Likely Joys (7/07/2014)

So this week I had a few more problems with my health. I was excited for a second because I was going strong in the health department for a whole change…I even started bragging to people about how I went a whole change without getting really sick. Supposedly I spoke too soon. I spent my birthday in bed and later in the week, after visiting the doctor, I found out that I have stomach ulcers- likely. On the plus side, that means that I have to eat healthy now. My ward is amazing and they have been changing their menus to fit my new diet. They are seriously the best. So don’t worry (ahemm, mom), my mama’s here in Poeta are taking lots of care of me. I am so blessed.

Aside from the bad news with my health, I have been holding on to the miracles of this week to get me through everything. We are seeing so many of those “heart melting moments” here with our loves. Progress is taking off and so is our focus on the Temple. Well actually, I have always kept the Temple in mind in working with our loves. Not just focusing on baptism and going to church, but doing those things so that they can their booties into the Temple- where all of the magic begins. But this week we were able to see tangible effects from this focus. We went to the temple with our ward and guess who came for the first time in four years?? Katrina Caseres- One of our inactive loves that we have been working with for the past long time.  It is so exciting to see her progress and more especially the progress of her family. Her fairytale family is starting to warm up again. They came to church all together for the second time this week. It’s all about little steps People. And hopefully next month, we’ll be able to see the whole family in the temple. At least those are the plans for now.

We also had been praying a lot these past couple week for more help from the Hermanas in our ward in going out to do visits. I even made a wish on my Birthday cake for it. Our miracle this week with this was not only having new Hermanas come out with us for their first time but also our less active Hermanas come out with us. That’s a double whammy. Like I have always said, there is no other way to do this work than with the members. They never disappoint. And it is a blessing for all those who are involved. We had many sweet experiences this week where the Hermanas thanked us for asking them to come out with us. It was an answer to their prayers too. All I can say from those experiences is that God is so Aware.

I just wanted to end this little note with my simple testimony: I know that God lives and loves us. The gospel of Jesus Christ was designed by our loving Heavenly to fit into our everday lives. It is not something to add in or separate from our daily life, it is for our everyday lives. And as we follow it our lives are filled with joy- the thing that everyone longs for in life. 

Peace and Love People! Have a lovely week.

xoxoxox, Hermana North

No One Likes A Backseat Driver (6/23/2014)

The World Cup has officially taken over the world down here in Chile. It is so crazy to me how obsessed everyone is with it (Maybe I wqould be too if we were allowed to watch it). Due to the crazy fans and Chile winning all of the time….we are not allowed to leave our house on the days that Chile has games. Aka: today. We actually only have permission to leave our house to send our loves from back home a quick note, and then back to lock down. Luckily for us, we live next door to Bishop and his wifey, Katy, knows how to paint nails. So we are going to take advantage of that and enjoy the day there.  

I came to a scary, weird, crazy realization this week- I haven’t even experienced half of my life yet. Being on the mission and doing missionary things, helping people see the light out of their life problems and all of that fun stuff, it gives one the illusion that they have experienced a lot and knows a lot about life. When really that’s not reality; I still have so much MORE to experience; MORE to face; MORE to change…and the list goes on. My life is yet beginning, even though now at the end of my mission I feel that it’s just the opposite, and that’s an equally scary and tiring thought to think about. As I had this oh so very trunky thought, fear set into my heart and I agreed with the lost kids from Peter Pan in saying that, “I don’t want to grow up!” It has been fun and all BUT if I have learned anything about growing up and gaining experience it is that it all comes though going though hard things. And maybe I’m not so down to do more hard things. Ha ha. So maybe I haven’t learned anything from all of my trials…but wait, I’ll get to my point. It’s just kind of scary to think about all of the hard experiences that I have yet to face. They always say that we have to go through hard things to be prepared for harder things down the road. But what harder things? I don’t want them! (There is still a little girl inside of me- Dad you were right in saying that I’ll always be your little girl).

But then the Lord enlightened me with a more optimistic and better perspective on this subject (Thank heavens for Him!)-THIS IS WHY WE HAVE THE GOSPEL! The reason that I have been able to help so many people with their life problems, most of which I have never experienced before, is because of the reality of Jesus Christ. He can fix and heal any problem and the medicine is the same for everyone. I came to a realization this week that the only experience we need in life is following Gods will- it’s keeping covenants with Him. As we make and keep promised with God, we are letting him drive us though an to our destination- a happily ever after. So why fear the future when Christ, our perfect and loving Savior, is driving? I thought to myself, “Don’t be a backseat driver!” We can all agree in saying that No one likes a backseat driver, and that really is what we become as we fear the future or try and consult God in telling Him what we think would be best for us (for example: Me saying that I don’t want to grow up or experience hard things). Yeah, life is hard but hard things help us move forward as we follow the Lord’s oh so simple gospel. To help me understand this better, I read a talk from General Conference where President Eyring perfectly explained it. He reminded us of the importance to keep the promises that we make with God and gives us a reason for why, when he said:

Each covenant brings with it duties and promises…those duties are sometimes simple but are often difficult. But remember, the duties must sometimes be difficult because their purpose is to move us along the path to live forever with Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, in families.

So even though I haven’t experienced a whole lot, I have just what I need. And it’s my choice to obey. As I obey, I am letting Christ drive and even though there are potholes on the path, the ride is a whole lot smoother as He drives. 

Maybe I'm the only one who thinks about things like this and maybe not. But I hope that these thoughts could help in any way. I love you guys so much! Thanks for all of the love. I dont know what I'd do without it.

xoxoxox, Hermana North