Oh Wow.
Life is so crazy. This week I went on what I called a 'post-fast'. I didn't open any letters for an entire week. It was a bit difficult to be fair, because we had Zone Conference and Sister Maughan gave me the ones from Stafford, so I had quite a few. I did the fast because I wanted to show the Lord I would sacrifice something (anything) for Him. He blessed me, no doubt. Nothing is truely a sacrifice because of the Lord's blessings. From what I gather, a lot of my friends are having a hard time... not kosher. It really breaks my heart, because I was the one who wanted to always be there for those I love, and now I can't. But I know that the Lord is. I know He is. It also taught me that Heavenly Father loves us, because as much as it hurts to hear the bad news, the good news seems so much greater. Wow. Thanks for all the letters, everyone.
I can't BELIEVE that dad is playing John Taylor's companion in a church film!!!! WHAAAAAA!!!!????? You'll have to send me the link when you find it, because since it will be on lds.org, that means I can watch it :D Loves it. Also, John Taylor was the only prophet born outside the US, right? He was born in England... :) Which means he was probably a missionary in England, which means that Dad was also portraying a missionary in England. And I actually AM a missionary in England. And John Taylor dedicated the Logan Temple, I think. Too many coincidences. Coincidence: That situation wherein God remains anonymous. But if we are blessed enough we can pick up on it.
The new 10th ward. Wow. Can you believe it? What a blessing. You'll be able to meet people you wouldn't have otherwise known. That is a miracle in and of itself. To have the courage to extend our sphere of influence is a hard decision, but it can change our life. Mostly not because we will be doing that much more for everyone else, but because of how much everyone else will be blessing our lives. It's hard. Believe me, I know how awkward it is to walk into a brand new ward where you don't know anyone, I've done it twice in the past 5 months. But its possible.
My mission is the miracle of my life.
Prisca and her children are progressing perfectly towards their baptism. Sometimes we have a bit of a language barrier because Prisca speaks French. It happened with tithing, we had a hard time explaining it. We had her read the verse in Malachi in her French bible. After reading it she said, 'This is really good. Really important. If I had £200, I would give £20 to the Lord.' Amazing. She set up the 10% for herself. That is definitely when the Spirit is the teacher. I feel like we haven't really taught Prisca anything. The Spirit tells her what is right and what is good, and she has every desire to follow it. She believes that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that if God had worked that way throughout time, of course He would call another prophet. She lives the Law of Chastity, and has also been living the Word of Wisdom for many years (she said coffee made her too shaky :) ). She is amazing. We gave her eldest 3 children Book of Mormons, and they have been reading and marking it. 7 year old Pristy has been marking every time it says God or Jesus Christ, and in two days she was already to Jacob. The believe Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God. This family is amazing. They are such a blessing. I told President about them at the Elder's baptism, and he went to Prisca and told her how amazing and what a blessing the gospel will be for her family. Because it will. They haven't had an easy time, in fact it has been really hard. When Prisca was losing hope she realized she needed God and needed to find a church to take her children to. So she prayed. Soon after she prayed she member Patricia, the member who took her to church. Ah. Members are so vital. The gospel is so vital.
The church is true!
At the baptism this week a recent convert gave a talk. His name is Lesra, and he is from Jamaica. One quote from the talk (as far as I can remember), 'President Monson is one of the coolest and most humble prophets around.' He told me yesterday that President Monson was so cool he could be from Jamaica. That is like the ultimate compliment that he could give someone. I love it. He loves the gospel so much, he just can't believe that he is a Christian, he said he never would have believed that he would be a Christian! But don't worry, he informed us that he is still cool.
President told me a Zone Conference that Chris came back to the mission. He witnessed a burglary while he was here, and they flew him out to testify at the trial. Of course that would happen to Chris. He brought Tess with him and they were going to come and visit me, but apparently they had a schedule with the trial or something. Too bad, that would have been fun.
I had a man get all sociology on me this week. Telling me that I was undermined in my religion because I was a woman. Okay. Let's be real. I understand how society effects people. I studied it for three years. But I also understand how the gospel is true, no matter the effect socially. I told him that I thought it was weird he was telling me that because I am the woman and also the church member. I know that if he read the Book of Mormon and prayed about it, he wouldn't feel so bad for me, but would feel bad that he wasn't yet baptised :)
Jess told me that she got her call to Taiwan :) That is so great. Missions are so amazing. You never thought that I would be the one saying that before I left, did you? I was going to wait out my time until I could come home and move on with my life. But I am so thankful to the Lord for this opportunity I have to serve. It is the biggest blessing in my entire life. I think it will be until I have a husband and a family and those experiences. But even then, my mission will be what prepared me for that experience. I know that is true. I wish I could teach you everything I've learned. There is so much, I honestly can't believe it. One thing I've been thinking about this week is the worth of souls. I've really been tossing it over my mind. God loves everyone. Just because someone is awkward, or 'our personalities just clash' (who said that all the time? This girl), doesn't mean God doesn't love them. It doesn't mean that He doesn't want them, or that Christ won't help them. So who am I to say that I can just ignore them because they have hurt me.
Oh my goodness. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. It is the only way back to our Heavenly Father. The fullness of the gospel, and the access to the Atonement and Exaltation is enabled by the Restoration, and the Priesthood Authority given us in this day. I am forever grateful. I'm thankful that we can ALWAYS choose to follow the Saviour. Whether or not we find joy through His sacrifice is entirely up to us. But He will help us if we reach out to Him.
I love you all. I laugh when you laugh, and I cry when you cry. I still care about you, and want you to have every happiness in life. I just am able to see a lot more clearly the avenue to that happiness. Hosanna. Blessed be the name of the Most High God.
Loves,
Sister Hull
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