#OneDownOneLeft (2 till the ring :))
Date
April 18, 2016
Area
Flower Mound 3rd Ward
Companion
Elder Cody Griffin
#OneDownOneLeft (2 till the ring :))
Well, I am officially becoming one of the older missionaries. Not only am I older than most of the sisters now in age but I have also been out a year making me feel older than all of the other "greenies."This week and transfer is my "hump transfer/week." I have been out on my mission 368 days and I have 368 days left. So today is literally the start of the second half of my mission... I am not getting trunky, I was just curious when my actual "hump" was. So yeah haha!!
We had interviews with President Ames lsat Tuesday. It was our last interview with him :( In two transfers we will have a new mission president - President Darrell G. Whitney. Don't know a whole lot about him other than he is from St. George, UT. This is going to be a little different haha.
This last week it rained a fair amount and it is supposed to rain 100% almost everyday for the next four - five days (YAY.....😂🎉). It doesn't help that we live like .5 miles outside of our area. We are drenched before we even get to the corner haha but oh well, that's mission life for ya!
On Friday I took a little bit of time to go through my journal and read random entries throughout the past year. I had a lot of ups and down this last year. As I contemplated for a moment what I might have learned, I realized that even though I knew a lot about the gospel, I didn't know where it was in the scriptures until my mission. There were a lot of doctrines that I did not know even existed. I started learning doctrine that was new to me in the MTC. I also did not not realize the gravity of the gospel until my mission. Did I know it was important? Yes. Did I know how important? Not at all. I have learned that the gospel is a way of life and not just something that we do but it defines who we are. It's not just a nice source of comfort when we are feeling down, it is the only way that we can have lasting peace here in this life and I will never forget that. I also learned that we shouldn't be afraid of repenting. It brings so much relief, joy and peace.
Saturday, we teamed up with Flower Mound 5th ward elders and tried a finding activity on the boarder of our areas. We woke up at the normal time, worked out, then rode 5 miles with a 20 mph headwind down to the boarder. We drew out something that one of the other elders called "A Testimony" in chalk on a greenbelt trail around a pond (pictures included/coming later). It was basically the principles of teh Great Apostasy and the Restoration. It looked cool and as we were leaving we noticed some people stopping and looking at it! The rest of the day we were really tired which was honestly nice. I miss being really physically drained. Normally that would be weird but I miss feeling completely noodly (Not sure if that is a word but I am going with it..). I had made it a goal to completely wear myself out by the end of the day everyday but sometimes that just doesn't happen.
At the end of the day, I burned my shirt. That was a pretty fun thing haha! I have prbably played too much with fire on my mission but hey, no one has been (seriously) burned and nothing has caught on fire (unintentionally). So we're good right?! I have attached a pic/video or will send some soon.
Then Sunday. We had what I have deemed an awkward half hour where we can't really do anything except plan or study because we live outside of our area I decided that I would use the little extra time to reflect on the last week and try my best to prepare to take the sacrament. As I reflected on the past week I was able to remember things that I normally would not and I was able to see past the things that I normally think about. Into my thoughts that weren't aligned with God and other specific instances rather than generic feelings  or attitudes.Â
I think I want to share with you guys something that I have thought about off and on for the past few weeks. I want to talk about grace. Grace, as the bible dictionary defines it is "divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ." Grace is what Jesus Christ is able to extend because of His Atonement. Grace has four aspects or powers to it: the resurrection, the redemption, the healing, and the strengthening or enabling power. More specifically, I would like to talk about the enabling power of the atonement. When we go through trials that seem unbearable, not the ones that are slightly uncomfortable like what has been coined "first world problems," but the ones that truly try our faith such as unrighteous actions of a role model. Possibly the death, severe sickness or injury of those we hold most dear. If we look t what is going on around the world with natural disasters, diseases and wars. There are thousands of refugees that are experiencing hardship that few of us is any have ever or will ever experience. That kind of a burden is one that the Savior alone can help them endure. In Mosiah 24, we see that when God gives helps us through a trial, most of the time he does not immediately relieve us of our burdens although that does happen. He strengthens us so that our burdens become light.Â
"And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord."
I have felt the enabling power of His grace. He knows us and He wants to help. We just need to humble ourselves and plead to him for help the. We need to get up off our knees, round our shoulders and get to work. When we do, the Lord will help us.
Keep the Faith and Hurrah for Israel!Â
Love, Elder JefferiesÂ
We had interviews with President Ames lsat Tuesday. It was our last interview with him :( In two transfers we will have a new mission president - President Darrell G. Whitney. Don't know a whole lot about him other than he is from St. George, UT. This is going to be a little different haha.
This last week it rained a fair amount and it is supposed to rain 100% almost everyday for the next four - five days (YAY.....😂🎉). It doesn't help that we live like .5 miles outside of our area. We are drenched before we even get to the corner haha but oh well, that's mission life for ya!
On Friday I took a little bit of time to go through my journal and read random entries throughout the past year. I had a lot of ups and down this last year. As I contemplated for a moment what I might have learned, I realized that even though I knew a lot about the gospel, I didn't know where it was in the scriptures until my mission. There were a lot of doctrines that I did not know even existed. I started learning doctrine that was new to me in the MTC. I also did not not realize the gravity of the gospel until my mission. Did I know it was important? Yes. Did I know how important? Not at all. I have learned that the gospel is a way of life and not just something that we do but it defines who we are. It's not just a nice source of comfort when we are feeling down, it is the only way that we can have lasting peace here in this life and I will never forget that. I also learned that we shouldn't be afraid of repenting. It brings so much relief, joy and peace.
Saturday, we teamed up with Flower Mound 5th ward elders and tried a finding activity on the boarder of our areas. We woke up at the normal time, worked out, then rode 5 miles with a 20 mph headwind down to the boarder. We drew out something that one of the other elders called "A Testimony" in chalk on a greenbelt trail around a pond (pictures included/coming later). It was basically the principles of teh Great Apostasy and the Restoration. It looked cool and as we were leaving we noticed some people stopping and looking at it! The rest of the day we were really tired which was honestly nice. I miss being really physically drained. Normally that would be weird but I miss feeling completely noodly (Not sure if that is a word but I am going with it..). I had made it a goal to completely wear myself out by the end of the day everyday but sometimes that just doesn't happen.
At the end of the day, I burned my shirt. That was a pretty fun thing haha! I have prbably played too much with fire on my mission but hey, no one has been (seriously) burned and nothing has caught on fire (unintentionally). So we're good right?! I have attached a pic/video or will send some soon.
Then Sunday. We had what I have deemed an awkward half hour where we can't really do anything except plan or study because we live outside of our area I decided that I would use the little extra time to reflect on the last week and try my best to prepare to take the sacrament. As I reflected on the past week I was able to remember things that I normally would not and I was able to see past the things that I normally think about. Into my thoughts that weren't aligned with God and other specific instances rather than generic feelings  or attitudes.Â
I think I want to share with you guys something that I have thought about off and on for the past few weeks. I want to talk about grace. Grace, as the bible dictionary defines it is "divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ." Grace is what Jesus Christ is able to extend because of His Atonement. Grace has four aspects or powers to it: the resurrection, the redemption, the healing, and the strengthening or enabling power. More specifically, I would like to talk about the enabling power of the atonement. When we go through trials that seem unbearable, not the ones that are slightly uncomfortable like what has been coined "first world problems," but the ones that truly try our faith such as unrighteous actions of a role model. Possibly the death, severe sickness or injury of those we hold most dear. If we look t what is going on around the world with natural disasters, diseases and wars. There are thousands of refugees that are experiencing hardship that few of us is any have ever or will ever experience. That kind of a burden is one that the Savior alone can help them endure. In Mosiah 24, we see that when God gives helps us through a trial, most of the time he does not immediately relieve us of our burdens although that does happen. He strengthens us so that our burdens become light.Â
"And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord."
I have felt the enabling power of His grace. He knows us and He wants to help. We just need to humble ourselves and plead to him for help the. We need to get up off our knees, round our shoulders and get to work. When we do, the Lord will help us.
Keep the Faith and Hurrah for Israel!Â
Love, Elder JefferiesÂ
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