Monday, October 14, 2013

Count your blessings...(not hard)

Count your Blessings... ( not hard!)




10/14/2013
HELLO MY DARLING FAMILY!!!! I just wanted to scream that out here in the library, I have the best family ever! oh I love you all so much:)
I have seen more miracles in these months of my mission than are normal in a lifetime I'm pretty sure. THis week has been the best week of my mission so far:) I have learned so much and struggled alot, but I have grown in a testimony of the need of humility, the importance of the Holy Ghost, and most importantly, the all-encompassing and loving power of the atonement.
It started out as a pretty tough week for me. I dont' know why but I struggled. I prayed and prayed for help and pretty much just felt helpless. As I strived to work and do my best, I saw a small change, but it was when I realized the need for REAL faith and real humility that I saw the miracles begin.
The scripture that has hit me this week is this " seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you" along with " I stand at the door and knock". The Lord really is mighty to save. He is patient and loving and once again I am touched and grateful for the knowlede that Uncle Shawn gave me one day. " Christ bought the whole bike. He and He only can save us and help us get on the right path. We don't pay for part of the bike. Our work is to show our gratititude and become closer to Him". Please let him know how grateful I am for He and Aunt Erika and their love and advice for me! I am so blessed!
We started out the week in Kraków... again:) I don't know why I ever said goodbye! It is always a beautiful experience. We learned alot about being those clean vessels of the Lord. What a responibility, what a blessing! Then we continued on with our week. We met a new investigator, her name is Virginia and she's Bulgarian! She came to English by complete miracle. ( we had given her mother an ulotka at her bazaar and she found it right at 17:00 and told her that she shoudl come) Elder Lanham( exchanges) met her and was talking to her during english and ended up asking her if she'd like to meet with us. She came in and started off with sharing a beautiful experience she had had with prayer and with the HolyGhost. She is so amazing! We had another lesson with her and watched the REstoration movie in Bulgarian. I felt the Spirit and I KnOW that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he was humble enough to be called to restore the work. I know that because of the Book of Mormon, and even though I didnt' understand the movie, I felt the Spirit. Appartently she did too because she accepted a date!!! She will be baptized on November 9 and She is truly praying and trying to decide if this is from God. But she said that she knows that Joseph Smith saw a vision. Oh how prepared people are!
Sorry my e-mails are so long, but my heart is always so full:)
We also had a super crazy experience with Karina. She is such a woman!!! She has dealt with so much and this week had to deal with more. Her husband is a good man, but he has a problem as a alcoholic. ( I absolutely detest alcohol the word of wisdom is FOR SURE from God) Basically she and her kids had nothing to eat for three days when she came to our meeting she said she couldnt' stay because she had to get food cards for teh kids. WE immediately got to work helping her and said we could drop off food for her that night! I LOVE how the church works that way. We got with the Elders and made a big dinner( spaghetti and french bread and salad:) and brought it over. They weren't home and as it turned out her husband got home that day and brought them money. So we were stuck with this HUGE thing of spaghetti... needless to say we ate itfor like three days:) But I was grateful for the chance to serve.
I love love love love love my mission:)I'm so grateful for the experiences I am having and I hope they will make me into a worthy servant for the rest of my life. I hope that we all have a week filled with gratitude. I am so grateful for what I have been given. I have no idea why I'm so blessed but I do know one thing. Where much is given, much is required. So I'd better get to work!
I ate Galereta. So basically when you cut all of the gross parts of a chicken off to throw in the trash... they don't throw it away. They mix the gross ( chewy fatty and bloody) parts of the chicken and then they mix is with oil and carrots and then they put it in Jello.... It was my meal after fasting... it was interesting. But I really am so grateful for the love of the sweet poor people who served it to us.
I love the Lord and I know His atoment is real and all encompassing. There is nothing we can't do with Him, and nothing we can do without Him.
I lvoe you all and pray for you nightly!
Love, Siostra Hemming

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