December 11, 2016

Merry Finals Week---When you feel bad, just remember we are all taking finals this week, and that the mission is the place to be right now!!

This week I went to the MoTab concert.  And it was so funny, because the guest artist sings opera.  Also because he looks just like Mr. Bean.  So if you can imagine Mr. Bean singing opera with the MoTab, you will laugh.  It was great!

I don't know why I don't know what to write this week.  I usually have no problem writing long letters. 

I guess I will tell you about some of my #iluminaelmundo moments this week.

1. I went over to Katie and Trents house and Katie was sick (she's been having stomach problems for about 2 months now and she gets nauseous all the time and has stomach pain.  The doctors can't figure out what is wrong with her.)  And I started watching Planet Earth with them and then I went over to  eat a little bit of salad (I hadn't eaten all day), and I saw that their kitchen was a mess, so I cleaned it and did the dishes.  And I think it helped them.

2. I tried to donate blood, but since I had just been in Mexico I couldn't.

3. Last Sunday there was a goal of praying to heavenly father more, and so I wrote a prayer template that would help me have more meaningful prayers this week and you would be amazed by the help that it has been.  I wake up, say my morning prayers, and just feel so much more motivated to do what I need to do that day, and just more confident that the Lord would help and guide me throughout the day.  Also, I know that I always say that I pray for you, and I do a lot of time, but sometimes it is hard to always remember, but this week I prayed for you everyday.

Speaking of praying for others, I was talking with Cassi today about this and we were talking about why we think that we are commanded and encouraged to pray for others.  This is what we came up with.

-- Because it increases out mindfulness of these other people, so that we are reminded to do what WE can do to help the person.  Christ is a perfect example of this because he prayer for the Nephites in 3 Nephi and then he ministers to them, teaching them, healing their sick, etc.  Doing all HE can to help them as well as asking His father to bless them.

--Because it increases our faith.  Not only do you remember to do what you can do for them, but then, when the help is received, the blessing comes down, we attribute this to God.  We remember that God is the one in charge, and He is the one who really helps them.  This can work on the flip side too.  If the miracle does not occur for the person we are praying for, we remember that God has not forgotten our loved one, but rather, is perfectly mindful of them, and has his own timing.

-- Because it gives us charity for all men.  This is why we must pray for our enemies.  The first great commandment is to love God, and the second is to love (have charity for) our neighbors.

Anyway, keep working hard.  If you have any questions of doubts, just go to God.  I think that a lot of times we waste time focussing on the problem, when if we instead pondered on the goodness of God we would be happier and our problems would seem less like trials.

Love ya,

Liza

Mr. Bean, the opera star.

December 4, 2016

I was thinking today about my missionary christmases, and I think that sometimes they can make you start to think more about home, but the things that helped me so much was the video campaigns of the church and just forgetting myself.  #illuminaelmundo is the perfect combination of these two things!!  So definitely do it, and it will help you turn outward and also make Christmas so special.  Seriously, the two Christmas videos I had for my missionary christmases will always be seared into my mind.  I have such clear memories and feelings associated with these two videos, and even know when I watch them I feel the spirit way strong.  So make this Christmas video special and you will remember this special Christmas for the rest of your life!

One thing I was reading about it my studies today was about more miracles from Christ in Mark.  These two are my favorites . . . . 

Luke 5:12 ¶And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

 13 And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.

I love this.  He is just so kind to the man, and so so so willing to heal him.

The second one: 

Luke 7: 6 Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof:

 7 Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.

Somehow I never had realized that Jesus, amidst getting mocked by the scribes for maybe going to enter the unclean house on the centurion, went with them.  He was fully planning on breaking social code to heal this man's servant.  It only was the faith and insistence of the centurion that he healed him with his word and didn't go to actually see him.  Christ was so willing to heal others, even when it put him in a bad situation.

The last experience was a personal one.  I always hear that you hit a point after your mission when you realize that you aren't as spiritual as you were on the mission.  And I was like, no, I will read my scriptures everyday, I will do everything I can, that won't happen to me.  But then this week I realized that a weakness I had had, that had really become a strength during the mission, had again become a weakness.  And it was especially clear this week that this weakness was going to be hard to get rid of.   And I was sitting at the first presidency xmas devotional and there was a part where it just hit me how many times I had slipped up that week, and I realized with perfect clarity this weakness and I felt so frustrated that I still had it, and that it was probably going to be between a strength and a weakness my whole life . .  that it would be the thing to keep me humble.  And I was so so so so so frustrated. I closed my eyes as I teared up with frustration with myself and a lack of hope that maybe this weakness I would deal with for the rest of my life and how I did not want to do that.  Oh, how I wanted my weakness to just have to be overcome once and then be done with it for forever.  I sat there praying silently in the middle of a talk, lost in my own pleadings that I did not want be this kind of person, I didn't want this weakness.  And right as I again focused on the words of the speaker, he testified that the Lord came down as a little babe to the Earth so he could perform the atonement, because the atonement has the power to dry all tears.  And as I sat there with tears in my eyes, the spirit testified that the atonement was the answer. I can do all things through the atonement.   And as long as I used it, I would not be overcome.  I would progress and be ok.  

I know that the atonement changes lives.  Our investigators lives, but even more than this, our lives.  There may be weaknesses that we will have for the rest of our lives, but the atonement is infinite.  There is no end to its mercy.  So use it, and learn to love it, because a day won't go by, especially after the mission, that you won't need it.

Love,

Liza