Identity Crisis and Mark 9:24
Hello hello! Greetings from good ol' VA! It's just nothing but green over here! Seriously it is gorgeous and whenever we drive anywhere (which is every day), I am continually shocked to see how green everything is. And the weather is pretty darn amazing too! We had two good little rain sessions that were fun to go and walk in. The only downside is after rain the humidity is absolutely raging! But overall I love the weather here.
Now let's talk about some highlights for the week:
I read a talk by Jeffrey R. Holland titled "Lord, I Believe," given in April 2013. The whole talk is based off of this scripture. I'd like to go through some things that stood out to me while I was reading this talk. You'll notice that the father starts off by saying that he does believe; he doesn't lead with his doubts. Elder Holland says, "Hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes." He later says, "The size of your faith or the degree of your knowledge is not the issue—it is the integrity you demonstrate toward the faith you do have and the truth you already know." I loved these two parts. It was just what I needed to hear. Like the father of the boy, we need to start with our faith... the things we know, the beliefs we are grounded in. And even if that's small, even just the size of a mustard seed, Elder Holland tells us that's not the important issue. What matters is what that little means to us - what we do with it. I love that thought because there are times where I simply don't understand the "why" behind something. And sadly, I succumb and turn to doubting.
This week, Elder Hofhiens and I were about to leave to go knock some doors. We had a mixup and a slight delay so before returning to the doors, we decided to inquire of the Lord if he wanted us to return to Neighborhood A or if he had us come back for a reason so we could maybe switch. So we asked if we should be going to Neighborhood B instead. With all the faith we could muster, we prayed and asked which location he would like us in. Immediately after the prayer, Elder Hofhiens and I both looked up at each other and, almost simultaneously, said Neighborhood A. I truly had felt this was the Neighborhood God needed us to be in. And guess what happened once we started knocking doors?! We got smoked! We only had one person open the door and they got mad at us for interrupting their evening. Everyone else either wasn't home or it was painfully obvious they were home because we could hear them tell each other to not answer the door.
As we drove home that night feeling slightly defeated, I said a little prayer in my heart asking, "Why would you have had us think that Neighborhood A was the right choice, when you knew it would only make us hurt?" After contemplating, I had some scriptures come into my head. The first was is one of my very favorites: 1 Nephi 11:17. Nephi has just been asked a pretty tough question about God by an Angel and this is his response: "I know that He loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." As I thought of this scripture, I was humbled and realized that I can relate to Nephi - I really don't know all things, but I know God loves me. Maybe in Neighborhood B I would have been hurt or chewed out bad. Maybe in Neighborhood A, we knocked on someone's door who needed to wake up for something big. I have no idea because my eyes can only see so much. So like the father of the boy, I try to start with my faith and go from there.
There are things in this life we aren't going to understand right away - or maybe not even in this life! Like being born into a family with a crappy parent who didn't treat you well; or having mental health issues that alter your emotions and even movement; or preparing to fulfill your dream of serving the Lord only to then have your plans changed with unexpected events and extremely burdening challenges; or although you are continually trying, maybe you feel as if the adversary is pushing back with more force than you can muster. The list could go on and on of burdens and trials many of us go through. I don't know why these things happen and I'm not going to act like I do. But I do know few things. I know God loves us. I know that he loves us enough to have sent his Only Begotten Son down to earth to experience every individual pain we all feel. All of those examples and all the other things you struggle with, he went through. Because like it says in 2 Nephi 26:24: "He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him." Christ gave his life for us because he loves us. I'd encourage all who are struggling with something like this to go watch the video, "The Will of God." It is my favorite video and has helped me get through so much!
I'm grateful for friends and family I can lean on when I feel shaken during my personal storms. I'm grateful for my very best friend being a constant example of what having faith in the Lord looks like; she never ceases to amaze me and I am unbelievably grateful for her! I am grateful for an amazing companion who helps comfort me when I need someone to talk to and I'm really grateful I enjoy him because we are together always haha!
I love you all and, more importantly, I know God loves you all! Hang on to what you do know and stick to your beliefs - the Lord will make up the difference as you try! God loves his children; of this I testify! God is GOOD!
Now let's talk about some highlights for the week:
- Zone Conference was this week and it rocked my socks off! My Mission President should be a motivational speaker! The spirit was so strong and it was awesome. The Mission Mental Health Specialist came and talked about perfectionism and it was a great message too!
- I got my Chinese name this week! It's 司长老 (Sī Zhănglăo). Sī is my new last name here, it means to take charge of, control, manage, or officer. But more importantly it has an S, so that's why it was picked haha. So that's fun to have a name lol!
- We had a Branch game night party and that was super fun! We had a good turn out and got a lot of our Friends there. We also had some Chinese ice cream which tasted bomb! The Branch here is amazing! They are some of the nicest people in the world. I can't wait to understand what they're saying haha :)
- This week I gave a talk in Sacrament meeting. It was some pretty broken Chinese but one lady told me she understood so that was happy haha!
I read a talk by Jeffrey R. Holland titled "Lord, I Believe," given in April 2013. The whole talk is based off of this scripture. I'd like to go through some things that stood out to me while I was reading this talk. You'll notice that the father starts off by saying that he does believe; he doesn't lead with his doubts. Elder Holland says, "Hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes." He later says, "The size of your faith or the degree of your knowledge is not the issue—it is the integrity you demonstrate toward the faith you do have and the truth you already know." I loved these two parts. It was just what I needed to hear. Like the father of the boy, we need to start with our faith... the things we know, the beliefs we are grounded in. And even if that's small, even just the size of a mustard seed, Elder Holland tells us that's not the important issue. What matters is what that little means to us - what we do with it. I love that thought because there are times where I simply don't understand the "why" behind something. And sadly, I succumb and turn to doubting.
This week, Elder Hofhiens and I were about to leave to go knock some doors. We had a mixup and a slight delay so before returning to the doors, we decided to inquire of the Lord if he wanted us to return to Neighborhood A or if he had us come back for a reason so we could maybe switch. So we asked if we should be going to Neighborhood B instead. With all the faith we could muster, we prayed and asked which location he would like us in. Immediately after the prayer, Elder Hofhiens and I both looked up at each other and, almost simultaneously, said Neighborhood A. I truly had felt this was the Neighborhood God needed us to be in. And guess what happened once we started knocking doors?! We got smoked! We only had one person open the door and they got mad at us for interrupting their evening. Everyone else either wasn't home or it was painfully obvious they were home because we could hear them tell each other to not answer the door.
As we drove home that night feeling slightly defeated, I said a little prayer in my heart asking, "Why would you have had us think that Neighborhood A was the right choice, when you knew it would only make us hurt?" After contemplating, I had some scriptures come into my head. The first was is one of my very favorites: 1 Nephi 11:17. Nephi has just been asked a pretty tough question about God by an Angel and this is his response: "I know that He loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." As I thought of this scripture, I was humbled and realized that I can relate to Nephi - I really don't know all things, but I know God loves me. Maybe in Neighborhood B I would have been hurt or chewed out bad. Maybe in Neighborhood A, we knocked on someone's door who needed to wake up for something big. I have no idea because my eyes can only see so much. So like the father of the boy, I try to start with my faith and go from there.
There are things in this life we aren't going to understand right away - or maybe not even in this life! Like being born into a family with a crappy parent who didn't treat you well; or having mental health issues that alter your emotions and even movement; or preparing to fulfill your dream of serving the Lord only to then have your plans changed with unexpected events and extremely burdening challenges; or although you are continually trying, maybe you feel as if the adversary is pushing back with more force than you can muster. The list could go on and on of burdens and trials many of us go through. I don't know why these things happen and I'm not going to act like I do. But I do know few things. I know God loves us. I know that he loves us enough to have sent his Only Begotten Son down to earth to experience every individual pain we all feel. All of those examples and all the other things you struggle with, he went through. Because like it says in 2 Nephi 26:24: "He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him." Christ gave his life for us because he loves us. I'd encourage all who are struggling with something like this to go watch the video, "The Will of God." It is my favorite video and has helped me get through so much!
I'm grateful for friends and family I can lean on when I feel shaken during my personal storms. I'm grateful for my very best friend being a constant example of what having faith in the Lord looks like; she never ceases to amaze me and I am unbelievably grateful for her! I am grateful for an amazing companion who helps comfort me when I need someone to talk to and I'm really grateful I enjoy him because we are together always haha!
I love you all and, more importantly, I know God loves you all! Hang on to what you do know and stick to your beliefs - the Lord will make up the difference as you try! God loves his children; of this I testify! God is GOOD!
再见，
司长老
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| The sunsets are crazy here! |
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| VA fun fact: foxes and deer are everywhere! |
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| The only DC street we saw on our accidental detour... (see video above) |
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