Monday, April 7, 2014

Building a Strong Testimony


Forgive and Forget

Wednesday we went to visit a less active and her mom met us on the front porch of their house and told us that her daughter is not ready to come back and doesn't know how to tell us. They have been less active for 7 years. The Mom told us their story and how they are dealing with some Word of Wisdom issues, her with cigarettes and her daughter with much more. It all started with her marriage when her husband had 3 affairs and they got divorced. But what's the most sad is that after 7 years she still has not been able to forgive him and as a result her and her daughter's lives have been miserable. 

She told us that after this happen she went to the store to buy some cigarettes and the first path that she took was blocked by construction so she turned around and the next way was blocked by traffic, if that wasn't a sign enough... but she still managed to find some cigarettes. :( The mom is struggling to help herself and as a result her daughter hasn't grown up in a stable environment and has fallen off the path. 

I was really heartbroken because you could tell that all she needed to do was utilize the Atonement in her life to forgive her ex-husband and a huge burden would be lifted off her back- something she has been carrying for 7 years! You can really see the struggle in the mom. She knows the truth. she knows it will make her happy. She knows it's whats best for her family. Yet she can't forgive, forget, and move on. 

It has also made me realize that it is during our biggest trials that Heavenly Father tests our strength and testimony. Will we conquer or be conquered? When life gets tough will we fight back or yield unto temptation? Those who continually work on their testimony- their spiritual armor- will be that much more prepared for when the fiery darts of the wicked come. And as we learned in conference, they are and will be coming. 

Pray to See Our Butterflies Daily

We have been talking to Kandice about taking steps into the light and praying for God's love. We asked her how she has felt God's love for her and she said, "I pray to see a butterfly everyday and I've seen one everyday whether big or small for the past few months. That's how I know he is listening."

I definitely was expecting her to say "my family" or "I'm happy now" but Wow! What a response. God truly does love each and every one of us! Even to the smallest and most simplest things like putting a butterfly each day in Kandice's path. It truly is amazing to know that ALL things are under God's command- not just us as his sons & daughters but animals and nature, everything he has created.

I also learned a lot from the sincerity of Kandice's prayer to think of something specific and simple that would let her know with certainty that God loves her. She didn't set him up to fail. She could have just asked Heavenly Father "show me how you love me" but she held Heavenly Father accountable to something simple he could do for her. 

We then talked about how she can show God she loves him and we each shared something we can do. We talked about how Kandice can thank heavenly father each time she sees a butterfly and let that happiness carry her throughout the day. 

I then felt impressed to just share with her how much Heavenly Father does love her and how we have seen a change in her. I can see the light come back into her eyes especially in the past couple of weeks. I was just so proud of her and the progress she is making. It truly is such a wonderful thing to witness. I bore my testimony to her of light and asked her if she has seen a change in herself. She responded, "Honestly, no." I just thought, How can she not see it? So I told her again, "Kandice I can see it! The light is coming back and we CAN see a big difference in you. You are making big steps towards the light. You are almost running towards it!" She is just like me and is hard on herself. So we encouraged her to think of something positive about herself each day, and soon it will hit her and she will realize that she is an amazing daughter of God!

I realized that my favorite thing about being a missionary is this: I LOVE seeing the light returning to people's eyes. That is what missionary work is all about!

So I encourage all of you to do as Kandice: Pray to See our Butterflies Daily

General Conference = Christmas!

Being a missionary and watching general conference is like a little kid on Christmas Eve. Sister Walker and I were so excited to watch conference! It truly is a blessing to have living apostles and our prophet, Thomas S. Monson on the earth today! We are guided and directed by a prophet who receives revelation from God on the things that we can work on and how to cope in a world that is getting more and more wicked!

I loved David A Bednar's talk on Carrying a load. It made me think of the scripture Mosiah 24: 14-15 and how I think that Christ will lift our burdens completely, he will take away the rocks in our backpack as we are hiking up the hill of life. But after his talk, I realized, he does not fully take away the backpack but helps us make it lighter and helps us carry our "load". I realized that we will always have a "load" we are going to carry but are we carrying the right load? Are we carrying rocks or are we carrying diamonds, rubies, and gold? It's all about carrying the right things so that when we get to the top of the hill and the end we have what means most to us. 

I was so motivated to do missionary work after conference ended! I wanted to go into all the churches here in Texas and just yell, "YOU GUYS ARE MISSING OUT! THE PROPHET IS SPEAKING... NOW REPENT!" But I didn't. It really was a wonderful opportunity to just encourage everyone to watch conference. Sister Walker later said, "Everyone's church's must have been really boring in comparison to what we were able to have this weekend." So true. 

So what was your favorite conference message?

Love you so much! 

Sister Loo

   Saw Sister King at Missionary Leadership Council (MLC).
It was so great to see her! 
Picnic in the park
   Heart Attacking Sister Greggson's Apartment for her birthday
   Conference with the Relief Society & our favorite Victoria Craig of course 

   Sunday Sessions of Conference with the White Oak Sisters
Sunday Sessions of Conference with Victoria & Luis
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