Hello Everyone!
I'm sure some of you must be getting tired of me saying how much I love being a missionary, but I will un-apologetically say it again: I LOVE being a Missionary!!!
It's been so much more than I ever imagined it to be. Some days are hard when I feel like nothing I do makes a difference, but the payoff is when we find more people to teach about Jesus Christ and his restored gospel, and then see how it changes their lives always for the better. It's a gift to watch someone you care about, come to love and know the Savior.
Every first Sunday of the month we have what we call a Temple Music Devotional where missionaries from the mission and members put on musical performances at the church building near the Newport Temple, and then they invite people to walk around the temple grounds afterwards. Yesterday was a special one though, as it was Easter Sunday. There was a woman named Katie Luther who was a Broadway singer, that came to sing and tell her story of how she found hope and comfort through Jesus Christ. She also came with her husband ( who has a bomb voice) and her son. It was very powerful, and her story was so touching. What I got most out of it was this: Miracles always always come, but only AFTER the struggle. And only according to our faith. This woman had suffered abuse as a child and hadn't ever dealt with it, until her mid-twenties. She found that her only option for personal and lasting peace and happiness was through the Savior Jesus Christ. It's because He literally suffered for each one of us, so He knows where we've been. It took this woman a while to really come to trust that the Savior could make her whole again, but with a lot of work she did. There are days where it's still a fight, but she takes great comfort in the fact that her Savior walks with her each day. She allowed Him to take away her pain, and shame, and anger. What a testimony! I feel that what she said is true. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is real and it's powerful, and it's for you, and me and everyone. There's no way I could be a missionary if I didn't 100% totally believe that. I couldn't be a missionary if I didn't know that this church is the true church of Jesus Christ; it is His church established on the earth today. He is at the head and leads and guides us through a chosen living prophet of God. How miraculous is it to have someone on Earth who can warn us of spiritual dangers and tell us more of what our Heavenly Father wants us to know.
We just had General conference, which is where the leaders of our church like the Apostles and Prophet speak to us over satellite broadcast from Salt Lake City to the whole world, and encourage, inspire and uplift us with their words. I look forward to it every year, twice a year :) There were so many powerful and inspiring talks, and I definitely had some questions answered. Something I that really jumped out to me was when Lynn G. Robbins talked about success and failure. He said: Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm! Then he goes on to explain that God lets us fail more than a few times because He wants us to
1. Learn that everything will be for our good and benefit in the end
2. Know the bitter from the sweet in life
3. learn to trust that God knows better than we do, every time
At the end he says that repentance (the process of changing your heart, turning away from sin and turning to God) is not a back up plan; it IS the plan! When God sent us here He knew we would fail sometimes, but He also knew that we would learn to become like Him in the process and would help us as much as we asked for it. There's no limit on repentance, and the benevolence of god has no bounds either. He always welcomes us back with open arms, ready to receive us. He wants each one of us to return to Him, and He has made a way possible through Jesus Christ.
There were so many more good things that I learned from Conference, so I encourage each of you to watch all the sessions if you haven't had the chance to already. We are so blessed to be able to know that we have a living prophet and apostles and other church leaders who help us know the will of the Lord for us and what we need to be reminded to do in our individual lives. I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true, no doubt whatsoever. We invite all to come join with us, and add to the faith that they already have. Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world. God is our loving Father who joys in our successes and weeps with us when we sorrow. Miracles happen only after the trial of our faith :) So hang in there, your miracle is coming!
I love you all so much, I am sustained by your love and support each time I hear from you. Have an absolutely wonderful week! He lives and love you!
Love,
Sister Torkildson
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