Hellooooo!
Guess what? Saturday was half way day! That means i'm HALF DONE with the MTC! Oh you
don't know how happy that makes me!! Time has been flying by so fast. I wish I could
tell you everything that has happened, but I guess i'll just get to the good stuff.
First of all, congratulations to Jonathan and Janalee! Oh I am so excited that you're
engaged! You are both such a blessing to my life. I can't wait to come back from my
mission and get to know Janalee better. I loved her the first time I met her...I know
she is going to be a wonderful addition to our family and a blessing.
This week my companions and I came up with a day called "sorpresa giorno"
(surprise day) and it has been AMAZING! Our district has been really struggling, and
another elder almost went home this week, so we decided we needed to do something to lift
everyone's spirits, and this has been a godsend. I had my sorpresa giorno and I was
given gifts of candies and a children's book of mormon in italian. I LOVE my companions!
They are helping me to grow so much, and they are such a strength in my life.
So, last week you might remember we were all putting our faith together to bring
President Thomas S. Monson to the MTC for devotional. We found out later that he
actually doesn't come for devotional, but our faith WAS rewarded! Elder L. Tom Perry
came and spoke to us! He is so adorable. He gave a wonderful talk about loving your
companion and being one with them.
Last Tuesday I was also very blessed with positivity. My companion found out on Tuesday
that her Grandpa died, and I prayed to be able to help her out somehow. That day, I
think I was more positive and happy than I have ever been in my entire life. She told me
right before she went to bed that she was so grateful for it, because it helped her
through that day. Heavenly father blesses us in even the little things! I was reading
in 1 Nephi 19:7 this week for personal study, and this scripture just really struck me.
I've begun to understand the love our Heavenly Father has for us, and how much he wants
us to be happy, because he was our father that raised us each individually in heaven
before we came to earth. And this scripture says that when he don't listen to him, we're
essentially trampling over him with our feet. Can you imagine? It just breaks me heart
and almost makes me want to cry to think that any time I don't follow God's commandments
so I can come back to him, i'm walking all over him, and pretty much slapping him in the
face....the same heavenly father that gave me this life, and this ability to make
decisions.
I also had the spirit speak to me strongly on Sunday, during the Draper, Utah temple
dedication. They broadcasted it from the gym, and all of the missionaries were able to
attend. One of the speakers said something that really struck me...that we go to the
temple to do work for others that they aren't able to do for themselves, just as Christ
did for us an amazing thing that we never could do for ourselves. It just makes me
realize the importance of temple work and helping out others who can't help themselves.
That is also essentially what missionary work is to me...giving back to Christ the little
that I can give. We can all give back through consecrating our time to temple work.
Isn't that a wonderful thought? I have the opportunity to go to the temple this
afternoon. I'm so excited!
The other thing that really struck me was when Elder Nelson was talking, he referred to
the scripture in D&C 2:3, that says something along the lines of the world being utterly
wasted. I've heard that scripture many times before, but I didn't realize the incredible
relation it has to temple work! Without the temple, there would be no point to our
existence on this planet. If we weren't able to be sealed together, and baptize the dead
to fulfill the plan to go back and be with our God in the celestial kingdom, then the
entire earth would have been a "waste" of time. It's so true. I have such a
strong testimony of temple work! I know that with it, we will be able to understand God
better, who we are, and only through it will we be able to inherit the celestial kingdom.
I just feel like I need to say, if any of you are struggling with finding happiness in
this life, then just ask God. He will give you any answer that you would ever want! He
is wonderful and I love him. I feel like he knows me better than anyone in this entire
world. That's why we're here. To be with him again. Imagine going up to heaven, seeing
your father in heaven face-to-face, feeling that incredible joy and love that he has for
you, and then being ripped away again because you weren't willing to do what he asked.
It just breaks my heart in every single way to even imagine that. I know it's not easy
to have that eternal perspective when we're bombarded with the world around us and what
is happening, but I know it's possible.
I love you all. Your heavenly father loves you. Christ loves you. Why else would he
have done what he did? I hope you know I think about you often. Your letters bring so
much joy into my life.
Il vangelo di Gesu Cristo e vero. Io so che Joseph Smith era un profeta, and il profeta
per questo dispensazione. Dio chi ama. Io sono grata per l'opportunita servire un
missione. Io sono grata per tutti voi.
With all the love I have in my heart,
Sorella Jenessa Miles
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