Do You Love God???

Note from Sis. Skaggs mom - I'm sorry I'm so behind on her blog posts! It's going to be rough keeping up with it this summer but have no fear - I WILL get all of her e-mails posted before the end of summer. Also, sometimes she sends home pictures but doesn't label them. I am just posting the pictures without any captions if she hasn't labeled them. She has asked that I post all the pictures as she sends them home so she can have them as a memory when she returns.
Happy reading!!!

P.S.  You will LOVE this week's blog post!!!

From 5/21/15


To All I Love,

Just another day in the life....

Okay, so before I forget, transfers are next week so I don't know when my new P-day will be. I may not be emailing for up to two weeks. I will find out on Monday my new P-Day so yah. I'm a little nervous for next transfer. The mission is soo young and there are so many things president is trying to figure out right now in regards to Trainers, District Leaders, Zone Leaders, etc. It's a little nerve wracking. If I have a particular assignment President will start letting us know within the next couple of days. Honestly, I'm okay if I stayed as a normal missionary next transfer. But I have a slight feeling that may not be the case. But either way we still get to do the Lord's work and that's what matters most right?? Haha yes it is! :)

What has been happening this past week around here on Temple Square?? Yah A LOT!! Shall I get started?!?! :D

Craziest Day of My Mission!
 

Smile!

Yep - that's just how we roll!

Monday was just a crazy day. I don't even know where to start. Early that morning we were talking with our District Leader and we talked about how we could be even more exactly obedient with our schedule. She had mentioned that we need to be on the Square the same amount of hours that our schedule has us assigned to be on the Square for. We had called San from Liberia and his son he would be back in 30 minutes. As we looked at our schedule we recognized that 30 minutes later we would need to be on the Square. We decided that we were going to leave the teaching center and go to the square for 30 minutes and then go back and call San. Our 30 minutes of being on the Square is just about finished when we walk past the West Gate and a sister starts waving us down. I started talking with Sis. Nogueria and she mentions that their 30 English Motor coach came early and no sisters can take it but her companion is in the bathroom throwing up and so she asked if we could take it. I started mentioning to her that we had an appointment in TC and so we couldn't take it. As I was telling her no I remembered that the guests take number 1 priority over anyone in TC. Which was a little hard because we have been trying for WEEKS to get in touch with him. We went on emergency exchanges in hope that Sis. George would somehow get to talk to San and then I would take the Motor coach with Sis. Nogeuria. The Motor coach was amazing!! They were all from Europe and no one referred but that is okay. The spirit was so strong in the tour and to be honest there was a decent amount of people where you could tell they had felt the spirit. Which is fine with me. We did our part we taught by the spirit and so they, of course, have their own agency to accept or reject the message we have to share. It was a really powerful tour!
 

Listening to the Spirit - During the tour we noticed the weather really starting to change. The wind started picking up and the temperature dropped, but that isn't the end. We were quickly walking back to West Gate to drop everything off and just talking about how great the motor coach was when I noticed this older lady walking next to us hiding behind her umbrella. I stopped and just said Hi. She, however, didn't hear me and so I said Hi again. She moved her umbrella and greeted us back and continued walking. I started to just ask how she was doing and then we recognized that she is serving a senior mission here at the Family History Center. I asked how it was and she said she just loved it and then a question that changed everything popped into my head. It was interesting because it was just a simple quick thought of asking "How her mission has blessed her and her family's life?" I decided to ask her that question. She then stopped and broke down into tears. At first I was like. "Great. What in the world did I just do? I just made her cry." She then said, "I came on a mission because I thought by me serving it would bless my family but it hasn't. My family is still struggling and it's only getting worse. Today has just been such a horrible day." We continued to talk with her and Sis. Nogueria started testifying to her about the atonement and how her Savior suffered what he suffered because he knew you would experience this and he wanted to understand what you were going through so he could succor you and be by your side. We could tell she was still struggling. A talk then came to my mind about going through our own spiritual wilderness "Choose to Believe". I mentioned it to her and bore my testimony of it to her. Sis. Nogeuria mentioned to her about how we can feel of his love through prayer and scripture study. As we continued to talk with her she recognized that she hasn't been doing a good job at it. And so we invited her to go home that night and to just pour her whole heart to Heavenly Father, to share with him everything she was going through. We talked a little bit more and then we went our separate ways. We asked if we could text her the following day to see how she was doing. She mentioned that she went home that night and prayed and told heavenly father EVERYTHING she was feeling and then she went to the Temple that day. She says I know I must continue to have faith and to rely on my Savior through these hard times. I can't go through those motions of praying but I must sincerely pray. From that experience I recognized more than ever that we truly don't know what people are going through. Honestly, when I first saw her I thought her life would be amazing, but little did we know this sweet lady was having one of the hardest times. She was hitting complete breaking points. It's a testimony to me that we must listen to the spirit, to be in tuned to the whispers of the Holy Ghost. Don't allow fear to override the unknown. We don't know what will come of something if we simply listen to whispers of the Holy Ghost.
 

Seeing Karly - Before the tour I had heard that a friend of mine from home was on Temple Square. It was interesting because as I was walking back to the South Visitor Center I was telling Sis. Nogeuria that someone I knew was on the Square and I wouldn't be able to see them now because we had to exchange back. Not even 5 seconds after I made that comment I looked up and guess who walked right in front of me? Karly Osborne. It was neat to just see that simple miracle occur. Even if it wasn't super big it was just neat to see that simple miracle. We were able to talk and catch up, since she just recently returned home from her mission. We didn't talk too long because we had to exchange back.
 

The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways (He is Aware) - As we were talking to Karly I noticed the sky in the distance was getting dark and the weather was still changing. Sis. Nogeuria received a text that our companions were back in the apartment because her companion was sent home due to being sick which meant we needed to go back to the apartment about a 5 minute walk to go exchange back. As we are headed down she receives another text that she is to meet with her Zone Leaders (she is a district leader) for weekly report right now. As she is meeting with them I decide to eat my dinner and literally as I was putting my dinner together one of her zone leaders walks into the kitchen and informs me that we needed to go take a 999 Japanese tour. This isn't unusual when it comes to just dropping your food and going. It's funny though because as we get upstairs the weather had completely changed! The wind had really picked up and it had started to rain. As we were taking the people to the Temple Model the storm came right through. It literally poured for a good 20 minutes - sheets of rain were coming off the Temple. You could see it just flowing down the sidewalk. The wind was really blowing. You could see the lightening striking the hill near by. The thunder was literally over the building, it was pretty crazy. It was interesting because if none of that had occurred, her meeting with the Zone leaders, the Japanese tour etc. Sis. Nogueria and I would have been caught right in the center of it. It just made me realize that no matter what, the Lord is aware of us and while at first it was a little frustrating as everything was occurring that was stopping me from not being with my companion and from getting back onto my schedule I realized that the Lord sometimes has other plans in store. He knew what was going to happen and so he put things in our path for a reason. The Lord, whether you realize it or not, is aware of each of us. He knows us and he knows us by name. While we weren't being exactly obedient to our schedule at that time I, for sure, know just how aware he is of us. We just need to trust in the Lord and recognize that sometimes we don't know why some things occur but the Lord does. I think about how if we didn't go on that emergency exchange we wouldn't of met that lady and who knows what she would be experiencing right now? We wouldn't have seen that simple miracle. The Lord is aware of you and I!
 

An Interview w/ Elder Arnold of the 70:
 

Sis. George - my companion

About 2 weeks ago I received a phone call from the Assistants informing me they would like me to interview with Elder Arnold of the 70 yesterday. Why me? I have no idea. We are having our mission tour today and tomorrow and so he wanted to meet with several sisters and so they asked if I would meet with him.

Meeting with him was truly remarkable. I met with him with 2 other Sisters and then we had individual interviews. He asked me what it was that the Sisters needed to hear right now. I mentioned to him what I felt the mission needed to hear based off of what was happening here right now. I haven't felt the spirit so strong and so recognizable before. He made some really powerful comments as we sat there. Something that really stood out to me was how we aren't filling our tanks! Which is so true. Our spirits are being deprived. When we aren't feasting upon the scriptures every morning and truly feasting upon them we are depriving our spirits of the energy it needs in order to get through the day. Elder Arnold talked about how since he was a mission president in Costa Rica he has gone through 6 SETS of scriptures!! SIX! It's because he feasts upon the scriptures. It's like our bodies - when we don't eat in the morning we are so hungry. Don't our spirits feel the same way?? Being in his presence was truly amazing.
 

But one part that, for some reason, I KEEP GETTING asked lately is "DO YOU LOVE GOD? DO YOU TRULY LOVE GOD?" My mission president outbound said that and now a General Authority asks me that same question. But do we truly love God??? Think about that... Because if you do you will be willing to do EVERYTHING he asks of you. You will be wiling to SACRIFICE all that is holding you back from really showing God that you love him. Are we giving him our all? Do we strive to hasten the Lord's work? I think about the leaders of the church...they LOVE GOD. Why?? You see it in their actions. They serve him with everything they have. They do all that they can to hasten his work and to testify of the truthfulness of this gospel. They don't allow the world to take power and clog their minds of things that aren't necessary in the eternities. As I continued to talk with Elder Arnold he mentioned that in order for us to love God we must get to know him. That's in all things. In order for us to love, truly love someone, and do all that we can for them we must get to know them. But how can we do that with God, and with our Saviour Jesus Christ?? That comes through spending our time studying and learning about them. As we study the life of our Savior, Jesus Christ, our love for him will increase and our desire to do all that we can will magnify. I ask this question again but just a little different. WHAT AM I WILLING TO DO TO LOVE GOD??
 

My zone

After we met as a group he asked us to wait outside so he could meet with us individually. When I met with him individually it was a really powerful experience. He looked straight at me and said "What is keeping you up at night? What is really bothering you?" It was interesting getting asked that question. He proceeded to ask about you, family, and how you were doing back home and so I shared with them about you and I talked about Michael. I mentioned how its hard to have my little brother get bullied back at home, but I know the Lord is handling it and it doesn't truly worry me but it's something that is still in the back of my head. He made some comments to me and then said to tell you, Michael, that he says Hi and will be thinking of you, that you can do it.
 

I feel blessed for the 30 minutes I got to spend with Elder Arnold for the things I was able to share with him to help me recognize what I need to become to show God I love him. I'm excited for tomorrow when I will get to hear from him and his wife.
 

I have to go but know I love you all!! Sorry for the million of typos this week!! [FYI - Sis. Skaggs' mom corrected those errors before posting to her blog ;) ]
 

Love you,

Sister Skaggs

More craziness!

My crazy zone sisters!