He Knows I Will Follow Him, Give All My Life to Him

We walked out of our house this morning and I could feel that delicious and familiar chill of Autumn.

So. STOKED. Time to break out sweaters and scarves, a few of my favorite things! So ready to be done with this crazy Chilean heat! Pero toda via...me encanta Chile y me encanta ser aqui como misionera para dar el mundo la verdad!

So let's be honest...this week was a toughie. I had many, many moments of feeling insufficient in my contribution to the work, feeling like none of these seeds that I am planting are ever going to sprout, woe is me, no baptisms, investigators not wanting to listen anymore, and lots of very sad and helpless tears. Maybe its a bummer to read this, but I want to be honest- missions are tough, and sometimes I truly just don't have amazing experiences to share every week. I wish I did, but sometimes you just have a dud week.

But, being ME and trying to follow my mom's example of always looking for the positive things in life, I have taken note of small but significant blessings in my life right now.

To begin, I have a best friend for my companion. It is truly amazing to me that two people from different countries can have such similar upbringings and opinions and senses of humor and styles and that we can truly read each others MINDS at times! That we can have the most amazing, uplifting conversations with one another and truly feel this beautiful connection with another. I am completely convinced that we were buddy buddies in the premortal existence, and that we are together for one more change, truly a miracle, because right now, the mission is hard. And at times, only specific people can truly love and help you in the way that you need it, and Hermana Velazquez knows me so perfectly and she has helped me so much in this dud week.

We are very, very blessed to be in a ward that is anxious and ready to participate in this work. I have felt the love very strongly this week of the members of the Los Erazzuris ward for us sister missionaries, and how they truly confide in us to help them, as well. We had some wonderful conversations with the Relief Society president this week, Hermana Fuentes, and we can feel that she wants our opinion and help in strengthening the sisters of this ward. For the bajillionth time in my life, I was thankful to have my mom be the ward RS president and see her example and help the sisters here in Chile by sharing her ideas and ways of helping the sisters in our ward back home in Utah. Also, we were waiting to visit a less active member yesterday with the bishop, and he was ticking off all of the less actives that he saw in Sacrament Meeting that he knows we are visiting. After listing them off, he paused a moment and said "Hermanas, sometimes we don't know the fruits of our labors, but they are always there. And we can truly see the fruits of YOUR labors." Its amazing how prayers and answered through people sometimes, and I am thankful for people, like Bishop Calderon, who are in tune enough with the spirit to answer our prayers, sometimes without even knowing.

But more than everything, I am so thankful for the Book of Mormon. My life has changed, my mission has completely changed how I look at and cherish the Book of Mormon. It never ceases to AMAZE me how every single story and example and verse are there to help us. They all apply to our life. People say that there is not a book to tell you how to be a good parent or how to be perfectly happy, but its not true. The Book of Mormon has it all. I will be reading the Book of Mormon every day for the rest of my life because how could I NOT? How could I not just devour this blessing, this revelation from God of how to live successfully in the eyes of the Lord? How could I not testify of this every day in my mission and invite others to wallow in this blessing like I am? How could I not?

I have a testimony that trials strengthen us. Sometimes we are presented with a boulder to try and move, and while we try and give the effort and do everything that we possibly can to move it, we feel that we are making no progress. But in the end, we are stronger, more reliant on ourselves and on the Lord, and this is the true success. I have heard a lot this week about planting seeds. Sometimes, they wont bud for years. Sometimes we just need to be content with planting seeds. But so long as you are doing the Lords work, you will be blessed. As long as you put in the effort that you know you are capable of, our Heavenly Father will be happy with the work that we have done.

This week was hard. But I am stronger for it.

Church is true, folks :) Do What You Do!

-Hermana Harkins

Mosiah 24:14-15

Alma 26:12