To mom:
Happy happy birthday
From me and France to you
I wish I was there for your birthday
So I could party too!
I hope you have the best birthday ever! Are you and dad going to party hearty? You should. Know that I LOVE YOU and that you're the best mom in the whole world! So therefore you deserve some serious celebrations. Obviously I knew you were a good mom before I had to leave you behind, but I appreciate you a million times more now! I don't know how I ended up with a mom as good as you. You are wonderful and the more I study and learn about the family, and the more I see other families, the more I realize that you and dad did everything right, everything exactly the way the Lord wanted you to. And for that I will be eternally grateful :)
On that note, THANK YOU for the Christmas package! You are so on the ball! And thank everyone for the letters for me! I love them! The only problem with having gotten the package this far in advance is that Sister Williams practically has to hide the presents so that I don't open any. Oh well, Christmas will be here faster than I want it to be. I'm super excited for Christmas and for talking to you all on the phone, but I'm not excited for it to be over! Then it's just a fast downhill slope to the end! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Well, I really don't know what to say about this week. I'm really really really tired. We did a lot of porting. Saturday was funny because it was super cold and rainy, so when one super nice young couple finally let us in, I felt like a wet rat and I felt bad about coming in. But since we have the most important message since the coming of the Savior to share, I got over it.
Oh, other cool story. So Ninja Mom, aka Maria, has two young children. Which means that she is often very tired. And the youngest used to stay awake all night and sleep during the day, which means she was even more tired. And I always prayed that the baby girl would sleep through the night so Maria could rest and then we would ask Maria the next day and she would always say nope, no change. Finally one day at the end of our lesson I prayed once again for the baby to sleep through the night. I didn't feel like it was a very faithful prayer because I'd prayed for it before and nothing had happened. That night when I was thinking about it again, I prayed again, and I prayed hard. I said that I knew that suffering was part of being a mother, and that it had to be hard, and I knew that, but I asked if I could do anything by my faith, it would be to just lessen a little bit the suffering of this mother. I asked again for the baby to sleep through the night. The next time we saw Maria, she had a little light in her eyes. We asked her how she was, and she happily explained that the baby had finally, for the first time, slept through the night, without waking up even once. Since then, the baby has slept every night. I was thinking about that yesterday during sacrament meeting, and I cried. It's funny how it never ceases to amaze me that the Lord answers prayers. I feel like I'm still learning how it works, and that there's a lot I might never understand in this life about how it works, but it's fun learning little things. I feel like the fact that I recognized the need for suffering has something to do with it.
I've been thinking a lot about suffering lately, a cheerful subject, I know. But I got a letter from a missionary this week who is having a really hard time, and it made me think about how I was having such a hard time in Brussels and back then, our roles had been switched. I used to think that if I wasn't giddy and happy about being a missionary 100% of the time, I was doing something wrong. Everyone always comes back from their missions telling you to enjoy every single moment of it, because it goes by so fast, and so when I wasn't enjoying it I felt guilty. But an important part of the mission is that it is hard and sometimes not fun. I feel like I cherish the hard, lonely moments as much as I do the good ones, because I've come closer to the Savior and to understanding his suffering through those moments. I've learned to finally mourn with those that mourn, and comfort those who stand in need of comfort, and to bear other people's burdens, that they may be light. Because not too long ago, I was the one needed comfort and an extra hand. I have come to love the fact that suffering is part of this life, because as we suffer and realize that we are feeling just a bit of what the Savior suffered, our love and gratitude for him grows. I listened to a talk recently that talked about how it had to be Him, it had to be someone that meek and it had to require that much pain, not because there needed to be so much payment for so much sin, but because it had to be enough to evoke mercy and love from even the most sin-hardened soul.
Not that, obviously, I have suffered much. I live in a fairytale dreamland. There are twinkle lights all over Blois! Everywhere! All down the streets and in store windows and across the bridge! And there are little Christmas markets all over on the weekends and little bands that stand on the giant staircase downtown and play Christmas songs! Does it get any better? Sister Williams and I are in love with it! Haha. And our branch keeps making comments on how eternally happy the sister missionaries are. You know what else helps? I read the conference talk from Elder Clayton, "The Time Shall Come" about how the Church is growing and will one day fill the earth. And Saturday while we ported all day, I thought about that. We worked all day and didn't do a whole lot, it felt like. We gave away about ten family proclamations, a Joy to the World DVD, 2 Books of Mormon, and got let into one house. But I thought about the fact that there are 52,000 other missionaries like me who were doing the same thing. That means there may be a good 52,000 people in the world who received a copy of the Book of Mormon, or who heard for the first time the story of Joseph Smith, or that their family can be together forever. And that thought helps me remember that I am a very little part of a very big work. And knowing that you're part of something like that is enough to keep you ridiculously happy :)
Also our branch is doing so much missionary work! All the testimonies yesterday were about missionary experiences that they've had and several of the members gave away copies of the Book of Mormon this week! They're so excited and it's so fun to be a part of! Oh also next week our branch is having a Christmas party and putting on a performance of A Christmas Carol and because they're in a crunch and yesterday almost cancelled the whole thing, Sister Williams and I are now helping to decorate the set! Haha! I'm so excited. What fun. Oh Christmas!
Clement is doing really well, this week was funny, he had asked if we could go over the plan of salvation again so we brought Sister Williams' little drawings that she has for it and made him put it in order like a little kid and then explain it to us. We told him he was just too good an investigator and we don't really know what to do with him between now and January 7th. So we just kind of have him pick topics and discuss them. He's even doing missionary work! He's the best. Go frenchmen.
Well, this is a ridiculously long email. If you made it to the end, I hope you have a great week! Haha. Full of Christmas cheer!
I LOVE YOU too too much.
Happy December!
Soeur Larsen
I wish I was there for your birthday
So I could party too!
I hope you have the best birthday ever! Are you and dad going to party hearty? You should. Know that I LOVE YOU and that you're the best mom in the whole world! So therefore you deserve some serious celebrations. Obviously I knew you were a good mom before I had to leave you behind, but I appreciate you a million times more now! I don't know how I ended up with a mom as good as you. You are wonderful and the more I study and learn about the family, and the more I see other families, the more I realize that you and dad did everything right, everything exactly the way the Lord wanted you to. And for that I will be eternally grateful :)
On that note, THANK YOU for the Christmas package! You are so on the ball! And thank everyone for the letters for me! I love them! The only problem with having gotten the package this far in advance is that Sister Williams practically has to hide the presents so that I don't open any. Oh well, Christmas will be here faster than I want it to be. I'm super excited for Christmas and for talking to you all on the phone, but I'm not excited for it to be over! Then it's just a fast downhill slope to the end! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Well, I really don't know what to say about this week. I'm really really really tired. We did a lot of porting. Saturday was funny because it was super cold and rainy, so when one super nice young couple finally let us in, I felt like a wet rat and I felt bad about coming in. But since we have the most important message since the coming of the Savior to share, I got over it.
Oh, other cool story. So Ninja Mom, aka Maria, has two young children. Which means that she is often very tired. And the youngest used to stay awake all night and sleep during the day, which means she was even more tired. And I always prayed that the baby girl would sleep through the night so Maria could rest and then we would ask Maria the next day and she would always say nope, no change. Finally one day at the end of our lesson I prayed once again for the baby to sleep through the night. I didn't feel like it was a very faithful prayer because I'd prayed for it before and nothing had happened. That night when I was thinking about it again, I prayed again, and I prayed hard. I said that I knew that suffering was part of being a mother, and that it had to be hard, and I knew that, but I asked if I could do anything by my faith, it would be to just lessen a little bit the suffering of this mother. I asked again for the baby to sleep through the night. The next time we saw Maria, she had a little light in her eyes. We asked her how she was, and she happily explained that the baby had finally, for the first time, slept through the night, without waking up even once. Since then, the baby has slept every night. I was thinking about that yesterday during sacrament meeting, and I cried. It's funny how it never ceases to amaze me that the Lord answers prayers. I feel like I'm still learning how it works, and that there's a lot I might never understand in this life about how it works, but it's fun learning little things. I feel like the fact that I recognized the need for suffering has something to do with it.
I've been thinking a lot about suffering lately, a cheerful subject, I know. But I got a letter from a missionary this week who is having a really hard time, and it made me think about how I was having such a hard time in Brussels and back then, our roles had been switched. I used to think that if I wasn't giddy and happy about being a missionary 100% of the time, I was doing something wrong. Everyone always comes back from their missions telling you to enjoy every single moment of it, because it goes by so fast, and so when I wasn't enjoying it I felt guilty. But an important part of the mission is that it is hard and sometimes not fun. I feel like I cherish the hard, lonely moments as much as I do the good ones, because I've come closer to the Savior and to understanding his suffering through those moments. I've learned to finally mourn with those that mourn, and comfort those who stand in need of comfort, and to bear other people's burdens, that they may be light. Because not too long ago, I was the one needed comfort and an extra hand. I have come to love the fact that suffering is part of this life, because as we suffer and realize that we are feeling just a bit of what the Savior suffered, our love and gratitude for him grows. I listened to a talk recently that talked about how it had to be Him, it had to be someone that meek and it had to require that much pain, not because there needed to be so much payment for so much sin, but because it had to be enough to evoke mercy and love from even the most sin-hardened soul.
Not that, obviously, I have suffered much. I live in a fairytale dreamland. There are twinkle lights all over Blois! Everywhere! All down the streets and in store windows and across the bridge! And there are little Christmas markets all over on the weekends and little bands that stand on the giant staircase downtown and play Christmas songs! Does it get any better? Sister Williams and I are in love with it! Haha. And our branch keeps making comments on how eternally happy the sister missionaries are. You know what else helps? I read the conference talk from Elder Clayton, "The Time Shall Come" about how the Church is growing and will one day fill the earth. And Saturday while we ported all day, I thought about that. We worked all day and didn't do a whole lot, it felt like. We gave away about ten family proclamations, a Joy to the World DVD, 2 Books of Mormon, and got let into one house. But I thought about the fact that there are 52,000 other missionaries like me who were doing the same thing. That means there may be a good 52,000 people in the world who received a copy of the Book of Mormon, or who heard for the first time the story of Joseph Smith, or that their family can be together forever. And that thought helps me remember that I am a very little part of a very big work. And knowing that you're part of something like that is enough to keep you ridiculously happy :)
Also our branch is doing so much missionary work! All the testimonies yesterday were about missionary experiences that they've had and several of the members gave away copies of the Book of Mormon this week! They're so excited and it's so fun to be a part of! Oh also next week our branch is having a Christmas party and putting on a performance of A Christmas Carol and because they're in a crunch and yesterday almost cancelled the whole thing, Sister Williams and I are now helping to decorate the set! Haha! I'm so excited. What fun. Oh Christmas!
Clement is doing really well, this week was funny, he had asked if we could go over the plan of salvation again so we brought Sister Williams' little drawings that she has for it and made him put it in order like a little kid and then explain it to us. We told him he was just too good an investigator and we don't really know what to do with him between now and January 7th. So we just kind of have him pick topics and discuss them. He's even doing missionary work! He's the best. Go frenchmen.
Well, this is a ridiculously long email. If you made it to the end, I hope you have a great week! Haha. Full of Christmas cheer!
I LOVE YOU too too much.
Happy December!
Soeur Larsen
No comments:
Post a Comment