HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Never in my life have i been so excited for break to end and school to start! haha

A break for YSA missionaries equals, a ghost town. But we managed to make do, the Lord always found something to fill our day. It actually gave us some time to meet one on one with each of our five bishops. Tell them our goals and vision for us as their missionaries, and to see what their vision for their ward is for this new year.

This past fast sunday the whole stake fasted for missionary work! 

We called all of our ward missionaries and asked them to, if they felt prompted, to bare their testimonies on missionary work in the ward they attend. It was so cool getting texts and calls back from all of them saying things like "thank you for challenging me to do this.."
 "I would love to bare my testimony!". 

Aiasau and I decided that we wanted to make it to all of the 5 sacraments so we could bare our testimony's as well. 4 of our wards start at the same time so we were haulin booty to make it to all of them. We'd walk in, straight up to the pulpit, lay it down, then run straight out to the car.

Nothing like running to share our testimony on a Sabbath day, lemme tell ya!

On top of the fast for this month, they are having a member fast on every day for the next 40 days. All for missionary work! We are going to be seeing some miracles take place that is for sure.

Wards are really kicking it into gear, one of our wards is even having a speaker give a talk based off of the power of everyday missionaries once a month..now the goal will be to continue with this fire far after everyone's new years resolutions fizzle out lol 

Since all of the people we have been teaching are out of town for break we decided to make a few phone calls. We had three lessons over the phone! Some other elders in our stake even did a lesson over facetime, the blessings of technology! 

Well, not to much else is going on with me..just serving Him all day every day! 

So I just read over my letter and its pretty uhh....not good!  So i'll end with the words of Elder Holland, this is one of my favorites!

The Best Is Yet to Be

"You can remember just enough to avoid repeating the mistake, but then put the rest of it all on the dung heap Paul spoke of to the Philippians. Dismiss the destructive, and keep dismissing it until the beauty of the Atonement of Christ has revealed to you your bright future and the bright future of your family, your friends, and your neighbors. God doesn’t care nearly as much about where you have been as He does about where you are and, with His help, where you are willing to go. That is the thing Lot’s wife didn’t get, and neither did Laman and Lemuel and a host of others in the scriptures.

This is an important matter to consider at the start of a new year, and every day ought to be the start of a new year and a new life. Such is the wonder of faith, repentance, and the miracle of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The poet Robert Browning wrote:

Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made:

Our times are in his hand

Who saith, “A whole I planned,

Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!” 

Some of you may wonder: Is there is any future for me? What does a new year or a new semester, a new major or a new romance, a new job or a new home hold for me? Will I be safe? Will life be sound? Can I trust in the Lord and in the future? Or would it be better to look back, to go back, to stay in the past?  To all such of every generation, I call out, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the “high priest of good things to come” (Hebrews 9:11).

Keep your eyes on your dreams, however distant and far away. Live to see the miracles of repentance and forgiveness, of trust and divine love that will transform your life today,tomorrow, and forever. That is a New Year’s resolution I ask you to keep."

My favorite part in this talk is when Elder Holland say's,  "every day ought to be the start of a new year and a new life." We don't need to wait for January 1st. The time is now!  We can BECOME who He wants us to be.  I know this to be true through the changing power of the atonement. A new year is great, but there's no time like the present. I love you all so much! I hope ya'll have a great day..dont stop smiling.

Much loves,

Sister Efnor

December 29th 2014

On our way out for the day, we go to get in the car. Its covered in snow. We dont have a scraper so...Sister Aiasau grabs an empty plastic water bottle, I grab and empty grocery bag and we start scraping. Can you tell we arent from here?! LOL

Just this past Sunday Sister Aiasau and I were asked to speak in one of the wards that we cover, and were given the topic of how we can have joy in today.  I  found a talk titled "We are the Architects of Our Happiness".  In it Bishop Gerald Causse talks about different principles in which we can gain happiness despite our circumstances. The first is to Recognize Your Personal Worth , and the second is to Become Who You Are. 

Brigham Young said: “The greatest lesson you can learn is to know yourselves. … You have to come here to learn this. … No being can thoroughly know himself, without understanding more or less of the things of God; neither can any being learn and understand the things of God without knowing himself: he must know himself, or he never can know God.” ...and what better way to draw an allegory from then a Disney movie?! Causse relates this principle of Becoming Who You Are to the Lion King! I approve....

"You probably remember the scene where Simba receives a visit from his father, Mufasa, the deceased king. After his father died, Simba fled far from the kingdom because he felt guilty about his father’s death. He wanted to escape his responsibility as heir to the throne. His father appears to him and warns him: “You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the circle of life.” Then this invitation is repeated several times: “Remember who you are. … Remember who you are.”

Simba, completely shaken by this experience, decides to accept his destiny. He confides in his friend, the shaman monkey, that it “looks like the winds are changing.”

The monkey replies, “Change is good.”

And Simba says: “But it’s not easy. I know what I have to do. But going back means I’ll have to face my past. I’ve been running from it for so long.”

“Where are you going?” the monkey asks him.

“I’m going back!” cries Simba.⁸

We can all take, or take back, our place in the circle of life. Become who you really are. Your happiness and ability to find balance in your life will occur as you find, recognize, and accept your true identity as a child of our Heavenly Father and then live in accordance with this knowledge."

I LOVE this principle of becoming who you are. Christmas Day I was able to skype my family back in the warm...dry...state of Arizona. When our conversation was coming to a close my dad said "...I know its hard being away from family but 6 months isnt that long..". This kind of struck a cord of fear in me! When given the assignment to speak I pondered deeper about if I am fully taking advantage of "becoming who I am" in these 18 months, and all that He knows I can be. 

My companion and I have been out for just about the same amount of time, and with the time we have left we want to make the best of it. Setting goals, making changes, trying to more fully consecrate our actions, thoughts, etc to the Lord and His work.  Just recently I asked for a blessing, there was a lot said...all exactly what I needed, but when I heard  "..there will be a direct correlation between the work you do now and the blessings you receive after your mission.." and basically the person I will continue to be after I am released.  It made me reevaluate if I am really becoming, if I am reaching my potential as a missionary/servant of the Lord.

Happiness that comes from sharing the gospel really cant be explained, or at least, I just have a hard time putting it into words, but its been the most fulfilling.  I plan on making the months that I do have, just as fulfilling if not more. Ive experienced that its when I trust in His promises, and go where He wants me to go, I become a little more of who He knows I can be. 

"He will lead you where you cannot lead yourself. He will make you into what you cannot make of yourself." I testify of this, in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Happy New year, make it a good one. Sister Efnor