To All I Love,
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| Eating Chilean food! |
Can you believe this month is almost over?! Where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday I got back from outbound but that was just about 6 months ago... Crazy! I was thinking the other day about how Daphne, the 9 year old girl, who was baptized while I was in Woodbridge - the miracle baptism, well she hits her 6 month mark here at the end of this month! She was baptized like 3 hours before the General Women's Meeting in April. Crazy that was that long ago, I know right!
Well, this week has been a blessing. The Lord always knows what we need. One thing I learned was recognizing how everything is a miracle, and how when we do so it brings more happiness to our own lives.
Areas of Significant Improvement:
Prayers really do get answered. Not usually in the way we want but they do get answered! These past 5 weeks, as you are aware (WOW! I can't believe it's been 5 weeks. It seems like it's only been like 1 week), anyways, these weeks have been really hard weeks to overcome. In the end, what the Lord has taught me is beyond worth it. Even though I have been at points I have never experienced before, the things I have learned are worth it. Anytime you go through a trial and you're able to learn and grow from it, it's worth it.
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| Taking car through car wash! |
These past 7 days have been phenomenal! A blessing from Heaven! After 4 1/2 weeks of praying, the Lord allowed me to see a glimpse of what can come. To see how hearts can be softened as we diligently seek the Lord's counsel and as we are diligently patient - is worth it, because along the way it allows you to personally grow. Sister Brito is amazing! She continues to teach me so much! Adjusting to Temple Square has been really hard for her and, ultimately, adjusting to being a missionary and all that you have to give up and conform to is a challenge. But it's been a blessing to see how step by step she is able to do it. Has it been a challenge? Yah - for the both of us. But it's neat to see how she is able to do it. Growing up for her hasn't been easy. She has had a hard upbringing which helps me to see the tremendous blessings I have been given in my life. She was raised by her Grandma and her 3 single Aunts her entire life. She grew up going to Military School her whole life. What she has experienced throughout her life has been a challenge. I couldn't imagine not having parents to be there for me and just being raised by my Grandma. The strength she has to continue to endure is amazing. Her Grandma was a member of the Church and that was a big reason to why she wanted to raise Sister Brito so she could be raised within the Church. There are other things that she has experienced over the course of her childhood.
It's easy for me to understand why it would be hard to adjust to being here. And with it being hard it means I jump into this journey with her as her companion. And so it means it's hard for me as well. There has been so much progress! The other week we just sat down and talked about a lot of things and it's been a neat experience for me as the Lord has shown me a lot of things and how he is using me to help her ultimately reach her potential. Haha - but honestly, I think it's the other way around at this point. When we are able to get out onto the Square and work, one of my favorite things to say after she introduces herself and states that she is from Brazil is, "Actually, she is from the middle of the Amazon!!!" I LOVE telling guests that!!! Seriously though, when can you say you have met someone from the Amazon?!? Okay, so she isn't some crazy jungle person. She is actually from a major city that is tucked away in the Amazon called Manaus. It's big enough that it has it's own temple.
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| Another car wash picture |
Personally, I have become so much more happier as the stress that has built up is being put to ease. It's crucial in our lives that we seek specific direction from our Father in Heaven and then that we are diligent about it. I have seen several prayers, after praying for 4+ weeks, be answered or start to be answered which brings a huge smile to my face and a sigh of relief and comfort.
I don't want to say it's over yet because I know there will still be rough days ahead. But I can see a glimpse of to what is being aimed for and for what will become.
Recognizing Miracles:
Friday night Sister Brito and I were talking about how we need to plan for a miracle that we want to see Saturday. One of the intentions behind it was for her to see the impact that she had and how the Lord does provide. On Friday we wrote down that we wanted to talk to a young man in his 20's seeking direction. To be honest, I didn't think much of it until we got home that night and it dawned on me that one of the final people we talked to was the young man we were seeking to talk with all day. At about 7 PM we went onto the Square and started talking to this RM [return missionary] who is really struggling since being back from her mission. About 20 minutes into the conversation this young man walks up to us and says, "Sister, do you need a member present right now? I would love to help." Eventually he joins in on the conversation. He has had a hard upbringing and had just recently been baptized. There were a lot of personal concerns that he had. After about another 50 minutes with them we left and then we realized that night that he was the young man. One thing that dawned on me while I was talking to him was this: "GO BACK TO THE BASICS." Far too often we seek further and further when sometimes we must go back to the basics. For this young man he had too many questions that were holding him back from being what he was supposed to be. As I talked with him I realized the importance to go back to the basics. If you have a question, go back to the basics of the Gospel. When we teach don't teach above the spirit, but go back to the basics and just allow the spirit to talk, through simply teaching the basics but powerfully through the guidance of the Spirit.
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| See how easy it is to "wash" our car?! |
From seeing this miracle we decided we were going to plan for another miracle on Sunday. We planned that we would meet a man in his 50's who was divorced due to him and that he had a hard time forgiving himself and that he would have grayish hair and a blue shirt on. Well at about 2:15 PM we were contacting a Mandarin Motor coach and as we step outside the Assembly Hall, I'm not even joking, EVERY MAN we could see (besides those in the motor coach and one other person) had a blue shirt on, with gray hair and they were male. I about died of shock. I just stood there and started counting all of them. I wish I would've snapped a picture of it. Over on the right was a younger man in a blue shirt with his wife, I believe. On the left was a man, older, with a little bit of gray hair in a blue shirt by himself. On the bench next to him was a couple with a man in a blue shirt, and gray hair. Walking towards the Assembly Hall at that moment was another man in a blue shirt and grayish hair with his wife, I believe. And then straight in front of us sitting on the flower beds was another gentleman, probably late 20's, wearing a blue shirt. I about died. I immediately went to Sister Brito and was like, "Look around right now. Do you see all the men in blue shirts?" As she starts looking around, her jaw just dropped and she started laughing. She is like, "No way." We haven't been able to find the one man we know we are to find but that was a simple miracle we were able to witness.
"Shh... I'm not supposed to answer his phone":
Haha - so one of the best stories ever was yesterday. We were planning on calling Anthony (Investigator in Liberia) to see how church went, but as we called him another mans voice answers the phone. At first I'm like "what is happening?" As we begin to talk he mentions that Anthony asked him to charge his phone for him. But he wasn't supposed to touch his phone. Jerry was like, "Please don't tell Anthony that you talked to me. Please don't tell him I answered his phone." I just love Jerry!! At the moment he didn't seem interested in talking to us so I was fine with getting off the phone. However, the Spirit had other ideas in mind. I had this feeling that I needed to make a comment to him to tell him who we are and what we do, and ultimately, why we were calling Anthony. I proceeded to do just that and how it would bless his life. He was really excited and said, "Please call me on my number right now." Long story short, his brother and sister were both with him and the three of them want to learn more, go to church on Sunday and to be baptized. They want to have Jesus Christ in their life and to do all that they can to follow him. One thing I learned was the importance of one - listening to the spirit and two - following the spirit and having the courage to do so. It will be interesting because we don't have local missionaries right now in Liberia to fully help them but I know the members will help them just fine. Anthony, who isn't even a member yet, has such a solid testimony of the Gospel and so I'm not worried at all.
Know that I love you and feel so blessed to have you each in my life and for the wonderful examples you are to me!
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| School?.... |
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| ......or Mission?? |
It's a privilege to be on a mission! It's interesting how fast these next four months will go by. A lot of sisters in my class are in the process of praying about if they are to go home in Dec. or Feb. because of school. It has caused me to think a little more about praying and seeking direction for after the mission. I love how the mission, as we allow the mission to change us instead of going through us, how we are becoming eternally prepared for the rest of the work the Lord has in store for us. I strongly believe that this time to be on a mission is that time for us to prepare and become molded into who our Father in Heaven needs us to become so we can be ready to magnify all the calls the Lord will give us as spouses, parents, friends, teachers, and leaders in the months and years down the road. A question to think about... How is the Lord molding me???
Know that I love you and feel so blessed to have you each in my life and for the wonderful examples you are to me!
Love Always!
Sister Skaggs
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