First of all, Happy Birthday to Mark Beck and Elder Gill. I love you guys and thought of you this week. Sorry I could not email you the day of!
I am only able to write you because I am going to be leaving for Ft Lauderdale at 2:30 AM tomorrow morning. SOOO just a few hours - I am over the moon excited!! I've learned so much and have had the Lord truly humble me. I love my mission!!
Guys, I just need for you to know the importance of the temple... I remember an experience I had while at BYU and I walked to the temple to do baptisms. As I walking, I was thinking about everything else that I had to do, wondering if I should really go. I walked onto the temple grounds and this beautiful, little, older lady started beckoning to me and speaking in Spanish. I tried to understand what she was saying, didn't speak Spanish...YET!! Entonces, I finally understood that she wanted for me to take a picture of her in front of the temple with her Ipad. As I situated the camera, I didn't pay attention to her pose. I looked up expecting a customary smile and cute stance; instead I saw this beautiful Mexican woman standing with her hands held above her head as if in victory with tears streaming down her face she smiled and almost seemed to shout to her God "I MADE IT!!" For those who watched the women's general conference, you will recall Linda K Burton's talk. In her address she quoted Russell M Nelson, saying, "As temples are prepared for the people, the people need to prepare for the temple." Each of us must find out what that means for us individually, but for me....I want to be that woman. I want to stand triumphant in front of the temple each time I go and exclaim, "I MADE IT!!" I want to cherish what truly matters.
We also attended an all day meeting of in-field orientation, which included a workshop about goals. I volunteered for a certain lesson and was given three balloons. The instructor told me that we were going to reenact the opening of my mission call. All the other missionaries were my family and friends and he would be my grandfather. He sat in a chair and I read aloud "my call". Afterwards he pretended he was hard of hearing so I had to lean in to explain where I was going (He was Mexican and quite a bit shorter than I ....maybe to my shoulder?) He understood and said I would have a wonderful experience but that I just wouldn't baptize anyone. I just kind of looked at him when all of a sudden he leaped up like a little leprechaun and started popping my balloons!!! He got two of them but I reacted quickly enough to save the third. I held it above his head and away just watching him as he swatted at it. After a while he gave up because he knew there was no way he would jump THAT high. It was hilarious because the whole class watched this and just laughed. I eventually brought it down a lottle (yes a lottle) and let him pop it. Grandpa , thank you for never popping my balloons and for always encouraging me to be my best... You are one reason why I am on a mission! But the moral of the lesson was to not let anyone pop your expectations. "When you lower your expectations, you lower your effectiveness" Don't let anyone tell you who you are, don't let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do. You hold that balloon so high they can't even see it!!
I have a pretty great spiritual experience for you guys. I was struggling with what kind of missionary I was - I didn't know what I was doing just plugging along because I hadn't felt that I had overcome anything or changed any part of myself or that I hadn't pushed myself. I felt empty as a missionary and kind of useless. I prayed to my Heavenly Father just asking who He wanted for me to be - He directed for me to be here, so what kind of missionary did He want or rather NEED for me to be? I got all of my answers!! I will be a JOYFUL missionary!! I will let go of fear and doubt; I will turn OUTWARD instead of INWARD. "When fear replaces doubt, when selfless service eliminates selfish striving, the power of God brings to pass His purposes" -Thomas S Monson.
FLORIDA; BRING IT ON!!!!
Love you all, You get your next email from PARADISE!
Hna Lake
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