Cafe Rio (: March 9th, 2015

Well we had a realllly fun week! (: 

It started out with getting to clean some sisters' apartment because they replaced the elders living there previously...and I'm not going to say anything bias...but...haha yeah. That was interesting! And actually really fun (: I love them! It is so great to get to see the sisters I get to work with whenever we can!  The next day was our zone meeting and so I got to do a training on obedience. It was something the Spirit had really been working with me on.  I felt so impressed to share the things I have been learning.  Like the way we receive and retain a remission of our sins is by service and obedience to the commandments! So as missionaries, we should constantly feel that if we are doing it right.  And wow.  Being obedient is just so important! It is a pattern of life that will follow us forever and it is the means by which all blessings flow!  Really, everything happens in accordance to our faith, diligence, and obedience which are so beautifully connected! I have learned that the greatest unhappiness only comes through disobedience. I challenge you all to just ponder what that really means...and how that applies to you.  

I have also been learning a lot about faith and the prayer of faith.  I know that it is through faith that we can do any and all things.  What an amazing gift we have been given to be able to have the capacity to believe in something so wonderful that only can empower and uplift...that being our Savior, Christ and His gospel.  Not to mention that it is through His sacrifice that we are enabled to do these things in the first place!  I just am full of gratitude and feel like I am really learning to pray!  To really seek and to find answers.  I have been asking and I have been receiving.  I know it is real.  Prayer is real and it works! (: I learned in Sacrament meeting a principle that i decided to apply directly to my life.  A member of the 70 came and spoke, Elder Lawrence, and he told us: "Be humble enough to ask, and then be faithful enough to act!" I love that! He spoke of sincerely asking the Lord what we can do to improve or to ask what is holding us back from progressing.  He promised us that if we asked sincerely, we would receive a direct, clear answer from the Holy Ghost, but we needed to be faithful enough to act!  So I did this. And I invite you all to do the same (: It could be a scary thing to consider, knowing that there is always room to improve.  But if we could know the little thing that is holding us back from continuing on, wouldn't we want to know and change it?! Why wouldn't we want to be better? Sure it is new and maybe scary because it is different or it hurts to change....but only beautiful things lie ahead for those who are humble enough to follow the Lord's will.  He knows best! He created us! How exciting is change (:

So...we had the greatest privilege ever this last Saturday of being able to go to the Mesa temple with our recently baptized friend! (: We got to go out of our mission! haha and to the temple! And with our friend! And the ward (: it was just soooo much fun! We even got to go to Cafe Rio!!!!! That's right! After alllll these months...I had Cafe Rio! ah. God is so good!  It only went up hill from there! (and a little down...but then right back up!) Because I watched His hand unfold answer after answer and tender mercy after tender mercy, (miracles, if you will). And when I felt a little down, it all went back to how I could be better and so I learned to pray, yet again! I love these teaching/ learning moments.  

It has just been so wonderful lately! Although we have been striving sooo hard to find more people to teach and haven't been able to find many, we have been blessed in abundance! (: I am so grateful! (:

Love!