I went on a Spanish Exchange, and because the sisters were in a trio I was rockin' it as a third wheel, who spoke very broken Español :) apparently we got told the Book of Mormon is "death"...whatever that means, and I had no clue! Also, you want to know how many people I kissed that day?? LIKE AT LEAST 15 (on the cheek of course haha) apparently if you don't greet or say goodbye that way they think you have a hidden agenda. I learned pretty quickly to not feel awkward about it! Also, we had a very interesting dinner. We ate tostadas with spanish rice, which sounds all nice and normal, but then we added mash potatoes to it...weird right? It was pretty good though still :)
We also went on an exchange with the sisters in Warsaw. Sister Soloa'i had been dying to go to Warsaw her whole mission and her dream was finally coming true! Apparently Ben Higgens from the Bachelor is from Warsaw, Indiana and they totally went and tracked in his neighborhood trying to meet his family. Sadly, they didn't get to meet him. Meanwhile, while they were in a booshie, high class neighborhood. We were livin' the dream in a trailer park :) to be honest that was the first time I tracted in a trailer park and it was very interesting. We tried talking to everyone without much success. But of course, the very last people we talked to happened to be interested, had just barely moved and were looking for a church. Once again a testimony that God rewards us for our diligence :) We had a lesson with them later that week and they even came to church!!! :)
The Stith family...I don't even know where to start with them. They only have one lesson left, and THEY ARE SO READY!!! Last week, they were feeling kinda nervous, questioning if they were really ready for baptism, but as they pressed forward and kept learning, kept reading the scriptures, and kept choosing to keep the commandments, they now feel excited and ready to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Yesterday, in church, Janet even stood up and bore her testimony and told her story. I think the way I felt might be the equivalent of what a proud mom would feel as their child stood up for the first time to share their testimony :)
This week I have pondered the concept of consecration. I feel that on my mission I discover something I can do every day to be more consecrated. Looking at where I began my mission versus now, I am a completely different missionary. Our missionary handbook says "righteous conduct with influence your effectiveness as a missionary and your personal salvation." (page 7) If we can't be as obedient as possible for just 18 months or 2 years, why would God trust us with anything bigger in the next life. The first law of Heaven is obedience. To be with God, we must perfectly obey His laws. Am I perfect? Nope. Far from it actually. But, there is repentance, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ to carry us through our imperfections and allow us to change to become better, more consecrated, and more like the Savior, until we are perfect as He is. Neal A. Maxwell sums it up perfectly:
"So many of us are kept from eventual consecration because we mistakenly think that, somehow, by letting our will be swallowed up in the will of God, we lose our individuality (see Mosiah 15:7). What we are really worried about, of course, is not giving up self, but selfish things—like our roles, our time, our preeminence, and our possessions. No wonder we are instructed by the Savior to lose ourselves (see Luke 9:24). He is only asking us to lose the old self in order to find the new self. It is not a question of one’s losing identity but of finding his true identity! Ironically, so many people already lose themselves anyway in their consuming hobbies and preoccupations but with far, far lesser things...
Thus our deepest desires determine our degree of “obedience to the unenforceable.” God seeks to have us become more consecrated by giving everything. Then, when we come home to Him, He will generously give us “all that [He] hath” (D&C 84:38).
In conclusion, the submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. The many other things we “give,” brothers and sisters, are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us. However, when you and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give!" (Swallowed up in the will of the Father Neal A. Maxwell)
Serving with a Smile,
Sister Bradley
amo a las hermanas españolas! Can you spot all the mosquitoes??
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