a force and a real go get 'er! She gets things done." It was funny... We may have laughed a little too loud in the chapel when she was telling us that story! :)

Look Up

This week I gave a talk in church about our spiritual journey and path's of righteousness. How we can best align the path that Heavenly Father has for us and our own. I wanted to share with you parts of my talk. I addressed three questions:

How do we prepare?

Ephesians 6:13-17
Just like it would be difficult to play football without the right gear, the same can be applied to our spiritual journey. Without first preparing and putting on our armor for the "battle" during our journey we will not be able to protect ourselves spiritually.

How do we stand strong against temptation?

At times the road will get dark and scary. We need the “light” of the Holy Ghost to help illuminate the path. We NEED the Holy Ghost, that is no question. If you haven’t had a spiritual experience in the last few days, I urge you to pursue one. We should be strengthening our testimony daily or as the scriptures say we need to be building our foundation. The Holy Ghost will testify of the truthfulness of the gospel.
And a story from an email from Grandma HoChing: ...The country of Kiribas in the Pacific Ocean is not sinking, but is being covered by the rising sea. The 100,000 people of those islands have 2 choices. They can look to move and run away or they can build up their land. Moving that many people is not an option for most, so they must work to build their land higher so the water won’t cover their island. We also have choices; in most situations we cannot move or run away, so we have to build up our own “land” or the place on which we stand. When we build our little island high enough, then we won’t be covered by the waters of opposition or discouragement. It won’t be easy, but it will be well worth it.

What do we do when we come to a fork in the road? We LOOK UP & WE LOOK FORWARD!

First, Look up! Heavenly Father has provided us with many tools to look towards in time of need.
Prayer & Scriptures – D&C 9:7-8 As we study & prayerfully ask for guidance we need to pay attention to the ideas that come to our minds and the feelings that come to our hearts. Simply put, remember to “look up” for guidance.
Second, Look forward! Look toward the Savior. Sometimes Satan can tempt us to leave the path or take the wrong fork in the road. But it’s okay. There is always a way back. That is through the Atonement and Repentance. Repentance = to turn

And my conclusion... Thanks to the inspiring words of my Dad.

So when we are on our path these 3 things will help us on our journey- Spiritual Armor, a testimony built on a firm foundation, and Looking Up and Looking Forward. By doing so we will be able to walk confidently and faithfully to our destination. When we are doing the things that are right and giving our best effort, Heavenly Father will bless us with opportunities and options in abundance. So much that we have the opportunity to simply choose between choices that are ALL good. This is the blessing of obedience. We will have multiple forks that will lead us to happiness and we have the ability to exercise our agency and choose. It may not always be a decision between right and wrong. It can sometimes be between happy, happier, and happiest. Let us choose the happiest path.

I really enjoyed giving this talk and it was probably the best I have given because usually I write down every single word that I am going to say and then I get up to the stand and read it. But this time I only wrote down bullet points and followed the direction of the Spirit in what I was supposed to say.

I love this gospel! Don't forget to "Look Up & Look forward!"

Love,

Sister Loo