Well,
this may be the last letter I send you.
I'm
beginning to really understand what President Uchtdorf said about beginnings
and endings. I'd also like to add a bit of my own philosophy- We can only have
peace with our temporary endings if we've made the most of the "middle". This
time has been so full of "endings", and sometimes I feel tempted to make them
all perfect, to do it really well and "go out with a bang", when it really
doesn't need to be that way. It brings me peace to remember that this ending
should just reflect the constant effort and love that I've felt all along the
way.
Thomas,
Yesenia, and Mayra did get baptized this week, and honestly, it was the best
baptism of my whole mission. It went off without any problem, and the Spirit
was sooo strong. They had several difficulties in this week- personal trials
that Satan put in their path to try and impede them, but they came through each
one with such faith and humility. In their baptismal service, they each shared
their testimony of how happy they felt and how much this had changed their
lives. Thomas made us all laugh as he told the story of how he came to know the
church, and bore a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon.
Their
parents were there, and they both cried. I felt the Spirit so deeply that I
couldn`t even cry- I sang a solo with the ward choir as a musical number, and
just felt so much of God`s love and happiness. We ate snacks after in the
church and it was great to see the ward really take them in. I love being a
missionary!!!!
Even
if that means giving a talk in church with 5 minutes notice... I guess it had
to happen to me sometime in the mission, right? Hermana Heslop and I had a nice
little surprise this week but it was just another testimony of the power of the
Spirit. We both did some power scripture searching and then went with the words
that came. Especially since Yesy, Mayra, and Thomas` parents came to church, I
think the topics we picked went over well. Hermana Heslop talked about
Happiness and Blessings for the family that come from the gospel, and I talked
about really feeling the reality of the restoration. Explained how the gospel
of Jesus Christ, the literal Savior of the world, is once again in our hands,
and how very exciting that is to me.
If
there is anything that I hope you've been able to feel from my letters, it
would be that. I really, really, love this great gospel plan. I know it is
true. I feel it flow through every part of my being and I am so empassioned by
the knowledge that I am a part of Jesus Christ's original church- Who else in
the world has that privilege? No one!!! (Ok, well there are a few, but not very
many.)
I
just want to make everyone understand- God's literal son, a man who lived a
perfect life and did everything out of sincere love for us, gave us the ticket
to temporal and eternal happiness. He paid the price with His own death and
left that tender truth in the hands of Peter, his chosen prophet, and the
divinely endowed apostles that followed him. I tremble when I really think about
it, but my ancient brothers and sisters did not accept the gospel plan. Not
only did they reject Christ's reestablished church, but they killed each one of
it's leaders and left the world desolate of God`s divine order. They lived that
way for so many years--
Until
God chose a young boy, unknown to the world's darkened touch, to be a prophet
in this new age. Could God really do that? Call a prophet once again, after so
much corruption, so many blasphemers and false preachers, and division of the
truth?
YES.
How
could He do anything else?? We are His beloved sons and daughters and He saw
that once again, the world was ready to accept and protect the truth. Joseph
Smith was a man called of God, called to the divine office of restoring
Christ's gospel plan, and I know that. But that isn't the end of the story-
ever since that day in 1820, God has continued revealing His secrets to his
modern day prophets. How could He ever leave us without them?? I know that this
is true, and that Thomas Monson speaks the will of God- I have felt it in my
heart when I hear his words.
This
is NOT a message that we need to memorize, mark with a red colored pencil, or
put on the wall. This is a living truth that we must either participate
in or deny. Will you be part of God's mission to preach and practice the
restored truth?
I
have a whole life ahead of me, and I know that I will.
The
mission does not end here-
Hermana
Oldroyd
