Wednesday, August 27, 2014

The Lord Provides!!!

Longest week of my LIFE!!! P-Day was moved from Monday to Wednesday so we could go to the temple, and we weren't told until after p-day last week, so I didn't get to warn anyone....BUT I STILL LOVE YOU ALL and I am still alive! haha. 

 Not having p-day on Monday was reeeaaally hard, especially when you didn't get to mentally prepare that previous Monday. But so worth it; I love the temple. it's worth every sacrifice to get there.

 And, remember how whenever something gets reaaaally hard, that's when Heavenly Father drops all His miracles on you?! Even though I was absolutely exhausted and spent in every way possible--spiritually, physically, emotionally, mentally, etc--I was SO EXCITED  and happy and eager to see the miracles!!

 I don't have a lot of time, sadly, so I'll just be quick:

 Merry met with Bishop and she's getting her Patriarchal blessing, on my birthday!!! I'm so excited for her!!Her life has changed SO MUCH and her family is happier and she's happier and oh my gosh it's insane, it's the difference between light and dark and you can just see it. It's so visible.

 Tammy and Talie haven't been reading scriptures because they insist they're boring. 
 Nothing about the scriptures are boring, except maybe the begats, but they don't count. So we sat down and asked, "What kind of story are you in the mood for?"
 "Something with deception and betrayal," they said, confident we couldn't come up with a fun story.
 We sat down and read in the BoM the story of Amilickiah's plots and schemes to become king of the Lamanites (because that has a happier ending than Samson and Delilah), starting with the story of Lehonti. Which I loooove to read and tell. Sister Nelson didn't know the story (WHAT?!?!?!) so I got to tell most of it, and they got into it. After the end of Lehonti, I said, "It keeps going, and the story keeps getting better, but I'm not going to spoil the rest of it, You have to keep reading," and they said they would.
 Their Grandma, who hasn't been in a church for decads because she just doesn't have a testimony anymore, got to hear the tail end of it. She hasn't had a desire to read scriptures in teh longest time, she's told us how she's never going to church again and she won't study the scriptures anymore, but hearing the last bit of the story, she said, "well, now you've got ME curious!"

 As we were leaving, they had stepped outside under the porch light (because it's loud in that house, and sometimes it's hard to get the Spirit in there) and were reading the sciptrues together again for the first time in years. It was powerful.

 There's a woman we've been trying to contact to no avail for weeks and weeks. We didn't want to keep going there when there was never an answer, but something kept telling us to keep knocking on that door. eventually, through a series of pure miracles, we've been able to bump into her and teach her a little bit. THree times, three miracles, over the last two weeks or so. And finally we open the doors, and she's in tears, and she gives a little laugh and says, "Whenever something happens, you guys show up."

 On Monday, we caught her home (again, only by a miracle) and was able to teach her the Plan of Salvation. She looooooved it, drank every bit of it. it brought back that hope that God hasn't abandoned her, that trials have a purpose and an end, that just because you're feeling down all the time and everything seems to be going wrong, it doesn't mean that God isn't there for you. 

 I loooove teaching the Plan of Salvation. Life gets more bearable when you get that kind of persepective, why we're here and what the whole purpose of life is. I love seeing that change in people, watching that hope turn on behind their eyes. 

 It was a long week, but the Lord is there. It's His work, and when things are hard, that's when all the miracles pop up, both small and big. I have such a testimony of that. 

 Thank you all for your kind words and your prayers! I love you soooo much!! God bless! C:

 -Sister Stratford

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