How Great Shall Be Your JOY!

PB Life

Hey Everyone!

Well, another transfer has come & gone and time is just moving TOO FAST. But luckily I get to stay in Pacific Beach for another transfer with my awesome companion Hermana Cazares! I don't think I will EVER get tired of looking at the weather forecast for the week & seeing "Tuesday: 73. Wednesday: 74. Thursday: 74. Friday: 71. Saturday 74" Looks like its going to be a little chilly on Friday! ;) hahaha I LOVE IT HERE

This week was SUPER good. It was filled with lots of miracles, exchanges, and BAPTISMS. On Saturday I got permission to head back down to Chula and attend the baptism of Erin!! It was absolutely AMAZING and the Spirit was so strong. It has been so cool to see how much she has grown these past few months since Sis. Mims and I started teaching her. She knows who she is, she knows that God has a plan for her, and she TRUSTS in that plan despite all of the trials that have come her way. I felt so humbled just to have been a part of her story! This Gospel is just going to bless her life in so many more ways!

Reunion @ Erin's Baptism!

During her baptismal service, Sister Simmons gave a talk about Baptism and the Holy Ghost and there was something that she said that has really stuck out to me. She said, "Erin, things WON'T get easier from here. But they WILL be more bearable since you will be yoked with your Savior". Entering into a covenant with Heavenly Father doesn't mean all the hardships will be taken out of our lives. It just means that we will have even more STRENGTH to overcome every mountain in our path that leads towards Eternal Life. And I KNOW that to be true with every fiber of my being! 2 years ago this week I learned that through experience and I know without a doubt that the Heaven's are opened and that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us SO much today. They just want to support and strengthen us in everything that we do, WE just have to be the ones that turn to them.

Erin's Baptism!

This past week I truly learned that I can lean on my Savior for ANYTHING that I am going through! To help support our investigator who is overcoming his smoking addiction, for a WEEK we decided that we would go off of SUGAR so that we could get a better understanding of how difficult it is for him. & i'm not just talking about giving up treats. If it had sugar listed in the ingredients, we could NOT eat it. But us not being the brightest crayons in the crayola box decided that if it had ANY grams of sugar in the ingredients, we wouldn't eat it!

What 14 months of missionary life does to you on P-Days

WOOF.

Talk about the longest week of my life! I never realized how much sugar there is in EVERYTHING. We were a little extreme and didn't realize that natural sugars are included in the total amount of grams, but don't worry, we still ate a LOT of fruit and veggies that week! It was sooo much harder than I thought it would be, but SUCH a good lesson for me. I learned about how important it is to truly take care of the bodies that we have been so blessed with to have on this Earth. That Jesus Christ even experienced what it was like to go COMPLETELY off sugar and knew how to support me when my tummy was rumbling with hunger. Thankfully, we decided to only do it for a week (instead of the whole MONTH before his baptism) and now I can have sugar again :) But I'm still eating healthy and eating lots of fruits and veggies so no need to worry.

This week is the LAST week for our Mission President and his wife. Our new Mission President & his wife, President & Sister Schmitt, are arriving in San Diego this WEEK. Its such a bitter sweet moment, but I know that there are going to be SO many miracles that happen during this transition & I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for us!

So this past weekend was the last time I was able to see the Claytons @ Stake Conference. In his talk, President Clayton quoted 2 Nephi 2:25 and said that since our purpose in this life is to have JOY, then what is the thing that brings us the most joy in this life? Then he quoted D&C 18:15 that talks about if we will only bring ONE soul back to Him how GREAT shall be our JOY. So, in a round about way, MISSIONARY WORK IS THE PURPOSE OF OUR LIVES AND GIVES US THE MOST JOY EVA! :) But its true! I can testify that being on my mission has been the HAPPIEST and most JOYFUL time of my life! If you want to experience some of that joy, then open your mouth & share the Gospel with your friends and neighbors! If you want to have some of that joy & don't know anything about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, then talk to my parents and ask them to invite their friends with the name tags over to have dinner with you. :)

xoxo Sister Morgan