Cactus Fruit

Alright so real quick before I forget

 Next Thursday--Not this Thursday, but next Thursday--we're starting the Alma countdown. Countup, actually, because we're starting with Chapter 1. If you don't have a Book of Mormon, or if it's next Thursday and you're too lazy to pick it up, you can find it here: https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng  The book of Alma is my favorite. It has most of my favorite scripture stories. I'm hoping I'll be able to post my thoughts on each chapter on Facebook everyday, but we'll see how that goes. Anyway, nothing in the Book of Mormon makes sense unless you read the introduction first, so make sure you do that.

 October is like two months away. What is this madness.

 So we've kinda been taking this area slowly. We can't really tell who the misisonaries before us were teaching, because the areabook is a small explosion, so we've kinda just been going by everyone and trying to get to know the area. Phoenix is a grid system, so it's weird trying to navigate Maricopa.

 We did have a little bit of an adventure, though. :p So the cacti are fruiting right now, and I asked my companion, "ever had cactus fruit before?" She said no, so we pulled over to pick some from one that wasn't in someone's yard. I love how it tastes, but I've also learned (the hard way) that you have to be really careful picking it, because it's covered in spines. So I warned her, "Don't touch anything that isn't red, or you'll get pricked."

 She got the fruit...but she wasn't careful enough....XD I saw them all go into her hands, and we tossed the fruit into the back seat of the car and pulled cactus spines out of each other's hands. She didn't feel them or know they were there until I pointed them out. They hurt later. They're evil like that. It's sitting in the fridge right now, partly because I'm bitter at it for what it did to our hands, mostly because she decided to try and make a drink out of it. :p It was a fun little adventure.

 While I don't have a lot of cool stories or people to talk aboutthis week, I do have a strong testimony of the tender mercies that come in hard times. God doesn't remove the situation or make things easier, but He does send little messages that He's still there, He hasn't left, and He's still in control. Usually those messages are very personal in a way that only you will know. A bid landed on the window sill while I was studying. A member gave me a jar of raw honey. Little things that don't mean much, but mean everything in the moment, because it means we have a loving Father in heaven who knows just what little thing will give us the strength to keep going.

 Ultimately, life is good. It is good because we have a Savior who makes everything fair in the end.

 I love you all! Thanks for the letters and prayers and encouragement!! You are the best and I miss you so much!! <3

 -Sister Stratford